Lack of Unpredictability
(Guest blogger Sri Shanker Krishnan tells us why this World Cup has become so unpredictable)
The second round of the World Cup competition is complete and the usual suspects have all safely negotiated their paths onto the next stage. Six out of the eight remaining teams are winners of the competition and all the so-called smaller teams have been taken care of.
This World Cup will certainly go down as one of the finest in the history of the competition. For me personally, the benchmark are the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, both held in Mexico. I can recite almost all the players names from the 1970 Brazil team and who can forget Maradona’s exploits in 1986? In fact the years 1970 and 1986 only bring wonderful memories of the World Cup competition for me and nothing else! One of the reasons for the huge popularity of the World Cup is the surprise element – the giant killing act, an audacious piece of skill to finish off a game, brilliant solo goals, etc. The competition is littered with many giant killing acts since its inception.
North Korea beating Italy in 1966, Cameroon beating Argentina in 1982, Senegal beating France in 2002, are some of the more memorable ones. This is what it is all about – the romance of the World Cup! This brings me to the one aspect of the current tournament that has let me down immensely. If there is one complaint I have about Germany 2006, then, this is it. Apart from Ghana beating the Czechs 2-0, all the other results have pretty much gone as expected. Never mind the upsets, there is very little unpredictability even in the style of play, particularly from the more fancied teams. I have yet to see real flashes of individual brilliance, the kind that can change the nature of a game in a split second or commanding individual performances ala Maradona in 1986.
The Brazilian team of 1970 and 1982 are prime examples of this. You never know what to expect from these two teams, there is always a possibility of someone producing an outrageous piece of skill or a commanding performance. Speaking of commanding performances, for me Maradona single handedly (pun intended!) taking Argentina to the cup in 1986 stands out as the most outstanding and influential performance in the history of the World Cup. Pele was surrounded by a wonderfully gifted bunch of players in the 1970 team compared to Maradona.
The closest I have seen to brilliance is the Argentinian team, who have performed with aplomb both as a team and some fine individual performances from players such as Riquelme, Rodriguez, Messi and Saviola. Ghana has been refreshing with their direct attacking style of play and it was lack of international experience that let them down against the Brazilians. Ronaldo’s opening goal against the Ghanaians was a real eye candy! The shuffle of the feet to beat the goal keeper, that itself was worth the ticket money! Then the Brazilians decided to go one better over the Argentines by stringing together 25 passes to score their 3rd goal in the same game. Sadly such outrageous pieces of play have been lacking somewhat in this tournament. Where are the famous step-overs, flicks and trickery? Maybe the pressure of having to win has got into the players? Or is it the coaches who pressure the players to play safe?
The English, Swiss, Ukrainians and Italians have been the major culprits for me. Collectively these so called top teams are guilty of putting many people to sleep simultaneously! Fortunately the Swiss are already out of the tournament. One of the remaining three will be definitely going home soon with the Italians and Ukranians facing each other in the quarter finals. Coming back to the topic, I think apart from the pressure of winning, there are several other reasons as well for the lack of unpredictability.
One of the key reasons is that the game has become very much global now, with almost all the teams having players playing in leagues all over the world, particularly in the major European leagues. This automatically provides teams with greater exposure and experience meaning no more huge rugby score lines! Other than that, players have become familiar with each other having played or faced each other in league matches, meaning greater wariness amongst themselves. Huge expectations and demands are also inhibiting individualism and gung-ho approach. Even the African teams, re-known for out and out attacking play and outrageous displays of individual skills, have become more cagey now as more and more African players start plying their careers in European leagues.
This brings me to the final theory – the European influence. Today more than ever, we see so many South American, African and Asian players plying their trade in European leagues. Naturally the European tendency for discipline, organization and methodical approach has rubbed off on these players while diminishing their natural flair and prowess for exhibitionism.
However all is not lost. Causes for optimism were found in the Brazil v Ghana and France v Spain matches. Ronaldo and Zidane produced fine individual displays and some fine dribbling, back flicks and sharp passing were seen. Jurgen Klinsman has promised that his German team will continue with their swashbuckling (by German standards at least) style. Jose Pekerman has said that his Argentina team cannot play defensively. With the French team also showing improvement and promise of more flair to come, we may yet see some unpredictable results and displays.
The only ones who have been unpredictable so far are the referees – almost all of them have displayed a liking for controversy, intentionally or otherwise. Speak of individualism – this World Cup has probably produced the most number of controversial referees and questionable decisions. Probably the refs have decided to take the limelight seeing that none of the players seem to do anything about it.
Finally, with the quarter final round fast approaching, dare we hope for an individual or a team to go out there and produce a totally unpredictable result? There are more than enough capable individuals out there, so come on gentlemen, seize the day! I remain optimistic.
(Sri Shanker Krishnan is desperate for his Brazil team to start showing the world how the game should be played)
(Guest blogger Sri Shanker Krishnan tells us why this World Cup has become so unpredictable)
The second round of the World Cup competition is complete and the usual suspects have all safely negotiated their paths onto the next stage. Six out of the eight remaining teams are winners of the competition and all the so-called smaller teams have been taken care of.
This World Cup will certainly go down as one of the finest in the history of the competition. For me personally, the benchmark are the 1970 and 1986 tournaments, both held in Mexico. I can recite almost all the players names from the 1970 Brazil team and who can forget Maradona’s exploits in 1986? In fact the years 1970 and 1986 only bring wonderful memories of the World Cup competition for me and nothing else! One of the reasons for the huge popularity of the World Cup is the surprise element – the giant killing act, an audacious piece of skill to finish off a game, brilliant solo goals, etc. The competition is littered with many giant killing acts since its inception.
North Korea beating Italy in 1966, Cameroon beating Argentina in 1982, Senegal beating France in 2002, are some of the more memorable ones. This is what it is all about – the romance of the World Cup! This brings me to the one aspect of the current tournament that has let me down immensely. If there is one complaint I have about Germany 2006, then, this is it. Apart from Ghana beating the Czechs 2-0, all the other results have pretty much gone as expected. Never mind the upsets, there is very little unpredictability even in the style of play, particularly from the more fancied teams. I have yet to see real flashes of individual brilliance, the kind that can change the nature of a game in a split second or commanding individual performances ala Maradona in 1986.
The Brazilian team of 1970 and 1982 are prime examples of this. You never know what to expect from these two teams, there is always a possibility of someone producing an outrageous piece of skill or a commanding performance. Speaking of commanding performances, for me Maradona single handedly (pun intended!) taking Argentina to the cup in 1986 stands out as the most outstanding and influential performance in the history of the World Cup. Pele was surrounded by a wonderfully gifted bunch of players in the 1970 team compared to Maradona.
The closest I have seen to brilliance is the Argentinian team, who have performed with aplomb both as a team and some fine individual performances from players such as Riquelme, Rodriguez, Messi and Saviola. Ghana has been refreshing with their direct attacking style of play and it was lack of international experience that let them down against the Brazilians. Ronaldo’s opening goal against the Ghanaians was a real eye candy! The shuffle of the feet to beat the goal keeper, that itself was worth the ticket money! Then the Brazilians decided to go one better over the Argentines by stringing together 25 passes to score their 3rd goal in the same game. Sadly such outrageous pieces of play have been lacking somewhat in this tournament. Where are the famous step-overs, flicks and trickery? Maybe the pressure of having to win has got into the players? Or is it the coaches who pressure the players to play safe?The English, Swiss, Ukrainians and Italians have been the major culprits for me. Collectively these so called top teams are guilty of putting many people to sleep simultaneously! Fortunately the Swiss are already out of the tournament. One of the remaining three will be definitely going home soon with the Italians and Ukranians facing each other in the quarter finals. Coming back to the topic, I think apart from the pressure of winning, there are several other reasons as well for the lack of unpredictability.
One of the key reasons is that the game has become very much global now, with almost all the teams having players playing in leagues all over the world, particularly in the major European leagues. This automatically provides teams with greater exposure and experience meaning no more huge rugby score lines! Other than that, players have become familiar with each other having played or faced each other in league matches, meaning greater wariness amongst themselves. Huge expectations and demands are also inhibiting individualism and gung-ho approach. Even the African teams, re-known for out and out attacking play and outrageous displays of individual skills, have become more cagey now as more and more African players start plying their careers in European leagues.
This brings me to the final theory – the European influence. Today more than ever, we see so many South American, African and Asian players plying their trade in European leagues. Naturally the European tendency for discipline, organization and methodical approach has rubbed off on these players while diminishing their natural flair and prowess for exhibitionism.
However all is not lost. Causes for optimism were found in the Brazil v Ghana and France v Spain matches. Ronaldo and Zidane produced fine individual displays and some fine dribbling, back flicks and sharp passing were seen. Jurgen Klinsman has promised that his German team will continue with their swashbuckling (by German standards at least) style. Jose Pekerman has said that his Argentina team cannot play defensively. With the French team also showing improvement and promise of more flair to come, we may yet see some unpredictable results and displays.The only ones who have been unpredictable so far are the referees – almost all of them have displayed a liking for controversy, intentionally or otherwise. Speak of individualism – this World Cup has probably produced the most number of controversial referees and questionable decisions. Probably the refs have decided to take the limelight seeing that none of the players seem to do anything about it.
Finally, with the quarter final round fast approaching, dare we hope for an individual or a team to go out there and produce a totally unpredictable result? There are more than enough capable individuals out there, so come on gentlemen, seize the day! I remain optimistic.
(Sri Shanker Krishnan is desperate for his Brazil team to start showing the world how the game should be played)
posted by Kabilan K at
12:10 AM
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