COULD THIS BE THE WORST WORLD CUP IN HISTORY?

[jenni_blog]

I've just read this very interesting blog in soccerlens.com:

http://soccerlens.com/is-this-the-worst-world-cup-ever/47528/#comment-125999

It really brings up a lot of issues that could be a factor in preventing teams from scoring goals, and in causing fans to lose interest.

Some of them:

- the FIFA seeding
- too many teams?
- player fatigue

And I'll add one of my own: the Jabulani ball. It wasn't mentioned in the article, but the only league that has used this ball for the last year is the Bundesliga. Those players have had almost a year to get used to it. The result: Germany's performance compared to all the others. Most of the players on the German NT play their club football in Germany.

Comments

[lunar-art.livejournal.com]

I was really beginning to think I was the only one. And now I have taken to skipping games that I could watch. :(

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

It's very sad. :(

[aglaiya.livejournal.com]

Article is okay!!!
But I guess FIFA don't know what fans really want!
ROONEY will never disappoint!!! How can he use CR and ROONEY in one sentence?
Less teams wouldn't be better because the qualifying would be much harder and it would open all doors for corruption there!

One is not right! The ball is very okay! All could have use it!
Menno I'm such an idiot always I read interestinng stuff without to bookmark it. I have read an article about the ball and all the ball from other WCs. First they played with a leather ball and if that ball was wet is was about 5 (five) kg and I don't want to get such a ball on my head I would die! The new ball is about 2,2 or 2,4 kg and this is much better for the players! You need better technic for the new ball too and this is always good!

Last sentence is the best ! BAN the fucking TRÖTS!!!

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

Something is wrong with this WC and everyone is trying to find out what it is. I believe in the players and what they say. They are the ones who are there and going through it all first-hand. If they complain about the ball, I believe them. It's a matter of getting used to it. Germany has been using it for a year and I don't think it's a coincidence that they did well with it. Every WC there will be a new ball because sales of the new balls to the public generate huge income.

The vuvuzelas are just a HORROR. :(

[aglaiya.livejournal.com]

I have collected some links about the ball! Not ALL players are complaining!
And really some are always complaining at every WC was a new ball and always some were complaining and some not!
They should play and do well and don't think that much about the ball!
I love England but they should stop giving all their mistakes to the ball! Boys should play! Tha's all!
If you cannot handle the ball you don't deserves to win!!!

I will NOT blame the ball!

The 'TRÖTS' are HORROR! Not the ball!

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

Yes, there is certainly a problem with the WC and I think everyone is trying to find out what it is. So they are analyzing things, and one of the things that came up was the Jabulani ball. However, the Germans got used to it and so can everyone else. There are other factors there that could be a cause. Me...I saw the Chile/Honduras game just now, which was wonderful! No ball problems there! So perhaps it was just nerves in some of the first games for some teams. Who knows? I am hoping that ALL second games will be better! OK, maybe not ALL!

And the vuvuzelas (or TROTS) are the WORST THINGS EVER INVENTED!!!!!!

[firestarter-007.livejournal.com]

this WC is bit disappointing.. i want goals,chants,excitement and more goals! most of the games so far have been boring =/ where are the strikers when you need them? LOL
the only team i've seem fight like there's no tomorrow is germany
i would also like to add the vuvuzelas it was fun for a couple of games but now i can't stand it :[ i've been watching the games in mute ._.

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

Yes! No goals! The players are blaming the ball and the pitches. Well, they should know.

Germany has been using this ball for a year in their domestic league.

The vuvuzelas are drowning out the songs, chants and cheering. And the players say they cannot sleep at night because the noise never stops. Also they cannot communicate on the pitch.

It's pretty bad... :(

[crazy-girl-86.livejournal.com]

Ok, I read the blog...

I don't agree with the hype being the problem. It's always like that before a World Cup and even more when you live in the country it takes place. But why should it influence the teams' play? It could lead to people being annoyed from the marchendise but not from football... Same goes for the comment about politicians.

What I do agree with is the media pressure on the players, but on the other hand, they are used to it from every big tournament. The Spanish league lives and dies with media pressure...

The FIFA seeding isn't a nice topic and if we are honest, it started with France and Henry... maybe even earlier. It sucks, yeah, but do you wanna see more countries like Slovenia?! I prefer France and Portugal being there, however they made it... Besides... Italy vs. Australia 2006... And Italy became Champion.

Ok, I do agree in parts about the club football. The best example is Lio Messi, what he does for Argentina doesn't even get close t his work at Barcelona. But Kaká is the perfect example that players don't save themselves for their clubs, I think it was the opposite in his case! And he's probably not the only one. But sure, we shouldn't expect these teams playing as well as some clubs, they don't have the time to get used to each other. But isn't that the case each WC, each Euro? *shrugs* A reason yes for sure, but the reason why it's so bad till now?

But I absolutely agree about banning the vuvuzelas. :)

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

The fact is that this World Cup has been pretty sad so far, with too many draws and hardly any goals. I remember the last one in 2006 and it was really enjoyable.

So what is the problem? Everyone is trying to figure it out and analyze everything about it. The ball, the vuvuzelas, the weather, the long domestic league seasons, poor coaching, etc., etc., etc.

When the press has gone straight to the players, you are getting true first-hand reactions. They have blamed the ball. I do believe the ball is a factor this time. They have blamed the 24-hour nonstop vuvuzelas for keeping them awake all night. Some players have come out criticizing their coaches, complaining they are playing out of position, etc. The weather has been intermittently hot and cold. The players have complained about the state of some of the pitches. All of these things can be contributing to fewer goals.

But I think as the tournament wears on, the players might get more familiar with all of these things (and each other) and hopefully things will get better.

[txorakeriak.livejournal.com]

I read the article and I think there are some valid points in it, but I don't agree with everything. The hype before the World Cup is the same every year. It might be a bit more this time because it's the first tournament on the African continent, but generally, there's always a big hype.

The FIFA seeding is a problem, and I still don't think France qualified fairly. It's true that the majority of spectators prefer seeing the "big teams" in the World Cup and would rather have less of Algeria vs Slovenia, but sometimes it's the underdogs that make things interesting. Remember four years ago, when Australia almost kicked out Italy (who only managed to save themselves by a dive and an undeserved penalty)? Or when South Korea reached the semifinal in 2002? I personally would rather have seen Ireland in the World Cup because they have heart, the will to fight, and the potential to surprise. In comparison, France are pathetic, boring and also at loggerheads.

And if you have fewer teams, you'll have the same teams every four years, and that would be even more boring.

Club vs. Country is always a topic, as is player fatigue. I refuse to accept this as a valid argument for this World Cup because it applies to every World Cup. It just doesn't usually show that strongly.

The vuvuzelas are a problem. Definitely. It's not just that you don't hear the fan chants that provide the atmosphere, it's also that the players don't hear commands or shouts from their teammates, and for a defense this can be fatal. They can't resort to sign language, so they have to play more cautiously, which takes the speed out of the game and makes it tedious to watch. I wouldn't say the FIFA should forbid the vuvuzelas because they're part of the South African football culture, but there should be a rule that only allows a certain amount of vuvuzelas in a stadium.

The ball is always criticised, so I didn't even want to pay attention to this matter at first, but you do have a point. If the Bundesliga players have indeed had a year to get used to the ball (and the entire German squad is playing in the Bundesliga), then this does give them an advantage. Then again, why didn't the other leagues introduce the ball? I'm sure that nobody stopped them from doing it, they just thought it wouldn't make a difference.

Also, there are 84 players in this World Cup who earn their money in the Bundesliga, 61 of which don't play for Germany: Michael Bradley, Steven Cherundolo, Ricardo Clark (USA), Theofanis Gekas, Angelos Charisteas (Greece), Arturo Vidal (Chile), Tranquillo Barnetta, Eren Derdiyok, Diego Benaglio, Steve von Bergen, Pirmin Schwegler, Albert Bunjaku, Mario Eggimann (Switzerland), Daniel Jensen, Sören Larsen, Thomas Kahlenberg (Denmark), Hugo Almeida (Portugal), Isaac Vorsah, Hans Sarpei, Prince Tagoe (Ghana), Obafemi Martins, Chinedu Obasi (Nigeria), Eljero Elia, Joris Mathijsen, Mark van Bommel, Arjen Robben, Khalid Boulahrouz (Netherlands), Franck Ribéry (France), Martín Demichelis (Argentina), Guy Demel, Arthur Boka (Ivory Coast), Karim Ziani, Karim Matmour, Anthar Yahia (Algeria), Makoto Hasebe (Japan), Peter Pekarik, Stanislav Šesták, Erik Jendrišek, Radoslav Zabavník, Ján Ďurica (Slovakia), Nelson Valdez, Jonathan Santana, Lucas Barrios (Paraguay), Josué, Grafite (Brazil), Neven Subotić, Zdravko Kuzmanović, Gojko Kačar, Antonio Rukavina, Zoran Tošić (Serbia), Dario Vidosic (Australia), Milivoje Novakovič, Miso Brečko, Zlatko Dedič, Matej Mavrič (Slovenia), Ricardo Osorio (Mexico), Du-Ri Cha (South Korea), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Mohamadou Idrissou, Georges Mandjeck, Joel Matip (Kameroun).

Okay, not sure you wanted to know this in such detail. But anyway, my point is that these players should have performed awesomely if it was just the Jabulani ball, and most of them didn't.

[just-jenni.livejournal.com]

OK, this is all hindsight now, of course. But thanks for the excellent reply to this post!

You're right about the hype. There's always hype! And it's like the journalists are always looking for something to write/talk about, so this WC it's the ball, the vuvuzelas and anything else they can dredge up. Apparently there were only 25 goals scored during the first round of matches compared to 39 in 2006 and in fact, I think you have to go back 40 or 50 years to find a WC that had so few goals scored in the first round. So the pundits were looking for a reason and the ball was thought to perhaps be the problem, simply because some of the players were complaining about it. But yes, I know a new ball is introduced every World Cup - it is a way to make lots of money off sales of the new ball.

And with everyone trying to analyze the possible cause for the 'poor' showings at the WC in the first round of games, a lot of theories are thrown out and then discarded one by one as they are proved wrong.

I don't think that the ball will be a problem anymore. Some of the players...possibly a lot of the ones you listed...seemed to have no problem with it at all. If anything, I think it may be more of a problem for the goalkeepers to handle, and video evidence would seem to support that argument, at least so far.

Oh, and the Jabulani ball was also used in the Argentine league for the 2010 Clausura and also in the MLS (so the Argentine and American players who play in those leagues would also be used to it.) :)

I think everyone will just get used to the vuvuzelas. And the TV broadcasters are trying to tune the noise down and turn up the sound on the announcers' mikes. It seems to be better now than it was in the beginning.