The draw for the world cup has been made and it's looking good for England. They've been drawn in what's considered an easy group so hopefully it will be an easy route through to the knockout stages. England may have an easy group, but the 5 time world cup winners Brazil don't have such an easy ride. Brazil are drawn in group G with Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea.
Ivory Coast, they have only qualified for the World Cup once before in 2006 so though they are relative new boys to the competition they aren't to be underestimated. The team has a number of Premier Leagues stars, including Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue, Salomon Kalou and the brilliant Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. They are known as being a tough team to beat and Brazil won't be underestimating them.
Portugal who only qualified through the plays offs so were un-seeded. However they are still considered one of the strongest teams in Europe and have a host of top class players including Cristiano Ronaldo, the 2008 World Player of the year and the most expensive player ever bought when Real Madrid paid £80million for him in the summer of 2009. The Portugal team still include players from the 2006 team which made it to the World Cup semi finals, with Brazilian Manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
North Korea will be considered the easiest team to beat as they have less stars than the others, with pretty much their whole team plying their trade in Korea. It's only the second time North Korea have qualified for the world cup with the first time being the world cup in England in 1966. They did cause an upset in the tournament by beating Italy 1-0.
Though Brazil have been given a tough draw it's still a group they should easily qualify, being the number 1 seeded country in the world. This Brazil team may not have the flair that you expect from a Brazilian team but they still enough world class stars to rival any team. The player Brazil really will be relying on to produce the class is former world player of the year, Kaka. From his midfield position Kaka can boss the whole game and produces moments of genius every time he plays. He's not the only star of the team though, adding some flair to the team is Robinho of Manchester City, Dani Alves, the attacking full back from Barcelona and Ronaldinho who on the top of his game is unbeatable. The difference with this Brazilian team is as well as the flamboyant players they have a core of solid reliable players and this has made the 2009 team the strongest Brazilian team defensively for some time.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Is Barcelona the Greatest Football Team of This Generation?
The short answer is 'yes'. They are undoubtedly the greatest team that I have ever had the pleasure of viewing (as someone who is in his mid 20's). Their demolition of Manchester United in last year's Champion's League final was the icing on the cake for their perfect season, in which they won the treble (the Spanish La Liga, the Spanish Cup and the Champion's League). Not only did they achieve this, but they did so in such a magnificent way, with their three main forwards (Messi, Henry and Eto'o) scoring over 100 goals between them.
Barcelona have always been known for their slick passing football and their good use of the ball since Johan Cruyff came to the club over 20 years ago, and this new-look Barcelona team is certainly carrying on the same traditions and bringing Cruyff's 'Total Football' philosophy into the modern era.
If they add the likes of Javier Mascherano in January the will be truly unstoppable. The Argentine captain and current Liverpool FC player has declared his interest in joining the club and it seems that a £30m move might be on the cards.
You certainly can't blame Mascherano for wanting to leave - I mean what player wouldn't want to play every week at the Nou Camp stadium? The 100,000 seat arena is truly the coliseum of football, at it is the biggest and best arena to prove yourself in as a player. With Mascherano in the team the other players (such as Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves) would have more of a license to roam forward and attack as they'd know they've got the best defensive midfielder in the world to bail them out should they lose the ball.
Barcelona have always been known for their slick passing football and their good use of the ball since Johan Cruyff came to the club over 20 years ago, and this new-look Barcelona team is certainly carrying on the same traditions and bringing Cruyff's 'Total Football' philosophy into the modern era.
If they add the likes of Javier Mascherano in January the will be truly unstoppable. The Argentine captain and current Liverpool FC player has declared his interest in joining the club and it seems that a £30m move might be on the cards.
You certainly can't blame Mascherano for wanting to leave - I mean what player wouldn't want to play every week at the Nou Camp stadium? The 100,000 seat arena is truly the coliseum of football, at it is the biggest and best arena to prove yourself in as a player. With Mascherano in the team the other players (such as Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Dani Alves) would have more of a license to roam forward and attack as they'd know they've got the best defensive midfielder in the world to bail them out should they lose the ball.