World Cup
Samuel Pereira, Staff Reporter
spereira@csumb.edu
Four years ago, the 2006 FIFA World Cup ended with a penalty shootout, a head butt and Italy as the victor. The 2010 FIFA World Cup will take place in South Africa, the first in history it will be hosted by an African country, and there most likely will be no shortage of drama.
USA TEAM CHANCES AND OTHER FAVORITES
For a month, from June 11 to July 11, eyes in the soccer and sports world will be fixated on South Africa. The ivory coast gives Africa their best chance to shine. The quality of competition is very high in this years cup. The tournament consists of eight groups of four teams each. USA is in a group with England, Algeria and Slovenia.
Favorites to win the cup this year include Italy, England, Brazil, Argentina and Spain. Team USA will be coming into the cup with key players on defense and offense returning from injuries. Striker Charlie Davies almost died in a car crash seven months ago, but has recovered quickly enough to return to the team in time for the cup. Oguchi Onyewu, a strong central defender for Team USA has been participating in full practice and may be ready in time for the cup following knee surgery.
With these starters possibly returning, Team USA may still have a tough time of getting out of the second round of the cup; they are expected to advance along with England, who will be without superstar David Beckham, out of their group stage.
POPULARITY IN USA
Although there may be much partying done in the USA for the World Cup, it does not quite compare to what is seen in other countries around the world. Soccer may be beginning to catch on in the United States. “The interesting thing about soccer in the United States is, it’s extremely popular among children,” said President Barack Obama in an interview with Univision.
“The World Cup final has the single largest global audience in sports,” Kevin Alavy, a senior analyst for the media agency Initiative Futures Worldwide said in an interview with the New York Times after the 2006 World Cup. “It doubles the audience for the Olympic opening ceremony in Athens and triples the Super Bowl.”
The English and Spanish-language telecasts of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final combined to attract an estimated 16.9 million American viewers, comparable to that year’s World Series.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NEW SOCCER FANS
It can be hard for someone to get into soccer with its seemingly slow pace. But here are a few things to look for when watching the World Cup.
The Superstars. Soccer pays their superstars the most money out of any sport in the world and for good reason. Fernando Torres of Spain, Wayne Rooney of England, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal, and Ronaldinho of Brazil are all superstars for their teams and impact the game in more than one way with their passing and scoring ability.
The Footwork. Arguably, in no other sport is footwork more important or entertaining to watch than in soccer. Especially that of Christiano Ronaldo, who blazes down the sideline while still juking out his defender from left to right with ball skills that are incomparable in the sport.
The Goals and Reaction. The reaction of fans to a goal in soccer can raise the decibel level in the stadium to deafening heights. They can also ignite riots, jubilation and outright anger, depending on which team the fan is cheering for. Otherwise polite men transform into fanatics on one touch of the ball from either their favorite striker, or their most hated.
The 2010 World Cup will be shown on ESPN and ABC at all times of the day. Team USA opens their first game versus England on June 12, the first time they are meeting since the USA upset the then number one ranked England in the 1950 cup.