Friday, 13 June 2014
Thursday, 12 June 2014
Wednesday, 11 June 2014
Focus On... BRAZIL
Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari
Previous Best: Champions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
Nickname: A Seleção
Likely Formation: 4-2-1-3
Likely Line-up:
| Pos | Name | Age | Caps | Club |
| GK | César | 34 | 80 | Toronto (CAN) |
| RB | Alves | 31 | 75 (6) | Barcelona (ESP) |
| CB | Silva | 29 | 46 (2) | Paris Saint-Germain (FRA) |
| CB | Dante | 30 | 12 (2) | Bayern Munich (DEU) |
| LB | Marcelo | 26 | 31 (4) | Real Madrid (ESP) |
| CM | Paulinho | 25 | 26 (5) | Tottenham Hotspurs (ENG) |
| CM | Gustavo | 26 | 19 (1) | Wolfsburg (GER) |
| AM | Oscar | 22 | 31 (9) | Chelsea (ENG) |
| RF | Hulk | 27 | 35 (9) | Zenit St Petersburg (RUS) |
| ST | Fred | 30 | 34 (17) | Fluminense |
| LF | Neymar Jr | 22 | 49 (31) | Barcelona (ESP) |
* Has appeared at a previous World Cup
Average Age: 26.8
Total Caps: 438
Best Odds: 3/1F (Numerous)
Captain: Thiago Silva
Star Player: Neymar Jr
Player to Watch: Jô
Big Phil is back! Football's favourite Gene Hackman look-a-like is back, tasked with avoiding the disaster of 1950 when Brazil failed to win the last World Cup they hosted. Nothing less than a repeat of his 2002 victory will be considered a success, but things are unlikely to be as easy this time.
The contrast between the 2002 Brazil side and today's is obvious. In 2002 the forward 3 of Rivaldo, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho were simply devastating, and all 3 were winners of the Ballon d'Or at some stage during their career. Neymar is still young and may well be their equivilent with time, but Fred and Hulk almost look second rate in comparison. For now the production line of Brazilian forwards that produced Pelé, Romario and Ronaldo has stalled.
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Brazil will still be favourites to win their 6th title, but this is a side who are more impressive as a defensive unit, that as an attacking one. That just seems wrong.For my player to watch I have picked Jô (left). Now back in Brazil playing for Atlético Mineiro, he is unlikely to be much more than a substitute, but as the 4th striker in a squad, he is likely to get some game time, given that Brazil play 3 up front. With the exception of the reserve goalkeepers, the squad are all household names around the world, so there will be no susprises, but with Jô there is the potential to perhaps see some of the ability that led Manchester City to spend £19m to secure his services.
Focus On... MEXICO
The blog is running out of time before the big kick-off. I'm going to try to do a quick summary on a couple of teams now before it all starts.
So without further ado...
MEXICO
Manager: Miguel Herrera
Previous Best: Quarter Final (1970, 1986)
Nickname: El Tri
Likely Formation: 5-3-2
Likely Line-up:
* Has appeared at a previous World Cup
Average Age: 26.8
Total Caps: 607
Best Odds: 200/1 (PaddyPower, StanJames)
Captain: Rafael Márquez
Star Player: Héctor Herrera
Player to Watch: Giovani dos Santos
Mexico set of to Brazil to appear in an astonishing 15th World Cup. But for being banned from the 1990 World Cup, that figure would almost certainly be 16, the equal of Argentina. as it is they have qualified more often than either Spain, France, England or the Netherlands.
That said, they were a long way from comfortable in qualifying this time, finishing behind both Costa Rica and Honduras in the final group stage, before securing their place in a play-off against New Zealand.
This is not a classic Mexico side, but their star player this time round is Hector Herrera of Porto, a complete midfielder who gets from box to box, and whose defensive attributes are the equal of his attacking ones.
A player who should also be worth watching will be familiar to many, Giovani dos Santos (right). After flopping in England he is now playing with Villareal, after a spell with Real Mallorca. The dos Santos who plays for his national side is barely recognisable as the one who struggled so badly for Tottenham
So without further ado...
Manager: Miguel Herrera
Previous Best: Quarter Final (1970, 1986)
Nickname: El Tri
Likely Formation: 5-3-2
Likely Line-up:
| Pos | Name | Age | Caps | Club |
| GK | Corona | 33 | 34 | Cruz Azul |
| CB | Rodríguez | 32 | 95 (1) | Cruz Azul |
| CB | Márquez | 25 | 120 (15) | León |
| CB | Moreno | 26 | 53 (1) | Espanyol (ESP) |
| RWB | Aguilar | 28 | 30 (3) | América |
| LWB | Layún | 25 | 15 (2) | América |
| DM | Vázquez | 26 | 5 | León |
| CM | Herrera | 24 | 13 | Porto (POR) |
| CM | Guardado | 27 | 104 (14) | Bayer Leverkusen (DEU) |
| ST | dos Santos | 25 | 76 (14) | Villareal (ESP) |
| ST | Peralta | 30 | 62 (35) | América |
* Has appeared at a previous World Cup
Average Age: 26.8
Total Caps: 607
Best Odds: 200/1 (PaddyPower, StanJames)
Captain: Rafael Márquez
Star Player: Héctor Herrera
Player to Watch: Giovani dos Santos
Mexico set of to Brazil to appear in an astonishing 15th World Cup. But for being banned from the 1990 World Cup, that figure would almost certainly be 16, the equal of Argentina. as it is they have qualified more often than either Spain, France, England or the Netherlands. That said, they were a long way from comfortable in qualifying this time, finishing behind both Costa Rica and Honduras in the final group stage, before securing their place in a play-off against New Zealand.
This is not a classic Mexico side, but their star player this time round is Hector Herrera of Porto, a complete midfielder who gets from box to box, and whose defensive attributes are the equal of his attacking ones.
A player who should also be worth watching will be familiar to many, Giovani dos Santos (right). After flopping in England he is now playing with Villareal, after a spell with Real Mallorca. The dos Santos who plays for his national side is barely recognisable as the one who struggled so badly for Tottenham
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
John f**king Aldridge
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John Aldridge just f**king wanted to mention that there are only two f**king days until the World f**king Cup starts!
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