I was just sitting here, thinking about a ronaldinho/maradona comparison on another message board and i've noticed how that all these young players that are coming through will near enough all be at their peak, or very near to it in 2006. The likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Rooney, D'allesandro, Saviola, Quaresma, Riquelme, Tevez etc will all be alot more experienced at playing at top level, and the players like Henry, Raul, Ronaldo, Totti, Owen, Pirlo, will at be at their peak and playing, hopefully, the best football of their lives. Then we will have the veterans of the teams, Zidane (hopefully), Beckham, Figo, Maybe a Rivaldo, a Rui Costa here n there... All just to light up the tournament with their skills. I, for one, cannot wait for this tournament and i feel if it's hosted correctly and the 'big teams' don't crumble like the last two tournaments, this one will go down in history.
I thought Figo was retiring. Yea anyways, i agree. 2006 will be awesome. And I intend on being there.
You mean it's going to be amazing because Deutschland will win it and once again stand on top of the footballing world.
I almost always find the big name players to be a disappointment, but look forward to seeing the C. Ronaldos and Rooneys come out from beneath the shadows of the more experienced players. Do you remember in 98 discovering Henry? Back in 98 I couldn't see any Euro league football(I didn't have Fox) and the only football I could watch was the USMNT, occasional CL games, and Mexican Leagues. I loved being able to see some of these players for the first time. Especially Henry and Zidane, because I had only heard about them via the internet. I hope Beckham, Raul, Zidane, and Figo, are all in the crowds as they were very disappointing for their countries in Euro 04.
big name players are overated to make money there are no big name players that samller name players in some 3rd world country cant beat i have a feeling colombia will do well at this WC
I agree that WC2006 should be amazing. With Germany hosting the cup, we return to the roots of traditional soccer, and I think that will cause all the traditional superpowers to be successful again. My prediction is that we'll see the rebirth of Germany, Italy, and Argentina, along with the traditional power of Brazil. After looking at the youth at Copa America, it is obvious to me that at least Brazil and Argentina have bright futures. Brazil played their B/C team and won. Argentina played with mostly U23 players, and they dominated almost all the competition. Come 2006, the players on these two teams will be even more dominant. Between the young South American talent, the up and coming generations in England (it hurts to say that), the US, Holland, and Portugal, and dark horses like the Czech Republic, and we're in for a major treat in two years.
I think you dont have to be affraid of it not being hosted correctly... Just look at the stadiums. Most of them are going into the final-phase of construction this summer. They are just plain awesome. The ones in Portugal seem like a lower league in comparison...(exept 2 or 3) http://www.stadionwelt.de/Stadionwelt-Stadien-Arenen/Stadionlisten/WM2006/WM_2006.html The only thing that makes me worry is the catering... I mean Budweiser and McDonalds are the official partners, so that means they will be sold in the stadiums insteat of german beer and Bratwurst... Something is seriously wrong witht that... I totally agree with you tough, it will be an awesome tournament, from any point of view... I also hope that the "big teams" will finally regain their strenght again....
i guess they wont be using the olympiastadium anymore in Munich. Too bad i thought that was a cool one.
Nigeria are another team that are capable of playing good soccer, but it would become more intresting if brazil dont make it out of the group stages because unless they crumble, i dont see anyone beating them.
I don't think you'll have too difficult a time finding good beer and brats just outside any of the venues.
Do you mean the "traditionally great" teams, or the popular ones? Aside from France and Argentina, I'm not sure they went anywhere in 2002, despite what so many here say over and over. Brasil, Germany, England and Italy all matched or improved upon their 1998 showing. I have a very short list of teams I call "big". They are teams that have either: 1) Won a Cup during or since the Pele era (Argentina, Brasil, England, France, Germany and Italy) 2) Established themselves as contenders that Cup winners know can beat them without it being considered an upset. Holland fits into this category. That's it. I do not put Uruguay (who has won two Cups, but none recently), Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Czech Republic or Denmark in the "big" category. I think Korea's performance as hosts has many of us thinking that 2002 was somehow different from all other recent Cups in terms of late-stage "quality" (a term mysteriously bestowed upon teams, usually but not always European, that have famous players but no World Cup pedigree). It wasn't, really. 1998- Germany, Argentina and Italy all lose in the quarterfinals. Semis: France, Brasil, Croatia and Holland. 1994- Argentina and Germany slip from their 1986 and 1990 showings. Badly. England and France are at home watching on TV. Semis: Brasil, Italy, Bulgaria, Sweden. 1990- Brasil extends the period of failure to 24 years. Semis: Germany, Argentina, Italy and England. Despite Brasil's failure, this is the last Cup that can be considered one where the "big" teams lived up to their names. 1986- Defending champion Italy goes out in the round of 16. Brasil and England go out in the quarterfinals. Holland is at home watching on TV. Semis: Argentina, Germany, France, Belgium. 1982- Defending champions Argentina, Brasil and England all go out in the group stages. Semis: Italy, Germany, France, Poland. The bold teams are teams that at that point (see France) had never made a post-Pele final match. Korea and Turkey were simply the Poland '82, France '82-'86, Belgium '86, Sweden '94, Bulgaria '94 and Croatia '98 of this last Cup.
Asides from the arguments posted, I expect Germany 2006 to be amazing because: - There will be hungry and angry teams eager to prove themselves, such as Argentina and Italy. - There will be teams who will reach a critical point in terms of their current generational talent, such as England. - There will be teams who will be pressed to prove that their recent success was no fluke, such as Korea, Greece, and Turkey. - There will be teams who have underachieved and who want to show they can win, such as the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, and Holland. - There will be teams who are not brilliant but always spice up any tournament, such as Denmark and Sweden. - There will be a team whose last hurrah in a while may be upon them and they'll have an opportunity for one last moment of glory... France. - There will be a team upon whose shoulders the pressure is never lifted, even when a championship trophy is lifted above those shoulders... Brazil. - There will be a team whose recent fiascos have scuttled its pride, whose talent is low compared to past generations, and who is known for thriving and winning even under the most difficult of circumstances... Germany.