Now that we know who is going to the World Cup in Brazil and what groups they will be in I expect a whole bunch of predictions from a whole lot of folks, to the pundits on your TV screen, to the guy that stands in front of you every morning in the cafe when your trying to get life saving cup of Joe. Everyone will be an expert and I'm actually looking forward to that. I want to hear the bandwagons and crack pot theories that will accompany the World Cup this time around. People will thrust their favorites and dark horses in your face and you will be wondering how your friend that thought only a few months ago that Cote d'Ivoire was a type of men's cologne is now the guy that knows Honduras' third choice right back. I love it! I myself am going to try to play super analysis and bury myself into a world of player stats and historical clashes between sides and will do what I did a time back. Which is do some team previews and look to pick a winner for this World Cup but before I get trigger happy with predictions there is the matter of facts. They are 32 teams that will compete in Brazil come 2014 for the prestigious World Cup. If my math is correct and it usually isn't there is about 193 countries according to the United Nations at the moment. So…that would leave like 161 nations literally not doing anything football wise when the summer of 2014 rolls around. Not all in that number are bad, some are fairly useful and some really good. Ages ago I compiled a list of countries that I think could have made the World Cup and I'm back at it again. Like last time I'm very disappointed in teams on this thing for one reason or another. I've picked 32 sides to best mirror the World Cup number. Here is the best of the lot that didn't make the cut. New Zealand- It's hard for New Zealand. The way how Oceania's qualification process is set up it almost ensures failure just ask Australia. Having to wait so long to enter the next phase of qualifying is not beneficial and the level of opposition the "Kiwis," face just to enter said phase is so poor it's a wonder how New Zealand keeps it's competitive edge. However, New Zealand knowing the scenario should be able to ready themselves for the test of a mental and physical layoff. It's not like they haven't been through it and they have made World Cups before via the same route. Paraguay- Having seen Paraguay youth teams excel in tournaments it is a bit perplexing to see a nation that always seem to be at World Cups not in this one. CONMEBOL has always been tough and they have managed to get out of there alive but this time around it just hasn't happen. Having a strike force of Roque Santa Cruz, Lucas Barrios and Oscar Cardozo you would think they would have been okay but instead they finished last in CONMEBOL behind a quirky Bolivia. Disgraceful. South Africa- FIFA loves to make a speech about how when they award a World Cup to a nation it is allowing football to grow in that land. Well obviously they forgot to water the plant that is South Africa because having host the last tournament the African nation has done very little. South Africa finished behind Ethiopia in group play in World Cup qualifying, last time I checked being out muscled by one of the minnows of your qualifying zone was not progress. Egypt- Bob Bradley's Egypt absolutely put on the blinders when it came to qualification for the 2014 World Cup. It's been well publicized over the past few years the north African nation has had it's fair share of political turmoil and way of life for the citizenry has been tough but the "Pharaohs," really pushed hard to make it to the summer tournament in South America. Despite forwards Mohamed Aboutriaka and Mohamed Salah finishing as the region's joint top scorers in World Cup qualifiers the might of Ghana was too much for Egypt and the sub-Saharans waltzed by them. Morocco- Adel Taarabt, Mauroane Chamakh, Younes Belhanda, Mounir El Hamdaoui, Omar El Kaddouri…If you let me I could name all their first team regulars and have a pop and their U-21s as well. All that talent could not get them past the magnificent Ivory Coast in group play. It's a shame they could have been nice to watch in Brazil. Burkina Faso- Every year or two an African team seems to just appear out of the blue and really start to wow people. One of my wows has been Burkina Faso. Losing finalist in the 2013 African Cup of Nations, Burkina Faso was gaining real momentum at the tail end of 2012. That wave of good energy took them deep into World Cup qualification in Africa but I don't know if it was inexperience or Algeria's toughness that halted their march to Brazil. Tunisia- Traditionally a leader in African football, Tunisia set about their qualifying campaign in fantastic fashion. The Tunisians topped Group B breezing pass the likes of Sierra Leone and Cape Verde. It all went wrong when they met Cameroon. Long story short Cameroon are in the World Cup and the Tunisians have to contend with watching the tournament back home in Tunis. Senegal- I actually do feel for Senegal. After going through a lull the Senegalese look to be back amongst the big boys in African football. Top heavy upfront with the likes of Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse, Senegal looked very dangerous. That being said so did Cote d'Ivoire. The Ivorians snuffed out the Senegalese Brazilian dream. North Korea- North Korea actually has a pretty decent record when it comes to World Cup qualification. They were in South Africa in 2010 and they have been to prior tournaments. As a country the secretive DPR Korea tend to keep everything under wraps. What wasn't a mystery was how badly they were outclassed by Japan and Uzbekistan in the first stages of Asian qualifying. It always surprises me how well North Korea do but maybe now they are now dropping where I think they should be. Which is a difficult side to play but not hard to beat. Saudi Arabia- What is plaguing Saudia Arabia is the fact that their players are very homogeneous. If your were to look through the Saudis national team in recent years you would see that her players never play outside of the Gulf. It's okay to have homogeneous players but you have to make sure there is a strong domestic league for them to flourish. Despite having a cash laden league the Saudis are not producing the players they once were thus no World Cup place. Uzbekistan- I am very impressed by the Uzbeks. This is a country that just plugs along. May it be regional competition or World Cup births Uzbekistan is always battle ready. My kind words however can not mask the truth. Uzbekistan does not have the quality of Japan, South Korea, Iran and now Australia has come to the party the Uzbeks have been moved down the pecking order. The only thing they can do is look to play the role as spoiler moving ahead. Losing out to Jordan in a World Cup to face Uruguay just shows how far behind they really are. Panama- My grandmother is from Panama so I have a huge soft spot for Central Americans and I was really pulling for them to make it out CONCACAF. As with most things I don't ever get what I want so now I am left here to complain. "The Canal Men," loss out to due to sloppiness. Beating the USA in Panama City in the final game of qualifying, they concede two goals allowing an avenue for an awful Mexico to slip through. The Mexicans faced New Zealand for a spot in Brazil and we all know how that went. I had Panama to beat New Zealand too. Jamaica- The strongest of the West Indian sides, Jamaica really struggled in CONCACAF's Hexagonal. Couldn't score goals or keep them out. My problem is the players Jamaica used. Jamaica really needed to settle on a set strike force in qualifying and generally needed to move the ball better. There was Premier League, MLS and European based players in that side. I don't understand why they really had such a difficult time. Could have easily been in the mix at the end of qualifying. Gabon- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the best players on the planet right now. I believe in him, so much I thought he could have dragged a lowly Gabon across the line and get them to the World Cup. Granted the Gabonese have never really been good at the sport but their massive improvement in recent times really had them posturing to come out of African qualifying. Venezuela- Venezuela as far as I can remember was the team in CONMEBOL that everyone use to beat up on. Teams literally walked into Caracas and said thank you for the three points. Some how Venezuela has become much more sturdier and their FIFA ranking in the top 50 currently suggests that a lot of work was put in. As I said before to qualify out of South America is difficult and Venezuela to date have never made it to a World Cup themselves but I feel the strides they have made and cleaning up their reputation from being the whipping boys of the continent really had them on course for a World Cup birth. Qatar- You know when FIFA picks nations to host World Cups one of their prerequisites should be that the country doesn't suck at the game. Qatar are awful at football. Plain and simple. I don't know how good they will be in 2022 when the World Cup goes there but let's hope they find some talent. Qatar could not even secure a playoff birth so they could have potentially face Uruguay. I heard the Qatari league has a ton of money. They should start investing heavily into their national team set up asap. There you go that is half of teams I think had a case to be in Brazil in 2014. If you notice no European sides were mentioned. That's for the next installment. Some really good teams didn't qualify out of Europe anyone of the teams on my list could have easily been in the running in Brazil.
Despite what anyone might think, in football there is nothing bigger than the World Cup! Regional competitions like the Euros, the Gold Cup and Copa America are all excellent views but the enormity of the World Cup engulfs any atmosphere they can produce. Club competitions admittedly offers a better quality of play especially when one looks at how the Europeans and the South Americans go about it but teams nowadays are bankrolled so heavily any comparison would be a tad bit unjust. The World Cup is about national pride. If you don't think it is a big deal just look at some players faces before kick off when their anthem is being played. Some get tearful while the focus etched on others could rival that of a Swiss clockmaker. To be cliche it really is the world's game. Sure there is a cricket World Cup but only traditional teams in that sport like South Africa and India are welcomed along with a few minor nations who have fledgling programs are allowed to enter. So we are definitely won't be seeing Nicaragua up against Sri Lanka anytime soon on a cricket pitch. In football everyone is welcomed to play unlike my beloved cricket. That being said teams still have to qualify and they are only so many spots up for grabs. That means a raft of countries will not take part and Brazil 2014. This post takes at one of the teams that won't be in sunny Rio de Janeiro come summer of 2014. There is really no easy segue here, well at least for me so, I will just call them by name. Canada! Their failings have not been just recent but it has been a long time since Canadian soccer fans had anything to cheer about. Soccer has been making the rounds in Canada since the 1800s.The nation hass one of the oldest football associations not just CONCACAF but in the Americas. Founded in 1912 the Canadian Soccer Association takes control of both men and women's teams as well as overseeing all levels of the sport in the country. The earliest soccer bodies in the country were the Dominion Football Association which was formed in 1877 and the Western Football Association which came into being in 1880. According to the record books, the latter played an unofficial friendly with the American Football Association in 1885 in New Jersey with the Canadian outfit coming out on top 1-0. Canada's first officially sanctioned match game against Australia on June 7th, 1924 in Brisbane with the "Canucks," suffering a 3-2 loss. On the international scene Canada hasn't exactly set the world ablaze, well at least not in men's play. When it comes down to it, the nation has massively underachieved. Canada either chose not to enter, fail to qualify or withdraw from World Cup play. Case and point, the years between 1930 and 1954 the nation didn't take part in the World Cup. In 1958 Canada failed to make it, four years later the territory withdrew from qualifying in 1962 and in 1966 the federation did not even bother to enter. The years between 1970 to 1982 Canadian efforts to make it to the "big dance," fell flat as World Cup births eluded them for about a decade. The country's chance finally came when she qualified for the World Cup in Mexico in 1986. To this date this has been the nation's only World Cup appearance and while in Mexico the Canadians were dismissed without trouble. Placed in Group C along with Hungary, the Soviet Union and France, Canada finished dead last amassing zero points without scoring a goal. Canada has been waiting along time to redeem themselves on the game's grandest stage and still they continue to wait. From 1990 to 2014 all of Canada's attempts to reach a World Cup has been unsuccessful and now she has to play the waiting game for the next installment and to date that's looking like Russia 2018. Regionally "Les Rogues," like every other side in CONCACAF has been out muscled by continental giants the United States of America and Mexico but that's not to say Canada hasn't had its success in the federation. The nation to date has two Gold Cups the first of which coming in 1985 against Honduras. Their second CONCACAF title came at the expense of tournament invitee Colombia in 2000. A very impressive feat seeing that the 2000 Gold Cup had teams from other FIFA federations like the aforementioned Colombia. Besides the two continental awards Canada's runs in the tournament has been halted by the usual culprits; Mexico, USA, Costa Rica and Honduras. In my eyes Canada has been massively disappointing when it comes to men's soccer. Her women's team is stellar just google the name Christine Sinclair to see what I'm talking about. I understand that Canada relative to her size has a minute population, I get that but what really has me stumped is the nation has the infrastructure to really have a go at it's regional rivals the United States and Mexico. Canada is a winter sport haven. No doubt ice hockey will always be king there but soccer has the power to come a close second. The quality of player that the nation is producing on the men's side of the equation has to be better. No knock against Dwayne De Rosario, Atiba Hutchinson and Julian De Guzman who are all wonderful servants to Canada but they were never world beaters or will they ever be. It all falls onto the youngsters coming true like Russell Teibert, Doneil Henry and Kyle Bekker who look good but I don't expect Teibert to turn into Gareth Bale or Bekker to Xabi Alonso. What I am looking for is for them to morph into Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey like figures who the nation can hang her hat on. Canada has to turn solid players into useful game changers if they are ever to become relevant in CONCACAF again. Having the Vancouver Whitecaps, Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact in America's Major League Soccer will allow Canadian soccer to sneak it's players into a competitive league virtually unnoticed something that could only help their cause. I could sit here all day and rattle of a list of things that Canada should do but I won't because all I really want is a competitive and a strong Canadian soccer team going forward. Their fans deserve it, they are among the most dedicated in the region. Plus I don't want to believe that El Salvador and Uganda are better than Canada. I simply reject that world! Russell Teibert
They are so many cliches about goalkeepers. Some say they are crazy, oddballs and prone to moments of madness but few ever say that the position is easy. Well if you are in the minority good for you and I can't deny the fact that goalkeeping is extremely hard. I take this stance from personal experience and plain old logic. Growing up I wasn't the quickest across the ground so I could be a forward or a fullback. I didn't have the stamina to be a midfield man and the idea of playing center half seemed boring, after all I was a kid only interested in having fun...goals are fun not booting a ball in the air from the back. The only viable option, was for me to be in goal...plus I was only kid in my age group to own a pair of proper goalie mitts so by default or by fate I was chosen to don the "Number. 1," jersey. As for the training, the games and my skills let's just say I had fun despite fetching the ball from behind me most of the time. It was hard. Simple. Which brings me to the logical part, everyone isn't cut out to be a keeper. The mental aspect of it is one thing but the skills one has to acquire just to cover the basics is almost unreal. Also it's a known fact that keepers mature far slowly than outfield players. So while your best friend who plays in midfield is ready to play with the big boys at U-17 level you are stuck with the U-13s at the summer camp. Honestly I have a ton of respect for goalkeepers having been an average one myself and I think they need to be cut a little more slack.
Name: Stephane Ruffier D/O/B: 09/27/1986 Place of Birth: Bayonne, France Position: Goalkeeper Height: 6'2ft National Team: France National Team Debut: France vs Norway (2010) Club Team(s): A.S. Monaco 2005-2011, Aviron Bayonnais F.C 2005-06, A.S. Saint Etienne 2011-present The back drop to Stephane Ruffier's career is as textbook as it gets. Like a number players Ruffier started playing the game at his hometown club suiting up for the local outfit. Aviron Bayonnais began to school the Frenchman from early, at the age of six to be exact. Initially, Ruffier entered the academy as a forward but due to necessity or by fate he was chosen to play in goal due to academy's lack of players in that position. Ruffier's name started to be waved about even as a kid having had stellar performances at Bayonnais' academy even guiding the U-13 side to glory in the Coupe de Pyrenees, a local tournament. His showing in the tourney grabbed the attention of fellow French outfit Montpellier who gave Ruffier a trial albeit an unsuccessful one. The next club to come in for the keeper was Monaco in 2002 where Ruffier signed a youth contract with the side. In the principality, under the tutelage of goalkeeping coaches Jean-Luc Ettori, Andre Amitrano and Andre Biancarelli, Ruffier flourished and soon there after he was promoted to the club's Campionnat de France amateur in the country's fourth division. While there he notched ten appearances in the 2003-04 season and in the following campaign was named the first choice keeper where he made 17 appearances. Monaco was determined to see Ruffier play regularly and so sent him on loan to a familiar Bayonnais in the 2005-06 season. Ruffier's homecoming saw him take hold of the side's No.1 jersey. That season he played all 38 league games for his hometown club but despite his resilience between the sticks Ruffier could not keep relegation at bay, Bayonne finished 17th and were relegated and he returned to Monaco. His outing at Bayonne was enough to merit him his first professional contract and in May 2006, he inked a three year deal with Monaco thus making him the understudy to Flavio Roma in goal for the 2006-07 season. Roma's injury free campaign meant Ruffier didn't see a minute of action that season. However his chance came in the following the year. Three games into the 2007-08 season Roma suffered injury while playing against Metz paving the way to make his top flight debut in the same game. Adding to the occasion was the fact Monaco had won and a Ruffier earned a coveted clean sheet for his side. That same season Ruffier managed 12 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit and the following campaign, then coach Ricardo Gomes named him his "No.1." A successful season ensued as Ruffier managed 11 shutouts in his 36 starts and even helped his team to a semi final birth in the Coupe de France. Now a star performer for Monaco, Ruffier set his sights on glory and in the 2009-10 the custodian amassed 15 clean sheets in 32 Ligue 1 games and his super form trickled over to the Coupe de France where he steered Monaco to the final only to be bested by a very good Paris St. Germain side. The 2010-11 season brought promise former coach Guy Lacombe handed the captain's armband to the Frenchman but Ruffier's elation ended prematurely as he picked a season ending groin injury against Saint Etienne. Ruffier could only watch from the sidelines as the Monte Carlo based club went into free fall and with out him ultimately crashed out of Ligue 1 into the second tier of French football. Ironically following Monaco's retreat into Ligue 2 it was Saint Etienne that offered Ruffier a route back into the first division where he has been to date. At the moment Ruffier is a stalwart at "Les Verts," having taken over from club legend Jeremie Janot. Internationally Ruffier has immense competition from the likes of Hugo Lloris, Cedric Carrasso, Steve Mandana, Mickael Landreau and Sebastien Frey. Ruffier earned his first and only cap so far for his country when he played against Norway in a friendly on August 11th 2010. After France's tumultuous time in the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 where player unrest marred the country's play that subsequently led to "Les Bleus," failure in the tourney. New coach Laurent Blanc shook up the French squad and a benefactor was Ruffier who was apart of Blanc's plans through his reign with the national team. In my opinion Stephane Ruffier is one of the premier goalkeepers in the world. When Jeremie Janot left Saint Etienne after 16 years of excellent service many at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard may have been concerned but Ruffier has laid to rest fears. Ruffier may not be as charismatic as his predecessor, very players are but he his a character and that is very rare nowadays in a team oriented football world. Personality and antics aside the man from Bayonne possesses wonderful tactical awareness to go along with a stiff hand, he isn't a flapper when he comes for crosses he does so with bravery and isn't afraid to pip the ball of attackers feet if they are in range. What I like about this guy is that yes, he hams it up for the camera when he flings himself through the air but he is a tough guy. He gets kicked every which way and is good for a shoulder barge or jump kick from an opponent or two a game. Stephane Ruffier is a battler and turns into the hulk when he concedes...my type of keeper.
Major League Soccer is a league that is an ongoing project. A project that American soccer fans should be very proud of. I have always said it is and maybe always will be very hard for a domestic soccer league in the United States to thrive...I should know I did my college thesis on the very topic. Competition from other sports; your basketball, baseball and ice hockey will vie for America's attention and they more often than not will get it. This is known and it pains me to say will probably never change.The MLS doesn't need to be told what it can't do rather it should be praised for it's effort so far. Led by current MLS commissioner Don Garber, who has made wonderful steps in trying to lasso the attention of the American public. Soccer specific stadia has been popping up all across the nation, European teams make yearly ventures the country, television revenue is looking promising and most importantly an infant academy for player development is starting to shape. Professional sports teams in the United States is fueled by colleges and a draft system and this is where teams grab the bulk of their players. Soccer is no different there either. Unlike other parts of the world where youth academies are pretty much the sole player producers,in the USA that kind of thing just wasn't happening. Major League Soccer is starting to align itself with the rest of the world by creating these club youth academies and some wonderful players are starting to emerge. From all of that one wouldn't actually believe that this post is actually about now New England Revolution starlet Diego Fagundez but I try to educate as well as entertain. Fagundez is a talent that came into the MLS via New England Revolution's youth system. Born in Uruguay the forward came to the United States as a child. The son of a former professional soccer player, Fagundez took advantage of the grassroots soccer programs that Massachusetts had to offer having been on the books at FC United and FC Greater Boston Bolts, teams that prepped the player for the sterner MLS. The Revolution's home-grown player if he continues to do well may have a heavy decision on his hands in the future. Fagundez has represented his native Uruguay at the U-20 level but having American citizenship also allows him play for the CONCACAF side if he may chose to do so and let's be honest has solid as the United States Men's National Team is right now as I speak every soldier is a plus for "Uncle Sam's Army," Fagundez is a lad I have already earmarked as a very viable option for America...again that's if he wants to play for them. Even at the early stage at this career there is some magic moments on the highlight reel just with Diego Fagundez's name on it. A lot of young players are overhyped and everybody hopes they find a prodigy and I have to admit I do it too because of the promise youthful prospects hold. The player has the same stigma attached but what makes the Uruguayan poacher special to me is that he isn't a guy snatched up by the league from another talent pool , he is a kid thought how to play soccer not football, making him savvy to the ways of the how the game is played in this country. The "home-grown," tag as I said before is a new working concept. Sure young players have been attached to clubs for a while now but not many have actually infiltrated their first teams as yet. On a personal level I think Fagundez is just nifty. A very quick player and never wastes energy and he makes smart plays constantly and I stress "constantly." I don't know if he will be a poster boy for Major League Soccer but I think definitely he will be an asset to the league one day...providing he stays. Diego Fagundez
The 90s were, well for me at least a pretty good deal. I may have been a fairly young kid back then but I knew when something was good. Many of my fondest memories were forged in that time and everything seem pretty sweet. Rap was amazing, the Super Nintendo was brightening lives and my West Indies cricket team weren't awful...well they were pretty bad but they were better than what they are now. All and all it was just a merry and care free period of my life. The Generation 90 series showcases young players of today and I have to admit is one of my more favorite pieces simply because this is my generation. It's one thing for me to talk about older players like Pirlo and Zidane and going either further back the likes of Socrates and I do like my seasoned pros but these are my grandfathers footballers, their not mine. The admiration is still there but it's something about seeing a guy who is your age playing the game and sometimes I tell myself if I had just stuck with game as a player and kept my vices at bay maybe I could be that 24-year old gracing fine football pitches the world over. All I can do is sit here and write about these young men and women and do them justice or try to. With that here is the second edition of Generation 90. Squad (Goalkeepers) Bernd Leno (GER), Jack Butland (ENG), Abdul Hamid (USA) (Defenders) Kyle Walker (ENG), Raphael Varane (FRA), Matija Nastasic (SRB), David Alaba (AUT), Steven Caulker (ENG), Ricardo Rodriguez (SUI), Rafael Da Silva (BRA) (Midfielders) Paul Pogba (FRA), Granit Xhaka (SUI), Isco (ESP), Iker Munain (ESP), Viktor Fischer (DEN), Lucas Moura (BRA), Thomas Ince (ENG), Oscar (BRA) (Forwards) Christian Benteke (BEL), Stephan El Shaarawy (ITA), Teemu Pukki (FIN), Nelson Oliveira (POR) Formation 4-3-3 They are some very potent wingers and attacking midfielders in this current crop of youngsters so I have decided to pick a formation to show up their talents. The current trend in football is to play with the solo striker so I will bend to modern day ways. Starting XI Goalkeeper- Bernd Leno (GER) Right Back- Kyle Walker (ENG) Center Back- Raphael Varane (FRA) Center Back- Matija Nastasic (SRB) Left Back- David Alaba (AUT) Central Midfielder- Paul Pogba (FRA) Central Midfielder- Granit Xhaka (SUI) Central Attacking Midfielder- Isco (ESP) Right Winger- Iker Munain (ESP) (captain) Striker- Christian Benteke (BEL) Left Winger- Viktor Fischer (DEN) WHY? Bernd Leno- With the great and the good of the football world declaring Germany as the next superpower in the sport due to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund killing everyone of late, I figure I might as well jump on the bandwagon as well and kneel before the Germans. Bernd Leno I'm hoping will have a few more fans after this little article. This post won't be the reason people will come to love the German shot stopper but rather his stellar performances between the pipes. If Bayer Leverkusen happen to reach the Champions League in the 2012-2013 season Mr. Leno would have played an integral part. Leno has played a fair bit games already at senior level, before tending net for Bayer he was a regular at Vfb Stuttgart where he was very impressive. Let's be real here, Germany are not short on good goalkeepers the likes of Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and even at his age Roman Weidenfeller still looks the part so Leno's national team prospects do not look too healthy. What I like about him is that he is very brave. He stops shots with his legs, chest, shoulders and face and if he isn't stopping shots he is screaming and everybody knows you can't be a good goalie if your not screaming.
Kyle Walker- Though England may not have much quality options at the left fullback position with Ashley Cole entering the twilight of his career and Leighton Baines starting to peak, the same can not be said about the opposite flank. With Glen Johnson, Micah Richards and auxiliary options like Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all around means England has no need to worry. No denying that Johnson is the premier option for the "Three Lions," at right back and most likely it his position until he retires or if serious injury occurs. Jones and Smalling are capable but they aren't honest fullbacks. So the only contenders to challenge Johnson are Richards and Kyle Walker. England's PFA Young Player of the Year in 2012 Walker is a modern day fullback. He has good movement going forward, tracks back well and has tremendous powers of recovery. The England right back has good pace, decent crossing and a belts the ball when he takes shot. What impresses me about him is tackling and his temperament. Walker isn't a dirty player and when he goes in for the tackle it is usually a clean. Overall, a very very solid fullback with excellent ball skills.
Raphael Varane- I like to think I follow football pretty closely but this guy came out of nowhere and even evaded me. Very few outside of France knew who Raphael Varane was. Jose Mourinho and the Real Madrid just waltzed up to the French club Lens inquired about him, told Zidane to take a look and Varane became a "Meringue." Let's just look at some facts here, Varane in the bulk of his debut season in the white of Real Madrid has kept out the Portuguese duo of Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho out of the starting XI. Ricardo Carvalho isn't a young buck anymore but I'm sure he can still cut it. As for Pepe, a lot of people may get on his back and bash him but on a good Pepe can be very effective. Varane under the Mourinho era at Real has made both basically null and void. The young Frenchman knows what he is doing. I have never seen Sergio Ramos babying him and holding his hand through the course of games. Madrid have a good player in their ranks but my fear is the revolving door that is Real Madrid may chew him up.
Matija Nastasic- Serbia has a lot of very very very good defenders. Let's call names shall we: Nemanja Vidic, Branislav Ivanovic, Neven Subotic, Aleksandar Kolarov, Slobodan Rajkovic and Anotnio Rukavina. So they aren't short on talent but another name we can sneak into to that stellar list is Matija Nasatic. When Roberto Manicini signed Stefan Savic the young Montenegrin center half he brought in a player who looked liked he was still learning the game. A ball of nerves was Savic. Sketchy back passes and the ones that were heading in the other way weren't that great either. So when the Italian signed Matija Nastasic for the 2012-13 EPL campaign I was like here is another goofball eastern European kid who dallies on the ball in the back. As with most things I was proven wrong. Nastasic by popular consensus seems to be a very "cool," customer. I have heard it from fans of Man. City, pundits, commentators and players, even a Manchester United fan I know once called him a "boss." It is clear that the Serbian has a fairly big fan club but it really is well deserved. I tend to keep a close eye on City games and he is what they say and more. Yes, he is cool with his decision making but I think he is a tough guy too and you can't bully him and did I mention he has kept England international Joleon Lescott on the bench of late?
David Alaba- Hands down the best Austrian player of this generation. David Alaba will look to prop up a flagging Austria over the next few years. Remember you heard it here first. I think Alaba is and probably will go down the path that Gareth Bale is heading down right now. Bale started his career as a left back same as the Austrian, over time the Welshman advanced up the park. Alaba learned his craft alongside Philipp Lahm, so he knows what a proper full back looks like but the Austrian does have extremely useful attacking traits. He has a wonderful shot, great control and an impressive long ball all sitting on a goal scoring touch. Alaba can go far and being the main for his country will only make him mature even faster.
Paul Pogba- Manchester United let this guy just walk away and now Juventus is benefitting. Paul Pogba is one of the most physically impressive players to running up and down a pitch nowadays. Nice and tall so he wins balls in the air and he is a long player as well. His long legs eats up the pitch. His game is robust, he is not afraid of a tackle or to give one. Short passes, long passes, crosses, dinks and chips Monsieur Pogba has it all. Accompanying all of this is his pile-driving long shots. With the physical comes the mental and the young Frenchman excels at that as well. He reads the game well from his often deep lying position. Being a former captain for France at youth level just shows that he has qualities of leadership and maturity, traits that will only lend to his development.
Granit Xhaka- I absolutely love his first name...Granit like the rock, it might be missing an "e," but it is a fantastic name either way. I fancy myself as an expert on unique names having one of my own. Names aside Granit Xhaka it has to be said is a dynamo of a player. Exciting to watch and full of running. The Swiss is seen as a luxury player and blessed with trickery and a golden touch. Every time I've seen him play whether it may be for his national side or club he is always doing something. I don't know what they are doing over there in Switzerland but Xhaka and likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Nassim Ben Khalifa are reaping rewards form it. There is too much good to say about Xhaka and this paragraph is already slightly lengthy.
Isco- Francisco Roman Alarcon Suarez or Isco to the rest of us is a virtuouso Spanish midfielder running things at the moment for La Liga outfit Malaga. A task that I don't think he will be doing for too long because the bigger sides of the world are lining up for him as they should. Unless Malaga's finances sort themselves out immediately he will go! I personally tend to throw words like fantastic, wonderful and awesome around but Isco just is. My favorite player of all time is Juan Carlos Valeron because in his day his he simply had an aura about him and Isco has that. The now Malaga man is so refreshing to see in a game that seems to be all about passing and team play, he brings back individualism to the sport. He isn't selfish, Isco is a assist shark but he is always willing to take on a defender with controlled dribbling... his balance is phenomenal, simply the guy is divine.
Iker Munain- Spain does not do wingers. Sure, they have had their wingers, the likes Albert Luque and the evergreen Joaquin come to mind but they haven't given the world pristine sidemen like their Iberian cousins the Portuguese, who have been cranking out wide men since Luis Figo. Jesus Navas heads up the new generation of Spanish flankers followed by Juan Bernat and this guy, Iker Munain. The man from Pamplona is one of the most graceful things running at the moment in football. He is so elegant I really mean that I don't know if it is his slight frame and gait but he looks like moves on air. Munain who plies his trade with Athletic Bilbao at the moment shared a great relationship with target man Fernando Llorente and had a good chunk of success with the club but so often is with the case with Spanish clubs not named Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia they hit a snag and at this time they might be in a bit of lull. Munain if he stays will fighting on an uneven battlefield because teams like Bilbao simply don't have the money to compete with the "big two." The local youth systems can only produce so much and when they find a gem the youngsters are ferried away and I won't be surprise if Iker is on a ferry himself very soon.
Christian Benteke- First of all I love the picture below and it sums up what the player is all about. So many times I've Christian Benteke just celebrating a goal. In his first season in the Premier League he has done more than some players who have spent their whole careers in England. Signed for Aston Villa for the 2012-13 campaign and already there is talk of bigger clubs coming in for him. Personally I like him at Villa. The Birmingham side is a much larger club people give them credit for. His movement is good, he is a strong player and has a very nice touch and most importantly he scores a lot of goals and in a variety of different ways. He never scores the same goal and is always on the prowl I like that and he got me a lot of points in my Fantasy Football League that's always a plus.
Viktor Fischer- A lot of attention is focused on Denmark's Christian Eriksen and it is well deserved but there is another young Dane looking just as excellent. Viktor Fischer is an in your face winger who absolutely blitzes down sidelines with his hare like pace. Fischer plays alongside Eriksen at the moment at Ajax Amsterdam and his doing well for the Dutch club who will no doubt if he stays a little longer instill some other assets to his game but already he is a handy player. He has a nice goal tally as well, that always a winger look more valuable.
Substitutes (GK) Jack Butland- Carrying on with the England's great goalkeeping tradition, Jack Butland is touted to be one of the greats. Butland has always impressed for England's youth sides and his spell in the Championship was littered with fine moments. I'm looking forward to the rivalry he and Joe Hart will share for the "The Three Lions," No.1 jersey in the future. (GK) Abdul Hamid- For those who don't watch Major league Soccer I won't grudge for not knowing who Bill Hamid is but what I will say to you is to just take some time out to check the young man's game. Bill as he is known seems like he has been in the league forever, he is staple and consistent. Above all Hamid has really great reflexes and I always have him down for a sick save or two per game. Tim Howard and Brad Guzan are headed of him in the national team but he isn't a bad replacement if the injury bug hits. (CB) Steven Caulker- I'm old fashion. I make no qualms about that so when Steven Caulker hit the scene I was automatically infatuated. I like my center halves tall, strong and mean and Caulker is certainly all that. The Englishman first came to my attention while he was on loan at Swansea City and he looked genuinely good. There a lot of giant defenders out there but I just like Caulker's aggressiveness. (LB) Ricardo Rodriguez- Switzerland has a bunch of young talents coming through in almost every position, up top there is the likes of Nassim Ben Khalifa and Admir Memhedi, in midfield sees Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri and Yann Sommer is a nice goalkeeper. The Swiss defense though is starting to get on in years so it's good thing Ricardo Rodriguez has showed up when he did. The left back is very mobile and when his team(s) are dominating the game he practically lives in the opposition's half. (RB) Rafael da Silva- This probably going to be the shortest explanation ever. Everybody knows Rafael, he plays for Brazil and Manchester United. He's quick, a good defender, has nice leap for a short guy and aggressive. He's a good fullback but you already knew that. (CAM) Lucas Moura- I have to come clean haven't seen much of Lucas. Where I live at we don't get much Campeonato Brasiliero and get very few Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana on the tele. International matches with Brazil are also a rare treat for me. So my Lucas experiences are limited to glitzy YouTube clips and highlights. Now he is with Paris Saint Germain so I do get my fix of him at least once a week and I tell you he is inspiring. I constantly heard the hype about him and Neymar but never bought into it but Lucas quickly changed my mind I just love how he glides across the pitch and the typical Brazilian trickery. (LW/RW/CAM) Thomas Ince- England with another swift winger. SWP, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Raheem Sterling and now there is Tom Ince. The son of English hero Paul Ince. Tom who adorably plays under his father at the moment at Blackpool certainly has an intriguing future ahead of him. The names on that list are very impressive and there are ton of options for England so it is up to Ince to make a name for himself. For some reason I think he would make a good Manchester United player. (CAM) Oscar- Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior was one of the first of this batch of Brazilian stars to tackle Europe. I won't say Oscar has really been amazing but given his limited role at Chelsea so far but what he has done is be effective. What we do know about the little Brazilian is that he can score cool and vital goals and there is no doubt if he wasn't at Chelsea he would be an automatic starter in most teams. (ST) Stephan El Shaarawy- It's amazing how a need can make a hero out of someone. El Shaarawy definitely filled the void left my departed Milanese. You don't replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic but El Shaarawy has certainly done the best he can to make AC Milan fans forget about the Swede. Giampaolo Pazzini hasn't really done the job, Bojan Krkic is on loan at the moment and Mario Balotelli is great but he can greatly cost you so El Shaarawy needs to be the man now, the responsible one and he can be, he has already proven it. (ST) Teemu Pukki- The Fins in recent times have always had a striker they can depend on Mikael Forssell, Jonatan Johansson and Jari Litmanen were old favorites. Now it is the turn of Teemu Pukki. Learning form the Klaus Jan Huntelaar at Schalke Pukki has the ability to become a top player. Rifle of a shot and quick, the Fin will be hot property in the future. Believe me. (ST) Nelson Oliveira- What the Portuguese should have done is build a time machine to take a fighting fit Nelson Oliveira to the exact point when Pedro Pauleta retired so Portugal wouldn't have to suffer through the lack of quality strikers. Hugo Almeida, Nuno Gomes and Helder Postiga really over the years contributed little to the Portuguese national team. Before Oliveira hit the scene Portugal have been lobbing Cristiano Ronaldo up top into the center forward position, mind you he can do it but Ronnie as I like to call him is a winger first, striker second. Thank goodness Oliveira a genuine goal scorer has arrived I was getting tired of watching Hugo Almeida try. Let's hope these guys make it and make me look like I actually know what I'm talking about.
In a world of globalization the idea of a country some believe is starting to wear thin. They argue that the shape the world is taking and the ever movement of man from one place to another will make the notion of a nation obsolete. Technology and man's mobility is starting to smudge established borders on maps. For people like soldiers who are either defending or carrying their country's interests into foreign lands, the label of what a nation is, is extremely clear. To them it is a place where all their values have been established and a place where they love. One of the greatest things anyone can ever do is serve their country in what ever that maybe. The Olympics and other world tournaments will continue to push the idea of nations and national pride and in no other sport to you see such a love for country than in football. To be cliche', football is the global game and it is fair to say most of the 195 odd countries of the world play the game. At the top there is the very best, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Holland, England and France then there is the very good like the Uruguays, the Ivory Coasts and the Belgiums of the world. In contrast to the great and the good there is the awful and San Marino and Anguilla certainly fit that bill. Somewhere in between there are nations like Iceland who trying to challenge the elite and distance themselves from the nobodies. Iceland may literally sit at the top of the world but when it comes to moving a football between the white lines the European nation could do with wave good fortune. The kind of fortune that has followed their more illustrious Scandinavian neighbors over the years. Norway, Denmark, Sweden and even Finland have had wonderful moments on the international scene while Iceland have only shown sporadic periods of genius. At the moment Iceland sits snuggly between the African nations of Togo and Morocco in 73rd. If your down with FIFA rankings that's great but I can't believe currently that Haiti and Libya are better than Iceland, so I have to call shenanigans of the way FIFA determines these positions. That being said Iceland are where they are and for a European nation that can't be too pleasing and if being ranked 73rd in the world doesn't seem to flattering, the Nordic nation's 131st position in April of 2012 must have been heartbreaking for the Icelandic. This was the lowest FIFA ranking Iceland ever held, a far cry from their loftiest place on the totem pole in 1994 when they were the 37th best team in the world. Iceland's football history began in 1930, with a match albeit unofficial with it's lowly neighbor the Faroe Islands with the Icelanders coming out 1-0 winners. Iceland's first official game according to FIFA was against Denmark in 1946 with the Danes walking away with a 3-0 win in Reykjavik. I wish I could sit here and tell adventures about the Iceland's grand encounters in the Euros and World Cups of old but unfortunately the country hasn't even gotten near to either one of the major tournaments. Time and time again Iceland has failed to make it to the big dance but this time around the Icelandic are going well . Iceland are in Group E of UEFA qualifying zone for the 2014 World Cup that is going to be held in Brazil. Surprisingly as I write they sit second just behind the young lads of Switzerland and are holding off the likes of Albania, Cyprus, Slovenia and their Scandinavian rival Norway. Hopefully Iceland can hold on and actually make it to the World Cup as difficult as it may sound but with some luck they can make it and shouldn't be written off and do have some weapons that they can call on. For nation that hasn't really made a mark on the international stage, Iceland has produce some very handy players. Eidur Gudjohnnsen is one of the greatest forward the world will ever see and even at the tail end of his career he offers the Icelanders much needed quality. Not as good as Gudjohnsen but forever steady are the old guard like Heidar Helguson, Hermann Hreidarsson and Gretar Rafn Steinsson have all served Iceland extremely well and were mainstays in England once upon a time. As they fade the burden of Iceland now rests on the playmaking Gylfi Sigurdsson who is clearly one of the brightest talents in all of Europe. Backing up Mr. Sigurdsson is the midfield trio of Aron Gunnarsson, Eggert Jonsson and Johann Gudmundsson while Dutch based Alfred Finnbogason and Kolbeinn Sigporsson will look to scare opposition goalkeepers up top. With the names mentioned here is no doubt that Iceland can give the world a player or two but can they produce a cluster of players to give it a go on the international stage? I don't know and they do get around to producing a virtuoso, the player seems to come around every leap or decade. The generational gap between Gylfi Sigurdsson and Eidur Gudjohnsen is so great that even having them in the same team doesn't help the country. There is no segue from the former to the latter and it hurts Iceland. The country may only have just over quarter of a million but there is talent and all they have to do is bide their time and grow a forest of fine players so they can at least match their Nordic neighbours. Gylfi Sigurdsson
Now that we know who is going to the World Cup in Brazil and what groups they will be in I expect a
