Soccer Madness in Germany
*This post comes from Austinist Special World Cup Correspondent Ben Gardner, Co-Host of KOOP’s SoccerMad, who is in Germany for this year’s Cup.*
Three weeks in to the tournament and there are many storylines. The favorites are succeeding, while the Asian and African countries were sent packing, not to mention North America, which saw three of its four representatives finish bottom of their groups. From these three continents, only Mexico and Ghana made the cut, both of whom lost their next match and are now watching the tournament from home.
As we begin the quarterfinal stage on Friday, world cup records for yellow and red cards have already been set. This is disappointing, but not so surprising. Soccer's governing body, FIFA, has tried to cut down on dirty and dangerous play by asking referees to take a hard line on fouls. The decision has backfired. It has also led to increased diving from the players. If we had a euro for every time a player went rolling around screaming, only to get up a minute later, we'd have enough to buy pastries and beer for all the Aussie fans (video clip of fans after Japan match) who can't believe that Fabio Grosso's dive has ended their world cup dreams. He obviously did some serious flop-training (see clip).
Just in time, Brazil and Germany have decided to play the most brilliant soccer of the tournament. The host nation tore apart Sweden, playing smart, attacking soccer. They will have their hands full on Friday morning in what promises to be a world cup classic against Argentina. Brazil has looked incredible in their last two games, dismantling Japan and then coasting by Ghana. Ronaldo has scored three goals in those two games and is now the World Cup's all-time leading scorer. On Saturday Brazil will face their toughest task yet, as they face a confident French team that is coming off their best performance in years. France will be the sentimental favorites, as each game might be the last for their legendary captain, Zinedine Zidane.
Only seven nations have ever won the world cup. Six of them are in the quarterfinals. Portugal and Ukraine represent the last hope for a new champion. Ukraine have slid by, and seem unlikely to progress any further, as this may be Portugal's time. They survived a wild match with Holland and next face an England team that has yet to impress. Their Brazilian coach, Luis Felipe Scolari, led Brazil to the title in 2002 and seems to know what strings to pull. These two could meet in the semifinals. It would be incredible.
*Programming Note: Soccer Mad moves to Mondays on KOOP.*
If you love soccer, or would like to learn more about it, check out Ben Gardner and Chris Gaffney on Soccer Mad, every Monday at 2:30 pm on 91.7 fm KOOP or online.
