La Copa De La Vida

Indeed...the cup of life it is and it is overflowing with joy and madness...the last fortnight has seen the frenzy reaching a feverish pitch...The fans on a mad rush to get the jersies of their favorite teams and also queuing up at the nearest saloon to get those weirdo haircuts. The streets are wearing a festive atmosphere. The World cup is 4 days old today. And my friends were wondering why still no article on the world cup in my blog. So, friends here is my answer to you. For me,The 2006 FIFA world cup officially starts only today. Because today the samba warriors gonna set their foot on the German turf, ready for another record breaking conquest. The Brazil team brings it with all the wild beauty of attacking football. Which other team could boast a striking force consisting of Ronaldo, Adriano with Ronaldinho and Kaka as the midfield generals and old warhorses Roberto Carlos and Cafu at the back. Indeed, an embarassment of riches.

The world cup this far has produced some amazing moments. The inaugural function saw an unprecedented get together of former champions. It was really a great experience to watch all those great men together in a single stage. And the sexy model Claudia Schiffer did make Pele squint his eyes and look at her, when they carried the cup together to the stage. But i would've liked to see Maradona along with Pele, though Pele would prefer Schiffer. Also, the German President's speech in Germany was as comprehensible to me as an economics class. He should have delivered his speech in English, reflecting the true nature of the global game. The 1st match itself created a record for the most number of goals in a world cup opening match. Costa Rica did give host Germany some anxious moments before surrendering. The goal by Germany's Frings was a gem. England didn't leave up to the hype in its first match as it scrapped through with an own goal, though it was from a brilliant free kick from Beckham. Another great moment of this world cup was when newbies Trinidad and Tobago secured a draw against Sweden, after being reduced to 10 men. Argentina won emphatically by the brilliance of its midfield general Requilme, who had a hand[sorry, leg] in both goals. Portugal won against its former colony Angola, with the help of Pauleta's goal. Australia made an amazing comeback against Japan, after being down one goal till the 83rd minute. Japan's goal was a controversial one with the aussie goalkeeper being obstructed and pulled down by Japanese players. But the Aussie triple strike in the last 10 minutes really left Japan shell shocked. As the commentator was saying, Lady luck left Japan after giving a kiss on both its cheek in the 1st half. I think Lady luck liked the Aussie lips more than the Japanese cheeks. France got a drab draw with Switzerland. I wonderr what happens to Theirry Henry in the big matches. He wasted countless chances today also. He doesn't display that spirit with which he plays for his club when he plays for his country. Does really money matter there, Mr.Henry?

A notable thing about the matches was that the players who performed brilliantly were mostly english premier league stars. From Costa Rica's Paulo Wanchope to Australia's Cahill and Holland's Robben, the premier league stars have distinguished themselves. But, wait for the Spanish premiera liga stars, because the biggest of 'em are in Brazil-Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos...do u need more....Brazil are now the overwhelming favorites of the media, bookies and the public. Even the opposing teams have made them the favorites. The Brazil players are saying that its a clever ploy by these teams because they could play without pressure. But the media who made them the favorites are saying that favorites never win the cup. What an absolute contradiction...Am sure the yellow army is gonna prove all these jugheads wrong. Also, Ronaldo's weight is a bigger news for the media than the world cup itself. Why do they find fault with such a genius, who has proved his worth again and again...In 2002, the same thing happened and we all saw what happened once the world cup started....So, lets wait and seeeee....for Ronaldo, Little Ronaldo[Ronaldinho] and company to rock the world cup 2006....hopefully i could write more about them on july 9th...when they become HEXACAMPIOSSSSS

With the World cup reigning the public conscience everywhere, all other sports have taken a backseat. The French Open saw emperor Federer being humbled again on clay by the King of clay Nadal. Now I have to wait one more year to see Federer winning the grand slam. In F1, my favorite Schumi was again bettered by the young Alonso...really brilliant driving,dude...The sport which was relegated to nothingness was cricket. The crowd for the 2nd test tells the whole story. Still, Sehwag's swashbuckling innings was really a treat to watch. Lara was seen jumping up and down with joy after Trinidad and Tobago secured the draw against Sweden. And in the 1st innings, he got out soon. Maybe, he wanted to watch the world cup badly. Atleast, that is better than playing in front of an empty stadium.

The world cup song of 2006 ''Time of our lives'' is a disappointment. Toni Braxton and Il Divo belts out what can be called an opera song at best. I wonder, in whose head the idea for such a song came from. Also the album 'Voices from the world cup' is a compilation of love songs. Whoever has compiled this list has carefully selected the love songs of the artists featured in the album. So we have Ricky Martin's 'private emotions' instead of 'the cup of life' and Savage garden's 'truly madly deeply' instead of their other energetic numbers. The only saving grace is the anthem 'celebrate the day', which is getting good airplay in all the channels.
OK...Me gonna watch the match noww....15 minutes more 4 the lionssss to start roaringg....Until then.....its VIVAAA BRAZILLLLLL....oh..wait...lemme play tht Venga Boys song once moreee Brazilllllll....lalallaallaaaaaaaaaaaaaa brazillllllllllllll
with love , Your crusader Praveen