World Cup 2010

By: Lyn Dowling

Get those televisions checked out. Make sure your favorite pub has enough seats to accommodate you and your friends. Throw that sometimes-scratchy, always hot nylon shirt with the national crest in one more bath of fabric softener before you put it on. Get out the scarves and rosettes.

Our time, the quadrennial summer celebration of that which surpasses all boundaries, yet celebrates the joy of nationhood like none other, is upon us.

World Cup 2010 is going to be unlike any other because it will be played in South Africa, a first for that continent, that has produced so many fine players, and already, newspapers in football-mad nations everywhere have started beating the drum, or thumping the tub, depending on your perspective, about how well their teams will do and why. At the moment, what we really know is that the 32 teams that have qualified include the usual suspects (Spain, Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina) as well as the seldom-mentioned (New Zealand, North Korea, Slovenia, Paraguay).

We also know that:

-- Adidas’ “Jabulani” ball is a matter of much controversy because it is said to move in strange ways while in the air, making life miserable for goalkeepers and field players alike. Striker Luis Fabiano of Brazil called it “weird” and England keeper David James described it as “horrible,” not surprising, as the most complaints have come from keepers. They include the likes of Iker Casillas (Spain) and Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), so you’ve got to take it at least a little seriously. If you want to buy Johnny or Susie a Jabulani, you’ll have to take that seriously too, as retailers are selling the things for about $120 to $150 . . . at the moment.

-- Lots of familiar faces will be missing from the festivities. Farewell, O toothy one: Ronaldinho was not selected to play for Brazil. Fabio Grosso, Italy’s national hero in 2006, will stay behind. South Africa’s all-time leading scorer, Benni McCarthy, was dropped by the home team. Petr Cech of the Czech Republic will need to content himself with the television. The list goes on and on, and includes some aging veterans who would have made their national sides had they been healthy: Michael Ballack and Christian Traetsch of Germany, England’s John Terry, Michael Essien of Ghana and then some. So it’s going to be a tournament of transitions, and we’ll see how that plays out for Sam’s Army.

-- The altitude is going to play a role, real or otherwise. Consider that back in 2007 FIFA ruled that international matches no longer could be played in altitudes above 2,500 meters, “in the interests of player health.” Now, the main venue of the upcoming matches, Soccer City, in Johannesburg, is located at only (Hah!) about 1,701 meters, but the medical study commissioned by FIFA before its ruling stated that above 500 meters, players are subject to increased heart rates, breathlessness and reduced stamina, and that it gets worse the higher you go. You know what the reaction of teams with, er, more veteran players is going to be after they get a whiff of that.

-- Diego Maradona, now the manager of Argentina, will say or do something outrageous.

He’s already promised to make a nude run through Buenos Aires if the national team wins, but God only knows what he’ll say and do in advance of that. But then, God already has proven that He has a sense of humor, having lent His hand to the recovering drug addict and Chavez/Castro pal for that ridiculous goal back in 1986.

The answers to these and other riddles, we shall discover soon. We’ll attempt to go over some of it in this space as often as coverage needs to happen.

We’ll also be at the England-USA match at 1 p.m. June 12 with the monumentally knowledgeable people from Titusville Soccer Club. The party’s at the Shamrock & Thistle Pub, 2035 Highway 50, Titusville. Kickoff is it 2:30 p.m.

See you there.

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