The Day After: July 14, 2014 – A Sad Day In Football

 

It’s not sad in the sense that Germany took home the honours as World Champions (which they fully deserved). Sad in the fact that we all woke up this morning knowing that the FIFA 2014 World Cup is over. We had the same feeling 4 years ago when we couldn’t hear Vuvuzelas.

So, rather than lay in bed and mourn the end of the best World Cup we have seen since France ’98, let’s look back at some of our favourite moments.

In no particular order:

1. James Rodriguez.  What a standout player this young boy is. He is only 22 years old and will, without a doubt, carry a big price tag if Real want to bring him to the Bernabeau from Monaco.  James was the Golden Boot with 6 goals (more than CR7 and Wayne Rooney’s WC tally, combined!) and was a huge factor in every match they played. And who can forget that goal against Uruguay in the round of 16.  Pure quality.

 

2. Speaking of Uruguay, the twitterverse can’t thank Luis Suarez enough with giving bloggers, writers, and the general public alike the material they needed when he took a chunk out of Cheillini’s shoulder.  What was this boy thinking….again??

3. Goals! Goals! Goals!  This World Cup saw a record tying amount of balls hit the back of the net. There were some beauties in there too.  Van Persie started a new craze called Perseing with his flying header against Spain.

 

There was Cahill’s volley, David Luiz’ sizzler against Colombia, James Rodriguez’s brace against Uruguay,  Messi against Iran and Messi again against Bosnia. And of course, Miroslav Klose’s 2 goals to make him the Top Scorer with 16 celebrations.

4. Belgium v Tim Howard.  In one of the greatest games of the World Cup this year, Tim Howard of the USA stopped almost everything he saw as he set a World Cup record for saves in a match.  Eventually Belgium won in extra time, but this match will go down as a World Cup classic.

5. Germany 7.  Brazil 1.  The shock of the tournament.  The streets of Belo Horazinte were flooded with tears in the semi-finals as Brzil were steam rolled on their home turf.  There were plenty of images (and jokes) that spread around the glob from this game, but one that summed up the game the most was that of the old Brazilian man hugging his trophy knowing that he won’t get to see his beloved Brazil team win the World Cup on home soil.

So long World Cup.  It was fun while it lasted.  Only 1426 days till Russia 2018.  But don’t fret, only 33 days till the Premier League starts again!!

 

 

And Then There Were Eight

Raise your hands if you had Costa Rica in your last eight of your World Cup office pool!  That’s what we thought.

It’s been a fantastic World Cup so far. The round of 16 really showed us that the top teams moved on, with 5 out of 8 matches going to extra time, two matches making it to the penalty round, and 7 games seeing the first goal late in the second half. Also, to be noted is that the group leaders have moved on. The quarter-final matches look very promising!

4 Latin Teams and 4 European make the final 8, and Football Fans around the world can’t wait to see the showdown they will put for us.  All 8 deserve to be here, and we are very grateful for the performances given by Algeria, Switzerland, Nigeria, Chile and even USA.

France v Germany is the only match that has two traditional football powers squaring off.  Boss Deschamps dealt with controversies before the tourney (with Nasri’s GF drama and Ribery’s injury causing tension between French and Bayern doctors), taking the pressure off his team. He has proven that he did bring his best possible team, with his players at their best (yes, we are talking about Benzema!). This might be The Year Of The Rooster. Germany, in the other hand, brings their possession style tactics with talented players. But like Bayern, Barcelona and Spain, they are proving that just flirting won’t take you past 2nd base. The other matches show us what golden generations can do for football when given their opportunities.

The young Colombians, who have been the best looking team this tournament, look to end Brazil’s dream of lifting the World Cup on home soil.  (And they may just pull another Maracanazo!). With their poster boy James Rodriguez leading the way, Colombia is dancing around the tournament. thanks to the lyrics Jose Pekerman is writing for them.

Having Jose Cuadrado and the leadership of Captain Yepes at back is the perfect mix of an overall happy squad. Can you imagine how many goals they would had scored if Falcao made it on time?

Meanwhile, Brazil is dealing with the pressure of being the host, poor performance by some of their top players, and the criticism from the media. You could see that the entire world stopped for 20 minutes during the penalty rounds. If it wasn’t for Julio Cesar, Brazil’s dream of winning their Sexta would have been turned into a nightmare, Freddy Kruger style.

 

The Dutch will take on the Cinderallas of the summer and their fairy God-Goalie – Costa Rica and Keylor Navas. Robben and Robin have been superb for Holland. With Wesley Sneijder changing his position, Louis Van Gaal has found the perfect balance with his 5-3-2 approach. Their fitness level is making this system work very well. We will see if Brazil’s weather takes a toll on the effort the Flying Dutch are putting into every game. Because there is one thing for sure: They will have to fight very hard to beat one of the best goalies, and defenses of the tournament: Keylor Navas. The Central Americans have made history. An entire region has witnessed the Latin version of Tico-Taka, and they have CONCACAFed 3 World Champions and 1 European Champion during the process.

 In the other match we see Argentina with Messi, Higuain and an Angel (Di Maria) taking on another generation of exciting youngsters of Red Devils from Belgium. Alejandro Sabella will have to find the right system for Messi to be more comfortable to do what he does best: Find the spaces from the right, drive towards the middle and shoot with the left (Bosnia remembers that move). The only thing is that Argentina does not have Tim Howard. The young Belgium team showed the world the potential they have. If it wasn’t for the Tough Toffee, the USA would have broken a different record in a World Cup: 10 goals against in a single game.

After the group stages we swore not to make anymore predictions this World Cup. Saying that, here is our predictions for the Quarter-finals:

Teams advancing:  France, Netherlands (sorry Costa Rica), Belgium, and Colombia (don’t hate us Brazil).

Tell us what you think.  Who’s moving on?

Make sure to follow @Studz_Up on Twitter for more news, conversations and even funny RTs (gotta love Vines!)

 

Today’s Games: Honduras to keep up with Costa Rica, Ecuador to dominate Swiss, Showtime for Messi.

What would we see today? It is not that we are giving up, but in the football, heart and will overpower reason.

Honduras wants to show that Central America is playing better football and that Costa Rica’s win yesterday is not a 1 hit wonder.

Ecuador wants to keep the dominance that Latin American squads have shown over European teams when they face the Swiss.

And Messi is eager to show the World that once and for all he can lead Argentina to World Cup glory. But Manchester City’s Dzeko will do everything he can to upset La Pulga.

Tell us, are we going to see any surprises today? Take our poll and follow us on Twitter! Remember, @Studz_Up always follows back.

Enjoy the matches, and HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!

World Cup 2014 Preview: Group F

 

We have reviewed 2 groups so far. Our countdown is now taking us to Group F. This group maybe one of the easiest ones of the tournament (assuming everything goes according to plan).

So here we go!

ARGENTINA

No doubt this is Argentina’s group to lose.  They will be the clear cut favorites to advance as group winners – and they could set the net non fire with all the goals they will score.

They boast an attack that includes Higuain, Aguero, Di Maria, Levazzi, Insua and the little magician – Messi.  No shortage of fire power there. Coach Sabella even left out Juventus top Scorer Carlos Tevez.

Playing in South America but without the pressure of being the hosts has me thinking this is Argentina’s time to shine. Even Brazil stars have jumped on board of the #VamosArgentina campaign.

The question is: how far would Argentina make it into the tournament? Once again, all eyes will be on Messi. People want him to lead this squad to the glory that Maradona did in 1986. And nothing will make Argentinians happier than winning their 3rd World Cup in their arch enemies turf.

BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA:

I don’t think you will find too many people routing against Bosnia at the World Cup.  A war ravaged country who gave birth to a group of football players have the world”s attention.

Bosnia aren’t just here to enjoy the beaches.  They are a decent team and proved that by winning their group in qualifying.  This is a good group for them to be in.  Apart from Argentina, they have winnable games.

Dzeko is the key man.  He has enjoyed his season at Man City, having been given more playing time under Pellegrini.  If Dzeko can find the net for his country, who knows how far they can go. But Canadians may find some connection with the Bosnian team. Stoke City’s goalkeeper Asmir Begovic had to leave Bosnia as a kid. After leaving in Germany, his family landed in Edmonton, AB. Canada. He even played for Canada in the U20 World Cup back in 2007. But he decided to represent Bosnia afterwards. Thanks to our loyal reader Juan for this piece of info!

IRAN

A country very passionate about football. However, Iran has not been able to make it into the knockout stage. And in their 4th World Cup, they will have a tough time trying to steal a spot from Bosnia, Nigeria and even worse, Argentina. Still, this team has been able to score goal in the Asian qualifying zone. With players from La Liga and The Premier League, Iran might put some interesting matches against the other 3 teams.Their biggest asset might be on the bench, as former Sir Alex Ferguson’s disciple in Manchester United and past Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has brought Iran to the biggest tournament after missing the 2010 World Cup.

NIGERIA.

After Cameroon took the world by surprise in Italy ’90, everyone is looking at the African continent. And Nigeria impressed in 1994, by reaching the knockout stage on their first appearance in a World Cup. However, this generation doesn’t have the star power than previous squads. No Nigerian team has been able to match the performances by Amunike, Okocha or even 1996 Olympic Hero and former Arsenal striker Kanu. But the squad lead by Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel wants to bring the attention back to Nigeria and make it into the next round of the World Cup.

Our prediction: Argentina should win all 3 matches. Bosnia should sneak in 2nd while Nigeria might finish 3rd.

 

Is Brazil rooting for Messi in the World Cup?

This is a bit odd. World Cup hosts and 5 time winners Brazil are the favourites to win the tournament, according to a Goldman Sachs report we talked about here at Studzup.

But Brazilian footballers and former legends took the time to say that Messi is the best our would be one of the best. From Barcelona teammates Neymar and Dani Alves to Mario Jardel, Juninho Paulista to World Cup champions Bebeto and Cafu.

Check out the video that will be used to motivate Messi and La Albiceleste with the hashtag #VamosArgentina.

 

 

Football and the Economy: Goldman Sachs predicts Brazil will win the 2014 World Cup.

 

Did you think that football is just a sport or a hobby? The most beautiful game in the world brings people together from all background, including business people.

That is why Goldman Sachs puts a bit of work to bring us a complete breakdown of each team’s chances during the World Cup: From knockout stages to the Big Final.

This detailed report has a lot of information about each country, their players and their economies. It even explains how each team’s performance might affect their local stock market, as the winner country “sees  its stock market outperform the global market by about 3.5 per cent in the first month after victory”, according to this article from The Globe and Mail about this report.

And of course, no World Cup analysis is complete until they pick their best XI, according to their clients (based on a 4-3-3 formation): Neuer at golie, with Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva at center back. Dani Alves and Philip Lahm will run the right and left lanes respectively; Iniesta, Hazard and Ribery leading the midfield, while the 3 strikers are a dream come true only on a video game level: Messi, Neymar Jr. and Cristiano Ronaldo.

 

 

So, if this report’s predictions are true, Brazil has the more chances to win it all with 48.5%.  They would meet their arch rivals Argentina in the Final Match, who has 14.1 chances. That will be a Final (and outcome) that will have FIFA and  even Nike drooling, as Adidas sponsors Messi and Argentina.

You can read the full report here.

But if you want to catch the last memorable moment between Argentina and Brazil in a World Cup, check this out: The 1990 quarterfinals!

World Cup Victories: Coca Cola Commercial reenacts Argentina’s win in 1978 World Cup.

1978. Host Argentina faced Holland in the 1978 World Cup Final in El Monumental. As we are getting closer to the World Cup we review an iconic celebration that represents the joy of reaching glory at the biggest stage.

Holland went to Argentina without iconic football revolutionary Johan Cruyff, but still had Neeskens leading the way while continuing the mechanic style that has made The Netherlands an eternal contender. But Holland was against not only 11 National Heroes, they were up against 100,000 souls who wanted to witness their home team win their First World Cup.

Maradona was already a star for Boca Juniors, but according to him and some reports, Captain Passarella was very vocal about not calling La Pelusa. Still, Argentina had the likes of Fillol on goal (who wore #5 on his Jersey as numbers were given on alphabetical number), Americo Gallego,  Passerella himself as well as Mario Kempes.

And the squad coached by El Flaco Menotti gave Holland their second consecutive upset: A 3-1 overtime win over Holland with goals from Bertoni a brace from Mario Kempes, who was the tournament’s top scorer with 6 goals.

There were a lot of controversies around the tournament itself, but we will like to concentrate of the essence of football: The passion we all feel for the game: fans.

This might be a commercial, but this is a real life story and what football represents to all of us. This was Victor’s glorious moment, and no one will ever take that away from him.

Don’t forget to follow @Studz_Up on Twitter. Thanks for stopping by!