GGGGoOoOoAaAaAaLLLLL!!!

I just had to put in that video 'cuz it features clips from one of the coolest soccer movies, "Shaolin Soccer"(If you haven't seen it add it to you must watch list NOW!). The song also happens to be on the official soundtrack for FIFA World Cup '06 which is the reason the world has come to a standstill and people everywhere are coming up with inventive ways to get out of going to work so they can cheer on their countries and consume an obscene amount of beer in the process.
"Football" to the rest of the world but "Soccer" to us in North America, is by far the most watched sport in the world and to give you an idea 153 million people watched the Euro Cup final 2 years ago while Superbowl that year drew 95 million. I essentially divide soccer fans into two groups, where group 1 is all the fans of the game who follow the game through many soccer leagues (La Liga, English Premiership, Italian League, MLS) year round and group 2 are all those fans who jump aboard during the World Cup. Soccer brings out patriotism like no other sport will ever manage to do and living in Toronto, (one of the most diverse cities in the world) I have had the opportunity to observe this fanatical behaviour displayed by Soccer fans from all parts of the world.
Before moving to North America, Soccer and Cricket were the only sports I was exposed to on television. My early memories of being a sports fan do not include Magic and Jordan in the NBA but rather Diego Maradona and Pele dancing down the soccer field. My entire family is obsessed with the game and even though I am not a soccer fan who falls into group 1 of my definition, come World Cup time my daily schedule is planned around the games and my living room now doubles as my bedroom.

Enough about the past... Lets fast forward to Germany 2006. First let me state that I am supporting two teams Italy and Portugal and I like any team that beats England. (Beckham may be super hot but he is waaaay overrated - sorry Arthur) The groups have been set up really well this time around and the level of competition up to now has been pretty even spare a few games. Its for certain no one could have predicted Ghana taking down the Czech's or that Poland would suck this bad. From my experience it is the nature of sports fans to root for the underdog and come Sunday I am sure the number of Ghana flags on cars will increase greatly. The "Soca Warriors" from Trinidad were a great story as well as they came in and managed to pull out a tie with Sweden but now that they have been eliminated I am sure those fans will jump on the Ghana bandwagon for now.
Looking ahead to the next round even though nothing is settled for groups D through H, teams to look out for are Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal. I expect these 4 to go deep and thus far Argentina has shown the most offensive power in the tournament but Portugal is still warming up and Brazil is always going to be a favourite.
Speaking of... What on earth is going on with Ronaldo! He looks seriously out of shape and is close to being benched if he doesn't produce I think but as long as Brazil has Ronaldinho in green and gold they should see themselves in the semi-finals and anything less than that would be a complete upset.
There was a time back in the day when Italy was always the team to beat but since the last world cup they haven't made the adjustments. Their defense is not the same powerhouse it used to be and until they realize that 1 goal in the game is not going to cut it they are going to have a tough time making it deep into the tournament. Their coach has them relying on protecting the goal and playing defense rather than being aggressive and I don't think that approach is going to work against the likes of the French, English and the other frontrunners.
Ahh I was going to avoid mentioning the English team altogether but its hard to when talking Soccer. They were lucky last game getting a goal in the closing minutes and they have yet to show any dominance compared to teams like Argentina, Brazil, Italy and France who have a history of success in this game. I have always found this team to be overrated but I gotta give them credit for having some of the most intense fans ever.

Anyways the Japan v/s Croatia game is about to kickoff soon (Mike for the sake of your sanity I hope the Croats win it) so I shall end here. I will blog more on the subject when we are into the round of 16 until them leave me a comment on who you are rooting for...

Links: Some of my daily reads during the world cup and a little bit of homour...
- A hilarious e-mail I was forwarded by Brucki (Get it here)
- The Mighty MJD is a new fan of the game... (read more here)
- The sun : World cup for women
- Fox Sports brings to you pics of several soccer wives and girlfriends (link)
- Strange advertising approach: Soccer Urinal by ESPN in Brazil
- Live blogging for the world cup can be found at Deadspin
- Jabs from the Toronto Star is over in Germany and he has the daily roundup

Bonus: Here are a couple of ringtones I put together for you soccer fans...
Brazil (unknown)
Forca (Nelly Furtado)
Iran (thanx Ramin)