Before
the idea of the sound bite ever gained currency, legendary 1954 FIFA
World Cup™-winning Germany coach Sepp Herberger was a master of the
terse but memorable quip. Although its origin is in fact a matter for
debate, one such quote usually attributed to Herberger - Das Runde muss ins Eckige,
“The round thing has to go in the rectangular thing” – concisely sums
up the whole point of the game, taking your chances and scoring goals.
For
this fundamental reason, the spotlight at the forthcoming 2010 FIFA
World Cup South Africa will inevitably fall on the strikers. But
goalscoring is a mysterious craft. For every in-form hitman tucking
away all his chances, no matter how improbable, there is a normally
reliable goalscorer who cannot, for love nor money, find the net. That
single, crucial difference is generally the decisive factor between
defeat and victory.
Casting an eye over
the attacking talent on display at the global showdown in Africa, it is
immediately clear that fans can look forward to watching the crème de
la crème in action. Intriguingly, a majority of the big-name nations
boast not one but two world-class strikers this time round.
Liga stars set to tormentThe
obvious starting point is reigning FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel
Messi of Barcelona, winner of the Golden Shoe as Europe’s top scorer
and partnered up front for Argentina by Spanish league rival Gonzalo
Higuain of Real Madrid.
Messi’s
predecessor as the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, plays
alongside Higuain in Madrid and enjoyed a more than satisfactory first
season with Los Blancos. In Portugal colours, Ronaldo lines
up alongside former Manchester United team-mate Nani in a genuinely
formidable attacking pairing.
Perennial
FIFA World Cup favourites Brazil include four nominal strikers in
Robinho, Nilmar, Grafite and Luis Fabiano, but with the goalscoring
prowess of Kaka coming through from midfield, A Canarinho fans need hardly worry about where the goals could be coming from.
Holders
Italy include in their ranks the man who finished top scorer in Serie A
last term, Antonio di Natale. The 32-year-old will doubtless be
consulting fellow strikers Vincenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino for
advice, as the pair were part of the FIFA World Cup-winning squad four
years ago.
The adidas Golden Shoe for
the top scorer at the 2006 finals went to Miroslav Klose. He is again
in the Germany squad, along with Lukas Podolski, named best young
player at the same tournament. However, both struggled to recapture the
form of 2006 in disappointing 2009/10 campaigns at club level.
The Germans have more reason than most to be wary of reigning European champions Spain, as La Roja
marksmen Fernando Torres and David Villa were largely responsible for
orchestrating the Germans’ downfall in the UEFA EURO 2008 final. The
Iberians will again look to the deadly front two for inspiration and
goals in South Africa.
Rivals carry hopes and dreamsIn
the case of England, just one name stands head and shoulders above the
rest, and the name is Wayne Rooney. In contrast to his Germany
counterparts, the 24-year-old enjoyed an outstanding season for
Manchester United and finished second top scorer in the Premier League
on 26 goals.
He was bested by the slim
margin of a single goal by Didier Drogba from champions Chelsea,
although the Côte d’Ivoire superstar is on the doubtful list for the
finals at present with an elbow injury. However, even without the
32-year-old, Les Eléphants boast plenty of firepower with the likes of Salomon Kalou and Kader Keita.
Turning
to the other African hopefuls, Cameroon are led by Samuel Eto’o, a UEFA
Champions League winner for the last two years with Barcelona and Inter
Milan. Top-notch talent is to be found elsewhere too, with Nigerian duo
Victor Obinna and Obafemi Martins and Ghana marksman Asamoah Gyan.
Elsewhere,
Honduran striker Carlos Alberto Pavon goes into the tournament with the
special distinction of being the leading goalscorer of them all, as he
has a total of 56 international goals to his name.
Space
prevents us expanding our list of first-class forwards at the
forthcoming FIFA World Cup, although it would be an easy enough task,
what with the presence of Arjen Robben (Netherlands), Franck Ribery
(France), Harry Kewell (Australia) and Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico), and
many more besides.
It would be a major
surprise if the next four weeks failed to produce goals galore. And the
2006 finals proved, if proof were needed, that a decent scoring record
tends to lead to success. Hosts Germany scored 14 goals and claimed
third place at the finals, while world champions Italy netted 12 times
en route to their triumph. Runners-up France (nine goals) and
fourth-placed Portugal (seven) also finished near the top of the
scoring charts.
At South Africa 2010, just as so often before, the best form of defence could well be to attack.
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