ready for the spectacle of the World Cup
Bongani Siqoko Soccer World Cup
The whole universe will come to a standstill when reigning world champions Brazil take on Scotland in the opening game of the World Cup 98 in France at Saint Denis on June 10.
Unlike the 1994 World Cup, which was a two-nation race between Brazil and Italy right through, this tournament is wide open.
While everyone expects coach Mario “Professor” Zagallo’s boys from Brazil to lift the trophy, they face stiff competition from Italy, hosts France, Nigeria and Germany.
The Brazilians know that it will be difficult to win the trophy in Europe. As star striker Romario puts it: “This World Cup is played in Europe and the Europeans will not allow us to take the trophy back to South America. They will make it very difficult for us.”
The Brazilians, who are hoping to lift the 25kg gold Jules Rimet trophy for a record fifth time, are clear favourites and are arguably the best team at the moment – on and off the field. And according to the latest Federation Internationale des Football Associations (Fifa) rankings, Brazil is still rated the number one team in the world.
Coach Zagallo has a fully-fledged squad with quality players like Denilson, Dunga, Roberto Carlos, Romario and Ronaldo and the question is: who can stop Dunga and the boys from making it two in a row?
Free-scoring Ronaldo – World Footballer of the Year for the last two years – Real Madrid left back Roberto Carlos and Europe-bound Denilson could be Brazil’s trumpcards.
Ronaldo, who plies his trade with Italian Serie A side Inter Milan, was a member of the USA 94 winning side but never played. Carlos was dropped from the team at the 11th hour after making his international debut as an 18-year- old in 1992. Both will be hoping that things work out well this time. Brazil has been grouped with Morocco, Scotland and Norway.
Ponytailed Italian forward Roberto Baggio will be hoping for a little more luck this time, after missing that crucial penalty kick in the USA 94 final that won Brazil the cup.
Baggio was a last-minute inclusion in Ceasar Maldini’s final 22-man squad. If his recent performances for Italian Serie A outfit Bologna are anything to go by, then Baggio, come France 98, will be the match winner for Italy.
Football fans will remember Italy as one of the most organised teams in the last World Cup.
Their pinpoint, neat and accurate passes and deadly finishing are their strong points. In Group B, they are grouped with Austria, Cameroon and Chile.
Baggio is aware that he will have to work hard to be picked ahead of in-form, but injured, Juventus playmaker Alexandro Del Piero.
He is the first to admit that he faces tough competition from the pint-sized Del Piero: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, in our role Ale [Del Piero] is the better player partly because he has youth on his side.”
Two-time world champions Argentina will be hoping to win this trophy for the third time.
With the quality of players they have at their disposal, it will be difficult to stop them. They are probably the only team whose preparations and warm-up games have gone very well.
Fiorentina striker Gabriel Batistuta and Oriel “New Maradona” Ortega, who made his international debut in the Nelson Mandela Inauguration Cup against Bafana Bafana at the FNB stadium two years ago, will be keeping the hopes of this soccer mad country alive.
The duo with Batistuta’s twin striker Claudio Lopez have formed one of the deadliest partnerships in the world. Both Batistuta and Lopez will be thorns in the flesh of the opposition’s defence, with Ortega operating in the engine room. Batistuta is strong and full of running and is always hungry for goals.
Their advantage over other finalists is that the team has been playing together for three years now under the same coach, Daniel Passarella, who made headlines in 1996 after he told his players to cut their hair or risk losing their places in the team. Passarella is a strict disciplinarian and a good tactician.
Hosts France cannot be ruled out of contention. They will be playing in front of their home supporters and, like Brazil and Argentina, have players scattered around Europe – a plus factor in the World Cup.
Italian-based midfielders Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane – both from Juventus – are influential players, who can turn tables around.
France also has a tough-as-tick defence marshalled by Lilian Thuram and Marcel Desailly. Although they have never won the cup, France has reached the semi- finals on three occasions.
They are favourites to win Group C with either South Africa or Denmark going through to the knockout stages and Saudi Arabia taking the next flight back home.
Brazilian football legend Pel once put his head on the block and predicted: “The time has come for an African country to lift the World Cup trophy.”
Nigeria are likely to become the first country from the “dark continent” to do so. They are one of the successful footballing nations in Africa and have some of the most skilful players around.
Nigeria has quality players who can do a good job for the Serbian-born coach Bora Milutinovic, who will be taking his fourth country to the World Cup.
Milutinovic has youthful playmaker Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha – who plays with John “Shoes” Mosheou at Fenerbache – Inter Milan’s defender Taribo West and striker Mnwankwo Kanu – who survived a career-threatening heart operation 18 months ago – Real Betis, fast-running wing Finidi George, Ajax Amsterdam’s Tijana Babangida and Monaco’s goalpoacher Victor Ikpeba. Quite a line-up.