The Not Very Alternative, World Cup Review

So it has been 6 weeks since I last blogged as I let the World Cup take place, and have a rest from imparting my knowledge and predictions. So lets have a look back on how the tournament panned out, and also a wee look at how bad my predictions were.

It has been 4 days since the tournament finished and I am sure every football fan is missing it already. What a fantastic tournament we were treated too in the spiritual home of football in Brazil. A record equalling amount of goals, comebacks, incidents, controversy and some fantastic individual performances, but at the end of a magic month, it was the best team, Germany, that came out on top and deservedly so. The final perhaps wasn't the best game of the tournament, but it was intriguing and there was chances for either team in normal time to win it before a great chest and finish from substitute Mario Götze won it for Germany. 

I really enjoyed looking forward to the World cup by way of blogging and predicting, so lets have a look at how well I did. My pick to win the tournament was Argentina, so to lose out with 3 minutes to go in extra time in the final I feel like I was unlucky. The problem Argentina had was a lack of goals in the tournament, only 8 goals in total, and that finally hurt them in the final, when Lionel Messi couldn't pull them out of a hole. His 4 goals in the group stages had made it look like he was going to go on and lead his nation to glory, but he never looked in top form and up to full fitness, and he couldn't score any more for the rest of the tournament. this meant my prediction for Golden Boot was wrong, as James Rodriguez was 2 ahead of Messi after a fantastic tournament with Colombia. Messi did however pick up the Golden Ball for best player, however that is up for serious debate, as he did not look like the best player to me.

France was another team that I had predicted to do well, along with Karim Benzema, however after a fantastic start they lost out to a stubborn Germany defense in the Quarter Finals, and Benzema, despite having more shots than anyone at the tournament, only managed 3 goals, all scored in the first 2 games. Paul Pogba was the shining light for the French however as he took the Young Player award after some great performances in central midfield. He looks like he is going to be a big star for years to come and Man United fans must be absolutely gutted they lost out on him.

The biggest failure I had in predicting came in group B, where I predicted an early departure for The Netherlands at the hands of Spain and Chile. My prediction that Chile would be strong proved correct, but it was Spain that looked a shadow of themselves, and The Netherlands that looked very strong and were unlucky to miss out on the final.

I did say that every tournament has a surprise package, this year it was Costa Rica who negotiated their group by beating Italy and Uruguay and also sent England home. There performance in the Quarter Final was excellent, and they were unlucky to lose out in a penalty shootout to The Netherlands.


The Weatherston World Cup Awards 

Best Player - James Rodriguez - 6 goals and a string of good performances means that James Rodriguez was the best player at the tournament for me. He is so comfortable on the ball and scored some memorable goals, notably his volley against Uruguay in the last 16. He should have won the Golden Ball, but the Golden Boot is a nice substitute.

Best Young Player - Paul Pogba - He deserved to win the official award, he is strong, good on the ball and can tackle too. He will definitely be a top midfielder for the next 10 years. A mention for Memphis Depay(Holland) who looks like he will be a good winger with his pace and directness. He has an eye for a goal too, scoring 2 in the tournament.

Best Goal - Tim Cahill v The Netherlands - James Rodriguez is a close second, but Cahill's volley on his weaker foot from a ball coming over his shoulder and in the air for a long time is the best goal and the hardest skill to perform. He could try that 100 times and never do it again, it is a one off goal and absolutely quality.

The El Hadji Diouf Award -This award goes to the player who had a good tournament and will earn themselves a good move, only to never recreate that form in their life. Winner - Enner Valencia, just earned a £12m move to West Ham after scoring 3 goals in the World cup for Ecuador. The former Pachuca striker looked a real handful with his pace and strength, but so did Diouf in 2002, so it remains to be seen whether he can recreate it on a consistent basis.

World Cups Biggest Idiot - It would be easy to give this one to Luis Suarez, but he clearly has problems, plus he scored 2 against England which saves him, so the award goes to Pepe. We all know he likes to think of himself as a hard man on the pitch, but his terrible headbutt on Thomas Muller earned him a red card. His team went on to lose 4-0, and they never recovered from that goal difference losing out to USA in the groups by 3 goals after being equal on 4 points.

Funniest Moment - England going out in the groups? Well, it was pretty funny, but this linesman was the highlight for me.

 

Best Training Moment - Thomas Muller had a great World Cup, but this shot in training was 100% deliberate, absolutely no doubt about it...

Team of the Tournament - My team will be a 4-3-2-1 formation as seems to be the fashion these days, probably with a false 9.

 

Special Edition World Cuts - Best Haircut of 2014 - Kyle Beckerman had an impressive World cup in midfield for the USA, but the most noticeable thing is definitely his dreads.










Next edition will be back to the normal style of blogging for me, this was a bit different just to summarise my tips, so back to my own football in the next edition, and also maybe go into some other sports, since the season hasn't properly started. See you then

Who will Win the World Cup?

This week I have gone off to Norway for 2 weeks to visit Karen Anna's family and it is really warm, so that is a bonus. I brought my computer though so I could blog at some point and the point is now. It was a good week for me last week with my move to Alloa being completed. Although I enjoyed my time at Stirling with promotion in the end, the chance to go in play in The Championship next season was impossible to turn down. Getting to play in front of bigger crowds and at better stadiums will be good to get back to after a year away from it. Added to that there is no doubt that playing Rangers, Hibs and Hearts will attract bigger crowds and add some extra interest to the league. Personally it is great for me as I haven't played at Tynecastle or Easter Road before, so I am looking forward to that. Hopefully I am allowed to walk down to Tynecastle on game day as it is about a two minute walk. It should be a very competitive league, and it is great for fans as well without any long journeys up north, the longest being down to my old club Queen of the South.
Although my injury in the last game of the season isn't ideal I am hoping it is sorted and I am ready to train on the first day of pre season. I have been out on my bike and will hope to start running next week. I haven't had a full pre season for the last 2 years, so I really want to do everything and although it is hard work, it is strangely enjoyable getting fit and getting closer to your teammates who are suffering with you. 

The Weatherston World Cup Preview

So I have gone through all the groups, now it is time to preview what I think are the likely winners, losers, surprise packages and best players.

 Who will win?
According to the bookies there are only 4 teams with a good chance of winning the tournament, with Brazil as the favourites. The other 3 not surprisingly are Argentina, Germany and Spain, in that order.There is no doubt that these 4 teams are the best on paper, but there is some real value in every other team if you want to have a bet(I'm not allowed).
I personally think that Argentina and Brazil will be in the final, which would be rather interesting, but if I was betting outside the top 4 my pick is France. They have a great squad all the way from back to front, they seem to have left behind their problems from 2010, and they have goals in the team. They have a nice group to qualify from with Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras, so they should win that and could face Bosnia, Iran or Nigeria in round 2. There first real challenge would potentially be Germany in the Quarter Final, but you never know when you get to that stage, and I fancy them to be really strong. At 25/1 it has to be worth some money in my opinion.

Colombia is the other team that could spring a surprise having qualified very well just behind Argentina they have showed that they have the quality. Although Falcao is missing out they still have some good goalscorers in Ramos and Martinez, so that shouldn't be a problem. It would be a major surprise if they were the best of the South Americans, but in their own continent and not with the same levels of pressure as the 2 favourites, you never know.

Biggest disappointment?
There are a number of big nations that could struggle to get out their groups, but my surprise of the tournament will be The Netherlands going out in the group stages. I think Spain will be too good for them in the first game which will put pressure on them to beat Chile in the final game, and I don't think they will be good enough to do it. They are 13/10 not to reach the second round, and I like that as a bet.

Surprise Package?

For a team to be a proper surprise package they have to make it to the quarter finals at least, and every tournament seems to have one. It was Ghana in 2010, Ukraine in 2006 and South Korea at home in 2002. So who could it be this year? There are a few lesser teams that will fancy there chances of getting through the groups, like Bosnia, Ivory Coast and Switzerland, but it is the second round where they are likely to find themselves against one of the favourites. It will be very difficult for either of those 3 to come through a second round tie, but don't be too surprised if a strong Bosnia defense manages to sneak through in round 2.

Golden Boot?
Between 1978 and 1998, 6 goals was enough to earn the title of Golden Boot. Since then Ronaldo scored 8 in 2002, but it was 5 for Klose and Muller in 2006 and 2010 respectively that earned them that title. So with Germany winning it the last two World Cups, who are the favourites this time around? Not surprisingly it is Lionel Messi who is favourite, but surely the best bet has to be for Cristiano Ronaldo who can be found as high as 20/1. For the best player in the world this year that is surely worth a pound. Since I fancy France to do well, and because they should score a few goals in the groups, I like the odds of 33/1 for Karim Benzema. He has found his form this year and should get plenty of chances created for him.
If you are looking for a couple of outside each way bets, it is hard to look beyond Alexis Sanchez (66/1). If Chile can get through their tough group then he will be the main man scoring goals for them. He plays through the middle unlike his wider position at Barcelona, so he will get plenty of chances.
Also Mesut Özil (100/1) could be worth another pound. He was top scorer with 8 in Germany's qualifying campaign and he seems to play a more advanced role for them. If he finds his top form and Germany go far, he could be in the goals.

Best Player?
The stage is set in Brazil for Neymar to lead his team to glory in the home World Cup, but at just 22 this might be a lot of weight to carry on his shoulders. There is no doubt the way he plays is great to watch and the Brazil fans love him for this, so in a hard working team that is strong defensively, can the flair of Neymar shine through. Lionel Messi however will be the main man, he hasn't played too many games this season and he is desperate to show himself on the biggest stage. He should be fresh and raring to go, and in his own continent I think he will take control of games and win the World Cup for his country.


Best Young Player?
The Best Young Player award was brought in in 2006 and has been won by 2 Germans. Lukas Podolski won it in 2006 and Thomas Müller followed him by winning it last time out in South Africa. The award is given to the best player in the tournament who is at most 21 years old.
There are a few candidates who should be regular starter for their country, and in my opinion the man with the best chance of winning it is Romelu Lukaku. He will be the main goal threat for Belgium and should play every game. Belgium should comfortably get through the groups and if he can score goals it will give him a great chance to win the Young Player of the Tournament.

World Cuts

What would World Cuts be without one of, if not the most famous World Cup hair cut of all time. A classic hair cut that was only done specifically for the World Cup in 2002. It was successful as well as this man became the top scorer with 8 goals as he took his country on to the title. My all time favourite player and the best striker I have ever seen, Ronaldo. when he produced the triangle at the front of his hair it might not have been met with a lot of love, but kids copied it all over the world, and it became iconic so it had to make an appearance in World Cuts.