And so it begins...It starts with a spark. The proceeding fireworks that follow initiates a cascade of burning infernos that engulfs the hearts and minds of a nation. The weak are torched under the glow of the spotlight, while the strong flare with celestial veneration amidst the ear deafening trumpets of vuvuzelas. So comes to pass the first round of the group stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The opening bout left much to be desired in terms of shock and awe with only four nations recording multiple goals, and six games ending in ties. South Africa's Bafana Bafana opened up the tournament with a valiant effort against Mexico in a fast paced vuvuzela noise fest, which ultimately ended in a satisfying 1-1 tie. The second game would probably register as the most boring scoreless contest thus far in the tournament. The 1998 champions and 2006 runner-ups looked like shells of their former selves putting up a pathetic effort against the defensively minded Charrúas' prompting Zinedine Zidane to temporarily come out of retirement to verbally captain the team one more time, but not before proclaiming Domenech as a sham. The game was so outrageously prosaic that I slept through the whole second half.
The second day of the tournament proved to be one of the most entertaining. One could cite the looming battle royal between England and USA, as the causative of the excitement that hovered over the pending games of the day or perhaps it was because it was a Saturday and I was still hangover from the bachelor party the day before. Nonetheless, South Korea kicked off the day with a stimulating trashing of Greece to the tune of 2-0. Messi finally took to the pitch with La Albiceleste against the Super Eagles and didn't disappoint the roaring fans who came to cheer for the African nation and Messi. There were no goals from the football alchemist as a result of Vincent Enyeama, aka the anti-Robert Green, but he dazzled the crowds with his beautiful dancing steps and laser sharp passes leading to a 1-0 victory over Nigeria. The World Cup has served as a stage for the immortalization of numerous soccer legends such as Pelé and the infamous Diego Maradona. Robert Green was added to that pantheon after donating a 1-1 tie to an offensively disorganized USA team. What started off as a jolly good beginning with Steven Gerrard's opening goal in the 3rd minute of the game was soon annulled through the "hand of clod".
Slovenia managed to squeeze in a late goal against Algeria to complete Group C's games and kickoff Sunday's football fiesta. The first African nation to win a game at the tournament was no other than the Black Stars of Ghana. The winning goal came in the 83rd minute from a PK that resulted from an unwarranted hand ball from Kuzmanovic. The whole stadium erupted in jubilation as all Africans joined in with Ghanaian fans to celebrate their last beacon of hope. Germany sent shock waves across the world when it took on the high spirited Australian Socceroos and completely annihilated them 4-0. Yes, the Germans are here to win. No mercy will be shown to the weak.
Monday featured two old rival nations dishing it out for national pride, but as always the titanic Netherlands reminded their lowly Danish foes of the futility of their warmongering by crushing them to a 2-0 defeat. The first upset of the tournament fell on Les Lions Indomptables after losing to Japan courtesy of Keisuke Honda in the 39th minute. Cameroon was unable to recover from the shock, and ended up losing 1-0 sending silent forebodings of doom through the African populace. The defending champions then took on Paraguay, and were almost handed a 1-0 defeat, until De Rossi stamped his foot down and tied the game in the 63rd minute. This should come as no surprise, since the Italians are well known for submitting subpar performances during the group stages.
New Zealand's All Whites (no racist - their rugby team is called All Blacks) fought their way to a 1-1 draw with Slovakia in the 93rd minute of extra time. I'm not a Kiwi, but I know for a fact that several Kiwis were conceived on Tuesday following the goal marking the first New Zealand goal at the World Cup. The group of death took center stage on Tuesday with the first heavy weight fight between Ivory Coast and Portugal. The Ivorians were without their captain Didier Drogba for the most part of the game, but it neither shook their composure nor confidence. Even with the presence of international superstar and national treasure, Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ivorians weathered the onslaught of Portuguese attacks and counter attacked often and swiftly. Drogba finally graced the stage in the 66th minute, but although defenses were more focused on him he didn't have much of an impact on the game. If anything he seemed to slow the Ivorian offense slightly, it remains to be seen if he will continue to come off the bench or start in proceeding games. North Korea fought valiantly against the world's #1 ranked team, but failed to hold the barrage of assaults the Brazilians unleashed on them. They managed a goal in the 89th minute, and never had I cheered louder as that moment. The team was bombarded with inappropriate jokes throughout the contest by the announcers, which were mostly distasteful but sometimes amusing, so the consolation goal was viewed as a middle finger to all the doubters and hecklers.
The first round came to an end with a series of lone goal games starting off with Chile besting Honduras. Chile was by far the better side of the contest and squandered several opportunities. The world was abuzz in disbelieve when the final score of the Spain-Switzerland game registered a 0-1 defeat of the European darlings and most favored team in the tournament. Spain was tagged as one of the top teams to win it all this year with four players in their starting lineup ranked amongst the top 10 players in the world. No nation even came close to that number, and after winning the European cup all signs pointed to Spain as the country to beat. Well, Switzerland changed all that on Wednesday when they unveiled their impenetrable defense to the world and their swift cobra-like counter attack. Once stunned, the Spanish were unable to recover as the venom spread through their psyche. Even the presence of their messiah, Fernando Torres, failed to contain the poison. Now the entire Group has been busted wide open for the taking, and soccer fans can only salivate at the impending bloodlust that is sure to follow. The World Cup has officially commenced in earnest. There will be sweat. There will be tears - South Africa may be the first to shed them. But best of all there will be SOCCER!!!
