world cup

So this week, specifically on Thursday, the World Cup 2014 will begin, and it will be a one-month party of the most important futbol tournament of the world. I honestly have not caught up to the excitement due to the busy-ness of life, but yeah, this is one of the most favorite events to watch. So I foresee a lot of "coffee breaks" at work.

This post is just a random "dump" of thoughts about the different teams participating.

Top teams

Germany - well rounded

If there is a team that is reliably good on all its lines (goalkeeper, defense, midfield, offense), it will be Germany. They have the base of one of the best club at the moment (Bayern Munich) that won the UEFA Champion League last year. Plus they have a team hungry for victory, since this generation of German players have not won any international cups with the national team, and now they have acquired a great deal of experience and maturity.

Brazil - double edge

Home team advantage can be a great factor. Being accustomed to the climate and food, and having the support of the fans can potentially make a difference. But the pressure is also great, as there is a extremely high expectations for them to win, so a key point will be whether they can master this pressure and use it to their advantage. They have the young start Neymar who is not in his best shape with his season in Barcelona, but if he focuses well, he can make defenders go crazy.

Spain - defending champion

It's not unknown to people that does not follow futbol that Spain is a beast. They have won the last 3 international tournaments they participated (1 World Cup, 2 Euro Cups). They are still good but many of their key players are getting older and are not on their prime (Xavi, Villa). They do play very beautiful with nice passes since their midfield is still all-star, but I think they will have trouble scoring since none of their forwards are in their best (maybe Costa is ok). Another factor is that they already won a lot, so they might not have the same hunger for victory as before. I doubt they can make it pass the Quarterfinals.

Argentina - the dream

I might slightly biased, since Argentina is my all-time favorite team. I have been disappointed at their performance on the last couple of world cups since they do have a team that looks fantastic on paper, but they were not able to play as one team. Now, I think their current coach is good that he is down-to-earth, and he has been working hard in making this team as one, and maximizing the game of the best player at the moment, Lionel Messi. They have an arsenal in their offensive (Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, Higuain), but there are concerns on the defense and the goalkeeper, so a key point will be maintaining a balance in their midfield to ensure their defense do not get exposed. If they can achieve this balance, they can fulfill the dreams of a nation that has not lifted the world cup since 1986.

Surprise teams

Usually there is a surprise team will exceed people's expectations, especially because they are not well-known. Bulgaria (1994), Croatia (1998), Turkey (2002), Uruguay (2010) were teams that went to the top 4 without anyone expecting it.

I think special attention will be placed towards the South American team as they are playing close to home, and I specially like Chile (since they have one of the most complete players, Vidal) and Colombia (plays very well, but their best player is injured).

African teams can always give good surprises, and a team to be careful is Ivory Coast, as they have very good players like Gervihno and Yaya Toure (definitely a big factor on why Man City got the Premier League), and they do have a veteran striker who can make a difference (Drogba).

I could go on, but I think this is enough for now.

In the end it is really hard to predict what will happen, so I will have to sit back and relax.