PT Barnum may have been right 150 years ago, but The Greatest Show on Earth these days gets underway this afternoon, despite the shameful corruption displayed by Fifa. By comparison, the Olympics is a sideshow. My first experience of the World Cup was watching Scotland play Zaire in 1974. For 20-odd years the tournament had participation value for Scotland, even if the joy of being there was short lived.
These days the joy is all about being a neutral football fan and soaking up the drama and brilliance from the game.
Statistically it is difficult to look past Brazil, who will benefit enormously from home advantage. European teams have never won the tournament in the Americans, where Brazil and Argentina have won every competition since Uruguay triumphed in the last time the tournament was held in Brazil 64 years ago.
Leo Time
Lionel Messi was, until recent times, the undisputed best player on the planet, but his position in the all-time greatest list is in considerable dispute. Ask an older Barcelona fan, who has watched Cruyff, Maradona Ronaldo and Messi all do their stuff at the Camp Nou, and they are likely to tell you Leo is by far the better player. His stats as a striker bear this out, but ask an Argentinean, and he’ll scarcely get a mention in the same breath as Diego. There is not even a debate that Messi is the greatest Argentine.
After giving a spectacular display of goal-scoring prowess in 1982, then 25-year-old Diego Maradona singlehandedly led Argentina to their second World Cup in 1986 and back to the final four years later. By Comparison, 26-year-old Messi has looked comparatively pedestrian in his two previous tournaments. He’ll be 30 by the time of the next tournament, which will be held in the completely different environment of Russia. If Messi is to be considered an all-time great, he needs to take Argentina to the final. If his career ends without an outstanding World Cup, he’ll slip somewhere between Eusabio and Cruyff in the list.
I’d like Belgium to win. Belgian clubs and FA go about their business correctly and brought a remarkable bounty of talent to Brazil. It’s always been easy to back Brazil but I’m still not over the Neymar thing. The guy is an abomination in the Brazil No. 10 shirt, a vastly over-rated charlatan. Anyone but Neymar, please.
Bertie Auld live chat, tomorrow, 1pm, on CQN. Be there.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.
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First?
HAIL HAIL
LOVELY DAY FOR IT…..
SAFE STANDING….COMFY SEATING
Hahahahahahaha…..cannot belief I beat all you ghuys to it….
Hello
67 Heaven…
\\o//
jonny the tim
13:03 on 12 June, 2014
My mate is a WH manager
They lay these specials for 50k
The idea of WH giving away £1m on the opening day of WC seems odd to me..
blantyretim.
Just bought a case of wine,£41 quid off the case.
Fancy a Germany – Argentina final Paul so there could yet be a European winner this year.
Neymar… The Brazilian Ted McMinn.
Paul67……. The only reason Messi might not be the best player in the World is because, with his level of skill, there is the possibility he is from another planet……..
Nothing better than going abroad and watching Engurland get beat, looking forward to it………………….
oldtim67
THAT was a dear case..!!….it’s only a wee bit of wood after all….hahahahahahaha
I’d love a team thats never won it before to win it. Its getting boring.
HH
My first World Cup,full memories,Panini sticker collecting was Munich 74, when Scotland remained UNDEFEATED, and never won the cup…lol..
Still see Billy Bremner just missing !!!
billy bhoy 05
13:05 on 12 June, 2014
squire danaher
11:27 on 12 June, 2014
billy bhoy 05
10:52 on 12 June, 2014
I am not attacking you for raising the issue but IMO YES/NO bookie coupons are quite possibly the worst value available from such shops – and that’s saying something.
Thanks for your response and I take your point but we are only putting on 50p a line for a total £1:00 bet, and it gives us a wee interest. We do similar at the Grand National and usually one of us wins.
Guess what country I got in the work’s draw………Ivory Coast…….honest …. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Well, that’s what they’re advertising on their website!
50,000 bets @ EVS. Max. stake £20.
HH
oldtim67
13:08 on 12 June, 2014
blantyretim.
Just bought a case of wine,£41 quid off the case.
—-
Hope there is plenty white in there for me?
Good deal oldtim.
Do you want the chemical composition of your red wine? 8)
bognorbhoy oscar in my thoughts
13:05 on 12 June, 2014
\\\\o//// …….. My dad can lift more than your dad…..
Happy Coupe del Monte day y’all!
67Heaven.
Pity your a non drinker,I would have brought you in a bottle.
Wonder how many daisy cutters will line the score bag tonight?
I say 5
I just want to test the Celtic take on my Aussie perspective on the Independence referendum.
I have been in Australia since 1967. I left Scotland for all the obvious Glasgow area Catholic school teacher reasons: luckily I missed the Sevco good nine in a row years.
If I had a vote in the referendum, I would vote yes: the Scotland I left was a safe haven for RAPEEPIL: still is.
I look at Norway: one of the high performers in Europe: similar population circa 5 million.Fantastic standard of living; great social security services; wher does it all come from? Rain, hydro electric power down loaded to Denmark at a profit!!! then there is oil! as much as we have and more.
So we have oil, we have rain, Why are we the poor country cousin. I believe our hydro power is exported to England at a loss and returned to us at a premium! I might be wrong.
Regardless, Norway is richer than we are. Yet it has to import most of its meat: there is not much arable land in Norway: We have heaps!
Lat point in 1488 Scotland had four Universities: Englsnd had two:
Today we have six England has …… I don’t know how many.
Who did well out of the 1707 union of parliaments: not Scotland: Vote with the facts not your fear.
67 special – looking forward to some decent home-made banners at the WC. Doubt they’ll be this good or make it on to the pitch though though: http://theshamrockglasgow.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/celtic-banners-champions-of-europe-banner-on-the-pitch-at-lisbon-1967/
May the best, most skillful and entertaining team win.
Miracles do happen – sometimes.
HH!!
Agree with Paul: Neymar has left a bad taste in the mouth, so I won’t be shouting for Brazil.
Would like to see a European country win it, Belgium would be great but I can’t see it: Germany maybe.
Brazil 2/7 on WH iPhone app
Presume the 50k all laid
Good call, Paul, nicely summed up the Messi legacy.
The little genius gets it easy these days compared to the physicality dished out to his predecessors – the Butcher of Bilbao’s assault on Maradona a prime, brutal example.
But… Messi’s underperformed all season – perhaps he knows this is/must be his time too.
Argentina for me, but with Aguero as top scorer, 28/1.
Neymar needs to wear his true identity on the back of his jersey – ‘Wee Dick’.
67 heaven.
Well done on your podium….ya olde fox…jonny the tim was like Johny Ringo waiting for his chance, until I phoned him :)))
Brazil will get every dubious call going
Forget South Korea 2002, this will be hunlike in its barefaced-ness
First bet of WC is 10/11 Cameroon over 20 card points v Mexico (10 for a yellow, 25 for red)
They booted Germany off the park last Sunday in a friendly, wait till the real action starts.
@Paul 67 Diego and singlehandedly mmmmmmmmmm.
oldtim67
13:17 on 12 June, 2014
Hahahahaha….I wouldn’t have…..
Bertie Auld, 1pm tomorrow, be there.
I will actually be there:-) in the same room!
Looking forward to it hugely.
sipsini
13:26 on 12 June, 2014
Hehe…HH
Maradona for me . I think Messi is terrific but Diego played at a time when brutality on the park was the norm, don’t think Leo would fancy that.
Dragging Napoli to two championships is an achievement sometimes overlooked
Nooooooooooooo!
I can’t believe I’m going to miss a chat with Bertie tomorrow.
I call him Bertie after he vehemently corrected me after addressing him as Mr Auld on a serpendipitous meeting in the Carfin Grotto Visitor Centre.
Please someone pass on my best wishes.
squire danaher
I tend to agree and I had a punt on Neymar top scorer and Brazil to win the tournament for that very reason.
Neymar will dive all over the place and Brazil will get penalties.
I just hope the world cup is won by the best team and not through diving and dubious refereeing decisions. My experience tells me that it will be a huge factor though. Unfortunately.
LB