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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Johann, I wonder if Glasgow University is on the deceased’s creditors list also.
We got our usual pelters off the media for using Barrowfield for training but when the deidsters were moving about from place to place to train, not a peep. SMSM at their pro-sticky worst.
Any Clydebank bhoys lurking or posting, the Bankies won the Euroscot Cental League cup last night. They beat Cumbernauld 3 nil. The third time in the last five seasons they have won it. Celtic fan, Ciaran McElroy scored twice.
The only good thing about this is watching the waves coming in in the background …. Hahaha
Syd Negakev
19:48 on
12 June, 2014
Who are Sterling and Wellbeck?…and who cares!
_______________________________________________
If there’s a yes vote in September, we’ll keep Sterling,
don’t know anything about the Wellbeck.
bhoylo83
Not technically gifted that way sorry. Try ITV+1 (if it exists!?!).
Daily Star tomorrow may have a feature otherwise.
Abe is actually quite good at his compare job….
Brazil: Cesar; D.Alves, T.Silva, D.Luiz, Marcelo; Paulinho, L.Gustavo; Hulk, Oscar, Neymar; Fred
As expected
If WGS hadn’t followed a career in football he could have been a good stand-up comedian “The Wee Yin”
Croatia: Pletikosa; Srna, Ćorluka, Lovren, Vrsaljko; Modrić, Rakitić, Perišić, Brozović; Olić, Jelavić
Good to see Oscar and Marcelo starting
Both in my Fantasy League team
B-)
Strach talks about the mentality, the strengths, the pressure on the Brazillian squad and guess what, Wright says ‘back to the studio’
Fortunately Adrian is on the news ball and announces………..
“And here we have scenes – admittedly from a year ago!!!”
I feel like my piles are trying to tell me something.
Hail Hail
Estadio
Pletikosa still doing it…
Pletikosa is that the goalkeeper we had on trial.?
Brazil must have better than David Luiz,a bomb scare.
Velocity
God, where’s the adverts. I’ll even buy insurance aff a dug!
ooooh yeeesss
Woof woof
Estadio
I’ve just stocked my fridge with beers for the World Cup, customised for each match.
I’ve got San Miguel for when Spain are playing because it’s Spanish, Beck’s for when Germany are playing because it’s German and Carling for when England are playing because it’s shite !!!!
Fitba being out on at 8:55 for Brazilian anthem
Not a second before
As you will expect, I am going against the grain tonight.
Come on the Vatreni (the firery ones).
One other point to remember – Croatians are entitled to 3 yellow cards before being sent off.
tsoal
Hahaha. Like it.
Fanad
Yes … We didn’t rate him
Also, if Brazil win the World Cup but Croatia beat them, Scotland become unofficial world champions as we beat Croatia twice.
I’m going for 3-2 tonight for the hosts.
SOAL
What you got in the fridge for the Ivory Coast games?
I was never convinced just who the greatest influence on my life was.
It could have been my father who was no more and no less than a welder, but taught me the meaning of love and humility! No small feat as I am sure you will agree!
Or possibly my uncle Michael who introduced me to the emotive crescendos of the greatest arias, operas, and tragedies of a man’s inner emotions!
Surely it couldn’t have been my uncle Peter who trained me in the Coatbridge martial art of stickwanupye and ensured that the dark streets and rat-runs of a 2am trek home held no fears for me!
They all loved Celtic mind you and possibly that one common denominator triggered my attention and allowed all this other collateral education to sow its seeds and make me what I am!
And then I met Mick! A mere hospital attendant.
I only met him because we were both looking at the official graffiti in Green Park station that said
‘Do you know who said that I asked
Said what he replied
‘An unexamined life is a wasted life’ I re-iterated
Some daft bastard he said
It wis Socrates I said.
Did he say that because they lost out in the world cup final?
Naw because he was depressed and before he went to take a quick swally of hemlock he wanted to leave this statement for posterity!! He actually live 8000 years ago!
Anyway Mick was a wee bit special, especially at darts.
So I wrote this wee rhyme in his honour.
Mick
The furrowed tungsten drills the air
The sixty’s missed but by a hair
The next one wires and falls to ground
The third ones there, you feel the sound
And what you’ve left is thirty one
Fifteen then eights and then you’ve won.
Your lips are dry you take some sips,
You pray you never get the yips,
The first is true, no time to smile
The second misses by a mile
You take a breath and aim that dart
It’s there! A Game? No a feckin art!!
Hail hail
Estadio
HT
Kronenbourg
Jellyfish up front for Croatia
Super salary demands a cut of his appearance money
SOAL
That’s no even a real drink.
Just found out I had £75 in my Skybet acount, last August put money on Man Utd finishing outside the top 4. Bonus I had completely forgotten about that, thanks Moyes.
Stuck £10 of it on Brazil getting a penalty tonight, 4/1
Karlovackos for tonight
Stipe Pletikosa
2-friendlies season 2011-12
Wed 20th July 2011
Cardiff City…0-1…Celtic
Wed 27th July 2011
Celtic…………0-2…Wolverhampton Wanderers
hail hail
ITV+1 you say…?
Needed a daft bet to start off the tournament. £3 on there being at least 7 corners in the first half! 21/20.
Who think Adrian is going to get lamped by someone in the studio?
tallybhoy
19:22 on 12 June, 2014
“Opening ceremony?
Stadium looks half full/empty.”
The world cup’s missing sevco.
TnT,
Well done Mr Maynard :-)
Cheers mate.
BJM
Twists and Turns!
Woohoo!
Mr. Maynard wins!
mr maynard comes in at 12/1
Twists n turns – superb, simply superb. Thanks pal.