By Paul Kennedy
Managing Editor, Soccer America Magazine
7 England bets
The English love to bet.
Gamblers place wagers on just about everything: soccer, horses, even royalty and politics. (More than $10 million was gambled on the outcome of the 2004 U.S. presidential race.)
If you have a hunch, you'll probably be able to find an English bookmaker with whom to place a wager.
In 1998, John Morrey, who runs the Old Stanley Arms pub in Liverpool, approached bookmaking agency William Hill about the odds on his 12-year-old nephew growing up to play for England in the World Cup.
William Hill offered 250-1 odds with a maximum bet of 200 pounds ($360). Too bad Morrey never got around to making the bet.
If Wayne Rooney recovered from his foot injury, Morrey would have been looking at 50,000 pounds ($90,000) eight years after his query.
English soccer players are notorious gamblers. Rooney, for one, is said to have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in a betting operation for England national team players.
In 2006, English bookmakers are predicting that 1 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in bets will be placed on the World Cup.
Here are odds William Hill was offering on seven England bets:
40-1. Coach Sven Goran Eriksson will quit before England is knocked out of the World Cup.
33-1. David Beckham will wear dreadlocks for England's opening game against Paraguay.
25-1. An England player will be sent home for gambling during the World Cup.
16-1. England players will all have the same hair color for the opener.
11-2. England will win the World Cup, the shortest odds since 1970 when England was defending champion.
5-1. England will score five or more goals against Trinidad & Tobago.
2-1. The official England World Cup song, by the group Embrace, will be No. 1 on the English charts during the World Cup.
6 Games in bleu
Zinedine Zidane has announced his retirement from soccer after the 2006 World Cup. Zidane, who will turn 34 in June, was the greatest playmaker of his generation, but he scored some of France's most important goals over the last decade.FRANCE-CZECH REPUBLIC (1994). Two months after USA '94, where France was conspicuously absent, Zizou debuted in a friendly match against the Czech Republic. France was trailing, 2-0, with 27 minutes to play when he came on as a substitute. Zidane scored twice, on a shot from outside the penalty area and a header.
ROMANIA-FRANCE (1995). France was in danger of missing out on Euro 1996 when a 3-1 victory over Romania in Bucharest turned the tide. Christian Karembeu and Youri Djorkaeff gave the Blues a 2-0 halftime lead and Romania pulled a goal back in the second half before Zidane scored an insurance goal from 20 yards out.
FRANCE-BRAZIL (1998). Who will ever forget Zizou's two goals in the first half of the World Cup final? Up until the final, it had been a disastrous tournament for Zidane, suspended for the round of 16 and quarterfinals after receiving a red card against Saudi Arabia, but he made up for that with two goals, both on headers, the first off a corner taken by Emmanuel Petit from the right side, the second off a corner taken by Djorkaeff from the left. France went on to win, 3-0, and capture its first World Cup title.
FRANCE-SPAIN (2000). Two years later, France won Euro 2000, but it faced a stiff test in the quarterfinals against Spain. Zidane's goal on a free kick, one of the best of his career, was the difference in a 2-1 win for the Blues.
FRANCE-PORTUGAL (2000). In the next round of Euro 2000, France faced Portugal. Their semifinal encounter was headed to a shootout until the Bleus were awarded a penalty kick in the 117th minute. Chaos ensued as the Portuguese surrounded Austrian referee Gunter Benko. Three were sent off before order was restored and Zidane stepped up and converted the golden goal in the Bleus' 2-1 win.
FRANCE-ENGLAND (2004). The Bleus appeared to headed toward defeat in their opening game at Euro 2004 when Zizou rescued them. France trailed, 1-0, in stoppage time when Zidane converted a free kick (photo below) and penalty kick to give the Bleus a 2-1 victory.
5 Rising stars
CESC FABREGAS (Spain). He goes by ''Cesc'' when he plays for Spain, and Arsenal fans call him ''Fabulas.'' Fabregas was the MVP and leading scorer at the 2003 Under-17 World Championship and soon cracked the Arsenal midfield. He played a key role in the Gunners' run to the Champions League final and debuted for Spain in March. Fabregas, 19, is good on the ball with both feet, accurate with his passes from short and long distance and strong on the tackle.
LIONEL MESSI (Argentina). Such is Messi's talent that Argentina coach Jose Pekerman took the 18-year-old winger to Germany despite a knee injury that kept him out of action for almost all of the spring. Messi's meteoric rise began a year ago when he led Argentina to the 2005 World Youth Championship title. Barcelona rushed to have Messi's contract redrawn so he didn't escape, and Pekerman immediately brought him into the national team.
JOSE MONTIEL (Paraguay). As a child growing up in Itaugua, Montiel sold empanadas in the street to earn money his family. He debuted at Asuncion club Olimpia at 16 and Paraguay's full national team a year later. At 18, he is headed to the World Cup. ''This is the future of our soccer,'' says Coach Anibal Ruiz of Paraguay's young team that will try to advance to the knockout phase for the third straight time.
YAYA TOURE (Ivory Coast). No player's stock has risen so fast this year as Toure's. A tremendous African Nations Cup has made him a hot property, though he's playing hard to get. Toure, 23, says he won't play in France, home to dozens of Ivorian players, and he isn't high on Arsenal, where his older brother, Kolo, plays. Yaya Toure, a defensive midfielder in the mold of Patrick Vieira, first played in Europe at Belgian club Beveren, a staging ground for Ivorian prospects, then spent time in Ukraine and Greece, where he now plays for Olympiakos.
THEO WALCOTT (England). Coach Sven Goran Eriksson picked the 17-year-old striker sight unseen. Walcott had never played for Arsenal's first team, but the recommendation of Gunners manager Arsene Wenger was good enough for Eriksson. Pele says it's unfair to put pressure on Walcott. He at least had played a season for Santos and had a handful of caps for Brazil when he went to the 1958 World Cup as a 17-year-old. ''I hope Theo has the same luck I had,'' Pele says. He scored six goals and helped Brazil win its first World Cup title.
4 Magic tricks
Ronaldinho is soccer's most famous showman, a magician with the ball.His talents were honed as a child in Brazil, many of them perfected at home. He says he would play with his friends outside until they got bored, then in his house, dribbling past chairs and tables, and with his dog, Bombom.
''I had to work hard on my moves to keep him from getting the ball,'' Ronaldinho says.
After being awarded the 2005 Ballon d'or as European Player of the Year, Ronaldinho explained to France Football some of the tricks of his trade. Here are four of them.
ELASTIC. Ronaldinho's favorite move is the ''elastic,'' as they call it in Brazil, where he caresses the ball with the outside of the right foot and then his instep and in a split second changes direction. Ronaldinho says he learned the move and many others watching videotapes of the great Roberto Rivelino, a star on Brazil's 1970 World Cup championship team. He insists he doesn't make the move to show off. ''That's just how I play,'' he says.
STEPOVER. Another Ronaldinho favorite is the stepover, or pedalada, where he steps over a dead ball with his right foot, then his left foot, one or more times, then takes off with the ball. Ronaldinho says he discovered the move watching old tapes of the legendary Garrincha. Ronaldinho's Brazil teammates, Ronaldo and Robinho, are masters at the stepover. Ronaldinho marvels at Ronaldo's effectiveness in the penalty area: ''Defenses know it's coming – stepover, acceleration, shot – but there's nothing they can do about it.''
FREE KICK. Ronaldinho learned how to approach free kicks from his brother, Roberto Assis: ''You have to tune out everyone in the stands and on the field and concentrate,'' Ronnie says. ''On a free kick, it's you, the ball and the goalie.'' Ronaldinho doesn't like to take a long approach. ''You only need three or four steps.'' He says his accuracy comes from how he uses his right foot, turns his arm and balances his body.
BLIND PASS. Ronaldinho says he learned this move as a child from an American. He loves the NBA and often watched Magic Johnson, a specialist in the blind pass. ''You always have to think of ways to complicate the lives of defenders,'' Ronaldinho says. He says the blind pass is perfect to change the direction of play and keep defenses unbalanced. ''You have to work on it a lot in practice,'' he cautions.
3 World Cup Classics
In the most anticipated match of the first round, the Netherlands and Argentina renew one of the great World Cup rivalries when they meet June 21 in Frankfurt. They've played three times, and each game was a classic.
1974 WORLD CUP (Second Round). Clockwork Orange was how they described the play of the great Dutch teams of the early 1970s, and it was never more apparent than in the 4-0 demolition of the Argentines at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion. The Dutch led 2-0 at the half, but they could have easily been ahead by five goals. They scored two more in the second half and could have had more goals but for the driving rain that turned the field into a swamp. Afterward, Argentine Hugo Bargas marveled at the Oranjemen: ''The Dutch come from another planet.''
1978 WORLD CUP (Final). Four years later, Argentina and the Netherlands met under different circumstances, the World Cup final in Buenos Aires. It wasn't the best final ever played but it was one of the most tense. Four years after losing to Germany, the Dutch returned to the final, but they were now without the great Johan Cruyff and were the underdogs against the host Argentines. Still, the Oranje almost won, equalizing in the 81st minute and watching Rob Rensenbrink hit the post in the last minute of regulation. The overtime was all Argentina's, though, as it overran the Dutch and won, 3-1, to capture its first World Cup title.
1998 WORLD Cup (Quarterfinals). Marseilles' Stade Velodrome was the stage of the third Netherlands-Argentina showdown, decided by a touch of genius. The game was heading into overtime when Frank De Boer's 60-yard pass hit Dennis Bergkamp in stride running into the penalty area. Bergkamp controlled the ball, rounded Argentine defender Roberto Ayala and scored on a powerful shot with the outside of his right foot to give the Dutch a 2-1 victory.
2 Reunions
Fifteen World Cup teams – almost half the field – are coached by foreigners. Two coaches have to face their home countries. Sven Goran Eriksson's England plays Sweden June 20, and Zico's Japan meets Brazil two days later.
ZICO. Zico was to the J-League what Pele was to the NASL, the Brazilian superstar who helped popularize a new league.
He's faced heavy criticism, though, for Japan's recent performances and his tactics.
''The buck stops with me,'' says Zico, Japan's coach since 2002.
Japan has a shot against Brazil, which Zico represented at three World Cups. Japan defeated Brazil, 1-0 at the 1996 Olympics in Miami, and they tied, 2-2, at the 2005 Confederations Cup.
SVEN GORAN ERIKSSON. Eriksson must again lead England against Sweden. They tied, 1-1, at the 2002 World Cup, extending the Swedes' unbeaten record against the English since 1968.
''At least on paper, we are the favorites together with Sweden to go through,'' Eriksson says, ''but you never know.''
An early England exit would mark an ignominious end to Eriksson's controversial reign as England's first foreign hire.
The English FA bought out the last two years of Eriksson's contract for a fee estimated at $9 million after revelations he made to a reporter posing as an Arab sheikh, the latest in a series of scandals in which Eriksson became embroiled.
1 Giant party
The Malaysian government is warning employers about workers sleeping on the job.
Human resources departments at British companies are devising flexible shifts so the workers can leave early.
Dutch firms are insuring themselves against workers who stay away en masse.
The culprit? World Cup fever.
Four years ago, Malaysian employers were inundated with fake medical certificates from workers claiming they were sick. To cut down on the fraud, Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn is urging employers to give staff members paid leave so they can stay up all night and watch games live from Germany.
The problem is particularly acute in countries with title contenders. Two years ago, when the Netherlands reached the semifinals of Euro 2004, absentee levels on game days reached 20 percent.
In Britain, where workers are being encouraged to flex as an alternative to not showing up for work at all, there are predictions that absentee rates will reach 40 percent during later stages of the World Cup.
The cost of such lost productivity is being estimated at 100 million pounds ($180 million) a day.
World Cup fever will make winners as well as losers. The British economy is expected to get a $2.25 billion boost in consumer spending thanks to the World Cup. Sales at pubs are expected to increase $500 million alone.
The World Cup is a bonanza for makers of big-screen TVs and digital video recorders. Almost a quarter of the $1.9 billion Japanese consumers will spend on the World Cup will be for electronic products.
Closer to home, the World Cup is producing winners and losers.
The finals coincide with Mexico's presidential election, which will be held July 2. Campaign operatives recognize the public will be disinclined to pay attention to politics during the World Cup, so they are buying up air time on World Cup broadcasts, creating a windfall for Televisa and TV Azteca, who share the World Cup television rights in Mexico and are selling commercial time at a premium.
On the contrary, World Cup fever is being felt negatively in Florida. European tourist operators fear a drop of 20 percent in travel bookings to Florida in June because of the World Cup. One Miami tour operator told the Miami Herald his business with German tourists will be down 80 percent.
The problem: Europeans believe they won't be able to find anywhere to watch the World Cup if they're traveling in the USA.
Miami tourism officials are trying to sell South Florida as a bastion of soccer fever. They note World Cup 2002 TV ratings in South Florida were higher than those for any Miami team except the NFL Dolphins.
(This article originally appeared in the June 2006 issue of Soccer America Magazine.)