Gooooooo-oal!!

It's that time in the four-year cycle when life gets compressed into a "sphere of 8 inches diameter", and I realise how distantly removed I have got from the beautiful game. Well, not that I ever was who could be called a 'die-hard' fan of the game, but I still do remember Eric Cantona's farewell season at the EPL so many years ago. Maybe the EPL's (which is easily the most visible league) exhaustive schedule got to me, or maybe it was because I lost touch with friends who watched the game, but I do believe my distancing from the game was also due in part to the fact that football demands a high degree of association from the viewer unlike any other sport. It's quite impossible to remain passionately neutral about the game, which is so hugely participative by nature, and simply enjoy the different flavours that different teams bring to the table. Iam yet to come across a football fan who didn't have a favourite club/country he swore by and a villainous club/country he swore at. And when it comes to an event like the World Cup, having a 'favourite team' becomes all the more of a necessity. Otherwise, you just aren't connecting with the billions of blood-thirsty fans all over the globe.

Thus, shaking the footballing cobwebs away, here's how an ignoramus selects in 20 minutes the 'Team' to root for in the Tournament!

First, you need to select a team which you are confident would make it past the group stages. After all, you dont want to be feeling empty and without purpose at the end of the first fortnight itself. Also, it pays to cheer for an underdog, since the thrill of winning gets heightened while the despair of defeat can feel less bitter.

These preconditions automatically take care of 20 odd teams of the 32 participating, and of the remaining......

Germany - hmm...The home team has enough support (and pressure) behind it as it is.

England - Any side which declares itself incapable of winning if it misses one of its key players isn't worth cheering for.

Argentina - Too much of a big gun for me to back.

Holland - hmm...Too many folk's dark horse/favourite, so it aint gonna be mine!

Italy - There was a time when I used to support the original 'Men in Blue' for the sole reason that they were reviled by everyone else I knew. But yeah, their strong-arm defensive tactics can leave even their strongest of neutral supporters hesitant after sometime.

Brazil - Tournament favourites. Out of the question!

France - I hated Barthez and Blanc's bald-plate kissing act last time around, and I find that one of them is still on the scene!

Spain - The perennial under-achievers, can I really trust them to get any far in this tournament?

Portugal - Hasnt their Golden Generation become just the Old Generation right now?

and so....

The Czech Republic - I loved the attacking, free-flowing display they put up at the last European Championships, they have a lot of flair for a European team, they are favourites to make it to the knock-out stages from GroupE along with Italy, and if they manage to put one over the Azurri, should be able to avoid Brazil in the second round,....and not too many people give them a chance to begin with.
hmm....yup, I think I just got a team for myself!

So for everybody, it's 'Joga Bonita' for the next one month!...and for me, it's "Go, Baros!...Go, Koller!...Go, Nedved!...Go, Poborsky!"....err, is he still playing?