The Contenders:
Italy- Ranked 3 in latest FIFA rankings behind Argentina and Brazil. Winners of FIFA World Cup 2006, Euro 2000 finalists. A reasonable pick to win it all at the end of the month.
Player to Watch: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Midfielder Pirlo, at 29, is a highly experienced field marshall for the Italians, having been capped at the senior national level 46 times since 2002. He's won the Champions League with AC Milan, and was an integral part of the World Cup side that downed current group rivals France at WC '06 in penalties, knocking his effort coolly past Gregory Coupet. Pirlo was named man-of-the-match twice during the tournament in Germany. In his U-21 days, he captained the Italians to that age group's Euro Championship in 2000. His pace-setting patience, peripheral vision, and incisive passing will surely provide the Azzurri attack with myriad opportunities going forward. Be sure to keep an eye out for his free-kick abilities as well, as he's blasted home a couple of stunners this season in Serie A; when striking from distance, he often hits the ball head-on over the defensive wall in a manner similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's, and both achieve this wobbling, dipping trajectory that when destined for target usually fools keepers.
Key Question: How important will the recent training ground injury to former World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid) prove with respect to coach Roberto Donadoni's plans? Cannavaro is the cornerstone of the Italians' defensive rampart and is usually entrusted with the responsibility of captaining the XI. Donadoni certainly will have a hard time compensating for this unfortunate loss, and the Italians may very well find themselves conceding goals to the likes of Romania's Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina), France's Karim Benzema (Olimpique Lyonnais) and Thierry Henry (Barcelona), or any of the Netherlands' offensive weapons without Cannavaro's commanding presence in the central defense. Gennaro "The Bulldog" Gattuso (AC Milan) will have to play even more conservatively in his midfield patrol to cover for what will undoubtedly prove to be a gaping hole in the Italian defense.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "O mihi praeteritos referat si Iuppiter annos!" (If only Jupiter would restore me those bygone years!) -Virgil, The Aeneid
Team Prognostication: 7 points from a possible 9 will put the experienced Italians into the next round.
France- Ranked 7 in the most recent FIFA rankings. Some recent highlights: Euro 2000 Champions, World Cup 98 Champions, World Cup 2006 Finalists. A mix of experience (Makelele (Chelsea), Thuram (Barcelona), Anelka (Chelsea), and Henry (Barcelona) have been part of the senior side for years now) and fresh talent (Nasri (Olympique de Marseille/Arsenal), Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais), and Gomis (St. Ettiene) are blossoming) should be a formula for success.
Players to Watch: Franck Ribery (Bayern Munchen) and Thierry Henry
Franck "Franckenstein" Ribery, the former Marseille winger who now offers his services to Bundesliga side Bayern Munich, is an explosive right-footed player sometimes deployed on the left to allow room for devastating runs crossfield. His dribbling skills are unparalleled on the French team, and his lightning pace and slick play-making prowess are invaluable assets in Les Bleus' offense. Ribery is also known as a clinical finisher, and he may be heavily relied upon to provide goals if Thierry Henry fails to rise to the occasion for France as he often has in the past.
We frog fans are hoping for an inspired last effort from talismanic striker Henry. He shone brilliantly for Arsenal, but since his move to Barcelona has become unsettled. This past campaign in La Liga, a third place finish, was widely considered a massive disappointment for both him personally and Barcelona as a club. Henry has stated that this may be his final major tournament for the F.F.F., so he should be striving to go out with a bang.
Key Question: Will coach Raymond Domenech's absurd selections hinder French progress deep into the tournament? Domenech selected perennial failure Jean-Alain Boumsong (Lyon) even after numerous blunders for club (especially during his tenure at Newcastle United) and country, scrub Francois Clerc (Lyon), and left out David Trezeguet (Juventus) and Djibril Cisse (Marseille). Soccer writer Paul Marshall wrote a brilliant analysis of Domenech's selections at ESPN's soccernet. Be sure to check it out here before France play on Monday against Romania. It will be interesting to see whether the French squad's substitutions and reserves answer successfully when called upon to support what the starting XI have established.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "Each player must accept the cards life deals him, but once they are in hand, he alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game." -Voltaire
Team Prognostication (Hopeful): France takes a maximum 9 points and wins the tournament.
The Netherlands: Ranked 10 in the latest FIFA rankings. Euro 2004 Semifinalists. The Oranje traditionally play what is known as "Total Football," a style characterized by smooth movement of the ball from defense through midfield to the forwards, and are often tactically well organized. Touted as potential favorites for most tournaments, it is about time the Netherlands delivered the hammer.
Player to Watch: Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid)
Sneijder is without question one the Netherlands' best players, along with Rafael Van Der Vaart (Hamburg SV), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), and the young Klaas-Jan Huntelaar(Ajax. He controls the midfield as an efficient attack-minded commanding officer, and possesses among the top dead-ball strikes in the world. His stellar play for Madrid helped the White and Purple win La Liga's title this past season. In his debut for Madrid he scored the winning goal against derby rivals Atletico, and followed that spectacular performance with a two-goal outing against eventual second place Villareal. In 30 appearances for RMCF, Sneijder scored nine goals, while proving his worth in both central and wing roles. With Ryan Babbel (Liverpool F.C.), club teammate Ruud van Nistelrooy and the just-injured Arjen Robben, van Persie, and Huntelaar his colleagues in the attack, Sneijder has a wonderful opportunity to create chances and finish them off in sweet, free-flowing moves. Check out this stunner:
Key Question: How long will Robben be out? Marco Van Basten is surely concerned that Robben has picked up an injury in training and already has ruled out playing in the Oranje's opening match. The pacy winger has also had a fine season with Real Madrid and his service into the box for the likes of Van Nistelrooy and K-J Huntelaa...aaar.
Relevant Literary Quotation: "For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." -Vincent Van Gogh (he has Oranje hair...ha)
Team Prognostication: A shock loss to Romania will leave Van Basten's side in 3rd place, another disappointing outing.
Romania- Ranked 12 (Woah! ahead of Mexico, Cameroon, Ghana, and Croatia?) in the latest FIFA classifications. How did that happen? As mentioned above, the Romanians actually finished ahead of the Dutchmen in the qualifying group; coach Victor Piturca's men shan't be totally ruled out, but will be the least likely team to progress.
Player to Watch: Adrian Mutu (Fiorentina)
Mutu led the Romanian squad in scoring during its impressive qualifying campaign with a total of 6 goals. The former Chelsea striker is well traveled within the Italian Serie A, but has settled in quite nicely for this past season's UEFA cup semifinalists Fiorentina with 33 goals in 62 appearances. Interestingly, Romania have only lost one game out of 25 in which Mutu has netted at least once. He is more or less a classic center forward and finishes well in the box and slightly beyond. His strength, balance, and tenacity have made him one of the premier forwards in Italy this season. Let's see if he can continue to tap into this rich vein of form in Group C; without him, Dracula and the rest of Romania will lament a lame showing in Austria/Switzerland.
Key Question: Who besides Mutu can contribute a game-changing performance? Look for Mutu's strike partner Ciprian Marica (Stuttgart), who had five goals in qualifying as the team's second leading scorer, to step it up on the big stage. Another important source of goals for the Romanians may be set pieces, with beast-man Christian Chivu crashing for headers.
Here's a neat effort from Marica vs. Russia:
Relevant Literary Quotation: "Reality is not simply there, it must be searched out and won." -Paul Celan
Team Prognostication: Last place in the group, but at least one absolute stunner to cherish.
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