My main concern about the Brazilians is, as you would expect, at the back. The goalkeeper Dida has been prone to more than the occasional ricket at Milan. I've seen him throw himself across his goal to make impossible saves, then moments later flap at a cross like a big lassie or let the ball from a half-hit shot slip throw his hands like a bar of soap. Like all Brazilian keepers, he tends to get away with it because the guys at the other end are capable of canceling out all his howlers with their own very special brand of magic. But what if they have an off day?
Nor am I too fond of the big centre-half Lucio. I don't understand how he survived so long in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. Sure, he is big and strong and very commanding in the air but, on the deck, he is there for the taking. Remember the game against England four years ago? He was all over the place when a hopeful punt was knocked towards Owen, somehow Lucio ended up with his back to the ball, it bounced off him and Owen was left with a tap-in. He was one lucky guy that Rivaldo and Ronaldinho (aided and abetted by Seaman) bailed him out and no doubt he will be confident that the front players can again undo any errors this time around. But what if they have an off day?
Mind you, with a front line of Kaka, Ronaldo, Adriano and Ronaldinho it will take an awful lot of guys having an off day to give Brazil any serious worries. With full-backs Cafu and Roberto Carlos bombing up and down the flanks and firing over all sorts of crosses, the attackers certainly won't lack ammunition. But once the World Cup gets down to the quarter-final and semi-final stages, there will be a few foxes operating from the dug-outs and I'd expect somebody to be bold enough to commit players into the wide positions to cash in on the Brazilian full-backs going walkabout.
But who will have the courage to have a go at Brazil? I'd like to think the Italians could do it but, despite the presence of so many talented players in their squad, their mentality is still too negative and they would be more inclined to shut up shop, hope for a 0-0 draw, then maybe nick it on penalties. Argentina could also give them something to worry about but I reckon they're burdened by a wee bit of an inferiority complex when faced by Brazil and they are likely to revert to type and try to kick them off the park. And by giving away so many free-kicks, they will surely suffer once Ronaldinho goes to work.
France are another side capable of doing some damage but I feel they rely too heavily on Zidane and Henry and they'll be in trouble if either gets a knock during the tournament. I'd fancy Holland to give Brazil a run for their money but the Dutch have a long history of letting themselves down at the crucial moment and I'll be very surprised if they mange to keep their fingers away from self-destruct button. And England? Don't make me laugh! Once it gets down to the nitty-gritty, scoring chances will be few and far between and, with neither Owen nor Rooney being fully fit, they'll suffer the consequences.
If anybody is going to stop Brazil in their tracks it has to be Germany. With home advantage, they'll get more than their fair share of contentious decisions and, despite so much doom and gloom among the natives, I reckon Jurgen Klinsmann's side are perfectly capable of avenging the defeat in the 2002 final. I spent a few days in Germany during that tournament and listened to the team being slagged off as the worst German side of all time. Hey, they only got to the feckin final and, if not for that ugly big brute Oliver Kahn playing dropsy, they might even have won it.
For all their faults, the Germans always rise to the big occasion and my money is on Michael Ballack to be the star of the show and let all Germany know what they will be missing when he goes to Chelsea. And with Cologne having just been relegated, it looks like Lukas Podolski will be moving to Bayern Munch to fill Ballack's shoes. Look out for him also making a huge impact on the World Cup.
At the other end of the park, I've never been a Jens Lehman fan. Well, not since that day he came upfield for a last minute corner-kick and helped Borussia Dortmund get the goal which took their UEFA Cup tie against the Gers into extra-time and, ultimately, the penalty shoot-out which we lost. He is another goalie who is prone to costly lapses and, when he and Kahn had a bit of a spat over who would be number one, I couldn't help thinking that, if Stefan Klos was playing in the Bundesliga, he would have pushed both of them into the background…just so long as he kept the stabilizers on his bike!!! One thing is certain, if Lehman embarks on another rash charge out of his box over the next few weeks, there won't be too many refs with the bottle to show the red card.
So I'm going for Germany to repeat the trick of 1974 and win the World Cup on home soil. I had the good fortune to be at the World Cup Final party with The Koelsch last time around. They lost 2-0 but it was still one helluva bevvy session. Then they all got up and went to their work next day. No doubt there will be a few more hangovers if they actually win the thing but you won't find too many Germans inclined to miss a shift…and that for me is a major character defect.
Can you imagine the scenes here if we actually did something in a World Cup? Jeez, for years we've been going AWOL for days on end yet we've only ever won four World Cup games and two of them were against Zaire and New Zealand. My doctor (an Aussie) says its maybe not such a bad thing that we're now more inclined to be on the outside looking in. Stupid man!
I'll certainly have a shekel or two on the Germans. And if they don't do it? Well, it has to be Brazil.
LITTLE BOY BLUE