WELL DONE BRAZIL. And finally Brazil again crowned champions of World Soccer. Congratulations due to them for the good display they dished out in the final. Without them in the final and worst still with their early exit if it had to happen the charm of World Cup would disappear. In Kuwait many of my friends and acquaintances were constantly praying for their success. If you carefully analyse the final you will notice that inspite of their weakness, Germans gave a stiff competition to their opponents who were saved twice by the bar and post. However, you must accept that the woodwork is also a part of defense and it sometimes especially during crucial time creates wonders. Lanky defender Lucio deserves compliments for giving his heart and guarding his citadel very well, though not a sprinter yet his big strides helped him to overcome the speedy forwards. Roberto Carlos was easily the hero of Brazilian fight for their supremacy. I admire his defensive tactics, his skill of acquiring the ball from the feet of the opponents, his abundant stamina running from one end to the other and still doing the recovery of his position right in time. His goal thru direct free kick against China proved his superiority in this area. No goalkeeper can take his direct free kick lightly. Earlier we saw how Frenchman Platini and Argentinian Maradona feared by the opposing custodians when both these great foot-ballers used to take the direct free kick. Captain Cafu played his heart of course tirelessly and very cleverly not only to defend his citadel but also to attack and feed his forwards with clever passes. He reminded me of the role played earlier by Italian skipper and defender Fascheti in 1970 World Cup. Moreover, Cafu showed how gentleman he is when he left his area and rushed to German keeper Kahn to console him after the end of final. Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo no doubt a deadly trio very difficult to control and contain yet they are far inferior to the great Brazilians we saw in earlier Cups. Ronaldo no doubt played his part well yet he was very much erratic in finishing, he was not as accurate as Maradona was once during his hey days. A player of Ronaldo’s category should be as accurate as any sharpshooter. Yet he deserved compliments for the role he played in Brazil’s victory. The magic of Brazil came into display only during their encounter with England especially when young toothy Ronaldinho displayed his real genius by totally fooling the entire defense of England and passing the ball to Rivaldo just to give a final touch of course with his brilliance. The magical display Ronaldinho showed for this goal was rarely seen in the earlier World Cups. His second goal was no doubt a great feat but it was not a masterpiece, it was a faultpiece of English keeper. Even then it was not an easy task to score such a goal from such a long distance in a direct free kick. Denilson sobbing after the final reminded me how the great Eusebio of Portugal in 1966 cried after his great team lost in the semi-final against the host England. The cameraman who cliqued that photograph was given topmost award. In every final and in every World Cup crying should be there, somebody cry for the loss as Eusebio did while others cry for victory as Denilson did and earlier in 1958 as a young kid of 17 Pele did, he sobbed of course uncontrollably in inspite of pacifying by great Didi, Vava and Garincha. Pele then was too young to control his emotions. A quarter of a century back one could not bear to have Asian or African teams competing in world cup because these teams always dished out poor performances. But time has changed now and due to globalisation of soccer African, Asian and Third World countries gained solid foothold of this game. They have proved in this World Cup and also earlier too how they have improved. One of the reasons for the improvement of soccer in third world countries and also elsewhere was the contribution of Brazilian skill and techniques acquired by these countries thru the import of Brazilian coaches and players. May God Bless Brazil. During the World Cup the media especially the print one was full of news. Almost all the national newspapers of India gave front page coverage due to which the other sports news was totally eclipsed to secondary and tertiary places. This shows the importance of this game though India is nowhere in its ratings. In this forum we read lot of stories written by lot of writers but among all the writers, I liked the stories flashed by Agnelo Gomes from USA immediately after the matches were over. His assessment and language used were very appropriate and to the point. He left nothing for speculation. Thru his reviews I learnt a lot. It is nice to have such great soccer journalists amongst Goans. May Goans have more of such writers and may Goa produce World class soccer players in future. During this World Cup we saw no fighting on the streets after the defeats of England, France and Germany. Normally spectators and supporters of these teams are known to be very good ruffians and that they are so was proved in the proceeding World Cups. The organizers Japan and Korea deserve compliments for organising this tournament though jointly but very efficiently. The World Cup festival every four years is really creating wonders in the World, it unites the world as one family and it brings every nation closer to the other. There is no such event in the world as World Cup that binds the world together. Hail World Cup. During this World Cup we not only saw the good brand of soccer but we also saw the men's acceptance of God's power. In this World Cup we noticed the strong chord between men and God and Brazil showed it to the World that Power of God can create anything. yes of course, they believed in Jesus Christ and propagated Jesus Christ much much better than those Church leaders such as priests, bishops, cardinals and others in the Churches. During the Prize distribution ceremony we saw great Pele and Backenbeur playing major roles along with FIFA officials. Yes, it is their right to be there and not of Presidents, Premiers, Kings and other political leaders who assembled there to watch the final. The leaders of the countries may be good in their areas of functioning but surely not on soccer field. Soccer field and related matters should be left to soccer pundits only. It is a very good lesson for many of us who invite as chief guests and guests of honour for our soccer festivals dignitaries and persons who know nothing of soccer. Once again congratulations to Brazil. A Veronica Fernandes, Kuwait. _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
