Football World Cup 2014 in Brazil

Football is a religion in most of the countries of the world. If there is one game that is most famous, then, you can be sure of it to be Football. Unlike India, where Cricket is a religion, Football, is a game which has followers in every part of the world, be it South America, North America, Australia, Asia, Africa or the Core of Football i.e. Europe.

India also has a big fan base, but if compared to Cricket, number is negligible. Apparently, India stand 157th in the world ranking which tells story about its low fan base. Except for Bengal, Kerala and North-East states, fan base are hardly in small packets, which erupts only during big events like World Cup, spread across the country.

This year, starting tomorrow is the world cup of football. This time's host is Brazil. It should be a proud moment for that country. But seems, it is caught in some kind of turmoil. Every day we hear some news of protests, some times violent,  going across in Brazil. Brazil is also a developing country just like India, which faces lots of problems in carrying out quality work. I remember news during commonwealth games preparation back in 2010 in India. The news coming from Brazil about World Cup arrangements remind me strongly of those. Anyway, over the time, some how it is managed, and organizers manage to save their skin. I am sure, same will be true about Brazil.

Coming back to Football, this time, it is speculated that Brazil is the most probable champion. Somehow, that has become routine to expect Brazil to be champion, but then, it some how manages to loose out either in Quarters or Semi. This time they are depending a lot on players like  Neymar. I personally won't go with Brazil. I have the same image for Brazil as we have for South Africa in Cricket.

Other team that falls in the same category is Germany. I have supported Germany a lot. Thanks to my German friend, I followed their game closely in the recent European cup and was shattered when after consistent performance they lost pathetically in semis to Italy, thanks to Balotelli's two goals.

So, my advice, do not support these two teams till they do not raise world cup in their hands. They are the two best teams who can loose at any point from any team.

Last time champion, Spain, apparently is not a favourite any more. They don't have a very successful track record on South American soil. Also, its too boring to watch their matches. Nothing happens in the match where Spain. I guess they will manage to keep all their matches draw with 0-0 score except for one two where they will just score a goal just enough to win a match and reach the next level. In later phase, however, they somehow manage to score goals at their will.

Italy could probably be a big contender in the race. With players like Balotelli, they have a strong attack. But probably they are a little weak on their defence.

Argentina is another team I will be looking forward to. With Messi at the top, this team can do wonders.

Ronaldo's Portugal is one good team. I followed them during European cup. It is a good team, but it doesn't seem like a threat at any point. They are good qualifiers but I suspect if  they good finishers to touch the World Cup.

Back in 2010, I was praying for France for some good reason. But their internal team problems marred their way and threw them out in the initial round itself. This time, I am not sure what to expect from the team.

England is one team which try to portray itself as a big team and in reality on grounds, it is always a disappointment. 

There are many other teams which may make an impression. Some teams like Belgium, Netherlands, Nigeria, Mexico are called underdogs. But except for giving some unexpected results they won't make much difference. 

I will be looking forward to the performance of Asian teams. Among all, I guess Japan is the strongest team which may show some good moves.

Overall, its going to be awesome month ahead. I am going for Germany and Argentina to begin with. Let's see how it develops over the time.

If you want to know about any team in detail, their history, their team or any other thing, you can check this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_FIFA_World_Cup_squads