FIFA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THESE??

The FIFA World Cup in Brazil is in full flow . It has been by far the most exciting one for a lot of fans and neutrals alike. It has been filled with lots of goal, cards, surprises just to name a few but this does not hide the fact that the World Cup is not of World Standard as we have to come to expect. It has been dogged with certain issues that threaten to take the joy out the World Cup as we know it. 

Top of the list has to be the protests that are taking place in Brazil. A poll taken shortly before the World Cup started showed about 60% of the population would pass up the opportunity to host the global showpiece in favor of using the funds to beef up Brazil's deteriorating infrastructure and public services. This need was made evident after heavy rains hit Natal this week. These protests seem to be affecting the World Cup as attendances have not been impressive. The various arenas have not been filled to capacity. It's up to FIFA and other stakeholders to take measures needed to fill the stadia while giving the people what they want.

Also threatening to unmake this World Cup is the role of the referees. The referees are supposed to be the custodians of the game. They are supposed to ensure this through the use of their decisions on the field of play. This has sadly not been the case in the tournament so far. The beautiful game has been dogged with debatable and dubious refereeing decisions, some of which have totally disrupted the flow of the games in terms of momentum among many others. The blame does not lie entirely on the referees themselves but on FIFA! I do not doubt that these are the best in the business as we speak but with these decisions, the business is about to go bad. I would suggest a major beefing up in the criteria used to select referees for major tournaments. Also a major training and retraining workshop must be organised to effectively equip referees with the skills needed to handle games on the big stage.

The isolated issue of the PA systems failing to play the national anthems during the France-Honduras game is a minor issue. National Anthems are a  big thing during major tournaments. These go a long way to inspire players before a game. Its absence may deprive the game off the passion among many other ingredients. Though minor, must be rectified in order not to reoccur in future games.

FIFA must move quickly to address this issue now to prevent re occurrences in future and make the beautiful game even more enticing and exciting. Also with the FIFA presidential elections fast gaining on us, it will be expedient if the candidates address this issue among the many others that dog FIFA in order to allow the beautiful game, remain a beautiful game.

Spain Vs Netherlands . A Review And Interview Of Salvador Massacre

After what the world witnessed a few hours ago in Salvador, I could not comprehend the events hence I sought the help of my friend and fellow football lover and objective minded analyst Nii Dodoo to help answer a few questions

Nii Aponsah (N.A):  Good evening Nii. How are you doing tonight . Hope you enjoyed the game.

Nii Dodoo (N.D): Good Evening Nii . I'm good and yes I did enjoy the game

N.A: How'd you see the game on a whole ?

N.D: It was a good game by all standards.

N.A : And The Results too ?

N.D: From A Dutch perspective, it was a really really good result which will serve as a confidence boost in their quest for the title but from a Spanish Perspective, this has to be one of their worst performances in recent memory .

N.A: Moving into an absolutely Spanish perspective, what happened and what did not happen ?

N.D: Well, the Spanish side seemed to take their foot off the pedal after the penalty. They allowed complacency to creep into their game and this allowed the Dutch to exploit them fully .

N.A: Did Vicente Del Bosque's changes contribute to the final result in anyway?

N.D: Not really as those changes were needed. Rather, the failure of the players to respond tactically contributed to their defeat.

N.A: Don't you think that the withdrawal of Xabi Alonso rather than Busquets was rather unwise ?

N.D: Not at all. Their presence would have had the same effect .

N.A : Now does this defeat signal the disappearance of the famed "Tiki Taka" and the eventual end of Spanish Dominance on the international stage or do we need a new generation to continue this trend ?

N.D : Tiki Taka is not dead as you presume. It only needs to be modified to effectively incorporate attacking and defensive passages of play.

N.A: Do you think Spain can defend their World Title or would we have a new champion ?

N.D: We would have to wait till after the second round of games in the group stages to determine who but based on tonight's showing from Spain, it'll be safe to say yes .

N.A: Finally Nii, who was your man of the match and your flop of the match ?

N.D: My Man Of the Match has to Be Arjen Robben.
My Flop of the Match was Diego Costa !

N.A: Thank You Nii Dodoo for your time and I hope I can call on you to help me analyse games .

N.D : You're welcome and anytime.


So that's it people, Nii Dodoo and myself (Nii Aponsah)  discussing the Spain Netherlands game. Thank You and join us another time.
Feel free to drop your thoughts, comments and suggestions .

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING THE WORLD CUP (OR NOT)

The FIFA World Cup is here with us again after four years of waiting . It comes with huge expectations for the drama lovers, the analysts among many others. Here though are a few things that could go wrong and right during this football festival in Brazil. 

[ Please note that the below is satirical, and just a bit of fun...]

Neymar dives and Playacts replacing Rivaldo As Brazil's greatest ever actor. 

Neymar Da Silva Santos Junior, the 22 year old Brazilian wonder kid is expected to light up this World Cup with his skills, flicks and "tricks". He is also expected to lead the host nation to the title with all he's got and boy are we going to see him at his best. He is also expected to replace Rivaldo as Brazil's best World Cup Actor.

Boring

This World Cup may be one of the most boring ones in recent memory. There's no Zlatan Ibrahimovic with his antics and explosive goals, Diego Maradona (Veronica, His Translator etc) with his interesting press conferences. Also the injuries that hit Ribery, Reus, Falcao, and those threatening to keep Suarez, Ronaldo, Arturo Vidal, Diego Costa among many others are threatening to make this world cup a dour spectacle. But there's the ever vibrant Balotelli to entertain us if things get extremely boring.

The "Duelelà Distance" between Ronaldo vs Messi

One of the greatest individual rivalries in modern day football is continued in Brazil. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo slug it out albeit in different games (That is if Ronaldo recovers in time. Curse You Kwaku Bonsam).

Should our wishes be granted, two things could happen 

They both score and reach the final but get injured in the process. 

Then again, they both don't score at all no matter how hard they try or cause others to be sent off and become an international disgrace. 

England

The Three Lions or The Circus Of World Cup Football. Anything and everything seems to happen to them. 

Let's hope there's no revolt this time round during which there's no actual revolution. Or Should We?

In the case of an early exit, please at least be good during the entire duration of the tournament. PLEASE! Or, They would be knocked out on penalties. Or Suarez would recover in time and score the goal that knocks England out ?!!! Drama and Confusion all around.

A New Champion ? 

By the Semi final, it is safe to say that a host of the big names would be participating in the world cup behind their screens. A surprise winner? (Honduras, Russia, Ghana, Japan ??? A neutral's Dream.

Another French Revolution Or Viva La France 

The French! Always on hand to provide us with some entertaining football or Would Patrice Evra and Co. put up some utterly gut wrenching performances while fighting their coaches. Also, who gets and early ticket home to wait for the others return from another disgrace in Latin America? #IntercontinentalDisgrace

Samuel Eto'o  and Taunts Jose Mourinho some more "Old man - Fool Banter" whenever He Scores

The mini war of words going on between Samuel Eto'o and Jose Mourinho could go on into Brazil! Expect to see Eto'o score, run to the corner flag, bend over and celebrate like the old man his former boss calls him allowing him to continue the feud with Mr. Mourinho during a press conference.

Let It Go Samuel.

Wayne Rooney finally scores a World Cup Goal but is credited to the Goalkeeper as an Own goal.

Wayne Rooney comes to Brazil on the back of a horrible world cup scoring record expecting to break his scoring duck . he will eventually score against Costa Rica but the goal would be given to Keylor Navas as an own goal leading to Wazza's retirement from international football.

A Graham “Poll” is taken

A player is booked four times before being sent off by the referee. A Poll taken to evaluate the event agrees that was the right call ... (everyone deserves a second chance, a third and a fourth).

With all these and so much more happening or not happening, Brazil 2014 promises to be unlike no other or just like the others.