The New Gods

While the modern day heros strut their stuff on the world stage in the evolution of ancient amphitheaters and colossal gladiatorial pits, The Lovely Reds has been in Greece, the original land of the gods. This got us thinking, if the great stories of Homer were rewritten today who from the world of football would be cast as Zeus and his fellow deities?

Zeus - the king of the gods, the big daddy, this has to be Pele whose face has been attached to every piece of merchandise going during the tournament. Interviewed by every major news station and shown in the stands whenever he attends a fixture, Pele is the original footballing deity and his fame has forged a path for others to follow in his footsteps.

Hermes - The messenger to the gods, Hermes was known to be light of foot, carried by his winged shoes. Arjen Robben the swift-footed Dutchman set a new record sprint during the tournament's group stages, and has continually left players in his dust on delivering the ball to goal.

Dionysus - the god of wine and festivities. Judging from this article, Andrea Pirlo (who actually owns and runs his own vineyard) knows how to have a good time on the old sauce.

Atlas - 'the man with the weight of the world of the world on his shoulders' could be a number of players, from Leonel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. But of all the great individuals to feature in this world cup, Neymar more than any other player, is carrying the expectations of not just a  nation, but the world squarely on his slight shoulders  scratch that, with Neymar's cracked vertebrae it shows that he's not an immortal, Leo Messi it is can he shake the demon of underperforming for Argentina and bring home the cup?

Poseidon - Lord of the Ocean. For taking an alleged dive Nigeria's goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama for flapping limply at a crossed corner, leaving the ball for France's Paul Pogba to head home and then posing with the goal scorer after the match!

Ares - the god of war. This could be the entire Honduras squad who were intent on reducing every match to a bloodbath in the pursuit of the hallowed clean sheet. Other individuals like the Netherlands' Nigel De Jong are infamous for their bloodlust and penchant for chest high challenges. But in homage to our Greek theme and for 15 years service to one of the hardest working teams out there, Georgos Karagounis would be Ares for his love of a good old midfield scrap and his warrior-like qualities. Special mention to Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike.

Hades - God of the underworld, his face worn in a evil smile, Hades wears a cloak made from the souls of the damned and sits atop a throne of bones. Luis Suarez. Hated by everyone apart from the Uruguayan press, he is the harbinger of pain and suffering (just ask Chiellini).

Nemesis - Goddess of revenge. There are a few revenge stories from this world cup, the Netherlands demolition of Spain in the group stages, Algeria's heroics against Germany (although they fell just short) A special mention to the Cameroon squad who took revenge on their national footballing federation, who were late on paying the players their appearance bonuses. By playing poorly and leaving the competition early, those players sure showed the beaurocrats who's boss....

Hecate - Goddess of ghosts, Wayne Rooney for being non-existent (yet again).

Nike - Goddess of Victory........

The Story So Far

Some information about the tournament so far:

Group A

Leaders - Brazil

Group B

Leaders - Netherlands

Group C

Leaders - Colombia

Group D

Leaders - Costa Rica

Group E

Leaders - France

Group F

Leaders - Argentina

Group G

Predicted Leaders - Ghana

Group H

Predicted Leaders - Belgium


Looking above at the list of group leaders there are of course some teams we'd expect to be sitting pretty at the top of their group and others who, after one game at least, must be as surprised as we are.

Brazil top group A after a nervy start to their world cup campaign and were it not for Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura could just as easily be joint second behind Mexico who through equally inept officiating only have one goal to their name after a convincing display against Cameroon, who look likely to finish last.

Recent history shows that Mexico are something of a bogey team for the Seleciao and the teams are tied based on head-to-head fixtures in recent years.

Brazil need to improve before they face the Mexicans as the 3-1 score line against Croatia flattered the hosts enormously and didn't show a fair reflection of how strong Croatia's chances of qualification are.

Be prepared for an upset on the 17th June at the Estadio Castelao Fortaleza when the hosts take on Mexico, which would leave the Brazilians in a perilous position if Croatia beat Cameroon as we'd expect them to.

The Netherlands provided the game of the tournament so far and one of the biggest shocks in their rematch of the 2010 world cup final. An apt way to show the world just how far the Flying Dutchmen have come in recent years they absolutely demolished the current world and european champions even after having gone a goal down, Alonso converting a deserved penalty.

Before the tournament Xavi, Spain's long-serving central midfielder, was quoted as saying 'We'll live or die by our passing game' enough said as this looks to be the beginning of the end for tikki-takka particularly after their heavy loss in the champions league, combined with Bayern's defeat at the hands of a more direct counterattacking Madrid side.

Robin Van Persie's goal was incredible, physics-defying stuff as he flung himself at a long through-ball producing a header the quality and power of which has not inspired in me such awe since Henrik Larsson's effort for Sweden in Euro 2004

For the rest of the game Spain looked second best and were caught out playing a high line on a number of occasions, the best example being Robben's stunning effort having out-paced defender Sergio Ramos in a 25 meter sprint from the half-way line. Subsequent analysis has shown this to be the fastest recorded sprint in any football match, clocking the Dutchman at 37 km/h, Usain Bolt runs at 42...

Chile too looked convincing against an Australia side likely to finish last in Group B. The interesting encounter will fall on the 18th June at the fabled Maracana when Spain take on Chile to decide whether like 2006 holders Italy they will fail to progress out of their group the tournament after they won it so convincingly.

A word of caution though, in 2010 Spain went on to win the tournament despite losing their opener to Switzerland so it may be a touch premature to write them off just yet.

Group C is one of the more open groups and Colombia have taken early control after a convincing performance against Greece. At 2-0 Greek striker Gekas missed a wonderful opportunity to score, his header striking the crossbar from close-range which may have swung the match in the Mediterranean's favour as they had begun to take control.

As the fates would have it they eventually slumped to a disappointing finish conceding a very sloppy third goal which could cost them as I have a feeling goal difference will play a part in this group. The match was also eventful for this celebration after Colombia's opener.

Ivory Coast are also strong contenders to finish top with a glittering array of superstars at their disposal who's quality proved to be the marginal difference in their narrow victory over Japan. Gervinho's sizzling form in Serie A looks to have followed him to Brazil and he could be a dark horse for top goalscorer if the Ivorians progress from the group as we'd expect them to.

Group D now where nobody would have predicted Costa Rica to be top of a group that contains three former world cup champions in Italy, England and Uruguay. Joel Campbell looks to be one of the rising stars of world football and should he continue to demonstrate excellent hold-up ability combined with pace and a fierce shot (as he did for Olympiacos in the Champions League) then Arsenal could have a few european club representatives waiting for them outside London Colney come August.

Uruguay looked disappointing but upon the reintroduction of Luis Suarez expect that to change, ominous for England who face Los Charruas in Sao Paolo on the 19th June.

Italy looked good as they always do in competitive international football (leaving aside their dismal performance in South Africa) and showed an abundance of quality in midfield that enabled them to dictate the tempo of the game against England.

The Lovely Reds have written a review of the England vs Italy match in which we offer our opinion on both sides, but what we will say is that England are by no means out having given one of the best performances of any side in the tournament so far, it just happened to be against a slightly stronger, more experienced Azzuri outfit.

Group E and France have laid their mark as dark horses for the competition lead by an imperious Pogba who will undoubtedly be the target of renewed interest from sides such as Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United. Pogba offers something the French have not had for some years and held his own superbly against a very physical Honduran team.

The Juventus man won the French a penalty for the first goal, which Benzema finished with aplomb (England players take note) and the Real Madrid striker would have netted the first hat-trick of the competition were it not for the post and Honduras keeper Noel Valladares who's fumbled attempt at stopping the ball meant it went down as an own goal given by goal-line technology, the first example of this revelatory system being used to great effect.

Late drama in the other match of Group E as Switzerland scored with the last kick of the game to beat Ecuador, despite having gone 1-0 down in the first half. In what was a blistering display of counterattacking potency Switzerland's move began when Valon Behrami made a great last-ditch tackle on the edge of the Swiss penalty area before storming forward, in a way reminiscent of Fabio Cannavaro against Germany, ending with Seferovic turning in a low cross in emphatic fashion. I think it took the Swiss a second to comprehend the magnitude of the goal as it could be the crucial difference in what will be a very closely-fought group.

In Group F Argentina have won their opening match against a very organised and surprisingly impressive Bosnia side. I suppose it is unjust to say surprisingly as they qualified out of a tricky Baltic group, however given it is their first ever world cup I don't think many were expecting Argentina to struggle as much as they did.

In the end the irrepressible Leo Messi scored a mini Maradona, dribbling past 3 Bosnians before rifling in a low, well-placed shot and sealing victory after the Argentines took an early lead from a deflected header.

Don't be surprised however if Bosnia also qualify in second place, the quality of their opposition in Iran and Nigeria will be evidenced in tonight's match at the Arena da Baixada Curiti.

In Group G I have Ghana down to be group leaders after one game as they face USA, whereas Germany and Portugal face off in what should be a closely-fought encounter. The overall quality of Germany should see them victorious, however as has been proved in many instances so far, the open and fast-paced nature of this world cup has favoured teams who play in a counterattacking style, as Portugal do lead by Ronaldo.

Finally in Group H you would expect Belgium to be group leaders after one game and stay that way until the end. Competition in the form of Algeria, Russia and South Korea is relatively stern but nothing the likes of Hazard and co. can't handle. If they do it in the group stages who knows how far they could go in their first tournament as genuine contenders to reach the latter stages.

In the meantime for more world cup content follow @thelovelyreds on twitter for more in-match analysis and commentary.

The One's That Got Away

Wenger is arguably one of the best managers in the world at recognising talent from a young age.

He is also renowned for seeing something in players which others fail to, reinvigorating the flagging careers of many professionals to blistering effect.

However nobody is perfect and Wenger is guilty of having let some absolutely world class players slip through the net throughout his 17 year tenure.

He has undoubtedly brought more in than let go but TLR coudn’t help thinking what our team might’ve been like today had we been diligent enough to get those elusive starlets to put pen to paper.

Here’s a list of 5 ones that got away:

         

1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic

While still playing for Swedish outfit Malmo FC Zalatan and his agent Mino Raiola made the trip to London Colney to meet with Wenger. Zlatan himself admitted to being overawed by the likes of Bergkamp, Henry and Viera and was eager to open talks with the manager. Wenger requested that Zlatan take part in a trial to which Mino replied ‘Zalatan doesn’t do trials’ before storming out taking the young Swede with him. Zlatan went on to join Ajax and has since played for Europe's elite sides.

2) Gareth Bale

The man who single-handedly kept Spurs in contention for fourth spot last season and who is now lighting up La Liga was very nearly a Gunner. Back when Bale was a stringy teen playing as left-back for a prodigious Southampton side that gave us Walcott, Wenger had the option to sign Bale for an absolute steal. At the time Wenger didn't sign Bale, stating 'We didn't sign Bale because we already had Clichy'....looooooool 

3) Petr Cech

      

      Arsenal had agreed both fees and personal terms with the promising goalkeeper in 2002, who was plying his trade in the Czech first division with Sparta Prague. Yet issues surrounding work permits (a breaking point for many subsequent transfer attempts) saw Arsenal pull out of the deal. Instead, Cech joined French side Rennes where he impressed enough to draw the attention of other premier league clubs, eventually signing for the West London Oil Drums.

       

 4) Yaya Toure 

With older brother Kolo playing first team football with Arsenal, little (hah) brother Yaya was brought to the club. Yaya even played in the famous red and white for a youth side game before issues surrounding work permits once again forced Arsenal to make a decision. Toure ended up joining greek side Olympiakos before going on to become Viera v2.0 with the limited edition 'free kick' accessory pack.

5) Cristiano Ronaldo 

The now twice FIFA World Player of the Year admitted, 'It's true. I was an inch away from signing for Arsenal. I saw Arsene Wenger three times with my mother. It was very close to being a done deal.' According to Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes, a clutch of high-profile clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, were keen to sign the youngster from Sporting Lisbon. Whilst still nothing more than a promising talent the young Ronaldo was shown around London Colney and was even given an Arsenal shirt with his name on the back by Wenger. The Gunners  agreed a fee thought to be worth around £4 million for the Portuguese winger. However just as things looked as though they were heading towards an agreement Manchester United came in with a bid that far outweighed Arsenal's, having been so impressed in a friendly with Sporting Lisbon.     

    

Add those players to our current squad and this is what you get.... we know, we know.....

Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Wojciech Szczesny Defenders: Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Sagna, Vermaelen, Monreal Midfielders: Ramsey, Özil, Bale, Toure, Ronaldo, Wilshere, Chamberlain, Cazorla, Rosicky, Arteta, Flamini Strikers: Ibrahimovic, Suarez, Giroud, Sanogo

Daayyymmmmmm that's hot.

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