There's no denying it: this World Cup thus far has been terrible. The ultimate sporting jamboree, a showcase of the world's best talent, and yet twelve games in only one team has scored more than twice, Germany with four in by far the most entertaining match. The Netherlands and South Korea are the only teams to score twice. There has to be a reason for this.
Altitude could be a factor. With less oxygen players are willing to run less, make runs, and generally have the courage to make an exhausting foray that will tax the lungs but probably not the opposition goalkeeper. However, not every stadium is at altitude, with a good few at sea-level, and there is no correllation between height and goals.
The atmphosphere, perhaps? Not the literal atmosphere, but the crowd-generated excitement: the roar that chases a winger down the flank, the gasps at near misses. I maybe sensationalising things a bit here, but it is an undeniable factor. 40 000 people shouting at a lacklustre player will get him moving. In South Africa, atmosphere of this kind has been sorely wanting. Stadia are dominated by vuvuzela-tooting South Africans; flights and ticket prices have mean there hasn't been a noticable worldwide presence, providing fans that actually know how to get a stadium rocking. Am I being unfair on the South Africans? No, I don't think so. It may be in their country, and it's good that a World Cup is in Africa, but they must surely realise that the entire world is being driven insane by the incessant buzzing. Imagine going to a dinner party only to find aggressive dubstep being played the whole time. It's not proper. South Africa have taken the role of setting an example for the whole continent, and while I think it should be distinctively African. But if this sets a precedent for the whole continent then it's hard to see other countries getting the vote in coming years.
As annoying as the vuvuzelas are, they cannot be entirely to blame; Jamie Carragher said he wasn't affected by them, though I would imagine his ears aren't great after spending a career playing at Anfield. Could the frequently slammed Jabulani be to blame? Are the Adidas boffins wrong in that impeccable roundness doesn't equal ease of use, or perhaps it's a good ball, just far too different to from regular footballs. The Jabulani was used for the past season in the Bundesliga, which resulted in the highest goals to games ratio of all the big European leagues. That could, however, explain why German have scored the most, while everyone else is struggling.
We are still in the early stages of the World Cup, but just 20 goals have been scored in comparison with 28 by this stage four years ago. 140% more goals were scored in 2006 than 2010. By the end of the first round of group matches 39 goals had gone it. No pressure on Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and Spain, then, who have to hit five a piece, which would result in an amazing 5-5 draw between Ivory Coast and Portugal.
Yeah getting to play with the ball definately helped the Germans, hopefully we'll see more goals as we go along
ReplyDeleteAlso teams are more scared of losing at this stage than they are of winning, so are pretty defensive, hoping to counter. Or in the case of Spain/England etc. don't quite have the cutting edge (Spain pass, pass, pass and then cross but had no height in the box until Torres came on, and even then he didn't seem to get in the box much)