The Ferocious Four

Argentina, Brazil, Italy and Germany are the four most decorated footballing nations in the world, each with a history embedded in their culture. Since 1930 there have been eighteen World Cup tournaments and there has never been a final that did not include one of the teams above. These four powerhouse nations have won fourteen of the previous eighteen tournaments so selecting any of them as your champions in 2010 is a safe choice. However, it is debated which of these teams is better equipped to make a deep run into the tournament. All four teams have very high expectations and anything less than being crowned champion would be considered a failure by the players and the country. I will break down each team by analyzing players, coaches and qualifying matches as well as my predictions for how each team will fare in the ruthless month long battle.



The greatest assest that the Argentinian team has is that they are blessed with the most dangerous and talented man in football, Lionel Messi. In 2009, with an electric performance, he won Fifa World player of the year while leading his club FC Barcelona to a UEFA champions league title. As we have seen in the past, success in club football does not always translate to success in the World Cup. Maradona, who as a footballer achieved divine status in Argentina, has now taken over the position as head coach of the national team. In response to questions concerning the ability of Lionel Messi he told reporters, "I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he can become an even better player than me."  At just 22 years old, Messi has the expectations of a hopeful nation resting solely on his shoulders. Will he be able to have the composure to lead his team to their first World Cup title since 1986?

During World Cup qualifying Argentina struggled and almost failed to make it to South Africa. They finished fourth in their group behind Brazil, Chile and Paraguay. During their campaign they suffered a 2-0 loss to Ecuador, 2-1 loss to Columbia and an astonishing 6-1 loss to Bolivia. Midway through qualifying, Alito Basile who was the manager of the team was replaced by Diego Maradona. Maradona's coaching resume is far from impressive and history tells us that great players do not always translate into great coaches. Two of the most celebrated men in Argentina must be able to work well together or the squad will not go as far as they anticipate.

Strengths - Lionel Messi, Depth in Attack, Speed and Pace          
Weaknesses - Unproven coach, Experience, Confidence (weak qualifying round)
Prediction - Semi-Finals






Brazil is arguably the most talented team in this year's tournament. They have so many gifted players to recruit that creating a roster of only twenty-three can be challenging. It is their depth that makes them so dangerous. Teams with depth usually do well in this kind of lengthy tournament, regarless of the sport. When teams rely on one or two players, successes and failures of the team are dictated by the performance of those individual players. The more balanced, all around teams are able to draw good performances from a greater number of sources, thus increasing their chances for success. Ronaldinho and Adriano were both left of the 2010 World Cup roster. This is a  reflection of the strength of the Brazilians. Any other team would have found a spot for these offensive players, especially Ronaldinho who won Fifa world player of the year in 2005 and 2006.

The strength of the roster is not the only reason why Ronaldinho and Adriano were left at home. Brazils manager, Dunga, wanted to revamp the teams approach to football. In years past Brazil has become senonymous with beautiful, creative offensive football. At the same time they have been critisized for being too flashy and too fancy. Dunga is one of those critics. He has changed Brazil whole approach to the game. It is no longer sexy offense that Dunga demands from his players but rather stiff, gritty, stingy defense. Leaving players like Ronaldinho and Adriano off the roster is a reflection of this new style.

Brazil did not have an easy qualifying group. They were in a group with Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. However, they were able to finish top of the table with only two losses and eleven goals against in eighteen total games.

Although defense is a priority for Brazil, they still have many players who can put the ball in the net. Robinho and Kaka will lead the offense for Brazil. Both players are fast and have a great ability to beat players one on one. Look for Brazil to keep very disciplined on defense while capitalizing against the opposition with a lightening quick counter-attack. Brazil will have no problem winning their group and with their long bench they will make a deep run into the tournament.

Strengths - Depth, Two-way fullbacks, Balanced football
Weaknesses - Inexperienced Midfield (5 of 7 new), New system
Prediction - Final 






The only place for Italy to go is down. Returning to South Africa as defending World Cup champions, expectations could not be higher. The unfortunate thing about Italy is that they cannot improve on their performance from four years ago. Italy has retained the core talent from their 2006 World Cup roster, keeping nine players, while excluding infamous Italian players such as Inzaghi, Del Piero and Toti.

On paper, Italy looks strong, especially if you consider they went undefeated in ten World Cup qualifying games. From a distance this might look impressive, but upon further analysis you can see that Italy had an easy road to South Africa. Their qualifying group consisted of Ireland, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro and Georgia, not exactly top tier competition. In ten games Italy's largest margin of victory was only two goals. They beat Montenegro 2-1 and 2-0 while almost suffering a loss to Cyprus on two occasions, 2-1 and 3-2. These are less than concinving wins against sub-par teams. Ireland was Italy's only opposition in the group and they tied in both matches. To me, Italy's qualifying run was hollow and I believe have developed a false sense of confidence. What happens when Italy has to play a few competitive matches?       

The next big question facing Azzurri nation is the age of Italy's roster. Many players from the 2006 championship team remain, people such as: Pirlo, Buffon, Cannavaro and Gattuso. However, all of these players are over thirty years old. Experience is a huge benifit in a pressure-filled competition as big as the World Cup. On the other hand Italy runs the risk of leaving a less-skilled, experienced player on the pitch instead of starting a young talent. The best teams are those who can strike a balance between young talent and experienced players, unfortunately I believe that Italy has too much of the latter. I think that Italy will make it out of the first round, but if they have tough matches against Slovakia and Paraguay (which I predict they will), I doubt they will have enough gas left in the tank to propel them much further.

Strengths - Experience, Composure, Strong-back line
Weaknesses - Speed and Pace, Stamina, Pressure to repeat, unsubstantiated confidence
Prediction - 2nd round exit






Germany is looking to capture it's fourth World Cup title this year is South Africa. In the past seven World Cups they have one title, three runner-up finishes, one semi-final and two quarterfinal appearances. Only one time in the history of the tournament has Germany failed to make it out of the group stage.

I think Germany will repeat history again this year and safely make it out of the group stage. With Lahm at left back attacking up the flanks, Schweinstegier controlling the middle and a deep line of talented strickers, Germany has a balanced team all the way up the pitch. One of their offensive weapons is Miroslav Klose who was awarded the Golden Boot at the 2006 World Cup.

The biggest advantage for Germany is cohesivness.  All twenty-three players on the roster all play in the German Bundesliga, including six players from Bayern Munich, four from Hamburg and three from Werder Bremen. Most international teams have players from domestic leagues all over the world. All the German players have played either with or against each other all season, therefore they know how to work well together and know each others strengths and weaknesses. Many World Cup teams have a few short months to gel whereas this German team is already well acquainted with each other.

Similar to Italy, Germany had a very easy qualifying group which consisted of Russia, Finland, Wales, Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein. Other than Russia there was virtually no competition for Germany. What impressed me about Germany was that they were able destroy the teams they should have destroyed. They beat Liechtenstein 6-0 and Azerbaijan 4-0. They did not play to the level of their opponent they played like an elite team which was reflected by the score. Although they beat the teams they should, Germany's lack of competition through qualifying makes me question how prepared they are to play the best teams in the world.    

The most concerning aspect about Germany's trip to South Africa is they are missing 33 year old captain, Michael Ballack. Ballack injured his right ankle about a month ago in the F.A cup final versus Portsmouth. Although Ballack is getting older, there is no way to replace his leadership qualities on and off the pitch. He has been such a crucial aspect of Germany's previous success it is going to be interesting to see if any other player can step-up and fill that spot. Sometimes when you take a piece like Ballack, the central nervous system, out of the team it can have drastic effect on performance. However, I feel like the German team is deep enough to overcome Ballack's injury and clearly make it out of the group stage. German will not have the same home field advantage they had in 2006 nor will they have the same success.

Strengths - Team Chemistry, Coaching
Weaknesses - Ballack injury, Under-prepared
Prediction - Quarter-finals