Steven Rubio's World Cup

stuff for non-fans to look for

I’m not ready to take on a detailed discussion of tactics … I’m not up to the task, to be honest. But here are some tips for non-fans who decide to tune in, trying to understand why the sport is so popular, and what is actually going on during the match. Since popular sports in America tend to have a decent amount of scoring, a soccer match seems uneventful in comparison. And there are most certainly boring soccer matches. But the more you know about what’s happening on the field, the easier you can separate the matches that are boring because the players are mediocre or their tactics are purposely uninteresting, and those that are low-scoring but not boring because the players have great skills and the tactics are chess-like.

So, how do you learn about this stuff? You’ve got me. Most of the things I’m aware of assume some prior knowledge, if not of tactical history (what is the 2-3-5 or the WM or the 4-2-4) then at least of current thinking in tactics … most fans will at least know what constitutes a 4-4-2. If you’re coming to the World Cup as a newbie, then the various color commentators can be a great help … or a detriment to your understanding, depending on their skills as analysts. You know this from whatever is your favorite sport … some color guys are ex-jocks with a bagful of anecdotes, others are good at explaining precisely what is happening.

Everyone has a different opinion about all of these announcers, but I’d recommend you listen to John Harkes. He has a few verbal tics that can be annoying, but he spends most of the match talking about the game in front of him (in itself more rare than you’d think). More importantly, he actually seems to be paying attention to the match, so that his analysis in the 60th minute won’t be the same as what he said coming into the match … he’ll adapt to the game at hand. Again, this is more rare than it should be.

This is not to dismiss the other color commentators, but I haven’t listened to them enough to have an opinion. The play-by-play guys this time around are all competent-to-excellent.

There’s something else I would suggest for non-fans in search of the excitement of the game. Watch a game on the Spanish-language channel. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the language … you’re better off with some of those color guys, if you ask me. But the Spanish-language guys are hyped up, and yes, they go overboard at times, but you can’t match the excitement they provide (especially compared to the British announcers, some of whom are among the best in the business, but they are mostly reserved).

No one matches the Italian announcer Tiziano Crudeli, though (we won’t get him in the States). Here is one of his most famous matches. Inter Milan and AC Milan are bitter rivals in Italy, who since 1949 have shared the same home stadium. They have met 174 times in league play, and over 200 times overall. In the following match, Inter take a 2-0 lead, only to have Milan score three goals to pull off a comeback victory. Crudeli is Milan through and through, as you can see here:

some good web sites

This list is far from complete … there are so many places to get soccer information on the Internet that such a list might be impossible to construct. But here are a few places I will be taking advantage of.

ESPN Soccernet. I’ve used this as my primary info site for some years now, and with their commitment to the World Cup this year (thanks to being the English-language carrier for the matches), they’ll be better than ever. As with all sites, avoid this one until you’ve finished seeing matches, since there will be spoilers galore. They have a lot of interesting special features in the buildup … Ruud Gullit’s top #10s, brief videos on players who scored in a WC final, and plenty of stuff on the U.S. team. They’re even running four different fantasy contests.

Zonal Marking. This fairly new site has become instantly essential for fans of tactical discussions. It assumes a certain amount of knowledge in advance … this isn’t Soccer Tactics 101, it’s Advanced Soccer Tactics 201 … but it’s almost always brilliant.

Jonathan Wilson. The link here is to his blog on the Sports Illustrated site, since my guess is it will be more accessible to U.S. fans at any level. Wilson is the master of tactical analysis, and the author of Inverting the Pyramid, which is highly recommended for its history of the progression of tactics. You can find his usual U.K. column here, although I don’t know the plans for that site and the World Cup. Also, SI has plenty of good soccer writers, so SI.com is a good general info site as well.

I’m not an expert on Spanish-language sites, and the ones I do check out focus mostly on Mexico. But here they are, if you’re looking for a different perspective and can read Spanish. MedioTiempo, Univision.

If you want to chat with other fans, BigSoccer is the place. Chat is one area where you can see the evolution of the Internet. Way back in the day, IRC was where chat was king. More recently, the Usenet group rec.sport.soccer had the best discussions. Now, though, it’s web-based forums like BigSoccer where the action is. Tread lightly, though … there are smart people on BigSoccer, and helpful people on BigSoccer, but there are also assholes and trolls. Don’t let ‘em get to you.

Finally, I should mention the SF Gate World Cup blog. It’s a sign of the sport’s growing acceptance by the mainstream American media that a blog like this exists, and if you already read SF Gate or the San Francisco Chronicle, you might enjoy this. I mention it as a stand-in for all of the newspaper blogs, not because it’s better, but because it’s local to me so I’ll probably read it. There is a team of reporters writing for the blog, so hopefully there will be a nice variety of perspectives. The problem is that the lead writer will be Bruce Jenkins, who admittedly has a more openly-expressed appreciation for soccer than most of the Chronicle writers. It’s a problem because Jenkins can be the most insufferable writer around, buried in nostalgia. However, he is also a skillful writer, and one aspect of his writing might be useful here, for Jenkins is a believer in the importance of aesthetics in sport. This makes sense … his father was a famous music arranger known for his work with Sinatra, among others, and Jenkins has an eye for beauty on the playing fields. This, combined with his incessant nostalgia, makes him the worst possible baseball writer, since he would always rather see a pretty play or reminisce about a game from his past than actually evaluate the game being played in front of him. But, for whatever reason, aesthetics is a vital part of the soccer experience … it’s called “The Beautiful Game” for a reason … and Jenkins might turn out to be just the man for the job.

Obviously, I’ve left out a lot of sites. Many of the soccer sites I visit are focused on the daily grind of the sport, though, and I don’t expect them to have a lot of World Cup material. Additions in the comments section would be welcomed.

ten reasons we should be excited about world cup 2010

10. The U.S. might not suck this time.

9. Spain might not underachieve this time.

8. Martin Tyler will be there. Working for ESPN.

7. Wesley Sneijder will be there.

6. Special1 TV will return for the World Cup.

5. Some lesser-known player from an unfancied team might score a goal as good as this:

4. June 12: USA vs. England.

3. This man will be there. As a manager.

2. Simão will be there. So will Pablo Ramirez.

1. Dos palabras: Lionel Messi.