The Matador is pleased to introduce Damian Mercurio, our own 2010 FIFA World Cup expert.
That’s right, Soccer and Vanzetti. Not Sacco and Vanzetti, the two Italian immigrants from the 1920’s who were wrongly convicted and executed in the Boston area for murder. That’s a whole other discussion that gets me going. No, here we’re talking soccer. True, soccer has had its share of injustices (Hand of God being of course the prime example) but this new column is going to help your Ferrari (that’s what the women in the motherland call it anyway) get revved up for World Cup 2010, the South African Extravaganza of Soccer coming to a TV near you this summer.
If you’re a soccer fan, you know you’ll be watching, just like you were in ’06. Remember the greatness of Klose and Crespo and Cannavaro; of Robben and Ronaldo; of Lehmann and Lahm; of Podolsky, Figo and Henry; of Zidane and Ze Roberto? Remember the semis when Italy took down Die Nationalelf with the crazy two goals by Grosso and Del Piero in the 119th and 121st (during the extra minute of injury time added onto OT)? And then followed that up with the crazy final (including Zidane’s head-butt on Matterazzi, Buffon using his own Hand of God to tip the ball over the crossbar, and the 5-3 finish in PK’s)?
Don’t worry, we’re not biased in favor of Italy or anything…the point is, soccer gets us going. There are the Cinderella stories, the blowouts, the bad calls, the good calls, the young upstarts, the old has-beens, the disappointments, the pleasant surprises, the (un)sportsmanship, and last but not least the WAG’s (all hail Schweinsteiger!). Some of you were waiting for the draws last December and have already marked Saturday, June 12 on your calendars (first match-up for USA-England). Others of you are just getting geared up now. That’s OK; you have 57 days to get readier and readier, as Bushie would say.
Show up here every week from now to and through the Cup for your little jolt of calcio. It’ll be better than espresso, but probably not better than Candice Boucher (the South African beauty who models jeans in Guess ads and, as of this month, nothing in Playboy).
