So Sad

So that is my world cup prediction at the start of the new year. To recap here is how I see the round of 16:

France (1A) vs. Greece (2B)

Argentina (1B) vs. Uruguay (2A)

England (1C) vs. Ghana (2D)

Germany (1D) vs. USA (2C)

Netherlands (1E) vs. Italy (2F)

Paraguay (1F) vs. Denmark (2E)

Brazil (1G) vs. Chile (2H)

Spain (1H) vs. Portugal (2G)


I hope I am right. I love being right.


In much, much, much worse news, I am sure everyone has heard about the tragedy on the eve of the African Cup of Nations. Angolan rebels attacked the Togo team bus. The machine gun attack left at least four dead and many wounded. There is some dispute regarding the actual death toll and whether or not any players were among the fatalities, but ESPNsoccernet is reporting a goalkeeper was killed. I have seen that account denied in the European press, we will know soon.

I can't put into words how hard this bums me out. Togo rightly withdrew from the tournament and Marca claim that Ghana and Ivory Coast are on the verge of joining them. It is easy to blame Angola for lapse in security, and perhaps it is correct. But for me that is not the issue. The sadness is overwhelming when a tournament of such importance is subject to this. It is cliche for many of us in the western world to say things like "football is more than a game" and things of that nature, but the reality is that in some parts of Africa football is that rare thing that gets people to stop killing each other, at least for a while. And even if it sounds naive, to me it seems that when something like this comes along and ruins it, a certain bottom has dropped out.

How does/should this impact the world cup in South Africa? I don't know. It is well known that South Africa is a country with serious security problems, but they have had enough time to plan and from all accounts the South African government has been very good at seeking advice from abroad and coordinating it's efforts. A little over a year ago I was talking to a South African who lives here in the US about it and he told me in his opinion security would not be too much of an issue because the government would slam down an iron fist and create a pseudo-police state for the duration of the competition. I don't know if this is true but he made it sound plausible. It is probably for the best if it ensures the safety of players, staff, journalists, fans, and others. At the same time on a deeper level having that kind of thing happen in a host country kind of tarnishes what the game and the tournament should be about. It may be the reality of what has to happen, but it is not at all what I think a world cup should be.