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As mentioned in my previous World Cup post, and as will be glaringly obvious to all readers, Scotland shall not be at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. So, who do I support?
There is nothing wrong with being a good old fashioned neutral and just enjoying the show, but that reduces the fun for me. It’s time to assess the runners and riders and reasons for finding a backup horse.
As a Scot, it’s polite to start with the English. I’m a Chelsea fan, having lived in London as a young adult. I’ve always had a soft spot for benign harmless teams such as Crystal Palace and in that respect that could be a good reason to go for the Auld Enemy this time around.
Unlike many Scots, I like to see England do well and many of my best friends are English.
For once this time there is far less of a circus and sense of entitlement surrounding the team, they even have some fresh young players. Would I actually want them to win it? No, but they won’t so they are worth consideration.
The Roar and many of its readers are Aussie. Australia is also a country I’ve been fortunate enough to visit dozens of times now that I live in Singapore and I have friends and family down there. It’s a place I’ve come to love.
The Socceroos however, are in one ugly group. So while I’ll be hoping they do well for all my Aussie mates, that might be a short-term love affair. Everyone always loves an underdog mind.
As a kid, I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time in France. Back then, Michel Platini was in his pomp. Good French teams have always been easy on the eye and they’ve been through a tough few years since Zinedine Zidane’s head butt. Worth a shout? Possibly.
For some reason, wonderful though they are, I simply haven’t connected with this great Spain team. There is no doubt they are a fantastic side but I’ve grown a little bored of the whole tiki taka and false nine gig.
A fourth straight tournament win would be staggering and while I would hold them in great adulation for doing so, it would be with a nod and not a cheer.
Teams in blue have always held sway with me, such as Scotland, Chelsea, Glasgow Rangers and France. Which brings us to the Azzurri.
Italy won my favourite World Cup back in 1982. While they don’t always have a reputation for the most exciting football, they have provided wonderful drama in my lifetime with the likes of Paolo Rossi, Marco Tardelli, Salvatore Schillaci, Roberto Baggio and even Marco Materazzi.
Italy are limping at the moment, shorn of their captain through injury and drawing just this week with Luxembourg. When the chips are down, sometimes that’s when they are at their best?
For the Brits, the Germans have always been the bogeyman for stereotypical and historical reasons. For the Scots however there was always the exception of when they played the English.
Regardless of petty historical differences, German football was always hard to like as it was just so ruthlessly efficient, a bit like why so many people prefer Ferrari to Porsche.
The Porsche is far less likely to break down at the side of the road or kill you by going sideways through a corner, but somehow that leaves you a little cold. Where’s the fun?
Well, the answer is in the current German team, which plays a far more expansive brand of football and were head and shoulders the best team to watch at the last World Cup.
The Germans have been the perennial bad guys who everyone loves to lose, but is it maybe time to break the preconceptions and cheer on a team that is genuinely trying to play exciting football?
The Dutch have always been an attractive team. The combination of the famous Oranje shirt, the production line of fabulous players and the wonderful technical football they play makes them the European footballing aristocrats.
However, this Dutch team doesn’t quite seem to be of that ilk so maybe we’ll pass on the Oranje this time around.
Is there an African team worth pinning my hopes on? Both the Ivory Coast and Nigeria are in groups that they could qualify from. Ghana and Cameroon’s groups do look a little tougher to me.
The African nations rarely play negative football and can often surprise even if 2010 was a slight let down in that respect. Definitely worth a thought.
Lastly of course are the hosts, Brazil. Complete with four players from my club Chelsea. Brazil are of course the undisputed kings of the World Cup with no less than five in their trophy room.
A 6th at home would go a long way to healing the wounds this vast country has endured simply building the stadia and infrastructure for this tournament.
This is not a vintage Brazilian team in the vein that so many of us wish for and in that respect much of the burden falls on the young shoulders of Neymar.
He does of course have a tidy support cast with the likes of Willian, Dani Alves, Oscar, Thiago Silva and a wiley old fox at the helm in the shape of Luiz Filipe Scolari. If they get some momentum and the Maracana is bouncing, they could be tough to stop.
Of course, finding a team to support is not about who is necessarily most likely to win. As mentioned above, everyone loves an underdog story and we all want to see good football along the way. It is indeed a very tough call.
So maybe I’ll just stay neutral after all.
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