Here comes the first round up of World Cup 2010 here at BlueChampions. Let’s talk about the biggest talking points of this world cup – England’s perceived ‘disaster’ with USA, how much does the jabulani ball do, what do we do with the vuvuzelas, Germany’s ascent to the hot favourites in one match, lack of goals in the ‘boring’ world cup, empty stadia in the most awaited spectacle in Africa and that’s about it.

First up, you don’t how much I feel relieved that there’s some footie to watch. And if that happens the world cup, I can’t complain. I must say I’m enjoying this world cup thoroughly. There is a notion that this is becoming something of a boring world cup. I completely disagree with that thought. This world cup so far has seen some fantastic matches. I can see that teams are more competitive and hence the days the top teams mauling the smaller ones by hockey scores look to be over. You see some big European/Latin American managers coaching unfancied teams which only means the theory, knowledge and practice of football being shared with the wider world and thereby making the sport much more competitive.

Some people think high scoring matches are interesting and low scoring matches are boring. Hell with them. I would ask them to appreciate the sport than glaring at the scoreline all the time. I could see this world cup being much more intense. It’s not anymore the world cup that belongs to the Brazils, Argentinas, Germanys and Italys. You see smaller teams coming in to the world cup with bigger ambitions. There is so much at stake. This has also contributed to this tournament being more tactical. In a tournament that could last just 7 matches even for the champions, you don’t have too much time to experiment. You’re playing against unfamiliar opponents, some you’re facing for the first time ever, you’re not sure what’ll work and what won’t. You don’t have too much time to work all this out. You have just 7 matches, thats if you get to the final. So what do you want to do? Win 5-4? Play pragmatic football built on tactics than on flair and magic. That’s why we see tighter matches. And I love tactical battles on the football pitch and hence I think this has been a very good tournament so far.

I’m very annoyed to see thousands of empty seats in the stadiums. You see that the whole of Africa is celebrating at the time of this world cup. You know that people would die to get the tickets. FIFA told us all that the matches have been sold out completely and still there not just hundreds but thousands of empty seats. In a world cup, which happens once in four years, and the first time ever in Africa, you just can’t allow this to happen. What’s even worse is, there are millions out there who might have been turned down for world cup tickets. Such a sad state. Hopefully, this would be sorted out before the knock out stages of the competition. If I see a world cup final with about 3,000 empty seats, I’ll die of intolerance.

The stadiums may not be full but you wouldn’t guess that if you have to go by the noise (music?) of the vuvuzelas. What’s my take on Vuvuzelas? Personally, if I have a choice, I’d like to turn it off. It’s been quite a nuisance for me when I watch the matches on the telly. To be there at the stadium or on the pitch, it would feel like hell if you’re not used to it. Some teams have the advantage having been used to it. South Africa holds the biggest advantage. They might even insist on using the vuvuzelas. Teams like Brazil, Spain, USA have played to the vuvuzelas during the confederations cup. For the rest, it could be very tough indeed. So am I in favour of banning it? Hell no!

Doesn’t it sound weird for you to go to a country and tell them to stop doing something that they have been doing for years? Why should South Africa stop doing it? If that’s how they watch football, you better get used to it. With today’s technology it shouldn’t be too difficult to simulate the crowd noise during practice, at least from a sound point of view. I mean, this is something teams could have prepared for, if it’s such a big thing. You knew that there would be vuvuzelas in the world cup in South Africa. If you hadn’t prepared for it because it’s not a big thing, don’t complain about such small things. I’m surprised that this is even considered. What’s next? Banning the chants when the world cup happens in England. It appears that vuvuzelas are part of the football culture in South Africa. They even blew in their parliament in celebration ahead of the world cup. Probably, we should all be talking about how we get used to or work around different cultures instead of knocking them off because we find it difficult for ourselves.

Okay then, from one African lingo to another. Jabulani. Please allow my naivety. When a new ball is being introduced for a massive tournament like the world cup, I would definitely want to start using the world cup much ahead of the world cup. In fact, I would want all may practice sessions only on the Jabulani, if it’s so different from the regular ones. I hear that not all teams got to use the Jabulani. This being an Adidas ball, all the Adidas sponsored teams such as Germany have had the privilege of using the Jabulani since much earlier. Since you look interested, here is the list of ‘Adidas teams’ in this world cup that can have this little advantage – Germany, Argentina, Spain, France, South Africa, Japan, Nigeria, Paraguay, Greece, Denmark and Slovakia. Draw your own conclusions.

I understand that because of sponsorship related legalities, non-Adidas teams like England couldn’t play with the Jabulani. This sounds so stupid. This is when I get really angry. While FA is watching what John Terry does in his spare time, I’d love to have them work this little things like preparing a football pitch at the Wembley, doing something about the talent drain in terms of players and managers in England and doing things that would improve England’s chances in tournaments. Finding a scapegoat in the ball is not something new. This happened in Euro 2008 and Germany 2006 too. Stevie Me making a reference to the Jabulani when he was ‘showing support’ to Rob Green was downright cheap. As you can see, my views on the vuvuzelas and Jabulani are quite similar. It’s like you woke on the match day in a world cup and saw ‘these vuvuzelas are noisy and I need to play with the Jabulani ball’. Just get over it.

Is Fabio Capello the right man to lead England? This is the question I’ve been waiting for the Press to raise because they’re so predictable. I thought this would come after the group stages but the English press just outdid themselves. It took just 90 minutes in the world cup for them to ask this question. Granted, England weren’t really smashing the Americans out of the park but they got a draw in the first match of the group league and have got the toughest match of the group out of their way. It was a not-so-convincing start but it’s not like you need to maul every opponent in the most stylish way match after match to be world champions or semi finalists (in this case:).

All said, I did think that Capello got certain things wrong. By track record and form, Joe Hart is better than Rob Green. Heskey should not start. SWP should be avoided. Play with a single striker formation. Allow both Lampard and Gerrard to express themselves. Replace Heskey’s role with another midfielder. Carragher is a time bomb. Stay away from him. Play Joe Cole. Make England play with some calm and with some belief in their skills. That’s it. England is set.

My predictions are going fine I guess. The biggest one is Japan doing well. You’ve got to give it to me:) I also mentioned that Ballack not being there will not affect Germany and they have shown what a fine unit they are. They were just brilliant with their attacking play. But remember, in Germany 2006, Argentina were supposed to be ‘the best team’ but they were beaten by an ‘efficient’ Germany in a shootout. Playing great football and peaking too early does not help Germany. I want to see how well they can play against better defences. I’m happy for Germany doing well because it will make my man Michael Ballack, ex-Chelsea player, happy while he is injured and looking for another club. I will miss him.

Quick udpates on where my loyalties lie in this world cup. I’m hoping that one of England, Germany, Brazil or Argentina win it – in that order. Would be delighted if these four teams make it to the semi finals. I definitely don’t want Spain to win it. France to get eliminated as early as possible (didn’t happen in the qualifiers thanks to Henry’s handiwork). Wouldn’t mind if Italy win it again. Want the African teams to do well. Go England/Germany/Brazil/Argentina! Note: While England remains on top of my list, the second, third and fourth choices do normally undergo changes as the tournament progresses. I tend to support the teams that play intelligent football and also give it all – like Chelsea.

That’s it for now. Hope to put in a blog end of this week with updates on more about football on the pitch at South Africa. You can keep in touch with me on Twitter (www.twitter.com/bluechampion) or if you have any questions, you can ask me. Luckily for you, I won’t speak like a pundit and I won’t say ‘it depends’.