The Beautiful Game

Football, footy, fútbol, footer, soccer. Call it whatever you want. This game truly lives up to its description of being The Beautiful Game. Compared to some other sports, it may not promise a lot of ‘action.’ You will rarely watch a match in which more than five goals are scored. But that is besides the point. The beauty of the game doesn’t come from the score line. It comes from the simplicity of the sport and the elegance with which it is played. It is so simple that it probably has the least amount of rules of any organized sport. You can practically explain everything about the sport on a piece of paper or the back of an envelope. Two 45-minute halves, the game does not stop, you can’t use your hands, goalkeepers can use their hands if it is kicked by an opponent, off-side rule, only 3 substitutions allowed, penalty kicks to decide the game after extra time, no rough play; let’s play! And spectators don’t go there to watch a flurry of goals. They go there to appreciate the extreme physical fitness of the players, their peripheral vision, their teamwork, their superior ball handling abilities and, above all, their ability to fall, rise from the ashes and compete again.

It doesn’t even require any fancy equipment or protective gear, which is the real secret of its popularity around the world. Four stones, a ball and you are good to go! The origins of the game are hotly disputed, but there is the European style, based on discipline, short passes and dominating possession. There is the African style, which is based on lightning speed, flair and counter attacks. And then, there is the Latin American style. Often called the Mecca or the spiritual home of this beautiful game, Latin America holds most of the world cups played till now. The dribbling skills, trick plays, sharp angles, long-winded screams of ‘Goooooooool’ by the commentators; it is a heavenly spectacle to watch Latin Americans play football. Like Federer playing tennis, Tendulkar mauling bowling attacks or Lin Dan squashing opponents in badminton, Latin Americans own football.

Within Latin America, it goes without saying that Brazil is the Big Daddy of the sport. It has given the game legends like Pele, Socrates, Romario, Ronaldino, Rivaldo and Ronaldo, with Neymar already knocking on the door. Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, my generation was baptized in the church of Maradona. But even the most die-hard fans of the blue stripes will admit, albeit grudgingly, that there is some magic in those yellow and green jerseys. Brazilian football is ballet, samba, salsa and tango – all happening at the same time. So, if the world cup is being held in Brazil and you are a die-hard fan of football, how can you miss it?

European leagues are great to follow. Like the American football in the U.S., European football leagues keep you engaged in the sport and give people something to talk about every week. It is a great system to groom new talent. But ask Beckenbauer or Beckham or Ibrahimovic or Bale and they will all agree that the world cup is the real deal. Over the years, it has provided scripts that even Bollywood – with all its action and melodrama – would call surreal. Maradona scored a goal with ‘The Hand of God’ against England, only to follow it up with the best goal of the century. And Argentina won the world cup in 1986, only to lose the opening match of the next world cup to the unheralded Cameroon. After a dominant performance to reach the finals, when Brazil was tipped to add another trophy to their cabinet, mercurial Zidane came out of nowhere to score two goals in the 1998 final to stun the entire world. And then, as if the football gods wanted to balance out that virtuoso performance, Zidane indulged in the infamous head-butt in the 2002 final to end the French dream of back-to-back world cups. Even the best photographer couldn’t have come up with that million-dollar photograph of Zidane leaving the field – burying his head in his shoulders – walking past the shining world cup trophy.

For most of the world cups, there has always been a favorite that has dominated the airwaves during the build-up. The 2014 edition seems to be quite different. The defending champions and Spanish superstars still command a lot of respect and money. Iniesta, Xavi and Fabregas controlling the midfield, Pique and Busquets handling defense and Torres and Costa as finishers still sound extremely intimidating. But can they defy age to win another trophy for Spain? Germany, the team that has made it to the last four of the world cup every time since 1966, has Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Ozil and Khedira on their rosters. But can they break the jinx this year? Or would they go down as chokers once again? With van Persie and Robben, can the Dutch redeem themselves after the shameful final performance of the 2010 finals? Will the Argentinean ‘fantastic four’ of Messi, de Maria, Aguaro and Higuain score enough goals to compensate for a weak defense? Or will the defensive powerhouse of Italy ride on the flashy forward Balotelli’s fortunes to beat the odds? Will the host country manage to pull out another trick from its hat with Silva, Paulino, Dani Alves and Neymar? Or would it be a Dark Horse team like Belgium, Colombia or Uruguay?

There are charismatic individuals that might inspire their teams to overachieve as well. Everyone wants to see Christiano Ronaldo, arguably the best player in the world, take Portugal out of the Group of Death and deep into the tournament. Can Didier Drogba take Ivory Coast on a Cinderella run? Or is Eto’o going to bring Cameroon back to the limelight? Ghana broke everyone’s heart last time around when luck deserted them in the quarter final. Will we see an African team in the last four this time?

No matter who wins the ultimate prize, there is an intriguing Indian subplot to the Brazil world cup. In 1950, the last time Brazil hosted the world cup, India qualified for the tournament, only to be disqualified because they insisted on playing barefoot. Would this Brazil world cup generate enough buzz in India and inspire the youth to throw away their cricket bats and pump up that football gathering dust behind the door? Well, waking up at 1:30 in the night and watching the matches live would be a good start! Grab your coffee mug and VAMOS!