Football (or soccer, as we call it) may not be the most popular game in the Philippines. But the 2010 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in South Africa, which kicked of on June 11, brought out all the Pinoy football freaks in full force. Though they're still a minority, it doesn't mean their game is less exciting. Thus, SPOT.ph lists 10 World Cup teams to watch out for and bet on. (And, for the girls, we've picked out the eye candy offerings of each team. If you like what you see, it's always easier to get into the game.)
1. Argentina —“ La Albiceleste (Blue and White)
Field report: Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to its second World Cup crown in 1986, returns as the coach of La Albiceleste. He now has the chance to duplicate what he did as a player and give the seventh ranked squad its third title to end a 24-year drought. Lionel Messi, regarded as one of the world's best players, leads the star-studded roster tasked to win the country's first international trophy since the 1993 Copa America. Argentina opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Nigeria.
Star players: Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Javier Mascherano, Javier Zanetti, Gabriel Batistuta, and Juan Sebastian Veron.
2. Brazil —“ Auriverdes (Gold and Green)
Field report: Brazil's strong football roots, its one-named players (with Pelé being the famous of them all), and their rhythm on the field makes the team a perennial World Cup favorite. Brazil, a country which has turned football into a religion, has 14 one-named players in its roster. It's the only country that has participated in all 19 World Cup games and has won a record five titles with a 64-14-14 win-draw-loss record out of the 92 games they played. Though the team's performance was not that impressive in its first, they still managed a 2-1 victory over North Korea.
Star players: Kaka, Maicon, Lucio, Robinho, Michel Bastos, Luis Fabiano, Dani Alves, and Julio Cesar.
I'm torn between Wimbledon and World Cup. It's so hard to multi-task television and the Internet.
It's a shame that football didn't gain ground in the Philippines compared to other countries in the world. Both rich, developing and poor nations like England, Brazil and Burkina Faso respectively are very passionate when it comes to this sport.
Take Brazil for instance. Most of their best players come from the favelas or their version of the slums. I'm generalizing here and at most, romanticizing. But one thing is certain. Most if not majority of the Brazilian players are now enjoying fantastic (and profitable) careers in Europe playing in premiere leagues.
Like the Brazilians, Filipinos can excel in Football because we have the grace, the rhythm, the stamina and the right built for it. You don't have to be tall to play the sport. All you have to have is the discipline and the passion because all the qualities of a good football player is already hard-wired in our DNA. All we have to do is to tap that potential.
I hope by 2018, The Philippines qualify in the World Cup. This is something we can all be proud of and finally join the global community what the world cup excitement is all about.