Sports Then and Now

Michael Ballack will miss the 2010 World Cup following a tough tackle from Kevin-Prince Boateng.

Portsmouth midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has apologized for the challenge that ruled Germany Captain Michael Ballack out of this summer’s World Cup.

Boateng went in heavily on Ballack during last weekend’s FA Cup final, resulting in a painful ankle injury for the German. After the damage was analysed, it was confirmed that the former Bayern Munich man out of the finals. Anyone with a betting system is probably wise enough to ignore the old adage that you never write off the Germans, but their chances certainly took a major blow when the news broke.

Ghana midfielder Boateng – who could face Germany in their Group D fixture in South Africa – has insisted that the tackle was never intended to hurt Ballack. Speaking about the incident, he said that even though he “came in too late and made full contact”, it was “never intentional”.

He then said he is “sorry” and admitted that “it looks pretty stupid” when the incident is replayed in slow motion. The tackle – which occurred in the 35th minute at Wembley – was blasted at the time for being reckless and there is no doubt that it wasn’t Boateng’s finest moment.

The 23-year-old’s apology won’t mean too much to Ballack either. Not only will he miss the World Cup this summer, but he probably won’t play in a major competition for Germany again. He is 33 now after all and it is cruel that his last chance to play in a World Cup has been taken away from him.

It doesn’t do Germany’s chances in South Africa much good either. Ballack is the heart and soul of their team and by all accounts they are pretty deflated now that their star man has been ruled out. Indeed, the best betting site odds for the side winning the tournament lengthened after the news about the captain broke.

So, overall,  Boateng does have a lot to be sorry for and you can bet all the money in the world that he will get a “mixed” reception when Germany play Ghana in South Africa on June 23rd.

Robert Koren will lead the Slovenia team in the World Cup.

England was happy with their World Cup draw largely due to being handed Slovenia from pot four which contained the European teams. They could have got harder opposition from pot two – Mexico perhaps – and pot three – Ivory Coast – but avoiding France, Portugal and various other tough European opponents was a major bonus.

Complacency is not known to be one of Fabio Capello’s traits and the Italian will not be fooled into taking Slovenia lightly. Matjaz Kek’s outfit beat Poland and Czech Republic to second place in qualification group three, narrowly missing out on automatic progression behind Slovakia, who they beat home and away. Only Netherlands conceded fewer goals than Slovenia in the UEFA region.

Russia were successfully negotiated in a dramatic play-off that saw Slovenia recover from an early two-goal deficit in Moscow, proving the durability and determination exhibited in the group stage can be drawn upon in big games. The best betting site odds might suggest Solvenia are outsiders, but they could manage to get through to the second round. Read the rest of this entry →

Kaká is the leader of the Brazilian squad for the 2010 World Cup.

A team does not become one of the World Cup 2010 betting favorites without talent in all positions and great overall depth, but Brazil’s hopes of glory are strongly pinned to the performance of their top player Kaká. The Real Madrid playmaker should be one of the stars of the tournament and prove on a global stage why he was once voted the World player of the year.

Some of the world’s greatest ever players do not have great World Cup records and Kaká’s previous appearances – 25 minutes as a substitute in 2002 and a solitary goal, albeit a superb one, in an unmemorable Brazilian campaign four years later – means the best Brazilian player of his generation might end up being included on that list.

However, everything is in place for Kaká to make this his career-defining year. At 27 he is at his peak and part of a team that is many observers’ favorite to lift the trophy. He is the attacking heartbeat of the Samba Kings, able to prompt attacks with his guileful passing and surging dribbling.

True, the goals have dried up recently – only four since he was voted the world’s best in 2007 – but he is hitting the net regularly for free-scoring Real Madrid and can be expected to get more chances for his national team in the summer, who often go through the motions in friendlies.

Not since 1986 has a World Cup-winner be sustained throughout the tournament by the brilliance of one man, and whilst it might be too much to expect Kaká to hit the heights Diego Maradona reached in Mexico, if he plays his best it is probably safe to say that World Cup 2010 odds will back Brazil to become world champions for the sixth time.