The first world cup to be held in the continent of South Africa was expected to be a football carnival with some feisty encounters, passionate crowd support, magical play by the top players and lots and lots of goals. But so far, none has materialized. Slowly but steadily, the interest among the pseudo football lovers who watch this beautiful game primarily during the world cup is dwindling. But what are the possible reasons? Here in this article, I analyse the possible reasons behind it :
1) JABULANI : The ball which is as unpredictable as the Indian monsoons. The ball which has yet to be mastered by the kings of football. The ball whose flight in the air and its bounce is hard to judge by. The ball has come under heavy criticism from all quarters.
2) VUVUZELA : This is not exactly a let down but the deafening noise of this instrument is marring the beauty of watching the game. The quirky commentary, the passionate singing of the supporters and the cheering of the crowd have been overshadowed by the irritation caused due to the constant blowing of the vuvuzela.
3) EMPTY STADIUMS : Many matches during the first round have been played in front of empty stands. The enthusiasm level drops down a few levels when we witness a match being played with very few supporters cheering the teams.
4) TOP GUNS FIRING BLANKS : Be it Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney, Kaka or Fernando Torres, most of the top players have dished out below par performances.
5) LACK OF GOALS : Goals have been in short supply during the world cup with most matches finishing draws. Apart from the Germany v/s Australia game, most matches did not produce more than 2 goals. A match average of about 1.5 goals is hardly inspiring.
6) INJURIES : The less said, the better. Top players like Ballack, Robben, Nani, Michael Essien, Rio Ferdinand, David Beckham and many more gave this world cup a miss due to injuries. The world cup lost much of its sheen even before it started.
Whatever be the reasons there are plenty of reasons to expect the tournament to get more and more exciting as it progresses. Die-hard football fans would always remain glued to their seats while matches are going on. What this world cup needs is one magical match, one performance from the teams which would bring back even the faintest supporters of football in front of their TV sets. Let us hope we get to see such a match soon .
image: http://www.soccer-world-cup.co.za/media/suedafrika-2010/wm-2010-2g.jpg