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Monday, June 5, 2006
Abbondanza! Azzurri leads fantasy foursome
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AP / The closest 751-1 shot Togo will come to winning anything in Germany this summer is Edwige Madze Badakou, crowned 'Miss World Cup' last week. Off the Ball took the Togolese anyway.
With the seventh pick in the World Cup pool draft today, Off the Ball went with Italy, — not a bad choice given there are only eight of us in this racket. Yes, I know the Azzurri have been distracted by scandal, and injured defender Gianluca Zambrotta will miss the opener against Ghana, but they rarely disappoint at the Cup.
That’s my justification, and I’m sticking to it.
Unpatriotic, you say? Well then, what would you think if I told you that with the 10th pick, Off the Ball grabbed Mexico — undeserving of a top seed, and placed in a very winnable Group D with Portugal, Iran and Angola? The opener for El Tri ought to be a doozy on Sunday against Iran in — ironically enough — Nuremberg. Wonder who the hacks at Fox News will be pulling for in that one?
The Commish got the first pick — insert raised eyebrows of suspicion here — and despite rabid cries of “You Got To Go With Togo!,” he skunked out and took Brazil. The man known in Brazil as Marco Sloquinho, who begins his World Cup journey tomorrow and will eventually make his way to Munich via Budapest, took his bloody old England, of course, roused no doubt by that cupcake 6-0 rout of Jamaica Saturday and Peter Crouch’s ridiculous hat trick.
Spanky, who won the ‘98 pool because of Emmanuel Petit’s totally unnecessary third goal in the finals (Off the Ball finished second as a result), got his comeuppance by sticking with Les Bleus last time around. Today he netted the hat trick, perhaps stirred to emotional loyalties by Zinedine Zidane’s swansong. A true Francophone, our Spanky is, since he later chose Cote d’Ivoire, and even uttered the name en francais.
A newcomer to the pool this year is Silverbacks/Arsenal devotee Horn Guy Uno, who shrugged his shoulders in selecting the drab host Germans. Neither could he muster much excitement for Portugal, South Korea and Tunisia. He didn’t like Off the Ball taking his beloved Mexico, but this drafting thing is a cold-hearted process.
Off the Ball finished up with Croatia, whose third place finish served her well in ‘98, and with the next-to-the-last pick, she Had To Go With Togo!
There are ascending financial incentives attached to wins in group, second round, quarterfinal, semifinal and final action — that’s all I ought to say about that. The lads at Ladbrokes have the latest odds, with Brazil the overwhelming favorite at 5-2.
But at first glance, Off the Ball isn’t high on her chances of repeating as champion.
