Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/318021
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 MAY 2014 50 50 Menotti's take on the World Cup, from A To H Thirty-six years after he led Argentina to their first World Cup title, Cesar Luis Menotti believes the candidates to lift the trophy are still "the same" in Brazil 2014 TOMAS RUDICH "NO one has ever broken that dominance by candidates. The candidates have been the same for a great many years. Germany, Italy, Spain, France when they played at home, Argentina and Brazil. Those are the major candidates," Menotti told dpa in an interview in Buenos Aires. At age 75, Menotti remains the last coach to have won a World Cup in South America, and he thinks European teams will again have trouble adjusting to the fara- way continent. "South American teams will stand their ground for a thou- sand reasons," said the Argentine former footballer and coach. Menotti has more than four decades' experience in football, and during his long career he has played and/or coached in Argenti- na, Spain, Italy, Uruguay, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. From "Spain's fatigue" to Brazil's status as the top favourites to win the trophy, through "Germany's strength," Argentina's prospects, teams likely to surprise the world, and the challenges that lie ahead for Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cris- tiano Ronaldo, Menotti told dpa, group by group, what he expects from the Brazil 2014 World Cup: GROUP A: Neymar to be decisive "Brazilians are always highly competitive, they are always candi- dates (to win the title), and they can be world champions. What I am not sure of is whether they will manage to play well. I think that, with the support of the home crowd, Ney- mar is set to be a decisive player. I don't think he is ready yet to have a pace that makes him the world's best player. He's not there yet, he is young, but this can be a step towards his final confirmation, because he has more than enough ability. So I go for Brazil as virtu- ally certain to top this group. Mex- ico are a mystery. They have great players, but it looks like everything is too hard for them. Instead of en- joying themselves, they endure the good players they have. So I think that, in that context, it may happen that Cameroon go through. Afri- cans will be comfortable in Brazil. Brazil are the top candidates, and Cameroon can deliver a surprise." GROUP B: Spain, before the challenge of overcoming fatigue "If Spain recover from all the fa- tigue their players have suffered, I think they are candidates to go through along with the Nether- lands. But Chile could deliver an upset. I would not be very surprised if Chile were to qualify. I see Spain very fatigued. There are football- ers who have played many matches. And fatigue is not just muscular, and you don't recover from it just by sleeping or resting. There is a kind of fatigue that has to do with com- mitment, with responsibility, with having to definitely win every time you play. When they don't play well, critics are more ruthless with them. There is an exhaustion in very, very continuous success, and hopefully they can overcome it. If Spain are at 80 per cent of what they can do, they are clear candidates." GROUP C: A good chance for Colombia "I think Colombia will qualify. The fact that they were seeded helped them a lot. They have very good strikers, they have what it takes. Besides, they have forward- minded midfielders. From the midfield up, anyone can score a goal. Colombia's greatest problem lies with the defence. I think at the back they still have a few problems in terms of space reduction. But the coach will have time to work ahead of the World Cup. Ivory Coast also have good players, but they have trouble scoring, they always have a problem. It seems that as a group, when they all come together, they are not quite the same as the three or four players who stand out in different clubs. So I see Colombia qualifying, and they can deliver one of the World Cup's surprises." GROUP D: Italy to impose their rule on the "group of death" "Italy are definitely going to qualify. I find that they are grow- ing. Let's see whether they have the strength it takes to stand by that idea of change, of a different form of football, even in adversity. They will be harshly punished by the me- dia, because they live off the histo- ry of those teams who shot on goal twice and won a World Cup. There are lots of fanatics in Italy, and if you don't win they start to say that you need to go back to the age of Helenio Herrera. Italy either be- come world champions or they play awfully, and you cannot have that, because Italy has good taste for everything. I see things very dif- ficult for Uruguay, but you always expect surprises from Uruguayans. If England get up on a good note that day, they can beat anyone. But I still pick Uruguay for countless reasons, and not just football rea- sons. I no longer mention England as a candidate. I respect their foot- ball a lot, I love English football, but they play worse every time they leave the island." GROUP E: Watch out for Ecuador! "It is going to be a tough group. France are the best team out of the four, and in football terms Swit- zerland play very well. But watch out for Ecuador! South American teams will stand their ground for a thousand reasons. The climate, the place, all that has major impact and will make them grow. Because of the language, they will feel more at home. And those from other re- gions will feel more like foreigners. Besides, the temperature is going to be crucial. Tough climates will favour teams who hold on to the ball well. That was what happened in World Cups in Mexico (1970 and 1986). In 1970 the Germans were not as German and the Ital- ians were not as Italian. They were no longer those there-and-back teams who imposed themselves physically. There was huge supe- riority for those teams who played well with the ball." GROUP F: Messi's World Cup? "Argentina have to be careful to win the first match, not to con- cede a draw because their rivals pack all their players in defence. Still, I think they will go through comfortably. No surprises are expected, it must be the easiest group of the lot. I think Messi will prove he is a great footballer, but whether it becomes a coronation like it was for Maradona in 1986, it will depend a lot on the team. So far the team does not play with the strength of an idea that has been fully absorbed and that has been practiced as much as needed. It is very much based on the inspira- tion of its players. Argentina have to learn to manage space and time when they have to get back the ball. If you rush it and manage the timing badly, you are more vul- nerable. The team has had some good things and some not so good things, but it is also true that they have had no time to train." GROUP G: Germany's strength and Cristiano Ronaldo's challenge "Germany are very strong as a group, and their football idea is very clear. The coach has been working with them for a long time, you notice they are a team. Klinsmann's United States also play very well. They are not go- ing to be easy to beat. Portugal are another unknown. They are like England: they seem to have a good team, to stand good chances, but it has been a while since they last did anything worth mentioning at a World Cup. So I really go for Germany, who are the number one candidates, and I think the United States can deliver the surprise. In any case, I see Cristiano Ron- aldo playing well with the national team for the first time, really in line with his abilit y. If he confirms that in the World Cup, they will be fighting to qualif y. And if they do go through and make it to the quarter-finals, he will most likely be a decisive player." GROUP H: Belgium can deliver the World Cup's great surprise "Belgium can deliver the World Cup's great surprise. They have excellent individual players, but now we need to see how they func- tion as a team. If the Belgian na- tional team works in line with the players it has, it can beat anyone. I think they are the World Cup's great dark horse." DPA At age 75, Menotti remains the last coach to have won a World Cup in South America, and he thinks European teams will again have trouble adjusting to the faraway continent. Photo by alliance - dpa