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Lots of drama on the horizon

The long wait is finally over and the 2014 Fifa World Cup finals are well and truly on in Brazil with four matches having already been played. A further 60 games will be played and we shall have our champion. Whether it will be a totally new name or one of the usual suspects we shall wait and see but there are signs already that the world will witness a lot of drama both on and off the pitch.

After watching the opening ceremony and match I was left under no doubt that South Africa did a really wonderful job four years ago. I happened to have watched again the 2010 opening ceremony hours before this year’s event and I was very convinced that the Brazilians could not match, let alone beat, what we witnessed at the Soccer City in Johannesburg. I am not sure whether it had to do with the timing.

As for the football itself, there were several talking points. The hosts will have been happy for kicking off the tournament with a convincing win but a sober reflection will most probably show them that result was flattering to them. It could easily have been different had the referee taken different decisions in a number of border-line situations. I don’t think the margin reflects the gap between the two teams.

I am sure, therefore, that coach Luis Felipe Scolari will look to improve a few things, especially at the back, as the tournament goes on because you get the sense that pitted against a more potent striking force La Selecao are going to leak goals. Croatia, on the other hand, will take heart from their performance before a predominantly partisan crowd, but they will also acknowledge that there is room for improvement.

I was asking my Twitter followers why most Africans are picking two teams at the finals. They will pick one African side and then another from either Europe or America. You know what that tells me? They actually believe in the European/American team and the African team is only being supported out of Pan-Africanism, not belief in it. Why would you also take a European side if you thought the African team can do it?

Lest we forget, however, there is a lot more happening while the Fifa World Cup finals are progressing in Brazil. For lovers of the English Premier League, it is important to temporarily shift attention away from the global feston Wednesday because indicative fixtures for the coming season will be released around 10 am Malawi time. I have learnt in the last few seasons that fixtures have an impact on how a team does.

It may also be important not to lose track of goings on in the transfer market. Activity will somehow slow down but teams will still be doing some business even before the transfer window opens in earnest on July 1. The major headline hours before the World Cup finals started was the move by Cesc Fabregas from Barcelona to Chelsea. It was the latest reminder that this is really a small world.

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