Gekko's World Cup 2010 Dispatches: Day 1

Gekko is excited to be caught up once again in the romance and hype of the world's greatest sporting competition. So far, however, there is little for all but the most ardent enthusiast (or South Korean) to enthuse about....

The opening match pitted hosts South Africa -- a country with serious rugby and cricket credentials, but essentially a minnow in footballing terms -- against Mexico, a country with a longstanding reputation for solid but unthreatening showings in the World Cup (and, somewhat surprisingly when you think about, two previous experiences as hosts themselves --- why on earth is that?). Despite being outplayed by Mexico in the early stages, S Africa found their feet and were the first to score. Mexico leveled and it ended 1-1.

The second match showcased the other two teams from group 1: Uruguay and France. Gekko was glad he didn't get up to watch this one live, but instead watched a full-length replay. Indeed, it was such a toothless, lacklustre affair that he struggled to stay awake even when watching at 10am. It ended goalless, leaving everything all square in group one. Based on these first two matches, none of these teams will be serious contenders for the tournament. Gekko is leaning towards France and South Africa to make it through to the next round, but probably no further than that.

Tonight's first game, South Korea vs. Greece, had the dubious distinction of being the first match that Gekko considered "not worth watching". Nevertheless, because of its favourable timeslot he did watch it. And, against expectations to the contrary, found it quite enjoyable -- in an innocent, wholesome, amateur-hour kind of way. For Gekko's money, S Korea deserved their 2-0 win over the hapless, uninspiring Greeks. The difference seemed to come down to team cohesion: the Koreans, to a man, worked selflessly and tirelessly for the greater good of the cause. By contrast, the Greek team seemed disjointed and clumsy, with players seemingly more interested in striking a Zeus pose for the cameras at every opportunity. Gekko has loathed the Greek team ever since their freakish victory in Euro 2004 which they achieved by playing the most uninspiring brand of football outside of Italy. Gekko anticipates a speedy exit for the Greeks, and a happy-go-lucky, possibly reasonably lengthy, run for the S Koreans (if they can get a result against Nigeria).