The Word on the Street
09 Jun 2006Collina backs Brazil for title
Former referee Pierluigi Collina, who took charge of the 2002 World Cup final, has tipped Brazil to defend their title.
"I can't see any way that Brazil can't be seen as the overwhelming favourites," Collina, the referee when the Brazilians beat Germany 2-0 four years ago to win a fifth World Cup, told the Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.
"The list of phenomenal players in the squad is so long that it's impossible for me to have another winner."
Collina also tipped Argentina, Italy and England as other contenders but not Germany.
England and German fans square-up
Police intervened when English and German fans squared-up to each other here on Friday just hours before England were to launch their World Cup campaign.
Police wearing riot gear separated the two groups outside a bar in the city's historic Romerberg Square.
A spokesman said that 100 English fans had been identified as potential troublemakers who had been bent on provocation.
"We intervened in a preventative manner so we could avoid the situation getting worse," said a spokesman.
The trouble erupted after the opening match of the tournament had seen hosts Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 with the match here shown live on giant television screens.
England fan bets fortune
A British gambler stands to pick up winnings of 1.2 million pounds (1.8 million euros) if England win the World Cup after raising his stake on Sven-Goran Eriksson's men to 200,000 pounds at odds of 6-1.
The punter has added 50,000 pounds to his initial wager with bookmaker William Hill in the wake of Wayne Rooney being passed fit.
"We knew the World Cup would be big but even in our most optimistic moments we never expected anyone to place 200,000 pounds on England bringing the Cup home," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.
"If he wins he will, without doubt, be British bookmaking's biggest ever single winner."
German defence worries the Kaiser
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer expressed his concern on Friday that the German defence could be the hosts' Achilles heel in their pursuit of a third World Cup title after they opened with a 4-2 victory over plucky Costa Rica.
"It really pleased me as opening matches go," said 'The Kaiser'
"It was not perhaps the most attractive match, but the German players showed in the first few minutes who was boss."
"The two Costa Rica goals came from little slip-ups: we have been trying for several months to stiffen up the defence but it isn't really working.
"The defence went to sleep twice today (Friday), but all is well when we can go forward and score more goals than the opposition.
German troops cheer on victory
German soldiers celebrated their team's 4-2 World Cup win over Costa Rica in Kabul on Friday 5,000 kilometres (3,000 miles) from where the match was being played in Munich.
They were some of the 200 NATO soldiers -- German, French, British, Macedonian, Turkish and Swiss -- who gathered in the Wolves' Den bar in Camp Warehouse to watch a live transmission of the match.
The camp is home to about 1,200 German soldiers, 60 of them women, in NATO's International Security Assistance Force spread out across Afghanistan.
Apart from the military weapons and uniform, little distinguishes these supporters form millions of other Germans. Beer is allowed and the soldiers help themselves although under the eye of officers who make sure things don't go too far.
Kenyans electrocuted fixing tv
Three soccer-mad Kenyans hoisting a television antenna to watch the World Cup were electrocuted and nearly killed when they accidentally hit a high-voltage power line.
The trio sustained third-degree burns over 15 to 18 percent of their bodies Thursday when the aerial they were putting on top an electricity pole touched the line in the Lunga Lunga slum on Nairobi's eastern outskirts, they said.
"We were trying to install the TV aerial when suddenly I felt an electric shock and blacked out immediately," said 21-year-old Evans Asaba from the hospital where he and his two compatriots were in critical but stable condition.
"I woke up to find myself in a hospital bed," he added.
Maradona snubs opening ceremony
Argentinian soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona (R) arrives to watch the opening match of the 2006 FIFA Football World Cup at Munich's World Cup Stadium between host Germany and Costa Rica, 09 June 2006. The month-long football extravaganza involving the world's top 32 teams begins in Munich and finishes with the final in Berlin 09 July. AFP PHOTO DDP/TIMM SCHAMBERGER
Argentina legend Diego Maradona said he hadn't wanted to take part in the opening ceremony of the World Cup here on Friday after he failed to join a parade of former winners.
Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in 1986, had told FIFA he would take part in the parade in the Munich stadium ahead of the tournament curtain-raiser between host nation Germany and Costa Rica
But although he was at the stadium, he failed to turn up to join other distinguished former players on the pitch.
"I didn't come to Germany to see Pele and Franz Beckenbauer, but to enjoy myself with some great football."
FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren said: "We have not received an explanation."
No sex please, we're Ecuadorian
Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez is setting an example to his team by insisting that a plea for sexual abstinence during the World Cup also applies to himself.
"Yes, to me too," he told a reporter.
"Oh. that's good then," replied the female reporter.
"Oh no it isn't," retorted Suarez, who prior to the finals had allowed wives and girlfriends to mingle with their partners.
Physical trainer Duffer Altman, however, believes prolonged abstinence can be counter productive as "this can mentally disturb the player. Sex is something natural."
Poles downbeat about Cup hopes
Only three percent of Poles believe their national squad will triumph in the World Cup that opened Friday in Germany, according to a new survey.
Forty-six percent of Poles believe Brazil will produce the magic to take the golden trophy, and 13 percent predict that host nation Germany will emerge as champions, said the survey by the Centre for Studying Public Opinion (CBOS) published Friday.
Six percent forecast that England will be victors, and three percent think Argentina will win.
The poll, which questioned 1,041 adults, was carried out June 2-5.
USA don't flag up hopes
Security has not been a concern for the US World Cup team, notable by being the only squad in the 32-team field without their nation's flag painted on the back of the team bus.
The team has metal detectors inside and police outside of their main hotel with safety precautions heightened for coach Bruce Arena, his players and the family members staying with them.
"Security doesn't bother us," Arena said. "It makes us very comfortable. We know that we are safe and our families are safe."
Arena allowed relatives to accompany the team in hopes of providing a boost to his squad and help them feel at ease as they adjust to Germany ahead of Monday's opener against the Czech Republic.
"Anything that can help us, I want," Arena said. "We think that having our families here can help us."