The Baron is bored by the World Cup
Throughout the tournament our special correspondent is adding his own unique views and insights on the goings-on in Germany.
Add your comments on what the Baron has to say by emailing us at worldcup@aljazeera.net, or clicking on the “Send Your Feedback” link on the right.
The World Cup is boring.
Remember all that rubbish about the gap between the big and small countries getting smaller after the last World Cup?
It’s ancient history now as six of the eight quarter finalists are previous winners, and the odds are looking pretty small that we’ll have a winner from outside football’s cartel this time around.
It has been a remarkably favourites friendly World Cup, with the only real upset being Ghana defeating the Czech Republic in the group stage.
The “big” teams have hardly needed to get out of first gear to get as far as they have in the tournament and that is wholly disappointing.
Let’s hope things spice up from here on in.
Toughen up!
While referees have done a great job cracking down on diving, players are still way too soft.
Too often I have found myself screaming at the TV “Get up you big girl!” as yet another manicured millionaire rolls on the ground in feigned agony.
They seem happy to jump all over each other when they score a goal, but when they bump into a opponent it seems life threatening.
It might be time for FIFA to bring out the ‘no blood, no foul’ rule.
It worked fine in my day.
New celebrations
Can players stop sucking their thumb when they score goals?
It must be the most boring and clichéd celebration since the kissing of the wedding ring.
I’m sure some of the children related to the celebration are 15 years old by now.
More imagination please!
I feel the love
Finally, after all the big brouhaha when Ghana’s John Pantsil waved the Israeli flag, I was interested to note that Saudi prince Al-Waleed Abdul Aziz Al-Saud donated $100,000 to the Ghanaian team as a gesture for their World Cup achievements after they qualified for the second round.
Isn’t wonderful to see football proving we can all get along.
You know it makes sense.
The Baron