Thoughts on Team Top 5's for the World Cup

Best Attacking Teams- These are the teams who I thought provided the most excitement in the attacking part of the pitch
1) Germany- The Germans were dynamic in front of the net, with Golden Boot and Young Player of the Tournament Awards Winner Thomas Mueller leading the way. Miroslav Klose also had a standout tournament, along with Mesut Ozil, Lukas Padolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger
2) Netherlands- The Dutch primary four attackers (Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dirk Kuyt and Robin van Persie) bolstered big reputations, talent and ego. All of them had good tournaments, with the exception of van Persie who simply did not look like he belonged with the rest of the Dutch creativity on the pitch
3) Argentina- Lionel Messi left South Africa without scoring, but still had a great tournament, along with Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez. How Diego Milito never got on the pitch in South Africa is a true mystery, and coach Diego Maradonna not finding a role for him might’ve cost the Argentines a spot in the semi finals
4) Brazil- Robinho had a good tournament, while Luis Fabiano had an inconsistent one. Players like Elano and Maicon proved how dangerous they are in the attacking part of the field, while Kaka truly looked a step behind play. Is this fantastic player past his prime? Based upon how he did in South Africa, I would say yes.
5) Spain- They didn’t score goals, but they controlled every game they partook in. David Villa scored the crucial goals in the early parts of the tourney, while Carles Puyol and Andres Iniesta scored the big ones in the latter stages.

Best Defensive Teams
1) Spain- Do I love their backline? No, I still don’t, but what they do have is a fantastic midfield who doesn’t let anyone get to the back. Iker Casillas in goal also isn’t a shabby option as well, but the likes of Carlos Puyol and Joan Capdevilla are anything but impressive on the defensive end.
2) Uruguay- This was the most physical defense I saw in South Africa, that could’ve been better had their captain and starting center back Diego Lugano not gotten hurt early in the competition. Extremely difficult in the air, and hard in the tackle, this defense was crucial to the Uruguayan cause
3) New Zealand- They only allowed two goals in three games, and are the only team to not get defeated while in South Africa. This defense was constantly under pressure, but their organization and the fantastic play of Ryan Nielsen was able to withstand everything thrown at them. Mark Paston also had a great tournament in goal.
4) Portugal- Only allowed two goals in four matches, playing in a side that only scored in one game all tournament. Fabio Contrao at left back and Eduardo in goal were great all tournament.
5) Netherlands- Led the tournament in successful clearances, and only allowed more than one goal in a game once. Martin Stecklenburg had a good tournament in between the pipes for the Oranje.

Favorite Teams
1) USA- Clearly biased, but even if I was a neutral it would be hard to not cheer for the Americans. Their never say die attitude warmed my heart, and the fact that I was there in person to see the comeback against Slovenia and the Algeria victory doesn’t hurt either.
2) Germany- Besides the fact that my favorite player was their captain for the World Cup (and should be going forward) they played a beautiful brand of soccer that was the most entertaining in the tournament.
3) North Korea- I fell in love with the theory of North Korea, a country who has shut themselves out from the rest of the world, qualifying for this tournament. They were also easily the least talented team in South Africa, and my love for underdogs definitely had something to do with my affection for them
4) South Africa- The host nation was very warm and welcoming, and their people had me cheering heavily for Bafana Bafana. Unfortunate they didn’t make the second round, but beating France and going out on a high note is really all anyone could expect of this team.
5) South Korea- They played a fantastic style of play that really was good enough for them to make the quarterfinals. The entire team also sported band boy style haircuts which simply looked goofy to me, making them more endearing than most other teams.

Teams that Exceeded My Expectations
1) Uruguay- I knew nothing about this team and therefore had them losing all three of their matches. Boy was I wrong
2) Spain- I thought their style would crumble against a more physical side, but they withstood a pretty brutal assault at the hands of the Dutch in the final to prove me wrong.
3) Japan- I had this team getting zero points and not coming close to winning, but anyone who thought this team would beat both Cameroon and Denmark is more lucky than good at making reasonable predictions
4) New Zealand- Another underdog who did well, nobody had this team doing anything so I’m not going to lose a lot of sleep over getting them wrong.
5) Ghana- I didn’t think Ghana was a poor side heading into the tournament, but I thought their group would be too tough for them to progress. That’s what I get for thinking Serbia is a quality side.

Teams who Did Not Meet My Expectations
1) Cameroon- Semifinals? God that’s embarassing
2) Serbia- (See Cameroon)
3) Nigeria- I thought this team would get hot and make a good run to the quarterfinals, but I was sadly mistaken. Yakubu had a woeful tournament, and was a big reason they did not do well along with the red card Sani Kaita received for being foolish against Greece
4) Argentina- Had them as finalists, but they found out the hard way its hard to beat teams when you have no tactics
5) Netherlands- A little harsh since they almost won the title, but they didn’t so they make this list. Great tournament, just unable to finish it at the end.