Fernando Torres vs. Cristiano Ronaldo. For Kickette, it's the ultimate soccer beefcake conundrum. For the rest of us, it's just one more juicy side order in what looks to be an immensely appetizing round of 16 meal.
Geographical Tidbit: The Iberian peninsula is the sixth largest in the world, after Arabia, Southern India, Alaska, Labrador, and Scandinavia. But with the exception of the Oman-Yemen rivalry, which got pretty vicious back in the late '70s, it's definitely the home of the fiercest soccer rivalry.
Geographical Tidbit: The Iberian peninsula is the sixth largest in the world, after Arabia, Southern India, Alaska, Labrador, and Scandinavia. But with the exception of the Oman-Yemen rivalry, which got pretty vicious back in the late '70s, it's definitely the home of the fiercest soccer rivalry.
Player to Watch: You mean aside from Cristiano Ronaldo? Oh, right. The answer is Spain forward David Villa. Fellow striker Torres still gets most of the pub, not only for his freckled dreaminess, but his apparent media-friendly willingness to answer questions like, "Does a lion or a hippo kill more people?"
Villa is a less natural celebrity, but right now, anyway, he's by far the better player. His international goal-scoring rate (41 goals in 61 matches, 67.2%) edges out Luis Fabiano (66.7%) for the best in the world that I can think of at the moment (He's even ahead of Legendary Fat Ronaldo, who ended his career at 63.9%). Compared to non-Brazilians like Tevez (20%), Messi (27%), Torres (32%), Cristiano Ronaldo (31%), and even Mirsoslav Klose (51%), Villa is in a league of his own. And this Cup, he's been sensational, with his deconstruction of Honduras still, in my mind, the strike of the tournament. If Spain's lovely midfield combinations are to yield any actual goals, it's almost certain that Villa must be the man to score them.
Who to Support: Spain. We've been through this before. Rooting for Cristiano Ronaldo is like rooting for A-Rod, and even though I'm an A-Rod apologist, I can't do that. Despite their early inconsistency, Spain is a richer, fuller, and more interesting team than Portugal, who has yet to score a goal against any international team not run by a lunatic communist dictator.
What to Expect: Caginess, unfortunately. Maybe extreme caginess. Watching Brazil-Portugal the other day reminded me that as much as I love the big teams, when they play each other it's rare to see much tactical risk-taking. This match gives me an odd penalty-kicks tingle, and not in a good way. (Portugal are excellent at penalty kicks, as England know all too well. Spain, not so much.). I foresee a tragic 1-1 final scoreline, with a Portuguese upset via the tiebreaker.
Villa is a less natural celebrity, but right now, anyway, he's by far the better player. His international goal-scoring rate (41 goals in 61 matches, 67.2%) edges out Luis Fabiano (66.7%) for the best in the world that I can think of at the moment (He's even ahead of Legendary Fat Ronaldo, who ended his career at 63.9%). Compared to non-Brazilians like Tevez (20%), Messi (27%), Torres (32%), Cristiano Ronaldo (31%), and even Mirsoslav Klose (51%), Villa is in a league of his own. And this Cup, he's been sensational, with his deconstruction of Honduras still, in my mind, the strike of the tournament. If Spain's lovely midfield combinations are to yield any actual goals, it's almost certain that Villa must be the man to score them.
Who to Support: Spain. We've been through this before. Rooting for Cristiano Ronaldo is like rooting for A-Rod, and even though I'm an A-Rod apologist, I can't do that. Despite their early inconsistency, Spain is a richer, fuller, and more interesting team than Portugal, who has yet to score a goal against any international team not run by a lunatic communist dictator.
What to Expect: Caginess, unfortunately. Maybe extreme caginess. Watching Brazil-Portugal the other day reminded me that as much as I love the big teams, when they play each other it's rare to see much tactical risk-taking. This match gives me an odd penalty-kicks tingle, and not in a good way. (Portugal are excellent at penalty kicks, as England know all too well. Spain, not so much.). I foresee a tragic 1-1 final scoreline, with a Portuguese upset via the tiebreaker.