Over the next month, the soccer portion of the UWM Athletic Department will be offering its insights, predictions and reviews of the World Cup, which gets underway Friday. Among those participating in this coverage are head men's soccer coach Chris Whalley and head women's soccer coach Mike Moynihan (video preview above). Women's soccer associate head coach David Nikolic, men's soccer student-athlete Peter Sanger, New Media Assistant and former UWM men's soccer standout Chris Lins, Associate AD-Communications Kevin O'Connor and Assistant SID/Women's Soccer Contact Kevin Conway will also pitch-in with some thoughts. So, check back often for updates, but for now, written previews from some of the panel.
For an even more in-depth (and I might add quite impressive) preview of the next month, see Peter Sanger's extended blog entry here.
Women’s Soccer Coach Mike Moynihan
Finals/Winner
I think a number of teams could win it. My favorites going in are Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Holland. There will be a surprise team, though, that goes far. You can't rule out the hosts as they typically perform well. I'd love to see another African team emerge as well. They all play attractive soccer and have top class talent.
First Round Match(es) You Are Most Looking Forward To
England vs. U.S., of course. - getting bragging rights over coach Whalley would be brilliant. I’m also looking forward to Nigeria vs. Argentina and Mexico vs. France. The round of 16 is where the real action starts though. June 26th … I can't wait.
Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss
I'm hoping to see Kaka back in form for Brazil. Messi has been in a class of his own this past year...top player in the world right now, but Argentina is loaded with other talent as well. Higuain led Real Madrid in goals over Ronaldo and was second only to Messi in the entire league. They'll be exciting to watch. Spain has been the best team in the world over the past few years. They are balanced and play brilliantly together. It'll take a special performance, probably from a very defensive counter attacking team to defeat them. Holland is loaded, as well. Hopefully Robben returns from injury to contribute. Van Persie seems to be back in form after his long ankle injury. Sneijder was fantastic for Inter as they won the Champions League. The key for them is can they keep it together as a team. They seem to have more egos than most and it hurts them at crunch time.
U.S. Prediction
I look forward to watching the U.S. You would think they'd be a more defensive team, but they actually have some pretty dynamic attacking players in Donovan, Altidore and Dempsey. I'm hoping they go far - they seem to find ways to win. Unfortunately, I just don't see them being strong enough defensively. They've got very few defenders that can handle opponents 1v1 in isolation, so group organization will be the key...so will Howard. Hopefully he has some of the big time games we've seen him produce for Everton!
Favorite World Cup Memory
I'll never forget watching the U.S. defeat Portugal in the World Cup at some crazy hour in the middle of the night. Hopefully we are destined for more excitement like that.
New Media Assistant/former UWM men’s soccer standout Chris Lins
Finals/Winner
The Final will be Brazil vs. Spain and, of course, Brazil will win 3-1.
First Round Match(es) You Are Most Looking Forward To
There are only a handful of first round matches that I am looking forward to – Brazil/Ivory Coast, Brazil/Portugal, U.S./England and Netherlands/Cameroon.
Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss
The players that I look forward to watching will be Lionel Messi from Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal and Kaka from Brazil.
U.S. Prediction
I predict the U.S. will win their group ahead of England but lose in the second round against Ghana.
Favorite World Cup Memory
My favorite World Cup memory would have to be attending the opening ceremony for the 1994 World Cup in Chicago.
Women’s Soccer Associate Head Coach David Nikolic
Finals/Winner
Spain over France
First Round Match(es) You Are Most Looking Forward To
England/USA, Brazil/Portugal, Brazil/Ivory Coast, France/Mexico, Germany/Serbia
U.S. Prediction
Second round – they’ll finish the group stage with one win, one loss and one tie.
Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss
Xavi (Spain), Iniesta (Spain), Kaka (Brazil), Ribery (France), Messi (Argentina), Snejder (Netherlands)
Favorite World Cup Memory
1994 World Cup Final – Pasadena, California, July 1994 … 10 rows from the top of the stadium, sitting in the middle of a pack of Brazilians, watching the game with my father and brother.
Associate AD-Communications Kevin O’Connor
Finals/Winner
It is hard to not pick Brazil and Spain for the final, though I am intrigued by both Argentina and The Netherlands. Like many sides, the Dutch have had some bad news on the injury front. But they remain immensely talented and under-appreciated. For Argentina, the biggest question is the personality/stability/downright loony-tunes nature of coach Diego Maradona. Brazil is, well, Brazil, albeit apparently the Brazilians are angry their team is not playing “the beautiful game.” And with Spain, well their loss to the US in the Confederations Cup semis last year leaves me with some doubts. Italy, England, Portugal and Germany don’t even make the list, though maybe the Italians will win four-straight knockout games on PK’s after 0-0 ties. In the end, I’ll go with Holland and Brazil and the Dutch walking away with the Cup in a 3-2 final thriller.
First Round Match(es) You Are Most Looking Forward To
US-England, of course, though if the U.S. does not defend Wayne Rooney and Peter Crouch could make it very uninteresting in a hurry. I am also intrigued by the opening day. South Africa seems likely to be the first host to not get to the second round, but then they always say the trend is your friend. So if the hosts are to advance, they almost have to get a result against Mexico. France is also in Group A and has had plenty of its own issues, so that whole group could be upside-down by Friday afternoon. I am also eager to watch the Brazil/Portugal/Ivory Coast Group G battle for two spots in the second round. The first games in that group are Tuesday.
U.S. Prediction
I think something different about the U.S. every time I consider it. Sitting at the US/Honduras qualifier last June, I was convinced Bob Bradley would be fired as his team fell behind the Hondurans. Just weeks later, the U.S. was playing for the title in the Confed Cup. Fast-forward to May, and the U.S. looked bad for three halves in friendlies against the Czech Republic and Turkey before looking better for the second half against the Turks and against Australia Saturday. I don’t think they beat England, but I’ll hold my breath and say they get results in the final two group matches to advance. From there, it’s likely a match against Germany (or perhaps an underrated Serbian side), and thus also likely the end of the U.S. stay in South Africa.
Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss
Lionel Messi and Xavi top my list, but I say don’t miss Wayne Rooney, either. He will either be a star at this World Cup or (again) drive the double-decker England bus into the Thames. Cristiano Ronaldo is also a wild card – a superstar with the weight of his country on his shoulders. Finally, if Holland is to come through the way I predicted above, Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben must come through.
Favorite World Cup Memory
I’ll give you two. First, Germany/Spain at Soldier Field in 1994, as it was the only one I was fortunate enough to see in person when the World Cup was in the U.S. Second, U.S./Mexico in 2002 – not only did it see the U.S. advance to the quarterfinals but it came at the expense of a hated rival. It really is “the” World Cup memory for a U.S. fan, unless you were alive in 1950, I suppose.
Assistant SID Kevin Conway
Finals/Winner
I have The Netherlands knocking off Argentina in the World Cup final. The key to that pick, I think will be an upset of Brazil in the quarterfinals. I see both teams coming out of their groups as No. 1's and went with my gut and The Netherlands in the matchup. I don’t think I know enough about soccer to know how bad of a pick that actually is.
First Round Match(es) You Are Most Looking Forward To
I'm excited for the US/England first round game the most. It'll be interesting how both teams deal with their injuries and the winner will have the inside track to win the group. Brazil/Portugal should probably be the best game of group play, though.
U.S. Prediction
I don't think the US can have a worse performance than 2006. Fortunately, the team has a better group situation this time around. I'm a bit subjective, but I think they can hang with and possibly beat England. Based on that timing, with it coming in the first game, they could ride some momentum through a second round upset of (sorry David) Serbia. That said: quarterfinals vs. France.
Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss
I was REALLY late to the Lionel Messi show. I knew he was good, but did not get on the bandwagon until recently. I'll be excited to see him play. Also, with Thierry Henry possibly coming to MLS, I'm interested to see how good he still is. I've been a fan of his, but I'd like to see a good Henry come stateside, maybe one that can score without his hands (but, hey, worked for Maradona, right?).
Favorite World Cup Memory
Unlike most people around here, I was not a soccer fan until 2000-01. My favorite memory is watching the US/Germany game in the 2002 World Cup. I got up really early to go over to our men's soccer coach's house to watch the game with the SID contact at the time and the rest of the coaching staff. Unfortunately, it was raining cats and dogs and the satellite went out. We ended up going over to another person's house and watching a great game.
