World Cup Thoughts - Michael Moynihan

With South Africa kicking off the second round of group play, Milwaukee women's soccer head coach Michael Moynihan offers his thoughts on the tournament so far.

So far the Cup is off to a very conservative start. It seems many of the teams are playing the first game simply not to lose. Some of the lower ranked teams however, have defended admirably. The only convincing win so far has been Germany over the Australians, but I wasn't impressed with Australia. We'll learn more about the German team as we go along. I'm still eager to see Spain. 1 more day! South Korea was also impressive in their debut.

South Africa's goal was a fantastic way to get things started. An unbelievable goal. Heinze's goal for Argentina was also a thing of beauty. The Ivory Coast has an impressive line-up and looks to be the strongest African team (hopefully they'll survive the most difficult bracket), but Ghana was well organized defensively and you still can't count out the hosts.

The most impressive player so far has been Messi. He didn't score but provided a lot of excitement and created a number of chances. Looking forward to seeing Xavi though. No one can dominate the midfield like he can.

One of the highlights for me has been the commentary/coverage. Bringing in people that have played the game and coached at high levels outside of the US has been a massive improvement. The only bad spot so far was the goal Mexico had disallowed. The commentators missed that entirely, not understanding a simple off-side call. The commentary outside of that has been refreshing. Awesome to see the US vs. England game scored about the same as the NBA finals in domestic coverage. Of course there are still media people with blinders on that just don't get soccer and probably never will, but it's nice to see that everyone else is "getting it." The passion on display throughout the coverage is inspiring.

Friday's game vs. Slovenia is going to be tough. We have to be efficient with our chances to earn the result. I can't wait to see it!

World Cup Thoughts - Chris Lins

Well after four years of anticipation it has finally begun!!

After watching most of the groups play their opening games, for me personally they have been a bit stodgy. Teams I thought that would fly out of the gates and be exciting to watch have played a lot more defensive and conservative. It is crucial, especially in the format that the World Cup is played, to get at least one point out of your first game otherwise it is very difficult to move forward to the knock out stages.

I am looking forward to watching Spain start their campaign and I have a feeling that these second and third games in the first round will be a bit more stimulating to watch.

Whalley On The Early Cup Action

UWM men's soccer coach Chris Whalley checks in with some thoughts on the first five days of the World Cup

On the United States/England match ... It was obviously a good game, although I think England was the better team. At the end of the day it was a tie and the goalkeeper didn’t play very well. Things happen. The good news is that both teams can still advance. I honestly thought that England could go on and score another goal. We had a couple of good chances and didn’t take them, but I think Robert Green also made a good save on (Jozy) Altidore towards the end that probably redeemed himself a little bit. But, I think if England would have played better, it wouldn’t have been an issue anyway.

England and the US from here ... I think England is going to win the next game and I think America will win their next game. I think they will both win their next two games and England will advance first in the group on goal differential.

Any big surprises yet ... I don’t think there have been any massive shocks yet. Italy disappointed a lot of people by playing very poorly against Paraguay. I was pleased for Ghana. I thought they played really well when they won, 1-0. It has been really exciting … the games have been great and there have been a lot of good contests and some good play.

The individual stars so far ... I thought Lionel Messi looked really good for the first half of the Argentina game. I really liked the Ghana forward who scored the PK, Asamoah Gyan. He looked really lively. And it’s nice to see (Didier) Drogba play today. He’s hurt and he’s not 100%, but it’s great to see the best players in the world playing on the biggest stage.

And on those vuvuzelas ... If people want to come out to Engelmann Field and blow their vuvuzelas all game long and be really annoying to the opposition, I would love them to do that. I have no issue with them at all. I think these guys are paid enough money and play at a good enough level that if they can’t play with a bit of noise, they need to grow up a bit.

Five Thoughts On The World Cup's Opening Weekend

Associate AD-Communications Kevin O'Connor checks in first with some observations from the first weekend of the World Cup

I am sure our more accomplished experts will be checking in with their thoughts following the first weekend shortly, but here are five takeaways from the first three days of the World Cup.

Germany Steals The Early Favorite’s Role … Of the teams that played in the first three days of the tournament, the Germans clearly stole the headlines with a 4-0 win over Australia. Argentina looked very dangerous, also, but only tallied once against Nigeria. Germany, meanwhile, could have gone for six or seven.

South Africa Can Advance … It doesn’t seem to matter who the host is or how unlikely their advancement is, playing at home in the World Cup always seems to mean magic. South Africa should have beaten Mexico in the tournament opener, but will gladly take the tie. Then, the other two teams in the group – France and Uruguay – looked very beatable in playing to a drab 0-0 draw. Should it advance, South Africa would join the 1994 U.S. squad as hosts that most surprisingly moved forward. But, one way or another, every host until now has gone on to the second round.

Referees Solid – So Far … Short of a slightly-harsh red card against Australia, the officiating has been spot-on. Controversy will undoubtedly come at some point in the tournament, but for the first weekend there was little to complain about. And I hand out referee compliments as often as it snows in Miami.

The U.S. Result Against England Was Good, But … No complaints on stealing a point from the England match, but the U.S. will still need a result in each of its final two group contests to advance to the second round. A tie and then a win might be enough, but with Slovenia already claiming three points, the U.S. would be wise to claim a victory Friday.

Now The Stars Come Out … The Netherlands, Brazil, Italy and Spain all make their tournament debuts over the next three days. We’ve yet to see a soccer superpower lose in the first three days of the tournament – will either of these four see their advancement hopes damaged in an unlikely upset?

Previewing The World Cup - UWM Style

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.

A Players' Perspective Previewing The World Cup

UWM soccer student-athlete Peter Sanger will be blogging this season's about his team. But, first, he's been put to work along with some other Panther coaches and staff in previewing and discussing the World Cup

Every four years, 32 nations come together, politics are thrown out the window, and soccer reigns supreme. The World Cup is undoubtedly the greatest sporting even in the world. Contrary to many American beliefs, soccer is the most popular sport in the entire world, with the World Cup as its pinnacle. It’s hosted usually in one, but at times in two neighboring countries.

This year South Africa is the host nation, the first African country to host the World Cup. In the three years building up to the tournament, all FIFA-recognized nations go through a qualifying stage based on geographic region. The 32 triumphant teams make up the field for the tournament, always staged in June and July. Those 32 countries are then split into eight groups compiled of four teams each. Group play consists of each team in the group playing the other three members of the group, with three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. The top two teams from each group advance to the round of 16. From here on, the tournament becomes single elimination.

If a team wins its group, it will then play the 2nd place team from another group as its reward for coming in first. Next are the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place game and, ultimately, the final. The winner earns the title of World Cup Champion - the top country in the world.

Going into each tournament, there’s always a lot of debate as to who is the favorite to win the whole thing. This year, the favorites are Brazil (currently ranked #1 in the FIFA World Rankings) and Spain (2008 European Champions). The next tier of favorites includes Italy (Reigning World Cup Champions), Germany (staunch defense and mental toughness mixed with tons of World Cup experience), France (currently stuttering, but 2006 World Cup Finalists), England (where soccer originated), Argentina (team of FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi) and Holland (creators of the style “total football” - oozing creativity and free-flowing soccer).

The Winner

My personal pick for this year’s World Cup title has to be Spain. La Furia Roja are reigning European Champions and stacked with talented players. Although they have a penchant for underperforming at the World Cup (zero World Cup titles), I think based on their performance at Euro 2008 mixed with all of their player’s current form with their clubs since then, they have a recipe for success.

I’m also making this prediction based on the assumption that their talismanic striker, Fernando Torres, will be fit for the beginning of the tournament. Torres, along with other key squad members such as Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez, have experienced a lot of injury problems toward the end of the most recent club season and will be vital to Spain’s success. My guess is the final will be where Spain and Brazil collide, resulting in a final matchup to die for. Both countries play attractive attacking styles that are more than easy on the eye.

U.S. Prediction

The U.S., however, will find itself feeling successful just to get out of its group. It’s been paired with England, Algeria and Slovenia. England will definitely be the favorite going into the tournament, with the U.S. presumably left to battle it out with the other two nations. It would seem a simple task for the U.S. to triumph over lesser-known Algeria and Slovenia on paper, however, none of the games at the World Cup are ever played on paper. Players come to the World Cup full of the pride that comes with wearing your country’s colors and wanting to impress on the grandest stage in all of soccer.

The United States goes into South Africa with a lot of questions, and the answers will be provided starting June 12th with their opening match against England. Will Oguchi Onyewu recover successfully enough to anchor the back line? Does Michael Bradley have enough ability to compete with the best in the middle or the park? Will Jozy Altidore turn potential into goals? And lastly, can Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey combine to provide the U.S. with that little something special that only the great players can do at the highest level?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if that will end up happening. I’ve been underwhelmed in their performances leading up to the tournament and still find too many holes in the starting 11. However, I’ll let my nationality bias my prediction and say the United States will progress to the round of 16 via finishing second in their group, before bowing out to either Serbia or Germany (Winner of Group D).

Player(s) You Simply Can’t Miss

Every World Cup, stars emerge from many different countries and this is my list, providing one star player from each of the eight groups.

Group A: Giovani Dos Santos (Mexico): Dos Santos is an explosive, left-footed attacker for Mexico. He provides pace, trickery on the ball and an eye for goal. He broke into the first team at the famed club Barcelona at just 17 before an unsuccessful transfer to the English club Tottenham. With the way Mexico plays, he will see a lot of the ball, giving him all the opportunities he needs to shine in South Africa.

Group B: Lionel Messi (Argentina): Messi is currently the best player in the world and is looking to use South Africa to put his name in the talk as one of the greatest ever. Hailed by countryman and coach Maradona (considered one of the top two greatest players of all time) as the greatest Argentine yet, Messi needs to prove that he can replicate his scintillating club form at the international level to justify such claims. Untouchable on the ball, Messi is another left-footed magician with the ball at his feet.

Group C: Steven Gerrard (England): Recently named captain of the Three Lions, Gerrard will be one of the most complete players in this World Cup. As captain of his club, Liverpool, Gerard has shown he possesses a great work-rate, passing range, leadership and the ability to score from distance. He will be a key to England’s run for the title.

Group D: Nemanja Vidic (Serbia): The first defender on my list, Vidic has proven to be one of the best center backs in all of world football with his club Manchester United. He combines size, strength, tackling ability, positional awareness and both defensive and offensive aerial ability for Serbia. He will be their rock at the back at this summer’s World Cup.

Group E: Arjen Robben (Holland/Netherlands): On a team of great short passing, Robben is the Netherlands X-Factor. He provides them with a player who can attack defenders 1v1, with the ability to score and create goals on his own. Left-footed, but often lined up on the right side of midfield, Robben keeps defenders on the backs of their heels with the potential to get to the end-line and serve deadly crosses with his right foot, as well as the ability to cut inside and unleash venomous shots with his left.

Group F: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy): Long considered one of the top two goalkeepers in the game, Buffon is the heart of a rock-solid Italian defense. He was the top goalkeeper at the 2006 World Cup as Italy was crowned champions. He combines great hands, size and athletic ability with unparalleled organization and distribution.

Group G: Luis Fabiano (Brazil): One thing that all the great Brazilian sides of the past have in common is a great center forward spearheading their attack at the World Cup Finals. Fabiano has taken over as the new striker for Brazil this World Cup. He has big shoes to fill, taking over from the likes of Ronaldo, Romario, and most notably, Pele. Fabiano might not be as flashy or widely acclaimed as those aforementioned greats, but he brings great finishing, size, speed and a knack for scoring important goals to a team loaded with talent, but needing goals to get out of this World Cup’s “Group of Death.”

Group H: David Villa (Spain): Villa isn’t the biggest name on this deeply-talented Spain squad, but he most certainly has earned his place in the starting 11. Largely overlooked by showing loyalty and continuing to ply his trade at debt-stricken club Valencia, Villa is perhaps ready to claim the title as world’s greatest striker in this year’s World Cup. Recently transferred to Spanish giants Barcelona for a reported 40 million Euros, Villa will be looking to justify that astronomical price tag while leading Spain to World Cup Glory. Silky smooth on the ball, equal striking ability with both feet, composed finishing and great movement off the ball are what make this forward so great.

Favorite World Cup Memory

Lastly, my favorite World Cup memory was waking up at around 2 a.m. during the summer of 2002 to watch Brazil’s triumph in Japan/South Korea in that year’s World Cup. The combination of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho was unbelievable to watch and really pushed me to play that much more to improve to get to where I am today.

Baseball In The News

The Panther baseball team has been waiting all week for today to arrive, as finally UWM will begin play in the NCAA Tournament. Tonight's game against Arizona State starts at about 9 p.m. central time.

Chris Zills is with the team in Arizona. You can find all of his postseason information here.

I will also note that our unofficial Arizona State correspondent/spy - Daron Sutton - did stop by Panther practice yesterday and told me by phone everyone looked rested, ready and confident. While he does work for both us and ASU, I'm pretty sure we have him on our side. He will be at his day job this weekend - the Diamondbacks are at home - but I know he'll be keeping a close eye on things and seeing if he can't squeeze in a few innings.

Meanwhile, back here is Milwaukee, we've enjoyed reading the wide range of coverage on the Panthers. While I won't claim this is a complete list, I've put together some links to some of the articles and online video available.

Jim Lundstrom (who, by the way, works in the SID office!) is featured in the Northwest Indiana Times here.

Colin Fly from the Milwaukee AP branch also checks in with a feature here. You'll probably find this popping up in a number of spots around the country.

There has been other coverage throughout the week in the Journal Sentinel, but here is today's weekend preview from Tom Enlund.

Here is a video preview from the Arizona State perspective. You can find plenty of other Sun Devil info on the site, too.

You can find some additional perspective from the Sheboygan Press here.

Here is something focusing on Dan Bucholz from the Racine Journal Times.

Finally a couple of regional previews, one from Yahoo! Sports and one from Baseball America.