It’s more than soccer

Bill Shankly, of the Sunday Times in England, once said, “Some people think football… Bill Shankly, of the Sunday Times in England, once said, “Some people think football [soccer] is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them that it is much more serious than that.”

That was 1981. Twenty-five years later, we have occupied countries, and old friends have fallen out with one another. There isn’t a war on communism, but there’s a war on terrorism. And no one is winning.

This time around, at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, countries from every part of the globe meet for one month of thrilling, unforgettable competition.

The United States and England are there, but so are Germany and France. Once friends, they are now just awkward acquaintances.

Iran is there and so is Saudi Arabia, the former our bitter enemy, the latter our partner in business.

I almost forgot to mention our old friends, Serbia and Montenegro, two of the host sites of one of the bloodiest wars from the previous decade, are playing together as one national team in Germany.

Japan and South Korea, with nothing but bad blood between each other, are together in Germany. In 2002, they managed to host the World Cup without any trouble. They can thank soccer for that.

Nonetheless, the World Cup offers so much to the world. It gives everyone a chance to skip work, take vacations or simply lose ground in the ever-challenging struggle for a raise.

It creates a national pride, not the kind that causes war or political angst, the kind that unifies a people in a common cause — winning global pride.

It also brings togetherness to the table. No, the wars in the world will not end with the kicking of a 32-panel, air-filled sphere. But maybe everyone can relax for a month or so. Maybe we can just sit down and do something we like — watch some great competition.

Great competition — at least at the World Cup — always starts with Brazil. Packed with a group of seasoned superstars, the Brazilians are looking to win their sixth World Cup trophy, and their third in four tries.

They have a flamboyant, unorthodox manager named Carlos Alberto Parreira. He has the joy of mentoring the silky-smooth, tantalizingly talented Ronaldinho.

Sporting the ever-famous No. 10 shirt, Ronaldinho is the best player in the world, winner of the most recent FIFA Player of the Year award. Watching the 26-year-old mastermind play is like watching poetry in motion — he is the world’s LeBron James, the heir to the throne.

Argentina rivals its bitter enemy, Brazil, in reputation. Sure, the Argentines haven’t won five World Cup tournaments, but they’ve played in 13 and won the title twice.

Packed with talent, the 2006 Argentine team looks good, very good. They feature names of players who the average American sports fan has never heard of, but nevertheless names that strike fear into opposing fans around the world: Messi, Riquelme, Crespo and Tevez.

Brazil and Argentina will score plenty of goals over the next month. Their group pairings mean they will not, and cannot, meet until the finals in Berlin.

Standing in the way of the South American superpowers are three well-known European powerhouses. Three teams packed with potential and pride — Germany, England and Italy — pose major threats to an all-South American final.

The host nation, Germany, features a quality team. The Germans play with strong technique and precision while rarely ever beating themselves. They will be playing in front of their home crowd, and that should enhance their chances of making a run in the tournament.

Italy has strong defending and potent attacking, but they always play too slowly for their own good. If the Italians shake the old wait-around-and-see tactics, they could rock their way to a trophy.

England travels across the English Channel with all the pressure in the world on their shoulders. They have to perform. As is the case with every World Cup, nothing but winning is good enough for the English.

As many people have seen in the headlines on ESPN.com, they are playing without their star striker, Wayne Rooney, for at least a few matches. Can they still win without Rooney’s golden toe and flair for the dramatic? The Kool-Aid Man says, “Oh yeah!”

Corny joking aside, the 2006 World Cup will calm the raging sea of suffering flooding the world’s shores, if only for one month. It could change lives or even end them, but one thing is certain: It’s much more serious than that.

Jeff Greer is picking Brazil to win the World Cup, but he also picked the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. E-mail him at jag59@pitt.edu.