Andy Vs Sal

Andy on England
June 11 - Sat in my hotel room just hours before the 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off here in Johannesburg, I get a call from my good friend and colleague Sal. With my homeland England up against his native America at the weekend, I couldn't help but explain to him why the Yanks have absolutely no chance against the Three Lions on Saturday.
First of all, we English invented the game. Okay, they may have embarrassed us in 1950 and then again in 1993, but for the latter we were being managed by the infamous 'turnip' and every good side has a blip once in a while. The Americans should stick what they're good at... Sports that nobody else plays like baseball, basketball and American football.
Player for player we have far the better team. The Stars and Stripes may be up for the battle, but Wayne Rooney will have the likes of Carlos Bocanegra (remember him Fulham fans?) and Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan benchwarmer) for breakfast. I must admit I do like the look of Clint Dempsey after watching him in Europa League action up in Hamburg this term, and Landon Donovan can obviously do a job up front, but both will be bread and butter stuff for JT and whoever Don Fabio chooses to partner the Chelsea centre-back.
Speaking of which... Let's take a look at the managers. England coach Fabio Capello has an astonishingly positive record wherever he's been: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus. Compare that illustrious list of European heavyweights with the CV of USA boss Bob Bradley. I think most of us have just about heard of the NY/NJ Metrostars and perhaps Chicago Fire (Mexico legend Blanco was there for a while), otherwise it's been university gigs for the 52-year-old, who unlike his son, Borussia Mönchengladbach 'star' Michael, was never a pro. Capello is simply streets ahead in terms of tactical nous.
Basically, as long as 'Wazza' can keep his head and Steven Gerrard can at least humour us with a half-decent performance alongside Frank Lampard in midfield, England should run out comfortable victors in Rustenberg. They'd better do, or otherwise this article is going to make me look like a fool!
Sal, I await your response...

Andy James is a sports reporter and columnist for The Munich Times. He is in Johannesburg the next 6 weeks covering the FIFA World Cup. Email him at andy.james@themunichtimes.com

Sal on USA
Munich, June 11 - Waka waka, Andy. Really, you are going with the 'we invented the game' reason? Have you not learned anything from the past 44 years that it's no longer 'YOUR' game? The USA is familiar with being served humble pie in basketball - yes, the world does play that game and have become up-to-par on skills. In this age of globalization, no one can claim anything for their own. I digress. OK, England has the marquee names that all play in the best league in the world. Everyone knows them, they are all world class, make millions of pounds, and have beautiful trophy wives/girlfriends (WAGs). But that's your only positive. (Then again, Capello has put in cameras in their rooms to keep the players from having sex with them, so now you may have lost your only advantage.)
Our best players - goalkeeper Tim Howard, all-time scorer and captain Landon Donovan, striker Jozy Altidore and scoring threat Clint Dempsey - all play in the Premiership. They will not be intimidated by the star power that will share the pitch with them. Each have created their own place in the Premiership with solid play: Howard has become another in a line of solid American goalkeepers in English football (and each have performed great in the World Cup); Donovan's short yet successful stint at Everton this past winter made the fans in Merseyside chant 'USA! USA!' every time he stood to take a corner; and Dempsey was a major contributor for Fulham as they made the Europa League Final - the first American to do so.
You guys? Your number one goalkeeper played on a team that not only got relegated, but were the worst team in Europe and now out of money. And his nickname is Calamity James. Starting to feel a bit shaky, Andy? Your star player David Beckham is out with an injury. Your captain Rio Ferdinand is also conveniently injured - he just forgot to call it in before your manager put together the team. Does anyone want to lead this team to another disappointment? The pressure is so apparent, that Wayne Rooney's spot in an apparel advertisement has him dream what would happen if he doesn't perform well - homeless, working as a groundskeeper, and infamous. No one can put that kind of pressure aside and play their best. And when the going gets tough, you can count on Rooney losing his temper - as he did when his then-ManU-teammate Christiano Ronaldo baited him into a red card in the quarterfinals back in 2006.
And finally, Team USA have been developing for this moment for 12 years: playing in major tournaments around the world, sending players abroad to gain experience, and creating a winning atmosphere. They played in South Africa last year in the Confederations Cup and upset #1 Spain and shattered all of the European Champions' streaks. USA held a 2-nil lead on Brazil in the Final. What was England doing? Riiiight, they were sitting at home during the 2008 Euros, finding a coach who gets fired constantly, and analyzing their futures when they lose not only to the US, but when they can't win another World Cup.
Andy, you may say that England invented the game and now the whole world plays it. Well, at one time, England 'ruled' the world and probably forced their subjects to play. And that's probably their one lasting legacy (along with proper tea) and I'm glad for it. It's a great game. But like the USA with basketball, the game is now an international one. Until England can start playing like a team and get some managerial stability, they won't win another major tournament. And they won't win today.
19! 66!
19! 66!

Salman Mitha is a sports reporter and columnist for The Munich Times. He has covered the Bundesliga and European football for 7 years. Email him at salman.mitha@themunichtimes.com and follow him on Twitter @sal_TMT_sports