Group B Preview

Here's the second of my World Cup previews, today dealing with Group B, a top-heavy group that is fairly predictable.

Argentina
This team is as talented offensively as any in South Africa and can easily win it all if coach Diego Maradona can just stay out of the way. Once the world's best player, Maradona has continued the nuttiness he displayed as a player, constantly changing lineups and formations and causing the team to be ridiculously inconsistent. How Argentina lost to Bolivia 6-1 and only barely qualified for the World Cup can only be explained by Maradona's decision-making. But check out his tirade after Argentina qualified (www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgOXc7CZxWk); classy stuff.
Still, there's no questioning this team's talent, which includes the world's best player, Lionel Messi, and if nothing else, this will be a very entertaining team.
Coach: Diego Maradona. If Maradona has done nothing else, he's taken all of the focus away from his players (well, except Messi, who is constantly being asked about his relationship with his coach), allowing them to simply focus on playing. Really, the only way this team fails is if he screws it up, and that's a real possibility. But he's also ordered special ventilated toilet seats for his South Africa hotel room, and has pledged to streak through Buenos Aires if Argentina wins the Cup. I don't know if that means we should root for them or against them.
Players to Watch
Lionel Messi: No player will be watched more than Messi, considered the best player in the world though just 22-years-old. Why is the Barcelona forward considered the best? Go to YouTube, insert his name and sit back and watch. That's why. But while Messi has been ridiculous for Barcelona (see his four-goal game against Arsenal earlier this year), he hasn't been as good for his country and has an enormous amount of pressure. If he handles it well, he could lead Argentina to the title.
Angel di Maria: A very creative midfielder, he'll fill one wing and be highly entertaining.
Diego Milito: The striker has come on strong lately, scoring twice for Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but made just four appearances for his country in qualifying. He'll be in a battle to start alongside Messi up front.
Jonas Gutierrez: More of a defensive midfielder, the Newcastle star will fill one of the wings and allow the other mids to focus on offense.
Juan Sebastian Veron: He's got almost the same birthday as me, so I think he's outstanding. He'll be the primary distributor to Messi and whoever else is at forward, but questions remain as to how much he'll be able to offer at his advanced age.
Maxi Rodriguez: I'm not sure he'll do much, but I like his name so I'm going to watch him.
Javier Pastore: A young, untested midfielder who could step in for Veron if the veteran struggles or passes out.
Mario Bolatti: Maradona seems to like using this guy despite the fact that he rarely plays for Fiorentina and there are so many better options. So we'll watch to see if he brings the team down.
Sergio Aguero: If nothing else, we'll watch the Atletico Madrid forward because he's engaged to Maradona's daughter and is the father of his grandson. That's gotta count for something.
Gonzalo Higuain: Even younger than Messi, he only played twice in qualifiers but the Real Madrid striker could end up being the man to line up next to Messi.
Carlos Tevez: Probably best known for looking kind of like a bowling ball, he's also a dangerous forward who should be a dangerous player off the bench.
Javier Mascherano: The Liverpool center midfielder seems to be Maradona's favorite player and is the real leader of the team.

Greece
Greece continues to live off its shocking victory in Euro 2004, with many of those players still around, just six years older. The Greeks were miserable at Euro 2008 and struggled to qualify through a weak group. Greece has only qualified for one other World Cup - U.S.A. 1994 - and got hammered in all three games.
Still, few teams have a group of players with as interesting and fun-to-say names, and it must be really cool to be from Greece, so their attitudes should be pretty good. Unfortunately, Greece's style of play isn't as fun as their names. This is a pretty boring team, focusing mostly on defense and hoping to get lucky on a goal so that they can all then line up in front of the goal and block every shot that comes at them. Now that's just not fun soccer, man!
Coach: Otto Rehhagel. Kind of a stereotypical cranky German guy, but still a national hero after leading Greece to the Euro title. Also won a couple of Bundesliga titles, so clearly his tactics work, even if they are dull. How can a guy named Otto not put a team out there that's a little more fun to watch?
Players to Watch
Giorgos Karagounis: A member of the Euro champions, the midfielder is still very talented and creative but not much of a scorer anymore, and doesn't play much defense because, frankly, at 33, there's only so much he can do. Still really good on set pieces, though.
Georgios Samaras: Has played for a lot of high-level clubs (he's on Celtic now, which plays at Qwest Field against the Sounders in July) but hasn't scored much for Greece. For the Greeks to win, he'll have to add some finishing touches to his flashy runs.
Alexandros Tzorvas: Greece has tried to find a replacement for Antonios Nikopolidis at keeper for a long time, and Tzorvas is up next. He's pretty good at blocking shots, but not very good at putting himself in position to block shots. That's gotta be frustrating for a defensive team.
Vasilis Torosidis: A young, physical center defender, could be headed to a top club in the near future.
Sotirios Kyrgiakos: Plays for Liverpool and has a first name that sounds like a cereal, which is pretty cool. What's not cool is that he's really slow and is constantly committing dumb fouls. Will one of them cost Greece in the tournament? Stay tuned!
Dimitris Salpigidis: For my money, the guy with the best name on the team. I like saying Salpigidis, though it sounds a little like an ailment I don't want to get. A physical forward who scored the biggest goal for Greece in qualifying.
Sotiris Ninis: A very young, emeging star for Greece, though he may not see much action in South Africa.

Nigeria
Some think the Super Eagles are the African team that could make the deepest run, and maybe so, but they also barely qualified, so who knows? Unlike past Nigerian teams that made one attacking run after another, this is more of a defensive unit, though coach Lars Lagerback only recently took over so it's hard to tell what to expect. Nigeria was the first African team to ever win a major national tournament when it won gold at the 1996 Olympics. Can it repeat the magic a bit closer to home?
Coach: Lars Lagerback. The Swede took over after the Africa Cup of Nations and has had little time to develop this group. Lagerback was the Swedish national coach for a decade, including the last two World Cups, but failed to get Sweden in this time. Kind of goofy that a coach can fail to get a team in and then just go to another team and still go, while his former players are like, "What the heck?"
Players to Watch
Nwankwo Kanu: The team captain is a fan favorite and is 6-foot-6, but he's also 33 and always hurt, so he may be limited. Kanu is a two-time African Player of the Year and one of the most popular players on the continent, so maybe he's got one last gasp in him.
Obafemi Martins: Whenever he gets the ball, I will passionately yell out, "Obafemi!" And he should get the ball a lot, as he scores a lot of international goals due to his great speed.
Vincent Enyeama: Probably the best keeper Nigeria has had in a long, long time, he's excellent at stopping shots, always a good thing for a keeper. Really solidifies the defense.
Kalu Uche: The shortest name on the team, the midfielder scored nine times for his Spanish team this season and he could be one of the top scoring threats for the Eagles.
Danny Shittu: Certainly the weirdest name on the team, and saying his last name kind of makes me giggle. Has hardly played at all over the last two years for Bolton but Lagerback cut a bunch of other defenders so he may have to play a lot.
Yakubu Aiyengbeni: He's big, he's strong and he plays for Everton, but he's also always hurt, so it's unclear how much of a factor he'll be.
John Obi Mikel: Four years ago, everyone in the EPL wanted him, so much so that he was in the center of a transfer dispute between Chelsea and Manchester United that involved death threats and his hiding out at a friend's house. Pretty crazy. Four years later, he's a regular center mid for Chelsea and will be counted on to be the creative leader for Nigeria.

South Korea
Like Greece, South Korea continues to ride its recent past, in this case, its shocking run to the 2002 World Cup semifinals. South Korea didn't make it out of group play in 2006, and despite making the last six World Cups, has never made it past the first round except in '02, when it was the co-host. This is a new generation, though, with only three starters back from that team and a new (old) coach in Huh Jung-Moo, who is in his third stint. Has looked very inconsistent leading up to the cup, beating Ivory Coast and Japan but losing to some non-World Cup teams. Always a threat, but it'll take quite a run to get out of this group.
Coach: Huh Jung-Moo. Though he's been the coach three different times, he's never been given the chance to coach the team in the World Cup. What's up with that? The media dislikes him very much and he feuds with his players (oh, I guess that's what's up), but you gotta like that he's finally getting a chance. One of South Korea's greatest players, he's still not very well liked by the fans despite leading the team to an unbeaten qualifying record. Come on South Korea, give him a break. I mean, part of his last name is Moo! Moo!
Players to Watch
Park Ji-Sung: The team captain and the best player in the history of the country, he's a regular for Manchester United. He runs like crazy, trying to get defenders to drop dead from exhaustion and thus opening up scoring chances, which he's good at taking advantage of (though I don't think any defender has yet to actually expire). Also, there's a great picture of him taking a kick to the nuts in Sports Illustrated's World Cup preview.
Park Chu-Young: A regular for Monaco, he's considered the sex symbol of this team (kind of like I am for my team). He missed the 2006 Cup with injury and then missed the end of his club season with another injury. If he's healthy, he's fast and dangerous, and apparently very good looking.
Lee Chung-Yong: Just 21, he plays regularly for Bolton and is an outstanding wing, providing great crosses for the two Parks. A real emerging star.
Lee Dong-Guk: Dong-Guk? Right on! Got cut from the team in '02, then missed '06 with injury and is now hurt again, likely to miss the first game. The veteran will try to come back in time to make a difference in the final two games.