The World Game

Like Nigel Tufnel's amplifiers (and all successful footie teams), this one goes to eleven. The following players left an indelible mark on the year 2004. We look forward to them building on their heroics in the forthcoming year and hopefully providing us with untold amount of entertainment.

Thierry Henry (Arsenal/France)
The architect and talisman of Arsenal's historic undefeated run in last season's Premiership didn't do enough to persuade voters that he deserved the FIFA World Player of the Year award (see below). Well, take heart, Thierry, because if the FIFA trustees deigned to give us a vote, it would've been cast in your favor. Already this season, Henry is threatening to stroll to a fourth consecutive Premiership scoring title. Yet unlike most goal scorers, he also ranks among the top assist men in the game today.


Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Brazil)

His list of achievements is so staggering that it's easy to become jaded and thereby overlook this perennial superstar. But his performances for Real Madrid and Brazil indicate he has not slackened his high-octane output in the slightest.


Ronaldinho (Barcelona/Brazil)

Among other idiosyncrasies, Brazilian players are known for their puzzling one-word names (which often bear no resemblance to what their parents intended). Were it not for his fellow Brasileiro named above, we'd be referring to Barcelona's jack of all trades (i.e. goal scorer, creator, talisman, team spokesman -- you name it, "little" Ronnie does it) as “Ronaldo.” But such is the deferential quality of Brazilian nomenclature that, to quote the creators of the movie classic "Highlander," "there can be only one." Ronaldinho has transformed the recent form of Barcelona into that of world-beaters.


Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan/Ukraine)

The Balon d'Or winner barely missed out on the grand prize of FIFA World Player of the Year. On the brighter side, the AC Milan hitman has recaptured the form that catapulted him to the spotlight in the late '90's, when his performance for Dynamo Kiev, against Barcelona at Estadio Camp Nou, astounded onlookers. 4 goals from an unheard-of striker against the Catalan giants will do that. "Sheva" is back to his best and AC Milan has him to thank for their recent silverware haul, including last season's scudetto.


Pavel Nedved (Juventus/Czech Republic)

The Czech international has quietly emerged as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, since emerging on the world stage in Euro 96. Nedved has proved to Juventus what others thought was impossible: that Zinedine Zidane is in fact dispensable, given the right replacement.


Patrick Vieira (Arsenal/France)

Arsenal's Gibraltar gave many Gunners fans heart trouble this off season when, like clockwork, Real Madrid came calling. But the Arsenal captain once again resisted the urge to join the media-contrived "Galacticos" and decided to build on Arsenal's undefeated success of the 2003-04 season. When healthy, there is not a player alive who possesses his potent combination of ball-winning ability and creativity. He's the prototypical destructive/creative midfielder. He will need to recapture his '03-'04 form if he is to help Arsenal surmount the 7-point gap between his team and current league leaders Chelsea.


Kaka (AC Milan/Brazil)

Despite Roget's help, we've run out of superlatives to describe the somewhat miraculous quality and creativity of Kaka. Last season, the Brazilian emerged as perhaps the most creative midfielder in the game today. His Houdini-esque bag of tricks seems to scoff at limitations, and his skilful displays have not escaped the attention of Brazil manager Carlos Alberto Perreira. Kaka has gone from an unheard-of Brazilian talent into a fixture of the greatest team in the world in less than 18 months. Barring the unimaginable, his presence in Brazil's "Seleçao" is embedded in stone for the next decade – a status accorded to few.


Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid/Brazil)

We’ve struggled to come up with more descriptive commentary other than “best left back in the world – full stop,” but have somehow failed. Roberto Carlos is without peer in the world game at his position. A disturbing, ignorant trend has labeled him as a mere marauder. But a closer look at his performances, week-in week-out, reveals a hard-working, pacey defender who does in fact prioritize thwarting opponents’ attacks. To those unconvinced (primarily by a disinformed media): take a closer look, i.e., actually watch La Liga.


Sol Campbell (Arsenal/England)

No top-flight team can go undefeated without an heroic defensive lynchpin. Sol Campbell is just that for Arsenal (let’s face it: it’s not goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, despite his constant verbal lobbying).


John Terry (Chelsea/England)

A couple of seasons ago at Chelsea, it was difficult to discern when exactly John Terry would emerge from the shadow of his more illustrious team mates, French international Marcel Desailly and William Gallas. Those days are so far in the past that Terry now stands head and shoulders above virtually every defender in the Premiership, including Gallas, who remains with Chelsea.


Petr Cech (Chelsea/Czech Republic)

An eternity seems to have elapsed since the buzz surrounding Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini had him as the best 'keeper in England. The discussion reached such a fever pitch that schemes evolved to naturalize the Italian (who happens to have British ancestry of some form or another, like many in the Western hemisphere) and relegate David "Calamity" James to the ever-growing scrap heap of England goalkeepers. Petr Cech's performances for club and country have returned Cudicini to obscurity, from whence he came when Chelsea signed him. When his impending arrival for the start of the 2004-05 season was announced in the Spring prior to the completion of last season, few knew what to make of it. After all, it was argued, Chelsea, emboldened by the bottomless piggy bank of club owner Roman Abramovich, no longer had to plumb the depths of obscure continental leagues – in Cech's case, the Czech league. But the towering former Sparta Prague stopper's eye-opening performances at Euro 2004 in Portugal this summer shower precisely why he was rated so highly. In the first half of the current Premiership campaign, Cech has turned the outcome of many results into a fait accompli. His goals-against record dwarves his competitors’. He has leaked only 8 goals in 22 league encounters – slightly more than 1 in every 3 matches. His nearest competitor(s) – Manchester United's combination of Roy Carroll and Tim Howard – have allowed 13 league goals in as many matches.

FirstTouch is published weekly by David Witchard
©2005, David Witchard/FirstTouch Online

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