Like all World Cups, this one is being judged by comparing with its predecessor. So here comes the inevitable.
Long-range shooting while the ball is in motion is back in vogue. Dynamite boots from Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy and Brazil unleashed thunderbolts from 25 to 30 yards out in abundance not seen in 2002.
Head butts, in which two players jump to head the ball only to clash head-on, incurring many nasty cuts over the eye in Japan and South Korea, have declined considerably even though the players are just as strong, as tall and as mean.
There are some other new things in Germany, like the use of new radio communication technology during matches. The system allows referees to talk to their assistants using a microphone link. Instead of running from one end of the pitch to the other to confer with a linesman, the referee can now just press a button and talk. This will speed up communication and therefore the game.
Of course, some things never change, like an Egyptian referee making a mistake. All the communication wizardry in the world couldn’t help Australia when Egyptian referee Essam Abdel-Fattah gave Japan the lead even though Socceroos keeper Mark Schwarzer was impeded as Shunsuke Nakamura s intended cross sailed over his head.
Abdel-Fattah should be grateful his err had no damaging effect on the game’s outcome and can take comfort in the other controversial moment of the tournament when a sure penalty from a Swiss handball against France was not given.
Another novelty was an Egyptian-born goalkeeper minding the Swedish nets. It happened against Trinidad and Tobago. Swedish first-string goalie Andreas Isaksson missed Sweden s World Cup opener with Trinidad after being concussed in a training accident. So the call-up was made for former Arsenal stopper Rami Shaaban, an Egyptian with a Swedish mom. Shaaban only made his international debut in April as a substitute in a friendly against Finland but kept his goal clean as a whistle against Trinidad.
Millions of people in Egypt did not see Shaaban or anybody else in the World Cup. Because of TV rights not held by Egyptian television, for the first time since 1978 the only way for those living in Egypt to see the World Cup is by subscription fee, or on European satellite stations or in sidewalk cafes. In all cases, there is no longer such a thing as football for free.
Not everybody can pay for the play. And some are too old, too young, too ill or too female for café viewing which at the going rate of LE20 a sitting for one game, is prohibitive for most Egyptians.
What is for free is the Egyptian cup, but the timing is awful. Months before the World Cup began, FIFA politely requested that all professional football championships everywhere in the world be shelved during the World Cup month. Around 200 countries obeyed save Egypt which decided to play the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the Egyptian Cup in the middle of the World Cup. The result is the jarring clash of local and world soccer standards.
The French Open was also being shown during the World Cup but that happens every four years, plus it was a pleasant surprise. For around a decade starting in the mid-1980s, Egypt TV showed the semi-finals and final of the French Open and Wimbledon. When long-time tennis announcer Adel Sherif died, so too did these live tennis broadcasts. After a decade-long break, Egypt TV this week abruptly resumed French Open transmission.
Roland Garros and the World Cup are played simultaneously because the French Open has a fixed annual calendar date. The Egyptian Cup, like so much else Egyptian, roams about aimlessly.
