This summer's football World Cup will be decided between the traditional powerhouses and there was not much chance of any major upset, Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia said on Friday.
"To be frank, I don't see any of the underdogs pulling off one after another surprise and eventually lifting the trophy," the East Bengal striker said.
"It's not going to be like the 2004 European Championship when Greece stunned the favourites to claim the title," he said.
The greatest prize in football will remain with one of the countries who have dominated the game for a long time.
"If you ask me who will win, I can't pinpoint but I think it will be one of the seven pre-tournament favourites -- Brazil, France, Spain, Italy, Argentina, Holland and England," the star forward said.
Bhutia did not offer much hope for the Asian teams in the fray in Germany.
"I don't see them going far. They have been clubbed in tough groups and only Saudi Arabia stand some chance because they are in a relatively easier pool. Korea and Japan can indeed pull off a surprise but I don't think they can go much further," he said.
He also claimed that the concept of home advantage was not such a major factor in present day football.
"Germany cannot just rely on home advantage, I don't think it's going to do miracle for them. Now professional footballers play everywhere and that includes Germany. England play every game as their home game because of the large contingent of supporters that travels with the team," Bhutia said.
But Bhutia said the football extravaganza was likely to feature defensive tactics, which would result in "boring" matches.
"I think we are going to see a slight defensive approach by the major teams because they would like to play it safe till the knock-out stage. This, the crowd might find, boring."
However, Bhutia was looking forward to watching World Player of the Year Ronaldinho and his Barcelona colleague Argentine Lionel Messi.
"We know what Ronaldinho can do but I feel Messi is the player we should look out for. He is one guy who can light up any match and shoulder the burden for Argentina," he said.
Bhutia was in the capital to launch "Defend Your Turf", a futsal competition conceived by Nokia which would pit the national champion -- to be picked after preliminary matches in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata -- with "Boys from Brazil", handpicked by Futebol Profissional, the premier football association of Rio de Janeiro.
Photograph: Dijeshwar Singh/ Saab Pictures
© 2024 Rediff.com -