sport talk:
Football Fever

Carl.Lorimer, 2010-06

China may not have qualified for this year’s World Cup, but that hasn't dampened the country's growing excitement in anticipation of this month’s finals. TALK recently attended a Shanghai Shenhua FC game at Hongkou Stadium and asked local football fans about their expectations for the upcoming tournament.

Jonathan Fu - 38, Sales Manager (China)

What country will you be supporting? Argentina under Maradona will win; they are too good.

Biggest surprise? Australia

Biggest disappointment? Italy

What player are you excited to watch? Lionel Messi (Argentina) because he is simply the world’s best player right now!

When will China win the World Cup? In about 100 years.

Sam Green - 23, Computer Software Engineer (England)

What country will you be supporting? England of course!

Biggest surprise? Ivory Coast – they’ll get out of the Group of Death.

Biggest disappointment? Italy – it’s just not their year.

What player are you excited to watch? I love Arsenal so definitely Cesc Fabregas (Spain). I would love to see what he can do on the world stage.

When will China win the World Cup? Never.

Ma Haiping - 28, Graphic Designer (China)

What country will you be supporting? Brazil will win this year.

Biggest surprise? North Korea

Biggest disappointment? Argentina

What player are you excited to watch? Michael Ballack (Germany) is my hero; he will have a great World Cup.

When will China win the World Cup? In the year 3000!

Lennet Daigle - 36, Translator (USA)

What country will you be supporting? The Netherlands because the United States have no chance.

Biggest surprise? Argentina – they’ve been terrible under Maradona, but I think they will go far.

Biggest disappointment? England

What player are you excited to watch? Maicon (Brazil) will absolutely shine during the tournament. He is the next Brazilian to become a household name.

When will China win the World Cup? Not in my lifetime.

Amy Qing - 29, Housewife (China)

What country will you be supporting? Italy! I love Italy and also Argentina.

Biggest surprise? Ivory Coast

Biggest disappointment? Argentina

What player are you excited to watch? Definitely Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) because he is so handsome!

When will China win the World Cup? Maybe in 40 years.

Did You Know?

During the 1998 World Cup, France conceded only two goals on their way to winning the competition, a feat repeated by Italy in 2006.
Germany has missed only one penalty in the World Cup – Uli Stielike against France in 1982.
Brazil has scored more goals from free kicks than any other team – 11.
Substitutes were first introduced into the competition in 1982, since then their percentage of goals scored has gradually increased – five of Italy’s goals in 2006 were scored by substitutes.
Gerd Muller scored 14 World Cup goals from 48 shots, a strike percentage of nearly 30 per cent. However, England’s Gary Lineker has the best strike rate at 40 per cent – eight goals. Brazil’s Ronaldo holds the record of most goals scored – 15.
Mexico is the only country to have hosted the World Cup twice.
Italy’s Guiseppe Meazze’s shorts fell down when taking a penalty in the 1938 World Cup.
80 per cent of the world’s soccer balls are made in Pakistan.
199,854 spectators watched the Uruguay v Brazil final at the Maracana Stadium.
The first player to receive a red card in the World Cup was Chile’s Carlos Caszely.