I wanted to take a couple of seconds and address some points before posting interviews and reviews of the last two matches (Brazil vs USA) and (Germany vs Poland).
I am a new to this online community so I am not going to debate who is better player or why - I am sure I need far more time here to determine that - but I will speak in terms of teams and their attitudes.
I have spoken to a few German players now and I have nothing but pleasant convos. Very polite and very well articulated. I have played with Polish players for thousands of hours and most of them too very were polite (aside from occasional retards who would just insult for no reason)... The competitiveness is fine - but I find it strange that someone would be hurt, because after all you all can mute everyone...
That said, there is an issue that was brought up by a few random players here and there, that their best team is not here otherwise it would have been a victory for them. Well, to them I can only say - this is World Cup 2015... not 2011 or 2012... so if you do not have your best team, then certainly this year you are not the "best" team and there is no need to bring or invoke players of the old who moved on to other games or don't care about this world cup enough to represent their countries. We are here to judge the best nation in WFAS in 2015.
What I am saying is, win or lose, we are dealing with the best teams those countries can offer NOW! and this tournament is about NOW. Through my interviews I learned that Poland and Germany traditionally field very strong line ups and are always favorites. But in this World Cup, THIS YEAR, whether its because some of those players moved on or some were unwilling to participate, the team performances were all stellar making it a very even field. And I prefer an even field to a very lopsided one.
Germany so far has been stellar! They are playing tight formations and very determined. They also practice a lot as I see their players in daily scrims.
Poland had a nice start but was not able to carry the momentum all the way. I don't think they made any excuses, but it's clear that their team needs some serious adjustments because the team that played in the last match made some grave errors.
Brazil... well Brazil is as I predicted - its picking up momentum and definitely going to come together before this tournament ends. I would not be surprised to see them deliver some upsets.
USA... we are a relatively new team. We still base most of what we do in international competition on the said "international competition". But we are lucky to have some versatile players that can do the job and compensate for whatever shortcomings we have. We have are looking for cohesion more so than skill, because that we have a huge abundance of.
Turkey and Azerbaijan... well those two teams are just spectacular. Very well organized, exceptional communication and definitely two of the best squads in the tournament.
Austrians and Bohemians are similarly well organized team, and this year they lack the star power to make them dominate the tournament, but they are still fielding enough experienced players to compete at more or less similar levels.
So this year, the favorites to win the cup are many... Why? Well the balance of power, dictated by natural things (players leaving, communities disappearing) is what makes it so much fun. The new teams come to the top, and the natural aspirations will challenge the old teams for supremacy... Its the way of things.
No need for excuses because frankly I don't care who was a better player five years ago or who won a tournament six month ago. Don't get me wrong its a wonderful topic of a conversation, but not in terms of why a team wins/loses this world cup.
All teams in this tournament are fielding the BEST players they CAN field. And we are here to measure which of those BEST teams is the BEST internationally.
Can't wait for the matches to get into semis and finals stage.
Looking forward to meeting the rest of you who I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet.
Ele