In a world, where every four years, 32 nations gather to determine a champion, only one team can hoist the World Cup trophy. [Cue the massive explosions.]
With apologies to "Iron Man 2," "Twilight" and whatever other blockbusters are headed to theaters this summer, none of them can compare to the most dramatic event of 2010: The World Cup. The World Cup, in addition to being the only truly world championship outside of the Olympic Games, is the only tournament capable of providing the full range of human emotion: Anger, awe, boredom, depression, disgust, embarrassment, euphoria, frustration, guilt, misery, pride, rage and surprise. The best screenwriters couldn't script some of those things. To get you ready for the drama that will start unfolding on June 11 in South Africa, The Star and The Full 90 will introduce you to the teams, the key performers, what to look for and what to expect in this year's Cup.The other "minnow" in the Group of Maximum Anglo-Attention...Algeria
Group CTHE BASICS• Nickname: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)
• Colors: Green/White
• FIFA Ranking: 31
• How They Got Here: Tied with Egypt in African qualifying group, won a single-match playoff with their bitter rival, 1-0
• World Cup Pedigree: 2 World Cups ('82, '86), never progressed past the group stageTHE PLOT
Can a nation, whose top talent is often poached by their former colonizer France, come together as a unit to dispatch fears that their country isn't a football elite and is just lucky to be here? THE DIRECTOR
Rabah Saadane
This is Saadane's fifth stint with the Desert Foxes. He was the boss during their last Cup appearance in 1986. He is considered the father figure of Algerian soccer and is known as "Cheik (The Wise)."LEADING MAN
Karim Ziani
The Wolfsburg (Germany) midfielder will be the engine that runs the attack. He's a gifted playmaker who can play centrally or on the wing. He's also pretty much their only high-level attacking option. SUPPORTING CAST
Antar Yahia (defender, Vfl Bochum, Germany) scored the game-winning goal to qualify Algeria for the Cup; Madjid Bougherra (defender, Rangers) is big guy (6'2") who will join Yahia in locking up the back line; Yazid Mansouri (defensive midfielder, Lorient, France) is the captain and most-capped player for Algeria.LIKELY BREAKOUT STAR(s)
Abdelkader Ghezzal
The front-line is either aging (Rafik Saifi, who is 35) or ineffective (Kamel Ghilas, who didn't play much for Hull City), that might open the door for 25-year-old Ghezzal (forward, Siena - Italy). He's considered the solution to the attacking problems. THE LIKELY VILLAIN
Zaini
He's Algeria's most talented player, and he's also prone to picking up yellow cards.
PRODUCTION NOTESAgainst stronger, more talented sides (like the U.S. and England) they will try to clog the midfield with a 3-5-2. The midfield and defense are their strength, so expect everyone but the strikers to sit behind the ball. WHAT THEY'LL WEAR
"From Paris With Love"
Luc Besson is an acclaimed French director ("Leon," "La Femme Nikita"). Pierre Morel (who directed the Jon Travolta-led "From Paris With Love") is a Besson disciple/copycat. Algeria is often called France-lite. This year is no different. So, the analogy is: If France is like "Leon (The Professional)" then Algeria is like the slightly-less interesting and more derivative "From Paris With Love." Did that track? Convoluted analogies are kinda my thing. TRAILER
Their highly-charged playoff victory over Egypt. DO WHAT YOU WILL WITH THIS...
Algeria has the third-highest percentage (45%) of female political ministers in the world. CRITICAL BLURBS
They are likely the easiest out of the two "lesser" teams in Group C, with a sometimes impregnable defense compared to Slovenia's almost completely impregnable defense. ... Goals will be few and far between. The forwards will be easily overmatched by teams with big, physical central defenders (and John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Oguchi Onyewu and Jay DeMerit all fit that bill). ... It's easy to wonder whether this team's road to get here was really their World Cup. ... Best-case scenario? Beating Slovenia, drawing either the U.S., England or both, and then sweating out the final day of group play. ... Realistic prediction? Three-and-out, but with a few close games -- and possibly scaring the knickers off England. POSSIBLE HOLLYWOOD MOMENT
Algeria is dreaming the dreams of Albert Camus and Zinedine Zidane. They finished Group C in second place, right behind the United States. Germany awaits, but this is a German team that Algeria can beat. They do. In the quarterfinals, Algeria takes the field in their home whites while France, their former colonizer and country by which they are judged, take the field at the other side. Just being here, just taking the pitch alongside their one-time oppressor and now ally -- ON THEIR OWN CONTINENT! -- shows Algeria how far they've come as a footballing country. The result isn't Hollywood. France wins 3-1.
Group A: South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico, France
Group B: South Korea, Greece, Nigeria, Argentina
Group C: Algeria, Slovenia, USA, England
Group D: Serbia, Australia, Ghana, Germany
Group E: Japan, Cameroon, Denmark, Netherlands
Group F: New Zealand, Slovakia, Paraguay, Italy
Group G: North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal, Brazil
Group H: Honduras, Chile, Switzerland, Spain
Sources: World Cup 2010 (by Steven D. Stark and Harrison Stark); ESPN and Soccernet.com; FIFA; CIA Factbook
