Herr Hippo has taken early retirement and will be watching World Cup 2010 from the comfort of his Ugandan home.

However, for South Africa he recommends World Cup College which is hosted by his good friend Dr Dassie Rat.

Herr Hippo hopes that you enjoy the forthcoming tournament!

World Cup 2006 has reached its conclusion, with Italy crowned the winners! We hope that you enjoyed the tournament and, if you’ve been a regular reader of World Cup Hippo, that the site has been an enjoyable and useful complement to the on-pitch action.

Since January we’ve published 148 World Cup related articles. These features have included rash predictions, a plethora of tactical suggestions for Sven Goran-Eriksson, a smattering of poetry, and some clinical insight into the scientific principles underpinning the beautiful game.

Hearty thanks to everyone that visited World Cup Hippo, and special thanks to those who commented on articles. The site will remain online as the definitive World Cup 2006 archive! So please feel free to peruse our pages at leisure.

I’m now taking a well earned three-and-a-half year holiday before I begin preparations for the 2010 World Cup. I’ll be spending most of my time relaxing in the rivers of Uganda with friends and family, although I will undertake a spot of scouting at the odd Champions League fixture. Until 2010 then, best wishes and goodbye!

Why, when England can draw upon a host of talented players who match the best in the world at club level, has our international team only managed a thimbleful of commendable performances over the last five years? A word that has been widely used to describe England’s performances in Germany, which seems quite apposite, is ‘joyless’. Sven Goran-Eriksson may have made some dubious tactical decisions, but can one man really be to blame for the joyless malaise which grips English international football?

Several members of the England team consistently under-perform when representing their country, even against lesser opponents than they typically face every week in domestic matches. Steven Gerrard provides perhaps the clearest example. In the highly competitive Premier League he is the individual most capable of imposing his will upon a game and dictating the play; yet at international level he rarely intimates that he has the capacity to reach these heights. Do we really think that Gerrard is completely stifled by the tactics Sven deploys, or that the close proximity of Frank Lampard somehow diminishes his ability? Surely a player of Gerrard’s range and skill should have managed a couple of spirited performances for England over recent years, regardless of the team’s structure or the surrounding personnel. This is a footballer who has put in exemplary performances for Liverpool in several different positions. Why then should he suddenly require the minutiae of managerial strategy to be in his favour to play well for England?

We must therefore seek a deeper reason which can explain the disparity between players’ club and international form. I suspect that the pressure imposed by an expectant nation and hostile media pushes players beyond the optimum level of arousal required to realise skilled performances. An onus on success at all costs and fear of vilification means that performing for England is a joyless experience. The only release from the burden of expectation is victory; there is no pleasure to be derived from the means of attaining victory – playing football! The constricting impact of over-arousal is most apparent in penalty shoot-outs. During open-play England fail to work as cohesive unit, but queries over tactics and form conceal the core factor [pressure] inhibiting performance. In a penalty shoot-out, however, we are presented with a discrete unit of activity and it is apparent that England, more than any other nation, are afflicted with pressure-induced anxiety.

The destructive effects of this anxiety seem to weigh heaviest on England’s midfield. Shackled by excessive fear of defeat, it is asking a lot for a midfielder to reconcile defensive duties with attacking verve and imaginative link-up play. It is also interesting that one of the few players to have performed to their capabilities for England recently is Wayne Rooney - notably at Euro 2004. In the aforementioned tournament, Rooney was a highly confident teenager not yet beset by the neuroticism engendered by such a high pressure environment. Perhaps this is why Sven took a chance on Theo Walcott!

It may appear that that England, post-Sven, require a highly charismatic and Machiavellian leader to shield the team from counterproductive English ‘support’. But how long would it be before a Jose Mourinho-type figure was ridiculed and typecast as a bombastic whinging loser? The media will never change their approach and the fans’ expectations will not relent: playing for England will therefore continue to be a joyless experience for the foreseeable future. Pity Steve McClaren!

G - Switzerland: 30
D - Portugal: 20
D - Ghana: 16
D - England: 20
M - Ecuador: 38
M - Brazil: 36
M - France: 35
M - Ukraine: 31.5
F - Italy: 60
F - Argentina: 55
F - Germany: 55

Overall: 396.5

World Cup Hippo ran its very own fantasy football game this summer called Der Spiel. This game had a unique format and participants were asked to allocate nations, rather than individual players, to on-pitch positions. Well done to ‘the predators’ managed by Neville, and ‘Sonderangebot11′ managed by Calico: they finished joint first on 316.5 points.

The above graphic shows the best possible team that could have been chosen. The nations in Der Spiel were seeded into three groups and less fancied teams received more points for goals and cleansheets. Of the above teams, Switzerland and Ukraine were in Pool 2, Ghana and Ecuador were in Pool 3 - the rest were in Pool 1. If you’d been shrewd enough to pick this team you would have won by 80 points!

We now know that it is possible to win the World Cup by being the ‘least worst’ team present. Italy’s performance in the final represents their contribution to the tournament overall. OK in patches, very cautious, could do better.

Upfront for Italy, Luca Toni wandered around like a child in a playground waiting to be invited to play on the climbing frame. Apart from set-pieces and the occasional through ball, Italy were toothless and often useless. Every move which worked was cast aside after one more attempt. Crosses created chaos in the French defence in the first half, in the second-half nobody passed the ball wide, thus cutting off the supply. Early on balls into the channels were giving Thuram and Gallas something to think about; but the Italian midfield dropped deeper and deeper as the game wore on, and increaslingly played the ball square or backwards. Lippi made strange substitutions: Inzaghi would have given the team some willing legs, Barone could have given some extra bite. Both remained on the bench whereas Del Piero was introduced and played in slow motion, losing the ball whenever he could. France looked dangerous until Italy stopped trying to win the match.

Italy came out for the second half after locating their ’defence comes first’ heads, which enabled Henry and friends to dominate but Les Bleus never looked like scoring. What began as an absorbing encounter ended as a countdown to penalties. With a little more invention and organisation on the flanks, France could have won by two goals or more. Grosso and Zambrotta are fine players but rely on others to help them when they are on the back foot. By failing to support the man on the ball when pushing on, France gave the Italians too much room to sweep up any mess.

Why was Wiltord brought on so late in the day? Why was Dhorasoo, a man with an abundance of ideas not given a chance to unscrew the the Italians defensive jar? Henry was obviously enjoying outmuscling Lippi’s back four and would have appreciated a few more balls to feet to allow him to spin and run. Why were the Italians so exahusted mentally and physically after an hour’s play? Why did Lippi rein in Grosso after half an hour? Who stole France’s shooting boots? Why did Italy play Luca Toni’s rubbish twin brother up front?

Ultimately it was a match which provided more questions than answers!

7/10: Gattuso - solid, workmanlike, just what the team needed.
Materazzi - couldn’t have asked for much more, never really troubled.
6.5/10: Pirlo - quieter than usual, still looked a cut above most on the pitch.
6/10: Buffon - could have brought a deckchair, no errors.
Grosso - ran his socks off early on, faded as the match wore on.
Zambrotta - booked early, didn’t feature prominently.
Cannavaro - started and finished well, was very reckless for about 20 minutes at the end of normal time and appeared to lose composure.
Camoranesi - always in the game, fair contribution.
De Rossi (sub) - at least looked like he was trying.
Iaquinta (sub) - was brought on when Italy were tiring - some lively moments.
5/10: Perrotta - didn’t get into the game, rightly subbed.
Toni - had little help up front, didn’t help himself.
Del Piero (sub) - didn’t seem interested or good enough.
4/10: Totti - no worthwhile contribution.

France were defeated in a penalty shoot-out and may feel somewhat hard-done-by, as they outplayed Italy for large periods of this World Cup final. A coolly converted Zidane penalty gave France an early lead, but Materazzi put Italy level when he headed home a Pirlo corner. The first-half was closely contested and any creativity was stifled by an overloaded midfield area. But Italy looked the most likely to make a further breakthrough, and France were in disarray when defending corners.

The balance of power switched in the second-half and up to the hour mark in particular France were dangerous. Henry broke through the Italian defence on a couple of occasions with some positive runs, and even the previously ineffectual Malouda managed to get to the goal-line. Lippi was forced to make changes but these did little to alter the flow of the game. However, whilst France continued to dominate the second-half, and Italy had few attacking ideas, Les Bleus did not work any clear goalscoring chances and extra-time seemed a certainty well before 90 minutes were up.

Although it never felt like the deadlock would be broken, France were a touch more incisive than Italy in extra-time, and the full-backs Abidal and Sagnol were increasingly involved in attacking manoeuvres. A good cross from Sagnol gifted Zidane a free header, but his powerful effort was straight at Buffon. Good link up play between Ribery and Malouda also provided the former with sight of goal, but he screwed his shot just wide. Then Zidane lost his temper, 120 minutes were up, and Italy won the shoot-out. A disappointing end to a World Cup.

8/10 - Makelele: Shutdown Italy’s attacking routes and humbled Totti.
Viera: Outjumped for Italy’s goal but otherwise powerful and effective.
Zidane: Hindered by a crowded midfield in the first-half, but increasingly influential.
7/10 - Henry: Some impressive runs, but lacked support.
Thuram: Apart from the set-piece mayhem in the first-half, Toni didn’t get a look in.
Gallas: Ditto.
Sagnol: Defensively sound, and attacking presence developed as the game progressed.
Diarra: Solid and composed: an admirable job as Viera’s replacement.
6/10 - Abidal: No defensive problems, but still managed a couple of unforced errors.
Ribery: Worked hard and nearly achieved the breakthrough but generally ineffective.
Malouda: Seemingly out of his depth in the first 45mins but livelier in the second-half.
Barthez: A touch indecisive for the goal, otherwise untroubled.

Reportage della partita to follow!

Now that the World Cup is nearing the end, the time is right for some retrospective scrutiny of WCH’s pre-tournament views. Featured below is a small selection of the things we got right!

1. Pauleta
Herr Hippo informed us that Portugal striker Pauleta is an overrated player who is incapable of setting a big international tournament alight. Pauleta was widely tipped to do well in Germany having scored plenty of goals in the qualifiers - but he was also touted to do well at Euro 2004 and failed to score a single goal at the Portugal-hosted tournament. Pauleta is the type of player who has the capacity to score against small nations, but on a bigger stage he is exposed as a plodding, predictable and guileless centre-forward. He scored a lucky early goal against outsiders Angola in the first group game, but has failed to find the net again at this World Cup, which demonstrates that he is the ultimate flat-track bully.

2. Australia
We predicted that the Socceroos would have a big tournament, and they were the most organised, talented and entertaining of the less fancied nations in Germany. They proved that they were a well-drilled unit in their match against Brazil, with the central defensive triumvirate of Neill, Popovic and Moore looking particularly impressive. Australia weren’t just set up to defend against Brazil, however, and could have levelled the game when a goal down - but Kewell missed a sitter. Italy required a dubious injury time penalty to beat them in the second-round – and Australia would have fancied their chances against the perennial shoot-out chokers if they’d kept it level through 120 mins. Guus Hiddink certainly brought the best out of Australia and imaginatively resolved their defensive frailties. Lucas Neill, who plays at right-back for Blackburn, was recast as a centre-back and was one of the best defenders in Germany. Such demonstrable tactical nous and man-management skills suggest it’s a shame that Hiddink isn’t the new England manager!

3. Bobby Zamora
Way back in February Herr Hippo sent me on a scouting mission to watch Arsenal v West Ham. The WCH report stated that West Ham striker Bobby Zamora was quick, strong and industrious and should be considered for England. Whilst this suggestion was a bit of a rash longshot, subsequent events proved that it wasn’t such a wild proposal after all. Too much has been written about the selection of Sven’s forwards and the inclusion of Theo Walcott. I therefore don’t want to dwell on it too much, but with Owen and Rooney unfit, it was surely Sven’s major folly of the summer to supplement his strike force with an untried teenager - never mind only taking four forwards. So it transpired that even a randomly selected English Premiership striker would have been a useful addition to England’s World Cup squad.

4 & 5. We also thought that Switzerland would finish top of Group G, and that Owen Hargreaves might not be as rubbish as everyone was making out. That’s  five things we got right – almost one per month!