Fine-tuning underway with one month left to World Cup

By John Bagratuni May 9, 2006, 18:28 GMT

A man takes a picture of the 32 team buses to the FIFA World Cup 2006 at the official handover in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, 04 May 2006. The buses are varnished in the national colours. Official sponsor Hyundai handed also a car fleet to the FIFA World Cup 2006 organisation committee. EPA/Boris Roessler

Hamburg - Germany captain Michael Ballack is cautious - and so are Germans in general with only 20 per cent believing that the host team can have a shot at the World Cup title.

'Everyone must be aware that this young team can achieve a positive surprise - but also crash out early,' Ballack said in a World Cup special of the Sport Bild weekly published Tuesday.

But there was also good news on the day, exactly one month ahead of the opening match June 9 between Germany and Costa Rica - with organizers promising that beer is planned to be on sale at all matches unless there is a change for knockout and high-risk games.

'Beer will be on sale at every match,' said Helmut Spahn from the organizing committee.

Organizers were working on the finishing touches, players from Argentina, the Netherlands and Poland were holding training camps and the first first accreditation centre, in Munich, opened on Tuesday as the world's largest single sports event is drawing rapidly closer.

German TV, radio and print media is full of World Cup news, and even companies not involved as sponsors are advertising in one way or another in connection with the second World Cup in the country, the first being 1974 in then West Germany.

But Germans are not so sure whether Juergen Klinsmann's team will lift the trophy as it did in 1974 (plus 1954 and 1990), with only 20 per cent of the 1,000 people polled by the Emnid institute confident.

According to Emnid Tuesday, 71 per cent in fact believe the hosts have no chance whatsoever of winning.

Ballack agreed in a World Cup special of the Sport Bild weekly published Tuesday, saying the team was not consistent enough to name 'the quarter- or semi-finals the ninimum goal.'

The poll also revealed that only 54 per cent were looking forward to the tournament, although the number is much higher at 67 per cent as far as German men are concerned.

However, of those only very few will actually be able to see the games live as ticket demand has by far exceeded the total 3.2 million tickets on offer for the 64 games in 12 stadiums.

There were 10 million applications alone in the first sales stage, and now some are simply setting their hopes in the resale programme or will be tempted to buy them outside the stadium - facing refusal of entry because under the strict and controversial sales scheme every ticket is personalised for security reasons.

Joseph Blatter, the head of the ruling body FIFA, has on several occasions expressed his fear that this rigid policy could lead to long delays in stadium entry due to ticket checks.

'The German organizers are in the very uncomfortable situation and, if the German organizers are uncomfortable then FIFA is also uncomfortable,' Blatter said on Monday.

Some alleged bad blood between FIFA and the organizing committee run by football icon Franz Beckenbauer was seemingly solved last week when both parties agreed on the schedule for a short opening ceremony ahead of the first game - after initial reports that Blatter didn't want Beckenbauer to make a speech.

Organizers are now 'working calmly on the finishing touches,' said OC spokesman Jens Grittner. This not only includes the organizational side but also the changing of the pitch in each stadium to give the 32 teams perfect conditions.

The first to arrive will be African World Cup novices Togo, as early as next week Monday, May 15. Ukraine, by contrast, will not arrive until June 9.

Ukraine have a major injury concern in their superstriker Andriy Shevchenko, England fear for their star attacker Wayne Rooney while Italy have already had to swallow the injury-related absence of their top forward Christian Vieri.

Holders and record five-time champions Brazil remain favourites, with coach Carlos Alberto Parreira saying there was nothing Ronaldinho and company could do to lower the expectations within the country and abroad.

'That's the price we have to pay for having countless star players and have enjoyed success at the Confederations Cup and the Copa America,' said Parreira in a newspaper interview.