Rowdies excited for World Cup to start

Posted Jun 10, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jun 10, 2010 at 01:39 PM

As you would expect, the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies squad is looking forward for the start of the World Cup in South Africa on Friday.

For midfielder Stanley Nyazamba, who grew up in South Africa’s neighbor Zimbabwe, to see the World Cup being played so close to his homeland is something he never thought he would see.

“It’s too bad that I won’t be able to go,” Nyazamba said, adding that he’d be trying to watch as many games as possible. “I have a lot of family and friends excited about the World Cup, they’ll get to be part of it. It’s pretty big.”

Most of the players are taking part in a picks pool for the tournament, with some players seeing some surprises coming down the line. Nyazamba thinks Algeria and South Africa are two teams that are flying under the radar that could surprise people, while picking Holland to win the tournament.

Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish is also looking forward to the tournament and is especially eager to see how teams like Brazil, Argentina and Spain perform. While Dalglish believes the UEFA Champions League has a better overall quality of play, he thinks the spectacle of the World Cup makes it special.

“There’s no better spectacle on earth that the World Cup,” Dalglish said. “For me it’s the ultimate sporting occasion on the face of the earth.”

As for who Dalglish thinks lifts the trophy on July 11, he picked the team in the tournament he would most like to coach.

“Spain,” Dalglish said. “The thing with Spain is they’re so settled, there just seems to be great harmony among the players, great humility with great confidence. They know how good they are, but they don’t brag about it, they don’t rub it in your face. They’re an absolute class act, and I just think if you could manage a group of players, it’s the Spanish players you’d manage. … That’s the type of soccer players I like.”

SHARPENING UP: The fatigue from the legs that was apparent at Wednesday’s practice disappeared on Thursday as the team looked sharp and ready for their game against Montreal on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Certainly the team seemed much happier as it left the training field, and there was a very positive energy that indicated the loss on Sunday had been put behind them and they were ready to face the Impact and start another undefeated streak.

“They were magnificent today,” Dalglish said. “Really, really pleased with the level of performance today and the six-v-six was fantastic. Really, really good.”

NEWS AND NOTES: While there were the normal bumps and bruises being attended to after practice, the only player unavailable for selection on Saturday should be Adam Nowland, who continues to be absent from practice with a calf injury. … The team is planning to honor local youth soccer teams at Saturday’s game, with four local squads, RSL Florida’s girls under-18s and boys under-16s, Hillsborough County United’s boys under-15s and the Brandon Flames girls under-15s, headed to the Region III Championships next weekend in Baton Rouge, La.