No doubt new names will enter the hall of fame (or the hall of blame?) in the next month or so, their efforts indelibly etched on our memory. But will we be enthralled by a name we already know, Shevchenko, Ronaldinho or Van Nistlerooy, or will it be one of the previously unknown quantities from Ghana, Ivory Coast or Costa Rica who makes his mark in Germany?
Nothing we see from Ballack, Gerrard or Ronaldo will surprise us. I expect Ballack to fire a few parting shots on German soil before moving to Chelsea, my money is on Gerrard to confirm his standing as England's top player (maybe sparking off renewed interest from Chelsea?) and Ronaldo, having lived in Ronaldinho's shadow for a while, might just stake his claim to be numero uno once more. Surely Chelsea wouldn't want to sign him as well!!!
Amidst all the hype surrounding Wayne Rooney's fitness, or lack of it, a similar drama has been played out in the Argentinian camp where there are big doubts about Lionel Messi being ready for his country's quest for World Cup glory. An injury saw the wee man posted missing for the last six weeks of Barcelona's season and, just like Rooney, even if Messi is declared fit, he will need a couple of games under his belt before he is fully match fit.
But this wee guy is something special and I'd love to see him firing on all cylinders in Germany. No doubt the hatchet men will single him out for special treatment but some of the Spanish League's top assassins have tried to clatter him into the ground, only to find that, not unlike Maradona, he bounces like a rubber ball, hitting the deck one moment, back on his feet and dancing past opponents seconds later. His fitness could be the single factor which determines whether or not Argentina emerge as serious contenders.
As always, Holland will catch the eye with some excellent football and will surely progress to the last eight and perhaps beyond. They've got talent throughout the squad but I'm looking for Feyenoord's Dirk Kuijt to snatch the glory away from more established names likes Van Nistlerooy, Robben and Van Persie. Despite his club's failure to sustain their title challenge, he has just enjoyed an excellent season and is sure to be Holland's next big money export. Watch the price tag soar if he hits the high note in Germany.
And another youngster set to make it big is Lukas Podolski who, having shone in a struggling Cologne side, will undoubtedly benefit from playing alongside better players in the national side. Ballack and Klose are recognised as Germany's main attacking threat but anyone who lets Podolski free of the shackles will suffer. He has remained steadfastly loyal to Cologne through their troubled times but, with the club having just been relegated from the Bundesliga, they are set to cash in on his value, with Bayern Munich lined up to be his new employers.
Ukraine, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Portugal must all feel they are well equipped to go toe-to-toe with the more fancied nations and they certainly have the players to catch the eye. However, while they might pull off a one-of shock, they lack the real strength in depth to go all the way and win the thing. Some will point to Greece's success at Euro 2004 and ask why not but that was due to an unlikely combination of good organisation, poor opposition and good luck. It won't happen in Germany.
The winner will come from the established hierarchy of Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France and Italy, with home advantage swaying me towards the Germans. We can sit back and savour the wonderful talents of Kaka, Schweinsteiger, Riquelme, Trezeguet and Totti, able to watch the fitba without being too partisan in our support of one team over the other (just so long as there is no Septic connection in action), letting the games whet our appetite for the new season.
There will be surprise packages but, if I was to rhyme them off here and now, they won't be surprise packages, will they? So I'm not going to spoil the anticipation of it all for you. But my fingers are crossed for Trinidad & Tobago and, even although he must be approaching bus-pass age, Russell Latapy still has that wonderful ability to make time and space for himself and, alongside Dwight Yorke, he might just pull a rabbit out of the hat.
South Korea took the world by storm four years ago but, without home advantage and the dodgy decisions which go with the territory, even with Tricky Dicky at the helm, they'll struggle in Germany. But seeing as Ahn Jung-Hwan has decided the Jambos are a bigger club than the Gers and might be playing to clinch a move to Tynecastle, don't be surprised to find that the Caat Man has relegated him to the bench. Tee-hee.
For years 'the experts' have been predicting great things from Ghana. I remember their youth team well from the World Championships in Scotland in 1988, with Nii Lamptey tipped to be the next big thing. He didn't progress beyond a couple of years at Anderlecht and that Ghanaian team broke up amidst the usual what-might-have-been laments. Now, having finally made it to the World Cup, they are keen to make their mark and, with men like Sammy Kuffour, Michael Essien and Matthew Amoah on show, they'll be no pushover. But like all the minnows, they'll be shit scared of suffering heavy defeats from Italy and the Czech Republic and I suspect they'll go for defence in depth, resulting on some pretty dire games. Then we'll get the what-might-have-been stuff again, if only they'd had the courage to have a real go.
As for the anti-heroes, you can bet your life the first defender to go into a full-blooded challenge on Wayne Rooney will be portayed as something akin to an axe murderer. That dubious honour could fall to Germany's Arne Freidrich or maybe even Robert Huth (on Mourinho's orders?) when they meet England in the first knock-out round. Surely Sven won't want to risk Rooney in the game against Sweden on June 20 and set Karl Svensson up for an avalanche of hate mail, even before the GFITW get their crayons out!!!
There will undoubtedly be a few hammer-throwers out there who will have us all wincing when TV treats us to constant replays of their horrendous challenges. And I'm equally sure there will be just as many wild assaults which pass unpunished due to the incompetence of referees. With the benefit of TV footage, FIFA will, of course, legislate retrospectively and, as Terry, Ferdinand and Carragher are all known to be fond of 'afters', expect an indignant response from our friends in the South when they get caught bang-to-rights-guv.
Among those who emerge as hate figures during the World Cup, you can bet your life there will be no shortage of representatives from the media. I expect John Motson, Clive Tyldesley and Barry Davies to annoy me with their lack of impartiality but, when Scots like Hansen, Gray and Gordon The Garden Gnome join Plastic Paddies like Lawrenson and Townsend in referring to England as 'we', I'll be reaching for the sick bucket.
And having just been told that the Queer Fella from the Gherald is based in Nuremberg, I'll be checking out the FF Messageboard for references to his first mention of a Nazi rally. I expect Britney to be in Cologne for the England v Sweden game. He'd better have his wits about him because The Koelsch is organising some 'Wanted' posters.
What are the odds on my big pal emerging as Follow Follow's World Cup hero?
LITTLE BOY BLUE