두근두근 Tomorrow

(영문전문)
Last weekend was a crazy one for World Cup stories.. In some ways, it was the start of the World Cup and was a weekend full of excitement, wild stories and lots of headlines.

Just take a look at what happened:

First: Reports that England captain RiO Ferdinand had injured a knee during training in South Africa began to be heard. Fans groaned - another curse of the England captain. In 1982, Kevin Keegan was the captain but played only 26 minutes.

In 1986, Captain Bryan Robson played one game and then did the same in 1990. In 2002, David Beckham went to Korea/Japan and wasn’t fully fit after breaking a metatarsal bone.  The whole country went mad with worry.

Now, it is Rio’s turn.

How much of a problem? 7 out of 10.

The Manchester United defender hasn’t had a great season and has struggled with injuries. He was great in 2002 and 2006 but is not as good now as he was then. He has lost some of his pace and is caught out of position more. But despite all that, he is still the England captain with a lot of experience. And he is probably England’s best defender and the middle of the defence looks slow without him.

Second: Didier Drogba. If the injury to England’s captain was big news, then perhaps a bigger shock was the injury to Didier Drogba’s elbow in a friendly with Japan. Japan defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka has been very active in the build-up to the World Cup. He scored against England and then scored an own goal in the same game.

Then he collided with Drogba and probably keeps one of the world’s best strikers out of the competition. In England, the loss of Ferdinand is seen as a problem but one that can be solved. But the loss of Drogba is a disaster for ivory Coast and while he still hopes to play, it is not going to be easy.

How much of a problem? 9 out of 10

A journalist I know from ivory Coast told me it was “It's terrible, terrible, terrible!” Drogba is their best player and their leader. He is also more than that. Drogba is the talisman of the team and its symbol. If Ivory Coast are without Drogba I think it is a bigger problem for them than if Park Ji-sung is absent for South Korea.

Third: Not quite as big news as the other ones.  Andrea Pirlo is going to miss a couple of Italy’s games at least. 

He was injured in Thursday’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Mexico. The Italian soccer federation said in a statement the 31-year-old would miss the Paraguay match in Cape Town.

“It’s an injury which worries me but there’s time,” team doctor Enrico Castellacci said. “The intention is to take him to South Africa to see if he can be fit. Before June 13 we can change players in the squad.”

How much of a problem? 5 out of 10 - Despite an under par year with the Rossoneri, Pirlo is arguably the most important player in coach Marcello Lippi's side in terms of offence and their main source of creativity. He was one of the best players in Italy's triumphant run at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Fourth: If that wasn’t enough. Then in the evening, France lost 1-0 to China in their final World Cup warm-up. In the 2006 World Cup warm-up, France defeated China but saw striker Djibril Cisse break his leg.

How much of a problem? 3 out of 10: It’s only a friendly. And it is only a pre-World Cup friendly - the results in these games are usually not important at all. But it is a worry for France and the whole country is annoyed at another poor result. France was unlucky and missed a number of chances and China had only two shots on goals. Still, it was a big defeat for France who struggled to qualify. It is something that gives the media and the fans, and perhaps some of the players, something else to blame unpopular coach Raymond Domenech for.

Fifth: Arjen Van Robben - Ok, this was Saturday but still a disaster for the Netherlands. Robben has been their best player this year and was great for Bayern Munich. The whole country is depressed after he damaged his hamstring. He should play some part but with hamstrings it can be hard to tell.

How much of a problem: 9 out of 10 - The Netherlands have hopes in this World cup. Their defence isn't great but their forward line is excellent. Without Robben, excellent is downgraded to good.

So what does it all mean? Some people are saying that these injuries are going to ruin the World cup. But they are wrong; this is all part of the World Cup story and part of the World cup drama. These events happen every four years and add to the excitement.

So, some stars will be absent but the World Cup produces new ones.