GOA17!!!

Kumi Yokoyama takes on all comers for Japan Women's Under-17s.

Introducing... Diego Castro

Name: Diego Castro Jiménez
D.O.B: 02/07/82
Nationality: Spain
Club side: Sporting Gijón
Squad number: 17

What kind of player is he? Standing at just over 1.7 m, Diego Castro is a nippy, tricky wing-forward with a reputation for scoring golazos. He is also a talismanic figure and club captain of Sporting.

How is his devotion to the shirt? As recently as 2009 he admitted that "7 is my number. But I got 17 by default and I got to like it," he added. Despite this initial misguided affinity, he has been an excellent ambassador for a number of years now. Anyone who wears 17 and the captain's armband at the same time deserves maximum respect.

What are his prospects like for 2010/11? This season in Sporting's 3rd in Primera since Castro joined in 2006. Having come a creditable 14th and 15th in the last 2 years, Sporting will be looking to break into the top half. Diego has already scored a contender for goal of the season. Expect a few more as well.

Any magic moments? Several. Like this one against Osasuna. And this beauty to clinch Sporting's promotion to Primera in 2008.

SEVENTEEEEEEEN

17

Match Reviews: Wednesday 16th June

Brief summary of results:

Medel 2-1 Alvarez
Arbeloa 0-2 Ziegler

  

Arevalo 2-0 Parker
Bernard Parker failed to make the pitch in this group A match up, where the hosts dreams of World Cup glory crumbled. Arevalo was again tenacious in midfield, snapping at the heels of South African attackers and constantly staying goal side of the ball.

Match Previews: Wednesday 16th June

First up on Wednesday, it's an exciting match-up for followers of the 17s in South Africa: Honduran flyer Álvarez up against Gary "Pitbull" Medel. In a press conference today, journalists questioned Marcelo Bielsa's decision to select Medel, who measures 1.7m, at centre-back tomorrow. He responded by saying that it was not "mental" because "he is great in the air", adding that they cannot afford to lose the Pitbu17's defensive qualities since he is a player who "loves dispossessing opponents". He will be lining up against another player measuring 1.7m: the "Catrachos" winger Edgard Álvarez, who is lightning quick and will be looking to exploit the perceived aerial weakness of his Chilean counterpart with some good old-fashioned pacy wing play. Should be a good one, this.


Finally, finally, Spain get their tournament under way in the last of the first round games. This will see ex-Spurs full-back Reto Ziegler come up against the attacking might of La Roja. Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld has invited locals armed with vuvuzelas to recent training sessions to try and acclimatise his players but Ziegler and co will need to have more than a capacity to ignore the drone of a thousand bees tomorrow. Arbeloa may come on as a sub if Del Bosque wants to shore things up, but it's unlikely that he'll see any action unless Ramos or Capdevila take a knock.


Wednesday's last game is the first of the second round, as Egidio Arévalo's Uruguay and hosts South Africa look to take important points following first round stalemates. After an impressive individual performance in the middle of the park in their opening game, Arévalo will be relishing another midfield battle. It's unsure whether Bernard Parker will start for Bafana Bafana but expect to see him play at some point.

Match Review: Ahn vs Josué

Ahn 2-0 Josué

Ahn Young-Hak can be very pleased with his performance against favourites Brazil. He pressed and unsettled Kaká whenever he received the ball in dangerous areas and made some important interceptions in midfield, as well as clocking the biggest distance run by any player on the pitch. He can look forward to the remaining games with optimism as the Dear Leader's men impressed in what had seemed like a wildly mismatched encounter.
Josué failed to make it off the bench and when Dunga did make a substitution in the middle, it was Ramires who came on, so things not looking great for Wolfsburg's midfield engine.

Match Review: Tiéné vs Amorim

Tiéné 2-0 Amorim

This game started very well and so did the Éléphants' marauding left-back Tiéné, demonstrating a no-nonsense defending style on a number of occasions. In the absence of Didier Drogba, Côte d'Ivoire's number 17 stepped up to try to bend in a free-kick in the first half but it drifted agonisingly wide. Overall he performed admirably, charging up and down the left flank to reasonable effect, supporting Ivorian attacks and harrying in defence.
Despite most forecasts, in the dying minutes Carlos Queiroz threw on Portugal's emergency fill-in 17, Benfica's Ruben Amorim, who demonstrated some decent touches but was not on the pitch long enough to score any points.

Match Review: Hamšík vs Mulligan

Hamšík 1-0 Mulligan

Following Italy's draw with Paraguay, Hamšík and his boys went into their game against the All Whites with confidence, but unfortunately Slovakia's star player didn't shine as he would have liked. It was clear from his earlty touches that he is a technically gifted player, almost threading Vittek through with his first touch. He had three shots on goal, two of which were off target, and despite his obvious ability, he failed to take control of the midfield and drive his team forward. On top of this, Hamšík17's failure to deal with Smeltz in the dying seconds led to New Zealand's equaliser. It is for this aberration that his score falls below a 2. He'll need to up his game in Slovakia's remaining matches if he is to get another commemorative tattoo.
David Mu17igan didn't get off the bench.

Match Reviews: Monday 14th June

Makoto Hasebe 2-0 Mohamadou Idrissou
Hasebe was an integral part of a strong and organised Japanese midfield, which, as expected, he did Captain. He will be very pleased with his performance which culminated in a rasping shot from distance which forced the keeper into a save. His pre-tournament predictions of Japan doing well seemed well placed, even with this cagey performance, but Hasebe was a star throughout and the many fans wearing the 17 shirt with pride in the crowd were pleased with the performance that Hasebe17 put in. Idrissou made a late cameo appearance, but didn't manage to even force a shot.

Aureliano Torres 2-0 Angelo Palombo
Torres will be delighted with his performance as he made the first significant contribution of a 17 this tournament. His curling free kick was headed into the net to put Paraguay into a shock 1-0 lead over Italy. It is telling that when he was substituted it was still 1-0 and the lead was surrendered soon after he came off. His delivery into the box was a constant issue for the Italian defence. Palombo did not come off the bench in a disappointing performance by the Italians. Surely we should see his contribution later in the tournament?

Match Previews: Tuesday 15th June

Tuesday sees pureblood 17 and Slovakian national captain Marek Hamšík come up against David Mulligan of New Zealand. We are very excited about this. The All Whites have been tipped by many to be the worst team in South Africa so this is a great opportunity for Hamšík to show what he's made of. Along with Serbia's Krasić, Hamšík is another devotee being followed by Europe's big guns, although he has recently declared that he has a verbal agreement to sign a contract extension at Napoli. Perhaps this is because he knows that Krasić will bag Juve's freshly vacant number 17 shirt. It's not certain that Mulligan will start for New Zealand, so all eyes will be on the Slovakian skipper.

Next up is Siaka Tiéné against Ruben Amorim in a massive clash in Group F. It's extremely disappointing that we won't get the chance to see the Ivorian full-back line up directly against Nani but fingers crossed for an appearance for the United winger's replacement. With a good performance, we could have a conversion on our hands.

Finally, Brazil get their World Cup under way against Ahn Young-Hak's North Korea. It's all about Ahn in this one, as Josué is unlikely to play many minutes. In a recent interview North Korea's midfield general claimed that he can't see any weakness in the Brazil team, but he knows they will be hampered by the lack of a 17 in their line-up. People are predicting a rout in this game, let's see what the Dear Leader's finest can do. Yes We Ahn!

Match Review: Mertesacker vs Rukavytsya

Mertesacker 2-0 Rukavytsya

In the second game from Group D, with much of the pre-match talk was about what Joachim Löw's new-look side would look like, Per Mertesacker was one of the few German players lining up against Australia with any international experience. Germany's number 17 was rarely troubled by a toothless Australian attack, despite the late introduction of Nikita Rukavytsya. It is because of this that we award him 2 points rather than 3. For his part, Rukavytsya had little chance to make an impact, despite his best efforts. Perhaps there will be a space for him up front in the next games as Australia look to claw back some points.

There was some poetic jus17ce when apparent 17 devotee Tim Cahill, who chooses to wear number 4 for his national team, was sent off for a rash challenge in the second half. Karma, Tim, karma.

Match Review: Krasić vs Ayew

Krasić 2-0 Ayew

This hotly anticipated clash from Group D saw pureblood 17 Miloš Krasić's Serbian side lose ground in the race for qualification following a crazy handball from his teammate Kusmanović. Krasić was very much in the shop window amidst reports of interest from Juventus, where the shirt he worships should become available if they sell veteran striker David Trézeguet, and he showed some decent touches, spurning a great chance to put 10-man Serbia in the lead when he fired straight at Richard Kingson. He also very nearly got an assist from the resulting corner. Overall, not a bad individual performance but Krasić17 needs to pull something special out of the bag against Germany and Australia if he wants to write his name into World Cup history.

Rahim Ayew's brother André (pictured) played but sadly Ayew17 did not get on the pitch and is subsequently awarded 0 points in the face-off between the 17s of Serbia and Ghana.

Match Previews: Monday 14th June

No question here - neither of these players will start unless the Dutch coach feels that Elia has done enough to replace Robben. Eljero Elia has caused a stir in Dutch camp and his previously very active twitter account had to be taken down post-ProEvoGate last week. The friendly game between Babel and Elia turned nasty after Eljero made slurs against Moroccans on his webcam, supposedly in jest, but hey, if you're on a webcam broadcasting to the world don't make politically sensitive jokes to your mates. I don't expect Beckmann to play any part in this match and I expect Elia to come on late in the day.

Idrissou has made some starts in qualifying, but hasn't been starting in friendlies and I don't expect we'll see him. Makoto Hasebe has been causing a stir in the Japanese camp with a suspected hip injury and frequent comments to the media. It remains to be seen whether he will start the match as captain, but as a player who enjoys wearing 17 I would be pleased to see him put in a performance in this match.

Torres is a certain starter for Paraguay; the Italians have a more interesting dilemma. It has been rumoured that Angelo Palombo will drop from his usual holding midfield role into a central defending position - extraordinary considering the history of Italian tactics. Gattuso's admission that he is unlikely to be involved in this tournament may well open the door to Palombo, who is certain to make an impression if he does get on.

Match Review: Andraž Kirm vs Adlène Guedioura

Andraž Kirm 1-0 Adlène Guedioura
This match was "one for the purists" again in this tournament which has so far stalled in it's attempted to come to life. Kirm had a very good chance to open the scoring in this match but shot weakly at the keeper and whilst Slovenia's attack was dynamic in it's movement across the pitch, they very much failed to create opportunities where the Algerians did. It was a fluke goal which won it for the Slovenians in the end to give them a less than deserved victory. Kirm showed that he had a good delivery, but all it seemed to do was challenge the dodgy Algerian keeper. Guedioura came on towards the end but made no real impact.

Match Review: Altidore vs Wright-Phillips

Altidore 2-1 Wright-Phillips

In this high-octane opening clash from Group C, Hull City's Jozy Altidore started up front for Team USA but had barely touched the ball before England went ahead. Altidore led the fightback though, causing England's shaky and sluggish defence all sorts of problems and narrowly heading Donovan's cross wide in the 17th minute. In the second half King, a man with one knee, was replaced by Carragher, a man who simply cannot sprint, and A17idore was rubbing his hands together with anticipation. His chance came in the 64th minute where he outpaced and outmuscled Carragher only to see his one-on-one shot touched onto the post by Green more by luck than by judgement.

With Wright-Phillips starting on the bench and for many a surprise inclusion in Capello's squad, it seemed that USA-England would be a simple points victory for Altidore, but 17 fans across the world were excited to see SWP's number 17 flashing up on the linesman's board as he was thrown on in place of ineffectual World Cup débutant Milner. However, rather predictably, he had a bit of a shocker. He rarely managed to beat his man down the left and on the rare occasions that he did, his crossing was horribly and characteristically inaccurate. On top of this, he had a great chance to seal the win for England but put his finish straight at Howard.
Despite all this, we were happy to see him get so many minutes on the pitch. For this reason we concede him 1 point. Altidore, for being a constant threat to England, a reliable outlet up front, and an inspiration to his teammates, gets 2, but was half a post's width away from scoring a 3.

Match Preview: Game 7 and 8

Miloš Krasić is a certain starter for this match and will be pleased to have a chance to prove himself on the pitch after weeks of speculation over his future in Russia. He is a central cog to the Serbian attacking systems, but this is expected to be a clogger between two sides that set themselves up with a focus on a good defence, so it will be Krasić's job to break down the Ghanian defence. Rahim Ayew is unlikely to start, but sometimes my judgement has been a little off in this tournament, but I expect Krasić to have a clear victory here.

Per Mertesacker has been speaking frequently into the build up to this crunch match about his fears of another 17 - Tim Cahill. Cahill doesn't wear number 17 for Australia (but does for Everton) and this is as close to a battle of the 17s as we can get tonight. Nikita Rukavytsya is young and very much the reserve striker in the Australian squad. He may well get a chance to open his legs later on, but as with the first match, I expect this to be a win for the European side.

Match Review: Chidi Odiah vs Jonás Gutiérrez

Chidi Odiah 1-1 Jonás Gutiérrez
We have decided to call this at 1-1. Both players played OK and surprisingly ended up in the same position for their respective sides. Both made fairly incisive runs, but could also be acused of being a weak link in their side - Mick McCarthy (co-commentator on the BBC and grating throughout) couldn't wait to spin out "Odiah Odiah" about a misplaced pass; but eventually it led to the corner which gave away the goal. Jonás was a weak link in defence even though his distribution was good when he did move forward, but I would be surprised to see him start at right back later in the tournament as Argentina looked stretched at the back.

Match Preview: Game 6

Andraž Kirm will be a definite starter for Slovenia and will be desperate to become the first player to score a goal in the number 17 shirt in this World Cup, especially after getting on the scoresheet in Slovenia's warm up match against New Zealand. Adlène Guedioura has only just broken into the Algerian side, however since they are broken, weakened and in disarray I have a sneaky feeling that he could start. Both sides will be eager to get three points on the board as they are believed to be the two weakest teams in this group, so I expect both sides to try and make an early impression, with Kirm getting the first goal or assist for a 17 in this tournament, presuming Altidore17 or SWP17 do not make an impression in tonight's transatlantic clash.

Match Review: Lee Chung-Yong vs Theofanis Gekas

Lee Chung-Yong 2-1 Theofanis Gekas
South Korea outclassed Greece in this match, and whilst Lee was not central to this he was part of the attacking force that could have scored more goals than the two they got in this match. Lee had chances of his own; he broke through on goal early in the match after Korea had gone 1-0 up and was brought down by the Greek defender - it perhaps should have been a penalty, however, at the end of the game they will not be too bothered by this. Towards the end of the match Lee had another strong shot on goal that was tipped around the post by the keeper after a speedy break by the Koreans. Overall he played an important role in an accomplished Korean attacking force.

Gekas was unfortunate to be the lone striker in a toothless force. Rehagel decided to pla Charisteas in a wing role, which didn't really help with the distribution towards the striker who appeared to play an ever more desperate role. A period of slight dominance by the Greeks led to a great Korean save from a Fanis Gekas shot, but overall he will be disappointed with the result and his contribution considering the braggadocio of his pre-match statements.

Match Review: Dos Santos vs Parker

Dos Santos 2-0 Parker

The opening game of World Cup 2010 saw Giovani dos Santos star for Mexico, setting the bar very high for the other 17s in South Africa. Gio took the first touch of the tournament at kick off, I wonder if a 17 will have the last touch of the final, perhaps a World Cup-winning penalty from Josué?
Mexico's star striker was at the heart of every attack that his team put together and had several chances himself, but sadly luck was not on his side. Gio looked dangerous throughout the match and will have inspired others wearing 17 with his slick, direct forward play.
South Africa's Bernard Parker was given a disappointing ten minutes at the end but could not grab his opportunity to make himself a hero.
This was a clear win for Dos Santos17, who totally outshone his counterpart as well as everyone else on the pitch.

Match Preview: Game 5

Both of these players faced injury worries this week, with Jozy Altidore's being greater than that faced by Shaun Wright-Phillips in this battle between two players plying their trade at opposite ends of the Premier League this season. However, United States manager Bob Bradley has confirmed that Altidore17 will be starting upfront against the country that was his home last year.

Media outlets in England, and probably America, are making hay over the comparison between World Cup 1950 when a striker of Haitian origin scored in 1-0 win over favourites England, so inevitably tomorrow there will be focus on Jozy Altidore. Altidore17 has stated how happy he is to be at the World Cup and he is back in the country where he performed heroics for United States last year, but he suffered an unhappy time in the Premier League and some corners of the English media have labelled him a "Hull City flop"; a dangerous game to play that Altidore17 will be looking to ram down their throat tomorrow.

Wright-Phillips' place in the side is less certain than Altidore's. Some papers decided that he would be starting instead of Lennon, however the BBC coverage said they believed the team would be starting with Lennon on the right and Carrick in midfield. Who knows? I would expect Wright-Phillips to possibly play a role at some point, but perhaps not in tomorrow's game?

In the battle of the 17s I make Altidore the favourite to take 2 points, but if England have a lacklustre first half and Wright-Phillips is brought on, he could make a real difference.

Match Review: Arévalo vs Schillaci

Arévalo 2-0 Schillaci
The second match of the tournament was a 0-0 stalemate between Uruguay and France, but a clear win for Arévalo who played a full 90 to his opponents failure to make the pitch.

Despite BBC commentator Guy Mowbray pronouncing his name throughout as Arevalio (it may well meant to be pronounced like that, but it sounded ridiculous), like he was the name of an olive oil based spread from a budget supermarket, alongside also claiming other players were him (the BBC coverage was dreadful, worst mistake claiming the Uruguayans were playing a flat back four... no you dummies they played a three man defence!). I went into the match mistakenly thinking he was a winger - big mistake. He was very much a tenacious, fiery and short holding midfielder, striking in white boots and with a passion for a tackle. Constant battles with Abou Diaby were a theme of the match, and one that in general he won. The ball was rarely behind him during the match - for me it was an extremely impressive performance and in spite of our original belief that he would not start, I'd expect him to play most of the remaining group games after that.

Match Previews: 12th June

Saturday offers us a feast of footba17, starting with Greece vs South Korea, the first game from an unpredictable Group B. This pits two tali7mans against each other:
Theofanis Gekas against Lee Chung-Yong.
Europe's top goalscorer in qualifying against Asia's new superstar.
Fox in the box against pace and trickery on the wing.

In an interview with fifa.com, Gekas said "we have no reason to fear Nigeria or South Korea". What, you will be asking, about Odiah17 and Lee17? I was thinking the same thing.

17 fans around the world will be eagerly anticipating this opportunity to see two fine ambassadors set the tone for a World Cup where 17s are the stars, and the number is forever engraved into the memory, echoing down the ages.

Next up is Argentina vs Nigeria.
Chidi Odiah will be charged with stopping Argentina's formidable forward line of Messi, Di Maria, Tévez, Higuaín, but more importantly, Jonás Gu17érrez. Although it looks like Maradona will play "The Greyhound" at wing-back rather than as a straight winger, Argentina should dominate possession so expect to see him bombing down the flank to give Odiah yet another headache.

Similarly, Argentina's superiority should mean that we will see Odiah playing further back than he will in the other group games. However he will have done his research, presumably looking at videos of Cameroon's shock win over holders Argentina in the opening game of Italia '90. He will have been inspired by the Cameroon defence's lynching of Claudio Canniggia, one of the truly iconic images of heavy-handed defending in the World Cup.



Odiah17 will have taken lessons from it though, both positive and negative, as he testified last month: "I don't want to have any red card in any of the matches".
Argentina vs Nigeria should be another rip-roaring battle of 17s.

Introducing... Andraz Kirm

Name: Andraz Kirm
National team: Slovenia (Group C)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Wisla Krakow (POL)
Position: Left Midfielder
Age: 25
Caps: 26
Goals: 3

World Cup prospects:


Likelihood of starting the tournament: 100%. He is a fixture on Slovenia's left wing and is vital to their hopes of making an impression in South Africa.

Commitment to shirt: He's certainly a devotee, even if not quite a pureblood. While he wore 30 back home, he picked 17 as soon as he moved away, and has always sported it for the national team. Good decision, Andraz.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: There's someone with his name and face on facebook, but I doubt it's the man himself. Your best bet is right here, where we don't care about any other Slovenia player.

Match Preview: Game 1 and 2

So the big day is almost upon us. Tomorrow afternoon a feast of football will begin in Johannesburg and it all kicks off with a tasty match up. Bernard Parker was a certain starter in last year's World Cup warm-up, the Confederations Cup and was South Africa's top scorer. A year later and things are quite different for Parker, he is not expected to start tomorrow, whereas his opponent, Giovani, is widely expected to be one of the three players leading the assault on the South African defence tomorrow. Giovani dos Santos is one of the most exciting young players on the planet and will be looking to make a name for himself on the World's biggest stage. He has had a troubled lead up to the tournament, with reports that he was disgruntled at the exclusion of his brother Jonathan dos Santos from the squad, however he was in a good enough mood to blitz the Italian defence in Mexico's 2-1 win over the holders last week.

In the lead up to the match Parker has been speaking about the pressure on the team and how, in spite of their 12 match unbeaten streak under coach Parreira, it will mean nothing if they lose tomorrow:

Fitness plays a very big part in any footballer’s career. We have to be on top of our game throughout the World Cup. The nerves are coming to us now that we are closer to the first match of the tournament. But all of us are doing our best to ensure that we don’t disappoint. I’m sure that we will deal with the butterflies

The South African press seem to believe that Parker will be sprung upon the Mexicans tomorrow, and Parker is keen to test himself against world class defenders, so I hope that he will be given that opportunity.


Opening matches of World Cup tournaments have been mixed for number 17s in the past. In 2006 Per Mertesacker was in a team that won 4-2 against Costa Rica, but the German defence was criticised after a thrilling match. Costa Rican 17 Gabriel Badilla did not make the field of play. The 2002 tournament saw a memorable first match, and both Emmanuel Petit 17 for France and Ferdinand Coly 17 for Senegal started the match and played a full 90 minutes. 1998's opener saw only a late substitute appearance by Scotland's Billy McKinlay and neither 17 made the field of play in Germany vs Bolivia in 1994. 1990 was another year which saw both 17s start the match - Roberto Sensini for Argentina and Victor Ndip for Cameroon. Neither Mexico 86 or Spain 82 saw any number 17's play the opening game, but Argentina 82 saw Andrzej Szarmach start in Poland's 0-0 draw against West Germany.

The second match of the tournament sees a rather one-sided affair. "What?!" I hear you cry, "France and Uruguay both struggled in qualifying in the two hardest sections of qualifying and this is actually a rather intriguing match up which is hard to call!". But remember - all we care about is the number 17s. Squillaci is unlikely to make the field of play, so we expect Arévalo to start and to easily win the battle of the 17s, both of whom do not really care for the shirt. I hope that I am pleasantly surprised however, and I'm looking forward to seeing Arévalo playing.

Remember - you can check back on our "Introducing..." profiles for any of the players by clicking the links on the right hand side of this blog.

How we are going to assess the performance of 17s this Tournament
As you can see we have now previewed the two match ups in tomorrow's games. For every match in this tournament we will be awarding points to the players who make appearances, in every match there will be a 'Winner' or a 'Loser'. Or it could be a draw. If we decide that a number 17 has outshone his counterpart then we will award the 'win' to him and he will receive 2 points, the 'loser', however will receive 0. If we feel that both players were equally as exciting then they will both receive a single point. In the unfortunate circumstance of both 17s not making even a substitute appearance then both players will receive 0 points, as we do not want players to get credit for not playing.


Further to this we will of course be keeping a top scorers chart and be providing match reports and regular news updates throughout the tournament!

Introducing... Siaka Tiéne

Name: Siaka Tiéné
National team: Côte d'Ivoire(Group G)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Valenciennes (FRA)
Position: Versatile Left-Back
Age: 28
Caps: 52
Goals: 2

World Cup prospects:

he scores the awesome second goal for Côte d'Ivoire

Likelihood of starting the tournament: Superb. You should see him bombing up the left wing for the Éléphants this World Cup. He is the 17 with the second most international experience in South Africa and will be a central part of his team's strategy.

Commitment to shirt: After having worn a number of different numbers for many years for Côte d'Ivoire he has finally settled upon 17 for his country since the 2008 African Cup of Nations. He doesn't wear the shirt for his club and has never worn the 17 shirt at club level.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: Best to follow him here. Barely any web presence.

Introducing... Lee Chung-Yong

Name: Lee Chung-Yong
National team: South Korea (Group B)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Bolton Wanderers (ENG)
Position: Right winger
Age: 21
Caps: 24
Goals: 3


World Cup prospects:



Likelihood of starting the tournament: Very good. This pacy, tricky winger broke into the team during Korea's qualifying campaign and has since made quite an impact on the Premier League for Bolton. One of the most exciting 17s in South Africa.

Commitment to shirt: Not too bad, he usually wears it at international level nowadays. However, he wore 22 at FC Seoul and had to settle for 27 at Bolton because 17 belongs to pureblood Ivan Klasnic. He's getting closer, one digit at a time.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has a facebook fanpage, but I haven't been able to find any official website, not that we'd understand it anyway.

Introducing... Mohamadou Idrissou

Name: Mohamadou Idrissou
National team: Cameroon (Group F)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: SC Freiburg (GER)
Position: Striker
Age: 30
Caps: 31
Goals: 6

World Cup prospects:




Likelihood of starting the tournament: Not too bad, although he tends to come off the bench as an impact substitute. Opposition defenders shudder when they see the gangly Idrissou's number 17 flashing up on the 4th official's board.

Commitment to shirt: Not bad, he often wears it for the Indomitable Lions, although at his club side Freiburg he wears 8 (1+7). The 17 jersey is extremely emotive in Cameroon as Marc-Vivien Foé died wearing it in the 2003 Confederations Cup.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has a facebook fanpage but that's about it.

Introducing... Angelo Palombo

Name: Angelo Palombo
National team: Italy (Group F)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Sampdoria (ITA)
Position: Midfielder
Age: 28
Caps: 17
Goals: 0

World Cup prospects:

Likelihood of starting the tournament: Not likely, he's expected to start on the bench. However he played in a number of qualifiers and has had a fantastic season with the team that he captains, Sampdoria, who he guided to fourth in Serie A and a Champions League spot. I'd expect to see at least some of him in South Africa.

Commitment to shirt: Total commitment. Wears the number 17 shirt with pride for Sampdoria and Italy and whilst he was cautious wearing the shirt to begin with he has grown into it and can count on him as a true pureblood 17 at this World Cup. His name in Italy and especially in Genoa is synonymous with the number 17.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: How's this for a blast from the past? Angelo Palombo has a myspace, and even better than that, his username is angelopalombo17. He has a facebook page, but that isn't updated so often.

Introducing... Miloš Krasić

Name: Miloš Krasić
National team: Serbia (Group D)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Position: Winger
Age: 25
Caps: 31
Goals: 3

World Cup prospects:






Likelihood of starting the tournament: Certain. Miloš Krasić is the shining star of the Serbia side. The hopes of a nation rest upon his young shoulders and now is his time.

Commitment to shirt: The very highest commitment. He will never be seen in any other number. He is on the verge of signing for Juventus and I would be very surprised if the number 17 did not come up in negotiations. How come he isn't signing for Man City or Man Utd? Probably because the 17 shirts are tied up there. He worships 17. His appearance at this World Cup makes us very, very excited.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has a facebook page which is updated by someone on his behalf. All in Serbian however. He will be wall-to-wall this tournament if the transfer speculation continues, but I expect he will be a Juve player before Serbia play Ghana on Sunday.

Introducing... Ruben Amorim

Name: Ruben Marques Amorim
National team: Portugal (Group G)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Benfica (POR)
Position: Centre midfielder
Age: 25
Caps: 0
Goals: 0

World Cup prospects:



Likelihood of starting the tournament: Less than negligible. He is only in the squad as a last-minute replacement for the injured Nani, he doesn't really play in the same position, and he has never been capped.

Commitment to shirt: Zero. It simply happens to be a pureblood 17 who has injured himself. Very disappointing.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: There is a fanblog on him which claims that he is a regular visitor. But given the way he has ended up with the shirt, are you bothered?

17 UPDATE Wednesday 9th June

N

Nani Out
Manchester United striker and 17 wearing Nani has been ruled out of the World Cup with a shoulder injury. As I reported yesterday he had been saying that it was not serious, however the Portuguese medical team have decided to send him home and replaced him with Benfica's Ruben Amorim. Obviously Amorim has no affinity with the number 17 owing to it being assigned to him at this late stage, but we will try to get a profile of him up as soon as possible.

Gutiérrez has every faith in Maradona
Jonás Gutiérrez has spoken out about Maradona moving him to right back. He said "I feel very comfortable there. It is a position that isn't so different from which I usually play". Sounds like Argentina are going to be very attacking if Gutiérrez has been moved to right back, but as mentioned in our post on him, he will be a certainty to start for Argentina.

Seventeen Rumours
First up - media reports suggest that Miloš Krasić is a certainty to move to Juventus now. His facebook page is crammed with well-wishers and now it all sounds like is that i's have to be dotted and t's have to be crossed. His is certain to demand the 17 shirt when he gets there and one hopes that he gets it. Another 17 who could be due a move is Gary "Pitbull" Medel, who is reported to be in the eyes of Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, who well fancies the Pitbu17 marshalling his backline and marauding forward in the Premiership next season. Siaka Tiéné is in the sights of Paris St. Germaine and seems likely to sign on the dotted line soon, just as Jonás Gutiérrez is in the sights of Atletico Madrid, although it seems unlikely that Newcastle United would want to sell players just after getting promoted. Deportivo la Coruna are showing an interest in signing Gio dos Santos from Tottenham, but will Gio stick around for Champions League football at Spurs?

Injuries - What injuries?
Makoto Hasebe is rearing his head again when we speak about injuries. I don't expect him to start the tournament now. They are now talking about 'long-term back problems' in the camp. It may well be a double-bluff, but I somewhat doubt it. Jozy Altidore was back into full training yesterday and says that the attitude in the US camp is very good. Shaun Wright-Phillips didn't train yesterday with a knee injury.

Club 17 vs Country 17
Germany defender Per Mertesacker has said that "Tim Cahill must be stopped" if they are to beat Australia. Per Mertesacker wears 17 for Germany and refuses to wear any other number, even with pureblood Jerome Boateng in the squad. Meanwhile, Tim Cahill is a pureblood 17 for Everton (and has 17 in his signature), but doesn't wear his 17 for his country. Sorry Tim, I know who I'm supporting on this one!

Introducing... Mikkel Beckmann

Name: Mikkel Beckmann
National team: Denmark (Group E)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Randers (DEN)
Position: Striker/Winger
Age: 26
Caps: 5
Goals: 0


World Cup prospects:



Likelihood of starting the tournament: Not going to start, and probably not even going to play, but he gives Denmark extra options up front. They probably won't use them and just rely on Bendtner though. Hasn't played much if any of the warm up matches and not even Bendtner's struggles with a groin strain have seen him mentioned anywhere. Perhaps he will surprise some people.

Commitment to shirt: Pretty dreadful frankly. Wears the number 11 shirt for his club side, which are curiously sponsored by "Essex". The county? David Essex?

How to follow him throughout the tournament: Has a facebook page that he appears to regularly update, in Danish, so it's incomprehensible to me. At least with Dutch I can make decent stabs at it! Danish is impossible!

Introducing... Nikita Rukavytsya

Name: Nikita Rukavytsya
National team: Australia (Group D)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: KV Roeselare (BEL)
Position: Striker/Winger
Age: 22
Caps: 4
Goals: 0


World Cup prospects:

I don't want to be too disparaging here, but he's playing in a team with Eugene Dadi for crying out loud.


5 mins 40 secs

Likelihood of starting the tournament: He's not going to start, but Pim Verbeek has only decided to take two out-and-out strikers to the tournament in a very defensive Australian side. So whilst I wouldn't stick him in your fantasy team, I'd expect you to see at least a bit of him on the telly this summer.

Commitment to shirt: Not great, but he's only young. There's a lot of growing up to do and as Elia showed, you get a taste of the number 17 shirt and it makes you a better player and you love it for life. Although Elia hasn't shown that last part yet. Yet another one of the 17s to have gone through FC Twente (He's on loan to Roeselare from Twente, although he has just been released, Elia was sold to Hamburg by Twente, Bernard Parker plays for Twente... yet none of them have owned the 17 shirt at Twente! Maybe Twente should be renamed Seventeene - *gets coat*. Why release a player on the eve of the World Cup? weird)

How to follow him throughout the tournament: Has a facebook page where he has recently expressed a love of Nandos. What sane man wouldn't?

Introducing... Rahim Ayew

Name: Ibrahim Ayew
National team: Ghana (Group D)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Zamalek (EGY)
Position: Anywhere in midfield/full-back
Age: 22
Caps: 6
Goals: 0


World Cup prospects:




Likelihood of starting the tournament: Pretty good. Ayew has recently broken into Ghana's first team and has impressed with some powerful displays. With Michael Essien out, he has a great chance of starting against pureblood 17 Krasic in Group D. Certainly one of the more beastly 17s in South Africa.

Commitment to shirt: Disappointing. He wears 30 at Zamalek.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has a facebook page which he doesn't seem to be involved with. Your best bet is here.

17 UPDATE Tuesday 8th June

Barcelona 17 - 0 Manchester City
We were alerted last night, via Eljero Elia's twitter account, that not only was he playing Pro Evo against Liverpool's Ryan Babel, but that Babel was broadcasting it live over the internet for the whole world to watch. To a soundtrack of rather dubious music and dressed to the nines in their official Dutch gear they picked their respective teams - Elia was Barcelona, Babel a rather cockier and controversial selection of Manchester City, which led to a peculiar situation when Nigel de Jong came in to watch the match. Babel was certainly the more self-assured player, however they were playing on an English version, and I'm not entirely sure how much they were getting out of Mark "Lawro" Lawrenson's subtletys.

Injury News
Jozy Altidore is back in training after his ankle knock, Makoto Hasebe went to hospital yesterday to check out some pain that he was having on his hip and Nani has picked up a shoulder injury whilst attempting an acrobatic shot in training, but he doesn't think it's that bad and says that it is 'in the coaches hands' whether he plays or not. Portugal's crucial first match is against Cote D'Ivoire this time next week.

Team News
Shaun Wright-Phillips started for England in their warm-up match against local side The Platinum Allstars, although he failed to get on the scoresheet England ran out 3-0 winners.

Palombo: "I would pay out of my own pocket to win with Italy"
17 pureblood Angelo Palombo has hit back at critics who suggest that Italy should not be paying their players win bonuses in these hard-up financial times (tm). He told La Gazzetta Dello Sport that "Reducing the bonuses? I'd pay out of my own pocket to win the World Cup", although he then contradicted that by saying he'd quite fancy the bonus anyway.

Introducing... Aureliano Torres

Name: Aureliano Torres Román
National team: Paraguay (Group F)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: San Lorenzo (ARG)
Position: Left back/left winger
Age: 27
Caps: 28
Goals: 2

World Cup prospects:

Torres grabs a late equaliser

Likelihood of starting the tournament: Very good - despite being a journeyman extraordinaire, Torres played most of Paraguay's extremely impressive qualification campaign, including wins over Brazil and Argentina. He also scored a free-kick against Ivory Coast in a recent friendly (see above video).

Commitment to shirt: Very dubious. He wears 11 for San Lorenzo. A good showing against pureblood 17s Hamsik and Palombo in Group F might convert him though.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: Torres doesn't have a webs17e or anything. But there is a facebook group which currently has 8 (1+7) members...

Introducing... Eljero Elia

Name: Eljero Elia
National team: Netherlands (Group F)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Hamburger SV (GER)
Position: Striker or Winger
Age: 23
Caps: 9
Goals: 2



World Cup prospects:




Likelihood of starting the tournament: Unlikely. The Dutch side are likely to start with a four pronged attack either consisting of Van der Vaart/Sneijder/van Persie/Robben or Robben/Sneijder/van Persie/Kuyt. Now Robben is injured this may improve Elia's chances, but I envisage him being used as a late sub rather than a starter. The explosive start to his international career has done his chances no harm however and I would expect him to play the Michael Owen 1998 role, coming on as a late sub, grabbing a goal in the group stage, and then exploding onto the international scene in the knockout stages.

Commitment to shirt: Debatable. He has worn the shirt for his country, but not in every game he has played for them. However, all his goals for Holland have come wearing number 17. He is unable to wear 17 for his club due to pureblood 17 Jerome Boateng wearing it. However, with Boateng joining Manchester City, perhaps a good World Cup performance can convince him to adopt the 17 shirt as his own.

It should be noted, however, that the number 17 shirt has a bad reputation in The Netherlands, after a controversial decision in the 1974 World Cup Final. It is up to Eljero Elia to do what Robin van Persie (17 2002), Pierre van Hooijdonk (17 1998), Gaston Taument (17 1994), Hans Gillhaus (17 1990) and Wim Rijsbergen (17 1978) have been unable to do in the past - erase those bad memories with a fantastic performance in the Zeventien.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: Easy, Eljero Elia has his own twitter account, which can be incomprehensible Dutch sometimes, but quite comprehensible Dutch as well if you think about it.

Introducing... Reto Ziegler

Name: Reto Ziegler
National team: Switzerland(Group H)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Sampdoria (ITA)
Position: Left Midfield or Full Back
Age: 24
Caps: 9
Goals: 1

World Cup prospects:

Awful quality, fantastic goal for your first for your country - and wearing the right shirt as well.

http://www.mightyfootball.com/?p=567




He can take a free kick (last goal)






Likelihood of starting the tournament: Magnin is likely to start the tournament at left-back, but Ziegler could well break into the starting 11 as Switzerland look for more attacking options against Honduras and the big decider against Chile. He is a dab hand when it comes to free kicks.


Commitment to shirt: Not going to ever get a chance to wear it at Sampdoria due to Palombo. He never wore it before he started playing for Switzerland however, and even then he hasn't worn it every match. However his only international goal against Finland was wearing the glorious 17, so perhaps he should take a hint and stick with it.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has a facebook fan page, but it's seemingly nothing to do with him.

Introducing... Álvaro Arbeloa

Name: Álvaro Arbeloa Coca
National team: Spain (Group H)
Squad number: 17
Club side 09/10: Real Madrid (ESP)
Position: Full-back
Age: 27
Caps: 14
Goals: 0

World Cup prospects:



Likelihood of starting the tournament: Unlikely to start for Spain unless Capdevila or Ramos gets injured or suspended, although they should cruise their group so we'll see Á17aro strutting his stuff in their final game against Medel's Chile.


Commitment to shirt: Not bad - Arbeloa was primed for greatness when born on the 17th of January 1983. He wore 17 at Liverpool, but was unable to get it at Madrid as it was already owned by veteran striker and briefly ambassadorial 17 Ruud van Nistelrooy. With Ruud's departure to Hamburg, the question is: will Arbeloa abandon the frankly rubbish number 2 shirt and become Mourinho's new 17? Very possible, as number 2 was the last one left when the Spanish players were picking numbers for South Africa. Pedro and Javi Martínez tossed for it but eventually Raúl Albiol, who had taken 18, took pity on Pedrito and conceded him a place a digit shy of the magic shirt that has catalysed his incredible explosion onto the scene at Barça this year.

How to follow him throughout the tournament: He has his own facebook page, but no alvaroarbeloa17.com, I'm afraid.

17 UPDATE Monday 7th June

Transfer Gossip
Very much a news in briefs today. Juventus have been linked with both Miloš Krasić and Angelo Palombo. Both players are 17 devotees and would not consider wearing any other number so we may be heading for a clash. Not only that, but they are joining a club where the 17 has been worn for years by David Trezeguet. I would not like to be in that dressing room when squad numbers are being decided. Trezeguet, however, never wore 17 at international level, prefering number 20, and so cannot be considered a pureblood 17 unlike Angelo Palombo and Miloš Krasić.

Friendly Round-Up
Chidi Odiah pulled out a full 90 minutes in Nigeria's 3-1 World Cup warm-up win against North Korea. As with most information about North Korea and seemingly most of African football, details on the match are sketchy, and all I can really confirm is that he didn't get on the scoresheet.