Amazing that the armchair experts on this site finding fault with Beenie
From the Times of London
Best and wurst so far
We're at the mid-point in the tournament, days wise, Yes, it's really been two weeks since the opening ceremony. So, for what it's worth, here are my half-time awards... remaindered Goleo VI stuffed toys to them all.
Best coach
Leo Beenhakker. Always seemed to be on the brink of cantankerousness, which was entertaining, but got the most out of a limited Trinidad & Tobago team, and was unafraid to make bold decisions. Switching to 4-3-2 against Sweden by bringing on another striker, not a defender, when Trinidad had a man sent off, proved a masterstroke.
Silliest pre-match build-up
The pitchside interviews with Goleo VI, the tournament's camp, random and underpant-less lion mascot. Still, more insightful than Ian Wright.
Best post-match quotes
Marcos Paqueta, Saudi Arabia's Brazilian coach, after the 4-0 reverse by Ukraine: "Problems are for mere men. Challenges are for warriors. I look on life as a challenge. The future belongs only to God; I am at peace. In life we have to have hope. Only in death is there no hope."
Best German TV moment
The audience booing and hissing Peter Crouch, pantomime style, as slowed-up and enlarged footage showed him tugging Brent Sancho's hair as the forward scored against T&T. Crouch: an implausible villain.
Best newspaper headline
"England fans act better than expected" - from a Stuttgart paper.
Best question to which the answer is "no"
"Can the Czech Republic win this thing?" - me, writing straight after they demolished the US in their first group game.
Most glory-hunting fans
Brazil. Followed by legions of pasty-faced hangers-on who only know Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ronaldinho and who have all the rhythm of a super-caffineated six-year-old banging away at a Casio keyboard they've been given for Christmas.
Best fans
It's tight between South Korea (blithely happy and as bouncy as Tigger on a pogo stick), Trinidad & Tobago (merry party people), Spain (colourful, rowdy but friendly), and Australia (non-stop noise in the stadium).
Worst fans
Saudi Arabia. Failed to fill their section against Ukraine and dozens walked out before the end. Admittedly, they were losing 4-0.
Most travelling fans
England. The English are everywhere. No match, no matter how obscure, is complete without dozens of St George's Cross flags professing loyalty to Stoke City, Leyton Orient, Tranmere Rovers and the like.
Most efficient Germans
Those in the media centre at Kaiserslautern who began the process of giving away my ticket because I arrived at the stadium 85 minutes before kick-off, not the required 90.
Worst Violence
A German teenager in an England shirt creeping up behind me and whacking me on the back of my legs with a Germany flag, then running away giggling. Perhaps possessed by the spirit of Ken Dodd and his tickle stick.
Best wurst
Currywurst from Wurst Paradise, Essen. Full of tender, juicy goodness. Well, maybe not goodness.
Worst wurst
Bockwurst, Stuttgart stadium media centre. Twenty centimetres of fleshy pink evil.
Best match I have seen
Australia 2 Croatia 2 or Italy 1 USA 1.
Best breach of stadium security
Honourable mention to the Croats who smuggled a dozen red flares into their match with Australia, but the award must go to the French supporter who brought a live cockerel into their match against South Korea. It flapped about a bit but went nowhere, much like Zinedine Zidane. Of course, anyone attempting to bring in a bottle of water would have been stopped. But poultry or fireworks, that's OK.
