More World Cup Roster 2nd guessing and other soccer notes

I'm once again scratching my head, this time at Switzerland not bringing one of its few studs along to the World Cup. The delightfully named Hakin Yakin (pronounce it like it's spelled and smile) has returned from injury for his club, but his country is still concerned about his health. Stupid. If you're Switzerland, you have to take your stars. If you're Brazil, then you can go with a completely healthy team without worrying about a drop off. I remember Yakin had a pretty good run during the Euro Cup in 2004.

---

Spain fielding yet another impressive-looking roster that will certainly underachieve as usual. They just lack that marquee superstar that could key a great run. Throw Ronaldinho, Lampard, Zidane, Ballack, or Nedved out there and how much better is that team?

---

Speaking of Ze Germans, Ballack's move to Chelsea is great for English soccer and terrible for English soccer. It's great that one of the half dozen most recognizable names in the game has moved to England in the prime of his career. It's bad because Chelsea just keeps opening up the gap with the rest of the league. It's one thing when the Yankees used to spend their way to a 10 game regular season edge; they could always be upset in the playoffs. In the Premiership, Chelsea's 10 point lead means the race is practically over well before spring.