"The World Cup of Surprises"

This first week (circa) of the World Cup has been as shocking as it has been fun. And while the stars have stepped up- Messi, Neymar, Benzema and Suarez- the surprising success of teams of Costa Rica, as well as great showings from Australia and Iran, have made this a great competition to this point. But the shocks haven't just come from the underdogs: Spain and England's premature exits were hardly expected, and Luis Suarez's brace against England was astounding considering the fact that he had been in a wheelchair just a month ago. The fact that this competition has seen more goals since the 1958 edition doesn't take away from the spectacle.

The Biggest Surprises:
1.) Spain's early exit
The defending world champions got an early boot home from Brazil after being thrashed by the Dutch, 5-1, and being run by Chile. Both of their opponents had no trouble in the game, and both could have won by more. Spain looked completely uncomfortable with the level of pressure being put on them by the Dutch and Chileans, in stark contrast to their cool displays at the last three international tournaments. The fact that the defending champs were eliminated in the group stage was, however, not against the trend. Italy, France and Greece all went out in the first stage after winning major tournaments. However, their desmise is no less of surprise.

2.) Costa Rica
CONCACAF has a reputation for being one of the easier continents to qualify on. But the teams from North America and the Caribbean are impressing so far; Mexico played well against Cameroon and held Brazil to a scoreless draw, and the US looks like they will progress from the "Group of Death." But the biggest shock has been Costa Rica, in the second hardest group of the tournament. After beating a Luis Suarez-less Uruguay 3-1, the team looked to get anything out of a tough game with Italy. But, instead of scrapping out a draw, Costa Rica stole all three points, and thus ensured their spot in the Round of 16. And with a game against already eliminated England coming up, the Costa Ricans could look to get all nine points out of the group.

3.) South American support
While we all expected Brazil, and Argentina, to have great numbers of their fans in the stadium, the number of Colombian and Chilean fans has been shocking. In Colombia's first game against Greece, the commentators repeatedly remarked on how the game was almost a home one for the Colombians: the entire stadium was yellow. Chile has had no shortage of supporters either, with 100 or so breaking into the game against Spain so that they could see it. Brazil and Argentina have met expectations, and this, on top of the air around the tournament, that no European team will win in South America, gives the home countries massive boosts.

Honorable Mentions:
Australia's  good showings against the Dutch and Chileans got them no points, but great respect, and show the potentially bright future their team has. Iran nearly held Argentina to a draw, and it took an amazing Messi strike to beat them; in fact, the Iranians had been bossing the game, almost winning it several times and being robbed of a deserved penalty. And England have looked so underwhelming, even with the unusually low English expectations. Although they played well against Italy and Uruguay, their back line and goalkeeper were weak, and though their attack looked potent, it didn't kill off enough chances to ensure victory.     

Gerrard with the passion, Rodallega with the goal-again

It is the game of the season. Surely in the Premier League, and maybe in all of football. Liverpool-City had it all; passion, magnitude, impact on the season, surprise, comebacks and feel good stories. The Clasico that was played just a few weeks ago could take the crown, but this game will surely rival that. The Reds, remembering the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, bossed the first half, running City off the pitch in the first half hour. The Manchester side wasn't helped by the fact that Yaya Toure went off injured around the 20th minute. Sergio Aguero was also injured, although he did come on midway through second half. Alvaro Negredo hasn't had the form he had earlier in the year, so that left the cup to pass to Eden Dzeko; and did he take! The Bosnian played great, second on the Blue squad only to David Silva. Silva scored City's opener, and hit the pass that would deflect in for City's second, as well as being half of a quarter of an inch from scoring the winner, the goal that would have killed many a Liverpool fan. Indeed, City was the better team for most of the second half, but luck fell to the Reds. Vincent Kompany, who played a poor game, shanked an easy clearance. To be fair, Philippe Coutinho's shot was marvelous, and the goal was more about the Brazilian than the Belgian. But when the ball hit the back of the net, Anfield erupted into a roar that has not been heard since 1990. Every Red fan in that stadium believed when the ball hit the net that nothing could stop Liverpool from taking the crown-except Jose Mourinho and his Chelsea side, who visit in two weeks time. And even though Steven Gerrard would tell you otherwise, all eyes in the red side of Liverpool are turning to that fixture. That could cause problems this weekend, where Norwich will be fighting to stay up, the Reds could slip up, and with Chelsea only behind by 2 points, even a draw is potentially very dangerous. In the end, however, Red fans will be playing Kenny Loggins all week, and if they beat, or even draw with, Chelsea, the city of Liverpool might collapse.

Fulham's "Great Escape" is being lead by Hugo Rodallega, on the field, and Felix Mageth, of the field. Rodallega pulled out a winner for the London side, for the second straight week, against Norwich. Now Fulham sits just two points from safety; coincidentally, Norwich sits in the spot just above. This could be one of the great comebacks of Premier League history. It is also interesting to consider the fact that only a few years ago, Fulham were in the Europa League final, losing to Aleti. Now they are fighting for survival.

Arsenal and Hull City both progessed to the FA Cup Final. While the latter's game was thrilling, filled with goals and surprises, the same cannot be said for the Gunner's clash with Wigan. It looked like Wigan was going to continue last year's magic and make another run to the final. Per Mertersacker brought down Callum McMannaman in the box in the 59th minute, which, after some time lapse, led to Jordi Gomez scoring. Mertersacker then equalized, making up for his mistake, heading in a really poor shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Fabianski, deputizing for Wojciech Szczesny, became the hero by saving two penalties in the shootout, booking the Gunners ticket to the final. If Arsenal goes and wins the cup, maybe Wenger's job, which looks rather precarious, will be saved.

    

Chelsea Finishes Again

In December, Jose Mourinho complained that his team couldn't finish, and that winning one-nil is "the easiest thing in football." Chelsea were coming off a lackluster November, and had just been bounced from the League Cup by 20th place Sunderland; not good. Arsenal and Manchester City were outshining them, both playing much more beautiful, complete football, despite the fact that both teams had dropped points against the Blues; City had left London with nothing, while Arsenal drew at home, in a dull, pre-Christmas 0-0 match. Chelsea looked set for third.

Now the Blues seems to have one hand on the trophy. With nine points in hand on City, albeit having played three more games, Chelsea is distancing itself from Liverpool, Arsenal and City. They have produced, for two weeks straight, average first halves, and inspired second periods. Both came in London derby's, and both saw one player, first Andre Schurlle, and later Samuel Eto'o, rise to the challenge. Even though, quite famously now, Jose Mourinho continues to deny that Chelsea wants to and has a chance to win the title; but even he has begun to water down that argument, saying that with all the leaders on different game amounts, the title race is still unclear. He still claims that City are the champions-elect; whether this part of Mourinho's infamous mind games or not, it seems overly humble. But outside of the Portuguese's press conferences, many in the press have made a complete 180, declaring the west Londoners the real champions-elect.

Since the start of the New Year, Chelsea hasn't lost a game in the league. They've played 10 games, getting 26 points out of a possible 30. Only Liverpool has had comparable form in 2014. It's easy to see why pundits are changing their views of Chelsea and their season; their wins in the year include Southampton, United, City, Everton and Spurs. They still have to travel Liverpool, and host Arsenal, but their record against the best teams is impressive, losing only to Everton. Chelsea can best be described as a team which plays to their opposition; great against the great teams, mediocre or decent against mid-level teams. Although both Arsenal at home and on the road against Liverpool will be tough games, the rest of the schedule for Chelsea is fairly easy. If the Blues continue to kill off opposition like they have been, the title very well could be in their hands. Also considering the fact that all the other major contenders are soon to face schedule congestion, with Chelsea only involved in two competitions; Liverpool remains in the FA Cup, while City and Arsenal must juggle league, Cup and Champions League action. Chelsea have the advantage of only being involved in two competitions, which limits their tiredness; this must be encouraging for a team that played almost 70 games last year, and went to at least the FA semis and won in Europe over the past two years. Chelsea are set up to challenge for the trophy, in reality, for the first time since winning it in 2010-11.