ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa was one of the best productions the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports or any other sports network has ever produced. ESPN has taken its coverage of global soccer to a position at the top of the sports world and soccer fans are looking forward to how the network will cover the 2014 World Cup that is now less than a year away.
Part of the anticipation for the 2014 World Cup is ESPN’s roster of commentators, analysts, hosts, and reporters that will make the trip to Brazil to cover the action. Today ESPN announced their first set of World Cup analysts – ESPN mainstayes Alexi Lalas and Taylor Twellman, former EPL on ESPN lead analyst Steve McManaman, Euro 2012 analyst and former German captain Michael Ballack, and Argentine international Santiago Solari. Here’s info from ESPN on each of their first five World Cup analysts:
Ballack was the German National Team captain from 2004 until injury forced him off the World Cup team in 2010. He debuted on ESPN networks as a pundit for UEFA EURO 2012. Brazil 2014 will mark his debut as a World Cup analyst.
Lalas, a U.S. Men’s National Team defender and the face of USA ’94 team, will work his third straight FIFA World Cup for ESPN having debuted in 2006 as a guest analyst. He is ESPN’s lead studio analyst for U.S. Men’s National Team and Major League Soccer matches.
McManaman, Liverpool legend and former England National Team player, debuted on ESPN during South Africa 2010. He has since served as match analyst for the network’s critically acclaimed coverage of the Barclays Premier League from 2010-2013, working alongside play-by-play commentator Ian Darke. McManaman teamed with Darke again as the network’s lead match commentator team for the UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.
Solari, former Real Madrid winger and Argentina National team player, will make his World Cup debut on U.S. television with the Draw on Friday and through the month-long Brazil 2014 tournament. He is one of the pundits on ESPN FC, the company’s global soccer news and information program.
Twellman, a former U.S. National Team player and one of the most prolific forwards to ever wear a Major League Soccer jersey playing for the New England Revolution, will make his World Cup debut in the booth in Brazil. He is ESPN’s lead match analyst for the U.S. Men’s National Team and Major League Soccer.
Ballack was featured during ESPN’s coverage of Euro 2012 and although he got off to a bit of a rocky start, he got much better as the tournament went along. In particular, his dynamic with Alexi Lalas was entertaining for viewers as they butted heads on a few topics in an authentic non-First Take kind of way. McManaman makes his triumphal return to the network after Bristol lost EPL rights to NBC this year. This will be the first major tournament with ESPN for Solari, who has worked with ESPN FC since its inception earlier this year. And of course Twellman has been ESPN’s lead match analyst for MLS and the US National Team.
The first four will serve primarily in the studio on pre and post match coverage while Twellman will serve primarily as a match analyst. McManaman will also be used periodically in the booth according to the ESPN announcement. Another thing worth mentioning is that the odds are live and they see the hosts Brazil as favourites, with Germany coming close in second.
The attention now turns to who ESPN will name as match commentators. In 2010, they went with an all British lineup – Martin Tyler, Ian Darke, Adrian Healey, and Derek Rae. All four are excellent commentators and would be fine choices to return for Brazil. The intrigue may circle around who gets to call the World Cup Final, though. Tyler teamed with Efan Ekoku in 2010 and is perhaps the most iconic voice calling the game in the English language today. But Darke has become the most popular soccer commentator in the USA and it’s hard to see ESPN passing him over given he’s been their lead play by play man the last four years. In addition, his partnership with Twellman as ESPN’s top announce pairing could provide an American voice for the Final, at least from the analyst position. The great thing for viewers and soccer fans is that ESPN can’t go wrong either way as they look to build another world class stable of personalities for Brazil 2014.
[ESPN]
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