Sizing Up the Men of the World Cup
ワールドカップ「イケメン・ドリームチーム」

By Kumi Kinohara, Sports Journalist

　ワールドカップは女性にも人気です。特に、サッカー技術だけでなく容姿がすばらしい選手は見る人を魅了します。そこで、スポーツジャーナリストと熱狂的サッカーファンでもある通訳の女性コンビに、ワールドカップ出場選手の中から最強の「イケメン・ドリームチーム」を選んでもらいました。選び抜かれた男たちの活躍が気になる女性から、選手を手本としたい「ちょいワルおやじ」まで、ＡＷ読者の方々の「選考」と比べてみるといかがでしょうか。

　Good-looking men running around the pitch. ... what a delightful thought! Although soccer is all about skill and tactics, looks also are a big part of the attraction and interestingly enough, they seem to be directly proportional to how talented a player is - great players have equally great looks!

　Hard-core purists may criticize this as lowbrow but is it really? There should be no rules for enjoying a sport.

　So, here is our personal "dream team" at the moment, based purely on looks and absolutely no skill level involved. I'm sure there are many more great-looking players around the world, and we are looking forward to searching for them during the World Cup.

■Goalkeepers
Timo Hildebrand (Germany)
　Third goalkeeper in Germany, but definitely first in looks!

Subs:
Iker Casillas (Spain)
　Great goalie and a heartthrob for many!
Eldin Jakupovic (Switzerland)
　It's hard to find good-looking goalies, but he is different!

■Defenders
Gabriel Heinze (Argentina)
　Fantastic left-back on both the national team and on Manchester United.
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
　Tough defender, but his smile melts every girl's heart!
Tomas Ujfalusi (Czech Republic)
　Sexy on and off the field!

Subs:
Wayne Bridge (England)
　He was sorely missed while off the pitch due to injury. Great to have him back on the squad.
Rio Ferdinand (England)
　He looks so special! Without him, England's game changes.
Philipp Lahm (Germany)
　A very thoughtful and hard-working lad.
Christoph Metzelder (Germany)
　An up-and-coming and clever-looking defender.
Philipp Degen (Switzerland)
　Simply put, he looks good.

■Midfielders
Tomas Rosicky (Czech Republic)
　A born fantasista and successor to Nedved. An absolute pleasure to watch.
Pablo Aimar (Argentina)
　Killer passes and killer smiles!
Kaka (Brazil)
　God gave him talent and the sweetest smile.
Niko Kranjcar (Croatia)
　Japanese women will probably be watching him instead of the Japanese team during the Croatia-Japan game!
Steven Gerrard (England)
　Needless to say, the best player on the England squad!

Subs:
Sebastian Kehl (Germany)
　A very handsome young man.
Dejan Stankovic (Serbia and Montenegro)
　Typical good-looking Slav and there are many of them around in that part of the world!
Luka Modric (Croatia)
　A young hopeful on Japan's opponent. Definitely a player to watch.
Lionel Messi(Argentina)
　A young threatening force on the right flank who is also cute!
Rafael Van der Vaart (Netherlands)
　The Netherlands used to have some good-looking guys, but not on this World Cup squad except for him. What a shame!
Christian Wilhelmsson (Sweden)
　He might have been a "boss of the kids" when young. His face shows strong leadership ability.

■Forwards
Roque Santa Cruz(Paraguay)
　Words cannot express how good-looking he is! He may be No. 1 on this dream team.
Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine)
　Such a wonderful striker, always hungry for goals. Plus he is cool-looking.

Subs:
Raul Gonzalez (Spain)
　Hopefully he will lead Spain into the knockout round. Great captain, great person.
Thierry Henry (France)
　Undoubtedly, one of the finest players on earth. He has such a noble face. Definitely a contender for the most valuable player award.
Lukas Podolski (Germany)
　Just simply he looks charming.
Brian McBride (United States)
　His smile melts his fans' hearts and his strikes break the defenders' hearts.

　( Special thanks to Mika Nakamura, a big soccer fan and interpreter, for her contribution )