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If you’re unfamiliar with World Cup Blog, then allow me to explain: The blog you’re reading now is the front page, but the core of WCB is the multitude of team specific blogs, including one for each of the World Cup 2010 teams.

The authors of these team blogs have forgotten more about their sides than I’ll ever know, so I decided to tap that knowledge by asking each of them a set of 10 questions. Today it’s the turn of Nick from Germany World Cup Blog. Read on to learn all about the German national team

1. Who is Germany’s best player, and why?
As a typical German I don’t have a best player, because teams win tournaments not individual players. That being said, it’s hard to choose between experience and youth. Before 2009 I would have said Michael Ballack because without him it’s pretty evident on the field that the whole German team lacks direction and purpose. He might not be the same Ballack who first burst on the international scene at World Cup 2002, but it spoke volumes that it was necessary to play him even injured in the Euro 2008 final against Spain. Now in 2010, it’s time for someone new to grab the headlines and hopefully it’ll be Mesut Özil. The team in South Africa will be built around this talented playmaker – a type of player Germany has not had since World Cup 1998. Crucially like Ballack he has vision, intelligence, and confidence. Unlike Ballack he can also dribble, sprint, and win one-on-one situations. Unfortunately Özil is a rather poor finisher even among poor finishers, but then there is always Toni Kroos.

2. What do you think of Germany’s coach?
It’s a love hate affair with Joachim Löw. On the one hand he has since 2004 along with ex-coach Jurgen Klinsmann been responsible for ushering in and capitalizing on a new wave of German talent. On the other hand he has not won anything yet despite reaching a semifinal and a final – which is a disappointment by German standards. Löw is usually tactically sound and he communicates with his team captain well, but his substitutions are almost always too late or too lacking – indicating inflexibility more than anything else. Off the field he’s guilty of favoritism and caving in to the media. Overall, I still think he will do what’s right or be pressured to do so and thus finally lead Germany to a trophy (or watch it from a corporate skybox).

3. What do you think of Germany’s World Cup 2010 kits?
The kits are the one thing that never fails to impress. It’s fairly clean and conservative as far as kits go, but less is more in fashion especially. The one thing that stands out on both the home and away jerseys is the Euro 1996 DFB crest – a good luck charm!

4. What is Gernany’s biggest strength?
The biggest strength is in goal. We have one proven world class goalkeeper in Rene Adler (see qualifiers against Russia) and two enormously gifted keepers in Manuel Neuer and Tim Wiese who would do any team proud. This position has almost always been Germany’s strength and it is no different now.
Note: Rene Adler is now injured – Daryl

5. …and biggest weakness?
Germany has a very suspect central defense pairing, but Spain and Brazil aside who doesn’t? One of our problems in the center-back department is speed. I would expect someone like Per Mertesacker with such ridiculously long features to run quite quickly, but he doesn’t – Franz Beckenbauer today could run faster. At least Mertesacker has skills and positioning in his favor, which are often absent from the other likely nominations. Both Heiko Westermann and Sedar Tasci can have good days and can even build plays or score goals, yet they always are error prone which are deadly in a tournament. There are players available who can immediately remedy this, but it all goes back to the coach playing favorites and being tactically rigid.

6. If you could steal one player from any other World Cup 2010 team, then who would it be and why?
It would be nice to have a big target man like Zlatan Ibrahimovic who can actually score a goal given the opportunity unlike Mario Gomez, but it would be better to have someone like Arjen Robben. He has almost patented the critical comeback goal this season and has proven to be a pain in the ass for the entire opposing side, especially when your team is one selfish dream goal away from the next stage.

7. Tell us one thing about your team that the rest of the world might not know…
The team Germany brings to the World Cup in South Africa will be one of the youngest German sides ever with an average age of 25. Out of a recent player pool of 30 only 3 players were older than 27. This doesn’t mean that this German side is inexperienced. It’s just that the experienced players happen to be among others Phillip Lahm (27/64 Caps), Bastian Schweinsteiger (26/73), and Lukas Poldolski (25/70). In addition, there will also be the younger players who won the U-21 Euro 2009 including Manuel Neuer, Marko Marin, Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira, and Jerome Boateng. Only then come the relatively internationally inexperienced and even younger Toni Kroos (20) and Thomas Müller (21).

8. What would you consider success/failure for your team at World Cup 2010?
A successful World Cup can only be winning it. Despite being a finalist for Euro 2008 and World Cup 2002 and a semifinalist at World Cup 2006, it has been 14 years since Germany’s last true success.

9. What are you most excited about at World Cup 2010?
It will be the first World Cup in Africa which is something new and exciting, but one thing I always relish is the predominately English commentary writing off the Germans (mostly out of ignorance) to their peril!

10. Who do you think will win World Cup 2010?
Germany / Brazil

- More from Nick (and new writer Marcus) at Germany World Cup Blog

>> Supporting Germany in the World Cup? Put on your Germany jersey, get your Germany World Cup tickets, and get to the stadium! If you’re watching from home, keep up to date with Germany World Cup Blog, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

South African fans waiting to buy World Cup tickets at the Maponya Mall in Soweto.

Photo: AP

• World Cup history translated into American. (The Unlikely Fan)
• Clearly they should be holding a tourney for the snubs. (Netherlands WCB)
• Smithy, Patrick Vieira and Matt Damon picked up by ITV for the WC. (Telegraph)
• Graham Poll thinks video replay is needed. It’s settled then. (ESPN)
• The 2010 Honigsteins. (Rafa Honigstein)
• Philipp Lahm handed the German armband. (DW)
• The Mercurial Vapor being vaporized. (Nike Stadium)
• Some World Cup trivia to kill the day. (Avoiding The Drop)

The reviews for Sex and the City 2 (Abu Dhabi Boogaloo) have been terrible. At time of writing, the movie has a score of 27 on Metacritic. Which is pretty much a disaster. So the marketing people needed something special to sell this thing.

In the UK at least, they seem to have managed it. Thanks to the World Cup. Get an eyeful of the above poster. That’s a (presumably expensive) shoe piercing a football, with the tagline: “There are other ways to score.” The message being pretty clear: If you want to get away from the World Cup, then come see this movie.

What I like here is the attention to detail. The ball being stepped on isn’t just a generic football. OK so there’s no adidas logo, and a different design (hexagonal panels) to the actual adidas Jabulani World Cup match ball, but there’s still just enough of the Jabulani pattern showing to suggest that that’s what we’re looking at. Not that that will matter to the target audience for this ad. I just like that someone, somewhere did their homework.

Last and certainly not least, the release date. June 10th, the day before the World Cup kicks off. Hats off to whoever came up with that idea, but it’s a shame that – based on the reviews – the best joke in this movie is on the poster.

I know. Everyone wants to win the World Cup. That’s why they call it the World Cup.

But which of the 32 World Cup teams has the biggest reason for wanting to win it? Read on for a list of the 32 teams and my best guess at what’s driving them to victory. Feel free to add/argue different reasons in the comments.

Algeria – The one thing that would make Egypt's non-qualification hurt even more would be an Algerian triumph. I'm not saying that's Algeria's only motivation. But it has to be in there somewhere. Beating France in the final wouldn't hurt either.

Australia – Soccer currently lags behind cricket, rugby, the other football and probably some other sports we’ve never even heard of. A World Cup win could change all that.

Argentina – No wins since Diego Maradona led them to glory in 1986. In that nearly quarter of a century Argentina has consistently been one of the best teams in the world. But no more World Cup trophies. The big narrative for the team in 2010 is Diego Maradona once again. He’s back, he’s as crazy as ever, and he’s in charge of picking the team. But just think how good/mental would it be to see Diego Maradona lift that trophy, and join Franz Beckenbauer and Mário Zagallo as the only men to win the World Cup as both player and coach.

Brazil – Obviously Brazil always wants to win it, and often that’s exactly what happens. They already have five wins, but 2006 was supposed to be the year they made it six. They didn’t. Despite the weight of expectation, I have a feeling most Brazil fans would admit they’d much prefer a win in 2014 when they host the World Cup. Or maybe they want both.

Cameroon – The first African team to make the World Cup quarterfinals in 1990, and the only team until 2002 when Senegal matched them. So first World Cup on Africa soil + Samuel Eto’o = First African World Cup winners?

Chile – The 2010 earthquake destroyed infrastructure and killed over 500 people. The country needs cheering up.

Cote d’Ivoire – This is a country still divided, between rebels and government. But I’m sure pretty much everyone there would agree with the sight of Didier Drogba holding the trophy aloft on July 11th in Soccer City Stadium.

Denmark – Morten Olsen has been the Denmark manager for a about a decade. In international management that’s a lifetime. Maybe two lifetimes. In terms of commitment and time invested in a team, this man deserves a World Cup.

England – Oh, they want it. That one win in 1966 gave England a big drink of glory. Now, 44 years later, they’re very very thirsty. The English Football Association has gone all out and hired the best coach money could buy in Fabio Capello, and with key players like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry all either at or around that 30 years old mark, this is the last chance for a certain generation who keep promising to deliver.

France – Like England, France have the blessing/albatross of having won the World Cup, but only at home. Winning it on foreign soil is the big next step that both countries need to take. However, I get the feeling that most in France are more interested in waving goodbye to Raymond Domenech than in winning the trophy in 2010.

Germany – Believe it or not, it’s been a while. Germany hasn’t won a World Cup since 1990. If Michael Ballack was in the squad, then there’d be a an argument for his determination to stop winning runner up medals on the big stage. That same argument can be made for this whole team though, as the majority of this squad lost out to Spain in the final of Euro 2008.

Ghana – If an Africa team is going to win the first World Cup on African soil, then Ghana might be the most likely. Even without Michael Essien, they seem to have the deepest squad. A continent’s hopes rest on you Black Stars.

Greece – The economoy is in the toilet. The people have been rioting in disgust at austerity measures. Nothing is going right. If Otto Rehhagel can repeat his Euro 2004 trick then Greece would be a much happier place in July 2010, if only temporarily.

Honduras – The country is in a bit of a political crisis. A World Cup win wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem. But it would make everyone feel a whole lot better.

Italy – Brazil has won five. Italy four. So the Azzurri are very much the junior partner in the Derby della Mondo right now. But just one more World Cup win would see them level with Brazil as the joint most successful international team of all time.

Japan – We’ve been laughing at coach Takeshi Okada a little, for his semi-final prediction and his I want to quit outburst/misquote this week. But the reason Okada is managing Japan at all is that the man who was supposed to lead them to South Africa – Bosnian coach Ivica Osim – suffered a stroke in 2007 and had to step away. It’s been three years but I imagine a Japanese win will be dedicated to coach Osim.

Mexico – At 37 years old and carrying some extra timber, Cuauhtémoc Blanco does not look like he should be playing international football. But he’s been a great player and deserves a big sendoff. I imagine winning a World Cup would do nicely. Plus it would end the “who’s the best team in CONCACAF” argument with America pretty conclusively.

Nigeria – The Super Eagles win Olymic Gold in 1996, becoming the first African team to do so. Being the first African team to win the World Cup would be a decent follow up.

Netherlands – Total World Cup finals: two (1974, 1978). Total World Cup wins: zero. It’s time the Dutch team won a World Cup.

New Zealand – Because it would upset Australia. Also because – despite their dominance – the New Zealand rugby team has not won the Rugby World Cup since they co-hosted in 1987. They host again in 2011 and expectation is high. But imagine if the soccer team beat them to it and won the World Cup the year before?

North Korea – Because if they win, then North Korean television can show the actual real full actual games on television, rather than the rumoured edited version.

Paraguay – Striker Salvador Cabañas was shot in the head in January 2010. He somehow survived, and was determined to recover in time for the World Cup, but had a bullet lodged in his brain and so won’t be playing in South Africa. His teammates winning the World Cup would be a fitting tribute to his determination.

Portugal – We know Cristiano Ronaldo wants it. It would complete his trophy haul. But maybe the most compelling story is Carlos Queiroz and his quest to convince the world that he’s a proper manager and not just an assistant who’s been overpromoted.

Serbia – First time at the World Cup for Serbia as an individual nation. The 2006 Serbia & Monetenegro adventure didn’t count. So a win would mean a 100% record.

Slovakia – Again, World Cup virgins. And seems like former partners the Czech Republic have had all the glory so far.

Slovenia – I like Slovenia. I’ve even been there. But in this tournament, I – like many others I’m sure – often get confused about exactly which one they are. For the record they’re the team with mountains on the jerseys. If they win this tournament, everyone will remember them forever.

Spain – No World Cup wins to date. But the Euro 2008 victory has finally taken Spain to another level. You can see the confidence as they pass the ball around tac-tac-tac. This is surely Spain’s best ever chance to finally win the World Cup, but also their chance to shed that underachiever tag once and for all. Or to have it etched even deeper. The stakes are high.

South Africa – The hosts. The much maligned hosts. Never before has a nation’s ability to host a tournament been questioned so openly. If the team went all the way and won it, that would be karma in action. Also, would be nice to see the events of the 1995 Rugby World Cup repeated on the soccer field. Though I doubt we’ll see a South Africa vs New Zealand final in 2010.

South Korea – Recently confirmed that North Korea sank one of their ships. So I imagine national pride is a little wounded. Park Ji-Sung and friends could restore it with a trophy.

Switzerland – Border and language sharing nations France, Germany and Italy all have a World Cup. It’s time Switzerland got one too.

USA – American soccer faces the same problem as Australia, in that it still lags behind other sports. America loves a winner, so a World Cup win would be a big help in attracting the patriotic but non-soccer loving sports fan. I also get the feeling that though genuine American soccer fans are happy with the progress from 1990 to present, they’re itching to take that next step up and lift the trophy.

Uruguay – When you look at the list of World Cup winners, Uruguay seems to be on there by mistake. First World Cup winners. Repeat winners in 1950. Then nothing for 60 years. I’m sure they’d love to rejoin the big boys.

- Please feel free to add your own reasons/suggestions in the comments…

- To pick which team will actually win the tournament, enter our World Cup Bracket competition.