THE WEIGHT OF HISTORY

For the likes of Holland and England, the weight of World Cup history inescapably bears down on the shoulders of the current teams. The echelons of world football are fairly firmly established, as can be clearly seen when we delve into the histories of the 18 previous tournaments. The old guard generally rules; heritage appears to count for much when the ultimate goal is at stake. Every four years the opportunity to challenge the established order presents itself to nations such as England and Holland, but with each passing failure, the burden of history intensifies and the pressure to deliver grows.

England fans are long-suffering and ever-optimistic, but the reality is that 44 long years have passed since the founding country of football stood at the summit of the world. That glorious Saturday afternoon at Wembley Stadium way back in 1966 and the accompanying images of English celebrations are all the fans have had to live off for nearly half a century. Creating new images of glory by winning the thing again in the modern era has become a national obsession. But the game has changed so much, and English football - like many other aspects of English life - has failed to keep pace with the rest of the world. The 'weight of history' is all too often evident on the faces of the players, who have become past masters at talking the talk, but do not convince you that deep down they believe they are good enough.

As for the Dutch, they have no previous World Cup triumph to haunt them; instead they have a psychological barrier that afflicts many great sides - the clearing of the final hurdle. Twice they stood on the brink, twice they could not cross the threshold. Instead they labour under the label 'best team never to have won the World Cup'. On both the occasions they reached the Final - 1974 and 1978 - they had the armoury to see off the opposition (West Germany and Argentina respectively), but could not find the indefinable quality that transforms potential into victory. Since that era Holland have continued to produce teams of exquisite latent ability, yet at too many subsequent tournaments the 'weight of history' has been apparent in the manner in which they seemed to take a perverse joy in refusing to unite, leading to the self-destructing of their own dreams.

This is not to say that the weight of history does not effect the members of the higher rank of world football. To the likes of Italy, Germany and Brazil - who have all tasted the sweetness of the ultimate victory on several occasions - history weighs on them, too. For sure. Between them they have won 12 of the 18 World Cup tournaments that have taken place, and each has won it at least once in the last 20 years. Success creates expectation, but the prolonged lack of success of the likes of the Dutch and the English fosters growing desperation.

The statistics tell the story. In the last seven World Cups (1982-2006) only FIVE different nations have played the Final - Germany (four times), Italy (three times), Brazil (three times), and Argentina and France with two appearances each. In this same period, the semi-finals have been graced by Poland, Belgium, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Turkey and South Korea. The point? The old guard rules. Ultimate success - and particularly in recent years - is the reserve of a select few.

Spain may be another side whose continued failure to deliver may start to feel this burden that the passing of the years can bring. Two years ago they won the European Championships in style, and in doing so crossed their own personal 'psycological barrier' of how to deliver their potential when it really counts. But on the only truly global stage that is the World Cup, there is a still higher mental level to summount. Arguably Spain were not tested sufficiently two summers ago in Austria and Switzerland. That will not be the case in South Africa. Their World Cup record is poor - it's a staggering 60 years since they reached the last four. And there are those who still claim they are weak when it comes to the really big games, and point to the EURO 2008 quarter-final with Italy as an example, where they had to rely on a penalty shootout to get through.

A new weight of history for Spain begins now. The tag of pre-tournament favourites usually belongs to Brazil, but they will be very happy for Spain to carry it for them this time and deal with the pressure that goes with it. Based on results and first team selection, the favourites label appears justified. The Spanish fans believe, and with good reason, that their team is the best in the world. The key question is whether the players will have the same self-assurance when they play a Holland, an Italy, or a Brazil in the cauldron of a World Cup knock-out encounter.

South Africa 2010 will be upon us shortly. Is the safe bet to rely on what recent history tells us, that Cup pedigree should feature heavily in our suppositions of what may happen in this latest chapter of World Cup history? Will the tournament provide the means for an England or a Holland to alleviate themselves of the burden of the weight of history? Will Spain break the trend of recent tournaments and become the first Finalist outside the big five for 32 years? Will an outsider write themselves into the annals of international football folklore? Or will the Usual Suspects rule again? The page is blank. The answers are coming. The Cup is here.