Spyros Paraschis (Greece) Rank:01

Unanimously voted "Least likely to succeed" during his early days in the KOA. Always a second, third, even fourth wheel of the Greek team in pre-2006 world cups. Never a bookmaker's favorite. His offense never as impressive as that of Klaus, his defense never as suffocating as that of Nikos. And yet, look at Spyros now, sitting comfortably in his throne after winning his second title in a row, this time even undefeated. He's got something, all right. As soon as I find out what it is, I'll let you know.

Gianni Torchio (Italy) Rank:02

Easily the best Kick Off 2 player who has never felt the ecstasy of winning a world cup, Gianni eliminated two ex-world champions on his way to the final before his plans were once again dashed by Spyros. At times an unstoppable Kick Off 2 machine, equally effective on both sides of the pitch, Gianni won the top scorer's trophy for the second year in a row, while he was 3rd in defense. The KOA is wondering: when will Gianni's turn come?

Gianluca Troiano (Italy) Rank:03

The Italian stallion is the absolute Kick Off legend, with three gold medals and two bronze ones. He had been undefeated for 4 years and a total of 98 matches before he lost the first semi-final to Gianni. He was the best defender of the competition for the third time in his carreer, but his offense seemed to betray him for the first time in years in the semis.

Sandro Torchio (Italy) Rank:04

How many more elite players will Milan give us? It's been only three years since Sandro finished 39th in a total of 43 players in his hometown, but it now seems like ages ago. A killer kick off lob that demoralized his opponents and the well known Italian variety in offensive moves were his main weapons. Even in the matches he lost, he never went down without a fight.

Mario Fichera (Italy) Rank:05

Although Mario didn't make it to the final like the previous year, he made an impression in the competition. His numbers keep improving, and this year he had the greatest goal difference of all the players, while he was only one goal behind the top scorer Gianni. He was second best defender as well.

John Hogstrom (Sweden) Rank:06

John became the first Swedish to make it to the world's top 8 players, a distinction he clearly deserved. Using the Falcon formation for the greatest part of his matches, this year he added many more goals to his repertoire other than the BLC and he improved his defensive game.

Alkis Polyrakis (Greece) Rank:07

Paneleiro. Confirmado.

Giacomo Troiano (Italy) Rank:08

Nerves of steel and mental fortitude by Giacomo, who was off to an excellent start in the world cup by topping his group after winning all matches, 5 out of the 9 by a single goal! He had the 7th best defense of the tournament.

Vasilis Kafiris (Greece) Rank:09

It's been 5 years since Vasilis' last world cup, and for most players this lack of attendance results to a bad performance. Not in his case, as he had an excellent world cup. With a little more luck during the first day, he could have finished higher in his group which would have resulted to a more practicable Round 2 fixture.

Ektoras Kapsoulis (Greece) Rank:10

In his first international appereance, Ektoras left quite a few promises for the future. He was the 6th best attacker of the world cup and he managed to leave several experienced players below him, only three months after he joined the KOA. Definitely one to keep an eye on in the world cups that follow.

Fabio Fichera (Italy) Rank:11

After one year of absence, Fabio almost made it to the quarter finals this time but he was eliminated on overtime by Alkis. He has some minutes of excellence in his game, but also some crucial black outs that cost him.

Alessandro Verrani (Italy) Rank:12

As every other Milan resident, Alessandro scores a lot, a skill that prevented losses against the likes of Sandro and Vasilis. His defensive skills do seem to abandon him at times though.

Steve Camber (England) Rank:13

The man who performed the necessary surgical operations to the Kick Off 2 disk that we all love, was unlucky in the 7th world cup. A defeat by one goal to Giacomo and a 2nd round elimination on overtime to John determined his final position.

Jørn Flagtvedt (Norway) Rank:14

Jorn practices his skills inside an igloo against polar bears in the most distant part of Northern Europe. It's no wonder he has come to be a very decent defender, as he had the second best average among the people who finished below 9th place. The day he does better than 2.80 in offense, he will be capable of some serious damage.

Marco Stoller (Italy) Rank:15

The infamous "organizer syndrome" did not seem to affect Marco, who had his best world cup performance in Rome. Comfortable wins against Rodolfo and Knut were among his very good results.

Mark Bishop (England) Rank:16

We will never know how far Mark could have gotten in the world cup, as he decided to not attend the second day for personal reasons. His gameplay seemed to improve whenever his sweet girlfriend Janette sat next to him on the bench.

Rodolfo Martin (Spain) Rank:17

After a bad first day, the matador swept everyone in his way on Sunday and won the trophy that is given to the best out of the players who do not make it to the second round.

Jorg Panhorst (Germany) Rank:18

An experienced KOA player with five world cups in his resume, Jorg's long distance shots were a problem for many. He made it all the way to the 17-32 group final, but he had no answer to Rodolfo's offense.

Steve Ellesmore (England) Rank:19

Steve had plenty of experience in KOA tournaments before he attended his first world cup, and that helped him against less experienced opponents. I am confident that there is more to see from this promising player.

Wayne Lam (Hong Kong) Rank:20

Wayne had a plan in this world cup. In fact, Wayne's "I have a plan" was a phrase that caught on among the others more than Martin Luther King's "I have a dream". He was confident about making it to the 2nd round, but Jorn had other plans and his victory against Fabio did not allow him to do so. The mid-tournament format changes broke his concentration during the second day.

Luca Fagioli (Italy) Rank:21

Solid first world cup performance for Luca, with some excellent results, such as the convincing victories against Knut and Haydn.

Knut Loite (Norway) Rank:22

A master of the "turtle & lob" tecnhique, Knut made good use of the Lockout formation in the competition. Very good defensive skills, especially against mid-class opponents.

Haydn Hamm (Wales) Rank:23

The Welsh champion was obviously improved in offense compared to his performances in the previous years. He could have finished higher if it wasn't for that extra time loss to Rodolfo.

George Kakaletris (Greece) Rank:24

The new Greek player had some excellent results in his first KOA tournament, and several defeats by a single goal as well. He will certainly put the experience to good use in the future.

Mandhir Sidhu (England) Rank:25

Although this was Mandhir's first world cup, he had played more than 400 official games before going to Rome. A couple of defeats by a single goal to Luca and Wayne during the first day diminished his chances for a better second round draw.

Tomasso Rollo (Italy) Rank:26

Tomasso's main strength is his defense. He conceded only 2.60 goals per game (4th in the world cup), but he needs to learn some standard goals if he wants to have better results in the future.

Thomas Niekamp (Germany) Rank:27

Although this was Thomas' third world cup, he only plays Kick Off once a year, and therefore his results have not improved much. He did surprise Haydn to a 3-3 draw though.

Gunther Wening (Holland) Rank:28

After missing the world cup in England, the father of the KOA gave a more decent performance than the one he had in Cologne. His experience helped him defeat the newbies he played against.

Wolf Heyer (Germany) Rank:29

Wolf won the shirt of shame in his first world cup appereance in 2003, but he's a much better player these days. Scoring against him is not that easy for average players.

Flavio Zurla (Italy) Rank:30

Looking at Flavio's results, one can tell that he could have gotten some more points and that even experienced players sometimes had trouble scoring against him. As most newbies, he had troubles in offense.

Michael Malli (Austria) Rank:31

Michael must be proud as he was the only Austrian who made it to the 17-32 group. His enthusiasm and love for the game will help him improve in the future.

Alessandro Cossu (Italy) Rank:32

With only 8 goals in 16 matches, Alessandro could not do much in this world cup. However, he did manage to defeat Harald in a crucial match and avoid playing in the 33-40 group.

Thorsten Butschke (Germany) Rank:33

Another ex-shirt of shame winner who has improved his game, Thorsten not only got his first wins on Sunday, he even won the 33-40 league without losing a single match and he thoroughly enjoyed doing so.

Harald Bauer (Austria) Rank:34

Harald gave people some good games during the first day, drawing against Knut and losing to Giacomo by a single goal. He was second in the 33-40 league as he had no answer to Thorsten's attack. 10th best defender of the competition.

Peter Sommer (Germany) Rank:35

Peter improved his numbers considerably in his 4th world cup appeareance. He had 1.70F-4.28A in 80 matches beforehand, but managed a respectable 3.31F-3.69A in Rome, a better offensive performance than 18 players. He even managed to score 6 goals against Spyros.

Alessandro Guarnieri (Italy) Rank:36

No matter what Alessandro does in his future KOA tournaments, he will always be remembered as the first person ever who lost to a girl. Sorry!

Michael Fuchs (Austria) Rank:37

A victory against Andreas will be Michael's most valuable experience from Rome. He has friends to practice against, and therefore his skills will probably improve.

Simone Casotti (Italy) Rank:38

Simone had trouble scoring in this world cup, and that cost him dearly. A draw against Harald and a victory against Michael Fuchs helped him avoid the Game of Shame.

Astrid Bouten (Holland) Rank:39

Tennis had Martina Navratilova. Gymnastics had Nadia Comaneci. Tracks had Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Kick Off 2 is proud to have its own female legend, the incomparable Astrid Bouten. Astrid fights in a men's world, getting better and better, slowly but surely. After getting her first two victories in Rome, one can't help but wonder who her next victim will be!

Andreas Klammer (Germany) Rank:40

Following the fine German tradition of Wolf and Thorsten, Andreas was unlucky to lose the Game of Shame because of a penalty kick in the dying seconds of the match. What remains to be seen is whether he will follow their example and improve his game in the world cups that follow.