I am really sorry that we won't get to see the Ivory Coast play in the next round. Even without Drogba, they offered up some impressive soccer against Serbia and Montenegro. Anyone watching the second half realized that it wasn't a question of if Ivory Coast would score, but a question of how many. It turned out to be just enough. Serbia and Montenegro showed some great finishing skills, and being a man down proved insurmountable for them (though Stankovic's missed header must have tormented their fans). It was refreshing to see Drogba join his teammates for their post-goal celebrations. There was a certain release each time they scored, and a huge sigh of relief when they netted their third goal. This team would have almost certainly advanced to the knockout phase if it had been drawn into another group. This is the last time that Serbia and Montenegro play as a unified team. Given that there were only two players on this team from Montenegro, it may be a sign that we may not hear much from them in soccer circles. Somehow, I don't think this was on their mind when they voted for independence.
Sometimes, great teams neutralize each other when they play, but Argentina and the Netherlands may have been neutralized even before they stepped onto the pitch. Both teams rested players. I would not be surprised if the possession was even, but the Argentinians made the most of their possession, mainly because of Messi and Tevez who had a chance to showcase their skills. Tevez, in particular, did his best impression of the Energizer Bunny. Riquelme did his part, offering several opportunities for others to find the net. Even then, he seemed about fifteen degrees off his best game. There were many, many moments of individual flair and skill, and a few sequences of surgical passing. But these moments only reminded everyone of what these teams are capable of doing. Some might assume that the Netherlands wasn't too picky between facing Portugal or Mexico, but I think this game just shows that both Argentina and the Netherlands are confident they can play with any team. It wouldn't be a shock if these two teams met again--with much higher stakes.
Showing posts with label serbia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label serbia. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Good God, ESPN!!!
What a ridiculous moment during the Ivory Coast v. Serbia and Montenegro match. First, in my book, when a player is that deliberate with a handball in the box, it should be a red card. Second, why did the referee make Ivory Coast retake the penalty kick? Did the "encroachment" really impact the kick, especially if it was a Serbia and Montenegro player who was responsible?
But leave it to ESPN to make this absurd moment even more ridiculous. Just as they are broadcasting the replay, perhaps offering an insight into the ref's decision, ESPN SHOWED ONE OF THE LARGE, STUPID GRAPHICS THAT COVERS UP THE SCREEN!!!
Nice job, guys. I'm so glad you reminded us of the halftime show at that particular moment.
But leave it to ESPN to make this absurd moment even more ridiculous. Just as they are broadcasting the replay, perhaps offering an insight into the ref's decision, ESPN SHOWED ONE OF THE LARGE, STUPID GRAPHICS THAT COVERS UP THE SCREEN!!!
Nice job, guys. I'm so glad you reminded us of the halftime show at that particular moment.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Days Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten
Before The World Cup began, I had imagined that Ivory Coast might have been the sleeper or dark horse team. Being placed in the group of death has been hard on them (though, it seems, even harder on Serbia and Montenegro). Having watched Ecuador play twice, I have to say that I believe they are the most promising, surprise team so far. It was so refreshing to see their defenders neutralize Costa Rica's strikers by actually running with them, toward the goal. They didn't rely (exclusively) on the offside trap, having defenders run away from the goal with their hands up in the air. If they tie or beat Germany in the final game of the first round, they win the group.
As for who they might meet in the second round, England still continues to underwhelm. On one level, it was great to see Wayne Rooney in action. The World Cup features the best players in the world, and he certainly fits the bill. But on another level, why did England need his (and Lennon's) boost? Peter Crouch had to resort to hair pulling for the first goal. They just don't seem to be rising to the occasion, and it's worth nothing they haven't beaten Sweden since 1968. If England beats Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago beats Paraguay, we have to look at tie breakers. As much as I've enjoyed seeing T&T's spirit, I don't see this happening. BTW, major respect to John Terry for that goal line clearance.
Argentina 6, Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina has managed this scoreline before in The World Cup in 1978 by beating Peru 6-0, which helped them advance on goal differential over Brazil. However, that match remains controversial to this day. Soccer being soccer, I can even recall articles at the time speculating that Argentina had threatened military action against, or even offered nuclear technology, to Peru (conspiracy theories cut both ways). On this occasion, there's no controversy--just admiration for Argentina's fantastic play. Let's hope both the Netherlands and Argentina continue playing great soccer when they meet in the final game of the first round.
In the "other confederation" arena, it seems that the African confederation is reasserting itself. Ivory Coast played well in a losing effort, Angola tied Mexico, and Ghana's strikers and keeper found their stride against the Czech Republic. From Asia, Iran lost to Portugal, but Japan managed a tie against Croatia, and South Korea came back to tie France. From the CONCACAF realm, there's the US-Italy game.
Let's hope that we witnessed the worst refereeing of the tournament. That ref was hopeless. It takes a lot of courage to hand out a red card to a soccer power like Italy. De Rossi deserved the red card, but many refs would have given him a yellow card and a stern warning. But he almost certainly used Mastroeni for a make-up call. I also don't think he realized that Eddie Pope already had a yellow card. In the end, the US has to be pleased with being alive, though beating Ghana is no easy task. Onyewu seemed to settle into his role, but Eddie Pope still looked lost. The image of him holding up his hand, standing still, during Italy's first goal was rather pathetic. Of course, I'm not sure who's going to play in the back line now that he's suspended.
Both the US-Italy and South Korea-France match left me wondering about European soccer entitlement. What do I mean? De Rossi was clearly upset that his teammate, Zaccardo, scored an own goal (and what a bizarre strike of the ball). Maybe he should have had his words with him. Instead, he decided to elbow Brian McBride. When South Korea scored its goal, William Gallas (who should attend the John Terry school for goal line clearing) was clearly upset. Shortly after the goal, he grabbed (an offside) South Korean player and threw him to the pitch. So, what I wonder about is whether certain Italian or French players would behave this way if they were playing each other (or another of the soccer "powers")? How much of their frustration arose from an expectation, even entitlement, that they were the better team and therefore "deserved" to win.
Regardless of whether I'm just idly (or even unfairly) speculating, it was a very sad sight to see Zidane leave the field, throwing something off to the side. Given his second yellow card, he won't play in France's next game. If teams in their group play better than France, then they decide to advance. But I have to confess that I hope this isn't the last image of Zidane from The World Cup.
As for Brazil, everyone seems to think they're still going at 50%. All I have to say is that Brazil can put anyone into the game, even a guy named Fred, and he will find a way to score :-)
As for who they might meet in the second round, England still continues to underwhelm. On one level, it was great to see Wayne Rooney in action. The World Cup features the best players in the world, and he certainly fits the bill. But on another level, why did England need his (and Lennon's) boost? Peter Crouch had to resort to hair pulling for the first goal. They just don't seem to be rising to the occasion, and it's worth nothing they haven't beaten Sweden since 1968. If England beats Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago beats Paraguay, we have to look at tie breakers. As much as I've enjoyed seeing T&T's spirit, I don't see this happening. BTW, major respect to John Terry for that goal line clearance.
Argentina 6, Serbia and Montenegro 0. Argentina has managed this scoreline before in The World Cup in 1978 by beating Peru 6-0, which helped them advance on goal differential over Brazil. However, that match remains controversial to this day. Soccer being soccer, I can even recall articles at the time speculating that Argentina had threatened military action against, or even offered nuclear technology, to Peru (conspiracy theories cut both ways). On this occasion, there's no controversy--just admiration for Argentina's fantastic play. Let's hope both the Netherlands and Argentina continue playing great soccer when they meet in the final game of the first round.
In the "other confederation" arena, it seems that the African confederation is reasserting itself. Ivory Coast played well in a losing effort, Angola tied Mexico, and Ghana's strikers and keeper found their stride against the Czech Republic. From Asia, Iran lost to Portugal, but Japan managed a tie against Croatia, and South Korea came back to tie France. From the CONCACAF realm, there's the US-Italy game.
Let's hope that we witnessed the worst refereeing of the tournament. That ref was hopeless. It takes a lot of courage to hand out a red card to a soccer power like Italy. De Rossi deserved the red card, but many refs would have given him a yellow card and a stern warning. But he almost certainly used Mastroeni for a make-up call. I also don't think he realized that Eddie Pope already had a yellow card. In the end, the US has to be pleased with being alive, though beating Ghana is no easy task. Onyewu seemed to settle into his role, but Eddie Pope still looked lost. The image of him holding up his hand, standing still, during Italy's first goal was rather pathetic. Of course, I'm not sure who's going to play in the back line now that he's suspended.
Both the US-Italy and South Korea-France match left me wondering about European soccer entitlement. What do I mean? De Rossi was clearly upset that his teammate, Zaccardo, scored an own goal (and what a bizarre strike of the ball). Maybe he should have had his words with him. Instead, he decided to elbow Brian McBride. When South Korea scored its goal, William Gallas (who should attend the John Terry school for goal line clearing) was clearly upset. Shortly after the goal, he grabbed (an offside) South Korean player and threw him to the pitch. So, what I wonder about is whether certain Italian or French players would behave this way if they were playing each other (or another of the soccer "powers")? How much of their frustration arose from an expectation, even entitlement, that they were the better team and therefore "deserved" to win.
Regardless of whether I'm just idly (or even unfairly) speculating, it was a very sad sight to see Zidane leave the field, throwing something off to the side. Given his second yellow card, he won't play in France's next game. If teams in their group play better than France, then they decide to advance. But I have to confess that I hope this isn't the last image of Zidane from The World Cup.
As for Brazil, everyone seems to think they're still going at 50%. All I have to say is that Brazil can put anyone into the game, even a guy named Fred, and he will find a way to score :-)
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Day Three
What did Arjen Robben have for breakfast?
In addition to his excellent skills, he displayed an incredible amount of energy. It didn't matter if he faced one, two, three, or four defenders, he kept charging at them and causing havoc. That had to be the performance of the tournament to date. When the Netherlands is firing on all cylinders, they are a sight to behold. The one curious aspect of their play was their repeated back passes that put Van der Saar into awkward situations. Given that he kept nursing a cramp, was it wise to keep pushing the ball back to him?
They looked better than Argentina on this day. It will be interesting to see what might happen to Argentina if a team inhibits Riquelme. While Robben shined today, there are other Dutch players who can rise to the occasion. How does one close down space on eleven players? Serbia and Montenegro certainly tried, but there were so many occasions the Dutch simply controlled play. Having said this, Serbia and Montenegro also had its moments. I think this is the group of death because each team has shown great skill and ability to control play. Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro showed they can keep their opponents back on their heels. I think there's quite a bit of drama left in this group, perhaps culimating with the Argentina v. Netherlands encounter on June 21st.
I once heard that Marco van Basten preferred playing club soccer to playing for the national team. Perhaps that was true, but maybe one of the most gifted strikers (not just in the Netherlands) has particular insights into how to make the Dutch play as a cohesive, brilliant unit. He seemed fairly reserved as a player, and even more so as a manager. He must have been pleased at the end of this match, but he also looked like someone who knew that the uphill journey had only just begun.
During The World Cup, what transpires outside the soccer stadium sometimes makes more news than what happens inside the stadium. Iran has been the in the news for various political matters, and their President has made insensitive, indefensible comments about the Holocaust. Apparently, the crowd booed the Iranian team as they came onto the pitch. Mexico, on the other hand, had a personal tragedy given that goalkeeper Sanchez's father passed away this week. There was one political aspect to their team as well since there seems to be some controversy about two players who are naturalized citizens.
During The World Cup, what eventually happens inside the soccer stadium sometimes provides relief from what happens outside the stadium. Iranian keeper, Mirzapour, gave Sanchez a bouquet of flowers at the beginning of the game. Zinya, a Brazilian born Mexican, assisted brilliantly on the second goal and, despite being five foot, four inches, rose mightily to head home the third goal. Everyone on the team and every Mexican fan in the stadium cheered.
At the end of the game, Sanchez's teammates surrounded him, joining him in what must have been a bittersweet moment for him. I'm sure he is thrilled with the victory, but I'm also sure he has other things on his mind. The final image from the broadcast was an Iranian player applauding the crowd. Iran played a clean, positive, decent game. It was very encouraging to hear former US players emphasizing that they viewed their 1998 World Cup match with Iran as a game. That, as athletes, they were concerned about what happened on the field. Even as nations rattle sabres, players on the field can exchange gifts or swap jerseys. I do not know how specific Iranian players feel about their President or country's politics. But I do know that they represented themselves well on the pitch. I hope no one booed them on their way out of the stadium.
How do you measure progress?
The last time Portugal and Angola met on the soccer pitch, Portugal won 5-1, but the match was suspended after 68 minutes when a fourth Angolan player was shown the red card. When faced with a force that once dominated them, both on and off the field, it was natural to be nervous and anxious. Angola avoided disaster in the first minute, only to have it return in the fourth minute. At that point, if someone had told me that Portugal would score eight goals, I would have believed it. In another reality, Angola might have buckled and the Portugese goalfest would have commenced. But the Angolan players steadied themselves, and responded well. There was no chance that this group would receive four red cards. Tommy Smyth spoke well when he said "this team knows a little something about soccer..."
Portugal was humiliated by their performance in the 2002 World Cup. They played well in Euro2004, but two losses to Greece left the home crowd disappointed. They won today, albeit with more difficulty than they might have imagined. So three points from the first game is progress.
But the progress for the Angolans was more impressive. It was a courageous performance. If there is honor in defeat, the Angolans can claim it.
In addition to his excellent skills, he displayed an incredible amount of energy. It didn't matter if he faced one, two, three, or four defenders, he kept charging at them and causing havoc. That had to be the performance of the tournament to date. When the Netherlands is firing on all cylinders, they are a sight to behold. The one curious aspect of their play was their repeated back passes that put Van der Saar into awkward situations. Given that he kept nursing a cramp, was it wise to keep pushing the ball back to him?
They looked better than Argentina on this day. It will be interesting to see what might happen to Argentina if a team inhibits Riquelme. While Robben shined today, there are other Dutch players who can rise to the occasion. How does one close down space on eleven players? Serbia and Montenegro certainly tried, but there were so many occasions the Dutch simply controlled play. Having said this, Serbia and Montenegro also had its moments. I think this is the group of death because each team has shown great skill and ability to control play. Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro showed they can keep their opponents back on their heels. I think there's quite a bit of drama left in this group, perhaps culimating with the Argentina v. Netherlands encounter on June 21st.
I once heard that Marco van Basten preferred playing club soccer to playing for the national team. Perhaps that was true, but maybe one of the most gifted strikers (not just in the Netherlands) has particular insights into how to make the Dutch play as a cohesive, brilliant unit. He seemed fairly reserved as a player, and even more so as a manager. He must have been pleased at the end of this match, but he also looked like someone who knew that the uphill journey had only just begun.
During The World Cup, what transpires outside the soccer stadium sometimes makes more news than what happens inside the stadium. Iran has been the in the news for various political matters, and their President has made insensitive, indefensible comments about the Holocaust. Apparently, the crowd booed the Iranian team as they came onto the pitch. Mexico, on the other hand, had a personal tragedy given that goalkeeper Sanchez's father passed away this week. There was one political aspect to their team as well since there seems to be some controversy about two players who are naturalized citizens.
During The World Cup, what eventually happens inside the soccer stadium sometimes provides relief from what happens outside the stadium. Iranian keeper, Mirzapour, gave Sanchez a bouquet of flowers at the beginning of the game. Zinya, a Brazilian born Mexican, assisted brilliantly on the second goal and, despite being five foot, four inches, rose mightily to head home the third goal. Everyone on the team and every Mexican fan in the stadium cheered.
At the end of the game, Sanchez's teammates surrounded him, joining him in what must have been a bittersweet moment for him. I'm sure he is thrilled with the victory, but I'm also sure he has other things on his mind. The final image from the broadcast was an Iranian player applauding the crowd. Iran played a clean, positive, decent game. It was very encouraging to hear former US players emphasizing that they viewed their 1998 World Cup match with Iran as a game. That, as athletes, they were concerned about what happened on the field. Even as nations rattle sabres, players on the field can exchange gifts or swap jerseys. I do not know how specific Iranian players feel about their President or country's politics. But I do know that they represented themselves well on the pitch. I hope no one booed them on their way out of the stadium.
How do you measure progress?
The last time Portugal and Angola met on the soccer pitch, Portugal won 5-1, but the match was suspended after 68 minutes when a fourth Angolan player was shown the red card. When faced with a force that once dominated them, both on and off the field, it was natural to be nervous and anxious. Angola avoided disaster in the first minute, only to have it return in the fourth minute. At that point, if someone had told me that Portugal would score eight goals, I would have believed it. In another reality, Angola might have buckled and the Portugese goalfest would have commenced. But the Angolan players steadied themselves, and responded well. There was no chance that this group would receive four red cards. Tommy Smyth spoke well when he said "this team knows a little something about soccer..."
Portugal was humiliated by their performance in the 2002 World Cup. They played well in Euro2004, but two losses to Greece left the home crowd disappointed. They won today, albeit with more difficulty than they might have imagined. So three points from the first game is progress.
But the progress for the Angolans was more impressive. It was a courageous performance. If there is honor in defeat, the Angolans can claim it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
