I’ve been trying to imagine the Dutch coach’s final words of motivation for his team just before they stepped out to face Spain in the World Cup Final. I imagine it went something like this.
“Lads, Spain have the better technical players so we can’t hope to beat them playing pass and move football like they do. Let’s get stuck in and disrupt their metronomic rhythm from the start. If we can get to an hour without conceding, it will give us belief and will start to make them worry as they don’t know any other way to play. So don’t hold back, put your foot in and make sure we’re still in the game.”
Now I can’t fault him for applying these tactics. We’ve seen many ‘inferior’ teams on paper come and park the bus at The Emirates, Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge. It’s not pretty but ultimately winning would matter most. He’s proven to be a pragmatic coach who does not yield to calls to play the ‘shecshy football’ demanded by Dutch fans, ex players and commentators alike. He can’t have expected, however, that his players would exercise these tactics above and beyond fair play. It was brutal at times and Howard Webb had an almost impossible task once the tone was set. It was also deeply sad that despite the prize at stake, one team resorted to effectively ruining the game as a spectacle. This brand of anti-football almost worked but it’s a victory for football and for patience and endurance that the Spanish ultimately prevailed.
So Spain are holders of both the European and World Crowns, simultaneously. Few can doubt they deserve it though it’s unlikely any team will do so again scoring only 8 goals in the entire competition. They have the best squad and the best team and look set to dominate world football for years to come. Any nation for whom the almost peerless Cesc Fabregas can’t even break into the first team is clearly spoilt for choice. My word, how good must Xavi and Iniesta be? Truth is very, very good indeed.
In the end it was a good tournament. Though it started poorly with far too much caution, there were some excellent games, tremendous individual and team performances, a dash of controversy, a psychic octopus and a new winner.
Here are my personal highlights and lowlights of the tournament.
Best player:
Mesut Oezil. He emerged out of obscurity to become a true world class star. Hugely influential, a joy to watch and mature beyond his years.
Best game:
The big games on paper failed to deliver with Brazil vs Portugal the worst of the lot. However for sheer drama and no shortage of entertainment, I won’t forget Uruguay vs. Ghana
Best team:
Slightly controversial maybe but one team really showed that it was greater than the sum of its parts and that was New Zealand. With Spain defeating Holland, they ended up being the only unbeaten team at the 2010 World Cup which is a massive achievement. One to remember for future quiz nights.
Best goal:
It has to be Tevez’ scorcher vs. South Korea. Sublime.
Best moment:
The French mutiny. If in doubt, strike – brilliant! Shouldn’t have been at the tournament in the first place.
Worst moment:
England’s pathetic attempt to overcome the injustice of the disallowed Lampard goal. Completely lacking in game intelligence and summed up by Terry marauding forward in typically cavalier and arrogant fashion. Dreadful.
Best prediction:
Well almost. This is what I said in my last article
Well without the help of Paul the Octopus, I’m going for a Spanish win in extra time with Torres to score the winning goal after coming on as a sub.
Close!
Over and out – hope you’ve enjoyed my ‘alternative’ take on the World Cup.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
On paper Holland vs. Spain gets the juices flowing, so I hope it delivers
So we are down to the final 2. For the second World Cup in a row we have an all European final and two teams who have never previously won it – in fact this is Spain’s first ever time in the last 4 yet they now stand the chance of holding both the European and World champion honour simultaneously. It would make them legends.
What’s more, these two European heavyweights have never previously met in a World Cup showdown, nor in fact have the ever met at the European championships. New territory for both, then, but will the final deliver. Zidane’s head butt aside, the last final promised much but was ultimately devoid of excitement.
For all Spain’s attractiveness they have now come through the whole knockout stage winning 1-0 and not all of it in style. In fact, their midfield – the key to their success – is so narrow that a disciplined team can snuff them out – it’s a bit like Arsenal. Pass, pass, pass but not much end product. That seems a harsh thing to say with the likes of Villa and Torres up front but when Villa has an off game, you can’t where the goal will come from. Torres is clearly unfit and so far hasn’t performed at all. Cue the world cup winning goal, of course. I might put a fiver on it.
Holland have shown glimpses of the total football for which their previous generations are renowned. In fact they are no more than a well disciplined team with just a couple of star performers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more un-Dutch player than Dirk Kuyt. A real workhorse put utterly lacking in international class. Yet he is an ever present. Their defenders are not household names but are well drilled, like the Germans.
Those star performers are pretty special though. Wesley Schneider, callously discarded by Real Madrid a year ago but spearheading Inter Milan’s charge to the holy trinity of Italian league, cup and European Cup has had an outstanding tournament and now stands on the cusp of total greatness. Arjen Robben, hugely talented but tainted when playing in England for incessant diving, appears to have channelled his ability to be a matchwinner with Bayern Munich and is probably the key to Holland’s chances of beating Spain. He too was discarded by Real Madrid so there will be a couple of scores to settle which should add to the drama.
I’m pleased Germany are out but they should be proud of their contribution. Another final appearance would have been almost too much to bear and in truth they didn’t deserve it tonight. They have been a credit to the tournament and enriched it with some sublime performances albeit against profligate defences which should have been better prepared. What a shame that Mueller was suspended as he has been central to the counter-attacking approach they have adopted and would probably have opened up the game. They were unable to dictate any rhythm and for once ran out of ideas with their younger team members finally showing their inexperience.
I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t go out on penalties. They are the masters of the penalty shoot out and it would have helped to dismantle this invincible aura had they lost one tonight. OK, so you don’t get everything you wish for!
So what’s my prediction? Actually it’s a tough one to call. I expect Spain to dominate possession but will they have the patience to breakdown a resolute Dutch defence? Probably just.
So what does Goopstradamus think? Well without the help of Paul the Octopus, I’m going for a Spanish win in extra time with Torres to score the winning goal after coming on as a sub. I don’t think I’ll put any money on this one though.
What’s more, these two European heavyweights have never previously met in a World Cup showdown, nor in fact have the ever met at the European championships. New territory for both, then, but will the final deliver. Zidane’s head butt aside, the last final promised much but was ultimately devoid of excitement.
For all Spain’s attractiveness they have now come through the whole knockout stage winning 1-0 and not all of it in style. In fact, their midfield – the key to their success – is so narrow that a disciplined team can snuff them out – it’s a bit like Arsenal. Pass, pass, pass but not much end product. That seems a harsh thing to say with the likes of Villa and Torres up front but when Villa has an off game, you can’t where the goal will come from. Torres is clearly unfit and so far hasn’t performed at all. Cue the world cup winning goal, of course. I might put a fiver on it.
Holland have shown glimpses of the total football for which their previous generations are renowned. In fact they are no more than a well disciplined team with just a couple of star performers. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more un-Dutch player than Dirk Kuyt. A real workhorse put utterly lacking in international class. Yet he is an ever present. Their defenders are not household names but are well drilled, like the Germans.
Those star performers are pretty special though. Wesley Schneider, callously discarded by Real Madrid a year ago but spearheading Inter Milan’s charge to the holy trinity of Italian league, cup and European Cup has had an outstanding tournament and now stands on the cusp of total greatness. Arjen Robben, hugely talented but tainted when playing in England for incessant diving, appears to have channelled his ability to be a matchwinner with Bayern Munich and is probably the key to Holland’s chances of beating Spain. He too was discarded by Real Madrid so there will be a couple of scores to settle which should add to the drama.
I’m pleased Germany are out but they should be proud of their contribution. Another final appearance would have been almost too much to bear and in truth they didn’t deserve it tonight. They have been a credit to the tournament and enriched it with some sublime performances albeit against profligate defences which should have been better prepared. What a shame that Mueller was suspended as he has been central to the counter-attacking approach they have adopted and would probably have opened up the game. They were unable to dictate any rhythm and for once ran out of ideas with their younger team members finally showing their inexperience.
I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t go out on penalties. They are the masters of the penalty shoot out and it would have helped to dismantle this invincible aura had they lost one tonight. OK, so you don’t get everything you wish for!
So what’s my prediction? Actually it’s a tough one to call. I expect Spain to dominate possession but will they have the patience to breakdown a resolute Dutch defence? Probably just.
So what does Goopstradamus think? Well without the help of Paul the Octopus, I’m going for a Spanish win in extra time with Torres to score the winning goal after coming on as a sub. I don’t think I’ll put any money on this one though.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Credit where credit’s due
Trust me, I’m no fan of the Germans, but I simply cannot ignore that they are the team of the tournament. They have this annoyingly uncanny way of knowing how to perform at big tournaments, regardless of the personnel at their disposal. The 5-1 thrashing at the hands of England in world cup qualifying in 2001 is still widely lauded, and rightly so, as the coming of age of England’s last golden generation, but 9 months later which team do you think had battled its way to the final. You guessed it. The highly unfancied Germans. In fact their tournament record is nothing short of astonishing. They simply always turn up.
When Ballack, their talismanic captain, was ruled out this year, the youthful team shorn of his services were given little chance of winning the world cup, starting at odds of 14-1 (England were 7-1). They arrived with few stars and those who we knew were coming off the back of wretched seasons. Even though England would rather have avoided them, no one here was particularly worried about the prospect of facing them. One thing’s for sure, they really weren’t worried about playing us.
In an earlier blog I remarked with surprise that they were the most entertaining team of the first round of games when they beat the Australians with ease. Yes, the Aussies were wretched and had a player sent off but the ease with which the Germans settled into the tournament, oozing class and offering entertainment was a sign of things to come. They have set up a semi-final date with Spain, which is a mouth watering prospect, and yet remain second favourites to reach the final. Ozil, Mueller and the irrepressible Schweinsteiger have had incredible tournaments and I won’t be underestimating the Germans any more.
On the other side of the draw the colourful Dutch take on the last remaining South American team, Uruguay, whose place in the semis has been discussed at length after their jaw-droppingly unfair victory over Ghana on penalties. Central to the debate has been the conduct of their top scorer Suarez whose red card ironically rules him out of the semi against the country in which he has made his name (with Ajax). I have read various viewpoints around the subject of cheating. My first instinct was to point the finger but how many others would have done the same thing. His punishment was a red card and the concession of a penalty which should have seen Ghana through. What I take issue with is his complete lack of remorse for what was a blatant piece of cheating. Instead, of lying low and showing humility, he has sought the limelight likening the incident to Maradona’s hand of god and celebrating as if he is a hero. For this he should be vilified. Whether or not others would have done the same to protect their slim chance of remaining in the tournament is actually not the point. He cheated and he should have accepted that, apologised and then moved on. FIFA, typically, have also failed in their duty to protect the integrity of the game by confirming he will only serve a 1 match ban. I hope the Dutch win fair and square and we avoid the prospect of seeing him in the final.
And so to the final. Holland vs Spain would be tasty. Neither have won the tournament before, and only Holland have been as far as the final. They are two teams with great players who play the game the right way and the prospect of a new victor is appealing for the neutral.
Holland vs Germany is appealing for completely different reasons. They simply hate each other and thus it would make a potential match up intriguing. Despite my rational admiration for the way they’ve played, my emotional self can’t cope with a German world cup victory.
When Ballack, their talismanic captain, was ruled out this year, the youthful team shorn of his services were given little chance of winning the world cup, starting at odds of 14-1 (England were 7-1). They arrived with few stars and those who we knew were coming off the back of wretched seasons. Even though England would rather have avoided them, no one here was particularly worried about the prospect of facing them. One thing’s for sure, they really weren’t worried about playing us.
In an earlier blog I remarked with surprise that they were the most entertaining team of the first round of games when they beat the Australians with ease. Yes, the Aussies were wretched and had a player sent off but the ease with which the Germans settled into the tournament, oozing class and offering entertainment was a sign of things to come. They have set up a semi-final date with Spain, which is a mouth watering prospect, and yet remain second favourites to reach the final. Ozil, Mueller and the irrepressible Schweinsteiger have had incredible tournaments and I won’t be underestimating the Germans any more.
On the other side of the draw the colourful Dutch take on the last remaining South American team, Uruguay, whose place in the semis has been discussed at length after their jaw-droppingly unfair victory over Ghana on penalties. Central to the debate has been the conduct of their top scorer Suarez whose red card ironically rules him out of the semi against the country in which he has made his name (with Ajax). I have read various viewpoints around the subject of cheating. My first instinct was to point the finger but how many others would have done the same thing. His punishment was a red card and the concession of a penalty which should have seen Ghana through. What I take issue with is his complete lack of remorse for what was a blatant piece of cheating. Instead, of lying low and showing humility, he has sought the limelight likening the incident to Maradona’s hand of god and celebrating as if he is a hero. For this he should be vilified. Whether or not others would have done the same to protect their slim chance of remaining in the tournament is actually not the point. He cheated and he should have accepted that, apologised and then moved on. FIFA, typically, have also failed in their duty to protect the integrity of the game by confirming he will only serve a 1 match ban. I hope the Dutch win fair and square and we avoid the prospect of seeing him in the final.
And so to the final. Holland vs Spain would be tasty. Neither have won the tournament before, and only Holland have been as far as the final. They are two teams with great players who play the game the right way and the prospect of a new victor is appealing for the neutral.
Holland vs Germany is appealing for completely different reasons. They simply hate each other and thus it would make a potential match up intriguing. Despite my rational admiration for the way they’ve played, my emotional self can’t cope with a German world cup victory.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)