Well, I can't say I don't know anything because I did pick Spain to win, but they didn't exactly pull it off the way I suggested. Apparently Vicente del Bosque knows his players and team better than yours truly. Below are my suggestions and how it actually played out.
1. No start for Torres.
Torres didn't start and while I love the guy, it was probably the better move. Spain played well and had plenty of attacking opportunities. Would they have had all of those if Torres had started? Perhaps. Probably.But the changes and combination really brought out the best in the players. Of course Pedro, who got the start over Torres, was extremely selfish at the end of the game. Spain could have iced the game if Pedro makes this pass. Instead Pedro tries for the glory and is denied.
2. No siesta.
Spain played their style, but with urgency. The team played well and didn't sit back and play possession without attacking. They created opportunities and didn't let Germany get into their rhythm. It became more intense in the second half when Germany finally started mounting their attacks with more frequency. But Spain weathered the storm, kept their possession and continued to play with urgency and it finally payed off.
3. Casillas. Had a great save and played well. Germany just didn't have as many shots as I expected.
4. Everyone hit their potential.
I honestly think it was because Spain entered as the underdog. They have been the favorites in every game of the tournament. Finally people were picking against Spain and I think it motivated them to play at a higher level.
So Spain v. Netherlands on Sunday. A historic final. Neither team has ever won the World Cup. So everyone wins. Only if Spain actually wins though.
If you would have asked that question two months ago before the World Cup, most everyone would have said, "Yes, definitely." Spain beat Germany two years ago in the Euro Cup final and their National Team has looked strong ever since then...until now that is. Meanwhile, Germany has emerged as the clear favorite to win it all. The teams have yet to square off and people are already discussing the Netherlands/Germany final. And with good reason. Germany destroyed Argentina in the quarterfinals whereas Spain barely escaped against Paraguay. Can Spain actually pull out the victory? Maybe. Here is how it has to happen:
1. Start Fernando Torres: Admittedly, I'm a huge Torres fan, with or without his long hair. But despite my unabashed mancrush, I do think he's a big key and should start this game for a few reasons:
a. You will know within the first 20 minutes if he is going to impact the game. He has been off his game but has great potential. If he is going to do any damage he will do it early. If he is as poor as he has been, yank him after the first half. Germany knows what he did to them 2 years ago when the one and only goal he scored in the Euro Cup was in the final to beat Germany. Germany isn't afraid of him, but they will respect his ability and will make sure he doesn't burn them again.
b. This opens up room for David Villa. The MVP of the tournament. Spain has no other scoring threats besides Villa. Germany and the entire world know this. Villa has 5 goals off of 14 shots. The rest of Spain has 1 goal off of 21 shots. Astounding. Naturally, Germany's game plan should be to crush Villa like he was Polish (Zing! for the WWII joke). Spain can't score without Villa. If Germany only pays a little attention to Torres it frees Villa up just a little bit. Not a ton, but three defenders marking you is better than four.
c. Torres has size. Germany dominates Spain and pretty much every other team in size. Torres can hold his own against the big defenders. Here is the goal from the Euro Cup to prove that:
2. Spain can't play their "cultural" style. When we did our band comparisons before the World Cup, we compared Spain to Led Zeppelin and Germany to Coldplay. Now that we are down to 3 teams in the tournament we probably should have switched those two teams and bands. Spain has been much more like Coldplay - very predictable and lulling you to sleep with all the passing. Whereas Germany has been the exciting, out of control, but under control team like Zeppelin.
The thing that is also awesome about Germany is that they play exactly how you would expect a German to play football. They are big, fast and efficient. If they have four shots on goal, they will score four goals. They also sort of play a blitzkrieg style. Once they mount that counterattack, there is no stopping them. They all just barrel down the field so quickly and just pick up steam as they go. They get in front of the goal and don't waste any opportunities and just punish defenses.
Spain on the other hand has been taking a siesta for most of the tournament. They were the most dominate team coming into the World Cup, but it's as though they are taking their August vacation a little early this summer. They are just relaxed and passing the ball all over the field and hardly attacking. They try and wear the other team down. They are waiting for the perfect opportunity, but it's not coming. They are all bark and no bite. I want to blame this on Xavi as I think he controls the game and looks to keep possession more than attack. Regardless, if they do this, Germany will punish them. Germany is too good and too fast. They will force Spain to turn the ball over and they will kill Spain on the counterattack. Spain has to break away from the relaxed siesta soccer and attack from the start.
3. Iker Casillas: Let's be honest, Germany is going to have their chances and is going to pound the goal. Casillas will have to be other worldly and come up with at least 3 amazing saves if Spain is going to win. It's a tall order, but it will be amazing soccer if he pulls it off.
4. Everyone has to hit their potential: This is essentially what it boils down to. There was a time (May 2008-May 2010) when Spain played to their potential and they fired on all cylinders and had fantastic team chemistry. I'm not sure what happened, but it has been largely non-existent throughout this Cup. I'm not sure if the team got cocky or if everyone would rather spend their summer in Ibiza instead of South Africa. Something is off and if they are going to win, they have to get it back and everyone has to play to their potential.
Spain is wildly talented. They didn't come into this tournament as the favorites because they won the Euro Cup. That contributed to it, but it's also because their roster is stacked. Even more so than other countries. The talent level is higher than any other team in Europe, including Germany. All teams have great players, but also have some gaps. Spain has no gaps. In four years they probably will have gaps and another country, Germany or Brazil will be the team with no gaps. For whatever reason, this is just Spain's time. Because of that, if you just looked at both teams on paper, Spain would still be the favorite because of their talent level and the potential of all of the players. The potential is definitely there to beat any team in the world. But that's all it has been thus far, potential. Talking about it but never reaching it. They will have to in order to win.
So can Spain beat Germany? Sure. It could happen. Will it happen? Because my heart resides in Spain I want to say that Spain will win. And logically and on paper you can make an argument for Spain. But logically and based upon recent play on the field, you really can't pick against Germany.
Too bad logic is never a fun way to live your life. Bring out the passion! We live and die by our team. Either you are all in to the end, or we didn't want you on the wagon in the first place. I had Spain in my heart and in my head since the beginning, so I'm sticking to it. Here's to risking the pain of the low of lows of defeat all for the slight chance for futbol glory.
Oh the drama. If you didn't see the Uruguay/Ghana game, you missed out on a classic and some fantastic drama. With seconds left in overtime, Uruguay player Luis Suarez blocks a sure goal with his hands. He is justifiably red-carded. Ghana is given a penalty, but misses! Check it out:
Suarez isn't even trying to pretend like he didn't block it with his hands. He knows.
What would you have done? Is that poor soccer play? I'm all for it. Maybe that makes me a cheap soccer player. But if the ball goes in, like it's going to, Uruguay loses. There is too little time left in the overtime for Uruguay to score. At a different point in the game, I might feel differently. But at this point, no freebies. Might as well block it and make Ghana score the penalty kick. A big gamble that paid off. Especially since Uruguay later won the game on penalty kicks. Suarez was of course red-carded and will miss the next game. But hey, if he doesn't do that, the whole team is going home. He misses the next match, but the Uruguay dream lives on. Talk about taking one for the team.
I know I predicted it yesterday, but even I was still a little surprised to see Brazil go down. I knew it was possible, but didn't really think it would happen. In order for it to happen the Netherlands needed somewhat of a perfect game; which involved disrupting the beautiful game.
Brazil came out strong. They looked really good. They are so fun to watch sometimes. They really do play beautiful music together. It's like you are watching a samba or some sort of performance. They are so fluid and the ball moves effortlessly throughout the team and across the field. When they are all in tune they are scary good and so fun to watch. They started out in perfect pitch and just dominated the game. Everything quickly came together in the 10th minute when a perfect pass was made to Robinho who touched it into the goal on his first touch (video below). A beautiful finish to a beautiful start.
Unlike an Italy or even Spain though, Brazil isn't content with just one goal. The music continues and they continued to pound the Netherlands for the rest of the half. I thought the Dutch were somewhat lucky to get out of the half only down 1-0. It's not that Brazil had many great opportunities, but the Netherlands didn't really have any chances and Brazil was playing their style and had complete control of the game. That is until the Dutch disrupted the beautiful game.
I don't know if disrupting Brazil was Netherlands' game plan exactly, but its what they did and it worked perfectly. The game became choppy. Lots of fouls. Lots of flopping and falling by Robben and doing all sorts of things to get under Brazil's skin. They made it difficult for Brazil to keep their rhythm and keep playing their music.
By the way, the play of the game easily was the awesome corner kick "fake" the Dutch tried to pull. One player goes over to take the corner and puts the ball in the little semi-circle by the corner. Then, he motions to another player to come and take the kick. But before leaving the corner, he taps the ball out of the semi-circle so that the ball is now in play. Ideally the other team doesn't notice what the first player did and when the other player gets to the ball, he just starts dribbling towards the goal. It's straight out of a AYSO handbook. It's like in Little League baseball when the players have a meeting at the mound and they give the ball to the first baseman and he tries to hide it and go back to his base and hope that the guy on first will lead off so he can tag him out. Only imagine the Yankees trying that move in the World Series. Brazil of course noticed Netherlands' poor attempt at trickery and foiled the plan. You can see it in the video below. Just awesome.
Anyways, despite the failed tricks, the Dutch were actually doing a good job at disrupting the flow of the game. But they needed a gift. And they got it from an own goal from Brazil. A complete fluke and unfortunate goal, but a gift nonetheless. At that point, the Dutch were in Brazil's heads and Brazil couldn't keep their cool. Bad passes, not much chemistry and lack of music together. Before you knew it, Brazil was flopping and whining at the ref for calls just like the Dutch. Brazil isn't traditionally a team to do that, well apart from Robinho. But all of the players were aggravated. The Dutch had completely frustrated them. Suddenly, amidst all the frustration, the Dutch scored another goal. Practically the knock out blow. Instead of getting up though, Brazil lost their cool even more and lost a man to a red card for a cheap foul that was clearly the result of frustration. And that was it, Brazil was done. The coolest and smoothest team in the Cup had completely lost their cool.
I said yesterday that if these teams played 10 times I would pick Brazil to win 7 of them. I still stick by that. Brazil is the better team and if they don't give the Netherlands the free goal and if they keep their cool, they win most every time. But that's the beauty of the World Cup. It's the biggest stage and anything can happen. The pressure is greater, the stakes are higher, it's a completely different game. The Dutch disrupted the beautiful game and as a result move on. I'd feel bad for Brazil except that we all know they will win it in four years when they host the tournament. There is no way I will pick against them in 2014.
Four games in the next two days, 2 1/2 exciting ones, let's preview them:
Friday:
I'm starting both days with the afternoon games since they aren't quite as exciting.
Uruguay v. Ghana
Musical Match-up:Beck v. Poison. Interesting. Frankly, I'm partial to Beck, especially when he's at the top of his game. He's a musical genius. But he has been known to mail it in at times. Poison is crazy and always on the verge of doing something unpredictable - like OD'ing or dying. But I think the edge has to go to Beck as far as musical ability. Poison probably puts on a better show though. Although can you beat the Beck dancer? I don't think you can. Edge: Beck/Uruguay.
Soccer Match-up: Another tough one. Both decent teams, both likely to be bounced next round by the winner of the Brazil/Netherlands game. Uruguay has looked like the more complete team. Just a solid team that has been able to get the victories. But they are solidly average. A bright spot for them is at forward with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez. It's a solid one-two punch, but nothing that can't be beaten. Ghana on the other hand is practically unpredictable. One thing is for sure, they are fast and strong. But pretty erratic. Edge: Uruguay.
Summer movie comparison:The A-Team. Did you know the tagline is, "there is no Plan B"? Come on now. You have to do better than that. Regardless, I'm sure it's actually a good and entertaining movie. I'd like to see it. I'll probably see it. Will my life be over if I don't see it? Of course not, just like my life won't really change much by seeing it. Much like this game because the winner will likely lose in the next round to the Brazil/Netherlands winner.
Prediction: The US could have beaten Ghana with a better starting lineup and if they would have stuck to their game plan of controlling the ball and not playing the long ball so much. I think Uruguay will have a game plan and outlast Ghana by the end.
Brazil v. Netherlands:
Musical Match-up:The Beatles v. Radiohead. Tough choice. If you are a casual music fan and you saw both those bands you would probably go with The Beatles; much like if you were a casual soccer fan you would probably go with Brazil. Neither decision would be bad, even if you were a intense soccer or music fan. But if you know music, or know Radiohead, you know that there is a definite brilliance to Radiohead. Is it always there? Well, depends on how much you worship Thom Yorke. Most music fans respect Radiohead, but probably don't love everything that they produce. Whereas, you can't really go wrong with any Beatles songs. Edge: Beatles/Brazil.
Here is a really the only Beatles v. Radiohead mashup I could find. I'm sure there are others.
Soccer Match-up: This is a very efficient Brazil team. There is a subtle dominance about them. They aren't killing teams or running up the score, but they are somewhat quietly getting the job done. Even in close games they always look like they have things under control. I thought Chile would give them more of a challenge, but they calmly and casually weathered Chile and very efficiently and methodically moved on. Somewhat scary how quietly good they appear.
Netherlands was also quietly moving through the group stages. They just made headlines because of an argument with Robin Van Persie and the Dutch coach. Not the best thing to happen before a game against Brazil. Also not too surprising though. There are a ton of superstars and big personalities on the Netherlands team. It was bound to happen. Regardless, its no French implosion and I don't think it will really impact the on-field play. Edge: Brazil.
Summer Movie Comparison: Inception. Still not sure what this movie is about. Dreams? Buildings folding up like paper? Not sure what's going on here, but I know I'll be seeing it. It's directed by Christopher Nolan. After the Batman series I'll pretty much see anything that this guy does. It's Brazil and Netherlands. Both of these teams have a historic track record. One complete with trophies and championships, and the other full of "almosts" and "should have wons." There is no way of predicting what is going to happen in this game. You aren't sure what is going to happen and you don't want to miss it.
Prediction: You can't go wrong by picking Brazil here, but I'm not going to. If the teams played 10 times I think Brazil would win at least 7 of them. Law of averages says Brazil, my gut says Netherlands (but my gut is also telling me I'm hungry...)
Saturday:
Spain v. Paraguay
Musical Match-up:Led Zeppelin v. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. Hmm. Interesting. Not really sure how to compare this here. There was a time and place for the Cadillacs. Unfortunately, that was in the late 90's as they are sort of a ska/rock compilation band. Not that the Cadillacs aren't good. They are fine. Zeppelin, well, they are just better. End of discussion and debate - if there ever was one. Edge: Zeppelin/Spain.
Surprisingly, I couldn't find a mash up for these two groups. So here is a fantastic Zeppelin v. The Beastie Boys Mash-up. Well worth the listen.
Soccer Match-up: Let's give some credit where credit is due: This came from Matt who wrote the Fastbreak preview on Paraguay: "Paraguay has foiled more than a few teams over the years and has a solid history in the World Cup. They will advance and could easily win this group. They’ll be overlooked by the casual fan but the diehard will know them." Impressive. And Paraguay has been legit. But it will all likely end with this game. This game very well could be close, but it really shouldn't. Spain is just an all around better team and has better players than Paraguay. That doesn't mean Paraguay can't pull off an upset. Spain isn't unbeatable. They came out firing after the Switzerland loss and have been pulling back the reigns a bit in the last couple of games. If they come out explosive and looking to attack, Paraguay won't win. If they play their control midfield and look for the perfect play, then Paraguay has a legitimate chance. Edge: Spain.
Summer Movie Comparison:Knight and Day. For a couple reasons: Lot of hype for this movie just like there was a lot of hype for Spain before the Cup. So much hype that no movie, or team (especially not Spain with their poor National Team track record) could live up to it. It also works for this game because Knight and Day is surely fun and has lots of action and is entertaining, but leaves you a little empty, like it's missing something, like a plot. There is a good chance this game could leave you feeling empty, like there wasn't a worthy opponent.
Prediction: Everything points to Spain.
Argentina v. Germany
Musical Match-up:Nirvana v. Coldplay. Man. What a tough choice. Both bands are great. Both have also been overplayed almost as much as a Knight and Day movie trailer or K-Ci and JoJo at a high school dance. Nirvana ruled the 90s, Coldplay dominated the 2000s. Both have a landmark album: Nirvana - Nevermind, Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head. And both also have other great albums, that pretty much sound and revolve around the landmark album. Frankly, it's a "mood" thing. You can be totally in the mood for one of the bands, but also be completely sick of the same band a couple days later. Edge: Tie.
No mashups. Sorry. Well, besides this one. Here is an entertaining Nirvana mashup. And below is a pretty good Coldplay one as well.
Soccer Match-up: This game is so awesome. First of all, both of these teams hate each other. Germany knocked Argentina out of the 2006 World Cup. Argentina beat Germany in the 1986 World Cup final and then Germany came back and beat Argentina in the 1990 final. Just lots of good history and bad blood. The fighting words have been goingback and forth before this match as well. It's pretty great.
But on top of that, both teams are really good. Germany was hard to read in the group stage because of their varied results. But then they came out and thumped England. There was a controversial call, but Germany was the better team. Argentina on the other hand has been consistently good. They have a solid team with an amazing offense. Messi, Tevez and Higuain are playing so well. But Germany also has very efficient strikers and a young up and coming outside midfielder in Mesut Ozil. He's been a stand out player in the Cup. Some (other Germans) are even saying he's playing better than Messi. I don't necessarily agree with that, but he is playing really well. Edge: Argentina. Barely.
Summer Movie Comparison:Toy Story 3. This game is just another chapter in a fantastic story. Toy Story 3 has to be the best movie of the summer thus far. This Argentina v. Germany game could be the best of the Cup. Granted, there could be other good games, but as mentioned, there is history with these teams. Familiar players and characters. Not to mention that both of these teams are world class. You are missing out in life if you don't go see Toy Story 3. You are missing out on the World Cup if you skip this game.
Prediction: It's hard. Germany has the size and seems to be able to score against anyone. But the Argentine trio up top of Messi, Tevez and Higuain seems to be too much for any team. I see Messi dribbling and creating too much and Teven and Higuain finding the back of the net more than the Germans.
The Univision announcer gets the credit for the title.
Thoughts from the Spain game:
1. David Villa. Simply amazing. Has to be the MVP of the tournament thus far. Spain has played well, but hasn't been the most impressive team. Argentina as a whole has probably looked the best. But their offensive attack has been pretty evenly dispersed between Tevez, Higuain and Messi. All three are playing very well, but no single player in the tournament is carrying their team like Villa. Spain has 5 goals and Villa has scored 4 and assisted the other one. Other players are playing well and contributing, but Villa has put the team on his back and is carrying them through the Cup.
2. Too Much Possession. This is what got Spain into trouble in the first game against Switzerland. It's what caused Barcelona to lose to Inter Milan in the Champions League. Spain's midfield likes to control the ball and create the perfect opportunity. But when a team shuts down and disrupts the midfielders and prevents the opportunities, Spain is vulnerable. It happened against Switzerland and it almost happened against Portugal. Spain controlled the ball more, but until the Villa goal, Portugal had the better opportunities. Spain's opportunities were few and far between. It's fortunate that they have Villa who really only needs one good look at the goal to score.
Along with that, I think Spain got way too conservative after the first goal. They were already playing keep away and there were 20+ minutes left. There are too many other teams in the tournament that will punish Spain if they get too conservative. Teams that can play defense and stop the midfield and score goals. I think it was the semi-relaxed attitude that got Spain in trouble and the sense of urgency that really propelled them into the knock-out rounds. The relaxed attitude seems to be creeping back.
3. The Nike Curse lives on! Tchau Cristiano. All six featured players in the Nike commercial have been eliminated from the World Cup. Before the knock-out rounds only Rooney and Ronaldo were still alive, now both have been eliminated. Hopefully all the players can put their endorsement money to good use and throw World Cup finals party or something.
4. The Straight Red Card: To get upset at the officiating is like a broken record at this point, but the officials really bring it upon themselves. Ricardo Costa was red carded in the 89th minute off a weak foul. The foul didn't even deserve a yellow. The Spain player, Capdevilla did a great job at selling the foul, but even the ref should have known it didn't deserve a straight red card. A straight red card is for when a player breaks someone's knee or something. It's fortunate that it was so late in the game so it arguably didn't really impact that outcome of the game. Still though, I know the official's job is hard, but you have to do better than that.
Posted by kent
Posted on 11:32 PM
with No comments
Two games on Sunday and two more controversial calls from poor officiating. I don't know the current progress of the replay debate. I know the FIFA president seems pretty adamant at the moment that they won't do replay. Personally, I think they will have it in 2014. There have been too many blown calls. I think it's only a matter of time until the individual European leagues start to use replay or the ball chips that indicate when the ball has crossed the line, and that FIFA will eventually follow suit for the World Cup.
Regardless, no point in discussing that now since it's not going to change during this Cup. Nevertheless, two teams were on the raw end of the no replay stick on Sunday. But I don't think the missed calls actually changed the outcome of the game. Even if the refs had gotten the calls right, I think Germany and Argentina would still be moving on.
In the Argentina v. Mexico game, the missed call was so poor. Any ref, even the one on the other side of the field could have seen how far offside Tevez was. It wasn't even close. Just poor, poor officiating. But the goal only put Mexico down 1-0. Granted, its tough mentally to be down by a goal, especially one that shouldn't have been allowed, but one goal is not insurmountable. But it clearly was for Mexico because Argentina was just flat out better. Mexico never really threatened and Argentina put in two more goals before Mexico scored their only goal. Some may argue that the one goal messed them up for the entire game, but it shouldn't have. If you are the better team, you can and will come back and win. If the roles were reversed and Mexico got an undeserved first goal, Argentina would have come back and won the game. I think most people that watched the game today would agree.
The situation is a little different with Germany and England. Mainly because England was down 2-1 and the missed goal would have tied the game. Not only that, it would have come only a minute after the first goal. A huge confidence booster and swing in momentum. England really would have had a different mentality coming in from the second half. There could have been a different outcome.
However, I don't think anyone outside of England is actually convinced that the outcome would have been different. Maybe that second goal would have inspired them to play better and they would have pulled out the victory. But after watching the rest of the game, I don't think that England would have won even if they had tied the game. Germany exposed the deeper issues plaguing England: no defense, weak goalie, and not much going on at striker. England was pretty poor from the outset of the Cup. Elevated expectations that didn't match the quality of the product on the field. They were definitely shafted in this game and they should have deserved the goal, but they really weren't a better team than Germany on Sunday.
But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the outcome would have been different if the refs got the calls right. What do you think?
Posted by Matt
Posted on 10:16 PM
with No comments
Well, the World Cup never takes a break. It's not like the NBA or NFL playoffs where they take days off between rounds. Although the group stage just ended, we are already a day into the knock-out rounds. Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, we wanted to provide the top 10 moments/storylines from the Group Stage. In no particular order:
1. Landon Donovan scores in the 91st minute to beat Algeria and send the U.S. to the Round of 16.
A fantastic goal. A fantastic moment for US soccer. It may be somewhat tainted now that the US was eliminated. But these are the best moments from the group stage. For all US fans, this easily takes the cake.
If that doesn't give you goosebumps, I don't know what could.
2. France stays on the bus:
Maybe the best part of the tournament thus far. The whole French appearance was a complete debacle, but this was the best moment. I love the idea of the team going onto the bus, pulling down the shades and then just sitting there. It's not like the bus went back to the hotel. It just stayed there at the training facility with the players in it. It's like going to dinner with some friends and asking where their 9 year old son Dylan is and them replying, "Oh, he was being a baby and threw a fit so he's sitting in the car in the parking lot until he's ready to behave and come and join us."
"Hey, where's the entire French National team?"
"Oh, they are all on the bus pouting because they are upset that someone leaked the story that Nicolas Anelka called the coach's mom a whore."
Awesome.
3. New Zealand scores against Italy.
New Zealand was supposed to be the North Korea of their group where they would lose to powers like Italy 7-0 just like North Korea losing to Portugal. Instead, they shocked everyone and tied all three teams in their group. Granted, they didn't advance, but they finished above Italy as Italy finished with only 2 points. No one expected anything from them and they caught everyone, particularly Italy on their heels and Italy needed a gift from the referee and some classic Italian acting just to pull out a tie.
4. Distracted Iker Casillas lets a Swiss goal in:
One of the better headlines thus far from the World Cup and shows you how passionate and ridiculous other countries are about the World Cup. After Spain lost to Switzerland, the Spanish media was blaming the loss on the fact that Spain's goalie, Iker Casillas, girlfriend is a sideline reporter and her presence on the sideline was distracting Iker during the game and contributed to the loss. Pretty awesome. Here is an clip of the post-game interview where she interviews Iker about the loss.
5. David Villa saves Spain:
Spain had a dismal start and lacked offense. They needed two big wins and David Villa came out and saved them. In their final two games Spain scored 4 goals. Villa scored three and assisted on the other one. Two of those goals were arguably two of the best of the tournament. Many people already knew that David Villa was brilliant, but it's nice for him to prove it on the world stage.
6. South American Dominance:
Five teams, one loss. The Euros have struggled but the South American teams have completely dominated. All 5 teams moved on and all except for Chile won their group. Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Uruguay and Argentina have already won the first knock-out round game.
7. Leo Messi and Argentina cruise into the next round:
This one sort of goes on with the previous one, but Argentina quietly dominated the first round. I say quietly because the headlines were about other team imploding or struggling and all the while, Argentina was just calmly and collectively handling their group. They are just hanging out in the wings and have yet to look challenged. They have to be the favorites right now. Brazil and Spain were the favorites coming into the tournament, but that was all based upon previous play. Based upon what we have seen, it has to be Argentina.
8. Portugal drops 7 on North Korea.
This is what we expected everyone to do to North Korea. Brazil only won 2-1 and everyone thought that North Korea was not only secretly building nuclear weapons, but also building a super soccer team. Turns out they are only building weapons and are as bad as expected.
9. England barely scrapes through, Rooney nearly absent:
This was a huge storyline in the group stage and just as everyone thought that maybe England was just struggling out the gate but they were going to turn it around, England gets eliminated. What a poor, poor showing. So much hype and expectations and they completely folded. Some though Rooney might make a showing in the knock-out rounds, turns out he left all his game back in England.
10. African nations fall by the wayside.
Ghana is the only African nation to advance. Sort of a bummer of storyline. It would have been nice if some of the teams could have had a better showing for their home continent. At least Ghana is still alive. But Africa had a solid representation: six teams. For only one to advance, is pretty disappointing.
While I respect him, I disagree with his starting lineup. Bob Bradley pulled Ricardo Clark after only 30 minutes, essentially admitting that he got it wrong. Maurice Edu and Benny Feilhaber should be starting. They proved their worth against Algeria by possessing the ball well and controlling the midfield in conjunction with Dempsey and Donovan.
The goals were bad. Clark was dispossessed and Howard was completely out of position. The second goal was more of the same. When overtime hit, the U.S. abandoned the strategy that got them the first goal.
David Villa and his sweet flavor savor struck again versus Chile. Somehow he managed to make an even more impressive goal than the one he scored against Honduras. The goal is so good and so difficult. Sure there is no goalie, but to hit that ball first time from that distance is so hard.
Villa is amazing though. He's carrying this team. Spain played too conservative in their first game and needed two big wins. He has come through with some clutch goals in two games when they had to win. Can you believe that next season he will be playing on the same team as Messi? Ridiculous.
Speaking of ridiculous, here are his two goals from the previous two games. He's so good.
Below is Nike's 2010 World Cup commercial. By now you have either seen it or at least seen some variation of it. It is spectacular. We blogged about it not too long ago when it first came out. The theme of the commercial is to write the future. Basically saying that you can become a hero or a goat in the World Cup. The potential is endless since there is no bigger stage in all of sports. However, apparently the potential is endless for everyone not featured in the commercial as everyone in commercial seems to be cursed.
Here is the commercial:
Let's run through the players:
Didier Drogba: The commercial starts with Ivory Coast's striker Didier Drogba. One of the best strikers in the world and arguably one of the best in the Premier League. Love him or hate him, he's really good. He was on the Chelsea team that won the Premier League this year. Two weeks after the Premier League ends and right before the World Cup, he breaks his arm in one of Ivory Coast's warm up matches. Granted, he still manages to play in Ivory Coast's three games, but he never had quite the impact people anticipated. On top of that Ivory Coast was just eliminated today. Drogba is done.
Fabio Cannavaro: In the commercial, Drogba's shot is stopped by a sweet bicycle from Cannavaro. It leads to Cannavaro being hailed as a celebrity and some pretty catchy tunes being made about him. Not to mention some pretty flexible ladies paying their respect as well. As mentioned on this blog and as everyone knows, Italy bowed out in the first round. Pretty embarrassing for the returning champs. Not only did they bow out, but their defense was rather suspect throughout the entire tournament. Cannavaro is not only the foundation of that defense, but the captain of the team. You can't blame him for everything, but he's the leader of that team, and that team, especially the defense, never showed up.
Franck Ribery: The commercial then jumps to Wayne Rooney making a pass which Ribery intercepts. Ribery was of course part of the French team that was a complete and total embarrassment during the World Cup. No need to repeat everything. Not that Ribery was the one causing all the headlines, but still part of the cursed team.
Wayne Rooney: Quite a bit of the commercial is centered around Rooney. Probably because he had an amazing year in the Premier League where he carried his team to a strong finish barely behind Chelsea. I'm pretty sure Nike, and the whole world for that matter, anticipated he would do the same with England. But he's been a complete non-factor thus far. There was so much hype and promise for England coming into the World Cup and it was supposed to be Rooney at the helm of the ship and leading the team to glory. Instead the England ship looks more like it's slowly leaking and heading towards it inevitable sinking. Maybe things will change. England has advanced, so he still could write a different history. Thus far though, he looks more like the player in the trailer park than the one being knighted by the queen.
Spain: There is a brief moment in the commercial where three players from Spain throw down a newspaper. The players aren't really highlighted in the commercial so you can't really say they are completely cursed. Yet even their small contribution to the commercial has clearly affected their play as they lost their first game. Good thing they were smart and barely participated.
Landon Donovan: Speaking of small participation, there is a brief clip of Donovan throwing down a newspaper as well. He's been anything but cursed this World Cup. But he's American and Nike is an American company. Thus any Nike curses don't impact him or other American players. It makes sense just like this whole curse makes sense.
Ronaldinho: After Rooney, there is some action by some Brazil players before the ball goes to Ronaldinho. He didn't even make the final Brazil squad. He was cursed before the Cup even got started. Should have been a warning sign to all of the other players. Instead, they were too busy cashing their endorsement check to even notice. Cha-ching! Right Cannavaro?
Cristiano Ronaldo: I'm pretty sure the best part of the commercial is Homer Simpson saying, "Ronal...doh!" Pretty good. Not sure who gets credit for that, but its clever. Anyways, Ronaldo is really the only one where things are up in the air. He hasn't played bad, hasn't played great. Portugal pulled off a tie against Ivory Coast and Brazil and pummeled North Korea. It's still uncertain if Portugal is any good. Regardless, Ronaldo hasn't been much of a factor at all. The commercial has somehow inflated his already enormous ego. Every free-kick Portugal receives, no matter how far away it is from goal, Ronaldo lines up just like he does in the commercial and he always takes a shot. He's clearly trying to "write his future" just like Nike wrote the commercial. Unfortunately, he has yet to put his free-kicks on target, let alone score.
So Drogba, Ribery, Cannavaro and Ronaldinho are all out of the World Cup. Their history is written, and it wasn't a pretty one. Rooney and Spain have a chance to salvage their history even though the start was pretty bad; horrible for Rooney. Ronaldo is the only one that has been decent. But maybe that will change too. Everything changes in the knockout rounds.
Regardless of the finish, of the six players highlighted, four are already finished. Maybe one of the two will write a glorious future. But if the curse is real and they follow suit with the other players, doomsday is right around the corner.
World Cup fact: No European country has ever won the World Cup when the tournament was held outside of Europe.
Here's the thing about that fact: you read it and understand it, but sort of think its a fluke or a coincidence or something. Not something that you would take seriously and take into consideration when making World Cup predictions. But apparently it's legit. What European team has played well thus far in the Cup? The Netherlands. And that's about it. Both Germany and England barely qualified for the second round. Spain, the favorites, have yet to qualify and are in a win or go home situation. Sure, Portugal won 7-0 the other day, but it was against North Korea. We can talk more Portugal tomorrow after they play Brazil. Francebowed out in the most embarrassing way possible. And now Italy is done.
So here are my Italy thoughts:
1. Italy's style, or modo if you will, is to play defense and look for the counterattack. They are very proud of their strong and impenetrable defense. Which is fine. I think it's incredibly boring and can hardly stand it, but to each their own. But the Italian defense was TERRIBLE this World Cup. In all three games their defense gave up early goals. Italy was playing from behind the entire cup. This modo only works if you have 1. a good defense; and 2. good forwards. Someone like Roberto Baggio that can singlehandely win games for you (or lose games depending on how you look at it). It's somewhat ironic that the thing that helped Italy win the World Cup four years ago, was actually their biggest weakness in this Cup.
2. Frankly, they don't deserve to move on. I realize that is obvious since they aren't moving on and because they failed at their own game. But Italy is better than what they gave us. Not much better, but better. I don't mean any offense to Paraguay, Slovenia and New Zealand, but if you can't beat any of those teams, you don't deserve to play more than 3 games in the Cup. I know no team is a push-over, but you have to do better if you have veteran players and are the defending champions. Really no excuse.
3. Come on coach, shake his hand. This happened with France as well. The head coaches of both Italy and France didn't shake the hands of the opposing coaches after their teams lost and were eliminated from the Cup. Maybe not that big of a deal and maybe coaches never shake hands in the World Cup, but I'm pretty sure they do. It's not the opposing coaches fault that your team completely self-destructed or that your team didn't start playing with urgency until after they were down in each game. In fact, it's your fault. So shake his hand. Give him kisses or whatever it is you do over there. Might as well keep good relations with other coaches. They are the ones that are still going to be employed.
4. Combining all of the above 3 points, this is why I was frustrated by Italy this World Cup. Coming into the Cup, I don't care for them because I think they are boring. The best thing to happen in any Italy game is for the opposing side to score first. Because then Italy decides to play offense and it gets exciting. Which is what happened in all three games. Suddenly, I find myself rooting for Italy because they are now the underdog. But then I think, "wait a minute. They should be better than this. They shouldn't be losing to New Zealand, or even Slovakia." So then I go back to rooting for New Zealand and Slovakia because they are actually the true underdogs. But Italy played so well against Slovakia today and really played like a quality team, well, they did for the last 10 minutes until their "shut down" defense gave up yet another late goal. But they finally showed heart and grit, which made them likable. When Slovakia started stalling at the end of the game I was sort of upset at Slovakia. Even though Italy created and perfected the art of faking injuries or fouls and stalling in games.
For instance, in the video below, after Italy finally scores a goal and are now only down 2-1, one of the Italian players runs into the goal to try and get the ball to run it back to the midfield so that they can quickly start the game again. There is some sort of scuffle with the goalie and before you know it, the Italian player is flailing on the ground as if the Slovakia goalie took out a rusted spoon and just scooped out one of his eyes. Granted, the replays show the Slovakia goalie did sort of punch the Italy player, but he barely hit him. And even if he hit you over the head with a bat, you are still down by a goal with only 5 minutes left! Quit moaning in pain and trying to get the ref to give the goalie a yellow card. What good does that do you at this point?!!! You need a goal, not a goalie with a yellow card. Despite the dire circumstances, the Italian doesn't ever pass up the opportunity to embellish a foul. And despite all of this frustrating behavior and even though I can't really stand them, I still sort of wanted them to pull out the last minute victory, which is frustrating.
Regardless of it all, another European power is out. Maybe we should just fore go the rest of the games and just give the Cup to Brazil or Argentina. Or maybe even the US...those Americans sure are sitting pretty right now.
So France bowed out of the World Cup on Tuesday. That, in and of itself, isn't too surprising. They barely qualified for the World Cup and only did so with a controversial hand ball. Technically they shouldn't have even been in the World Cup. Even though this is France, winner of the 1998 World Cup and runners-up in the 2006 World Cup, everyone knew that a first round exit was possible because of their struggles to even qualify. But who knew that they would exit how they did?
For anyone not following the awesome drama, France completely fell apart in the most dramatic of fashions. Let's go through the time line of events:
July 2006: In the World Cup final, Zinedane Zidane, perhaps the greatest footballer of our generation completely loses his cool and headbutts an Italian player and gets redcarded and sent off the field. Not sure how this really relates to the events of this Cup, but things haven't been right since that moment.
July 2006 - November 2009: France plays the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches and barely qualifies. France only qualifies by beating Ireland and they scored the winning goal off of a hand ball. Apparently some Irish curse was put on the team after the game.
June 11, 2010: France plays their first World Cup game against Uruguay and they tie 0-0. This isn't too surprising for a couple of reasons: 1. Uruguay is good. 2. France isn't good. Remember how they barely qualified?
June 17, 2010: France plays Mexico in their second World Cup game and loses 2-0. Admittedly, I was even surprised by this one because I was fooled into thinking that France was better than they really are. It's easy to forget that a team isn't good and has chemistry issues when you look at their roster. France has a pretty impressive roster: Franck Ribery, Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Forent Malouda, Eric Abidal etc. Those names may or may not mean something to you. If they don't, just know that all of those players don't just play for premier European soccer clubs, they are crucial parts to those clubs. Some of the best players in the world.
But France is strange like that. They won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Cup. Then in the 2002 World Cup with pretty much the same team that won the championships, they completely fall apart, fail to even score a goal and are eliminated in the first round. So individual talent alone doesn't carry a team. You need team chemistry as well. Just ask England.
But apparently the chemistry was real bad. During halftime in the Mexico game, France's striker Nicolas Anelka and the coach, Raymond Domenech had a bit of a blow up. A pretty fun exchange ensued. Some quality name-calling between two adults. Stay classy France.
June 19, 2010: Not surprisingly, Anelka is sent home. Usually something like that happens after you call your coach's mother a whore. Even if Anelka had scored 6 goals in 2 games, he would likely have been sent home. Given though that he had failed to do much, it was probably a pretty easy decision.
June 20, 2010: This is where the drama gets good. Here's the abbreviated version: France is going to their training facility. They arrive in a bus. All the players get off except for the captain Patrice Evra and the coach. They have words. Evra thinks the fitness manager leaked the Anelka story. He's upset. He confronts the fitness manager. They get upset at each other and their verbal fight probably ends with the fitness manager throwing a glass of wine in Evra's face before the fitness manager quits. Evra and all the players go back on the bus, pull down the shades and refuse to practice. Which is great because it's just like a little kid throwing a fit and going and pouting in the car. Only in this situation its 22 grown men. But they are French, so it seems fitting.
June 20 - 22, 2010: Everything blows up. The team director resigns because he is "sickened and disgusted" by the team. The French president even gets involved and asks the sports minister to stay in South Africa to try and resolve the issues.
Zidane gets involved as their are allegations that he is influencing the team on some of their decisions.
June 22, 2010: France loses to South Africa 2-1 and ungraciously bows out of the World Cup. The captain, Patrice Evra is dropped by the coach and doesn't play in the game. It's pretty much a total embarrassment for a team with their history and quality of players.
Quite and awesome story. Someone should write a book about it. Or at least make a movie about it. With all the estrogen and drama queens involved, I'm sure Lifetime has already secured the rights.
So the US has a must win game against Slovenia tomorrow morning. I'm sure they have been making some adjustments in preparation for the game. But one adjustment, which might be overlooked admist all the on-field adjustments, would be to change the wardrobe of Bob Bradley. It very well could be the key to America's success tomorrow, and in the rest of the World Cup. Note some of the examples below:
Exhibit A: Fabio Capello, coach of England. Professional looking guy in very professional dress. You wouldn't expect anything less from 1. an Italian, and 2. the coach of a legit soccer team like England.
Exhibit B: Sven Goran Eriksson, coach of Ivory Coast.
Exhibit C: Maradona, the coach of Argentina who looks like this off the field and used to do a lot of this, he looks like this during the game.
Exhibit D: Germany's coach, Joachim Low, although he looks like he just came from the late 90s or Night at the Roxbury convention, he at least wears a suit coat during the game.
Exhibit E: New Zealand and North Korea, considered by many to be two of the worst teams in the tournament. Both teams actually did better in their opening game than expected. New Zealand tied Slovakia with a late goal and North Korea, although they lost to Brazil, played much better than anyone expected. Why did they play so well? Because both coaches, New Zealand's Ricki Herbert and North Korea's Kim Jon Hun wear suits. At any point during the game, their players could look to the sidelines and see their coach in a suit and know that they were led by a pro. It was the suit that motivated them to play well.
Exhibit F: United States coach Bob Bradley. Notice a difference between him and his colleague Fabio Capello? Or any of the other coaches mentioned above or in the World Cup even? Is he doing a product placement plug for US gear? We know you are the coach of the National Team. You don't need to try and sell their gear. The players can do that for you by wearing their uniforms on the field.
Maybe Bradley hoping that all of the players get injured and they need him to go out on the field and play? If that is the case, is he wearing shin guards underneath the pants? Apparently he already has his cleats on. But if its not the case that he wants to play in the game, then why is he dressing like the players? Is he trying to be "the cool coach." The coach that isn't like the other coaches that sit there in their fancy suits and are mean to their players. "I'm just like you guys. See, I even dress casual. You can talk to me about what's going on in your life."
Seriously though, if the other team is warming up and they see this, then they would probably think they are playing a worthy opponent and that it will be a tough match. That is until they see this on the sideline and realize they aren't really dealing with a professional team. It's like in youth soccer when you watching the other team warm up and you think that they will probably be pretty good until you see a player run out in jeans and you realize that you already won the game.
Anyways, I'm honestly not trying to rip on Bradley. I do actually think he is a good coach and he has done well with the National Team. But this is the World Cup. Big boy soccer. The biggest stage. The US needs to get over the hump and become a legit contender. This might be the way to do it. To put Bradley in a suit. Plus, the next game for the US is a must win game. No room for error. The US needs to come out and play well and be ready for the game. Maybe upping the wardrobe would help get the players ready and send a message that this is an important game. It would let them know that everyone is a professional. Because really, that's what this all comes down to. "Professionalism is...and that is all I want."
Well, I can't say I don't know anything because I did pick Spain to win, but they didn't exactly pull it off the way I suggested. Apparently Vicente del Bosque knows his players and team better than yours truly. Below are my suggestions and how it actually played out.
