I can’t imagine Portugal getting anything against France or Brazil (which is being played as I write – France for me); they were absolutely dire against England today. England played well with 10-men. The Portuguese never really had any ideas beyond long-range shots, but fair is fair: they have won all their games, so respect to Scolari, Maniche, Figo, et al.
Owen Hargreaves, for all his undeserved criticism, was an absolute titan. John Terry and the rest of the defence were brilliant (what a difference Gary Neville makes?), and Paul Robinson looked more assured.
I suppose I ought to comment on Wayne Rooney. Well, as cruel as it may be, the defeat really needs to be levelled at the door of the young striker. England were just beginning to find their groove, and substitute winger, Aaron Lennon, was cutting the Portuguese fullback to ribbons. And then, be it for the stamp or the push, Rooney fell for the Portuguese gamesmanship and had a silly Beckhamesque moment. Yes he was sandwiched by two clumsy defenders, yes he was isolated for most of the game by a questionable formation, but he must, regardless of his age, be accountable for his actions. Silly little man.
It’s sour grapes of course, but I hope Portugal get slaughtered in the next round.
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I had sooo much fun with this Guardian site, where you can build-your-own World Cup t-shirt. [link]
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As an adopted Spaniard (in that I had Spain in the office sweepstake), I was devastated by Spain’s unlucky defeat in last nights second round clash [link], at the hands of the dastardly French.
The Spanish just ran out of ideas, and the French, with their unenlightened yet technical football, were always going to remain a threat in the late stages.
Maybe this World Cup has come too early for Torres, Villa, and FÃ bregas et al?
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England again flattered the deceive, but again they’re through, and with Portugal and Holland having torn strips off each other, maybe they have a great chance of reaching the Semis.
The highlight from the Portugal game must be the sight of watching Christiano Ronaldo blubbering again like a big girls blouse. I know quite a few Portuguese people and they’re quite a sensitive bunch. They need to toughen up if they want to turn over English beefcakes like David “Essex-Boy” Beckham and Sol “Fruitbat” Campbell.
Hopefully in the other quarter finals, the teams will likewise do immense damage to one another, one of which will hobble into a semi with England, and then we may find ourselves, having not played well at all, in the final of the World Cup. Stranger things have happened. Carton Palmer got eighteen caps.
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It was sad to see the Mexicans dumped out. Especially considering the fact that Heinze should have walked. The plucky Mexicans proved Argentina are not invincible.
Best game yet? Not sure, but certainly the most competitive. Oh, and another great goal.
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The financial scandals that may engulf four of Italy’s major clubs, was turned up a few degrees yesterday, with news that Juventus, AC Milan, Lazio, and Fiorentina, will all face charges, with relegation a real possibility.
Readers will be aware that Italy’s former right wing president, and sometime nightclub crooner, Silvio Berlusconi, owns AC Milan.
This scandal would put the once great Italian game back decades, and reaffirm many people’s perceptions, both of Italian business practices, and widespread corruption in football.
From The Guardian, link:
Juventus, along with Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina, could face relegation for their part in the scandal with 26 further people - but no players - also indicted by the prosecutor conducting a special investigation into the allegations, with the hearings to begin at Rome’s Olympic Stadium next Wednesday. Neither the identity of the individuals nor the precise nature of the charges have been revealed.
[...]
Confirmation of the indictments of the four clubs and 26 individuals by the Italian Football Federation’s prosecutor, Stefano Palazzi, was delayed until after the game in Hamburg with 13 members of Lippi’s squad employed by the clubs concerned.
The federation said all the indictments were for violation of articles one and/or six of the Code of Sporting Justice. Article one covers “general duties and obligations” while article six deals with sporting infractions and the obligation to report them. Juventus, the club at the centre of the scandal, are thought to be at greatest risk of relegation, possibly as far down to Serie C1, and are likely to be stripped of the league titles won over the last two years. The federation has promised it will be over by July 9, the date of the World Cup final.
More: the BBC has the story, here.
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I’m not sure who we have to bribe to beat the Swedes, who have been our bogey team for almost 50-years; it seems that employing Svenis, suffering their saccharine pop music, and buying copious amounts of their flat-packed furniture, isn’t enough for these stubborn Scandinavians. But at least we top the group, which means any potential Quarter Final (should we beat plucky Ecuador), will not clash with a cricket match I have tickets for.
Regardless of the draw, we played better than we did for any of our wins. Whenever I watch Sweden play, I always think they’re a tribute to English football: They’re great at set pieces, energetic, and a good counter-attacking side.
Good luck to them against Germany.
The latest is that Michael Owen is out for the rest of the tournament, which means so are England.
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It was a disastrous start for La Furia Roja, with Tunisia making the most of a well-worked chance and scoring in the eighth minute. But the Spanish went on to show uncharacteristic resolve coming back to win 3-1, sending a message to the favourites, a group of which, Spain must now be considered.
Are the World Cup-weary Spanish now daring to believe their perennial underachievers will actually deliver this time?
Remember tyger has Spain in the office sweepstake, and an extra £32 in his pocket is always welcome.
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analogous sarcasm on
The Yanks were good for about ten minutes, then their attention deficit crept in, and the Italian targeted-attacks began to grind down the Americans’ resolve – the fans at home were fed-up with the US’s poor showing and wanted to withdraw from the competition, and bring the players home. Most of the Italians however, couldn’t decide which side they were on.
What we got was bloodthirsty stalemate.
analogous sarcasm off
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The French proved exactly where sitting on your laurels and trying coast through games will get you. Nowhere.
Well done Korea for playing for the full ninety, and proving that the French team are a bunch of over-the-hill show ponies who think they only need show up to win.
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I see Brazil flattered to deceive again. I could say that they are warming up, and that they’ll hit their grove for the next stage, but to be honest they looked ordinary, and they haven’t faced an Italy or Holland, never mind an Argentina.
Brazil has the attacking players for sure, but have neither the form nor the strength in depth to trouble a really good side.
Watching the France v Korea game, and the frogs look sharper than they did last week.
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Below is my response to an article, here, on the Guardian’s World Cup Blog.
I started off thinking this article was premature, what with only a single game having been played by most sides, and the reality with blogs, and their insatiable desire for comment, is that we will be swamped with similar straining commentaries laced with hyperbole. However, I think Mr. Prior has a point about successful modern football sides.
Unity and harmony are increasingly overshadowing the ‘Galactico’ mentality. Greece won Euro 2004 with a serious lack of individual brilliance, yet a distinct sense of collectiveness. Football Marxism, I guess we should call it. And Riquelme is indeed a perfect example of the modern playmaker, a strategic fulcrum yes, but still predominantly a team player. Although it must be said, Zidane was not always a clueless waster, he was much more effective when he played with less ego and more team awareness. Riquelme would be wise to learn from Zizou’s mistakes.
Barcelona of course won the Champions League with a side full of individual stars, yet the last two victors, Liverpool and Porto, were disciplined and highly motivated units, where individual skill complemented their collective strategic strengths. The same could not be said of Brazil or France, both of whom are about forcing conflicting individual talents into any formation that will fit.
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