DAN's world cup newsletter vol. 3
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England, Brazil, Germany, United States, South Korea, Spain, Senegal, Turkey.
There we have the quarter final line-ups from the last world cup. Hardly gets you excited does it. It is more notable for those absent than for those present. Indeed, it reminds me of the man whose mother-in-law died and he had to pay the funeral expenses. Initial happiness followed by an empty disappointment. Now feast your eyes on this little lot:
Argentina, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, England, Portugal, France, Brazil
Mmmmm nice!!!
That’s more like it boys, no shitty African and Asian teams, but packed to the rafters with European and South African quality! This is what I hoped to see when the tournament kicked off.
Anyway, back to how all this came about. At the time of the last newsletter the tournament had started with great promise and we had seen some excellent games. On the same day as you received Volume 2 the Argies put on a master class against the Ethnic Cleansers. This was a display of football with no comparison and Cambiasso’s goal has to rank as one of the best ever, bar none. I don’t know if this affected the other teams on a psychological level but the quality of the football dipped alarmingly on the weekend following the Argies stupendous display. Indeed I would go as far as to say that the early promise faded away as the group matches came to a close and sitting through some of the games became something of a chore rather than a joy!
The groups ended with most of the top teams through. Notable failures were Poland, Croatia and the Czechs. Poland were piss poor throughout. Croatia came close but their inability to put the little Japs to the sword cost them dear. The Czechs failed because I had a few quid on them (and maybe the early loss of Koller), notwithstanding their complacency when playing Ghana. The other side of this coin is of course, the little boys who made it through. Ecuador did well to qualify and played some good stuff, although admittedly, against inferior opponents. Ghana took advantage of the Czech overconfidence and totally dismantled the disorganized Czechs. (Good for Wales in the upcoming qualifiers. Remember what we did to an Italian team just after an equally ignoble exit from a world cup.) The Aussies snatched second place from the Croats although any team managed by Hiddinck should be approached with some caution.
With very little time to draw breath we leapt in to the second round. The first two games were real crackers. Germany were far too good for the Swedes and showed what a limited team the Swedes are these days. Ballack and Frings are as good a midfield duo as you will find anywhere. Having heard that Gerrard and Lampard are the best midfielders in the world for the last six months it has come as a bit of a surprise to see these two square-headed, sausage merchants totally out-perform them. Content as I was after this game the evening’s entertainment got better with the Speedy Gonzales’ against the Argies. Having seen Argentina play pretty football for the first 3 games we saw a hard-nosed, determined Argentina in this game, topped off by another potential goal of the century from Maxi Rodriguez.
Lulled into a false sense of security and a general feeling of bon homie at the quality of Saturday’s football I was subjected to Sunday’s fare. England were poor but beat what was put in front of them in a very tedious affair. Poland and Holland played out a remarkable game which was high on astonishment and incredulity but low on football. What is it with Russian officials, poor decisions and world cups? Granted, there was some amusement at the whole farce but I did feel cheated out of a game of football.
Monday came and the promise of more tedium was fulfilled by two forgettable games. Italy were well on top against the Aussies when the ref cheated me once again!! Materazzi was inexplicably sent off and the Eyties retreated into their defensive shell. The Aussies looked limited and never really threatened and although the penalty was highly dubious, I felt that the best team had won and justice had not only been done, but had been seen to be done! Switzerland and Ukraine served up as dull a game as you’re likely to see. Half way through the second half I went to the kitchen to watch the dishes drying on the draining board. It was much more interesting than watching two teams determined not to risk anything. Ukraine won the penalty shootout and I would strongly recommend that if the Swiss are going to play for 0-0 then they should spend a bit of time practising penalties!!
Tuesday was better, thankfully. Yet again the Brazilians underperformed but ran out convincing winners. Yes their defence looks dodgy, yes their forward line looks slow and podgy, yes they keep winning and scoring great goals. It is well for us to remember that an unfit, sluggish Ronaldo has scored as many goals as Van Nistlerooy, Shevchenko and Rooney combined! The best game of the day was the Frogs and the Sombreros. Spain looked good on the ball but had little to offer in front of goal. France on the other hand packed the midfield and the defence and looked very dangerous on the break. Zidane has still got plenty to offer but the two players who caught my eye were Sagnol and Riberry as the Spaniards went meekly to their inevitable collapse.
Which brings us back to where Volume 3 started; the quarter finals.
Argentina and Germany has had me salivating for days. In many ways this one is too close to call with both having impressed so far. Germany have played some excellent football with the midfield and attack looking particularly good. If the Argies can keep the Hun at bay for the first half hour I suspect they’ll go on to win. However if the Germans start as they’ve done in most of their games and get an early lead we may see the end of Argentina in the competition. I predict a victory for the Argies as they probably have more quality throughout the side than the Krauts.
If you’re going to miss one of the quarters I strongly suggest that Ukraine, Italy is the one to miss. Both are defensively minded and are unlikely to go for the win. Italy do look a well drilled outfit but in Luca Toni they’ve found another striker from the Inzaghi school of striking. He gets in all the right positions but faced with a goal somehow contrives to blast the ball over the bar. After the initial abomination against the Spanish the Chicken Kievs have settled down and look a very difficult team to beat. Despite this I fancy the Italians to win by the odd goal.
England and Portugal have been slow starters and haven’t really got the juices going yet. This is the game when both will have to start playing some football. This is another one that’s difficult to call, mainly because we haven’t seen either perform yet. England should fancy themselves but their inability to hold on to the ball will always leave them vulnerable. Portugal are the better footballing team but the loss of several players through injury and suspension leaves them weakened. However in Big Phil they have a manager who knows what it takes to win world cup games and maybe his nous will see Portugal through to the semis. As it is my duty to predict I’ll go for a narrow Portuguese victory, maybe a penalty shootout.
Brazil France is a replay of the 1998 final, but I suspect that this one will be a lot closer. Brazil have coasted into the quarters without breaking sweat. They haven’t needed to be at the top of their game and they’ve fallen short of the sort of performance we all hoped for before the tournament. However there is always the threat that they’ll suddenly burst into life. France on the other hand have improved as the tournament has progressed. Against Spain they showed that they are once again a serious threat and have the players to beat any team. If Brazil start with a beefier midfield with the likes of Silva I think they’ll win. If on the other hand we see a lightweight, sexy football midfield then I fancy the French will out-muscle the Brazilians and we’ll see plenty of little balls played through to the galloping, onrushing Riberry. It is a difficult one to call, as much depends on the team Brazil select but I’ll go for Brazil!
As a postscript to Volume 3, I have a message for you to pass on to the naggers and doubters who keep saying “it’s only a game” and “when will all this end”. (Obviously this is aimed at the womenfolk in our lives. My good wife has been proudly sporting her Football Widow tee shirt as well as endless shakes of the head and loud sighs.) The esteemed novelist and playwright J.B. Priestly wrote the following in his novel The Good Companions and this should be quoted whenever the above, imbecilic comments are made:
To say that these men paid their shillings to watch twenty-two hirelings kick a ball is merely to say that a violin is wood and catgut, that Hamlet is so much paper and ink. For a shilling the Bruddersford United AFC offered you Conflict and Art.
Hope you enjoy the quarter finals and I’ll send the next volume before the semis.
Dan.