Before I go into my thoughts on today’s game, I just want to point out that Diego Forlan is a class act:
But it isn’t merely as a player in the family trade that Forlán impresses. He was 13, and undecided about pursuing soccer or tennis as a career, when his older sister, Alejandra, was paralyzed in a car crash. The young Diego told her in the hospital that he would become an important soccer player and earn enough to ensure that she had a good quality of life.
Does anyone else get the impression that Clint Dempsey and Mesut Oezil are long lost siblings?
You really have to admire Carles Puyol; not merely for the stunning goal, but his defense throughout the game and especially at the end. He got hammered by Mesut Oezil, splayed out across the ground and instead of laying there, jumped straight back up to protect his team’s goal.
Regarding the goal, Roberto Martinez nailed it on ESPN: the steady diet of short corners and the presence of Andres Iniesta near Xavi drew three defenders towards them, freeing up a lurking and unmarked Puyol to run five yards and blast the ball into the net with his head with all the force brought to bear with his momentum. It appeared that the Germans forgot he was playing . . .
Watching the Spanish players maintain possession throughout the game was a thing of beauty. It seemed that nearly every time they touched the ball they knew exactly what they wanted to do next – and usually did just that.
Pedro played quite well during most of the game, but his selfishness at the end prevented the game from being put away. I don’t know if Vicente del Bosque was trying to send him a message when he subbed him out, but I hope Pedro interpreted it that way.
This tidbit from ESPN:
Xavi completed 105 passes, becoming just the eighth player to complete at least 100 passes since 1966. The midfielder also had seven chances created, bringing his tournament-leading total to 25. With his
performance, Xavi now has 509 completed passes, becoming the second player to complete 500 passes at a single World Cup. Brazil’s Dunga, who completed 589 in 1994, is the other.
As I had mentioned before, Germany and Spain are probably the cleanest clubs in the tournament and today was no different: no cautions for either team and less than ten fouls for either side in today’s game.
That being said, Jerome Boateng got away with one against Sergio Ramos that should have resulted in a free kick in a dangerous area early on.
David Villa may have had his worst game of the World Cup today. I don’t think he’s too upset.
I believe that the Spaniards played the sort of game that they wanted to play and that the Germans detested. Possession in the first half appeared to throw the Germans off their game. Towards the end of the game, when the play seemed more end-to-end, Spain still pressed strongly, burning valuable time and forcing more attackers to track back and defend. The most memorable example of that was when Lukas Podolski had tracked back to make a desperation lunge against a breakaway by Sergio Ramos. Kudos for Podolski for his efforts, but it’s not the most effective use of one of your best forwards to defend against your opponent’s right back late in the game when you’re down 1-0.
That’s four clean sheets for Iker Casillas. All is forgiven.
Tokyokie
I still can’t understand how Switzerland beat Spain.
By the way, my wife’s co-worker today was deriding the football tradition of exchanging jerseys after a match, and I countered that it’s a nice display of sportsmanship and a lovely tradition. Any idea how long they’ve been doing it? I’ve seen it in every World Cup to which I’ve paid attention, but it’s not like I’m an expert.
Mark S.
If Spain could score they’d be the greatest team ever. Still, they control that midfield like nobody’s business. They should win it all on Sunday, undoubtedly 1-0 like all their games have gone.
JenJen
I was actually just watching the match again when you put this post up. Puyol’s goal is just stunning and powerful. Not really sure Schweini could have even done anything about that. Xavi’s kick was just perfectly placed, and Puyol practically took out Pique, he jumped and headed with such gusto.
I agree about David Villa; there was one very promising breakaway late in the match that was well-defended by Arne Friedrich. As you said, I don’t think he was feeling too bad the rest of the night. ;-) He’s had the tournament of his dreams, I’ll bet. I did think sending Torres in for Villa with 10 minutes left in the match was an odd decision, though; fresh legs up front, sure, but you wouldn’t think Villa would’ve been the choice to come out, and Pedro’s mistake came almost immediately after. Any thoughts on that?
I’m thrilled about the final! La Furia Roja for me, but it’s always fun to have two teams in the final that you really enjoy and admire.
Let the post-World Cup depression begin to set in. :-(
JCJ
Kraken kann man immer glauben!
JenJen
Also, Randinho, in case I forget to say it before the Final, I’ve just loved your posts before and throughout the World Cup. Thought your voice was a terrific feature and addition to a blog I already loved.
Thank you for putting so much into your posts. I’ve learned a lot, and your insights made the matches all the more enjoyable. Hope it was as fun for you as it was for us!!
cmorenc
I agree that Diego Forlan is such a wonderfully talented player and attractive, positive person that he almost succeeds in making Uruguay an attractive underdog to pull for. That’s almost as in, not enough to counterbalance the unattractive bunker-mode defensive soccer style Uruguay is often all too ready to shift into, and the much less attractive, unsporting way they saved the game against Ghana.
But Diego Forlan is a class act, as player, as person.
Mark S.
@Tokyokie:
This article claims the first jersey swap was in 1931 but didn’t really become standard practice until later. Pele and Bobby Moore’s swap is certainly the most famous.
gizmo
I’m new to soccer, so I’m a bit puzzled by all the negative reaction to the hand ball by the Uruguayan player late in their match with Ghana. First of all, he was being fired at from point blank range, and it would seem a normal human reaction to shield one’s face. Second, there is a penalty for a hand ball, and Ghana blew the resulting penalty kick. Am I missing something here? Perhaps there is some unspoken code of soccer morality that some of us are unaware of?
JenJen
@Tokyokie: As a matter of fact, NYT had a nice piece about the tradition of Jersey Swaps just yesterday.
Thoroughly Pizzled
@gizmo: It was still a dickish thing to do, especially since Suarez has been bragging about it.
Jaim
If by “dickish thing” you mean “the correct thing,” then we agree.
jwb
@gizmo: I have a similar reaction, though I think that’s at least in part due to the fact that we’re used to wide receivers being mugged in the endzone and takedown fouls in basketball. As many have pointed out, however, goals are much more valuable in soccer and the culture has evolved somewhat differently. Given the outrage, it seems clear that this is simply something that isn’t done in soccer, even if it is a completely rational play. I suspect that it’s also made a bit worse in this case because it was more or less the last play of the game and so Uruguay did not have to suffer the other part of the red card, which is to play a man down for the remainder of the match. As for the shielding of the face, there was nothing in the reaction here that suggested to me the player was doing anything other than knocking down the ball.
handsmile
@ Randinho
Would you be willing to expand upon your observation regarding Dempsey and Oezil?
To me, Dempsey has always seemed a classic “poacher”: quick, guileful, potentially lethal, but frequently absent from the run of play. Oezil, to whose play I was introduced in South Africa, seemed consistently engaged in both offensive and defensive roles, with keen flashes of footballing intelligence that belied his youth. (His performance at the World Cup will almost surely earn him passage from Werder Bremen to a more prominent club where his developing skills can be better assessed.)
Or..um…am I being thick-witted here and you were merely making a joke about their respective facial features? If so, did Peter Lorre father both players?
Also, you are a scholar and a gentleman for acknowledging and atoning for your heresy on San Iker Casillas.
amorphous
Oh look! The Times-Union getting a link for something other than wonderful New York State politics!
handsmile
@JenJen:
Prescription to combat post-World Cup depression:
The 2010-11 season for the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga et al. all begin next month. Qualification matches for the 2012 European Championship begin in September. Call your cable provider, as the ads say. (Which explains the above Eurocentrism.)
And of course, those football websites on the intertubes are always pushing their smack.
The key is to determine how severe your symptoms are and how much medicine to take. There can be severe side effects.
Tokyokie
@Mark S.:
Thanks. I’ll tell the spousal unit.
PanAmerican
@Tokyokie:
Same way the US beat them. Get numbers behind the ball, force them wide and counter like the devil is on your heels. The Germans had no urgency or bite in their attack. Certainly they missed Mueller and Spain stepped up but Loew should take some pipe here. His team came out flat and was tactically moribund.
Tokyokie
@JenJen:
Bah. Already behind the pay wall. But I’ll find it. Thanks.
Tokyokie
@PanAmerican:
Well I know that the Swiss manager studied the USA-Spain film extensively. You’d think others might have given those games a look and adopted their tactics. Nothing else has worked.
Jim in Chicago
The Germans deserved to lose. They could have taken the game to Spain from the get-go the way they did after they were scored on. How a team that scored 4 goals in 3 different games could be content to play the entire game in their own end is beyond me. Spain did give the ball away now and then and Germany did absolutely nothing with their opportunities.
Here’s hoping the Dutch take THEIR game to the Spanish and make a real match of it! (Given the iffiness of Holland’s central defense, I think they would have no choice….)
JenJen
@handsmile: Great suggestions. After 2006, I caught the fever pretty bad, and became a fan of Premier League, but after a season of that felt cured. This year, though, I have it so much worse, and I think I may just be a fan for life despite having foolishly fought it all these years. The Rojas are to blame for my complete conversion, and I now worship at the Church of David Villa (and San Iker Casillas!) Count me in for La Liga, where it would appear all of my football crushes, er, favorites seem to play.
What are some of the better sites to visit to get my fix after Sunday?
@Tokyokie: Didn’t think NYT’s had a pay wall since the laughable “NYT Select” experiment? It’s a great read and I think you’ll enjoy it, so I do hope you can find it somewhere.
FlipYrWhig
IMHO this semifinal was massively less fun to watch than the other one. I don’t think I had seen any other games with Spain; I had seen Germany twice and been very impressed with their skill… and it was just utterly absent in this game. This was one of those games where both teams keep poking the ball forwards and then kicking it back, without those breakaways that made the other Germany games entertaining. It just looked to me like neither side was trying to advance the ball down the field. (Spain eventually got there, but I’m not sure Germany ever did. How many shots did they have? Five?)
Is my impression on target? If so, is that sluggishness a tribute to Spain’s defense? Or did Germany just choke?
FlipYrWhig
Also, why did Uruguay take out Forlan near the end of the game, and Spain do the same thing with Villa? Wouldn’t you want your best players on the field in the closing moments when the outcome was still _slightly_ in doubt? The Cardinals don’t pinch-hit for Pujols when they’re winning 5-3. I know there’s more of a tiredness factor at the end of soccer matches than in baseball, but I was very surprised to see that.
KRK
I second JenJen’s thanks for your posts, Randinho. This has been great.
I was rooting for Germany today, but can’t feel too badly about the outcome. As you say, it was great to see a game without a single card. And it’ll be nice to have a new winner this year. On the other hand, curse you, Paul!
Mark S.
I don’t get a pay wall when I click the NYT link.
Paula
@handsmile:
That’s how I interpreted this …
[However, for some reason I find Oezil really adorable, like he should be fed some milk and cookies after the game. Dempsey seems like you wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. Of course, I think there’s about 4-6 years’ age diff, right?]
Paula
@FlipYrWhig:
I think there was some trepidation on Germany’s part, but in all honesty to say they “choked” is giving too little credit to Spain’s passing game. They really do have amazing control and it didn’t seem to matter that Germany could run fast or be aggressive at times — whenever Spain got the ball, they were going to run it down with a lot of precision and strike dangerously. It’s pretty tiring if you’re the other team.
Calouste
@Paula:
Well, it is tiring if you are chasing the ball, and certainly if you are chasing the ball too far up front. But in my experience of watching the Dutch team play this kind of football for a few decades, the trick is to not chase the ball too much unless it is at least 10-15 meters inside your own half. The simple reason is that you don’t create too many chances from 35-40 meters out. Let them pass around the ball along the centre line it doesn’t do any harm (Spain had like what, 5 shots in the first half, 1 or 2 of them might actually have been within 5 meters of the woodwork). Catch them when they come forward, make them play the ball back to their own half. No points are awarded for ball possession. Germany were chasing the ball too close to the center line, that costs too much energy.
Inter (with Sneijder) beat Barcelona (with half the Spanish team) fairly effectively in the Champions League semifinal despite only having 32% possession.
Yutsano
The octopus still rules. That is all.
Andy K
@FlipYrWhig: @Jim in Chicago:
Counterattacking Germany, when playing a ball-possession team the calibre of Spain, is in a bind. Germany is great at taking advantage of another team’s mistakes in the midfield, transitioning quickly for a scoring chance against a disorganized defense.
Look back at the Germany-Argentina game: After poaching the early goal (3rd minute), the Germans sat on a one goal lead and waited to capitalize on an Argentine mistake. It took an 65 minutes to add the next goal, because Argentina had begun to press more. Then Argentina started bringing more players forward and gave up two more goals in 21 minutes.
So Spain had three advantages that Germany’s previous victims didn’t have: More patience, more talent, and more men back.
georgia pig
@Andy K: That’s pretty much correct. The Spanish defense was superb and worked in concert with their very strong midfield possession game. The absence of Muller probably hindered them, but Germany could never really get going on counterattack because the Spanish defenders would simply break up a pass and their midfielders would immediately re-establish possession. You didn’t see a lot of Germany repeatedly regaining possession in the Spanish end after a poor clear. Analogizing to basketball, the Spanish are really good at preventing the secondary break, i.e., the second run that follows a weak initial stop by the defense. To beat them you have to have to take the risk of pushing aggressively forward with numbers. The Germans started doing that near the end, but seemed to settle for dumping the ball in front of the goal and expecting their taller guys to win headers. That may have been because they were tired or had become influenced by the Spanish ball control, but that simply allowed the Spaniards to pack in the defense around the goal. The more aggressive push also opened things up for counters by the Spaniards, and the Germans were kind of lucky that the Spaniards didn’t score a couple of more goals on a couple of clear breakaways. BTW, that may be why they subbed Torres for Villa, the coach thought Torres might be fresher and better suited to finish off one of those breakaways.
Looks like you have to take risks and be lucky to beat Spain. You need to push forward aggressively and try to get an early goal. If you stay back and wait for a counter, they will wear you down. There may be something in the makeup of the Germans that prevented them from doing the former, but Holland seems capable of taking that approach. However, that can backfire and lead to an early Spanish goal, which can really put you in a hole. Spain plays the percentages and plays them well. They don’t always win, but they will win most of the time.
stormhit
@gizmo:
No, you’re totally right, and there is no soccer specific stigma against it. The opposite, in fact. There’s a reason that none of the outrage came from the players on Ghana, and that’s because that type of situation is not at all thought of as unsportsmanlike for anyone that’s ever played the game.
cmorenc
@stormhit
Then why is DOGSO-Handling very specifically mentioned in the FIFA “Laws of the Game” as within the severe class of offenses for which a player must be sent off (expelled, red-carded) from that game, and his team must play down one player for the rest of the game? Another consequence is that the perp is also suspended from playing in at least his team’s next game in the competition, banished even from sitting with the team on its bench.
BTW, for those not familiar with soccer’s official rulebook, it is vastly more spare and short than that of just about any other sport, stripped to essentials, depending to an immense extent on people’s experience with the sport to fill in a vast amount of implicit interpretation needed to implement them. For DOGSO-handling to be specifically mentioned in the section on “disciplinary sanctions” is noteworthy in such a spartan document.
I’d agree that getting a red card for accumulating two yellows in the same game carries far less intrinsic stigma, even though it has the same technical consequences as one of the other offenses justifying a straight red, and that players take context hugely into consideration in whether they regard the perp’s actions in getting a card as an unfortunate break, stupidity, or else reprehensible conduct to be ashamed of. But a field player batting away the only goal of the match, late in the game – is in the class of reprehensible cheats, and Suarez will forever carry the stigma of a cheat in the eyes of many other players, even if not by all.
Pointy Stick
@cmorenc:
It is precisely *because* the rulebook provides a sanction against Suarez’s play that there is no stigma against it in the game; there is a prescribed punishment for the infraction; Suarez paid the price; and but for a blown attempt by Gyan justice would have been served.
There is in soccer the concept of the “professional foul,” after all (such as the deliberate fouling of a player about to get free for a breakaway) and its practice is recognized, even somewhat respected. The only stigma I’m aware of derives from reckless, irresponsible play that can lead to injury or, of course, the deliberate intent to injure.
If Suarez really was bragging after the fact, that’s certainly unseemly, but the foul itself? Professional.
Randy Paul
@handsmile: The way they look with the huge eyes.
Randinho
JenJen and KRK: Thanks for the kind words.
Eastriver: I warned you the last time you were trying to bait me after I disemvoweled your trolling comments that any similar comments would be deleted. I’m a man of my word. I also have a low tolerance for trolls.
handsmile
@JenJen: (I do hope you are still reading this thread…)
My sympathies on the recurrence of your illness. As your own experience reveals, an initial bout of fever does not inoculate one from future and even more debilitating outbreaks. Regular attendance at services at the Church of your choice (I myself am a parishioner at Sts. Iniesta and Kuyt) may offer solace but not salvation.
Opportunities to watch football matches from the comfort of your own couch are constrained by geographical location and cable television availability. Fox Soccer Channel presents several Premier League and Serie A games each week, as well as occasional broadcasts from Brazil and Argentina. The pay-for-view service Setanta Sports offers a mouth-watering menu of matches from across the planet, but costs to an individual consumer (rather than a sports bar) can be prohibitive. (Note: I don’t want live matches from my computer, so am unfamiliar with options with that medium.)
As to football websites, I cannot recommend highly enough the Guardian newspaper’s “guardian.co.uk/football.” Their contributors offer brilliant writing, superb analysis and, perhaps most importantly, howling wit and irreverence. Along with John Cole’s estimable blog, Atrios, TalkingPointsMemo, and Digby, the Guardian is an essential part of my daily dosage.
Other comprehensive and worthwhile sites are “skysports.com” and “goal.com.” Jonathan Wilson and Rafael Honigstein peddle high-grade dope at “sportsillustrated.cnn.com.” Also, “goal.blogs.nytimes.com” features fine writing but content dries up between tournaments.
Your illness will have progressed beyond all hope of cure or redemption once you find yourself devouring the posts at “zonalmarking.net.”
See you at the meetings of Football Addicts Anonymous!
handsmile
@Paula:
Re Oezil: as cuddly as a cobra, methinks. Only 22, he was a break-out star with the German U21 squad and was widely touted as among the young players to watch at the World Cup. Certainly he seems to have deserved the praise.
Clint Dempsey, rightfully a character from a Cormac McCarthy novel, is all of 27. Flecks of grey no doubt appear in his grizzled visage. In my meanderings through the ‘tubes, I came across an item that Berlusconi’s plaything, AC Milan, will be submitting a bid to Fulham for Dempsey’s mischievous services.
Paul in KY
As a soccer tyro who watched the game, I didn’t think Germany appeared as ‘up’ as they were against Argentina.
Not all players exchange jerseys on field. Mr. Puyols kept his, I noticed.
Patrick
The Swiss and Americans beat Spain by forcing them wide and heading away their crosses. Germany did the same, but inexplicably, couldn’t defend crosses. I know the ESPN guys said they were crazed by short corners, but Spain didn’t really do that at all. Puyols had a better chance very early. For some reason, the best heading team in history couldn’t beat Spain for a header. The goal was actually the 3rd free header in the box for Spain.
Germany lost in the air at both ends. Pique’s best game so far.
America’s victory last Summer looks much better now than it did two weeks ago LOL
The USA is fast and can score. Germany without Mueller is not very fast. Especially, if Lahm is pinned and Boateng had the ball the whole first half.
That's Master of Accountancy to You, Pal (JMN)
@Pointy Stick:
Did he? This is a problem with a penalty that involves having to sit out the rest of the game: there was no rest of the game in this instance. Uruguay never had to play a man short. It seems very odd that the penalty had he done this in the first few seconds of the game would have been much more severe than doing it when he did.
handsmile
@Calouste:
You raise intriguing points (a regular aspect of your posts) with the results of the InterMilan v. Barcelona Champions League semifinal, as well as the reliance of Spanish coach del Bosque upon Barcelona teammates in his starting XI (seven, if one includes Villa).
I would suggest, however, that the comparison offers but limited illumination to Spain’s World Cup final with Holland.
The individual and collective talents of InterMilan’s fearsome back line and defensive midfield are of an order of magnitude significantly greater than what the Netherlands can muster for its squad. (As has been noted by a vast multitude of football aficionados, Argentina’s fortunes in South Africa would have surely prospered had IM’s Zanetti and Cambassio been selected for the team (and Walter Samuel not been injured after the match with South Korea)).
The success of the Spanish team is predicated upon preternatural abilities with and without the ball. The foreknowledge and trust obtained by frequent collaboration as partners for club and country enhance these skills. Their perpetual motion and ball passing while in possession and their commitment to pressurizing opponents to reclaim it should dismantle the Dutch formation on Sunday.
Randy Paul
@JCJ: Bestimmt! Wirklich!
ibid
@stormhit:
John Pantsil said Ghana players wouldn’t have done what Suarez did, and that the ref should have just awarded them the goal (apparently unaware of the actual rules of the game).
And I don’t know how anyone who has been following this can say there is no stigma against what Suarez did. If it’s so widely accepted that this isn’t unsportsmanlike conduct, why is there such a big debate about it? And isn’t the fact that it warrants the most severe punishment a ref can give an indication that it is something that is seen as an exceptionally heinous violation of the rules? You can get a red card for violent conduct, but does that mean there is no stigma against violent conduct because there is a specific punishment for that sort of behavior in the rules? Getting a straight red card means you did (or allegedly did) something that violates the spirit of the game, beyond what the basic rules state. You can still argue that it was a smart move by Suarez, but that doesn’t mean that everyone is going to consider his actions to be an acceptable part of the game.
I see it as not being so different than what Henry did against Ireland, other than getting caught. If the ref somehow missed the handball, and consequently Ghana didn’t even get an attempt at a penalty, then everyone would be talking about how they cheated to advance (and more so if Suarez played a decisive role in the semifinal when he should have been suspended). And I doubt Suarez would have admitted to the ref what he had done. I think the game was decided fairly, and if you miss a penalty you can’t really complain. But I think it’s safe to say that when Suarez intentionally violated the rules, he would have preferred to get away with it. Without getting into a semantic debate about the meaning of “cheating”, I think it does fall into the same category of Henry’s handball. If you disapprove of what Henry did, then you should disapprove of Suarez’s actions as well, or conversely, if you think Suarez was shrewd or displayed an admirable presence of mind, you have to say the same about Henry.
DBaker
@FlipYrWhig: Also, why did Uruguay take out Forlan near the end of the game
He had a thigh injury.
Paula
Hmm. The Swiss coach said similar things to ya’ll — in addition to being inspired by the USA — in planning for their Spain match.
Alas, I have inherited the inferiority complex that comes with being an American fan of the USMNT. I attribute all of our victories to luck and poor play from the other team rather than, maybe — just maybe — good planning and scouting and taking advantage of our (relatively few) strengths.
Funny thing about football sickness. Four years ago I was able to watch the semis because I was home sick w/ an allergic reaction to some medicine. For the last couple of days, a bad cough forced me to stay home and so I was (again) able to catch up on the semis I recorded on the DVR. World Cup fever is real, peeps. I will be both sad and relieved that it will be over soon, as it means I have to return to my regular life of catching the (odd) match on FSC rather than planning all waking non-work hours around watching blocks and blocks of ESPN recordings.
handsmile, I’m mostly not taking seriously any reports from the rumor mill re USA staff until actually confirmed (didja hear ’bout Bob Bradley coaching Fulham??), but if Deuce to AC Milan is troo I will have 2 reasons to try and catch Serie A. (I think lingering bitterness about our 2006 match w/ Italy rendered me averse to all Italian soccer.)
Finally, I’ll add my thanks to Randy Paul for the posts, too. It’s been fun, ya’ll.
Jim in Chicago
I would be worried about Dempsey getting lost at a big club like AC Milan the way Donovan got buried at Beyern. I think Deuce has a perfect niche at Fullham. Everton was a perfect fit for Donovan, I hope they are able to acquire his services during this month’s transfer window.
ibid
@Jim in Chicago:
As a Fulham and USA fan, I hope you’re right. I would agree with your assessment, but I’m a bit biased in favor of Dempsey staying put. Of course, they said the same thing about Hodgson, and that didn’t stop him from going to Liverpool. I don’t know what I’d do if Dempsey played for Berlusconi’s team.
Bill Murray
@Patrick:
I think this was because of how Germany defended the corners. They certanly didn’t mark Puyol very hard (if at all) at the 18. Villa was blocking the area where the nearest zonal marker was and Puyol had an open 5 yard run to the ball. Which is why I prefer at least some man marking — there shouldn’t be any free runs to the ball by players that are very good headers of the ball.
brad
I recall listening to a sports talk guy here in Seattle drone on after the USMNT was eliminated in 02. He went through a list of the relative heights of the Chech and the US teams and concluded that only by having taller players could the US ever be competitive. Of course he equated size with athleticism as one who covers NBA NFL would. The Spain v Germany match displayed just how wrong this idea is. Xavi simply ran circles around Sweinsteiger who was so important to the German success.
Another factor was an artificial quality attributed to the Germans because they scored so many goals. Australia looked slow and old. Serbia controlled the tempo and beat Germany. When a team goes down in a match it’s not unusual to let in a second goal as a result of having to push forward. Then a third or fourth might come easily as the situation is more desperate. See Argentina. I would have liked to have seen what the England match might have looked like had Lampard’s goal counted. Coming back from 2 nil gives a team quite a lift. Not sure it would have made too much difference to an England team that was slow in the back and tactically aimless.
JenJen
@handsmile: I AM still reading this thread!! But I met you aren’t. :-(
Thanks so much for such a great post, and for making me smile. I’m looking forward to this disease being chronic, after all!
Luckily, I have FSC, and all of the ESPN’s except ESPN Deportes, which I heard is going to be broadcasting La Liga this season?
I’ve bookmarked this thread, and those sites, and I thank you so, so much. You’re awesome. :-)
Randinho
Don’t forget Gol TV, which carries the Bundesliga and La Liga in Spain.
Bill Murray
and Fox Soccer Plus if your area has it. ESPN carried some EPL and La Liga after Setanta went bankrupt, or whatever the proper business term for what happened is
Jim in Chicago
@Bill Murray:
During an earlier WC game one of the announcers had a good line about zonal defending on set pieces: “Why mark space? Space never scored a goal.”
JenJen
@Randinho: @Bill Murray: Hmmm. Maybe it’s time for me to go with satellite TV?