June 10.
Damp Squib.
P for Paraguay, P for Paredes, P for pedestrian. England played worse than Poland yesterday, creating nothing of substance, seemingly going through the motions.
They were lucky that the goal came off a fortuitous deflection.
Thereafter the game was eminently forgettable with England's lack of creative nous and Paraguay's haphazard defending coupled with their poor first touch contributing to absolute drivel. Peter Crouch was most unlucky to concede 6 fouls and pick up a yellow card. Perhaps being a tall presence is not such an advantage after all. Paredes was lucky to remain on the field after his spoilport and lame histrionics outdid even his shambolic performance with the ball at his feet. England limped to the win, Paraguay were a shambles.
As exquisite as David Beckham's free kick delivery was, what point is there of having a 6'7" target man if the best you can do is one deflection off an opposing defender. On the other hand despite their amateur ball control and distribution, Paraguay did have some decent chances, Nelson Valdez's rasping volley blazing just wide of Robinson's right hand post. The heat definitely was a factor but even that could not mask the absolute lack of drive or energy in this game.
In football there are 2 very important parts of the pitch where most of the play originates and culminates, the 2 rectangles that sit just in front of the 2 penalty areas. They extend as wide as the touchlines and are about 15 yards long. It is in these patches of grass that attacks start and are finalised. Often times if there is poor distribution or bad coverage by a team in these areas, they struggle to create much in attack. In this game both England and Paraguay were shambolic in their buildup. The prepenalty areas resembled a battlefield and both teams laboured to establish any sort of order over this zone. As a result the play was mostly limp, unwatchable and downright diabolical. Perhaps due to the lack of a natural ball winner or anchor on both sides, perhaps due to the lack of a true playmaker, perhaps it was the heat...
Endnotes:
Owen Hargreaves did come on as expected - much to the delight of several watching Canadians in his birthplace of Calgary, Alberta. You gotta love the Canadian bent of Sportsnet !
England 1 - Gamarra (og)
Paraguay 0
------------------------------------------------------
They love Soca.
Often in professional sport, honest effort and simplicity make up for a lack of talent and tactical nous. Furthermore, in football, organisation and hard work, however naive, often thwart superior class and pedigree.
Do the simple things right, play hard and keep it tight. With just those words and nothing more Trinidad and Tobago were sent out by coach Leo Beenhakker to meet Sweden. It should have ended 3-0 or 4-0, such was Sweden's dominance and such was the one-sided passage of play, but for all their craft and guile Sverige just could not produce a final, telling play and T&T stood firm. To put their achievement into better perspective, Trinidad had lost their starting goalie with a freak injury just before the start and then ALSO had a player sent off at the start of the second half. Of course regular fans of West Ham may consider Shaka Hislop to be a better custodian than Kelvin Jack - I would tend to agree - but the fact remains that for a limited outfit like the Trinidadians, the loss of a starting goalie is damaging enough to morale, leave alone personnel.
Goalless at the interval, so it finished at the final whistle. Sweden, exasperated at the inability to squeeze through, the Soca Warriors, ecstatic at having avoided a humbling. Larsson, Ljungberg, Allback and Ibrahimovic were industrious in their buildup, some of which was breathtakingly creative, and prolific in their shooting at net, but Hislop held firm, parrying, punching, blocking and holding onto everything.
In fact if Sweden had been playing a more highly regarded team they would have probably won, since their oponents would have played according to the script, but T&T held firm and despite a few comically naive moments managed to put a wrench in the Swedish works. Paraguay might be licking their lips in anticipation now.
Endnotes:
Nice to see Kallstrom's rather Varangian pony tail, unique and eccentric both in it's fashion style.
Across the pond, Trinidad's very own Brian Lara was leading the West Indies on Day 1 of the second Test against India at St. Lucia. That however was a right royal battering that the West Indians could not prevent. End of Day India 361/4.
Sweden 0
Trinidad and Tobago 0
-----------------------------------
Orange firecracker.
What a game! This is what football is all about. And I told you so. I have been harping about Cote D'Ivoire's propects all year. As unlucky as they are to have been drawn in the Group of Death with 3 other potential group winners, I firmly believ(ed) they are capable of going far. Dark horse nation - Ivory Coast nation baby! They aren't underdogs and could have easily won the game!
I have been awaiting this group's matches for months now, not just because of Serbia & Montenegro (whom I support as well), not just because of Holland (who are in imperious form at the moment), not just because of Argentina (who are as deep as Spain and Brazil) but mainly because I wanted to see the Ivorians unleash themselves on the worldwide football consciousness.
At the start of the tournament, Ivory Coast's defensive colossus Kolo Toure had claimed it was possible for his team to cause a few upsets and go far. nitially dismissed as naive brouhaha, it was vindicated today as the Ivory Coast produced a sparkling, gutsy performance, which although not reflected in the final scoreline, would have scared most watching fans of more established teams.
Strong in defence, pacy and zippy in attack they pushed a far stronger Argentinian team till the very end. Attacking constantly, they outplayed Argentina for large periods of the game. They had an innate feel for each other, were first to most balls and easily muscled aside the Argentinians to most 50-50 balls. On attack they were fast, fluid and menacing. If only their finishing was as clinical as the Argentinians, they would have drawn or perhaps even won.
I've been watching Toure and Eboue play for my beloved Arsenal all season and knew that they have a solid backline with the above 2 complemented by Didi Zokora and Boka 'Carlos' on the left. They were superbly marshalled by Kolo's brother Yaya and Keite in midfield and sprayed the ball around with real purpose.
I have rarely seen a team attack as single mindedly and wholistically as Ivory Coast did today (Brazil, Yugoslavia 1996-98) aside. They were constantly in Argentina's penalty area, in their half and in their faces and in their hair. Most would have expected them to sit back and let Argentina attack but those of us who know better (Cue for Myles Palmer and Ian Grant, somewhere, to smile www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk) knew they would go into this match expecting to win and would tear right into Argentina. If only their finishing was a little better....
Cote D'Ivoire's debut today was almost as explosive as Nigeria's in USA 94 when they tore a pedestrian Greek side to shreds in a 4-0 demolition. Ivory Coast were desperately unlucky today in that they came up against a very well drilled and experienced Argentinian side who were lucky to score a very, very ugly goal. No doubt Saviola's strike was a real peach of a play and would have beaten most teams, but the truth remains that Cote D'Ivoire had more possession, more corners, more shots on goal and more attack. Make no mistake, Argentina sat back and hit on the counterattack.
Argentina scored a very lucky goal when Crespo capitalised on some confusion in the D, after a deflection off Riquelme's corner, and bundled the ball home; their second goal however was superbly orchestrated - slide rule pass, one touch finish. The irony was that both goals came against the run of play.
Everytime there was a free ball there was a orange shirt on it. Everytime there was space an orange shirt raced into it with the ball. Some of their ball control was exquisite and they even threw in some cheeky backheels and pirouttes. And although they were, at times, a little naive(cliche I know) in their defending, they played a real barnstormer. Thunderous in the tackle, direct and quicksilver in their passing, they really should have had 2 goals before Drogba scored one for them.
At the end of the day they acquitted themselves well, 2-1 was a lot closer than it looks. They did me proud. Holland and Serbia, be afraid, very very afraid.
They could still make the Quarter finals - remember you read it here first.
Endnotes:
Somewhere Arsene Wenger must be licking his lips and smiling.
Good to see Diego Maradona in the stands, slimmer, livelier - obviously he's off the drugs and tobacco.
Argentina 2 - Crespo, Saviola
Ivory Coast 1 - Drogba
Damp Squib.
P for Paraguay, P for Paredes, P for pedestrian. England played worse than Poland yesterday, creating nothing of substance, seemingly going through the motions.
They were lucky that the goal came off a fortuitous deflection.
Thereafter the game was eminently forgettable with England's lack of creative nous and Paraguay's haphazard defending coupled with their poor first touch contributing to absolute drivel. Peter Crouch was most unlucky to concede 6 fouls and pick up a yellow card. Perhaps being a tall presence is not such an advantage after all. Paredes was lucky to remain on the field after his spoilport and lame histrionics outdid even his shambolic performance with the ball at his feet. England limped to the win, Paraguay were a shambles.
As exquisite as David Beckham's free kick delivery was, what point is there of having a 6'7" target man if the best you can do is one deflection off an opposing defender. On the other hand despite their amateur ball control and distribution, Paraguay did have some decent chances, Nelson Valdez's rasping volley blazing just wide of Robinson's right hand post. The heat definitely was a factor but even that could not mask the absolute lack of drive or energy in this game.
In football there are 2 very important parts of the pitch where most of the play originates and culminates, the 2 rectangles that sit just in front of the 2 penalty areas. They extend as wide as the touchlines and are about 15 yards long. It is in these patches of grass that attacks start and are finalised. Often times if there is poor distribution or bad coverage by a team in these areas, they struggle to create much in attack. In this game both England and Paraguay were shambolic in their buildup. The prepenalty areas resembled a battlefield and both teams laboured to establish any sort of order over this zone. As a result the play was mostly limp, unwatchable and downright diabolical. Perhaps due to the lack of a natural ball winner or anchor on both sides, perhaps due to the lack of a true playmaker, perhaps it was the heat...
Endnotes:
Owen Hargreaves did come on as expected - much to the delight of several watching Canadians in his birthplace of Calgary, Alberta. You gotta love the Canadian bent of Sportsnet !
England 1 - Gamarra (og)
Paraguay 0
------------------------------------------------------
They love Soca.
Often in professional sport, honest effort and simplicity make up for a lack of talent and tactical nous. Furthermore, in football, organisation and hard work, however naive, often thwart superior class and pedigree.
Do the simple things right, play hard and keep it tight. With just those words and nothing more Trinidad and Tobago were sent out by coach Leo Beenhakker to meet Sweden. It should have ended 3-0 or 4-0, such was Sweden's dominance and such was the one-sided passage of play, but for all their craft and guile Sverige just could not produce a final, telling play and T&T stood firm. To put their achievement into better perspective, Trinidad had lost their starting goalie with a freak injury just before the start and then ALSO had a player sent off at the start of the second half. Of course regular fans of West Ham may consider Shaka Hislop to be a better custodian than Kelvin Jack - I would tend to agree - but the fact remains that for a limited outfit like the Trinidadians, the loss of a starting goalie is damaging enough to morale, leave alone personnel.
Goalless at the interval, so it finished at the final whistle. Sweden, exasperated at the inability to squeeze through, the Soca Warriors, ecstatic at having avoided a humbling. Larsson, Ljungberg, Allback and Ibrahimovic were industrious in their buildup, some of which was breathtakingly creative, and prolific in their shooting at net, but Hislop held firm, parrying, punching, blocking and holding onto everything.
In fact if Sweden had been playing a more highly regarded team they would have probably won, since their oponents would have played according to the script, but T&T held firm and despite a few comically naive moments managed to put a wrench in the Swedish works. Paraguay might be licking their lips in anticipation now.
Endnotes:
Nice to see Kallstrom's rather Varangian pony tail, unique and eccentric both in it's fashion style.
Across the pond, Trinidad's very own Brian Lara was leading the West Indies on Day 1 of the second Test against India at St. Lucia. That however was a right royal battering that the West Indians could not prevent. End of Day India 361/4.
Sweden 0
Trinidad and Tobago 0
-----------------------------------
Orange firecracker.
What a game! This is what football is all about. And I told you so. I have been harping about Cote D'Ivoire's propects all year. As unlucky as they are to have been drawn in the Group of Death with 3 other potential group winners, I firmly believ(ed) they are capable of going far. Dark horse nation - Ivory Coast nation baby! They aren't underdogs and could have easily won the game!
I have been awaiting this group's matches for months now, not just because of Serbia & Montenegro (whom I support as well), not just because of Holland (who are in imperious form at the moment), not just because of Argentina (who are as deep as Spain and Brazil) but mainly because I wanted to see the Ivorians unleash themselves on the worldwide football consciousness.
At the start of the tournament, Ivory Coast's defensive colossus Kolo Toure had claimed it was possible for his team to cause a few upsets and go far. nitially dismissed as naive brouhaha, it was vindicated today as the Ivory Coast produced a sparkling, gutsy performance, which although not reflected in the final scoreline, would have scared most watching fans of more established teams.
Strong in defence, pacy and zippy in attack they pushed a far stronger Argentinian team till the very end. Attacking constantly, they outplayed Argentina for large periods of the game. They had an innate feel for each other, were first to most balls and easily muscled aside the Argentinians to most 50-50 balls. On attack they were fast, fluid and menacing. If only their finishing was as clinical as the Argentinians, they would have drawn or perhaps even won.
I've been watching Toure and Eboue play for my beloved Arsenal all season and knew that they have a solid backline with the above 2 complemented by Didi Zokora and Boka 'Carlos' on the left. They were superbly marshalled by Kolo's brother Yaya and Keite in midfield and sprayed the ball around with real purpose.
I have rarely seen a team attack as single mindedly and wholistically as Ivory Coast did today (Brazil, Yugoslavia 1996-98) aside. They were constantly in Argentina's penalty area, in their half and in their faces and in their hair. Most would have expected them to sit back and let Argentina attack but those of us who know better (Cue for Myles Palmer and Ian Grant, somewhere, to smile www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk) knew they would go into this match expecting to win and would tear right into Argentina. If only their finishing was a little better....
Cote D'Ivoire's debut today was almost as explosive as Nigeria's in USA 94 when they tore a pedestrian Greek side to shreds in a 4-0 demolition. Ivory Coast were desperately unlucky today in that they came up against a very well drilled and experienced Argentinian side who were lucky to score a very, very ugly goal. No doubt Saviola's strike was a real peach of a play and would have beaten most teams, but the truth remains that Cote D'Ivoire had more possession, more corners, more shots on goal and more attack. Make no mistake, Argentina sat back and hit on the counterattack.
Argentina scored a very lucky goal when Crespo capitalised on some confusion in the D, after a deflection off Riquelme's corner, and bundled the ball home; their second goal however was superbly orchestrated - slide rule pass, one touch finish. The irony was that both goals came against the run of play.
Everytime there was a free ball there was a orange shirt on it. Everytime there was space an orange shirt raced into it with the ball. Some of their ball control was exquisite and they even threw in some cheeky backheels and pirouttes. And although they were, at times, a little naive(cliche I know) in their defending, they played a real barnstormer. Thunderous in the tackle, direct and quicksilver in their passing, they really should have had 2 goals before Drogba scored one for them.
At the end of the day they acquitted themselves well, 2-1 was a lot closer than it looks. They did me proud. Holland and Serbia, be afraid, very very afraid.
They could still make the Quarter finals - remember you read it here first.
Endnotes:
Somewhere Arsene Wenger must be licking his lips and smiling.
Good to see Diego Maradona in the stands, slimmer, livelier - obviously he's off the drugs and tobacco.
Argentina 2 - Crespo, Saviola
Ivory Coast 1 - Drogba
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