This is the end. We often amaze ourselves when we actually see something through.
Spain were into their stride quickly with the 'ole's from the crowd beginning as early as the ninth minute. Ahead of the Portugal game, Andres Iniesta had said they'd combat the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo by denying him the ball. That didn't quite work, but if it was the intention to deal with Andrea Pirlo - surely the player of the tournament - then it worked a treat. Italy couldn't get hold of the ball and Pirlo cut a peripheral figure. Not only that, but while we all coo and gush over Spain's passing, what is often overlooked is the work that goes in off the ball. They press everywhere. When an opponent picks the ball up, he has a red jersey in front of him. There is no space, no time and no chance of building pressure.
The passing, as ever, was crisp and quick. With 15 minutes gone, Iniesta freed Alvaro Arbeloa down the right and he cut back for David Silva to head the opener. Late in the first half, Italy may have thought they were getting back into it and going in to the break only one down was a bit of a result. But then Jordi Alba got the ball on the left, tapped it infield to Xavi and hared off up the field. Xavi's return was predictably perfect and Alba smashed in his first senior international goal on the biggest stage. 2-0 and suddenly Italy had a mountain to climb.
The killer blow arrived late with Italy already down to ten men, substitute Thiago Motta forced off injured just moments after coming on. It was Cesare Prandelli's third and final change. Again it was Xavi with the money ball, again as a result of that pressing. Italy were robbed in midfield and two touches later it was in the back of the net off Fernando Torres's right boot. The fourth was cruel. Juan Mata had barely been on for a minute when Torres squared for him and he slotted it beyond Gianluigi Buffon to wrap up an emphatic win. It was Mata's first touch and, again, the movement off the ball simply exquisite in creating the opportunity. The three added minutes at the end must have felt like an eternity to anyone of even slightly Italian persuasion. Where was the mercy?
And that's your lot from Poland and Ukraine and what did we learn? That many people find excellence boring, that England have a long old road to travel from the tactical abyss they find themselves in, that the Dutch never fail to find new levels of in-fighting to ruin another tournament. The rise of the goalkeeper as captain is to be praised, especially where both captains in the final were the respective custodians. Special mention for Casillas too, who won his 100th international in the final, something nobody else has ever done. At 31, he could go on to play another two World Cups yet, maybe two more Euros too. We will not be sorry to see the end of the kick-off countdown. That's something that can be taken round the back and shot.
In four years time, almost half the nations affiliated to UEFA will appear in the finals in France as the competition is expanded to 24. If this is the last great European Championships, it's fitting that a truly great team won it.
The home of football sarcasm
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Monday, 2 July 2012
Thursday, 28 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #17
Boring has been the buzzword of late. Bizarrely, it's an epithet applied to Spain's football.
Much has been written on the subject, not least this from James Hunt, and we're not about to go into a great deal of depth here. Suffice to say that it's hardly Spain's fault that other teams are so worried about them that they forget to do what they need to do to win and resort to sitting back and allowing the Spanish the ball. France tried to contain them and it failed. The game was not much of a spectacle as a result.
So what would Portugal do? They'd have a crack at their neighbours. They came flying out of the blocks, putting the Spanish goal under real pressure early on. In turn, this forced Spain to up their game. The game ebbed and flowed, going from one end to the other. The only trouble was, nobody could find a goal.
As the game wore on, a goalless draw looked increasingly inevitable as the fear of losing outweighed the desire to win. The one time a really clear-cut opportunity presented itself, it came to Portugal. On the break, they'd engineered a four-on-two opportunity. The standard tactic of 'pass it to Ronaldo' was enacted, but he shanked his shot badly. Extra time came and went - it would be settled by penalties.
Now, we've gone over penalties many, many times. We've discussed practice, technique, whether goalkeepers should dive or stand still. What we haven't discussed is the order of your first five takers. Surely, your best exponent of the art goes early - certainly in the first three. Spain sent their best - Xabi Alonso - up first. His shot was saved. Step forward Joao Moutinho: also saved. Iniesta finally got one on the board before Pepe and Pique did likewise. Then bizarre decision number one. Bruno Alves had almost got to the penalty spot when Nani caught him up and sent him away. Nani scored, followed by Sergio Ramos with a cheeky Panenka. Up stepped Bruno Alves again. What on earth was going through his mind having been usurped previously is anybody's guess. Off a long run, he absolutely smashed his kick - too much as it turned out and it came back off the bar. Fabregas won it with an unsaveable spot kick, going in off the post. Cameras cut instantly to Ronaldo, Portugal's designated man for the fifth penalty, a penalty that wasn't required.
The technique on all bar Alves's kick was excellent. Where Portugal fell down was in their selection, their undermining of Bruno Alves and of leaving their best player to take a kick that in any event may not have been needed. That was foolish in the extreme.
Today, the second semi-final as Germany take on Italy. No German side has beaten Italy at a major championships. It's a brave punter that predicts that run to continue.
Much has been written on the subject, not least this from James Hunt, and we're not about to go into a great deal of depth here. Suffice to say that it's hardly Spain's fault that other teams are so worried about them that they forget to do what they need to do to win and resort to sitting back and allowing the Spanish the ball. France tried to contain them and it failed. The game was not much of a spectacle as a result.
So what would Portugal do? They'd have a crack at their neighbours. They came flying out of the blocks, putting the Spanish goal under real pressure early on. In turn, this forced Spain to up their game. The game ebbed and flowed, going from one end to the other. The only trouble was, nobody could find a goal.
As the game wore on, a goalless draw looked increasingly inevitable as the fear of losing outweighed the desire to win. The one time a really clear-cut opportunity presented itself, it came to Portugal. On the break, they'd engineered a four-on-two opportunity. The standard tactic of 'pass it to Ronaldo' was enacted, but he shanked his shot badly. Extra time came and went - it would be settled by penalties.
Now, we've gone over penalties many, many times. We've discussed practice, technique, whether goalkeepers should dive or stand still. What we haven't discussed is the order of your first five takers. Surely, your best exponent of the art goes early - certainly in the first three. Spain sent their best - Xabi Alonso - up first. His shot was saved. Step forward Joao Moutinho: also saved. Iniesta finally got one on the board before Pepe and Pique did likewise. Then bizarre decision number one. Bruno Alves had almost got to the penalty spot when Nani caught him up and sent him away. Nani scored, followed by Sergio Ramos with a cheeky Panenka. Up stepped Bruno Alves again. What on earth was going through his mind having been usurped previously is anybody's guess. Off a long run, he absolutely smashed his kick - too much as it turned out and it came back off the bar. Fabregas won it with an unsaveable spot kick, going in off the post. Cameras cut instantly to Ronaldo, Portugal's designated man for the fifth penalty, a penalty that wasn't required.
The technique on all bar Alves's kick was excellent. Where Portugal fell down was in their selection, their undermining of Bruno Alves and of leaving their best player to take a kick that in any event may not have been needed. That was foolish in the extreme.
Today, the second semi-final as Germany take on Italy. No German side has beaten Italy at a major championships. It's a brave punter that predicts that run to continue.
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #15
There has been an amount of criticism of Spain at these championships. Vincente del Bosque's strikerless approach and possession-based game has even been criticised as boring, which is just plain bizarre. Yes it's unconventional, they are missing David Villa and maybe del Bosque isn't quite using all the options available to him, but he keeps winning games and isn't that what really matters?
Spain were in control from the off against France who were disappointing. If the object was to hold the Spanish for as long as possible and work into the game that way, it didn't work as Xabi Alonso, on his 100th appearance for his country, arrived late and unmarked in the box to head in Jordi Alba's cross. It's rare these days to see Alonso that far forward, but it was a well-timed run that France totally failed to deal with.
That left France with 70 minutes to get back on terms, but they didn't really threaten to do that. Anthony Reveillere was included at right-back with Mathieu Debuchy pushed forward as Samir Nasri was dropped. It didn't work. Eventually, Laurent Blanc put Jeremy Menez on for Debuchy, but still it didn't work. It was just a question of whether Spain would add to their lead. They did eventually as Reveillere bundled Pedro over and Alonso put the penalty away in emphatic style. It was a bit of a soft penalty decision, but it was clumsy by Reveillere after Pedro had stood up Adil Rami.
And still you get the feeling Spain can play better, which must be a worry for everyone else. They have set up an Iberian derby in the semi-finals on Wednesday in Donetsk.
The last of the quarters is tonight, England and Italy meeting with the winners playing Germany.
Spain were in control from the off against France who were disappointing. If the object was to hold the Spanish for as long as possible and work into the game that way, it didn't work as Xabi Alonso, on his 100th appearance for his country, arrived late and unmarked in the box to head in Jordi Alba's cross. It's rare these days to see Alonso that far forward, but it was a well-timed run that France totally failed to deal with.
That left France with 70 minutes to get back on terms, but they didn't really threaten to do that. Anthony Reveillere was included at right-back with Mathieu Debuchy pushed forward as Samir Nasri was dropped. It didn't work. Eventually, Laurent Blanc put Jeremy Menez on for Debuchy, but still it didn't work. It was just a question of whether Spain would add to their lead. They did eventually as Reveillere bundled Pedro over and Alonso put the penalty away in emphatic style. It was a bit of a soft penalty decision, but it was clumsy by Reveillere after Pedro had stood up Adil Rami.
And still you get the feeling Spain can play better, which must be a worry for everyone else. They have set up an Iberian derby in the semi-finals on Wednesday in Donetsk.
The last of the quarters is tonight, England and Italy meeting with the winners playing Germany.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #11
So it turns out that you can walk the ball into the back of the net.
The great 2-2 conspiracy did not come to pass. That score between Croatia and Spain would have rendered Italy's result against Ireland irrelevant. As it was, Italy worked themselves to a pretty comfortable 2-0 win. Already out of the running, Ireland were pretty poor and ceded the vast majority of possession. They defended slightly better than the previous two games though, hence it took 35 minutes for Italy to find the breakthrough, Andrea Pirlo's corner turned in off Antonio Cassano's shoulder. Ireland did manage a whole two shots on goal in the second half, but still Italy were very comfortable. The crowning turd in Ireland's water pipe came a minute from time when Keith Andrews was sent off, picking up a second booking after kicking the ball away before Mario Balotelli finished wonderfully to seal the win. With his back to goal, he hooked a cross round John O'Shea and beyond Shay Given - a really nice effort.
While it remained goalless between Spain and Croatia, Italy were going through with Spain. But with little real threat in the final third, Spain were living on the edge. Time and again Croatia looked to get them on the break, Luka Modric pulling all the strings and Mario Mandzukic the main outlet. The best opportunity came from such a break with Mandzukic dragging the cover defence to the near post leaving Ivan Rakitic, who had bust a gut to get up in support, alone at the back. Modric's ball was perfect, Rakitic's shot was perfect, but so was Iker Casillas's goalkeeping and 0-0 it remained. Jesus Navas was thrown on to offer something a bit different for Spain, just as he did in the first game against Italy. But his crucial involvement was finishing rather than starting something. Spain are often criticised for trying to walk the ball in rather than actually having a shot. Well it worked here. Three minutes from time, a ball from Cesc Fabregas caught the defence flat-footed and found Andres Iniesta all on his own. He squared it for Navas to stroll it into the unguarded net. At that point, a goal for Croatia would send them through with Spain at Italy's expense and they chucked everything at it, Stipe Pletikosa trotting forward on one occasion, but for all Slaven Bilic's impassioned urging from the sideline they couldn't find a way through. Bilic is probably best avoided for the next few days - he looked a bit angry. Well, angrier than normal.
This evening, it's the final day of the group stage. England take on Ukraine in Donetsk needing a point while France play Sweden.
The great 2-2 conspiracy did not come to pass. That score between Croatia and Spain would have rendered Italy's result against Ireland irrelevant. As it was, Italy worked themselves to a pretty comfortable 2-0 win. Already out of the running, Ireland were pretty poor and ceded the vast majority of possession. They defended slightly better than the previous two games though, hence it took 35 minutes for Italy to find the breakthrough, Andrea Pirlo's corner turned in off Antonio Cassano's shoulder. Ireland did manage a whole two shots on goal in the second half, but still Italy were very comfortable. The crowning turd in Ireland's water pipe came a minute from time when Keith Andrews was sent off, picking up a second booking after kicking the ball away before Mario Balotelli finished wonderfully to seal the win. With his back to goal, he hooked a cross round John O'Shea and beyond Shay Given - a really nice effort.
While it remained goalless between Spain and Croatia, Italy were going through with Spain. But with little real threat in the final third, Spain were living on the edge. Time and again Croatia looked to get them on the break, Luka Modric pulling all the strings and Mario Mandzukic the main outlet. The best opportunity came from such a break with Mandzukic dragging the cover defence to the near post leaving Ivan Rakitic, who had bust a gut to get up in support, alone at the back. Modric's ball was perfect, Rakitic's shot was perfect, but so was Iker Casillas's goalkeeping and 0-0 it remained. Jesus Navas was thrown on to offer something a bit different for Spain, just as he did in the first game against Italy. But his crucial involvement was finishing rather than starting something. Spain are often criticised for trying to walk the ball in rather than actually having a shot. Well it worked here. Three minutes from time, a ball from Cesc Fabregas caught the defence flat-footed and found Andres Iniesta all on his own. He squared it for Navas to stroll it into the unguarded net. At that point, a goal for Croatia would send them through with Spain at Italy's expense and they chucked everything at it, Stipe Pletikosa trotting forward on one occasion, but for all Slaven Bilic's impassioned urging from the sideline they couldn't find a way through. Bilic is probably best avoided for the next few days - he looked a bit angry. Well, angrier than normal.
This evening, it's the final day of the group stage. England take on Ukraine in Donetsk needing a point while France play Sweden.
Thursday, 14 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #7
Why oh why oh why is this tournament serving up so many great games? It's difficult to keep up. And we had two more yesterday.
It looked like Italy were going to overwhelm Croatia, especially after Andrea Pirlo's sumptuous free-kick. Mario Balotelli was more switched on than in the opening game, as was Antonio Cassano, but the Italians couldn't get that crucial second goal. Instead, Mario Mandzukic brought a deep cross down on his toe and smashed it on off the far post. 1-1 it remained through the flares.
The second game lasted, as a contest, for all of four minutes. Someone replaced the sad version of Fernando Torres with the Fernando Torres that scored a bunch of goals for Liverpool and Atletico Madrid and it was this non-sad version of Torres that seized upon some lackadaisical defending and lashed one past Shay Given. Ireland circled the wagons and they held out for exactly 45 minutes until David Silva decided to take the piss. Andres Iniesta's shot came back off Given and Silva swooped on the rebound, told the defence what he was going to do and did it anyway. With 20 minutes left, non-sad Torres was set free and slotted one past Given. Shortly after, Cesc Fabregas was brought on for Spain and he finished another chance from a tight angle as if to say "I'll show you for not starting me". Ireland are out. Trappatoni - that unpretty blend of the Pope, Bishop Len Brennan and Gary Oldman's Dracula - finally brought James McClean on, but only at 3-0 down with 15 minutes to go. Madness. Almost as mad as Gerard Pique playing centre-forward with Damien Duff marking him.
Ireland are out, but could be kingmakers should they beat Italy. That seems unlikely. Basically, everyone needs to win.
Tomorrow, it's Sweden v England and France against Ukraine.
It looked like Italy were going to overwhelm Croatia, especially after Andrea Pirlo's sumptuous free-kick. Mario Balotelli was more switched on than in the opening game, as was Antonio Cassano, but the Italians couldn't get that crucial second goal. Instead, Mario Mandzukic brought a deep cross down on his toe and smashed it on off the far post. 1-1 it remained through the flares.
The second game lasted, as a contest, for all of four minutes. Someone replaced the sad version of Fernando Torres with the Fernando Torres that scored a bunch of goals for Liverpool and Atletico Madrid and it was this non-sad version of Torres that seized upon some lackadaisical defending and lashed one past Shay Given. Ireland circled the wagons and they held out for exactly 45 minutes until David Silva decided to take the piss. Andres Iniesta's shot came back off Given and Silva swooped on the rebound, told the defence what he was going to do and did it anyway. With 20 minutes left, non-sad Torres was set free and slotted one past Given. Shortly after, Cesc Fabregas was brought on for Spain and he finished another chance from a tight angle as if to say "I'll show you for not starting me". Ireland are out. Trappatoni - that unpretty blend of the Pope, Bishop Len Brennan and Gary Oldman's Dracula - finally brought James McClean on, but only at 3-0 down with 15 minutes to go. Madness. Almost as mad as Gerard Pique playing centre-forward with Damien Duff marking him.
Ireland are out, but could be kingmakers should they beat Italy. That seems unlikely. Basically, everyone needs to win.
Tomorrow, it's Sweden v England and France against Ukraine.
Monday, 11 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #3
Two very contrasting games yesterday.
First, Italy and Spain served up a minor classic. Spain went in without a conventional striker, but not in a Craig Levein manner. That wasn't what hampered them so much as a lack of width which was only addressed with the introduction of Jesus Navas in the second half. A substitution by Cesare Prandelli provided the spur. Moments after Mario Balotelli has dallied when one-on-one with Iker Casillas long enough for Sergio Ramos to get back and make the tackle, Balotelli was withdrawn for Antonio di Natale. With almost his first touch, he controlled a borderline sexual through ball from Andrea Pirlo, opened his body up and passed it past Casillas and inside the far post. Just brilliant. As was the immediate response: a sumptuous reverse ball from David Silva met by Cesc Fabregas for the equaliser. Italy were happy to cede possession for long periods, but Spain didn't do enough with it. They had chances, a couple falling to the shadow of the striker that Fernando Torres. Once he was denied by a brilliant bit of defending from Gianluigi Buffon, but the other Torres - good Torres - wouldn't have given him the chance. It's just kind of sad now.
Ireland qualified by setting up for 0-0 and hoping to snatch one on the break. That's fine until you go behind in the third minute which is what happened against Croatia. Mario Mandzukic looped a 15-yard header towards goal and it appeared to go in slow motion into the bottom corner. Yes, Shay Given was unsighted, but he took an age to get across and duly missed it. Sean St Ledger got goal-side at a free-kick to equalise, and there it should have been back to plan A. Again, that was ruined soon after as a horror bit of defending saw the ball break to Nikica Jelavic six yards out. The second half was more routine and it was 3-1 three minutes into it as a Mandzukic shot came back off the post and went in off Given's face. It wasn't one of Given's finest games, but Mandzukic has some cheek for claiming it as his goal. Ireland now have a problem. They have to win games, so getting James McClean involved is imperative. Play Robbie Keane up front, Damien Duff in behind with McClean and Aiden McGeady wide. That still allows for Trappatoni's beloved twin holding midfielders and they may as well be hung for sheep and lambs. There's no glory in going down as meekly as they did yesterday. For Croatia, Ivan Perisic did his claims for more game time at Borussia Dortmund no harm at all. He was quite excellent. Also top marks to Slaven Bilic for mating a suit with a beanie hat. Fashion maverick.
Group D gets underway today with England against France in the early game and co-hosts Ukraine taking on Sweden.
First, Italy and Spain served up a minor classic. Spain went in without a conventional striker, but not in a Craig Levein manner. That wasn't what hampered them so much as a lack of width which was only addressed with the introduction of Jesus Navas in the second half. A substitution by Cesare Prandelli provided the spur. Moments after Mario Balotelli has dallied when one-on-one with Iker Casillas long enough for Sergio Ramos to get back and make the tackle, Balotelli was withdrawn for Antonio di Natale. With almost his first touch, he controlled a borderline sexual through ball from Andrea Pirlo, opened his body up and passed it past Casillas and inside the far post. Just brilliant. As was the immediate response: a sumptuous reverse ball from David Silva met by Cesc Fabregas for the equaliser. Italy were happy to cede possession for long periods, but Spain didn't do enough with it. They had chances, a couple falling to the shadow of the striker that Fernando Torres. Once he was denied by a brilliant bit of defending from Gianluigi Buffon, but the other Torres - good Torres - wouldn't have given him the chance. It's just kind of sad now.
Ireland qualified by setting up for 0-0 and hoping to snatch one on the break. That's fine until you go behind in the third minute which is what happened against Croatia. Mario Mandzukic looped a 15-yard header towards goal and it appeared to go in slow motion into the bottom corner. Yes, Shay Given was unsighted, but he took an age to get across and duly missed it. Sean St Ledger got goal-side at a free-kick to equalise, and there it should have been back to plan A. Again, that was ruined soon after as a horror bit of defending saw the ball break to Nikica Jelavic six yards out. The second half was more routine and it was 3-1 three minutes into it as a Mandzukic shot came back off the post and went in off Given's face. It wasn't one of Given's finest games, but Mandzukic has some cheek for claiming it as his goal. Ireland now have a problem. They have to win games, so getting James McClean involved is imperative. Play Robbie Keane up front, Damien Duff in behind with McClean and Aiden McGeady wide. That still allows for Trappatoni's beloved twin holding midfielders and they may as well be hung for sheep and lambs. There's no glory in going down as meekly as they did yesterday. For Croatia, Ivan Perisic did his claims for more game time at Borussia Dortmund no harm at all. He was quite excellent. Also top marks to Slaven Bilic for mating a suit with a beanie hat. Fashion maverick.
Group D gets underway today with England against France in the early game and co-hosts Ukraine taking on Sweden.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Euro 2012 Goalkeepers yelling at defenders #45
On to Group C now and another of the tournament favourites, Spain.
Iker Casillas
Victor Valdes
Pepe Reina
Spain are in an odd situation. Neither Casillas or Valdes has much cause to shout at defenders for years - indeed Valdes is more likely to cause defenders to yell at him. Reina has, but is very much third choice. Whether they can step it up remains to be seen.
Iker Casillas
Victor Valdes
Pepe Reina
Spain are in an odd situation. Neither Casillas or Valdes has much cause to shout at defenders for years - indeed Valdes is more likely to cause defenders to yell at him. Reina has, but is very much third choice. Whether they can step it up remains to be seen.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
TW3 #2
Needless to say, the footballing week was largely overshadowed by what happened to Fabrice Muamba at White Hart Lane. The news is good so far which comes as something of a relief to everyone, but it'll be a long road back and he'll need all the support he can get. Best of luck to him.
On with the actual football then...
Or not. Away fans were banned from attending Panathinaikos v Olympiakos after trouble flared at previous matches. It didn't stop trouble flaring. Indeed, running battles between fans and police and sections of the ground being set on fire caused the game to be abandoned. Yes, Panathinaikos fans setting fire to their own stadium. No, us neither. The big derby in Poland saw pretty much nothing happen except for a pair of bookings for Adam Kokoszka in a drab 0-0.
Juventus finally broke out of their run of draws, sticking five past Fiorentina who are now in real trouble at the bottom. Juve are still unbeaten, but with Milan winning again, there remains a four-point gap and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is short odds to make it nine league titles in a row, an utterly maddening statistic. Napoli came back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw with Udinese which, coupled wth Lazio's defeat to Catania, sees the three teams vying for third split by a single point.
There might yet be a title race in Spain, but it looks a long shot. Some routine Messi brilliance - one of those chips only he seems able to do - saw Barcelona ease past Sevilla and a late Santi Cazorla free-kick - and what a free-kick, goal of the week even - earned Málaga a draw at the Bernabéu. The gap is down to eight. Not exactly game on, but in the context of the season, about as exciting as it gets. Roberto Soldado's hat-trick saw Valencia beat Athletic who are finding it tough to back up after European games and Levante are back into that fourth Champions League spot this week.
Lyon won the big derby in France, a late Bafétimbi Gomis goal enough to beat St Etienne and leapfrog them in the chase for European football. However Toulouse leapt over them both with a win over Rennes the following day. Neither of the top two won, but Lille are still seven points behind second-placed Montpellier.
Wins for the top three in Portugal sees them remain split by a single point and it's all back on in Holland as AZ were held by NAC and Twente were beaten by Feyenoord. PSV hit five past Heerenveen who need to start taking points off the other top sides to stay in contention. Ajax are the form side with a fifth win on the bounce to beat ADO. Twente play their game in hand against De Graafschap this week.
Draws elsewhere in Argentina mean that Boca's victory over San Martín moves them to second, a point behind Tigre who drew with Estudiantes. In Primera B, River Plate had goals from David Trézéguet and Fernando Cavénaghi in a 3-0 win over Deportivo Merlo, but they still trail Instituto, 3-1 winners over Characrita Juniors, by a point. Staying in South America, Universidad de Chile came from 2-down to beat Unión Espanola 3-2, Manuel Ruidiaz with a late winner, to remain clear at the top.
Finally, to Germany where Bayern couldn't make it three games in a row scoring seven. They only - only - put six past a horrible Hertha BSC outfit who really didn't seem to know what they were doing. There were also wins for Dortmund, Schalke and Gladbach, so it's very much as you were. In 2.Bundesliga, there were defeats for Paderborn - a 5-0 thumping from Ingolstadt - and St Pauli while Fortuna were held by Energie Cottbus. That's allowed Greuther, who thumped 1860 to all but end any chance they had, and Eintracht Frankfurt, big winners over Dynamo Dresden, to pull clear.
There are lots of midweek games too with a full programme in Spain and cup matches all over the place and that postponed league game in Holland. The Copa Libertadores continues as well with the start of the fourth round of matches in the group stage. There's the Asian Champions League and the second semi-final of the NextGen series where Inter and Marseille under-19s vie for the right to face Ajax in the final.
On with the actual football then...
Or not. Away fans were banned from attending Panathinaikos v Olympiakos after trouble flared at previous matches. It didn't stop trouble flaring. Indeed, running battles between fans and police and sections of the ground being set on fire caused the game to be abandoned. Yes, Panathinaikos fans setting fire to their own stadium. No, us neither. The big derby in Poland saw pretty much nothing happen except for a pair of bookings for Adam Kokoszka in a drab 0-0.
Juventus finally broke out of their run of draws, sticking five past Fiorentina who are now in real trouble at the bottom. Juve are still unbeaten, but with Milan winning again, there remains a four-point gap and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is short odds to make it nine league titles in a row, an utterly maddening statistic. Napoli came back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw with Udinese which, coupled wth Lazio's defeat to Catania, sees the three teams vying for third split by a single point.
There might yet be a title race in Spain, but it looks a long shot. Some routine Messi brilliance - one of those chips only he seems able to do - saw Barcelona ease past Sevilla and a late Santi Cazorla free-kick - and what a free-kick, goal of the week even - earned Málaga a draw at the Bernabéu. The gap is down to eight. Not exactly game on, but in the context of the season, about as exciting as it gets. Roberto Soldado's hat-trick saw Valencia beat Athletic who are finding it tough to back up after European games and Levante are back into that fourth Champions League spot this week.
Lyon won the big derby in France, a late Bafétimbi Gomis goal enough to beat St Etienne and leapfrog them in the chase for European football. However Toulouse leapt over them both with a win over Rennes the following day. Neither of the top two won, but Lille are still seven points behind second-placed Montpellier.
Wins for the top three in Portugal sees them remain split by a single point and it's all back on in Holland as AZ were held by NAC and Twente were beaten by Feyenoord. PSV hit five past Heerenveen who need to start taking points off the other top sides to stay in contention. Ajax are the form side with a fifth win on the bounce to beat ADO. Twente play their game in hand against De Graafschap this week.
Draws elsewhere in Argentina mean that Boca's victory over San Martín moves them to second, a point behind Tigre who drew with Estudiantes. In Primera B, River Plate had goals from David Trézéguet and Fernando Cavénaghi in a 3-0 win over Deportivo Merlo, but they still trail Instituto, 3-1 winners over Characrita Juniors, by a point. Staying in South America, Universidad de Chile came from 2-down to beat Unión Espanola 3-2, Manuel Ruidiaz with a late winner, to remain clear at the top.
Finally, to Germany where Bayern couldn't make it three games in a row scoring seven. They only - only - put six past a horrible Hertha BSC outfit who really didn't seem to know what they were doing. There were also wins for Dortmund, Schalke and Gladbach, so it's very much as you were. In 2.Bundesliga, there were defeats for Paderborn - a 5-0 thumping from Ingolstadt - and St Pauli while Fortuna were held by Energie Cottbus. That's allowed Greuther, who thumped 1860 to all but end any chance they had, and Eintracht Frankfurt, big winners over Dynamo Dresden, to pull clear.
There are lots of midweek games too with a full programme in Spain and cup matches all over the place and that postponed league game in Holland. The Copa Libertadores continues as well with the start of the fourth round of matches in the group stage. There's the Asian Champions League and the second semi-final of the NextGen series where Inter and Marseille under-19s vie for the right to face Ajax in the final.
Monday, 12 July 2010
What the hell was that?
We knew Total Football was a thing of the past - Bert van Marwijk's been quite clear on the subject since taking the Dutch job on - but that was ridiculous.
The inevitable autobiographies will have to be consulted for a proper account of what was said in the Oranje dressing room before the World Cup final of 2010, but it's hard to think that it was anything other than "If them Spaniards try that tippy-tappy nonsense, give 'em a massive boot up the arse", otherwise known as page one of John Beck's coaching manual. Quite why van Marwijk went this way is hard to fathom. The Dutch had waltzed through qualifying, winning every game, and did likewise on their run to the final. The semi-final against Uruguay was a veritable feast of football. From Giovanni van Bronckhorst's screamer of an opener to Maxi Perera's late consolation it was wide open and perhaps therein lies the issue. Uruguay got at the Dutch back four and made it a very nervous 90 minutes.
Spain were not about to be afforded that luxury. Instead, they were to booted as hard as possible and as often as possible. Referee Howard Webb set his stall out early with a flurry of cards - yellow only - and he seemed determined to keep it at eleven-a-side. Nigel de Jong's Jackie Chan impression would surely have secured a straight dismissal in any game other than a World Cup final. Plenty of other challenges were right on the borderline as well, but it was only when Johnny Heitinga pulled down Andres Iniesta when the red card appeared. It was one of the tamer fouls of the evening, but the letter of the law demanded a yellow and it duly appeared, Heitinga's second. Webb's no Graham Poll, so two was deemed enough for a dismissal. This isn't to lambast Webb. Overall, he did a decent job, but faced with the petulant and the thuggish, perhaps a tougher stance early on might have calmed it down rather than see it escalate.
Heitinga's absence allowed Iniesta the space to fire Spain ahead in extra time and he too picked up a booking for taking his shirt off. The law is an ass sometimes and certainly didn't help Webb on this occasion. The goalscorer's t-shirt bore a tribute to the late Dani Jarque. That's obviously a bookable offence. In the end, just three of the Dutch starting XI avoided a caution.
The roots of this go back a while. The most whiny, bitchy, petulant game in living memory was in Nuremburg in the last World Cup where the Dutch took on Portugal saw 16 cautions dished out and four players were dismissed. They lost that one 1-0 too, which tells you all you need to know about what happens when they revert to such tactics. They've got the talent to win without resorting to the kind of stuff we saw at the weekend, but nobody is lamenting the fact they lost after such a cynical display.
The inevitable autobiographies will have to be consulted for a proper account of what was said in the Oranje dressing room before the World Cup final of 2010, but it's hard to think that it was anything other than "If them Spaniards try that tippy-tappy nonsense, give 'em a massive boot up the arse", otherwise known as page one of John Beck's coaching manual. Quite why van Marwijk went this way is hard to fathom. The Dutch had waltzed through qualifying, winning every game, and did likewise on their run to the final. The semi-final against Uruguay was a veritable feast of football. From Giovanni van Bronckhorst's screamer of an opener to Maxi Perera's late consolation it was wide open and perhaps therein lies the issue. Uruguay got at the Dutch back four and made it a very nervous 90 minutes.
Spain were not about to be afforded that luxury. Instead, they were to booted as hard as possible and as often as possible. Referee Howard Webb set his stall out early with a flurry of cards - yellow only - and he seemed determined to keep it at eleven-a-side. Nigel de Jong's Jackie Chan impression would surely have secured a straight dismissal in any game other than a World Cup final. Plenty of other challenges were right on the borderline as well, but it was only when Johnny Heitinga pulled down Andres Iniesta when the red card appeared. It was one of the tamer fouls of the evening, but the letter of the law demanded a yellow and it duly appeared, Heitinga's second. Webb's no Graham Poll, so two was deemed enough for a dismissal. This isn't to lambast Webb. Overall, he did a decent job, but faced with the petulant and the thuggish, perhaps a tougher stance early on might have calmed it down rather than see it escalate.
Heitinga's absence allowed Iniesta the space to fire Spain ahead in extra time and he too picked up a booking for taking his shirt off. The law is an ass sometimes and certainly didn't help Webb on this occasion. The goalscorer's t-shirt bore a tribute to the late Dani Jarque. That's obviously a bookable offence. In the end, just three of the Dutch starting XI avoided a caution.
The roots of this go back a while. The most whiny, bitchy, petulant game in living memory was in Nuremburg in the last World Cup where the Dutch took on Portugal saw 16 cautions dished out and four players were dismissed. They lost that one 1-0 too, which tells you all you need to know about what happens when they revert to such tactics. They've got the talent to win without resorting to the kind of stuff we saw at the weekend, but nobody is lamenting the fact they lost after such a cynical display.
Saturday, 26 June 2010
Spain highlight English failures
After France and Italy tumbled out of the World Cup at the first hurdle, Spain avoided the ignominy of joining them with a battling win over a very talented Chilean side. The opening, and probably decisive, goal came after a brain failure from Chilean keeper Claudio Bravo who went a-wandering outside of his area and played a half-assed clearance straight to the feet of David Villa who played a lovely little 9-iron over the stranded keeper and into the net. Andres Iniesta made it two and, with Marco Estrada sent off for a foul in the build-up, that was that.
The Villa goal remains the talking point. On ITV's trademark lamentable coverage, anchor Matt Smith was drooling. "When a predominantly right-footed player can do that with his left. Wow". What an utterly ridiculous statement which pretty well highlights a big problem the English have never got to grips with. Villa may be a right-footer, Lionel Messi a lefty, but you'd not know. They developed skills at an early age and learned how to use their less-favoured foot to the point at which they are comfortable on either side. In England, kids just play games. The more physically developed prevail in the kick-and-rush environment to the point at which there's a national team of right-footers who are utterly incapable of playing it off the left. This is a systemic failure that stretches back for as long as life itself and England will not be a world power while it remains.
The Villa goal remains the talking point. On ITV's trademark lamentable coverage, anchor Matt Smith was drooling. "When a predominantly right-footed player can do that with his left. Wow". What an utterly ridiculous statement which pretty well highlights a big problem the English have never got to grips with. Villa may be a right-footer, Lionel Messi a lefty, but you'd not know. They developed skills at an early age and learned how to use their less-favoured foot to the point at which they are comfortable on either side. In England, kids just play games. The more physically developed prevail in the kick-and-rush environment to the point at which there's a national team of right-footers who are utterly incapable of playing it off the left. This is a systemic failure that stretches back for as long as life itself and England will not be a world power while it remains.
Thursday, 13 May 2010
Del Bosque takes a gamble on injured trio
Vicente del Bosque named his initial 30-man World Cup squad with injured trio Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas included. He wants to give all three the most amount of time possible to prove their fitness and all three are undoubtedly key players for the manager. Xavi Hernandez has been struggling for fitness of late as well, but he's back in the first team fold at Barcelona and is on target to make it.
Del Bosque names five goalkeepers with Atlético youngster David de Gea battling with Diego Lopez and Victor Valdes to join Iker Casillas and Jose Reina on the plane. Even just getting on the plane will be a minor victory for Sevilla winger Jesus Navas. He suffers from travel anxiety - Dennis Bergkamp Syndrome - but has been undergoing treatment. The only other option may be to slip him a mickey finn.
Nine forwards are named and competition here is especially fierce. Torres, if fit, and David Villa are the pick, but there's plenty of competition from the likes of Juan Mata, the uncapped Pedro and Fernando Llorente. Llorente's 21-year old club-mate Javi Martinez is named in midfield and there are four overseas-based players, the aforementioned Fabregas, Torres and Reina plus Fenerbahce's Dani Guiza.
This is a very strong squad. No wonder they're favourites to go all the way. There are very few weak links and quality players like Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna and David Silva are not guaranteed to make the final cut. If they can leave that standard of player behind, it sends out a clear message.
The squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), Diego Lopez (Villarreal), Jose Reina (Liverpool) Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid) Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) Marcos Senna (Villarreal), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona).
Forwards: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia) Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Dani Guiza (Fenerbache) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).
Del Bosque names five goalkeepers with Atlético youngster David de Gea battling with Diego Lopez and Victor Valdes to join Iker Casillas and Jose Reina on the plane. Even just getting on the plane will be a minor victory for Sevilla winger Jesus Navas. He suffers from travel anxiety - Dennis Bergkamp Syndrome - but has been undergoing treatment. The only other option may be to slip him a mickey finn.
Nine forwards are named and competition here is especially fierce. Torres, if fit, and David Villa are the pick, but there's plenty of competition from the likes of Juan Mata, the uncapped Pedro and Fernando Llorente. Llorente's 21-year old club-mate Javi Martinez is named in midfield and there are four overseas-based players, the aforementioned Fabregas, Torres and Reina plus Fenerbahce's Dani Guiza.
This is a very strong squad. No wonder they're favourites to go all the way. There are very few weak links and quality players like Santi Cazorla, Marcos Senna and David Silva are not guaranteed to make the final cut. If they can leave that standard of player behind, it sends out a clear message.
The squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), Diego Lopez (Villarreal), Jose Reina (Liverpool) Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid) Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) Marcos Senna (Villarreal), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona).
Forwards: Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia) Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Dani Guiza (Fenerbache) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).
Friday, 4 September 2009
An international break
With the leagues across Europe taking a breather for international football, let's have a look-see about who needs to do what from the leagues we follow.
The Netherlands don't need to do anything. They were the first European qualifiers for South Africa after cutting a swathe through what, for them at least, is a pretty easy group. Bert van Marwijk's side (he's Mark van Bommel's father in-law - FACT!) have won seven from seven, scored 16 goals with just two coming back the other way and sit fourteen points clear of Macedonia - a huge margin. Put it another way: they are two points per match better than any other side in the group. A potential stumbling block for van Marwijk in the lead-up to the finals was the fate of the Dutch contingent at Real Madrid, all of whom were on the outer as soon as Florentino Perez walked back into the boardroom and started doing all that galactico bollocks again. Arjen Robben (Bayern) and Wesley Sneijder (Inter) have moved on, but Rafael van der Vaart has chosen to remain. With little chance of regular football, it'll be hard for van Marwijk to pick him and a move in January may be the only chance van der Vaart has to force himself into the reckoning for South Africa.
On Saturday, the Dutch have a friendly against Japan before Wednesday's trip to Glasgow for what looks a routine job to go eight from eight against Scotland.
France haven't had a great campaign, but lie second in group 7, five points behind Serbia with a game in hand. Goals have been at a premium with none of Les Bleus four wins being by more than one goal. Indeed, Yoann Gourcuff's virtuoso performances have been the only thing keeping the French in it and, perhaps more pertinently, keeping Raymond Domenech in a job. Saturday sees them take on Romania who have struggled to make an impact in the tournament, before an absolutely crunch game in Belgrade. Lose that one and they can kiss goodbye to top spot and automatic qualification. Win it and it's all back on again. A fit Franck Ribéry is vital to their hopes, but with some bizarre tactical formations from Domenech, it could quite easily unravel.
Germany have dropped just two points from their first seven games, but are only four points clear of Russia in second. Crucially, the Russians have a game in hand which they'll play while the Germans have a friendly against South Africa on Saturday. Wednesday sees Azerbaijan go to Germany and it's impossible to think there's any hope of an upset there. While other countries may see their national side succumb to the odd shock result, Germany doesn't tend to. Instead, they improve their goal difference in ruthless fashion as recent demolition jobs bare testament to, such as the 12-0 drubbing of San Marino a couple of years ago. Next month's game in Russia will be the big one in this group.
Group 5 hasn't troubled Spain any, six wins from six seeing them six points clear at the top. Belgium are Saturday's opponents and while they're an up and coming side are Belgium, they lack a little experience at the moment. They're certainly a side to keep an eye on in the not too distant future, but Spain should have few issues in this one. It's another home game on Wednesday too, against Estonia, and you can't see past del Bosque's charges making it eight from eight.
Italy are just a point clear of the Republic of Ireland in group 8, but do have a game in hand. They go away to winless Georgia on Saturday before third placed Bulgaria - not the force they were back 1994 - come to Italy on Wednesday. It's Italy's group to lose and it's almost impossible to imagine they'd do that. Two wins this week and it begins to look very straightforward.
Portugal have a struggle on to make second and the play-offs, lying in third place seven points off leaders Denmark and four behind a resurgent Hungary in second. The fixtures this week therefore become make-or-break as it's off to Copenhagen on Saturday before Hungary visit the Iberian peninsula on Wednesday. Six points from these two games is a must or they can forget about South Africa. Even that may not be enough, but it would certainly get them going in the right direction.
Group 3 is the tightest of the European groups with the top five clubs covered by seven points. Poland are fourth but have played a game fewer than the two sides immediately above them and those same sides are Poland's opponents over the next few days. Northern Ireland visit Poland on Saturday before a trip to Slovenia on Wednesday. Win those and they'll go into second and look good for the play-offs, but this is Poland and something is going to go horribly wrong at some point. It's just what happens.
It's all hotting up in South America as well, and you can read more about that on CONMEBalls.
The Netherlands don't need to do anything. They were the first European qualifiers for South Africa after cutting a swathe through what, for them at least, is a pretty easy group. Bert van Marwijk's side (he's Mark van Bommel's father in-law - FACT!) have won seven from seven, scored 16 goals with just two coming back the other way and sit fourteen points clear of Macedonia - a huge margin. Put it another way: they are two points per match better than any other side in the group. A potential stumbling block for van Marwijk in the lead-up to the finals was the fate of the Dutch contingent at Real Madrid, all of whom were on the outer as soon as Florentino Perez walked back into the boardroom and started doing all that galactico bollocks again. Arjen Robben (Bayern) and Wesley Sneijder (Inter) have moved on, but Rafael van der Vaart has chosen to remain. With little chance of regular football, it'll be hard for van Marwijk to pick him and a move in January may be the only chance van der Vaart has to force himself into the reckoning for South Africa.
On Saturday, the Dutch have a friendly against Japan before Wednesday's trip to Glasgow for what looks a routine job to go eight from eight against Scotland.
France haven't had a great campaign, but lie second in group 7, five points behind Serbia with a game in hand. Goals have been at a premium with none of Les Bleus four wins being by more than one goal. Indeed, Yoann Gourcuff's virtuoso performances have been the only thing keeping the French in it and, perhaps more pertinently, keeping Raymond Domenech in a job. Saturday sees them take on Romania who have struggled to make an impact in the tournament, before an absolutely crunch game in Belgrade. Lose that one and they can kiss goodbye to top spot and automatic qualification. Win it and it's all back on again. A fit Franck Ribéry is vital to their hopes, but with some bizarre tactical formations from Domenech, it could quite easily unravel.
Germany have dropped just two points from their first seven games, but are only four points clear of Russia in second. Crucially, the Russians have a game in hand which they'll play while the Germans have a friendly against South Africa on Saturday. Wednesday sees Azerbaijan go to Germany and it's impossible to think there's any hope of an upset there. While other countries may see their national side succumb to the odd shock result, Germany doesn't tend to. Instead, they improve their goal difference in ruthless fashion as recent demolition jobs bare testament to, such as the 12-0 drubbing of San Marino a couple of years ago. Next month's game in Russia will be the big one in this group.
Group 5 hasn't troubled Spain any, six wins from six seeing them six points clear at the top. Belgium are Saturday's opponents and while they're an up and coming side are Belgium, they lack a little experience at the moment. They're certainly a side to keep an eye on in the not too distant future, but Spain should have few issues in this one. It's another home game on Wednesday too, against Estonia, and you can't see past del Bosque's charges making it eight from eight.
Italy are just a point clear of the Republic of Ireland in group 8, but do have a game in hand. They go away to winless Georgia on Saturday before third placed Bulgaria - not the force they were back 1994 - come to Italy on Wednesday. It's Italy's group to lose and it's almost impossible to imagine they'd do that. Two wins this week and it begins to look very straightforward.
Portugal have a struggle on to make second and the play-offs, lying in third place seven points off leaders Denmark and four behind a resurgent Hungary in second. The fixtures this week therefore become make-or-break as it's off to Copenhagen on Saturday before Hungary visit the Iberian peninsula on Wednesday. Six points from these two games is a must or they can forget about South Africa. Even that may not be enough, but it would certainly get them going in the right direction.
Group 3 is the tightest of the European groups with the top five clubs covered by seven points. Poland are fourth but have played a game fewer than the two sides immediately above them and those same sides are Poland's opponents over the next few days. Northern Ireland visit Poland on Saturday before a trip to Slovenia on Wednesday. Win those and they'll go into second and look good for the play-offs, but this is Poland and something is going to go horribly wrong at some point. It's just what happens.
It's all hotting up in South America as well, and you can read more about that on CONMEBalls.
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