The ref called them both over, they reluctantly came and, sure enough, they both got yellow cards. Although that's better than a maroon shirt about 10 minutes later - he wouldn't come back and when he did he got a yellow card, said something to the ref and got a 2nd yellow (+ a red) and off he went (swearing and kicking chairs out of the way as he went; he was not a happy camper). The club president is a friend of mine and told me this guy later got an 8 week suspension for "threatening the officials"; really makes us wonder what he said to the ref for his 2nd yellow - whatever it was I don't think it was very nice.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Thursday, July 06, 2006
France Beat Portugal for a Finals Berth
Another early 5am start to the day; France and Portugal were playing for the right to face Italy in the World Cup final. The start was so much more promising than the Italy/Germany game, with great passing and an urgency for both teams to get on the scoreboard. The play was technically beautiful. I would have expected no less from a pitch that contained such an ample supply of football superstars; names such as Thierry Henry, Deco, Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, Fabien Barthez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lilian Thuram.
France were the better team early on despite Portugal's highly acclaimed midfield, which included the likes of Figo, Ronaldo and Deco, who was back from suspension. However, with five players already on yellow cards from previous games, perhaps the Portuguese players were a little subdued so as to not be suspended for the final should they beat France. I was greatly relieved to see minimal, if any, theatrics from the players. They just seemed to want to get on with the game; a refreshing change. With France appearing the hungrier side and pushing the attack more, it was little surprise when they made the first major impact on the game. Henry, who was trying to manoeuvre around the Portugal defence just inside their 18-yard box, was brought down and the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot. As is becoming the norm this world cup, there was great controversy. Portugal, of course, were claiming that he dived and it did look slightly exaggerated, but there was definite contact on the trailing ankle from the defender on the ground. Henry, for his part, didn’t protest vigorously like most attackers brought down in the opposition’s penalty area, but rather put up his hands a little as if to say it wasn’t a dive. Deserved or not, it was a penalty and the responsibility fell to the very capable boots of the Maestro himself, Zizou. In potentially his last game on the world stage, he calmly took a two step run up and put it perfectly to the left beyond the outstretched arms of Ricardo, who guessed the right way, futilely though it was.
After 30 minutes of excellent team play, France had taken a 1-nil lead; perhaps not by the most convincing method by it was deserved nonetheless. However, from that point on the game changed, subtly at first but growing more and more obvious as the game wore on. France gradually stopped playing attacking football and instead looked content to hold Portugal off rather than lust after more goals. The challenge had been thrown down and it was up to Portugal to step up and prove themselves; and they did a commendable job indeed.
France is an all-class side but so is Portugal and now it was Portugal pushing and looking like the hungrier of the two, as would be expected. The remainder of the first half saw some brilliant individual skill, particular in the midfield where the majority of the exceptional talent was. Between 20 and 40 metres from either goal line both teams were showing off fantastic step-overs, back-heals and flick-ons, however the players retired to the dressing rooms with Portugal still trailing by the single goal.
The second half continued much the same way as the first half ended with the bulk of the play between the centre circle and the respective 18-yard boxes. The midfielders all produced some excellent lead up play but unfortunately it never led up to anything. Nobody seemed to be able to finish what they started, although Barthez was superb in the French goal grabbing Portugal attempts like he had glue on his gloves. He did have a nervous moment late in the second half, however, as he parried what looked like a straight forward free kick up into the path of three incoming red shirts who had run on through the defensive line, Figo included, and when Figo put his head on the ball all the French fans in the stadium held their breath; but the ball whispered over the top of the bar, which was lucky for Barthez as there was little he would have been able to do about it. Figo, in what was most probably his last game too, put his head in his hands as it gave the crossbar a dusting on the way out.
France’s intention to grind down the clock became more obvious as the second half started coming to a close. Thuram was a rock in defence playing brilliantly, while Barthez seemed content to let the Portugal attacker run him down and waited until the last second before picking up the ball. However, as France played safer Portugal played riskier, desperate to get an equaliser. With less than five minutes of normal time left, even Ricardo came out of his goal and ventured up to the edge of the French penalty area for a corner. As time started running out the acting started increasing, particularly from Portugal who would take any lifeline the referee threw their way. Yet the referee was having none of it and he made up for his early leniency in the first half by cracking down, particularly on fouls, late in the second half.
Despite the relentless attacking pressure and cross after cross, France managed to hold them off right to the end of the four minutes injury time to book a place in the finals opposite Italy. In the end, the game promised more than it actually delivered. Such excellent build up play time and time again resulted in nothing but a change of possession. The final shot count, of 11 shots for Portugal and 6 for France, reflected the lack of finishing.
Earlier in the morning the commentator (it might have been Martin Tyler perhaps?) was saying that France had vowed not to swap shirts this world cup after doing so poorly in 2002 following their ’98 win. However, the last bit of footage I saw before heading off to the shower to get ready for work was Figo and Zidane swapping shirts. A fitting end to a game of modern legends: two of the best players of our time exchanging shirts. What a beautiful game – Joga Bonito.
France were the better team early on despite Portugal's highly acclaimed midfield, which included the likes of Figo, Ronaldo and Deco, who was back from suspension. However, with five players already on yellow cards from previous games, perhaps the Portuguese players were a little subdued so as to not be suspended for the final should they beat France. I was greatly relieved to see minimal, if any, theatrics from the players. They just seemed to want to get on with the game; a refreshing change. With France appearing the hungrier side and pushing the attack more, it was little surprise when they made the first major impact on the game. Henry, who was trying to manoeuvre around the Portugal defence just inside their 18-yard box, was brought down and the referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot. As is becoming the norm this world cup, there was great controversy. Portugal, of course, were claiming that he dived and it did look slightly exaggerated, but there was definite contact on the trailing ankle from the defender on the ground. Henry, for his part, didn’t protest vigorously like most attackers brought down in the opposition’s penalty area, but rather put up his hands a little as if to say it wasn’t a dive. Deserved or not, it was a penalty and the responsibility fell to the very capable boots of the Maestro himself, Zizou. In potentially his last game on the world stage, he calmly took a two step run up and put it perfectly to the left beyond the outstretched arms of Ricardo, who guessed the right way, futilely though it was.
After 30 minutes of excellent team play, France had taken a 1-nil lead; perhaps not by the most convincing method by it was deserved nonetheless. However, from that point on the game changed, subtly at first but growing more and more obvious as the game wore on. France gradually stopped playing attacking football and instead looked content to hold Portugal off rather than lust after more goals. The challenge had been thrown down and it was up to Portugal to step up and prove themselves; and they did a commendable job indeed.
France is an all-class side but so is Portugal and now it was Portugal pushing and looking like the hungrier of the two, as would be expected. The remainder of the first half saw some brilliant individual skill, particular in the midfield where the majority of the exceptional talent was. Between 20 and 40 metres from either goal line both teams were showing off fantastic step-overs, back-heals and flick-ons, however the players retired to the dressing rooms with Portugal still trailing by the single goal.
The second half continued much the same way as the first half ended with the bulk of the play between the centre circle and the respective 18-yard boxes. The midfielders all produced some excellent lead up play but unfortunately it never led up to anything. Nobody seemed to be able to finish what they started, although Barthez was superb in the French goal grabbing Portugal attempts like he had glue on his gloves. He did have a nervous moment late in the second half, however, as he parried what looked like a straight forward free kick up into the path of three incoming red shirts who had run on through the defensive line, Figo included, and when Figo put his head on the ball all the French fans in the stadium held their breath; but the ball whispered over the top of the bar, which was lucky for Barthez as there was little he would have been able to do about it. Figo, in what was most probably his last game too, put his head in his hands as it gave the crossbar a dusting on the way out.
France’s intention to grind down the clock became more obvious as the second half started coming to a close. Thuram was a rock in defence playing brilliantly, while Barthez seemed content to let the Portugal attacker run him down and waited until the last second before picking up the ball. However, as France played safer Portugal played riskier, desperate to get an equaliser. With less than five minutes of normal time left, even Ricardo came out of his goal and ventured up to the edge of the French penalty area for a corner. As time started running out the acting started increasing, particularly from Portugal who would take any lifeline the referee threw their way. Yet the referee was having none of it and he made up for his early leniency in the first half by cracking down, particularly on fouls, late in the second half.
Despite the relentless attacking pressure and cross after cross, France managed to hold them off right to the end of the four minutes injury time to book a place in the finals opposite Italy. In the end, the game promised more than it actually delivered. Such excellent build up play time and time again resulted in nothing but a change of possession. The final shot count, of 11 shots for Portugal and 6 for France, reflected the lack of finishing.
Earlier in the morning the commentator (it might have been Martin Tyler perhaps?) was saying that France had vowed not to swap shirts this world cup after doing so poorly in 2002 following their ’98 win. However, the last bit of footage I saw before heading off to the shower to get ready for work was Figo and Zidane swapping shirts. A fitting end to a game of modern legends: two of the best players of our time exchanging shirts. What a beautiful game – Joga Bonito.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Italy's Minor Miracle Against Germany
Well, who would have predicted that? Italy progress to the World Cup final; the actual final, not just the "finals" (what idiot came up with the term "finals" for the World Cup? The World Cup finals final. Dumb.) After an abysmal performance against Australia in the round of 16 and looking fairly unconvincing in the group stage (despite topping Group E), Italy look to be picking up the pace a bit and managed to bag a brace in the last 2 minutes of extra time against Germany in Dortmund. This mild surprise comes after Germany’s complete control over Group A and strong performances in their knockout games so far, including a brave display against such difficult opposition as Argentina.
I'm in two minds about the game actually. On one hand, I'm disappointed Italy made it through after the treacherous way they got past Australia, but on the other hand they did play pretty well and the goals were top class. I still have no respect for Grosso after his theatrical dive over Lucas Neill, even though he scored the 1st goal with a beautifully struck left foot shot from outside the right corner of the 6-yard box that curled around Lehmann and just snuck inside the far post. However, I've always liked Del Piero, and his experience and deft touch prevailed in the last few seconds as he ran onto a well-weighted pass from Gilardino into the left side of the penalty area and flicked the ball around Lehmann with his right foot into the top right corner of Germany's goal. Although, having come on well into extra time, he was one of the few fresh players on the pitch. Both goals went just inside the respective far posts; perfect placement.
Two beautiful goals after 118 minutes of goalless football when everyone thought the game was just about to go to penalties - unbelievable.
Italy was the better team in the first half, dominating with 58% possession. However, Jurgen Klinsmann was getting very animated on the sideline about the apparent inequality of the referee's decisions, and I have to say Klinsmann had a point. The referee would often ignore challenges that resulted in a German player on his backside but seemingly identical challenges against Italian players usually resulted in free kicks going Italy's way. The later stages of the first half aside, I thought the refereeing was of a much higher standard than most refereeing we had seen so far in this World Cup. Germany managed to turn things around in the second half and played some nice attacking football, although Ballack’s lack of involvement was dissatisfying; in fact, he has had a very lacklustre tournament in general.
Something I find very disappointing about Italy is their theatrics. True to their reputation, they acted like they’d broken their leg almost every time they were tackled and every bone in their face every time there was contact going up for a header. What’s the deal with all the rolling on the ground? Is that supposed to make a player feel better if he is in pain? Surely just lying still is a more definite sign of real injury. Having said that, there were a couple occasions where I was glad it was not me making contact, such as Materazzi’s clearing header from a powerful Kehl shot early in extra time that looked like it almost knocked him out. Ouch! In general, Germany just got up and got on with it while Italy milked it for all it was worth.
At the end of 90 minutes the score was still locked at 0-0. Germany definitely had the momentum going into extra time, but to everyone’s surprise Italy came out firing, looking to make a quick impact, and found both the right post and crossbar in the first few minutes of extra time. It was very nervous times for a suddenly shaky looking German defence. I’m sure Lehmann was glad when his team-mates woke up and started moving the ball forward again, although they certainly looked like they were running out of steam while Italy looked rejuvenated by the short break after 90 minutes (must have been something in their water).
Penalties started looking more and more likely, with neither team looking like they wanted to score. However, the tide suddenly turned when Pirlo played the ball to Grosso just outside the 6-yard box, who calmly curled his shot around Lehmann. There was stunned silence in the predominantly German crowd, understandably enough. With less than 2 minutes to go the hosts had come unstuck and the nation issued a collective groan; so close and yet so far. Klinsmann was desperately urging his players on in the last minute and Odonkor pressed forward aggressively, but Germany, rattled from conceding a goal seconds before and going all out in attack, were caught with nothing left in defence. Gilardino put Del Piero through for a one-on-one with Lehmann and the Juventus record-holder did the rest.
So Italy are the first World Cup finalists of 2006. Will they meet France or Portugal in the finals? It ought to be an excellent game, but, given Zidane’s brilliant form against Brazil, the ever-incredible Arsenal man’s presence (yes, I’m talking about Henry) and the collective experience in the squad members, I’d have to tip France to go through. Ideally France will give Italy a football lesson in the final (as retribution for numerous Oscar performances) but reality is often as unpredictable as it is peculiar. The playoff for 3rd place, presumably between Germany and Portugal, should also be a fantastic game and I’m expecting it to contain some of the best football of the entire tournament. Only time will tell...
I'm in two minds about the game actually. On one hand, I'm disappointed Italy made it through after the treacherous way they got past Australia, but on the other hand they did play pretty well and the goals were top class. I still have no respect for Grosso after his theatrical dive over Lucas Neill, even though he scored the 1st goal with a beautifully struck left foot shot from outside the right corner of the 6-yard box that curled around Lehmann and just snuck inside the far post. However, I've always liked Del Piero, and his experience and deft touch prevailed in the last few seconds as he ran onto a well-weighted pass from Gilardino into the left side of the penalty area and flicked the ball around Lehmann with his right foot into the top right corner of Germany's goal. Although, having come on well into extra time, he was one of the few fresh players on the pitch. Both goals went just inside the respective far posts; perfect placement.
Two beautiful goals after 118 minutes of goalless football when everyone thought the game was just about to go to penalties - unbelievable.
Italy was the better team in the first half, dominating with 58% possession. However, Jurgen Klinsmann was getting very animated on the sideline about the apparent inequality of the referee's decisions, and I have to say Klinsmann had a point. The referee would often ignore challenges that resulted in a German player on his backside but seemingly identical challenges against Italian players usually resulted in free kicks going Italy's way. The later stages of the first half aside, I thought the refereeing was of a much higher standard than most refereeing we had seen so far in this World Cup. Germany managed to turn things around in the second half and played some nice attacking football, although Ballack’s lack of involvement was dissatisfying; in fact, he has had a very lacklustre tournament in general.
Something I find very disappointing about Italy is their theatrics. True to their reputation, they acted like they’d broken their leg almost every time they were tackled and every bone in their face every time there was contact going up for a header. What’s the deal with all the rolling on the ground? Is that supposed to make a player feel better if he is in pain? Surely just lying still is a more definite sign of real injury. Having said that, there were a couple occasions where I was glad it was not me making contact, such as Materazzi’s clearing header from a powerful Kehl shot early in extra time that looked like it almost knocked him out. Ouch! In general, Germany just got up and got on with it while Italy milked it for all it was worth.
At the end of 90 minutes the score was still locked at 0-0. Germany definitely had the momentum going into extra time, but to everyone’s surprise Italy came out firing, looking to make a quick impact, and found both the right post and crossbar in the first few minutes of extra time. It was very nervous times for a suddenly shaky looking German defence. I’m sure Lehmann was glad when his team-mates woke up and started moving the ball forward again, although they certainly looked like they were running out of steam while Italy looked rejuvenated by the short break after 90 minutes (must have been something in their water).
Penalties started looking more and more likely, with neither team looking like they wanted to score. However, the tide suddenly turned when Pirlo played the ball to Grosso just outside the 6-yard box, who calmly curled his shot around Lehmann. There was stunned silence in the predominantly German crowd, understandably enough. With less than 2 minutes to go the hosts had come unstuck and the nation issued a collective groan; so close and yet so far. Klinsmann was desperately urging his players on in the last minute and Odonkor pressed forward aggressively, but Germany, rattled from conceding a goal seconds before and going all out in attack, were caught with nothing left in defence. Gilardino put Del Piero through for a one-on-one with Lehmann and the Juventus record-holder did the rest.
So Italy are the first World Cup finalists of 2006. Will they meet France or Portugal in the finals? It ought to be an excellent game, but, given Zidane’s brilliant form against Brazil, the ever-incredible Arsenal man’s presence (yes, I’m talking about Henry) and the collective experience in the squad members, I’d have to tip France to go through. Ideally France will give Italy a football lesson in the final (as retribution for numerous Oscar performances) but reality is often as unpredictable as it is peculiar. The playoff for 3rd place, presumably between Germany and Portugal, should also be a fantastic game and I’m expecting it to contain some of the best football of the entire tournament. Only time will tell...
Monday, June 26, 2006
Undone by the Referee Again
Australia have been robbed again by a bad refereeing decision. Grosso dived over the top of Lucas Neill, who was lying on the ground not hindering the Italian at all, inside the Australian penalty area and the referee called it a penalty! What a complete load of garbage.
There's no way that should have been a penalty. Totti took the spot kick very well under enormous pressure but it was a penalty that just should never have been. To make matters worse it was right on the 93 minute mark after the full 3 minutes of injury time had been played with the score still 0-0; it was literally just a few seconds before the full time whistle.
Australia had dominated possession from the very start, dictating the flow of the game pretty much all the way. Granted, the Italian defense was rock solid and Australia just couldn't do enough with the ball near the Italian 18-yard box, but it was Australia's game all the way. The Italians were tiring and Australia was looking very strong passing the ball around, while Italy just whacked the ball way up to their forwards at every chance. Australia's play was very disappointing in the second half (from a goal opportunity perspective), having a great numerical advantage after Materazzi was controversially sent off just 5 minutes after the half-time restart; the Australians just didn't do enough with the ball. It was very frustrating from a spectator's perspective.
For my money, however, the 12 Australians out there on the pitch are heros to football in Australia today, and Lucas Neill should be proud of his efforts and those of his team mates. To go out like that was very cruel indeed. Italy go through to the quarter finals but certainly don't deserve to. It was a complete travesty.
I'll put together a more complete review from my notes after some sleep (it's 3:30am now).
There's no way that should have been a penalty. Totti took the spot kick very well under enormous pressure but it was a penalty that just should never have been. To make matters worse it was right on the 93 minute mark after the full 3 minutes of injury time had been played with the score still 0-0; it was literally just a few seconds before the full time whistle.
Australia had dominated possession from the very start, dictating the flow of the game pretty much all the way. Granted, the Italian defense was rock solid and Australia just couldn't do enough with the ball near the Italian 18-yard box, but it was Australia's game all the way. The Italians were tiring and Australia was looking very strong passing the ball around, while Italy just whacked the ball way up to their forwards at every chance. Australia's play was very disappointing in the second half (from a goal opportunity perspective), having a great numerical advantage after Materazzi was controversially sent off just 5 minutes after the half-time restart; the Australians just didn't do enough with the ball. It was very frustrating from a spectator's perspective.
For my money, however, the 12 Australians out there on the pitch are heros to football in Australia today, and Lucas Neill should be proud of his efforts and those of his team mates. To go out like that was very cruel indeed. Italy go through to the quarter finals but certainly don't deserve to. It was a complete travesty.
I'll put together a more complete review from my notes after some sleep (it's 3:30am now).
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Australia Are Through!
5:00am and the alarm goes off beside my bed - quick, quick, get up! Australia v Croatia starting now! I grabbed a jumper, some trackie dacks, headed downstairs to the TV & made myself a wake-up cup of tea. The tele goes on and there's 1:30 already on the clock and...what's going on? A free kick already?!?? OK, come on guys, keep it out. Srna takes a lovely curling kick from just outside the area, over the wall and into the top left corner - 1 nil to Croatia. There was nothing Kalac could have done to stop that. Hang on a sec...Kalac? Where's Schwarzer? I missed the first 90 seconds and the whole game is wrong already!
OK, only 2 minutes gone. Still a full 88 left to go, plenty of time to pull that goal back and, if nothing else can be said for Australia, we're fighters who put in 110% right to the final whistle. Now, time to assess the situation - Cahill and Kewell are both on the pitch, excellent; Bresciano's not, Schwarzer's not - hmmm...OK; Viduka and Sterjovski up front - good. (Sterjovski, by the way, is very under-rated in my opinion. I'd barely heard of him before this world cup and he's had a great tournament down the right wing so far.) Time to concentrate on the action again and no sooner than I turn my brain back on I see Josip Simunic with his whole arm right around Viduka's waist pull him over in the penalty area - clear penalty, no doubt about it. But the ref didn't see it that way and let the play go on for a goal kick.
What's the deal with the refereeing this world cup? The half dozen games I've watched in their entirety have been nothing short atrocious. FIFA have a lot to answer for in their refs this year. There has been a fair bit of talk about Australia being harshly done by as far as the ref decisions have gone this world cup, and while I try not to complain I have to say I think it's fairly true. We've had many fouls called against us for very minimal, if any, contact and refs seem to turn a blind eye in many situations where we've been wronged (like Viduka getting clearly pulled down in the 18-yard box for example or Schwarzer getting barged out of the way in his own 6-yard box).
But the game goes on. Pushing down into the Croatian area Cahill is pulled out of the way by one defender and the other Croatian (Tomas) with the pair must have thought he was the keeper judging by the use of his hands. Penalty. Given. Finally. Craig Moore steps up to take the kick. Even though it's early on in the game, the pressure on him must be enormous - this kick could be the difference between Australia going through to the second round or not. I was a little surprised it wasn't Cahill or Kewell to take the kick actually, but Moore is a good cool player so I was comfortable with him. The whistle blows, Craig takes the run up while the keeper is dancing around and, not distracted, he calmly slots the ball to the keeper's right (when Pletikosa dived left) - GOAL! Australia 1 - Croatia 1. After all that pressure Australia applied, we final get an equaliser. We're back and only getting stronger (plus we should already have had a second penalty). And so it was a drawn game when we went to the break at half time (time for another cup of tea and a quick breakie).
But it was not to last. Croatia pushed back and, with a mess of players in front of him, Kovac fired it through from the edge of the 18-yard box and wished for the best, which was exactly what he got as Kalac, who must have felt like committing suicide after this incident, got his tall frame down in front of the shot but somehow managed to knock it up over himself to trickle into the net! Given the number of legs in front of him I'm guessing he didn't see the shot clearly until it cleared the bodies, which would have been just outside the 6-yard box but still, the question has to be asked: would Schwarzer have saved it? It wasn't the first time during the game that Kalac looked a little shaky having fumbled a ball earlier (just a few minutes before the half-time break) - luckily no Croatians were close enough to take advantage and he had recovered quickly.
So once again Australia was on the back foot, fighting to stay in the World Cup - but never count us out until the very end. Hiddink was applying copious amounts of pressure to the Croatian defence with Aloisi & Bresciano coming on in an all-out assault on the Croatian goal. But Pletikosa, full credit to him, came up with some very brave keeping to deny Aloisi and Cahill together as all three have a big pile up right on the line and Pletikosa manages to hang onto the ball. Several replays later it's clear the ball did not actually cross the line - so close and yet so far. And, once again, Guus was the master of strategy, bringing on Kennedy in a do or die effort. Almost immediately after the substitution, Kennedy made his presence felt using his height to win a header which is then hand balled! Another penalty!! At least it should be - what's going on with this ref? He doesn't give it. What a farce! Graham Poll must have had something in his eye. One of the most important games in Australian football history and we get a blind ref! But then a Bresciano cross falls to Kewell who, when the pressure was on, came up with the goods, chesting it down for a powerful volley past the keeper into the net. 2-2 and tied again with 10 minutes left. Nail-biting stuff! Could we hold on?
The commentator at this time was saying they should just play possession and hang on for the draw, but I don't think that was enough. Australia are an attacking team and needed to keep pushing forward to keep Croatia on the back foot. The last 10 minutes must have been the weirdest of the game with a host of yellow cards and some really strange refereeing in the last few seconds. Simic was given his 2nd yellow for bringing down Kewell, or perhaps it was for handling the ref, which is much more important in my book - the #1 golden rule: never touch the ref. Whatever reason, he was off with about 5 minutes to go - looking good for Australia.
Australia has a great defence, their best area in my opinion, but in every game they seem to fall asleep for anywhere up to 15 minutes and this time, even given the importance of these last 5 minutes, it was immediately after Simic's send off. Craig Moore, our 1st goal scorer and veteran defender managed to clear off the line as Kalac was beaten by Tudor. This was real heart-stopping action and I've read similar opinions from people who have no vested interest in either country. The game is almost all being played within striking distance of both goals - this is not boring midfield possession play. The ball went back into Croatia's half and as they brought it up the line Emerton moved to stop them and handled the ball (quite deliberately by the looks of it) - dumb! That's his 2nd yellow and he's off too. So back to 10 men a piece.
With only a minute or 2 of normal time left just about every yellow shirt was behind the ball, the whole Australian team defending, as Croatia seemed to be making one last ditch effort to score. But it was not to be for Croatia as Australia made some good blocks & clearances (from such unlikely defenders as Viduka, Kennedy, Kewell, etc.) cleared the ball and moved up in their own counter-attack. Then probably the most incredible refereeing event of the whole world cup - Simunic, disgrace that he is, receives his 2nd yellow card and should have been off, but he stayed on the field! Had Poll gone crazy? Two yellows = 1 red; you're gone. What?!?!
Two minutes into injury time the 4th official shows 3 minutes of injury time to be played, so just one more minute and we would be going though to the knock-out stages. Once again I was off the edge of my seat. The ball gets played up to Aloisi who takes it up to the corner flag and is harshly tackled to put the ball out for a throw in (should have been another yellow card against Croatia in my opinion). But the weirdness wasn't over yet, not by a long stretch. Croatia take the throw and somehow manage to get 2 balls on the field. How did that happen? The ref stops play and brings the ball back to the corner flag for an Australian throw - why? Was it a foul throw? Whatever the reason, Bresciano throws it in, it gets taken over towards the goal and there is a foul AND Viduka puts the ball in the net (finally!) AND the ref blows his whistle. What's it going to be? Goal or penalty? Wait a sec, there was a 3rd option that I hadn't even considered - the ref blew for full time! With the ball less than a metre from the Croatian goal, a definite penalty claim and the ball finding the net less than a second later, the ref decides he's had enough and calls the game to a close.
But, even though the full-time whistle had blown, the spectacle hadn't finished. Simunic gets his THIRD yellow card!!! (for dissent I think) and is finally off, although by this stage it makes little difference - Croatia will progress no further and the game is over. The ref, I think, really lost control of the game at the end and was getting all confused. That was one of the weirdest ends to a game I've ever seen.
The final result: 2-2 and Australia are runners-up in Group F and, as such, will play Italy in next game in the knockout stages (at 1am Tuesday morning Sydney time). What should the score really have been? Your guess is as good as mine. I would think the last goal (or penalty) should have counted, plus I think there were another 2 definite penalties that should have gone Australia's way. In my mind the score should really have been about 4-2 or maybe 5-2 to Australia (but then it wouldn't have been as exciting). Australia, for my money, were by far the better team and were almost undone by some atrocious refereeing...again! I don't think Graham Poll will be presiding over anymore games this world cup and will most likely be under serious review by FIFA for, if nothing else, the 3 yellow cards to Simunic before sending him off. The German ref from the Australia/Brazil game (Markus Merk), so I believe, is also under investigation by FIFA for his post-game incident with Kewell when he essentially told Harry that was the end of his World Cup - was that pre-determined bias???
Well, what a jubilant, but WEIRD, start to the morning - it's going to be hard to keep the grin off my face yet again. And as I drive to the train station for my morning train to work, the sun's just starting to climb into the sky. It was still low enough (being only about an hour after sunrise) to cast a very golden glow over Sydney, and with the whole city blanketed in heavy mist it became an ethereal, other-worldly, golden fog adorning the heart of Australia (ie. Sydney). Very symbolic and apt considering the events of the previous couple hours on the other side of the world...
OK, only 2 minutes gone. Still a full 88 left to go, plenty of time to pull that goal back and, if nothing else can be said for Australia, we're fighters who put in 110% right to the final whistle. Now, time to assess the situation - Cahill and Kewell are both on the pitch, excellent; Bresciano's not, Schwarzer's not - hmmm...OK; Viduka and Sterjovski up front - good. (Sterjovski, by the way, is very under-rated in my opinion. I'd barely heard of him before this world cup and he's had a great tournament down the right wing so far.) Time to concentrate on the action again and no sooner than I turn my brain back on I see Josip Simunic with his whole arm right around Viduka's waist pull him over in the penalty area - clear penalty, no doubt about it. But the ref didn't see it that way and let the play go on for a goal kick.
What's the deal with the refereeing this world cup? The half dozen games I've watched in their entirety have been nothing short atrocious. FIFA have a lot to answer for in their refs this year. There has been a fair bit of talk about Australia being harshly done by as far as the ref decisions have gone this world cup, and while I try not to complain I have to say I think it's fairly true. We've had many fouls called against us for very minimal, if any, contact and refs seem to turn a blind eye in many situations where we've been wronged (like Viduka getting clearly pulled down in the 18-yard box for example or Schwarzer getting barged out of the way in his own 6-yard box).
But the game goes on. Pushing down into the Croatian area Cahill is pulled out of the way by one defender and the other Croatian (Tomas) with the pair must have thought he was the keeper judging by the use of his hands. Penalty. Given. Finally. Craig Moore steps up to take the kick. Even though it's early on in the game, the pressure on him must be enormous - this kick could be the difference between Australia going through to the second round or not. I was a little surprised it wasn't Cahill or Kewell to take the kick actually, but Moore is a good cool player so I was comfortable with him. The whistle blows, Craig takes the run up while the keeper is dancing around and, not distracted, he calmly slots the ball to the keeper's right (when Pletikosa dived left) - GOAL! Australia 1 - Croatia 1. After all that pressure Australia applied, we final get an equaliser. We're back and only getting stronger (plus we should already have had a second penalty). And so it was a drawn game when we went to the break at half time (time for another cup of tea and a quick breakie).
But it was not to last. Croatia pushed back and, with a mess of players in front of him, Kovac fired it through from the edge of the 18-yard box and wished for the best, which was exactly what he got as Kalac, who must have felt like committing suicide after this incident, got his tall frame down in front of the shot but somehow managed to knock it up over himself to trickle into the net! Given the number of legs in front of him I'm guessing he didn't see the shot clearly until it cleared the bodies, which would have been just outside the 6-yard box but still, the question has to be asked: would Schwarzer have saved it? It wasn't the first time during the game that Kalac looked a little shaky having fumbled a ball earlier (just a few minutes before the half-time break) - luckily no Croatians were close enough to take advantage and he had recovered quickly.
So once again Australia was on the back foot, fighting to stay in the World Cup - but never count us out until the very end. Hiddink was applying copious amounts of pressure to the Croatian defence with Aloisi & Bresciano coming on in an all-out assault on the Croatian goal. But Pletikosa, full credit to him, came up with some very brave keeping to deny Aloisi and Cahill together as all three have a big pile up right on the line and Pletikosa manages to hang onto the ball. Several replays later it's clear the ball did not actually cross the line - so close and yet so far. And, once again, Guus was the master of strategy, bringing on Kennedy in a do or die effort. Almost immediately after the substitution, Kennedy made his presence felt using his height to win a header which is then hand balled! Another penalty!! At least it should be - what's going on with this ref? He doesn't give it. What a farce! Graham Poll must have had something in his eye. One of the most important games in Australian football history and we get a blind ref! But then a Bresciano cross falls to Kewell who, when the pressure was on, came up with the goods, chesting it down for a powerful volley past the keeper into the net. 2-2 and tied again with 10 minutes left. Nail-biting stuff! Could we hold on?
The commentator at this time was saying they should just play possession and hang on for the draw, but I don't think that was enough. Australia are an attacking team and needed to keep pushing forward to keep Croatia on the back foot. The last 10 minutes must have been the weirdest of the game with a host of yellow cards and some really strange refereeing in the last few seconds. Simic was given his 2nd yellow for bringing down Kewell, or perhaps it was for handling the ref, which is much more important in my book - the #1 golden rule: never touch the ref. Whatever reason, he was off with about 5 minutes to go - looking good for Australia.
Australia has a great defence, their best area in my opinion, but in every game they seem to fall asleep for anywhere up to 15 minutes and this time, even given the importance of these last 5 minutes, it was immediately after Simic's send off. Craig Moore, our 1st goal scorer and veteran defender managed to clear off the line as Kalac was beaten by Tudor. This was real heart-stopping action and I've read similar opinions from people who have no vested interest in either country. The game is almost all being played within striking distance of both goals - this is not boring midfield possession play. The ball went back into Croatia's half and as they brought it up the line Emerton moved to stop them and handled the ball (quite deliberately by the looks of it) - dumb! That's his 2nd yellow and he's off too. So back to 10 men a piece.
With only a minute or 2 of normal time left just about every yellow shirt was behind the ball, the whole Australian team defending, as Croatia seemed to be making one last ditch effort to score. But it was not to be for Croatia as Australia made some good blocks & clearances (from such unlikely defenders as Viduka, Kennedy, Kewell, etc.) cleared the ball and moved up in their own counter-attack. Then probably the most incredible refereeing event of the whole world cup - Simunic, disgrace that he is, receives his 2nd yellow card and should have been off, but he stayed on the field! Had Poll gone crazy? Two yellows = 1 red; you're gone. What?!?!
Two minutes into injury time the 4th official shows 3 minutes of injury time to be played, so just one more minute and we would be going though to the knock-out stages. Once again I was off the edge of my seat. The ball gets played up to Aloisi who takes it up to the corner flag and is harshly tackled to put the ball out for a throw in (should have been another yellow card against Croatia in my opinion). But the weirdness wasn't over yet, not by a long stretch. Croatia take the throw and somehow manage to get 2 balls on the field. How did that happen? The ref stops play and brings the ball back to the corner flag for an Australian throw - why? Was it a foul throw? Whatever the reason, Bresciano throws it in, it gets taken over towards the goal and there is a foul AND Viduka puts the ball in the net (finally!) AND the ref blows his whistle. What's it going to be? Goal or penalty? Wait a sec, there was a 3rd option that I hadn't even considered - the ref blew for full time! With the ball less than a metre from the Croatian goal, a definite penalty claim and the ball finding the net less than a second later, the ref decides he's had enough and calls the game to a close.
But, even though the full-time whistle had blown, the spectacle hadn't finished. Simunic gets his THIRD yellow card!!! (for dissent I think) and is finally off, although by this stage it makes little difference - Croatia will progress no further and the game is over. The ref, I think, really lost control of the game at the end and was getting all confused. That was one of the weirdest ends to a game I've ever seen.
The final result: 2-2 and Australia are runners-up in Group F and, as such, will play Italy in next game in the knockout stages (at 1am Tuesday morning Sydney time). What should the score really have been? Your guess is as good as mine. I would think the last goal (or penalty) should have counted, plus I think there were another 2 definite penalties that should have gone Australia's way. In my mind the score should really have been about 4-2 or maybe 5-2 to Australia (but then it wouldn't have been as exciting). Australia, for my money, were by far the better team and were almost undone by some atrocious refereeing...again! I don't think Graham Poll will be presiding over anymore games this world cup and will most likely be under serious review by FIFA for, if nothing else, the 3 yellow cards to Simunic before sending him off. The German ref from the Australia/Brazil game (Markus Merk), so I believe, is also under investigation by FIFA for his post-game incident with Kewell when he essentially told Harry that was the end of his World Cup - was that pre-determined bias???
Well, what a jubilant, but WEIRD, start to the morning - it's going to be hard to keep the grin off my face yet again. And as I drive to the train station for my morning train to work, the sun's just starting to climb into the sky. It was still low enough (being only about an hour after sunrise) to cast a very golden glow over Sydney, and with the whole city blanketed in heavy mist it became an ethereal, other-worldly, golden fog adorning the heart of Australia (ie. Sydney). Very symbolic and apt considering the events of the previous couple hours on the other side of the world...
Monday, June 12, 2006
First Ever Goal in a World Cup Finals
With 26 minutes gone in the Australia vs. Japan World Cup game, every Australian watching the game, either in Kaiserslautern or in front of a big screen (or not so big screen as in my case), which would translate to millions (in a country of < 20 million that's a fair whack of the population), were devastated and fuming. I think Egypt was our new national enemy (the ref being Egyptian). The Japanese chipped a cross into a group of 2 attackers & 2 defenders. Schwarzer came out for it (that close to his own goal he should have owned it) but was barged out of the way by one of the attackers and watched the ball trickle into his own net. And the ref let the goal stand.
It was a complete travesty! Mark Viduka was penalised in the Japanese 18-yard box for a similar thing shortly before where he clearly went for the ball (and almost got a head on it) but just bumped up against the keeper, who got a free kick from the encounter. So why not the same decision at the other end of the field??? I had images of the Arsenal/Barcelona Champion's League finals going through my head suddenly. What an appalling call. By the ref's own later admission he shouldn't have let the goal count but should have given a free kick to Australia for the challenge. I was crushed - the game was clearly ours with the Aussie's dominating the game in every way (except for goal count) and yet it was looking like that would be the end of our 2006 World Cup campaign right then and there.
But in true Aussie style we battled on and Harry Kewell showed the world what he thought of the recent debarcle with a stinging shot that grased the top of the bar as it whistled over. I've always thought Viduka was over-rated. He's so often depicted as one of Australia's best ever goal scorers but every time I see him play he can't find the net and once again he had a couple great chances at very close range that were well parried by the Japanese keeper. OK, the keeper did very well stopping the shots, but that's why Viduka gets paid the big bucks - to get the ball past good keepers. However, even though he still didn't score, I have to credit him with a good game. His physical fitness, like all the Aussies', really gave the Japanese problems and pyschologically, I think, he was very effective, harrying the Japanese tirelessly despite the 35 degree heat.
Chance after chance came and went and Japan was just hanging in by the skin of their teeth. A Viduka free kick blasted through the wall, well stopped by the keeper. A Bresciano free kick curled around the wall brushed the outside of the post and buried itself in the side netting. Corner after corner, set play after set play and with 15 minutes left to go it was looking very doubtful if we'd be still be in this tournament in a week's time. But Guus had figured out how to rectify the problem and he brought on Cahill, Kennedy & Aloisi throughout the 2nd half and stirred up the attack considerably.
Kennedy was involved in just about every play around the Japanese 18-yard box from the instant he stepped on the field. But it was Cahill and Aloisi who are national heroes today. A long Lucas Neill throw saw the Japanese keeper come out to punch the ball away - mistake. There was a little scramble around the edge of the 6-yard box and the ball fell for Cahill, who doesn't often waste goal scoring opportunities (unlike some other Australian forwards...ahem) and with only a defender on the line filling in for his woefully misplaced keeper, Cahill struck gold! Australia's first ever goal in a World Cup final stages game!!! He'll go into our history books forever. Suddenly Australia had some hope again - with only 7 minutes left we might be able to hang on for a draw and 1 point from the first game in the group stage.
But Cahill wasn't finished there. With only 2 minutes of normal time left the ball fell for Aloisi who, with his back to the goal, played the ball into space a few metres away where Cahill was waiting. Poor defense. They gave his waaaay too much time, watched him trap the ball, push it forward a couple feet, have a look to see where he wanted to put it and brilliantly curl the ball past the keeper and against the inside of the post where it bounced virtually straight across the goal line into the inside-side netting on the other side of the goal. Australia had a 2-1 lead with only 2 minutes left to go - every yellow shirt in the stadium errupted. It was brilliant, and it was almost all Cahill. What a legend!
But we still weren't finished! Aloisi, who I think by comparison to Viduka, is under-rated, had one last statement to make. This is the man who calmly slotted home the last penalty in the shoot-out with Uruguay in the last qualifer to get us to the final stages. Off came the shirt and he sprinted the length of the field in celebration - it took that long for his team mates to catch up with him. Well, once again, Aloisi showed a clean pair of heels, sprinting through the weak defense, knocking the ball into a good position for a left-footed shot and blasting his shot across the goal, past a keeper who was too slow coming off his line, into the same inside-side netting where Cahill had put it a few minutes before. 3-1 and just seconds of extra time left to play.
Over the last 6 or 7 minutes (this was after midnight local Sydney time) I'd stood up and been edging closer and closer to the TV. By the time Aloisi earned his keep I was about 2 feet away and jumping up and down - lucky my wife had fallen asleep and gone to bed about an hour earlier, she would have thought I was nuts (I don't think she quite gets it). So there I was in my yellow Australian jersey, jumping up and down about 2 feet in front of the TV in our family room at almost 1am. Not only had Timmy Cahill put Australia on the scoreboard for the first ever time in the World Cup final stages, but he and John Aloisi had given us 3 points from our first World Cup game in 3 decades!! It ought to be a national holiday! And if we can destroy the Japanese side like that then surely our last game against Croatia in a week, while certainly not in the bag, is looking very promising indeed. We might even give the legendary Brasilians a good run for their money (we've done that before). Second place in group F is looking more and more likely with the form we've been in lately - this may be the start of things to come (although I may be getting a little carried away in post-win euphoria; I even forgave the ref's first half blindness and decided not to single-handedly declare war on Egypt). Johnny Warren would be proud.
It's going to be very hard indeed to wipe the smile off my face today (and concentrate on work), even given the fact that I only got about 4 hours sleep and I've got a big Data Warehousing/Reporting demo with the boss at 10am today. Yawn...
It was a complete travesty! Mark Viduka was penalised in the Japanese 18-yard box for a similar thing shortly before where he clearly went for the ball (and almost got a head on it) but just bumped up against the keeper, who got a free kick from the encounter. So why not the same decision at the other end of the field??? I had images of the Arsenal/Barcelona Champion's League finals going through my head suddenly. What an appalling call. By the ref's own later admission he shouldn't have let the goal count but should have given a free kick to Australia for the challenge. I was crushed - the game was clearly ours with the Aussie's dominating the game in every way (except for goal count) and yet it was looking like that would be the end of our 2006 World Cup campaign right then and there.
But in true Aussie style we battled on and Harry Kewell showed the world what he thought of the recent debarcle with a stinging shot that grased the top of the bar as it whistled over. I've always thought Viduka was over-rated. He's so often depicted as one of Australia's best ever goal scorers but every time I see him play he can't find the net and once again he had a couple great chances at very close range that were well parried by the Japanese keeper. OK, the keeper did very well stopping the shots, but that's why Viduka gets paid the big bucks - to get the ball past good keepers. However, even though he still didn't score, I have to credit him with a good game. His physical fitness, like all the Aussies', really gave the Japanese problems and pyschologically, I think, he was very effective, harrying the Japanese tirelessly despite the 35 degree heat.
Chance after chance came and went and Japan was just hanging in by the skin of their teeth. A Viduka free kick blasted through the wall, well stopped by the keeper. A Bresciano free kick curled around the wall brushed the outside of the post and buried itself in the side netting. Corner after corner, set play after set play and with 15 minutes left to go it was looking very doubtful if we'd be still be in this tournament in a week's time. But Guus had figured out how to rectify the problem and he brought on Cahill, Kennedy & Aloisi throughout the 2nd half and stirred up the attack considerably.
Kennedy was involved in just about every play around the Japanese 18-yard box from the instant he stepped on the field. But it was Cahill and Aloisi who are national heroes today. A long Lucas Neill throw saw the Japanese keeper come out to punch the ball away - mistake. There was a little scramble around the edge of the 6-yard box and the ball fell for Cahill, who doesn't often waste goal scoring opportunities (unlike some other Australian forwards...ahem) and with only a defender on the line filling in for his woefully misplaced keeper, Cahill struck gold! Australia's first ever goal in a World Cup final stages game!!! He'll go into our history books forever. Suddenly Australia had some hope again - with only 7 minutes left we might be able to hang on for a draw and 1 point from the first game in the group stage.
But Cahill wasn't finished there. With only 2 minutes of normal time left the ball fell for Aloisi who, with his back to the goal, played the ball into space a few metres away where Cahill was waiting. Poor defense. They gave his waaaay too much time, watched him trap the ball, push it forward a couple feet, have a look to see where he wanted to put it and brilliantly curl the ball past the keeper and against the inside of the post where it bounced virtually straight across the goal line into the inside-side netting on the other side of the goal. Australia had a 2-1 lead with only 2 minutes left to go - every yellow shirt in the stadium errupted. It was brilliant, and it was almost all Cahill. What a legend!
But we still weren't finished! Aloisi, who I think by comparison to Viduka, is under-rated, had one last statement to make. This is the man who calmly slotted home the last penalty in the shoot-out with Uruguay in the last qualifer to get us to the final stages. Off came the shirt and he sprinted the length of the field in celebration - it took that long for his team mates to catch up with him. Well, once again, Aloisi showed a clean pair of heels, sprinting through the weak defense, knocking the ball into a good position for a left-footed shot and blasting his shot across the goal, past a keeper who was too slow coming off his line, into the same inside-side netting where Cahill had put it a few minutes before. 3-1 and just seconds of extra time left to play.
Over the last 6 or 7 minutes (this was after midnight local Sydney time) I'd stood up and been edging closer and closer to the TV. By the time Aloisi earned his keep I was about 2 feet away and jumping up and down - lucky my wife had fallen asleep and gone to bed about an hour earlier, she would have thought I was nuts (I don't think she quite gets it). So there I was in my yellow Australian jersey, jumping up and down about 2 feet in front of the TV in our family room at almost 1am. Not only had Timmy Cahill put Australia on the scoreboard for the first ever time in the World Cup final stages, but he and John Aloisi had given us 3 points from our first World Cup game in 3 decades!! It ought to be a national holiday! And if we can destroy the Japanese side like that then surely our last game against Croatia in a week, while certainly not in the bag, is looking very promising indeed. We might even give the legendary Brasilians a good run for their money (we've done that before). Second place in group F is looking more and more likely with the form we've been in lately - this may be the start of things to come (although I may be getting a little carried away in post-win euphoria; I even forgave the ref's first half blindness and decided not to single-handedly declare war on Egypt). Johnny Warren would be proud.
It's going to be very hard indeed to wipe the smile off my face today (and concentrate on work), even given the fact that I only got about 4 hours sleep and I've got a big Data Warehousing/Reporting demo with the boss at 10am today. Yawn...
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Barca 2 - Gunners Robbed
I got up at 4:30 this morning to watch the live broadcast of the 2006 Champion's League final between Barcelona and Arsenal (those being my 2 favourite teams). What I saw, in addition to some superb football, was an abysmal display of refereeing. It was a disgrace.
Where do I start? Well, of course it has to be Jens Lehmann's red card 18 minutes into the game. OK, technically the ref was correct. Lehmann did trip Eto'o and it certainly looked deliberate. But the whole point of the instant red card when the last defender intentionally fouls an attacker in a scoring position is to pretty much guarantee that a goal results (as it should have before the foul). In this case, the ball ran on for Giuly who easily put it in the empty net. I know there will be a huge amount of debate about the event but I think a better thing to have done would have been to let the goal count and consider that suitable punishment. Either the red card rule needs some refinement or the referee ought to be allowed to exercise discretion given the circumstances (such as the start of a Champions League final). What did the game gain by Lehmann's dismissal? Nothing! Not only that but Arsenal had to take off one of their brilliant outfield players to bring on the sub keeper - double punishment. Admittedly, for a keeper of Lehmann's level (would he be considered the best in the world at the moment?) it was one of the dumbest things he could have done - better to concede the goal and come back (as Arsenal continually show they can) with a full strength squad. And my heart really goes out to Pires for his sacrifice. What a disappointing thing to be asked to do - come off after less than 20 minutes into your team's first ever Champion's League final when you're still fit and fresh, especially when it's probably your last game with the club. So the ref's first major blunder hurt Lehmann & Pires personally, Arsenal in general, and even Barcelona because Ronaldinho missed the free kick from just outside the area. Score after 20 minutes: referee 4 - game nil.
Now, first and foremost, I support Arsenal. But I have to say I disagree with the ref's call that resulted in the first goal - an Arsenal goal. Eboue went down on the right wing just outside the area. The ref's call: foul - direct free kick. I was ecstatic when Henry popped an inch-perfect cross right on the edge of the 6-yard box for Campbell to head perfectly about a foot inside the far post to leave the keeper standing, dumbfounded, on his line in the middle of the goal. That was a flawless text-book set play. But it was marred by the fact that it probably should never have been a free kick in the first place. To me it looked like there was minimal contact between Eboue and the Puyol (the Barca defender involved) and the resulting fall was fairly theatrical. Although, out of all the ref's poor calls, I'd say this was almost reasonable; all the more so since it resulted in an Arsenal lead (kidding). Henry did a great job up front, seemingly on his own, and very nearly scored a 2nd on a few occasions. In fact, not long after Lehmann walked off, Henry got inside his defender (I think it was Marquez) and let a cracker go from outside the area to just inside the near post. Valdes, the Spainish keeper, could only deflect it and the reflection just about made it to the side-line/halfway-line intersection. Henry has such great speed, control and power. He'll be sorely missed if he moves to Spain next season (which, I think, is pretty much a foregone conclusion now - but if he had to go anywhere I'm glad it's Barcelona).
Almunia did a commendable job as Arsenal's backup keeper stopping arguably the current best attacking team in the world from scoring on several occasions, especially considering his team was down a man. But Arsenal hasn't earned a reputation as the best defensive team in the world for nothing. Ashley Cole and Toure in particular put up a solid defense on both wings keeping Giuly and Eto'o, respectively, at bay. It seemed like just about every play on the left side involved Cole. He's as good attacking as he is defending; I'm glad he's back as are most Gunners fans I suspect. Due mostly to the impassable Arsenal defense, the half-time score was 1-0 to Arsenal.
There were numerous fouls given and yellow cards given that were a complete farce. For me I'd had enough when Henry was given a yellow for being kicked shortly into the 2nd half. The replay clearly showed him playing the ball out and getting kicked in the thigh for his trouble. And what does he get for taking this punishment? Here you go, have a yellow. That's, literally, adding insult to injury. By this stage I'd pretty much lost all respect for the ref and that's saying something since I'd had it drummed into me that you always respect the ref and play his whistle (while I was playing myself and later refereeing).
The rain started pelting down shortly after half-time making the ground very slick for the keepers (just to make Almunia's already difficult job even harder). Barcelona had a few subs by this stage, one at half time (Iniesta), one not too far into the 2nd half (Larsson), and a third (Belletti) with about 20 minutes to go, in order to stir things up and penetrate the seemingly impenetrable defence. And it appeared to work, sort of, when Eto'o scored an equaliser with a point blank touch in at the left wing near post after a touch on from Larsson in the centre. The only problem...Eto'o was offside. Normally I'd be cheering at seeing Barcelona score, especially against such world class opposition, but this morning I was just shaking my head in disgust. Score: 1-1.
I was actually pleasantly surprised how well Arsenal contained Ronaldinho. Barca was playing balls to him just about everytime they got possession and he displayed his awesome ball skill as he moved forward, while being harried by Alexander Hleb mostly (I've got to pay more attention to Hleb in future - I definitely under-rated him), before being shut down by 2 or 3 Arsenal backs. What great team work. A top-notch back line working tirelessly in unity. (Actually, I was expecting Ronaldinho to be the main Barca man, and he was very good as usual, but I think Deco played a more vital role for Barcelona - he was involved in just about everything between the halfway line and Arsenal's penalty area.) However, it was not enough and Larsson put the sub Belletti through into the side of the 6-yard box who then rifled a shot across goal that deflected off Almunia's out-stretched foot only to bounce into the top of his net. Unlucky, since I think had Almunia missed the shot it would have gone clear across his goal and out for a goal kick. For once, this play was not marred by substandard refereeing and there was jubliation as almost the whole Barcelona team mobbed Belletti behind the Gunner's goal. Score: 2-1.
At this point there was only about 10 minutes playing time left and with Barca up 2-1 and Arsenal down a man, it was truely going to be mission impossible to come back and salvage anything from the game. Barcelona just play the possession game far too well, and the time-wasting exercises switched from Arsenal over to Barca. And, gee, they kept possession well. I really under-estimated another Gunner's man however: Freddie Ljungberg. I thought he's getting on and is nearing the end of his career. He's getting older and slowing down. But how wrong I was - he still has plenty of pace left in him and the skill to take advantage of it too. Time after time he gave up a big head start to the lead Barca defenders only to run them down and overtake them in the chase for the ball upfield. But Barcelona were just playing too deep for him to go all the way and they were not afraid to play it all the way back to Valdez just to deny any possibility of an equaliser.
For a game that started so fast and furiously (the first 15 minutes were fantastic football - even at 4:30am) the final result was disappointing to say the least. Well, not the final result exactly but the way it got to that score. Arsene Wenger was livid with the refereeing (Henry was less than happy too) and I completely agree. But, if anyone had to take the cup over Arsenal, I'm gald it was Barcelona and we'll be back again to challenge for it next year after sneaking into the top 4 in the very last game of the season in the English Premier League this year (phew). You can read more about the game on Soccernet: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=197123&cc=3436.
As for the refereeing, I'd give the ref a red card and call in a substitute ref. What a disappointment it was and now I've got to get through this day on 4 hours sleep. <yawn> But congrats need to go to Barcelona who were deserving champions (just not as deserving as Arsenal) - may they hold the cup high and proud.
Where do I start? Well, of course it has to be Jens Lehmann's red card 18 minutes into the game. OK, technically the ref was correct. Lehmann did trip Eto'o and it certainly looked deliberate. But the whole point of the instant red card when the last defender intentionally fouls an attacker in a scoring position is to pretty much guarantee that a goal results (as it should have before the foul). In this case, the ball ran on for Giuly who easily put it in the empty net. I know there will be a huge amount of debate about the event but I think a better thing to have done would have been to let the goal count and consider that suitable punishment. Either the red card rule needs some refinement or the referee ought to be allowed to exercise discretion given the circumstances (such as the start of a Champions League final). What did the game gain by Lehmann's dismissal? Nothing! Not only that but Arsenal had to take off one of their brilliant outfield players to bring on the sub keeper - double punishment. Admittedly, for a keeper of Lehmann's level (would he be considered the best in the world at the moment?) it was one of the dumbest things he could have done - better to concede the goal and come back (as Arsenal continually show they can) with a full strength squad. And my heart really goes out to Pires for his sacrifice. What a disappointing thing to be asked to do - come off after less than 20 minutes into your team's first ever Champion's League final when you're still fit and fresh, especially when it's probably your last game with the club. So the ref's first major blunder hurt Lehmann & Pires personally, Arsenal in general, and even Barcelona because Ronaldinho missed the free kick from just outside the area. Score after 20 minutes: referee 4 - game nil.
Now, first and foremost, I support Arsenal. But I have to say I disagree with the ref's call that resulted in the first goal - an Arsenal goal. Eboue went down on the right wing just outside the area. The ref's call: foul - direct free kick. I was ecstatic when Henry popped an inch-perfect cross right on the edge of the 6-yard box for Campbell to head perfectly about a foot inside the far post to leave the keeper standing, dumbfounded, on his line in the middle of the goal. That was a flawless text-book set play. But it was marred by the fact that it probably should never have been a free kick in the first place. To me it looked like there was minimal contact between Eboue and the Puyol (the Barca defender involved) and the resulting fall was fairly theatrical. Although, out of all the ref's poor calls, I'd say this was almost reasonable; all the more so since it resulted in an Arsenal lead (kidding). Henry did a great job up front, seemingly on his own, and very nearly scored a 2nd on a few occasions. In fact, not long after Lehmann walked off, Henry got inside his defender (I think it was Marquez) and let a cracker go from outside the area to just inside the near post. Valdes, the Spainish keeper, could only deflect it and the reflection just about made it to the side-line/halfway-line intersection. Henry has such great speed, control and power. He'll be sorely missed if he moves to Spain next season (which, I think, is pretty much a foregone conclusion now - but if he had to go anywhere I'm glad it's Barcelona).
Almunia did a commendable job as Arsenal's backup keeper stopping arguably the current best attacking team in the world from scoring on several occasions, especially considering his team was down a man. But Arsenal hasn't earned a reputation as the best defensive team in the world for nothing. Ashley Cole and Toure in particular put up a solid defense on both wings keeping Giuly and Eto'o, respectively, at bay. It seemed like just about every play on the left side involved Cole. He's as good attacking as he is defending; I'm glad he's back as are most Gunners fans I suspect. Due mostly to the impassable Arsenal defense, the half-time score was 1-0 to Arsenal.
There were numerous fouls given and yellow cards given that were a complete farce. For me I'd had enough when Henry was given a yellow for being kicked shortly into the 2nd half. The replay clearly showed him playing the ball out and getting kicked in the thigh for his trouble. And what does he get for taking this punishment? Here you go, have a yellow. That's, literally, adding insult to injury. By this stage I'd pretty much lost all respect for the ref and that's saying something since I'd had it drummed into me that you always respect the ref and play his whistle (while I was playing myself and later refereeing).
The rain started pelting down shortly after half-time making the ground very slick for the keepers (just to make Almunia's already difficult job even harder). Barcelona had a few subs by this stage, one at half time (Iniesta), one not too far into the 2nd half (Larsson), and a third (Belletti) with about 20 minutes to go, in order to stir things up and penetrate the seemingly impenetrable defence. And it appeared to work, sort of, when Eto'o scored an equaliser with a point blank touch in at the left wing near post after a touch on from Larsson in the centre. The only problem...Eto'o was offside. Normally I'd be cheering at seeing Barcelona score, especially against such world class opposition, but this morning I was just shaking my head in disgust. Score: 1-1.
I was actually pleasantly surprised how well Arsenal contained Ronaldinho. Barca was playing balls to him just about everytime they got possession and he displayed his awesome ball skill as he moved forward, while being harried by Alexander Hleb mostly (I've got to pay more attention to Hleb in future - I definitely under-rated him), before being shut down by 2 or 3 Arsenal backs. What great team work. A top-notch back line working tirelessly in unity. (Actually, I was expecting Ronaldinho to be the main Barca man, and he was very good as usual, but I think Deco played a more vital role for Barcelona - he was involved in just about everything between the halfway line and Arsenal's penalty area.) However, it was not enough and Larsson put the sub Belletti through into the side of the 6-yard box who then rifled a shot across goal that deflected off Almunia's out-stretched foot only to bounce into the top of his net. Unlucky, since I think had Almunia missed the shot it would have gone clear across his goal and out for a goal kick. For once, this play was not marred by substandard refereeing and there was jubliation as almost the whole Barcelona team mobbed Belletti behind the Gunner's goal. Score: 2-1.
At this point there was only about 10 minutes playing time left and with Barca up 2-1 and Arsenal down a man, it was truely going to be mission impossible to come back and salvage anything from the game. Barcelona just play the possession game far too well, and the time-wasting exercises switched from Arsenal over to Barca. And, gee, they kept possession well. I really under-estimated another Gunner's man however: Freddie Ljungberg. I thought he's getting on and is nearing the end of his career. He's getting older and slowing down. But how wrong I was - he still has plenty of pace left in him and the skill to take advantage of it too. Time after time he gave up a big head start to the lead Barca defenders only to run them down and overtake them in the chase for the ball upfield. But Barcelona were just playing too deep for him to go all the way and they were not afraid to play it all the way back to Valdez just to deny any possibility of an equaliser.
For a game that started so fast and furiously (the first 15 minutes were fantastic football - even at 4:30am) the final result was disappointing to say the least. Well, not the final result exactly but the way it got to that score. Arsene Wenger was livid with the refereeing (Henry was less than happy too) and I completely agree. But, if anyone had to take the cup over Arsenal, I'm gald it was Barcelona and we'll be back again to challenge for it next year after sneaking into the top 4 in the very last game of the season in the English Premier League this year (phew). You can read more about the game on Soccernet: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=197123&cc=3436.
As for the refereeing, I'd give the ref a red card and call in a substitute ref. What a disappointment it was and now I've got to get through this day on 4 hours sleep. <yawn> But congrats need to go to Barcelona who were deserving champions (just not as deserving as Arsenal) - may they hold the cup high and proud.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
