Azzuris at Top of the World

7/9/06: Italy 1 (5) – France 1 (3)
Headers and Head Butts

Late in the first 15 minute overtime, Zinedine Zidane sprang two French players loose on the right wing with a nifty pass, then drifted into the middle of the penalty box hoping to get a return cross. That cross found him wide open in front of Buffon. His hard header was going straight into the goal but Buffon, who had drifted slightly to his left, was able to get his right hand on it just enough to deflect it over the bar. It was a spectacular save and one that would alter the course of this game dramatically. France would continue to push forward while Italy would continue to defend either out of inability to penetrate the French defense, exhaustion, or cynical tactics which had them betting they could win the penalty lottery.

In the second 15 minute overtime, Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi got involved in a tussle in front of goal after one of many failed French attacks into the Italian zone. They jawed back and forth, probably talking the kind of trash that would make Michael Jordan proud, when inexplicably Zizou took a step back and headbutted Materazzi (who seemed not to be looking now) violently in the chest, knocking him down. The referee, Hector Elizondo, of Argentina had not seen the play initially and relied on other officials to view a replay on a monitor to tell him what happened. When he was told, Zidane was expelled from the game with a red card.

Those two plays changed France’s chances for good. It was in essence a one goal and one player turnaround. Italy would not go on to score (again either they couldn’t or didn’t try) but France would miss Zidane sorely in the penalty shootout. Already missing Vieira to injury and Henry to exhaustion, France had no leadership going into the crucial penalty kick phase, a part of the game that I think is more mentally excruciating than in almost any other sport.

In the days since the match, many have attacked and many have defended Zidane for his actions. He has been victimized in the press around the world and strangely enough apparently rewarded by FIFA at some level with the golden boot award. I will only say that whatever may have prompted his actions, he must have immediately regretted his actions because he knew at that instant that he has hurt his team. We will know more about what kind of trash Materazzi may have spewed that got under Zidane’s skin later. Whatever it was, it was apparently a tactic that has been used against Zidane before as he had been suspended for a headbutting incident in the Champions League and had also been suspended for stamping on a Saudi player in the 1998 World Cup. Materazzi’s actions were a result of serious study I’m afraid and Zidane’s temper got the best of him.

Italy would go on to win the penalty kick shootout by kicking 5 perfect shots, none of which Barthez, a keeper not known for his penalty kick stopping prowess, could have stopped even if he was somewhat adept at that part of the game. France’s David Trezeguet missed his, and the penalty lottery was over.

Zidane and Materazzi had been leading men in this play all day. Materazzi committed the early infraction in the box on a fast breaking Malouda, which led to Zidane’s conversion of the ensuing penalty kick. Materazzi himself equalized with a powerful header off of a cross. The Italians would try that play curling outswinging cross twice again in the first half with success: once Luca Toni rattled the cross bar and another header went just high.

My theory is that obliged to chase the equalizing goal, the Italians pressed forward until they got it. Since they got it fairly early in the game, the pressure was off and I didn’t see them really pushing the attack that much more after about the 60 minute mark. Once the game got into extra time, the Italians retreated even further back into their catenaccio defensive shell. Coaches are often criticized for their cynical tactics, for playing for the PKs, and I think that’s exactly what Lippi did. When Zidane imploded, this tactic must have seemed like pure genius.

I was at the 1994 World Cup Final and saw Italy’s Roberto Baggio sky his last penalty which gave Brazil the victory. That elegant Italian side (with Maldini, Dino Baggio, Franco Baresi, and a host of other very talented Italian players) showed glimpses of offensive genius in the overtime, and in one play Baggio almost scored the winning goal off of a wall pass. The Italians back then also played the infamous catenaccio, as have Italians for generations, but they differed from this team in that they showed a willingness to win the game in regulation.

What’s strange about that is that the Italian gamble was a high stake one. They had lost numerous World Cup games on penalties. In 1990 they were eliminated by Argentina and in aforementioned 1994 World Cup Final by Brazil in the Final. Yet they still bet they could win one. This time they got it right.

Real and Imagined Penalties

7/5/06: France 1 – Portugal 0

What is about this French team that I find so uninspiring Is it that the French defense whoses praises I have already sung continues to, well, shut down other teams with the effectiveness of an Italian like catenaccio ? Is it that Zidane’s moves are so subtly spectacular and nothing really stands out except his masterfully way of controlling a game. Maybe it’s me, but I just don’t see how it is that he continues to be such an influence, yet he is or otherwise this French team would have gone packing long ago.

The qualities of the French team are definitely not skin deep, and one must probe very far to find what is it that makes this team click. In their semifinal against Portugal they shut down another team, albeit a team with a potent attack that just couldn’t seem to score more than 1 goal in the second round phase. That ended up being the Portuguese’s undoing, but they definitely had their chances.

What made the difference in this game was Henry’s decision to play like he does at Arsenal. He attacked players using his patented shiftiness, his incredible dribbling ability in tight spaces, and his willingness to look for that far post. He was vintage Henry in moments of the game, none more important than when he won a penalty kick after faking out Carvalho out of his shorts near the top of the penalty box. The ever so cool Zidane took one of the shortest runups of a PK I’ve ever seen and barely, and I mean just barely, put it past Ricardo, the penalty kick stopmeister. Aside from that it just didn’t appear that France did much more. Is it just me or are the only players that look like they are exerting themselves are Malouda and Ribery, the latter looked exhausted when he was taken out. RIghly so because he did literally tons of running. Maybe it’s the din of watching so many games, but I just couldn’t see that France even tried anything more. It’s almost like once they got the goal, they just concentrated full efforts on stopping Portugal.

Portugal for their part, attacked mostly through Cristiano Ronaldo. This young player, one of the best in the world right now, continued his penetrating runs all over the field. His problem was that he literally tried to do it all himself and literally would outrun his teammates and find himself sandwiched around 2 to 3 French defenders. When he couldn’t run through them, he simply threw himself in the air in the hope of gaining a PK which never came.

Portugal’s best chance came late in the game off of a Ronaldo free kick. The dipping ball handcuffed Barthez and the rebound was right there for Figo to equalize. Maybe it was that he had to fight off his own man, maybe it was fatigue, but Figo head just above the post. Had he converted this chance, I sincerely believe Portugal would have won this game since they completely owned the initiative in the second half.

But it wasn’t to be. France go on to the Final game, somehow winning but demonstrating very little.

Long Live Catenaccio

7/4/06: Italy 2 – Germany 0

Long live the Catenaccio. Forza Azzurri. Whatever slogan you prefer, Italy continues to own Germany in the World Cup. Employing its traditional philosophy that defense wins championships (isn’t that what is is said about all sports), Italy throttled the German offense for 120 minutes. Italy itself had few chances to score in the first 90 minutes, but came out in full force at the start of the extra time looking for the winning goal. That the Italians, most noted for their defensive prowess, changed their tactic so early after the 90th minute I think surprised Germany completely. After playing it tactical, they went for broke.

The Italians hit the post not only once but twice in the opening 5 minutes of the extra time. First it was Gilardino with a cheeky little turn and shot that surprised Lehman, dribbled under his arm and hit the left post. There was nothing subtle about Zambrotta’s blast that clanged off of the crossbar. The Germans, like that vibrating crossbar, were punch drunk from the Italian 1-2 and never fully recovered until Podolski, in the 106th minute, found himself wide open in front of goal and headed a cross from Odonkor but way wide of target.

Late in the extra time Pirlo simply took over. First there was a wicked shot which forced Lehman to make an excellent save. Undaunted, Pirlo took the deflection and rather than shooting it right away, he dribbled it parallel to the penalty box drawing one and then 2 defenders with him (and surely Lehman who was tracking the ball in the direction of Pirlo’s dribble), before laying off a pass to Fabio Grosso, who in one motion fired a left footed curling shot, which barely beat Lehman to that post that he had just moved slightly away from. The knockout punch came two minutes later when delPiero received a lovely little pass against the grain from Gilardino and beat Lehman with a shot to the upper right hand corner.

Pirlo in the offensive side of midfield and Gatusso in the defensive half were magnificent all game long. They neutralized Ballack extremely effectively. Germany missed Fringgs very much as he is the kind of battler that himself could have neutralized some of the those Italian midfielders. There were two other keys to the game as I saw it. The effect of Buffon and Odonkor. Buffon made two world class saves, one he deflected above the bar and another he almost seemed to intimidate Schneider into shooting high with his crouch. Regarding Odonkor, he was key in wins against Poland and Argentina, terrorizing both teams with his incisive runs down the right hand side and his good crosses. He wasn't able to do that against Italy because the Italians matched up better with him than those other teams (Italy's defenders are so effectove at stopping crosses they seemed to block all German crosses from the flanks).

No play symbolized Italy’s dedication to the catenaccio more than Materazzi, who put his head in the direction of a long blast. Knocked out briefly, the Italian rose up, wooly eyed, shaking his head like a boxer who has just gotten up from an 8 count. Materazzi continued on and it was Germany who were knocked out instead.

The Ronaldo Rooney affair

7/1/2006: England 0 – Portugal 0 (Portugal iwins on penalties 3-1)

It seems that the controversy over Cristiano Ronaldo’s role in the sending off of Wayne Rooney is a classic case of what is more important, country or club. Many English players are claiming that Ronaldo’s actions were unsportsmanlike, that they would never do that to a teammate, that they are dishonored to have him as a teammate, and so on and so forth. In this sense, teammate of course refers to one’s club teammate since Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo both play for Manchester United (or at least both do so now but who knows if that will be so in the near future). What are they saying about Rooney’s actions ? Did Rooney deserve to be red carded or should he just have been awarded a yellow ?

I believe that Rooney deserved his punishment, lobbying from Cristiano Ronaldo notwithstanding. He committed a grave fould with bad intentions right in front of the referee and then went about pretending that what he had done would not be punished. If Ronaldo pushed excessively for his punishment, that is no different than what most English players would have done in the same situation. Isn’t that what protecting ones teammates is all about.

The English players are naïve if they think that loyalty to a club is more important than loyalty to one’s country. In the World Cup, as in geopolitics, nationalism is one of the strongest forces which help define and determine the outcome of a struggle. In this sense, it is obvious Ronaldo’s was thinking that country is more important than club. He would take this action now and prepare for whatever consequences it would carry later.

But forget the political force of nationalism and let us get back to the game of football. If any of the English players had hit their penalties with the conviction of Ronaldo, there wouldn’t be this controversy to begin with. Have you ever seen a more coolly struck PK in the World Cup stage ? The fact is, despie being a man down, England played admirably a man down for what appeared to be an eternity and stil had a chance to win. What more do the English players with the gripes expect ?

Let us not forget the incidents of 4 years ago, when South Korea’s Ahn scored to eliminate Italy in a Round of 16 game. Ahn, who played in Italy, immediately found his contract voided by the Italian manager of the team who simply stated his reason as: “I couldn’t justify continuing to employ the player who knocked Italy out of the World Cup.”

Ronaldo will probably never play in England again, destined to suffer the same fate as the South Korean 4 years ago. That will probably be just fine with Rooney and Ronaldo’s other English teammates. While the English go home, Ronaldo and Portugal now have a date with France in the semifinals.

Germany wins on PKs

6/30/2006: Germany 1 – Argentina 1 (Germany 4-2 on PKs)

I hate it when World Cup games go into penalties. It is cruel and unusual punishment for fans and players alike. While it certainly takes a certain kind of skill to vanquish the immense pressure required to shoot them, I believe it is more luck than anything and any team basically can win.

Argentina was leading this game 1-0 until late in the game, when the German’s perseverance paid with the German's best three players involved in the same play (Ballack cross to Podolski whoc flicked it to Klose who finished it with a header). A marvelously executed goal in which the reserve goalkeeper, in for the injured Abbondansieri, could do nothing. Late in the game, I thought Maxi Rodriguez, he of the goal of the Cup, was going to be Argentina’s hero again. While dribbling into the German’s penalty box, he was brought down in such an obvious manner as to warrant a penalty kick. How the referee, in his infinite wisdom, decided to award Maxi a yellow for his effort, is totally beyond me.

But so be it. This game was destined for extra time after Lehman’s great diving save of a Tevez header. In the extra time, it sincerely looked as if both teams tried hard to get the equalizer, but sometime in the last 15 minutes, the game reverted to its early tense form as both coaches decided to subject their players to the PK extravaganza. Why Pekerman decided to put in Cambiasso for Riqueleme or Julio Cruz in for Crespo was puzzling. Why didn’t Leonel Messi, Argentina’s young magician and Maradona heir apparent, figure into the coach’s plan was even more befuddling.

If history was Pekerman’s guide, it may have been a double edged sword. On two previous occasions, Argentina had won penalty kick shootouts on June 30 (in 1998, they ousted England and in 1990 they beat Yugoslavia). But hey, streaks are made to be broken, and this was the day that Argentina’s good fortune with penalty kicks would end. When Cambiasso’s penalty was stopped by Lehmann, the German’s had their victory. But that’s just when the extracurricular activity would start. The end was not taken gracefully by the Argentinians as a melee ensued, with players hurling insults and punches alike in an ugly ugly finish.

The End of Samba and the Rise of Les Bleus

7/1/2006: France 1 – Brazil 0

What is about France owning Brazil ? Brazil hadn’t lost a World Cup Games dating back to the 1998 Final when France dismantled them 3-0. That’s eleven World Cup games, including the Brazilians successful 2002 campaign that saw them win their record 5th championship. Back then, everyone blamed the loss on the bizarre circumstances before the game involving Ronaldo’s fainting, how that had thrown the team off balance, how they looked like they had lost their footballing compass, etc, etc. But what will the excuse be this year ?

I for one think that France and their system just happens to match up very well against the Brazilians. The French just seem to have Brazil’s number. Their tactical formation simply neutralizes vaunted Brazilian attack. They do just enough on offense to win. Thierre Henry, one of the classiest players in the world, scored a brilliant goal off a free kick. Of course, it helped him that he was left completely unmarked, but he still had to finish (Lampard are you listening).

The French have made an incredible turnaround in the space of 200 minutes of football. After playing like crap in their first two games of Group play and languishing for 70 minutes or so against Togo, it looked like certain curtains for Les Bleus. But somehow, miraculously enough, they finally broke through with two goals to ensure their passage to the next round, and from then on, things have changed dramatically in their favor.

First came the game against Spain, when after falling behind by a goal, Ribery made a great run off of a pass to Vieira, got the ball back on the return of the 1-2, and caught Spain flat-footed trying to play the offside trap. He made a fantastic move to get past Casillas, and since that point forward France have never looked back. For the rest of that game and for the entire Brazil game, France’s defense, led by Gallas, Makelele, Sagnol, and Vieira have simply shut the opposition down cold. You can say all you want about Zidane’s wonderful performance, and it has been great to see the old maestro back to his old tricks, but for me, the French defense has proved to be the real Maginot line.

Against Brazil, France turned the tables completely and didn’t allow Brazil a shot on goal until very late in the game. Yes that Brazil. Simply an incredible performance from Les Bleus. It is more amazing given that Barthez is about as inconsistent and shaky a goalkeeper as you can find at this level and at this stage. They shut down Ronaldinho and kept him confined to making his patented passes way out on the wings where he couldn’t harm them. When Ronaldinho had a chance to score on a free kick late in the game, he hit it just high.

Of the teams left in the tournament, France just feels like the only team that can possibly beat Germany. I don’t think Italy can, even though they’ve had the easiest path to the semis. I think Portugal will be dead after their game against England, even though they get some key players in Deco and Costinha back for the semifinal.

France looks to be on a roll. Their tournament run could very well wind up with them winning the whole thing.