For an amateur blogger, this World Cup business moves much to fast. My last post was only days ago, but much has happened since then that deserves comment.
The group stages have wrapped up, with some upsets in major countries going out, and some minnows beginning to put up their hands for the fairytale of 2010 title.
For some, especially those south of the equator, the fairytale title has already been won by New Zealand. New Zealand came in to this game as the most unknown side, other than perhaps North Korea, in the tournament. There were reports that some of their opponents were struggling to find video footage of the New Zealand players, because a number of them play in leagues that are not regularly broadcast on television. In the era of mega rich professionals the term amateur is often used as a slur, but for New Zealand, which actually did field some amateur players, it was a badge of honour.
The match between Italy and New Zealand was, on paper, the biggest mismatch the World Cup has seen for a long time. Italy were the World Champions, while New Zealand had players who needed day jobs. A fourth or fifth division side in Italy would expect to beat such a team. Yet New Zealand held on, not just against Italy but against the other sides in the group too. They should be particularly proud of the fact that, while Italy certainly weren't at their best, they weren't terrible either. It was a good New Zealand performance, rather than a poor one from Italy, that earned this result. In the end they didn't lose a single game.
Not only that, but it is worth a quick thought about what might have been. Against Slovakia, New Zealand conceded a goal that was offside, while against Italy it was a contentious penalty decision. If not for those two moments, the Kiwi defense would not have conceded yet, and they would be readying for a second round knock out game. A fantastic achievement.
Apart from that, the big story of the group stages is the struggle of the European teams. Italy and France are out, England, Germany and Spain had to win on the last day to get through. This has shades of the 2002 tournament which was held in Japan and Korea, where all the major European powers bar Germany fell at the quarter finals or earlier - and this is no coincidence. No European side has won a World Cup outside of Europe, and the fact is that European sides have benefited immensely from the home ground advantage of having most world cups played in Europe.
The second round matches provide some huge match ups, and some less impressive ones. Fans of good football will be heading straight to the Spain v Portugal game. Spain will go in as favourites, and in my opinion they remain the firm favourites for the tournament, especially now that they have avoided a second round clash with Brazil. Portugal still depend too much on Cristiano Ronaldo - he couldn't force a win for Real Madrid (or Manchester United) over Barcelona, and he'll be facing much the same opposition against Spain, in Pique, Puyol, Xavi and Iniesta.
Ghana will be staking their claim to knock New Zealand off the fairytale pedestal. As the only African nation left in Africa's cup, they are carrying the hopes of a continent - and the draw has opened up nicely for them. It is already a certainty that this World Cup will have an unlikely semi-finalist. One of Ghana, USA, Korea and Uruguay will be in the semi-final. A much more inviting quarter of the draw than the one that contains Germany, England, Argentina and Mexico. No African side has made the semi final, and to be honest, Ghana still look like outsiders. While the qualified from a tough group, they still haven't scored from open play. Nevertheless, they will have huge support, as the South African fans have shown they will throw their support behind any African side. They are young, fit and not without skills. It would certainly make for a memorable world cup if Ghana do make a run.
Those with a penchant for games with history will of course turn to England v Germany. To sum up the history, in 1966 England won the final against Germany, courtesy of a goal which remains contentious for the doubt as to whether the ball ever crossed the line. In 1970, Germany got some revenge by knocking England out. In 1990 they met in the semi-final. While Paul Gascoine cried, the Germans held their nerve to win on penalties and go on to lift the trophy. In 1996 the two met in England in the semi-final of the European championship. England had been alive with dreams of 'Football coming home' the theme song of the tournament, but again Germany triumphed, also on penalties. Since then England have recorded a famous win, thrashing a very poor German side 5-1 in a qualifying game in Munich in 2001 - ultimately though both sides qualified for the subsequent World Cup, where England fell in the quarter finals and Germany finished as runners up.
England will be kicking themselves, and Germany will be eager to kick them too, for even letting it come to this. If England had done what was expected of them and won their group, they would be facing Ghana, and then need to beat either Uruguay or Korea to get to the semi-final, a stage they have only reached twice in their history. Instead, they now have to beat first Germany and then, probably, Argentina, to get there.
It is a shame that such a big game is being played so early in the World Cup, especially for the coaches. In Germany, if you fail to reach to semi-finals, you are in trouble. If Joachim Loew brings home the first side to fail to make the quarter finals since
1978, he won't get a new contract. That would be a tragedy for German football, because it is clear that Loew is in the process of building a very good team, which may not reach its full potential until 2014 or even 2018. England's coach Capello has been criticized heavily already, and a loss to Germany will probably seal his fate, equally undeservedly.
This World Cup has shown that very few games are giving clear results, and it is impossible to reliably pick winners, even in games where it should be obvious. In an evenly matched game such as Germany v England, making a prediction is futile. Germany will struggle to replace Schweinsteiger, if reports that he is likely to miss out for injury are confirmed, but may still have the upper hand in the midfield battle. Gerrard and Lampard are bigger names than anyone on the Germany side, but they still don't mesh that well, and neither has played well at this tournament. More worrying for Germany will be that they have struggled to score since the game against Australia, despite creating the chances. To get the better of John Terry, the strikers will need to better than they were against Ghana and Serbia. At the other end Germany have to deal with Rooney. Rooney is good, though not as good as the English press have made him out to be, and he still lacks a consistent partner, so the German defense may feel they can deal with him. But if he pounces into life and discovers his club form, he will be too much for the German defenders to handle.
Knock out games are always cagey affairs, as teams can not avoid being hampered by the fear of conceding. It would not surprise me if this game goes a long time without a goal. If it does look like its heading for penalties, it will be interesting to see the English players react. Germany has a huge reputation for penalties, and England have lost so many games that way. Perhaps they will fear penalties enough to throw caution to the wind and attack - especially because of their 5 penalty takes, 3 already have a damaged record. Lampard and Gerrard missed in 2006 against Portugal, while Terry missed in the Champions League Final in 2008. It should be said of course the that German reputation for penalties is built primarily on performances of previous teams. Some of the current crop converted against Argentina four years ago, but most of them have never faced a World Cup shootout. The current bunch haven't done anything to warrant the reputation that they carry.
My initial feelings about this game were primarily negative ones - from a fans point of view, losing to England seems terrifying, far more so than winning would be marvelous. But it shouldn't be. As I said, it is a shame this game is so early, but these games are what World Cups are all about. England have long termed their current crop as the Golden Generation. In this game they have a chance to finally live up to that burdensome tag and do something England haven't done in 40 years - knock Germany out of a tournament. Germany are at the beginning of a cycle, perhaps starting their own golden generation. Their previous generation was not a great one, but they maintained Germany's fantastic tournament record anyway, reaching the 2002 final and the 2006 semi-finals. That is the pressure the new generation have to stand up to.
One side will write a new chapter in their side's history, the other will be left horribly disappointed. Either the myth of Germany's superiority over England will be confirmed to the stage where even I might start to believe it, or it will finally be dispelled, and the English can start bragging about football rather than war. In either case, I hope it is a high quality game played in good spirit, with a fair outcome.
Showing posts with label World Cup 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup 2010. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Tragedy for Kewell, but hope for the Socceroos
The Australian media have already written the headlines - pride in the jersey restored and all that. It was a much improved performance from Australia, in just about every position. I was scathing about Lucas Neill after the Germany game, so I should start by saying he was excellent against Ghana. So was Craig Moore, who played to a level I really didn't think he was capable of any more.
Ghana let Australia come at them, and, thankfully, Australia accepted the invitation even when down to 10 men. Just like in the Germany Serbia game, it was the team with 10 men that found an extra gear and pushed for the win right to the end. On this evidence, Australia have at least a realistic chance of beating Serbia, especially with their best player back on the field.
The major talking point will of course be Harry Kewell's red card. It was probably a dismissal within the letter of the law, but Harry can count himself desperately unlucky. The ball was goal bound, and Kewell's arm stopped it. The strict interpretation of the law is that any foul that clearly denies a goal scoring opportunity is a red card. So if it was a handball, then the red card was virtually automatic.
The handball rules is a controversial one. The general interpretation is that there should be some intent, but, of the three players that have given away penalties for handball in this group, none looked intentional. Another interpretation is that handball is when the hand moves to the ball, but not when the ball moves to hand. Sounds good in theory, but is hard to apply in real life, as in almost every case, both hand and ball are moving.
The fair result would surely have been a penalty, but no card at all for Kewell. For a player to be sent off for an unintentional act does not reflect the purpose of red cards, nor does it contribute to a just outcome of the match. Automatic red cards for the last defender or a player who denies a goal scoring opportunity are intended as a punishment and deterrent for professional fouls. An accidental handball does not deserve such punishment, and you can hardly deter players from the unintentional. In the past, red cards were reserved for violent or deliberate acts of cheating. At this World Cup, where there has been a red card in every group D game, without a single act of malice, misjudging the flight of the ball or the timing of a tackle seems to be enough.
After the game against Serbia, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger criticised the refereeing when speaking to German reporters, declaring that it can not be that there is a red card in every game. He was referring not just to the Klose sending off in that game but also Tim Cahill's red in the previous game. Harry Kewell's unfortunate demise supports the same argument. Sadly the number of games influenced by the referee at the World Cup is beginning to mount.
If Australia bow out in the next game, it will be a sad end to Kewell's World Cup career. While he has always been a source of frustration for Socceroos fans, he has also been Australia's best player for over a decade. This is the fourth World Cup campaign in which he has been a central figure for the Australians. No other player at the World Cup can claim that level of longevity, which is ironic for a player whose career has been defined by the frailty of his body. At his best he was Australia's only genuine world beater, a world class winger who, as a teenager, set the English Premier League alight at Leeds. As I pointed out in my last post, he has been subject of fierce and sometimes unfair criticism in this campaign. He deserves at least one chance to answer his critics with his feet. But he knows as well as anyone that football has little room for sentiment.
So what are Australia's chances from here? Better than they look at first glance. Australia must beat Serbia to have any chance. Not easy, but not impossible. Serbia are as defensive a side as Australia. They need a win too, so both sides will be forced to open up and play a game not entirely natural to them. Australia showed against Ghana that they can do that - with Serbia it remains a question mark. If Australia do win, they will go through if either a) Germany lose by any margin, or b) Germany beat Ghana, and Germany and Australia's combined winning margin is 5 goals or more.
Ghana don't look as strong as their position suggests. In two games they have only scored from the penalty spot, and against ten man Australia they looked very much under pressure, defending deep and limiting their attacking play to shots from long range, instead of exploiting the man advantage and pressuring Australia. If Germany click the way they did against Australia, a big win is not out of the question, and that would open the door for Australia.
In other news, I can't help but comment on England's performance so far. England looked untouchable in qualifying, and hopes, always high, were accompanied by a degree of actual belief in England that this year could be a good one. After a goalless draw against Algeria England were booed off the field by their own fans, and a look at the newspaper headlines there suggests the country is truly angry about the teams poor performances so far.
If I knew why England underperform at tournaments so regularly, I would head over to blighty and collect Fabio Capello's six million pound salary. I have some thoughts, but at the moment England are still in the tournament, and it would be premature to write their eulogy. But I will say that for the next game, Capello should drop either Lampard or Gerrard. Both of them are fantastic attacking central midfielders, but a team only has room for one of those. Both players have demonstrated that they can not play together. It's understandable that no coach wants to drop such a good player, but you simply have to accept that they play the same position, and there is only room for one of them. Sadly, both of them have shown that they do not have the flexibility to be effective in a different position. The Spanish have three great goalkeepers - they still have to leave two on the bench - England have to do the same. If it were me, I would drop Gerrard, but as Capello has given him the captain's armband, I suppose you have to keep him and drop Lampard.
Ghana let Australia come at them, and, thankfully, Australia accepted the invitation even when down to 10 men. Just like in the Germany Serbia game, it was the team with 10 men that found an extra gear and pushed for the win right to the end. On this evidence, Australia have at least a realistic chance of beating Serbia, especially with their best player back on the field.
The major talking point will of course be Harry Kewell's red card. It was probably a dismissal within the letter of the law, but Harry can count himself desperately unlucky. The ball was goal bound, and Kewell's arm stopped it. The strict interpretation of the law is that any foul that clearly denies a goal scoring opportunity is a red card. So if it was a handball, then the red card was virtually automatic.
The handball rules is a controversial one. The general interpretation is that there should be some intent, but, of the three players that have given away penalties for handball in this group, none looked intentional. Another interpretation is that handball is when the hand moves to the ball, but not when the ball moves to hand. Sounds good in theory, but is hard to apply in real life, as in almost every case, both hand and ball are moving.
The fair result would surely have been a penalty, but no card at all for Kewell. For a player to be sent off for an unintentional act does not reflect the purpose of red cards, nor does it contribute to a just outcome of the match. Automatic red cards for the last defender or a player who denies a goal scoring opportunity are intended as a punishment and deterrent for professional fouls. An accidental handball does not deserve such punishment, and you can hardly deter players from the unintentional. In the past, red cards were reserved for violent or deliberate acts of cheating. At this World Cup, where there has been a red card in every group D game, without a single act of malice, misjudging the flight of the ball or the timing of a tackle seems to be enough.
After the game against Serbia, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger criticised the refereeing when speaking to German reporters, declaring that it can not be that there is a red card in every game. He was referring not just to the Klose sending off in that game but also Tim Cahill's red in the previous game. Harry Kewell's unfortunate demise supports the same argument. Sadly the number of games influenced by the referee at the World Cup is beginning to mount.
If Australia bow out in the next game, it will be a sad end to Kewell's World Cup career. While he has always been a source of frustration for Socceroos fans, he has also been Australia's best player for over a decade. This is the fourth World Cup campaign in which he has been a central figure for the Australians. No other player at the World Cup can claim that level of longevity, which is ironic for a player whose career has been defined by the frailty of his body. At his best he was Australia's only genuine world beater, a world class winger who, as a teenager, set the English Premier League alight at Leeds. As I pointed out in my last post, he has been subject of fierce and sometimes unfair criticism in this campaign. He deserves at least one chance to answer his critics with his feet. But he knows as well as anyone that football has little room for sentiment.
So what are Australia's chances from here? Better than they look at first glance. Australia must beat Serbia to have any chance. Not easy, but not impossible. Serbia are as defensive a side as Australia. They need a win too, so both sides will be forced to open up and play a game not entirely natural to them. Australia showed against Ghana that they can do that - with Serbia it remains a question mark. If Australia do win, they will go through if either a) Germany lose by any margin, or b) Germany beat Ghana, and Germany and Australia's combined winning margin is 5 goals or more.
Ghana don't look as strong as their position suggests. In two games they have only scored from the penalty spot, and against ten man Australia they looked very much under pressure, defending deep and limiting their attacking play to shots from long range, instead of exploiting the man advantage and pressuring Australia. If Germany click the way they did against Australia, a big win is not out of the question, and that would open the door for Australia.
In other news, I can't help but comment on England's performance so far. England looked untouchable in qualifying, and hopes, always high, were accompanied by a degree of actual belief in England that this year could be a good one. After a goalless draw against Algeria England were booed off the field by their own fans, and a look at the newspaper headlines there suggests the country is truly angry about the teams poor performances so far.
If I knew why England underperform at tournaments so regularly, I would head over to blighty and collect Fabio Capello's six million pound salary. I have some thoughts, but at the moment England are still in the tournament, and it would be premature to write their eulogy. But I will say that for the next game, Capello should drop either Lampard or Gerrard. Both of them are fantastic attacking central midfielders, but a team only has room for one of those. Both players have demonstrated that they can not play together. It's understandable that no coach wants to drop such a good player, but you simply have to accept that they play the same position, and there is only room for one of them. Sadly, both of them have shown that they do not have the flexibility to be effective in a different position. The Spanish have three great goalkeepers - they still have to leave two on the bench - England have to do the same. If it were me, I would drop Gerrard, but as Capello has given him the captain's armband, I suppose you have to keep him and drop Lampard.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Dilemma for Many
As Germany prepare for their opening game against Australia in less than 13 hours, I'm faced with a dilemma. The country of my birth faces my adopted and much beloved home. It is anything but a unique dilemma, and is in fact one of the conflicts that, in a globalised world, adds such colour to the world cup.
Over the next month first, second and even third generation immigrants around the world will face up to the inner conflict of watching their homeland play against the land of their forefathers. Serbian communities in both Australia and Germany will face a similar conflict to the many Algerians living in London. Italians in New Zealand will agonize over their support for the All Whites, while the confusion of Portuguese Brazilians will be shared by Portugal's own Brazilian trio of Deco, Pepe and Liedson.
Interestingly, it seems that (players aside) more often than not it is the fans' ancestral home that wins out in the battle for their affections. When Australia was eliminated from the last World Cup by Italy, Sydney's Norton Street (home of the Italian community) celebrated long and hard, while Germany's Turkish community mourned rather than celebrated when a late winner against Turkey sent Germany into the European Championship finals in 2008. This phenomenon is not restricted to soccer. Half of New Zealand may live in Australia, but you'll hardly find them cheering against the All Blacks, and every summer Australia's immigrant communities proudly support Australia's cricketing opponents, be they Indian, South African or Pakistani.
The question this raises for me, is why? After all, most of these people have come to their new country by choice, by birth, or as children, and are otherwise proud citizens of their new country, including supporting them against any other country. To borrow from the purely personal experience, I have both a Germany and an Australia jersey in my luggage. I will certainly be wearing my Socceroos jersey when Australia face Ghana and Serbia, and will be passionately hoping they win.
My theory is that there are two reasons. The first has to do with the simple joy of being part of an exclusive group. Sport, is after all, a mere game, and belonging to the small group that gets one up on the majority is something people simply enjoy. And, no matter how integrated people may be in their new homes, they will always be known to their friends (in friendly and inclusive ways, I hasten to add) as the German / Serbian / Indian etc. If you have to put up with they stereotypes and jokes the rest of the time, its fun to get one up on the locals when the chance arrives.
The second reason might be more complex, and apply particularly for those who subscribe to the theory that football is much more important than a matter of life and death. It goes to the reason people care at all about a tournament like the World Cup, or any other sporting event. People who do not enjoy sport will often ask a simple question - why do you care whether eleven people that you've never met, born in one country are better at kicking a ball around than eleven people you've never met from another country? Tempting as it is to dismiss these people as boring, stupid or both, the fact is they are expressing an indisputable fact - that our fascination with sporting contest is entirely irrational. The national pride that follows a team's World Cup success rests on the very dubious conclusion that their success says something about each person in that country. Dubious and irrational though it may be, it is a conclusion that millions of people around the world will happily draw.
Why does this make people more likely to support their land of origin than their new home? It rests on a very primordial, arguably primitive, way of thinking. For, while the above mentioned conclusion may be irrational, people will forever try to rationalise it. And the easiest way to come to the conclusion that your football teams success reflects on you is to believe that the teams success rests on the one thing you do have in common with those players - ethnicity. At its most simple, Brazilian fans like to believe that playing beautiful football is in their blood, German fans like to believe that the team's famed success under pressure is a Germanic trait.
The conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, particularly in Europe, stereo-types of the football teams so often closely reflect Europeans' stereo-types of each other. The Spanish are full of passion and flair, though rarely successful, the Germans are dull, efficient and effective, the Italians, like their Government, don't feel overly constrained by the laws of the game. The allegedly poor quality of English cooking is difficult to reflect in a football team, but their fans are often enough left calling on the famed stiff upper lip.
Of course, it is an absurd way of thinking. Firstly, national teams reflect the countries they represent, and so field great mix of ethnicities within their ranks. It may be easy for a German fan to tell himself that he shares certain traits with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Holger Badstuber, but the connection to Ghana born Jerome Boateng is less clear. Similarly, it is a long bow to draw for a Parisian to feel that her personal qualities are reflected in a French team that would more accurately be called "The Team of the Former French Empire". Secondly, each team picks its 23 most talented players - hardly a statistically relevant sample of the country.
It may be an absurd conclusion to draw, but it is one that remains irresistible to many football fans around the world, and seems to draw so many of the world's immigrants back to supporting nations that they do not live in any more. It is also one of the key ingredient that goes into creating the magic of a World Cup.
Through all that I've tried to avoid too clearly nailing my own colours to the mast for tomorrow's game - I've simply put forward a theory as to why most fans seem to choose their ancestral home, and pointed out that those reasons are not based in any sound process of reasoning. I will be wearing both my jerseys (its cold enough here to require that anyway). The inner layer may be the one closest to my heart, or the outer layer may be the one that is ultimately dominant - you decide. I will simply say that, regardless of the result tomorrow, I will celebrate for the winner and be sad for the side that loses, and I'll be supporting both teams for the rest of the tournament. If they meet again, both will have done well enough to be more than satisfied.
Germany have looked good in their warm up matches, Australia have looked poor in a laboured win over NZ and a loss to the USA. If Australia can sneak a point, it will be an upset, while a win for the 'roos would be the result of the Cup so far. But the Germans don't look likely to let the Australians in.
In other news, the first games of the World Cup have been played, with few surprises so far. The most interesting result by far, for fans of both Germany and Australia, was the draw between the USA and England. Group C is a weak group, and both England and the USA should still qualify comfortably. The important thing about the draw (or tie, as they insist on calling it here) between the two is that, with both sides quite likely to finish with seven points, the differentiating factor in determining first and second position will probably be goal difference. With England hardly looking like tearing through an opponent, and the USA having the much stronger goalkeeper, the chances of the USA topping the group now sit at at least 50/50. The winner of England's group will face the second place getter in Germany's group, and vice-versa. That makes topping group D slightly less urgent for Germany, who would probably prefer to avoid an early encounter with England. Australia on the other hand, have already lost a warm up game against the USA, and might fancy a match against England, which would easily rank as the biggest game the Socceroos have ever played.
Over the next month first, second and even third generation immigrants around the world will face up to the inner conflict of watching their homeland play against the land of their forefathers. Serbian communities in both Australia and Germany will face a similar conflict to the many Algerians living in London. Italians in New Zealand will agonize over their support for the All Whites, while the confusion of Portuguese Brazilians will be shared by Portugal's own Brazilian trio of Deco, Pepe and Liedson.
Interestingly, it seems that (players aside) more often than not it is the fans' ancestral home that wins out in the battle for their affections. When Australia was eliminated from the last World Cup by Italy, Sydney's Norton Street (home of the Italian community) celebrated long and hard, while Germany's Turkish community mourned rather than celebrated when a late winner against Turkey sent Germany into the European Championship finals in 2008. This phenomenon is not restricted to soccer. Half of New Zealand may live in Australia, but you'll hardly find them cheering against the All Blacks, and every summer Australia's immigrant communities proudly support Australia's cricketing opponents, be they Indian, South African or Pakistani.
The question this raises for me, is why? After all, most of these people have come to their new country by choice, by birth, or as children, and are otherwise proud citizens of their new country, including supporting them against any other country. To borrow from the purely personal experience, I have both a Germany and an Australia jersey in my luggage. I will certainly be wearing my Socceroos jersey when Australia face Ghana and Serbia, and will be passionately hoping they win.
My theory is that there are two reasons. The first has to do with the simple joy of being part of an exclusive group. Sport, is after all, a mere game, and belonging to the small group that gets one up on the majority is something people simply enjoy. And, no matter how integrated people may be in their new homes, they will always be known to their friends (in friendly and inclusive ways, I hasten to add) as the German / Serbian / Indian etc. If you have to put up with they stereotypes and jokes the rest of the time, its fun to get one up on the locals when the chance arrives.
The second reason might be more complex, and apply particularly for those who subscribe to the theory that football is much more important than a matter of life and death. It goes to the reason people care at all about a tournament like the World Cup, or any other sporting event. People who do not enjoy sport will often ask a simple question - why do you care whether eleven people that you've never met, born in one country are better at kicking a ball around than eleven people you've never met from another country? Tempting as it is to dismiss these people as boring, stupid or both, the fact is they are expressing an indisputable fact - that our fascination with sporting contest is entirely irrational. The national pride that follows a team's World Cup success rests on the very dubious conclusion that their success says something about each person in that country. Dubious and irrational though it may be, it is a conclusion that millions of people around the world will happily draw.
Why does this make people more likely to support their land of origin than their new home? It rests on a very primordial, arguably primitive, way of thinking. For, while the above mentioned conclusion may be irrational, people will forever try to rationalise it. And the easiest way to come to the conclusion that your football teams success reflects on you is to believe that the teams success rests on the one thing you do have in common with those players - ethnicity. At its most simple, Brazilian fans like to believe that playing beautiful football is in their blood, German fans like to believe that the team's famed success under pressure is a Germanic trait.
The conclusion is reinforced by the fact that, particularly in Europe, stereo-types of the football teams so often closely reflect Europeans' stereo-types of each other. The Spanish are full of passion and flair, though rarely successful, the Germans are dull, efficient and effective, the Italians, like their Government, don't feel overly constrained by the laws of the game. The allegedly poor quality of English cooking is difficult to reflect in a football team, but their fans are often enough left calling on the famed stiff upper lip.
Of course, it is an absurd way of thinking. Firstly, national teams reflect the countries they represent, and so field great mix of ethnicities within their ranks. It may be easy for a German fan to tell himself that he shares certain traits with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Holger Badstuber, but the connection to Ghana born Jerome Boateng is less clear. Similarly, it is a long bow to draw for a Parisian to feel that her personal qualities are reflected in a French team that would more accurately be called "The Team of the Former French Empire". Secondly, each team picks its 23 most talented players - hardly a statistically relevant sample of the country.
It may be an absurd conclusion to draw, but it is one that remains irresistible to many football fans around the world, and seems to draw so many of the world's immigrants back to supporting nations that they do not live in any more. It is also one of the key ingredient that goes into creating the magic of a World Cup.
Through all that I've tried to avoid too clearly nailing my own colours to the mast for tomorrow's game - I've simply put forward a theory as to why most fans seem to choose their ancestral home, and pointed out that those reasons are not based in any sound process of reasoning. I will be wearing both my jerseys (its cold enough here to require that anyway). The inner layer may be the one closest to my heart, or the outer layer may be the one that is ultimately dominant - you decide. I will simply say that, regardless of the result tomorrow, I will celebrate for the winner and be sad for the side that loses, and I'll be supporting both teams for the rest of the tournament. If they meet again, both will have done well enough to be more than satisfied.
Germany have looked good in their warm up matches, Australia have looked poor in a laboured win over NZ and a loss to the USA. If Australia can sneak a point, it will be an upset, while a win for the 'roos would be the result of the Cup so far. But the Germans don't look likely to let the Australians in.
In other news, the first games of the World Cup have been played, with few surprises so far. The most interesting result by far, for fans of both Germany and Australia, was the draw between the USA and England. Group C is a weak group, and both England and the USA should still qualify comfortably. The important thing about the draw (or tie, as they insist on calling it here) between the two is that, with both sides quite likely to finish with seven points, the differentiating factor in determining first and second position will probably be goal difference. With England hardly looking like tearing through an opponent, and the USA having the much stronger goalkeeper, the chances of the USA topping the group now sit at at least 50/50. The winner of England's group will face the second place getter in Germany's group, and vice-versa. That makes topping group D slightly less urgent for Germany, who would probably prefer to avoid an early encounter with England. Australia on the other hand, have already lost a warm up game against the USA, and might fancy a match against England, which would easily rank as the biggest game the Socceroos have ever played.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
The winning eleven that won't even play
Before a ball has been kicked in South Africa, one thing is becoming clear - this year's World Cup will be influenced almost as much by the players that are absent as by those on the field. Injury has taken a savage toll on the tournament already, with multiple sides, including some of the favourites, shorn of their best player.
The injury toll has become so long that an you could pick an eleven out of injured players that would be red hot favourites to win the tournament - and that is just what I've done. While most of these players will miss the entire tournament, the criteria for selection is that, at this moment, it looks as though the player will be absent for at least the first game.
Playing with the 4-5-1 formation that is popular with many of today's top sides, the team would contain a trio of Chelsea stars. Didier Drogba would lead the attack, with Michael Ballack and Michael Essien sharing the defensive midfield duties. In front of them, the third in a brilliant midfield triangle would be Italy's mercurial playmaker and dead ball expert, Andrea Pirlo. Arjen Robben was the best winger in Europe this season, but looks like missing the Dutch campaign through a hamstring injury, making him an automatic starter on the wing in our crocked eleven. The other wing place might be taken by Harry Kewell, or, if he recovers in time for the tournament, David Beckham can still make a handy contribution. At the back, England's intended captain, Rio Ferdinand, will be joined by Germany's Heiko Westerwelle. Martin Skrtel of Slovakia might be shifted from the centre of defence to the left wing, and the right back position will be taken up by another Chelsea star, Jose Bosingwa. Standing behind them all in goal will be Renee Adler, Germany's number 1 and its third contribution to the injured eleven, missing out with a broken rib.
That is as strong an eleven as any one of the national sides playing. Linking the pace and trickery of Robben with the guile of Pirlo and the brute power of Drogba would mean the team would almost certainly score more than it conceded, while Ballack, once the best header of the ball in the game, would have a field day with perfect crosses that Beckham is known for. Of course, a World Cup side needs both a captain and a manager. Drogba, Essien, Pirlo, Beckham, Kewell and Ferdinand have all captained their national sides, but for having captained his side to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final, the armband would have to be awarded to Michael Ballack. As a manager, there is also someone who has established himself as amongst the very best in previous World Cups, but is absent from South Africa. Anyone remember Guus Hiddink?
Fortunate though the injured eleven is to have these players, it is a great shame that some of them will not grace the biggest stage of all this year. Each players absence will be felt in a different way.
For those romantics hoping for an underdog story, the absence of Drogba is perhaps the most devasting. With the World Cup being staged in Africa for the first time, and host nation South Africa looking unlikely to achieve much, Ivory Coast were carrying the hopes of the continent, and of all those who would like to see the duopoly of South America and Europe broken. And for once, those hopes were not entirely misplaced. Even without Drogba, the Ivorians boast a talented lineup, brimming with stars from the best European clubs - Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Yaya Toure (Barcelona) and his brother Kolo Toure (Manchester City) and Didier Zokora (Sevilla), to name a few. At the head of this line up was meant to be Dider Drogba, certainly in any list of the top five strikers in the world.
Ivory Coast were unfortunate to be drawn in this years Group of Death, and have to overcome one of Portugal and Brazil to make it out of the group stages. With Drogba at their helm, they might well have managed this, especially with Portugal looking vulnerable throughout qualifying and Cristiano Ronaldo still to turn up at a major tournament. It is not impossible, even without Drogba, but certainly looks less likely now. There is still some hope that Drogba will recover from his broken arm and be able to take part in the tournament. If you are one of those people hoping for a fairytale from Africa this year, cross your fingers for him (and if he does, put some money on Ivory Coast for the semi finals)
The footballing purists will be saddest to see that Arjen Robben looks likely to miss the tournament. Robben has been a super star waiting to emerge for years now, but has been consistently hampered by injury. At his best, Robben is unstoppable, able to dribble the ball as if its glued to his foot while sprinting at a speed most players can not match even without the ball, and always ready to unleash a fierce shot with the left foot that eliminated Fiorentina and Manchester United from the Champions League this year. The World Cup highlight reels will certainly suffer from Robben's absence, as will Holland's chances of winning the tournament. To see what you won't see in South Africa, click here
Those who follow the personal drama that sport produces will not be able to help feeling sorry for Germany captain Michael Ballack, whose injury provides a poignant, and perhaps fitting, cap to a brilliant career marked by sporting tragedy. Perhaps no player in history has come so close so many times, without lifting a major international trophy. He has been a talisman for Germany for almost a decade, and in that time has lead them to the World and European Championship finals. Suspended for the 2002 World Cup final, he missed the chance of a repeat when Italy won one of the greatest semi finals ever played with the winning goals in the 120th minute. At club level, he lead Bayer Leverkusen from obscurity for the Champions League final in 2002, only to be sunk by one of Zinedine Zindane's finest strikes. And in 2008 it seemed he'd finally done enough, after a man of the match performance and converting his penatly in the shoot-out against Machester United in the Champions Leage Final. Alas, John Terry missed his spot kick and Chelsea lost their grip on the trophy. After the Euro 2008 final loss Angela Merkel told a tearful Ballack they would have to wait two more years before they could really celebrate. Sadly, the chance won't be forthcoming for Germany's captain.
For fans of their countries, the other injured players will have special meaning. For Ghana, Essien is irreplaceable, and without him, they may struggle. England will have to pick a third captain within months, after John Terry lost the armband for off field reasons earlier this year. Italy already looked vulnerable, and will be even more so without one of the heroes of 2006.
The silver lining is easy to see - in the absence of these many established stars, a new generation will be given a chance to put their mark on the world game and write their names alongside their absent colleagues. There may just be a blog post in that somewhere
p.s. as a Germany fan, a Ballack fan, and one who falls into the category of people who enjoy the personal stories of sport, I feel obliged to post a proper tribute article to Ballack, which will be in an upcoming blog entry. Look out for it :-)
The injury toll has become so long that an you could pick an eleven out of injured players that would be red hot favourites to win the tournament - and that is just what I've done. While most of these players will miss the entire tournament, the criteria for selection is that, at this moment, it looks as though the player will be absent for at least the first game.
Playing with the 4-5-1 formation that is popular with many of today's top sides, the team would contain a trio of Chelsea stars. Didier Drogba would lead the attack, with Michael Ballack and Michael Essien sharing the defensive midfield duties. In front of them, the third in a brilliant midfield triangle would be Italy's mercurial playmaker and dead ball expert, Andrea Pirlo. Arjen Robben was the best winger in Europe this season, but looks like missing the Dutch campaign through a hamstring injury, making him an automatic starter on the wing in our crocked eleven. The other wing place might be taken by Harry Kewell, or, if he recovers in time for the tournament, David Beckham can still make a handy contribution. At the back, England's intended captain, Rio Ferdinand, will be joined by Germany's Heiko Westerwelle. Martin Skrtel of Slovakia might be shifted from the centre of defence to the left wing, and the right back position will be taken up by another Chelsea star, Jose Bosingwa. Standing behind them all in goal will be Renee Adler, Germany's number 1 and its third contribution to the injured eleven, missing out with a broken rib.
That is as strong an eleven as any one of the national sides playing. Linking the pace and trickery of Robben with the guile of Pirlo and the brute power of Drogba would mean the team would almost certainly score more than it conceded, while Ballack, once the best header of the ball in the game, would have a field day with perfect crosses that Beckham is known for. Of course, a World Cup side needs both a captain and a manager. Drogba, Essien, Pirlo, Beckham, Kewell and Ferdinand have all captained their national sides, but for having captained his side to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final, the armband would have to be awarded to Michael Ballack. As a manager, there is also someone who has established himself as amongst the very best in previous World Cups, but is absent from South Africa. Anyone remember Guus Hiddink?
Fortunate though the injured eleven is to have these players, it is a great shame that some of them will not grace the biggest stage of all this year. Each players absence will be felt in a different way.
For those romantics hoping for an underdog story, the absence of Drogba is perhaps the most devasting. With the World Cup being staged in Africa for the first time, and host nation South Africa looking unlikely to achieve much, Ivory Coast were carrying the hopes of the continent, and of all those who would like to see the duopoly of South America and Europe broken. And for once, those hopes were not entirely misplaced. Even without Drogba, the Ivorians boast a talented lineup, brimming with stars from the best European clubs - Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Yaya Toure (Barcelona) and his brother Kolo Toure (Manchester City) and Didier Zokora (Sevilla), to name a few. At the head of this line up was meant to be Dider Drogba, certainly in any list of the top five strikers in the world.
Ivory Coast were unfortunate to be drawn in this years Group of Death, and have to overcome one of Portugal and Brazil to make it out of the group stages. With Drogba at their helm, they might well have managed this, especially with Portugal looking vulnerable throughout qualifying and Cristiano Ronaldo still to turn up at a major tournament. It is not impossible, even without Drogba, but certainly looks less likely now. There is still some hope that Drogba will recover from his broken arm and be able to take part in the tournament. If you are one of those people hoping for a fairytale from Africa this year, cross your fingers for him (and if he does, put some money on Ivory Coast for the semi finals)
The footballing purists will be saddest to see that Arjen Robben looks likely to miss the tournament. Robben has been a super star waiting to emerge for years now, but has been consistently hampered by injury. At his best, Robben is unstoppable, able to dribble the ball as if its glued to his foot while sprinting at a speed most players can not match even without the ball, and always ready to unleash a fierce shot with the left foot that eliminated Fiorentina and Manchester United from the Champions League this year. The World Cup highlight reels will certainly suffer from Robben's absence, as will Holland's chances of winning the tournament. To see what you won't see in South Africa, click here
Those who follow the personal drama that sport produces will not be able to help feeling sorry for Germany captain Michael Ballack, whose injury provides a poignant, and perhaps fitting, cap to a brilliant career marked by sporting tragedy. Perhaps no player in history has come so close so many times, without lifting a major international trophy. He has been a talisman for Germany for almost a decade, and in that time has lead them to the World and European Championship finals. Suspended for the 2002 World Cup final, he missed the chance of a repeat when Italy won one of the greatest semi finals ever played with the winning goals in the 120th minute. At club level, he lead Bayer Leverkusen from obscurity for the Champions League final in 2002, only to be sunk by one of Zinedine Zindane's finest strikes. And in 2008 it seemed he'd finally done enough, after a man of the match performance and converting his penatly in the shoot-out against Machester United in the Champions Leage Final. Alas, John Terry missed his spot kick and Chelsea lost their grip on the trophy. After the Euro 2008 final loss Angela Merkel told a tearful Ballack they would have to wait two more years before they could really celebrate. Sadly, the chance won't be forthcoming for Germany's captain.
For fans of their countries, the other injured players will have special meaning. For Ghana, Essien is irreplaceable, and without him, they may struggle. England will have to pick a third captain within months, after John Terry lost the armband for off field reasons earlier this year. Italy already looked vulnerable, and will be even more so without one of the heroes of 2006.
The silver lining is easy to see - in the absence of these many established stars, a new generation will be given a chance to put their mark on the world game and write their names alongside their absent colleagues. There may just be a blog post in that somewhere
p.s. as a Germany fan, a Ballack fan, and one who falls into the category of people who enjoy the personal stories of sport, I feel obliged to post a proper tribute article to Ballack, which will be in an upcoming blog entry. Look out for it :-)
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