Monday, July 12, 2010
WAYNE'S WORLD CUP ENDS A CURIOUS YELLOW
by Wayne Robins
The most serious injury in Sunday's World Cup final won by Spain 1-0 over the Netherlands (or los Países Bajos, as a Spanish language network called it) was the writer's cramp sustained by those covering the game trying to keep up with the blizzard of yellow cards and a crucial red handed out by English referee Howard Webb. Near the end of a dull and scoreless first half, ESPN announcer Martin Tyler noted that the game had more yellow cards than shots on goal—and Webb was just getting started.
I am not arrogant or informed enough to criticize Webb, who is said to be one of soccer's best-trained and hardest working referees. But 14 yellow cards, when the previous record for a World Cup final was 6?
Even if almost all of the calls were technically legitimate, one hates to see any game, especially a championship final, so dominated by the officiating. Barring overt fouls intended to cause injury or prevent scores, the philosophy of the overseers should be: "Let them play."
The incredibly boring match was tied 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes of regulation time. It wasn't until the 116th minute, during the 30-minute extra-time that Spain's Andres Iniesta scored the final's only goal. (Iniesta immediately received a yellow card for taking off his shirt in celebration). This was not long after Spain took a one-man advantage with the ejection of Holland's John Heitinger, who picked up his second yellow and automatic ejection around the 109th minute. A few minutes later, it was the Spanish goalie and team captain, Casillas, overcome with weeping and sobbing, as much release from the severe tension of his superb job as it was joy at his team's victory.
By contrast, Saturday's third place battle about which I had snickered, between Germany and Uruguay, was a loose and lively affair won by Germany 3-2, with Uruguay fighting for the equalizer until the last whistle. (Spain had defeated Germany 1-0 in the Durban semifinal July 7, as it had by the same score in their 2008 Euro final in Vienna.)
Against Spain, Germany was uncharacteristically lackluster, relying too much on defense—and a passive defense at that—and unable to counterattack, consistently passing the ball backwards to regroup but never managing to sustain forward physical or emotional momentum. Die Mannschaft had to play without its 20 year-old wunderkind Thomas Müller, serving a one-game suspension because of consecutive yellow cards in previous matches. How much did they miss his strong, fast young legs against Spain? Deeply and profoundly: With his goal against Uruguay, Müller's five goals and three assists won him the Golden Boot award as the tournament's top scorer as well as the best young player. Uruguay's tall, long haired and exciting Diego Forlan, who also scored five goals in the tourney, won and deserved the best player award.
The strangest result of this tournament for this American is that I am as much looking forward to the start of (Barclay's) English Premier League season, which begins in mid-August, as I am the kickoff of American football season a few weeks later. I thank my U.K. friends at RocksBackPages.com for carrying Wayne's World Cup dispatches. I am eager to hear their suggestions as to which teams to root for in the Premier League, as well as insights from those passionate about the professional leagues throughout Europe and Latin America, where we will be able to see many of these World Cup players in the coming months.
Google News
The most serious injury in Sunday's World Cup final won by Spain 1-0 over the Netherlands (or los Países Bajos, as a Spanish language network called it) was the writer's cramp sustained by those covering the game trying to keep up with the blizzard of yellow cards and a crucial red handed out by English referee Howard Webb. Near the end of a dull and scoreless first half, ESPN announcer Martin Tyler noted that the game had more yellow cards than shots on goal—and Webb was just getting started.
I am not arrogant or informed enough to criticize Webb, who is said to be one of soccer's best-trained and hardest working referees. But 14 yellow cards, when the previous record for a World Cup final was 6?
Even if almost all of the calls were technically legitimate, one hates to see any game, especially a championship final, so dominated by the officiating. Barring overt fouls intended to cause injury or prevent scores, the philosophy of the overseers should be: "Let them play."
The incredibly boring match was tied 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes of regulation time. It wasn't until the 116th minute, during the 30-minute extra-time that Spain's Andres Iniesta scored the final's only goal. (Iniesta immediately received a yellow card for taking off his shirt in celebration). This was not long after Spain took a one-man advantage with the ejection of Holland's John Heitinger, who picked up his second yellow and automatic ejection around the 109th minute. A few minutes later, it was the Spanish goalie and team captain, Casillas, overcome with weeping and sobbing, as much release from the severe tension of his superb job as it was joy at his team's victory.
By contrast, Saturday's third place battle about which I had snickered, between Germany and Uruguay, was a loose and lively affair won by Germany 3-2, with Uruguay fighting for the equalizer until the last whistle. (Spain had defeated Germany 1-0 in the Durban semifinal July 7, as it had by the same score in their 2008 Euro final in Vienna.)
Against Spain, Germany was uncharacteristically lackluster, relying too much on defense—and a passive defense at that—and unable to counterattack, consistently passing the ball backwards to regroup but never managing to sustain forward physical or emotional momentum. Die Mannschaft had to play without its 20 year-old wunderkind Thomas Müller, serving a one-game suspension because of consecutive yellow cards in previous matches. How much did they miss his strong, fast young legs against Spain? Deeply and profoundly: With his goal against Uruguay, Müller's five goals and three assists won him the Golden Boot award as the tournament's top scorer as well as the best young player. Uruguay's tall, long haired and exciting Diego Forlan, who also scored five goals in the tourney, won and deserved the best player award.
The strangest result of this tournament for this American is that I am as much looking forward to the start of (Barclay's) English Premier League season, which begins in mid-August, as I am the kickoff of American football season a few weeks later. I thank my U.K. friends at RocksBackPages.com for carrying Wayne's World Cup dispatches. I am eager to hear their suggestions as to which teams to root for in the Premier League, as well as insights from those passionate about the professional leagues throughout Europe and Latin America, where we will be able to see many of these World Cup players in the coming months.
Google News
Labels: Howard Webb, soccer, Spain, the Netherlands, World Cup final
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
WAYNE'S WORLD CUP: Holland Closer To Its "Goooool!"
by Wayne Robins
The semifinal World Cup match between the Netherlands and Uruguay was so interesting that I watched the first 20 minutes for a second time tonight in Spanish on Telefutura's WFUT, channel 68 in New York, which has been repeating key games of the day. (The Spanish network Univision carries the games live, simultaneously with ESPN and, on weekends, ABC.) Actually, I watched because I knew in the 17th minute Giovanni Van Bronckhorst would score an extraordinary goal, a long left foot strike that bounced off the post and in. "An absolute firecracker," ESPN announcer Ian Darke aptly called it. But I wanted to hear the great Argentine-born soccer announcer Andres Cantor call his now famous "gooooooooool!," stretching the single syllable word for about 15 seconds, one more time. (You can hear it often as your cellphone rings: Cantor's trademark call is available online as a ringtone.)
Ian Darke was in fine fettle as always. Both he and American sidekick John Harkes (a former U.S. team captain) took the Dutch to task for their sometimes lame "histrionics and amateur dramatics" in trying to induce the referee to call a foul on their opponents. The comment was piercing, because Holland is otherwise one of the class acts of world soccer, and certainly earned its place in the final, having run Brazil out of the tournament and finally beating the brave and resourceful Uruguay 3-2.
I don't know if a player on a team that loses in the semifinals can be World Cup MVP, but Uruguay's charismatic Diego Forlan, who evened the score in the 40th minute with his fourth goal of the tournament, certainly deserves consideration. Forlan was taken out in the 85th minute, his thigh hurting, with Uruguay trailing 3-1. A Uruguay goal in extra time made it 3-2, and the South Americans mounted a desperate attack only to be finally turned back.
So the domino theory, so discredited as the political and military concept behind the futile United States war effort in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, seemed to be accurate in this World Cup. All the South American dominos with the potential to dominate have fallen: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. The Netherlands will play either Spain or Germany on Sunday for the championship. In the saddest contest in all of sports, 90 agonizing minutes of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," the loser of Spain vs. Germany plays Uruguay in the third place game Saturday afternoon.
Google News
The semifinal World Cup match between the Netherlands and Uruguay was so interesting that I watched the first 20 minutes for a second time tonight in Spanish on Telefutura's WFUT, channel 68 in New York, which has been repeating key games of the day. (The Spanish network Univision carries the games live, simultaneously with ESPN and, on weekends, ABC.) Actually, I watched because I knew in the 17th minute Giovanni Van Bronckhorst would score an extraordinary goal, a long left foot strike that bounced off the post and in. "An absolute firecracker," ESPN announcer Ian Darke aptly called it. But I wanted to hear the great Argentine-born soccer announcer Andres Cantor call his now famous "gooooooooool!," stretching the single syllable word for about 15 seconds, one more time. (You can hear it often as your cellphone rings: Cantor's trademark call is available online as a ringtone.)
Ian Darke was in fine fettle as always. Both he and American sidekick John Harkes (a former U.S. team captain) took the Dutch to task for their sometimes lame "histrionics and amateur dramatics" in trying to induce the referee to call a foul on their opponents. The comment was piercing, because Holland is otherwise one of the class acts of world soccer, and certainly earned its place in the final, having run Brazil out of the tournament and finally beating the brave and resourceful Uruguay 3-2.
I don't know if a player on a team that loses in the semifinals can be World Cup MVP, but Uruguay's charismatic Diego Forlan, who evened the score in the 40th minute with his fourth goal of the tournament, certainly deserves consideration. Forlan was taken out in the 85th minute, his thigh hurting, with Uruguay trailing 3-1. A Uruguay goal in extra time made it 3-2, and the South Americans mounted a desperate attack only to be finally turned back.
So the domino theory, so discredited as the political and military concept behind the futile United States war effort in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, seemed to be accurate in this World Cup. All the South American dominos with the potential to dominate have fallen: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay. The Netherlands will play either Spain or Germany on Sunday for the championship. In the saddest contest in all of sports, 90 agonizing minutes of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," the loser of Spain vs. Germany plays Uruguay in the third place game Saturday afternoon.
Google News
Labels: Andres Cantor, Ian Darke, soccer, the Netherlands, Uruguay, World Cup
