Hail Zidane
I have been guilty of yelling about Zidane being done at the top levels for the last year or so. An indifferent year at Madrid, two mediocre showings in group play at the World Cup (followed by a suspension) seemed to signal the end of an all-time great. I wasn't even totally convinced by his match against Spain (though others lauded him), despite a goal and an assist.
But, dear God, he brought the goods against Brazil. Deft touches, composure, and vision marked a strong first half for him, but it was early in the second half when he changed the course of the game. Brazil was finally applying a little pressure and the French side was struggling to gain any posession. Ribery (another very good performance) looked to lose a ball in the midfield and another Brazilian attack seemed imminent. But Zidane stepped in, flicked a ball over the head of a Brazilian and found an overlapping Malouda. A Brazil foul resulted in a free kick, that Zidane bent beautfully to an unmarked Henry on the far post for the only goal of the game.
Then, as everyone else seemed to tire, the suddenly ageless Zidane provided invaluable posession for the French over the last 30 minutes of the match.
The whole French team played a nearly perfect match, controlling the ball in the midfield, stifling the vaunted Brazil attack and preventing any shots on an always nerve-wracking Barthez until late in the game. It is hard to single out any of the back 4 for particualr mention, as they were all fantastic.
Veira and Makalele were incredible once again, making crucial tackles and winning countless balls whenever Brazil looked ready to run at them from the midfield. There was a great Veira moment when late in the game Ronaldhino received the ball with some space on the left side and looked ready to go on one of his famous charging runs. Veira closed him down, forced him to head the other way, and when more defensive help arrived, stripped the Player of the Year and began another French attack.
I love Makalele because he is one of the best players in the world, despite lacking any touch on the ball (his through passes are hilarious, always too heavy. His rare shots on goal are worse). But he is so good at disrupting attacks, winning balls, and knowing his limitations on the ball (almost always looks for simple pass to Zidane or Veira or back to his defense) that his lack of attacking ability scarcely matters. You have to love this guy (unless you have to play against him).
France is a 2-1 favorite to advance against Portugal, and given their rapdily improving from over the last 3 matches, it seems justified. The biggest concern for me about them is that after defeating the best team in the world, they might overlook a bland but difficult Portugal side.
Thoughts on Brazil:
The wing backs Kafu and Roberto Carlos both showed their age. They offered none of the overlapping attack (Kafu didn't even attempt to get to the end line, while Roberto Carlos often settled for blasting right at defenders). Substitute, Cicinho did more than those two combined in his 30 minutes out there.
Kaka and Ronaldinho, not Ronaldo, had the disappointing World Cups. Neither one had much influence and Ronaldinho spent a lot of this match feebly chasing after Veira and Makalele.
The best thing I can say about Portugal is that they are in the semis. They played an indifferent match today and failed to create any real chances when England played 60 minutes with ten men. At times I wondered if Pauletta was even on the pitch.
Portugal seemed to mirror the tactics Spain used against France. A lot of posession in the midfield, but mostly sideways and back passes. They refused to commit men to the attack and seemed to be playing for PKs even though they had a man advantage.
Their defense was pretty solid, but should have been breached. They did maintain their shape well and bravo for containing a previously rampant Joe Cole down the left side.
MVP to goalie Ricardo for an astonishing display in the PK shootout. His coverage was so good, I felt like England was shooting from 25 yards, not 12.
Credit to Ronaldo and Maniche who provided the only spark to their lifeless attack. Perhaps the return of Deco will help re-ignite the attack - they desperately need it.
After a bright first match against Angola, Figo's play seems to be declining steadily. I know he is not the speedster he once was, but he looked positively slow against England. Scolari might want to look into bringing him off the bench against France, but that seems unlikely.
England finally put together a decent performance against Portugal, and in classic English fashion, lost the match. Thoughts:
Sven has been a failure:
- I thought he shuffled line-ups way too often in the pre-WC friendlies and this team never really had any cohesion. They certainly did not play up to what their individual abilites suggested they could.
- His selctions must be questioned (though choosing Hargreaves proved brilliant). Jermaine Jenas? Theo Walcott? He was fortunate Rooney was fit enough to play, or it would have been a total disaster.
- I don't believe he instilled this team with a confidence or a swagger that they badly needed. His ultra laid back style might be more appropriate for a team with proven int'l success.
I am afraid that Lampard peaked two seasons ago, when he was certainly one of the best players in the world for both club and country. Yes, he still scored alot of goals for Chelsea, but he showed flaws in his passing and became a little long-shot happy. Playing a 4-5-1, England was relying on him for goals and, despite numerous shots, he never found the net (even in PKs) in the World Cup. He was unable to link-up effectively in the midfield with Gerard and Beckham. Overall, it was a horrific world cup for him.
The Beckham debate rages on. I had thought Erikson should have named Terry captain and been open to sitting Beckham when he proved ineffective. Though Beckham showed his value in the Ecuador game with the deciding goal, his direct kick prowess comes at a real cost to England's ability to create in open play. His only meaningful contribution from open play came against T&T when he found Crouch for a header goal (but only after Lennon had come on and provided some space for him to operate). When Beckham was out on the right alone, England had absolutely no attack down the right side and relied exclusively on Joe Cole on the left. When Lennon came on against Portugal, England suddenly had a dangerous option - can't help but think Lennon should have played more.
(On that Adidas +10 commercial with the two kids picking sides from the best players in the world, when the one kid says "Beckham", the other kid should say, "Beckham? Beckham?" Unless the kid is picking him to help get some hot girls after the game, it is a crazy choice.)
Owen Hargreaves, a player I have never liked, was England's best player over the last two matches. His work rate and tackling against Portugal was inspiring - his efforts in the 2nd half and ET made it look like England was still playing with 11 men. I think he has radically changed his legacy with these outstanding performances. (Dumb comments by the announcers: They attributed his great play to familiarity with the brutally hot conditions of Germany. Guys, Bayern Munich doesn't play Bundesliga matches in the summer. There is more likely to be snow on the pitch when Hargreaves plays for his club.)
John Terry is the best center-back in the world. I just love that guy. I olny wish Beckham could have found him on a corner kick, b/c he is an outstanding header of the ball (both attacking and defending). I think he, not Gerard, should be the next captain of England. Gerard is incredibly talented and had a decent World Cup, but he is still disappears at times. Terry is much more consistent and is England's anchor in the back.
I am picking an Italy-France final. More on that later.
The Idiot
But, dear God, he brought the goods against Brazil. Deft touches, composure, and vision marked a strong first half for him, but it was early in the second half when he changed the course of the game. Brazil was finally applying a little pressure and the French side was struggling to gain any posession. Ribery (another very good performance) looked to lose a ball in the midfield and another Brazilian attack seemed imminent. But Zidane stepped in, flicked a ball over the head of a Brazilian and found an overlapping Malouda. A Brazil foul resulted in a free kick, that Zidane bent beautfully to an unmarked Henry on the far post for the only goal of the game.
Then, as everyone else seemed to tire, the suddenly ageless Zidane provided invaluable posession for the French over the last 30 minutes of the match.
The whole French team played a nearly perfect match, controlling the ball in the midfield, stifling the vaunted Brazil attack and preventing any shots on an always nerve-wracking Barthez until late in the game. It is hard to single out any of the back 4 for particualr mention, as they were all fantastic.
Veira and Makalele were incredible once again, making crucial tackles and winning countless balls whenever Brazil looked ready to run at them from the midfield. There was a great Veira moment when late in the game Ronaldhino received the ball with some space on the left side and looked ready to go on one of his famous charging runs. Veira closed him down, forced him to head the other way, and when more defensive help arrived, stripped the Player of the Year and began another French attack.
I love Makalele because he is one of the best players in the world, despite lacking any touch on the ball (his through passes are hilarious, always too heavy. His rare shots on goal are worse). But he is so good at disrupting attacks, winning balls, and knowing his limitations on the ball (almost always looks for simple pass to Zidane or Veira or back to his defense) that his lack of attacking ability scarcely matters. You have to love this guy (unless you have to play against him).
France is a 2-1 favorite to advance against Portugal, and given their rapdily improving from over the last 3 matches, it seems justified. The biggest concern for me about them is that after defeating the best team in the world, they might overlook a bland but difficult Portugal side.
Thoughts on Brazil:
The wing backs Kafu and Roberto Carlos both showed their age. They offered none of the overlapping attack (Kafu didn't even attempt to get to the end line, while Roberto Carlos often settled for blasting right at defenders). Substitute, Cicinho did more than those two combined in his 30 minutes out there.
Kaka and Ronaldinho, not Ronaldo, had the disappointing World Cups. Neither one had much influence and Ronaldinho spent a lot of this match feebly chasing after Veira and Makalele.
The best thing I can say about Portugal is that they are in the semis. They played an indifferent match today and failed to create any real chances when England played 60 minutes with ten men. At times I wondered if Pauletta was even on the pitch.
Portugal seemed to mirror the tactics Spain used against France. A lot of posession in the midfield, but mostly sideways and back passes. They refused to commit men to the attack and seemed to be playing for PKs even though they had a man advantage.
Their defense was pretty solid, but should have been breached. They did maintain their shape well and bravo for containing a previously rampant Joe Cole down the left side.
MVP to goalie Ricardo for an astonishing display in the PK shootout. His coverage was so good, I felt like England was shooting from 25 yards, not 12.
Credit to Ronaldo and Maniche who provided the only spark to their lifeless attack. Perhaps the return of Deco will help re-ignite the attack - they desperately need it.
After a bright first match against Angola, Figo's play seems to be declining steadily. I know he is not the speedster he once was, but he looked positively slow against England. Scolari might want to look into bringing him off the bench against France, but that seems unlikely.
England finally put together a decent performance against Portugal, and in classic English fashion, lost the match. Thoughts:
Sven has been a failure:
- I thought he shuffled line-ups way too often in the pre-WC friendlies and this team never really had any cohesion. They certainly did not play up to what their individual abilites suggested they could.
- His selctions must be questioned (though choosing Hargreaves proved brilliant). Jermaine Jenas? Theo Walcott? He was fortunate Rooney was fit enough to play, or it would have been a total disaster.
- I don't believe he instilled this team with a confidence or a swagger that they badly needed. His ultra laid back style might be more appropriate for a team with proven int'l success.
I am afraid that Lampard peaked two seasons ago, when he was certainly one of the best players in the world for both club and country. Yes, he still scored alot of goals for Chelsea, but he showed flaws in his passing and became a little long-shot happy. Playing a 4-5-1, England was relying on him for goals and, despite numerous shots, he never found the net (even in PKs) in the World Cup. He was unable to link-up effectively in the midfield with Gerard and Beckham. Overall, it was a horrific world cup for him.
The Beckham debate rages on. I had thought Erikson should have named Terry captain and been open to sitting Beckham when he proved ineffective. Though Beckham showed his value in the Ecuador game with the deciding goal, his direct kick prowess comes at a real cost to England's ability to create in open play. His only meaningful contribution from open play came against T&T when he found Crouch for a header goal (but only after Lennon had come on and provided some space for him to operate). When Beckham was out on the right alone, England had absolutely no attack down the right side and relied exclusively on Joe Cole on the left. When Lennon came on against Portugal, England suddenly had a dangerous option - can't help but think Lennon should have played more.
(On that Adidas +10 commercial with the two kids picking sides from the best players in the world, when the one kid says "Beckham", the other kid should say, "Beckham? Beckham?" Unless the kid is picking him to help get some hot girls after the game, it is a crazy choice.)
Owen Hargreaves, a player I have never liked, was England's best player over the last two matches. His work rate and tackling against Portugal was inspiring - his efforts in the 2nd half and ET made it look like England was still playing with 11 men. I think he has radically changed his legacy with these outstanding performances. (Dumb comments by the announcers: They attributed his great play to familiarity with the brutally hot conditions of Germany. Guys, Bayern Munich doesn't play Bundesliga matches in the summer. There is more likely to be snow on the pitch when Hargreaves plays for his club.)
John Terry is the best center-back in the world. I just love that guy. I olny wish Beckham could have found him on a corner kick, b/c he is an outstanding header of the ball (both attacking and defending). I think he, not Gerard, should be the next captain of England. Gerard is incredibly talented and had a decent World Cup, but he is still disappears at times. Terry is much more consistent and is England's anchor in the back.
I am picking an Italy-France final. More on that later.
The Idiot
posted by the idiot at 8:12 AM
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