Silver's Football Corner

Italian football hit hard!!

2006-07-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

Breaking news!! Heart breaking for Juve.

Juventus, Lazio and Fiorentina have been relegated to Serie B following the outcome of the Italian match-fixing scandal, but Milan will stay in the top flight.

Turin giants Juventus have also been stripped of the last two Serie A titles the team have won, been fined €80,000 (£50,000) and have also been handed a 30-point deduction for next season.

Joining the Old Lady in Serie B are Lazio, who have been docked seven points for next season, and Fiorentina, who have been hit with a 12-point penalty.

Milan have avoided demotion to the second tier of Italian football, although they have been penalised 15 points for next term.

In addition, the Rossoneri will not take part in the coming campaign's UEFA Champions League after being docked 44 points from last season's total.

The punishments mean that Italy will need to find three new entrants for Champions League participation due to the sanctions against Fiorentina, Juventus and Milan.

Several officials have also been hit hard following the verdict in the match-fixing scandal which arose after allegations that Juventus tried to arrange the appointment of referees.

Former Juve general manager Luciano Moggi has been banned from the game for five years - the same penalty meted out to Antonio Giraudo.

Ex-Italian Football Federation president Franco Carraro has been suspended for four years and six months - the same length of time which referee Massimo De Sanctis has been banned for.

Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has been banned for 12 months, Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle for four years and Lazio supremo Claudio Lotito for three years.

The scandal has rocked Italian football and has taken the gloss off the national team's recent World Cup victory, with some having called for leniency.

But Italian Federation Commission judge Cesare Ruperto has come down hard on the clubs involved, with the punishments possibly seeing a mass exodus from those concerned.

Juventus could lose the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Gianluca Zambrotta, David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with the 30-point penalty making an immediate return to Serie A a tough ask.

Fiorentina will face a fight to hang on to the likes of Luca Toni, while Lazio full back Massimo Oddo is expected to be in demand.

The lack of European football at Milan could also witness Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, among others, move on to pastures new.

All four clubs are expected to appeal against the verdicts, but as things stand Internazionale and Roma would qualify automatically for next term's Champions League.

Chievo Verona and Palermo would enter at the preliminary stage, while Livorno, Empoli and Parma would go into the Uefa Cup.

There will also be a reprieve for Messina, Lecce and Treviso, who had initially been relegated last season, although there is a new inquiry relating to the former-named club.

Henry is NO SAINT!!

2006-07-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

My comp has been out of sorts for quite a while now, despite my best efforts and so I have not been able to blog about the World Cup. I sincerely apologize to all those football fans who have been reading blog regularly (quite a few though). Now this is not why I am sitting in my friend’s place desperate to get a blog in.

This world cup has been unlucky and cruel for me. More cruel than the last edition.

Many people suppose that I am a biased England fan. I am an England fan alright. But I am not all that biased. I have supported England and Argentina since I started watching football in the early 90’s (even before I started watching cricket). But watching them go out on penalties, yet again, was too much for me to take.

First, Argentina. Argentina held back for most of the game and even though Germany equalized I had confidence that Argentina will score the winner before the old argentinian fear of penalty shootouts can strike. My man Juan Roman was taken off and Messi dint come in. I realized it might be a costly error by Pekerman. And painfully costly it was. Franco was no match for Lehmann. Lehmann justified his selection ahead of Kahn and made himself the hero for Germany. End of the World cup for Argentina and my heart broke. Once again. Silent agony for me while Germany celebrated on screen. In the heat of the moment, I blamed Lady luck in the heat of the moment, but it was Pekerman’s strange substitutions that did us in.

Before the start of the world cup, I really believed in England and was sure that it will go atleast till the semis. My confidence started wearing off after England’s Wc begun. Instead of waiting confidently for an awesome English goal, I was waiting in dread. In each of England’s 5 games, I was desperately hoping that England shoudnt lose, instead of being sure of a thumping England win.

And in the quarterfinal, What shouldn’t hav happened , happened. Rooney was sent off for pushing Ronaldo, angered by Ronaldo’s attempts at trying to send him off. I seethed in rage when Rooney saw red. I accept Rooney was wrong to push Ronaldo, but a straight red was too much. After that incident, my hopes of an English win began diminishing at am alarming rate. The familiar foreboding began to grasp hold of me. England has a woeful record in penalties and they proved it once again. Lamps, Carra and Gerrard lost it and Ricardo was the hero. My whole world came crashing down. Last night was cruel. Tonight…. I really translate my pain into words. Two successive heart breaks for me.

Lets leave it at that.

But this is not why I am blogging now. I want to talk about cheating. I want to talk about France.

Italy’s undeserved win over Australia was disgraceful enough. But for Henry to indulge in such lowly behaviour was truly pathetic.

I was really instigated when I heard people blasting Ronaldo and dint utter a word about Henry. I wholeheartedly agree Ronaldo’s a cheater. He deserves much of the criticism leveled at him. But people are ignoring Henry’s cheap antics. Strangely.

I realized most were Arsenal or French fans, ManU haters and Ronaldo haters.

Ronaldo is a cheat obviously. But why nobody's talking bout Henry? Henry's playacting is more serious, simply because he won a penalty in the WC semis, while Ronaldo has been unsuccessful in his attempts (well.. trying to send Rooney off qualifies to a certain extent as morally wrong behavior). But HENRY!! He may be the greatest forward, but he is not the saint that biased Arsenal and French fans claim to be. He dint show much of this playacting attitude for Arsenal and I almost believed he was a saint. I am a big fan of his ball skills and pace. The only thing I dint like about him was that he was a gunner. But I really dint expect such unpardonable tactics from him. I guess he is desperate to advance in this WC (even though his contribution to his team’s progress has been a bare minimum) as the stakes are high. Getting a penalty, in the World cup semis, a match where France dint dominate and had very few shots on goal, is a total disgrace to football. And it is not the first time and certainly not an isolated incident. In the Spain match, when Puyol spanked him in the chest, Henry went down clutching his head. Henry clutched his head once again in the Brazil match, when there was absolutely NO CONTACT!!! And it was a matter of time before his playacting attempts fetched him an Oscar, in the form of a Penalty. And his efforts paid off yesterday against Portugal.

Being Zizou’s team mate and a famous ambassador of the stylish French game, Henry should not indulge in such lowly behaviour. Many “experts” say that it was a penalty. It is most certainly not!!

Carvalho’s tackle was unintentional and his touch on Henry was ever so light. And Henry went down like a house of cards. The referee should have considered the seriousness of being in a World Cup semifinal, before pointing to the penalty spot. But it was not to be Portugal’s day. The penalty was converted by Zizou, obviously!!! Zizou is God, he is calm under pressure.

Portugal’s equalizing efforts were in vain after that. It was not Portugal’s day. I am not saying Portugal is unlucky because their shots dint go in. They lacked the cutting edge in front of goal. I am saying Portugal’s unlucky because it was NOT a penalty!!

The bottom-line of this blog is..

Henry is NO SAINT!!! This is for all you biased Arsenal and French fans.

Dive Henry Dive. But he has got competition in the final. Italians are a class act, literally, in playacting.

Coming to the final, I think I have decided on who I should be supporting. Better France than Italy is my line of thinking.

I want France to win it, despite my loathing of Henry’s diving and my general dislike of France. One Reason!!! Zizou!! I love him. I hoped he would have a bad tournament and France would be sent packing. But unfortunately, Zizou has reminded the world that he is still the KING. I would be glad if France wins it, only because of him. Zizou can bid adieu in style.

A Pyrrhic Victory for Portugal

2006-06-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

I was pondering why the fuck should the draw be like this? Why the fuck should Portugal and Holland, two teams I like, meet each other in the 2nd round itself?? I was in a dilemma whether I should support Portugal or Holland. Holland is my third favorite but I like Portugal too because they play football with great technique. Well, the main reason is I love Figo, Deco and Ronaldo (with some reservation). I was still undecided when the match started.
I had a feeling that this match would go right down to the wire, sudden death. And it would involve a lot of bad blood. And I dint like that feeling at all. I hate sudden death. It is just not the right way to decide a football match. Ecstasy for one team. Agony for another. All decided by luck. I wouldn’t want even Arsenal or Chelsea to go down in sudden death. (Unless they are playing against ManU or Barca. of course). Such is my trepidation for a penalty shootout.

Coming to the lineups, I was pissed off that Van Basten dint find Ruud impressive. Come on, Ruud is one of the best poachers in the game!! I told myself, You are gonna rue the decision, Mr. Van Basten!! And he did!!

What a match!! Oops. It was not a mere football match. It was Battle Royale!! And Portugal won it, with some losses. A Pyrrhic victory.

The Dutch started brightly with Van bommel hit a shot jus wide of the target, after a good build-up play from Robben and Kuyt. Then Van bommel was at his fouling best, when he was booked for a wild tackle on Ronaldo, who was beginning to impress.
Robben and Van Bronkhorst then troubled the Holland backline with their own efforts.
After a pacy opening, the sides settled down, predictably.
The Dutch widemen, were the tormentors-in-chief for the Portuguese backline. Van Persie came inside the awesome Carvalho before lashing a shot just wide.
Portuguese almost paid for their slack passing when Robben burst in, went past two defenders only to provide a disappointing cross.
Holland looked menacing and the Portuguese weren’t creating chances. So it came as a surprise to me when Portugal went one up at 23 mins.
Ronaldo sent down Deco on the right who crossed the ball into the area. After a Pauleta layoff, Maniche sidestepped Boulahrouz and Ooijer before sending a rising shit past the diving Van Der Sar. 1-0 to Portugal.
A superb goal. Maniche was ecstatic. With some reason. He scored a goal against the same opposition in Euro 2004 semifinal. I guess Maniche doesn’t like Holland at all.
Awed by the goal, I was feeling happy for Portugal. At the same time, I wanted Holland to equalize. I hadn’t yet decided my no.1 team in this match. And looking at Van Basten, I decided that I really wanted Holland to equalize. I made up my mind that I will decide about my priorities after the equalizer.
Portugal were inspired by the goal and Maniche went close with another shot, this time from outside the box.
But things turned downhill for Portugal after that.
Ronaldo’s thigh was punctured by a studs-first high tackle from Boulahrouz. He got yellow carded while he should have seen red. The referee had done his first mistake.
It was quite obvious that Ronaldo was in unbearable pain but he tried to continue manfully. I saw the punctured thigh swell up and I was convinced that Rolando’s match was over. My heart went out when Ronaldo was subbed by Simao. The poor lad cried, thinking that his world cup was over. Come on, he had a good match till then.
Ronaldo’s injury took the sting out of Portugal’s attack and after that Van Persie showed why Wenger places such faith in him.
Van Persie called for the ball from the right and he got it. He moved into the box going past two. He twisted and turned and made nuno valente look like a joker. The ball just seemed to obey his commands, stating at his feet, while he turned left, right, left, right. After he got clear, he hit a shot with the outside of his left foot which just missed the target.
A piece of genius. Wenger would have smiled at this one!!
Portugal responded by going agonisingly close, as Pauleta controlled a Simao cross and hit a great shot on the turn that was saved superbly by Van Der Sar.
Then Costinha hit the self-destruct button by picking up a second yellow card for deliberate handball. Quite pathetic!!
Scolari was now pondering how best to maintain a one-goal lead with ten-men at the half time break.
What followed in the second half was beyond the wildest imagination. Hold!! It was not something like a stunning Liverpool comeback. It was stunning in a different sense. Ugly is the right word.
Big Phil brought off his lone striker Pauleta for the second period, with Armando Petit coming on to adopt a defensive role, and the move seemed to invite pressure as Holland started the second half in determined fashion.
Within four minutes of the restart Cocu had smacked a shot off the woodwork, as after van Bommel missed an overhead kick the ball bounced off Valente to fall at the feet of the midfielder and he hit a volley against the underside of the crossbar.
Van Bommel then saw his powerful drive unconvincingly tipped by Ricardo.
Van Basten introduced van der Vaart for defender Mathijsen to up the tempo. Where is Ruud, Mr. Van Basten? You are making a big mistake. Take off Kuyt you fool!! And bring on Ruud!! I guess my rants fell on deaf ears. Not on Van Basten’s ears.
A marauding run from Miguel resulted in Van Der Sar repelling the right-back's shot, and the Manchester United keeper saved again as he dived to his right to catch a Maniche effort.
As the pace quickened, so did the pulses of the players and Figo was lucky to escape a red card as he somehow only received a booking for head butting Van Bommel. Then Van Bommel fell down theatrically three seconds after the head butt, keeping his Oscar- nominee reputation intact. What a sucker!! I decided I wanted Portugal to go through!!!
Simao fired the resulting free kick over the bar. And the melee died down. Temporarily.
Figo was at the centre of the action again just three minutes later as he collapsed to the ground after Boulahrouz elbowed him (maybe unintentional), and the Dutch defender picked up his second yellow card for the use of the elbow to spark another unseemly brawl as the numbers were evened up to ten each.
Some superb passing play was witnessed by both teams, with Sneijder only being denied by a superb block from Carvalho, but the explosive nature of the tie meant conflict was never far from view, and the yellow cards continued to rain down as Deco was cautioned for a wild tackle on Ooijer before Sneijder found his name in the book for a push on Petit.
In an incredible passage of play Ricardo and Valente then took the total number of yellow cards to 14, and referee continued to brandish the book. And I was smiling evilly. Go England go!!! Muhahahahaha!!!
Deco then handed himself a harsh yellow for time wasting. Things were hotting up!! And things were getting better and better for England!!!
The referee looked to have lost complete control of the tie, and amongst it all there was still a World Cup second round game to play as Kuyt sprung the offside trap to go one-on-one with Ricardo. The Portuguese goalkeeper pulled off a smart save but injured himself in the process. Ruud would not have missed this chance. He is a proven goal scorer. Damn you and your ego, Van Basten!!!
Van Basten summoned Vennegoor of Hesselink from the bench rather than Ruud, much to my chagrin and anger. Holland pushed forward they allowed gaps to appear and Simao almost added a second after a quick break led by Miguel.
Kuyt went close at the death as Ricardo saved his volley, with van der Vaart also flashing over, but van Basten's side could not find an equalizer.
Incredibly the referee still had time to issue a second yellow card to Van Bronkhorst, reducing both sides to nine men and writing his name into the World Cup record books in the process.
It was a funny sight, seeing the two Barca team mates Deco and Van Bronkhorst sitting side by side and arguing their case.
My heart went out to Van Basten seeing him stand shocked by his team’s exit. They paid for their lack of cutting edge in the box. But still I was angry with Van Basten cos he dint bring on Ruud. Ruud would have made the difference!!

Post Match Ramblings:

What to say?? There wasn’t much football in the 2nd half. A Pyrrhic victory for Portugal. Portugal deserved to win obviously, their spirit being the main reason. Holland deserved to lose because of their profligate finishing. We can say that the Dutch were unlucky. Agreed, but Ruud would have done a better job than Kuyt. Everyone tried to hit to slot the ball home, in vain. Ruud would have hit home once surely, considering how many chances the Dutch created.
Portugal with a man down for most of the 2nd half deserved to go through. They defended desperately and brilliantly too. Carvalho was the man of the match quite obviously. They reveled in their joy of having won a battle. But reality would strike and they will be nursing their wounds, dreading the England match.
Deco out. Ronaldo injured but he will play I guess. Figo (fortunately, FIFA decided that yellow was enough for him), Valente, Maniche, Ricardo all treading on thin ice. Constinha out too.
Can there be a better chance for England to avenge their Euro 2004 QF defeat to Portugal in the World cup 2006 QF??
The funny fact is that Big Phil has England as his WC QF opponent for the second time.

Becks fires England into QF

2006-06-26T01:35:00.000-07:00

I had not blogged for a while. The reason is quite obvious. I had my visa interview on June 23rd and I was running around Chennai (mainly CEG, for my pc) getting the documents ready for the big one. The hard work paid off and I got my visa. Piece of cake actually. (But the night before, I was totally pissed off that Czechs were out of the World cup)
While I was preparing docs for visa, I dint miss most of the matches but had no real time to blog about them.
But I am back now. Lets get things started. Again.
To the England vs Ecuador match.
I was pissed off with England’s performance in the 1st round. I was really hoping that the Three lions would relentlessly march to the 2nd round. It was not to be. The players, I love, admire and worship, dint perform to their potential and more importantly, dint perform as a team. Owen out too!! Things weren’t exactly rosy. They were far short of the frontrunners tag imposed on them.

So, it was with much apprehension, that I watched the preview. I expected the idiot Eriksson to go for a 4-5-1 and he did. But I was worried that Rooney might be under lotsa pressure, on his own upfront. And I don’t like Hargreaves at all. A versatile player, many say. I don’t agree. He has no presence and he neither attacks nor defends. He just runs around. A total waste!!!

England went into the match as favorites, thou not as overwhelming favorites. And they did win, albeit unconvincingly (again). But their performance was much better than their 1st round’s.
It was stifling hot at Stuttgart. So, as expected, England started sluggishly. Lamps nearly created two chances for Rooney but the weight of the pass was too much for Roo.
Rather surprisingly, Ecuador had the first real chance of the game. Terry squandered a attempted headed clearance and C. Tenorio pounced on it but dwelled on the ball jus a wee bit long for Ashley Cole to come sprinting backwards and deflect his shot on to the crossbar. My heart nearly stopped for a moment. No, it really stopped. Big Jesus!! What if Cole hadn’t retreated.. What the fuck happened to Terry?? English defense looked shaky in the Sweden encounter. Oh pls. not again.
Lamps had a chance to get clear but Hurtado got an important touch on the ball.
Terry's rather uncertain afternoon continued as he received a caution on 18 minutes for an a rather ridiculous high lunge on Tenorio. What was happening to Terry?
From the resulting free kick Edison Mendez whipped in a dangerous set-piece which Ferdinand appeared to divert narrowly wide although the referee took the view it came off an Ecuadorian player. Rio was ok but Terry was no way near his best. We are talking about world class defenders here!!!
Shortly afterwards, Beckham opted against shooting at an inviting-looking free kick. He cleverly chipped the ball to Gerrard whose cross was just too high for Joe Cole to direct a header on target; Beckham's attempt from the rebound was blocked.
A neat interchange between Gerrard and Rooney created a shooting chance for Lamps on the edge of the box but the Chelsea man failed to catch the ball cleanly and Mora made a comfortable save, while on 35 minutes Beckham flashed a dipping 30-yard free kick just wide.
Lamps was continuing his woeful shooting form. Can someone just help him find that awesome Chelsea form???
Back to the game.
With England struggling to create, the South Americans almost presented their opponents with a chance to open the scoring when Hurtado lost the ball to Rooney in a dangerous area 30 yards from the goal. A last-ditch sliding tackle by the defender stopped the rampaging forward although there was a suggestion the ball caught the defender's hand.
Just before the interval Delgado (the only Ecuador player I like) thundered into Hargreaves and caught the makeshift right back with a painful boot on the knee which left a nasty gash and saw the Bayern Munich man forced off for extended treatment. That’s good news for England!!
He was back out for the second period, though, and a fine passing move five minutes in almost broke the deadlock as Gerrard's intelligent low cross from the left flashed across the six-yard box but just beyond the stretching Rooney.
Roo, increasingly frustrated, did his best to muscle his way on to a dinked pass by Lampard but found his way blocked by Hurtado and Espinoza.
However, the deadlock was broken moments later, although somewhat predictably it took a set-piece to do the damage.
Lampard was fortunately awarded a free kick just a couple of yards back from the angle of the penalty area. Stepped in, Becks, the free kick specialist who hadn’t scored a free kick in internationals for three years. He had been largely anonymous till now. But he ensured he was in the headlines in the papers next day with an exquisite curler.
He curled it beautifully and Mora had no chance really. Agreed, Mora should have stood a little to his right knowing Becks. But who cares?? Becks back!! And England are in the lead!! Muhahahahaha!!!
The goal seemed to lift England and Lamps drove a left-footed effort a foot wide of an upright shortly afterwards, while a lax pass from Hurtado presented the same player with what appeared a great chance to shoot. But Lamps passed it to Roo unselfishly who was caught on his heels.
Valencia reminded England they were still in a game when a rasping drive from 20 yards forced Paul Robinson to turn the ball behind for a corner at full-stretch.
Ecuador appeared to have lost the plot since England had taken the lead as a succession of sloppy passes and rather casual defending allowed England to fashion two decent chances. But Lamps’ demons came back to haunt him again. And Again.
His worst miss came following a wonderful piece of skill from Rooney who outfoxed Hurtado on the touchline before pulling back for Lamps. Lamps skied the shot even thou he had a clear view of goal.
Though I knew Lamps was not at his best, this miss was totally unpardonable. I felt both anger and pity seeing Lamps shake his head. Anger that Lamps is wasting chance after chance for England in the World cup!! And pity that such a great player is making a parody of himself in front of goal.
The final whistle blew and the England fans (including me) were happy. Just happy. Not ecstatic.

Post Match Ramblings:

England failed to impress once again. But they did just enough to see of Ecuador.
J Cole had a few moments to impress. But he was largely ineffective.
A Cole was the savior. Undoubtedly. England would have been in a hole if not for him. But who knows? England might have kicked into life if that shot had gone in and we might have seen an exceptional English comeback.
Becks was the match winner. His free kick was superb. He defended brilliantly after his goal. There was no lacking in his commitment. He made his critics eat their words. I should say.
Lamps was at his profligate best. I could only wallow in misery seeing Lamps shake his head after that woeful miss. He needs to clear his head and shake off his demons. Come on Lamps!!
Gerrard wasn’t that talismanic today surprisingly. But he did pull off exquisite crosses and his odd shots.
Roo dint get enough ammunition to fire. But he showed his genius foxing defenders and carving out ingenious passes.
Rio had a good match. Terry had a slightly shaky match.
Carrick did justice to his holding role. Carragher was good when he came on.
On the whole, England dint create that many chances. And even if they created chances, Lamps wasted them. The fact that the goal was a set piece is a subtle reminder that the Three Lions need to improve by leaps and bounds in order to match the Portuguese (who are the Brazilians of Europe with their subtle technique).
After watching Portugal-Holland Battle Royale, I was smiling evilly though. Reason?? England will play a largely second string Portuguese team. Muhahahahaha!!! Wait for the next blog!!

What an upset!!

2006-06-18T02:39:00.000-07:00

I dint have time to blog about the Netherlands vs Ivory Coast match. So I l make it short here as I have to talk about Czech-Ghana. It was a scrappy affair, with Ivory Coast going for it, while Netherlands tried to maintain their one-goal lead with some desperate defending.
Drogba missed a golden opportunity to equalize and it was all one-way traffic in the 2nd half with CIV creating chances but lacking composure in the final third, which cost them the game. The Dutch defended desperately but thanks to the first half strikes form Premiership rivals Van Persie and Van Nistelrooy, they scraped thru the affair.

I am elated for the Dutch but I pity the Elephants. If they had been put in the 4th group which involves Portugal, they would have surely qualified.

And I dint see much of the Portugal match, regrettably. (I was out with my college buddies). I saw the goals thou on the TV at Coffee World. It was a thunderbolt from the Barca Ace Deco, after some superb work from Figo. Ronaldo came up with a flawless penalty mins later to wrap up the three points for Portugal. Phew, I was relieved!! I was worried that they may not score at all against a lowly Iranian side.

Ok, I rushed home after a truly wretched evening. Only to arrive 10 mins late and I was shocked to the score line as 1-0 to Ghana!! What the fuck happened? Was it a freak goal or something?? I guess it wasn’t when I saw the replay. The Czechs were woeful in defense.
Appiah had crossed from the left flank and Gyan had controlled the ball well on his chest before slotting expertly past Cech. 1-0. A good goal from Ghana,with some help from the Czechs’ poor defending.
The Czech defending looked edgy, and Appiah was allowed to travel a long way before he sliced his shot wide.
Ghana was going for the second goal and they dint seem to tire at all!!! They dint sit back all the time on their one goal lead.
Amoah, who was fed into the box, struck the ball well over the bar.
The lively Gyan broke through again but this time his finish was less convincing and he hit it right at Cech who had gone down early. Cech was starting to show his stuff.
Cech was frozen to the spot when Appiah fired in shot from outside the box minutes later, and the Chelsea man was relieved to see the ball sneak barely a foot wide of the post.
The Czechs were second best for most of the first half and the first real move of quality came two minutes before the break but Rosicky could not convert Poborsky's clever pull back under pressure from Essien.
Ghana countered with a great move of their own down the right flank, but Essien's shot was blocked.
I was very disappointed with the Czechs’ performance. Where was that style which was so prevalent in the USA match?? While Nedved and Poborsky tried to create something whenever they got the chance, the Czechs lacked the edge in the final third (With Koller and Baros out). But full marks to Ghana for their performance. Essien and Appiah were brilliant as usual.
I was very worried. Kalyan too. We were praying for a Czech brace.
The second half started.
I whooped in delight when Nedved headed the ball past Kingston within a minute of the restart, but the goal was ruled out for offside. L .
Gyan had a powerful shot well turned aside by Cech after a strong run, while Plasil's effort was tipped over by Kingston at the other end.
The Czechs were looking completely at sea. Ghanaians were gaining control of the game. And I was positively fretting now. Me and Kalyan now downgraded our hopes to a single goal now. If Czech could at least equalize and grab a point, things would easier in the decider against Italy.
The game tipped even further in Ghana's favour in the 65th minute when Ujfalusi tripped Amoah inside the box, handing the African's a penalty. And the referee made a fool of himself, handling the situation like an amateur in which he took an age to produce the red to Ujfalusi. Gyan smashed the penalty past Cech when the referee wasn’t ready and he received an yellow for that.
Finally, Gyan was ready to take the penalty again. I was holding my breath and my hands together, desperately hoping for a miss or a Cech save. And Gyan dint disappoint me as he hit the post.
With Czechs reduced to 10 now, Ghana started to pile on the pressure and went searching for a second goal, only to be thwarted a host of times by Cech. Cech was BRILLIANT!!
Come on Czechs, you need to hit a goal at least for Cech’s efforts!!But, they had no real chances. Ghana was clearly marauding the Czech box by now.
Amoah's shot was first beaten away, while Muntari's effort just a minute later was stopped by the big keeper's legs. And Essien tried too btu couldn’t beat hims Chelsea team mate Cech.
Amoah fed Gyan on the edge of the box in yet another lightening break by Ghana, but yet again Cech was there to save his weak effort.
Ghana finally put the game to bed eight minutes before time and, as ever, Gyan was involved as he made his way into the box before supplying Muntari, who this time made no mistake in rifling high into the roof of the net. 2-0 to Ghana.
All my hopes were extinguished by now. Me and Kalyan was brooding bout the Czechs’ performance and already thinking ahead to the USA-Italy match and hoping for a Italy win so that Czechs could have a chance.
Meanwhile, Pimpong danced through the Czech backline in the final minute before setting up Muntari for his second, but he had strayed offside and the goal was disallowed. Stupid of Pimpong I should say. He dintknow the offside rule for Christ sake!!
Kingston was called into late action in stoppage time and he produced two fine saves from Plasil and substitute Polak to preserve the clean sheet Ghana had fully deserved. Ghana has pulled off an upset win over the favourite Czechs and has in the process, has upset me!

Post Match Ramblings:

What can I say?? It was a good performance by Ghana, much better their show against Italy. An inspired win.
It was a woeful performance from the Czechs, bordering on complacency. True, they had deficiencies in the striker department, but that cannot explain their poor defense.
They could have salvaged a point at least, if they had defended well, with Nedved and Rosicky some how trying to put in an equalizer.
I really doubt if they can score against the resolute Italian defense in the next match. With Italy salvaging a undeserved point from their draw against the valiant Americans, Czechs have their task cut out. I hope they do it. Come on Czech Rep, pull up your socks!!

A Sizzling Sixer!!!

2006-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

Argentina has sounded a warning to the likes of Brazil, Czech Rep, Holland, Spain, Germany and England who are hoping to win the world cup. This is what everyone says. I say what the fuck?? Warning? They have almost given out the death sentence to these teams.
Argentina contains superstars like Riquelme, Messi, Tevez, Crespo, Ayala. But they have shown they are a TEAM!! Well done, Jose Pekerman!! Let’s see if Brazil, with their global superstars, can perform as a team. I doubt it. Even if they manage to do it, they cant match this Argentine performance. The highlight of the match was the stunning 2nd goal by Cambiasso, after a spectacular 24-pass move.

How can I stop raving about it??

Pekerman chose to replace Cambiasso with Luiz Gonzalez for this match. Anyway, Luis’s hamstring problem got worse and he had to limp off paving the way for Cambiasso.

It all started when Sorin (After Rodriguez crossed the ball to him) back-heeled the ball to the impressive Saviola. Saviola sprinted to the box and picked out Rodriguez (who had followed up) with a cross. The Athelectico Madrid midfielder struck home. 1-0 to Argentina.
It was the jus the starting..Goals galore. One-way traffic thou!! I expected more goals from my 2nd favorite team but I had no idea that they will humiliate a Serbian defense which had let in jus 1 GOAL in their qualifying.

Jose Pekerman's side extended their lead in the 31st minute and this goal was fashioned out of nothing.

After a superb 24 pass move full of delicious one-touch passing and involving some 8 outfield players, Riquelme deliciously short-lobbed to Saviola, who cross-lobbed to Cambiasso. Cambiasso moved the ball to Crespo, before surging in anticipating a short cross from Crespo. Crespo showed exceptional quality in back-heeling the ball in a tight area and Cambiasso provided the finish. 2-0. Serbia were stunned, which is an understatement.

What a Move!!! One of the most spectacular team goals I have ever seen. WOW!! This Class of 2006 is gonna go places. If they continue to sizzle like this, The Cup is theirs!!

Then, Crespo picked out a short ball from Ayala splitting the Serbian defence, and hit the target, running forward. Only to be flagged offside and handed a yellow card. It was ONSIDE!! It dint matter anyway, cos the it was a matter of time before they scored their 3rd.

Rodriguez scored his second goal, at the far post in the 41st minute after Saviola, coming from the right bamboozling two defenders on the way, had supplied the cross. 3-0.

First half was jus “turn on the style” by Argentina. Serbia were simply outclassed in the 1st half. Well, they were pulverized and made to look like amateurish idiots in the 2nd half.

Argentina went close to a fourth goal after the break as Crespo and Saviola both went close.

Serbia & Montenegro's misery was compounded when that idiot Kezman (I hate him cos he sux big time. And he played for Chelsea) got a straight red for his sliding tackle on Mascherano.

Entered Tevez and Messi one after the other.
Tevez, who impressed in the Confederations Cup, was raring to go. And so was Messi, the boy wonder from Nou Camp. Maradona had said that Messi was his successor. Well, from what I have seen him do at Barca, He is not a long way from matching Maradona. But till that, media people!! please do stop hounding him. The media places a big burden in the name of expectations on boy wonders like Messi and Rooney. That maybe harmful to these wonders kids. They may not fulfill their potential then, falling prey to all the hype and underachieving in the process!!
Coming back to the match, Argentina did grab a fourth goal in the 78th min as Messi got round the back of the defence and crossed low for Crespo to tap home. 4-0.
I have to talk about the Serbian defense here. The famous “Fab Four” who let in only 1 goal in the entire qualifying campaign was in total chaos today. Vidic, ManU defender, is the mainstay of the Fab Four, but he is out of the WC with an injury. But this cross from Messi could have been put out. But he jus looked on and turned to see Crespo slot it home. Sloppy Defending!!
It was 5-0 six minutes from time. Tevez produced a bit of magic on the left. He foxed one defender and went past the other and shot it clinically. WOW!! What a goal!!
Messi added the sixth two minutes from time, sliding home a shot after picking up a superb Tevez pass. 6-0.

Post Match Ramblings:

Well, there is only one thing to say!! WOW!! This is THE TEAM to beat. Not the much favored Brazil. Not the much liked England. But Argentina!! They were one of the favorites to win the title after Brazil pre-World Cup. I am jus totally in Cloud Nine over their performance, Argentina being my 2nd favorite team. I have no words really.
Riquelme was slightly quiet considering that fact almost everyone has scored and he, the king, wasn’t in the score sheet at the end of the day. But he played a big part in a few of the 6 goals. He provided exquisite passes and delicious long balls to Tevez and others.
Saviola was very impressive. He was constantly on the move and created 2 goals.
Crespo was superb with his poacher skills and ball skills. Tat back heel under pressure form defenders, was totally sexy.
Cambiasso and Rodriguez moved around the field and had a brilliant game, scoring 3 goals in between them.
Sorin came up with brilliant passes from the left flank.
The back four had very little to do today. Hehe!!
Need I talk about Messi and Tevez?? Tevez’s goal was testimony to his brilliance and Messi….You guys like me would have seen him play for Barca. (I am not all ManU..my second fav is Barca!!!)

What I am doing here talking bout individuals? It was a stunning team performance and 2nd goal is a lasting memory of this fabulous performance. And everyone of the Albiceleste should be proud of what they did today.

At the end of the day, football fans rave about the players and tend to forget the man who made this possible.
I would like to commend Jose Pekerman, who has built this team. He has groomed the young players he had trained in the U21 side, into a formidable force that will rock the world. Managing a team of superstars isn’t easy which Roger Lemerre found out the hard way in 2002 (A team of superstars can’t win anything. Real Madrid and France are examples. Only a superstar team can win trophies!!!) But Jose Pekerman has managed to do it. (Argentinean players may not be global superstars but they are superstars nevertheless). He has played the right man in the right position, utilizing the abundant talent at his disposal in the right way.

Hats off to Jose Pekerman!!!

Argentina’s Class of 2006 is a superstar team. Not a disjointed team of superstars. And they have a very good chance of emulating the Class of 1986!!! And I will be DELIGHTED, if they manage to do it!!!

A Disgruntled English Fan, I am

2006-06-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was as disgruntled with my team’s performance as I used to be with ManU, whenever ManU produced a woeful performance.
As Steve said, Eriksson should be sacked. What the fuck did he do when his formation wasn’t working in the first half?? He jus sat there and looked completely dispassionate about the proceedings.
I was really appalled to see the first half display of the Three Lions. They won the match in the end, but they struggled to find a good rhythm and a good chance throughout the match. A Steven Gerrard screamer can’t disguise the poor performance of my team, the Three Lions.

First the replacement of the injured Neville with Carragher for the TT match was a mistake in itself. I am not against Carragher here. He is an awesome defender and is the rock of Liverpool. But what was the need to shore up the defense when we are playing T&T and need to go for 3 points?? Look, T&T doesn’t have enough quality or whatever in them to attack. They just put 8 to 10 men behind the ball and defended like hell. They can’t attack for Christ sake!! Eriksson made a tactical blunder here and thought Lampard and Joe Cole can feed Owen and Crouch. Ok, so he made the blunder. He could see that his formation wasn’t working and what did he do?? Jus sit and stare with concern (???) in his eyes.

This is just the first half story.
There wasn’t much to rave bout in the first half and some mins into the 2nd half for England. Anyway, I will just the highlight the key moments.
Jamie Carragher let out a low strike on goal from 30 yards, without venom as Hislop gathered comfortably.
Crouch’s pass from the right created England's first opening, as Frank Lampard lashed a drive on goal from 25 yards and although Hislop made a meal of the save, Michael Owen failed to make proper contact with the rebound and the ball went harmlessly wide.
Later, Lampard got close with a low drive on 35 minutes.
TT had a corner surprisingly. A Yorke corner exposed Robinson, but Carragher put Stern John under pressure as he headed wide of goal.
The scare sparked England into life and Lampard shot wastefully over following a scramble in the box. Beckham had a shot saved and the next chance was a dolly.
After a typical Beckham cross from the right flank, Crouch found himself in acres of space only to volley wide, when he could have controlled the ball with a first touch easily and slotted it home easily. What did he think of himself?? Rooney?? He cant hit a volley like Rooney for Christ sake!!
The final chance of the opening period went T&T's way, with Terry forced to make a stunning goal line clearance after Robinson had failed to gather a deep ball from Edwards. What commitment from Terry!!! Wow!! He kept England in the match and saved the blushes with that.
England were booed off the field by their fans including me. An appalling display indeed!! Crouch wasted a dolly. Owen wasn’t sharp enough. And so was Lampard wasting chances. Becks provided some passes but he wasn’t that good too. Joe Cole was the only one keen to move forward, sidestepping et all and creating chances. At this stage, Eriksson, however brainless he is, should have realized that he should bring on Rooney instead of Becks, and Lennon instead of Carragher. There was no need of Carragher. Terry, Rio and Cole can look after the defense easily.
But what did he do?? He did nothing and England wasted some 15 more mins in the 2nd half.
Finally, Rooney came on at the expense of OWEN!! Eriksson jus testified that he doesn’t hav brains once more. And Lennon for Carragher. Ronney received a rapturous welcome.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man!! Not exactly, but nevertheless, he was effective with his speed, crosses and his MERE PRESENCE!!. TT was scared and man marked him. Rooney, Lennon and Downing (Later) sparked life into England and they began attacking with more vigour. There was a magical moment in which Rooney carved out a exquisite pass for Crouch but Crouch as usual made a mess of it.
Lampard was England's most threatening player. But he was wasteful too. He squandered yet another decent chance 13 minutes from time when shooting straight at Hislop from inside the box. Things were heating up..
England appeared to have run out of ideas when Beckham tossed a deep cross into the box. For the first time in two matches, Sancho was caught napping and Crouch climbed high to head past Hislop. 1-0 to England.. And I heaved a sigh of relief. I was smashing my remote down on every wasted chance and now it was BLISS!! Phew, Crouch did it atlast. But ofcourse, it was Becks who provided that beautiful cross.
Gerrard, in a holding role for most of the time, finally came forward and promptly slammed home a stunner from 25 yards. Wow!! WOW!! WOOOWWW!! Typical Gerrard!! What a player!! I jus imagined Guruji’s smile at this moment. If Gerrard had an attacking role, he would have hit more goals like this. And England fans like me would rest in peace instead of biting nails for most of the match.
The relief was tangible. England won it 2-0, albeit unconvincingly.
Post Match Expletives:
Eriksson is a defense-loving bastard. He should be sacked right here right now.. Let Mclaren take the mantle. Maybe, I am going too far with this sacking thing. But I say this all the same. Eriksson is a brainless bastard.
England unable to prise open the TT defense satisfactorily and was woeful today except for that Beckham cross and the stunning Gerrard strike.
England should do the following.
1. Eriksson’s idiotic formation for TT. As I mentioned before, Carragher wasn’t needed. He was brilliant thou..as usual.
2. Gerrard should come front and Lamps should drop back. Lamps was profligate. He missed lotsa chances .Dunno wat got into him. He has won matches for Chelsea time and again. But he was out of sorts in this match.
3. Crouch should be dropped. Jus because he scored the goal and Jus because he ahs that height advantage, doesn’t mean he is to stay. He wasted dollies. He doesnt have enough quality for England first team. Rooney is almost match fit. Meanwhile, bring on Defoe!!
4. Give more time for Lennon and Downing in the coming matches.
5. Only if they do the above, can they get rid of this ridiculous long ball game which doesn’t favor Owen.
6. And Eriksson should be sacked!!!

Injury time winner for Germany

2006-06-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

The second set of matches has started.
Oliver Neuville scored an injury-time winner as Jurgen Klinsmann's side virtually secured their place in the World Cup knockout stages by beating 10-man Poland 1-0 in Dortmund.
It looked as though Germany were going to be denied all three points in this Group A clash after Celtic goalkeeper Boruc pulled off a string of magnificent saves.
The hosts started brightly but it was Poland who had the first shot when Zurawski's 20-yard effort was easily saved by Jens Lehmann.
Germany almost broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Lahm's cross picked out Klose, but he somehow flicked his header just wide with the goal at his mercy.
In-form youngster Lahm then delivered another clever flick to the danger area in the 36th minute and Podolski controlled the ball well but could not steer the ball past Boruc.
Lahm was looking more and more brilliant with his crosses and his defending too..
And He was once again the provider on the stroke of half-time when Podolski took the ball in his stride but somehow hit wide of the far post as he lost his balance with just Boruc to beat.
Though it was goalless at 0-0, the match was exciting. As Jerry said, it was like watching an EPL game.
Germany had more of possession but dint take their chances before the goalmouth with Klose and Podolski missing easy ones. And Schweinsteiger was looking wayward with his crosses and shots.
Germany made a bright start to the second half with Klose drawing a fine save from Boruc after Frings' free-kick had fallen to him in the area. Ballack was providing exquisite passes up front. Yet he is not fully upto his mark. Hope he improves.
Poland were finding themselves more and more stretched, Sobolewski got a red for his second caution of the evening.
The German faction in the stadium was getting restless while the Polskar faction was praying for a point.
Later, Boruc was on hand to deny Lahm with a great save from close range, but with the danger not cleared he then denied Neuville from 10 yards.
Young Borowski then blasted wide two minutes from time. But there was more drama to come as first Neuville with a header and then Ballack with a shot struck the underside of the crossbar, before Odonkor fired the rebound home only for the grounded Ballack to be flagged offside. Odonkor, who can run 100m in a mere 10.8 secs, was awesome with his sprint an crosses from the right flank.
But Neuville ensured justice was done when he slid in to fire home Odonkor's cross with virtually the last kick of the game. A morale-boosting victory for Germany who are almost assured of a place in the 2nd round and Poland is almost out of the tournament.

Post Match Ramblings:

Germany looked more disciplined in defense this time. Lahm was superb. Hope Fergie takes notice of him. He will be a good sub for Heinze. I think he is better than Heinze anyway. Ballack was good with his crosses and long balls. As I said, he is not upto his mark yet. He can only improve. Schneider had a good game too.
Friedrich sux. In Offense too. His crosses always went past the goal into the crowd. He cant attack for Christ sake. He should be more concerned with his defensive skills. Schneider can take care of the right wing attack.
Klose and Podolski missed dollies. They can’t afford to waste chances from the 2nd round onwards. Or they are gonna pay for that.
Neuville was the right place at the right time. Schweinsteiger wasn’t that good today.
On the whole, Germany is marching in the right direction!!

Order of Favorites

2006-06-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

After the first set of matches, the scenario is quite interesting. Some teams lived upto the expectations. Some teams did not but showed a promise to improve. Some teams dint even show promise.

I am gonna order the favorites, considering their quality, current form and bench strength. Guys, I have ordered them relying on what my mind says. Not what my heart says. If you ppl hav any disagreements with the order I have come up with, please do comment!!

But before I talk about that, I will have to rave about Spain.
It was all one-way traffic in the Spain-Ukraine encounter. Spain, with its dazzling display, has done away with the tag of perennial underachievers and has sounded a warning to the favorites for the WC.

Xabi Alonso, the midfield engine of Liverpool (after Gerrard of course), and prodigy Fernando Torres scored either side of a David Villa brace. I saw the first half and hence first two goals and went out to play carrom, slightly disappointed. Thought I was heartened by Spain’s display, I was disappointed to see Shevchenko starved of service. And hence no goals to Ukraine. I hoped that Sheva will score goals in the WC cos I really like him. With Xavi, Alonso and Senna controlling the midfield, Ukraine had no chance really. Their defense looks good with Puyol and Sergio Ramos impressing. A well balanced team. And look at their bench. Fabregas, Raul and Albelda. Wow!! I want to see Fabregas to start. He is too good.
Asif told me about the next two goals. Well done, Spain.

Not to my tentative list of favorites to win the title.

Argentina and Czech Republic are in pole position.
The Czech Rep. functions well as a team and with Nedved, Rosicky, Poborsky and Galasek, they are surely gonna go a long away on the road to Berlin. They hav problems up front thou. Koller injured and Baros recovering. But who knows? As I said, they may do a France 98. And I will be very happy if they do that, cos they are MY 3rd favorites along with Holland.
Argentina sizzled with their class and talent in the match against Ivory Coast. And they have not used Aimar, Messi and Tevez yet!!! Hehe!! They have the strongest bench. And there is Riquelme the magician. Go Argentina!! After all, they are MY second favorite team. No guesses on who’s MY 1st!!
Brazil are not far behind these lead two, quite simply because they have the talent to do it. They can turn on the style any time. Forget the match against Croatia. They will play better against better teams. It is just a matter of time before they get their samba soccer going. I don’t mind them winning the world cup cos I have always loved Brazil. But I want England or Argentina to win it this time. Next, Holland or Czech.

Here comes the second rung of teams.

Spain surprisingly leads the second rung of favorites for the ultimate prize. And deservedly so. They sparkled against Ukraine which is not a push over. And their bench strength is good too.
Next come Portugal and Netherlands. They looked good but not entirely convincing. But ye, things are jus starting. They will improve surely cos they have immense talent. I hope they improve.
Next come Germany and England. They played good attacking football. And Ballack is yet to play!!! Moreover, they have the home advantage which is a big factor in football. But their defense is weak which is why I have classified them here.

Next come England, one of the pre-favorites. I was disappointed with their performance against Paraguay. Heat was cited as the reason. It maybe a lame excuse. Rooney, when he returns, will do the magic. He will be the ONE to take England, on the road to glory. I just hope he is usual sizzling self, when he returns and the injury has not affected his game much. Surely they will improve. Go England!!! I have classified England here considering their current form.

France is the last. Obviously. They have all the talent and quality. But where’s the output??

And I need to mention about Ivory Coast. They played awesome attacking football. They were damn unlucky to be put in a group containing Argentina and Netherlands. I hope they have better luck next time in 2010.

The Woeful French..Again!!

2006-06-14T02:05:00.000-07:00

The lasting image of the game was Zidane looking clearly frustrated with his woeful team and blasting Thuram and Gallas. Did you guys see that??
And the fact that France hasn’t scored a goal in WC since Petit’s goal in the final of 1998 is surely irrelevant for biased Arsenal and French fans.. Right??

The French superstars proved once again they are BIG ZEROES when it comes to playing for their county. Of course, I am not talking bout Zidane and Makelele here. I am talking bout Henry, Vieira and Co.

I raced back home after 3 games of carrom with my friends. It was 9.50 already. And seeing the scoreline as 0-0, I really had no feeling. Except that something told me that French might manage to do a 2002 repeat. But they are lucky to have an easy group this time. So I think they will manage to advance to the 2nd round.
To sum up the French performance in a few words. Woeful. Inept. Insipid. Forgetful. In fact, the underdogs Swiss played better football than the 98 winners.

Should I write a blow-by-blow account of the match?? There was hardly anything in the match except for some flashes of brilliance from Zidane, Makelele’s usual rock solid form and superb defending from the Swiss with Senderos being the hero.

I like many of the French players. But that doesn’t stop me from blasting them. Ok first things first. The expletives will come later.

Some key moments in the match, in which France could have scored.

Zidane showed glimpses of his skills as his superb long-range pass got Henry in down the left, but his roll across the face of goal was nowhere near Wiltord, who had never really tried to get into the box.

Henry had looked lost up front on his own, but his clever pass eventually found Ribery on the edge of the box, but he shot over.
Ribery, who was making his first international start, got clear of the Swiss defence, but he showed his inexperience when he opted to pull the ball back to Henry instead of shooting. And Henry's shot hit Muller's hand but no penalty was given by the referee.
Henry then rounded the first half with a weak finish, which may have even been an attempted pass to Vieira.
The second period was even worse. But the Swiss impressed with their defense.
Henry's pass to Wiltord was cut out by a superb tackle from Senderos. Senderos was brilliant during the whole game. At least one Gunner is living up to his reputation. You should be happy bout that asif.
Substitute Vikash Dhorasoo fired a shot inches wide in stoppage time.

I havnt mentioned the Swiss attacks, they very nearly scored a goal from a free kick and two other good chances as well, chances that looked surer of going in than the French chances.

Here come the expletives.

The only positives tat the French can take from this match was, Mekelele and Gallas looked good. Makelele hardly makes a mistake. Every time he plays, Real Madrid rues his departure. Hehe!! Zidane showed flashes of his brilliance with exquisite passes. But to what purpose?
Henry was inept in the 1st half and absent in the 2nd. Hardly surprising, considering the fact that he has never played well for France. If he had shown even half of his Arsenal form, France would have won the match. I wonder why Henry is so lifeless for France. His weak shots stand testimony for his lack of verve. And where was he in the 2nd half? I dint see him go for the ball for most of the 45 mins.

Next, Wiltord. Wiltord was so impressive for Lyon the last 2 seasons. And he was so unimpressive here. Only a burst or two in the 2nd half showed a glimpse of his quality. Memories of his Euro 2000 winner still linger.

Next, Vieira. I dint feel his presence at all. While Makelele looked good, Vieira was totally lethargic. He shouldn’t be made the scapegoat thou.

Thuram looked awful for quite some time in the 1st half, but put up a better show after that.

And Ex-Red Devil Barthez was showing his erratic form as usual.
Ribery impressed but showed inexperience when he attempted to pass to Henry when he could have scored with his favoured left foot.

Saha, who came on, could do nothing. Can’t complain about him. What can he do in 20 mins when the likes of Henry and Wiltord have failed to do in 70 mins??

The whole team was lethargic. Their football was Dull. Slow. The talented supertstars looked like a pack of jokers trying to fool around with the ball with the exception of some.

In 2002, the French gave an excuse that they were exhausted after a tiring season with their respective clubs. A lame one!! Are they gonna say the same?

Look, Zidane can only conjure up passes. He is old. Too much is being asked of him. He cant go barging in and score goals. That’s Henry’s job. He has failed to do it for France on many occasions. He has failed again.

I see 2002 repeating itself. Unless Henry plays well, France wont go past the 2nd round.

Is it a lack of nationalistic fervor that so de-motivates them when playing for France? How come the French superstars playing so well for their clubs, and paid so well too, come up with a woeful performance for their nation, time and again???
The French team should undergo a lot of introspection and sort out their priorities. Or they are gonna be humiliated. And that humiliation is deserved.

French Flair and Brazillian Samba Style

2006-06-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

Now to the previews of France and Brazil.

France vs Switzerland:

As Asif said in his blog, France has a team consisting of experienced superstars and young new talent as well.
The Superstars are obvious. King Henry, the Wizard Zidane, Makelele and Vieira the ball winners, Trezeguet the poacher. Should I talk bout them??

I ll talk bout the uprising star thou. Franck Ribery. He is an exciting right winger playing for Marseilles. 23 years old. Has a big scar on his forehead. The star of the French Ligue and the darling of the French people.
I first saw him in the France vs Mexico in the friendly. He is exciting alright. Lively pace and exquisite ball skills. Both Lyon and ManU are fighting for him. Hope ManU gets him. Come on Fergie. Dish out 20 million on him if Marseilles demands, Ribery is worth it!! Reports are suggesting that Lyon is leading the race for Ribery’s signature. So hurry Fergie. Oh Pls do!!

Pascal Chimbonda was a surprising selection by Raymond Demonech. Yup, he played well for Wigan. But..anyway.,Lets c..

The problem with France is. The stars have never gelled together as a team after 2000. they sucked in 2002. Better performance in 2004 Euro. Zidane is too old. Henry hasn’t played well for France till date. Infact, He was terrible for France.

The Starting 11: (4-2-3-1)

The Defense: Willy Sagnol (Munich), Lillian Thuram (Juventus), William Gallas (Chelsea) and Eric Abidal (Lyon).
Holding Midfielders: Claude Makelele (Chelsea) and Patrick Vieira (Juve)
The Attacking Midfield. Zidane (Real), Ribery (Marseilles) and Sylvian Wiltord (Lyon).
Striker: Theirry Henry (Arsenal)
GK: Fabien Barthez (Marseille. Ex-Manu..Hmph!!)

With this lineup, they should sail past the Swiss (headed by Senderos of Arsenal) quite comfortably. Will we see the French Flair that won them laurels in 1998 and 2000??
Lets see..

Brazil vs Croatia:

Its samba time!!

The stars for Brazil are obvious. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, Adriano, Roberto Carlos. The List goes on.
Ze Roberto is an awesome player and will look after the back four. And Emerson too.

Carlos Alberto Perreira was critcised for his defensive tactics in 1994. But there is nothing "defensive" about the current 2006 starting line-up thou.

The expected starting line up:

Back four: Roberto Carlos (Real), Cafu (Milan), Lucio (Munich), Juan (Bayer Leverkusen)

Holding midfield: Ze Roberto (Munich) and Emerson (Juve)
And…
The Fantastic Four. Ronaldino and Kaka linking up Ronaldo and Adriano.
Dida will be looking after the goal.

Croatia has Prso as the poacher. And some other notable names are Tudor and the Kovac brothers.

Brazil should destroy the Croats. But the Croats will have something to say bout tat cos Brazil's defense is traditionally leaky. Who knows?? Croats may score a goal or two.
Hehe!! the Fantastic Four will score 4 or 5 then.
Or..
The Fantatsic Four might hav an off-day. Missing chances and hitting the crossbar!!!

Dude, anything can happen in football!! but, anyway we are assured of Samba Style Soccer.

Italy vs Ghana

2006-06-13T04:30:00.000-07:00

I ll start off with the Italy vs Ghana Review. I ll make it short.
I wasn’t enthused by the Azurris. I have always had a bias against their defensive style of play. My bro used to say that the 1990 world cup was one of the worst ever. I was too young then and started watching football only from 1994. But my bro used to hate Italy apart from Baggio. I loved Baggio in 1994. He missed a spot kick in the shootout thou. Brazil won the world cup cos of that and Baggio was a villain overnight. But that’s history now.
Totti and Vieri infused an attacking edge in the Azzurri side. Totti is an awesome player.
For me Italy’s attack means only one name. Totti!! I am talking bout the start of the millennium here. But they had a poor campaign in 2002. Shocking to be precise. The Koreans were damn lucky to have refereeing decisions in their favor. But that’s no excuse for a three-time winner.
Talking bout the present Azzurri squad, Vieri is not here. Totti suffered an ankle injury in Feb and He was not fully match-fit. Cassano was not included in the squad. I pity that lad. He is a good player.

The Azzurri Team:

Luca Toni, the prolific striker of Fiorentina, with 30 goals this season. Gilardino ahead of Iaquinta. Totti, the playmaker, as always sits behind the two strikers.

The three man midfield included Andrea Pirlo, The Milan Ace. De Rossi and Perotta from Roma. Gattuso will miss the 1st 2 matches due to injury.
Need I talk about the defense?

With Cannavaro, The Rock of Juventus and Nesta, the Rock of Milan, in the centre, no can dream of breaching the Italian defense. Well. It is possible thou.
And Zaccardo and Grosso were there too. Zambrotta was out with an injury.

The Match:
Italian football has been rocked by match-fixing allegations in recent weeks.But the Azzurri were quick to put that behind them and get on with their world cup campaign.
I was surprised to see an open game for most of the first half. The Azzurri showed glimpses of their quality with crosses into the Ghanaian goalmouth. The Ghanaians showed their pace.
The first real chance for Italy came when a break down the right wing found Luca toni and then Gilardino’s shot went slightly wide.
Ghana responded with their pace and Italy tried to control their pace. Essien and Appiah were impressive. The Italian defense looked rattled. But Ghanaians lacked the edge in the final third.
Italy gradually weathered the storm and gained the initiative through some adventurous play of their own. Toni struck the crossbar with an unstoppable drive. Totti shot out a screamer of a freekick from 40 yards into Ghanaian Keeper Kingston. What a drive!! Whoa!! And Kingson looked nervous with corner kicks.
After 40 minutes Andrea Pirlo broke the deadlock, finding the bottom corner with a swerving shot from outside the area after Totti had cleverly cut a corner back to him. 1-0 to Italy.
Italy almost doubled their advantage moments into the second half, when Totti released Gilardino with a beautifully weighted pass. The striker dwelt too long on the ball though, and his shot was smothered by the onrushing Kingston. Kingston again denied a close range shot from Perotta. Kingston was looking more and more impressive, when it came to one-on-one duels with the Italian strikers.
Totti suffered a fall on his ankle. And he was taken out. I was worried to see Totti go, cos I like him. Not because I want Italy to win the world cup. Quite the contrary.
After Totti was taken off, The Azzurri reverted back to their old habit. Sitting Back on an 1-0 advantage.
Ghanaians tried everything. But they weren’t precise in their shots. Especially Essien.
Sub Iaquinta made it 2-0 for Italy when Kuffour made a terrible pass and Iaquinta pouned on it and ran. He rounded Kingston and finished coolly. Kingston looked morose. He was impressive in this match.

Post Match Ramblings:
In a tough group Italy still have some work to do to qualify for the knock-out rounds. but they will have been heartened by their performance in this match.
The defense looked strong except for some hiccups here and there. Expected in a world cup. You cant be rock solid always.
Totti is the key. If he is fully match fit, then Italy have a good chance of reaching the quarters or semis. Toni and Gilardino were very good. Toni in particular. Both were unlucky in this match. Gilardino needs to fine tune his shooting skills a lil bit. thou.
Pirlo was good as usual. But he gave away possession on a few occasions. When Gattuso comes back, the midfield will be pretty good. Sub Camoranesi was impressive with his runs and pace.

Rosicky!!! Rosicky!!! Rosicky!!!

2006-06-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I was watching too much football staying at home. So I decided not to watch the Australia-Japan match and go out to pay carrom with friends. But no way I am gonna miss the Czech Republic match. I wanted to see Nedved and Co. in action.
I saw Japan score the controversial 1st goal and went out. I dint like the Aussies for their brutally physical approach in the friendly against the Dutch. So I was slightly biased against seeing their game. I do like the ex-Leeds duo of Kewell and Viduka thou. I saw Viduka create problems for the Japan defense but I went out anyway. And When I heard the score line from PG, I was disappointed on missing a great comeback from the Socceroos. The Aussie attitude.. Never Say Die!!!

I hurried home after a game of carrom to watch the dark horses in action. And Damn it!! The score line was 1-0 to Czech. 6 mins. And I missed it!!! Kicking myself, I settled down. Eyes riveted on the screen, Ignoring my mom’s calls for dinner, I searched for Rosicky. Saw the familiar wavy blonde hair of thala Nedved and I smiled. Then I spotted Rosicky. Not that I havnt seen him before. When I heard Arsene Wenger was interested in him, I searched the net for more info on him. Also, Asif sent me a Rosicky video. He must be good obviously. I was disappointed that Fergie dint spot him and Wenger did. Well, Wenger has tat uncanny knack for spotting talent in its budding stage.

And what a prize catch Rosicky has proved to be.

The Czechs had far too much class for the US of A, and they destroyed the Americans 3-0. This match certainly marked them down as contenders for the trophy. If Nedved and Rosicky continue to play well.
However, Czechs were not totally happy by the end of the day as Koller was withdrawn just before half time with an apparently serious injury that could yet rule him out of the tournament.
I dint c the first 5 mins. But I saw the goal later. It was Grygera who provided the chance. Grygera, with a quick break, found space on the right, and his precise cross found the head of the unmarked Koller, who powered the ball past USA GK Keller from six yards out. 1-0 to Czech.
Landon Donovan, the star of the 2002 campaign, broke quickly on 16 minutes but he was fouled by David Rozehnal. Rozehnal got a yellow card.
Beasley also offered an off-target long range effort, but midfield schemer Reyna came closest to making the breakthrough when he picked the ball up in front of goal and quickly unleashed a low drive that ricocheted off the right-hand post.

The US of A were enjoying possession but the Czechs proved far more dangerous in the final third. Grygera was unlucky to head over the bar after Nedved crossed sublimely with the outside of his right boot.

Rosicky then made his mark on the game on 36 minutes, as he picked up the ball after an Onyewu clearance 30 yards from goal, steadied himself and launched a rocket of a shot that flew past Keller and into the top corner. 2-0 to Czech.
I was jus amazed by the precision and power in that shot. The goal keeper had absolutely no chance of saving it. What a strike!! A contender for the goal of the tournament. Smiling to myself, I took the phone to call Asif (to congratulate him.cos Arsene caught hold of Rosciky and not Fergie. Grudgingly ofcourse) Before I could hit the call button, the phone started ringing with “Asif Calling”. I smiled to myself and listened to Asif boast bout Rosicky. Well..What can I say? He is an awesome player. Arsene has done it again. What were you doing Fergie???

However, The Czech joy was short-lived. Before the break, Koller fell to ground after a chase with Onyewu. He had to be substituted due to an apparent hamstring injury, Lokvenc came on. The injury looked serious and the Czechs have a real problem if Koller doesn’t get well soon. The first half ended. The Czechs were happy with their performance in the 1st half. I expected to see more goals from them in the 2nd. It jus tat feeling. That the Czech team will score more goals. atleast one more. And they dint disappoint me.

Five minutes after the restart,USA could have been three down when Ujfalusi got in front of his markers and flicked a Poborsky free kick just wide of the far post.
Rosicky and Nedved continued to probe and Lokvenc was just offside after the Arsenal man shrugged off the USA defence on 56 minutes,
The USA were clearly lacking the edge in the final third.
ManU misfit Poborsky was impressive and his precise through ball saw Lokvenc steer a shot into the hands of Keller. Poborsky then had a shot at goal when he sent an aerial volley over the bar from a Plasil cross.

On 65 minutes, it was Nedved's time to turn provider as his glorious pass sailed over the USA backline to find Jankulovski. However, he was denied by Beasley with an intervention.
The Czechs were showing their attacking flair and continued their assault on the Us abackline. Rosicky hit another shot which cannoned off the crossbar.
USA started to create some chances. But the Czechs proved their class once more, as Nedved provided a fine through ball to the excellent Rosicky on 76 minutes.

With 3 defenders in tow, Rosicky ran like a man possessed and he was one on one with the keeper. He jus lifted the ball over Keller for a cool finish. 3-0 to Czech.
Rosicky has jus laid claim for the title of “star of the world cup”. Man, he is awesome. Excellent ball from Nedved too.
The Czechs closed out the game with ease to get their World Cup campaign off to a flier.

Post Match Ramblings:

It was a fabulous team performance from the Czechs. The Defense looked strong. Cech solid. The midfield. Whoa!! An Attack-minded midfield out and out. Everyone were good. Nedved and Rosicky shone. Obviously, They are stars. Nedved, Poborsky, Rosicky, Galasek. The forward section is a problem thou. with koller injured and Baros down with an injury too.

But If the Czech midfield continues likes this, they don’t need any forwards. They hav Rosciky to score goals. Amazing goals. What a player!! But If the need arises, They jus need someone to tap the ball in or head it in. Not someone who is expectionally skilled or sth like tat.

Man, Remember!!! France won the world cup in 98 without any substantial contribution from the forwards. It was the golden midfield headed by Zidane which shone!!!
Are we gonna something similar? Obviously, the Czech has the quality and the form to go all the way.
As far as I am concerned, Czech is the best team in the tournament so far. Argentina, with its class and bench strength (Man, Aimar, Tevez and Messi are on the bench!!!) is a close contender. ARG vs CIV was the best match thou. And Brazil and France havnt played yet. England should perform much better than their Paraguay showing.

But surely, Czechs are no more the dark horses. They are the leading horses!!

Way to go, Czechs!! Will we see Czech do a France 98??? Lets c!!

Keano hangs up his boots!!!

2006-06-12T04:38:00.000-07:00

Roy Keane has called it a day, on medical advice.
"Having received medical advice from my surgeon and the Celtic club doctor, I feel my only option is to retire," said Keano in a statement."I would like to send the manager, the staff, the players and the supporters of Celtic Football Club my best wishes for the future."
Well, it was on the cards. He had been considering his playing future after switching over to Celtic, following his acrimonious departure from ManU.

A Sad Day, indeed!!!

Portugal and Czech Rep.

2006-06-12T02:14:00.000-07:00

I expected the Portuguese to rout the Angolans. They started well alright. But they fizzled out after that. They sat back in the 2nd half. Uncharacteristically.

Big Phil had the prolific Pauleta upfront. Pauleta (PSG), as many know, has overtaken the great Eusebio (Class of 1966) in the career goals tally for Portugal. He was to be supplied by Luis Figo (Inter), Cristiano Ronaldo (ManU!!!), Simao Sabrosa (Benfica), Armando Petit (Benifca) with Tiago (Lyon) sitting behind.
NunoValente (Everton), Carvalho (Chelsea), Miguel (Valencia) and Meira (Stuttgart) form the defense.
Deco, a great player, Maniche and Costinha were in the bench.

To the Match now.

Portugal nearly took the lead inside the first 30 seconds. Nuno Valente released Pauleta on the left and Pauleta's shot agonizingly rolled across the face of Angola's goal. But no problemo!! Cos Portugal took the lead in 4 minutes.

Portugal captain Luis Figo, one of the greatest Portuguese players after Eusebio, won possession in the middle of the Angolan half and made a fine bursting run into the box. The Interman easily foxed the defender Jamba before supplying Pauleta a low cross from the left that the striker finished with aplomb. 1-0 to Portugal.

At this stage, I thought Portugal were on song and would go on and cruise past their former colonial cousins, (I realized Angola was a Portuguese colony). But it wasn’t rosy for Portugal. Angolans made frequent breaks. The captain Akwa made two optimistic acrobatic efforts in the box to equalize. One he missed totally. The other he connected but was wayward. Mateus of Angola was looking dangerous and so was Mendonca.
Pauleta was causing Angola's back-line problems. He forced the Angolan keeper Joao Ricardo to rush out of his goal and close down the angle with a volleyed strike that flew wide. Simao and Cristiano Ronaldo were off target with efforts of their own.
Portugal remained a threat going forward, however, but Pauleta and Ronaldo failed to deal with a dangerous Simao cross from the left. Then, Ronaldo headed Figo's corner from the right against the Angola crossbar.
Ronaldo hit a blitzkrieg of a shot from just outside the box, after Miguel had picked him out in the box with a low cross. Only to be saved by the Angolan keeper.
Portugal took a one-goal lead into the break.

Ronaldo was trying to go for glory in the first half. A tad selfish, I thought it was only a matter of time before Big Phil brought him off. Ronaldo would hav gotten stick from big Phil during the break.
The second half proved a more edgy contest for Portugal, who struggled to create the type of clear-cut chances they had made before half time.
And I was right about the substitution. Ronaldo came off. But not before a fierce free kick from the left. Ronaldo was visibly angry and gutted on being substituted.
Costinha, a ball winner, came on. Surprising!! A creative player giving way for a ball winner. Big Phil wanted to defend??

After Ronaldo left, the second period proved less eventful than the first. As expected.
The one-goal margin left Portugal looking a bit nervous and Angola eventually surged forward,.
In the end, it was Portugal substitute Maniche that forced Joao Ricardo to make the final telling save of the contest, as Portugal took the three points, but Angola made a part of the headlines for their efforts.

Post Match Ramblings:

First half of the First half was trademark Portuguese style. Figo was the best player in the 1st half. Ronaldo was sometimes unlucky. Sometimes irritating because of his apparent lack of consideration for his team mates and trying to go for glory. Pauleta looked sharp. Second half..hmm. better left unsaid. Portuguese fans were livid when after the Ronaldo substitution, their team sat back and defended the Angolan purges. They dint go for it which infuriated the Portuguese fans.
On the whole, the Portugal team performed well.
Figo, Simao, Ronaldo and Pauleta had a good match. The defense looked ok too.
And Mind you. Deco is playing next match. The Brazilian- Portuguese playmaker impressed with Porto and Barca. In barca, he had more of a holding role. One reason. Ronaldinho was there to do the magic.
With Deco, Portugal may very well be the dark horses of the tournament. Along with Czech Republic.

Looking forward to Czech Republic vs USA. Hope Nedved and Arsenal-bound Rosicky play well. Nedved is one of my fav players. The Midfield General of Juventus, he is the Czech Superstar.
Milan Baros (Aston Villa), who was Euro 2004’s leading scorer, is there. Heinz, who scored with a marvelous free kick against Germany in Euro, is there too. The towering Jan Koller is there.
And the almost infallible Petr Cech is there guarding the Czech box.

USA played spirited football last time in 2002. They are even better now. Reyna and Mcbride played well for Manc City and Fulham respectively.

Italy vs Ghana.
Hmm..Lets c if Italy can score two goals. What the fuck?? Lets c if Italy SCORES!!

A Robben show

2006-06-11T11:21:00.000-07:00

It was three pm in the afternoon and I was reading a Tom Clancy novel, with Schumi, Oranje, Nadal-Federer in the back of my mind. With the AC at Super cool, I fell asleep thinking about Race day. And I got up at 4.30. Damn it!! I missed Race day. Anyway, I ran to the living room and saw my dad watching F1 already. The warm-up lap was about to start. Kicking myself, I watched in anticipation hoping that Schumi will scream past Kimi and Alonso in the 1st corner. Some hope!! Alonso Asshole was as usual infallible and he seemed to drive with minimum effort, Renault being excellent this weekend. My heart raced when Schumi almost overtook Kimi. Things dint change before the fag end of the race, when Schumi beat Kimi in the pits. The gap was now 12 secs between him and Alonso. Cha!! If Schumi had overtaken Kimi in the beginning itself, He would have troubled Alonso. No chance now. So a disappointing 2nd place for Schumi. Kimi came third. And the Asshole won as usual. In hindsight, If Schumi had won the pole, things would have been much different. Bring it on, Schumi!!

Now to football and tennis.

The Netherlands kicked off their World cup win with a convincing win over Serbia & Montenegro, with Arjen Robben starring in the Oranje team’s win over Serbia & Montenegro. I was constantly switching between ESPN and Zee Sports. No way, I am going to miss a Nadal-Federer Roland Garros final. I was shocked to see Nadal commit so many unforced errors in the 1st set and Fed won it easily. The fortunes changed after that thou. Hehe!! Way to go Nadal, You are the undisputed king of clay. 60 and going strong. Better luck next time Fed!! The Fed Express has some to a stuttering halt. for now.

To football now.

The Netherlands had a strong young team, with the EPL trio (Ruud, Van Persie and Robben) up front. And Sneijder, Heitinga, Cocu in the attacking midfield and Van bommel as the defensive midfielder. Van bronckhorst, Mathijsen and Oijer taking care of the defense and Van der Sar as the GK. A 3-4-3. Van Basten has had success with this formation and he is sticking with it.

Now to the match.
Serbia & Montenegro made a bright start with Djordjevic running down the left and crossing for Milosevic , who was denied by the Dutch defenders.

Holland were not without chances of their own. They had many early headers, and it was no surprise when they took an 18th-minute lead. Robben beat the offside trap to run on to van Persie's volleyed pass and finish with aplomb as the Serbian Keeper came out to meet him. Robben had chances to double his tally, when Jevric dived full length to block his thumping strike from the left, and then again when he cut inside and curled a shot inches past the far post.

Robben had taken the title of the “Dutch Master” from Bergkamp. Bergkamp remains the King thou. Robben has impressed all season long for Chelsea. He has quick feet, mersmerising ball skills and explosive pace. So does Van persie. And Ruud, with is sexy touch and predatory instincts that make him one of the world’s best poachers (ManU ppl!!!) can wait in the box, for a killer ball from either Persie or Robben. Robben has one negative thou. He is a bit selfish. He can frustrate by tryin to go for glory from a difficult angle, while he has all the space for a pass to a waiting striker in the box. He has got stick from Joe “the Mouth” Mourinho for this. I jus hope Rob curbs this tendency to be selfish. Cos Holland needs him.

Back to the match. Serbia & Montenegro made a lively start to the second half and enjoyed far more possession with the Dutch surviving an early handball appeal before Dejan Stankovic curled a free-kick just over the bar.
Later, Sneijder's curling shot was saved by Jevric, who then reacted quickly to thwart Ruud van Nistelrooy's backheeled effort.
Serbia continued to up the tempo with Koroman missing the chance to pull the trigger when well placed in the box.

Holland then came within a whisker of doubling their lead when van Persie fizzed a free-kick inches past the far post from the right edge of the area with Dirk Kuyt lurking.

But despite more late pressure, Robben's early goal proved enough as Holland moved level on points with Argentina at the top of Group C.

Post Match ramblings:

Ruud dint get that many chances. It was a Robben show all the way. Van Persie, though young at 21, was impressive with his passes. He shone for Arsenal in the 1st half of the season. The midfield quartet had an average game. Cocu and Sneijder were good. But Holland needs Van Der Waart, who is recuperating from an injury, if they want to create more chances in attack.
The defense needs to be more solid. Van der Sar performed brilliantly. Expected, cos he is ManU!!!

I am waiting for the Portugal match now. Wanna see Deco, Figo, Ronaldo and Pauleta in action.

Riquelme is the Man

2006-06-10T23:13:00.000-07:00

Argentina was pushed all the way by the Ivorians but they managed to grab the all-important 3 points at the end of the day. The Argentines were not in their best from, but they showcased their flair and class during the course of the match. The Ivorians!!! Whoa!! What a Team!!
I was positively salivating at the start of the match, in anticipation of the superb football I will get to see. See Riquelme in action for Argentina. Last time I saw him wearing the famous blue-white Argentina colors, was in November, when England beat the Albiceleste 3-2 in a friendly (wasn’t exactly a friendly thou). An humdinger of a match, in which Riquelme, Rooney and Owen showed their class. World Class.
7 months later, Riquelme walked onto the pitch in Hamburg. The event: World Cup Opener for his Albiceleste. He was the last to get out of the tunnel and as usual appeared calm, cool and collected. The Argentines were raring to go but wary of the Elephants. Justified though because The Elephants are the best African team. Drogba was at his prolific best in the qualifying campaign and scored goals like crazy. Eboue, Zokora and the Toure brothers were also brilliant.
The National Anthems played and the players stood to their full heights in a patriotic fervor. The Match started.
In the 1st half, the Albiceleste showed their class while the Ivorians sizzled.
After a couple of early chances for CIV, The Argentines thought they had opened their account when Roberto Ayala headed a Riquelme corner straight in to the Ivorian Keeper who dropped it and the ball went across the line before he can pull it back. It was a goal. No doubts about that. But the referee was bird-watching instead of ball-watching and he denied the Argentines of their first goal. Riquelme was creating chances with his sublime skills. Rodriguez and Sorin were creating havoc in the wings. Crespo and Saviola were waiting for a killer pass from Riquelme.
The Ivorians pushed in the other half of the field. And did they push!! Wow!! What pace!!
But for all the Ivorians’ efforts, It was ARG which drew first blood. Meite had fouled Crespo in the left. Riquelme drifted over a superb free-kick, Gabriel Heinze and Drogba contested the header but when the ball dropped on the edge of the six-yard box. Crespo crashed it home. ARG 1-0
The Ivorians pushed with even more vigour. Zokora, Kalou and Boka broke away quite frequently with lightning pace. The Whole team seemed to flow like a wave at high velocity. Zokora (ManU Target) went past three Argentinian midfielders in a split second and almost created a chance. Kalou saw two good efforts sail wide when on each occasion he should have at least tested the ARG keeper Abbondanzieri.
Ayala then had to pull off a great sliding tackle on Drogba as the Ivorian skipper prepared to take a shot in the six-yard box. The Elephants' best chance then arrived for Keita as Drogba turned creator as he knocked a long ball down into the path of the Lille hitman .Keita with his diving header from just five yards could only hit Abbondanzieri.
A few mins later, Riquelme showed why he is rated as the one of the world’s best playmakers in the league of Zidane. His slide-rule pass splitting the Ivorian defense, found Saviola, whose finish was brilliantly executed. The whole line of Ivorian Defense could only watch as the magician carved out a pass, making the Ivorian defenders look like jokers. The goal was entirely due to the magician’s vision. Football at its sublime best. Courtesy: Riquelme, The magician. Me and Kalyan were watching the match. I used to sing praises for Riquelme to Kalyan for months. He wasn’t exactly convinced about Riquelme’s greatness after that UCL semifinal debacle. He is more than convinced now. Hehe!! ARG 2-0.
First half ended. Argentina showed their class while the Africans showed their pace and style.
Second half started. The Ivorians need to be more incisive in the final third of the pitch if they want to salvage points from this game.
Saviola was still buzzing from his goal, at the start of the second half and he almost created a third with a mesmerizing run which saw him run his way through four Ivory Coast challenges before laying the ball into the path of Maxi Rodriguez - but he wasted the chance and fired well over.
The Ivorian coach took out Kalou and brought Dindane. Dindane was even more explosive with his pace. Drogba then showed real determination as he took the ball on and shot. The effort went wide but he still found Keita, but he lashed the ball well over.
The Ivorians were creating more chances but Ayala and Co. were superb in denying them. The Elephants have regained their 1st half performance. Kone (who came in for Keita) and Dindane combined to create a pass for Drogba, who made no mistake from some 12-15 yards. 1-2 to CIV.
CIV suddenly had real hope. Although that was almost extinguished when Maxi Rodriguez scrambled the ball home, only for the assistant referee to flag for offside.
CIV looked real dangerous but with the ever dependable Ayala in solid form, the Argentines took their points.

Post Match Ramblings:

CIV could have scored 2 goals easily if only Drogba had more support in the final third. Zokora, Kalou, Boka, Dindane and Kone were all superb with pace and runs. But it was Argentina who found the net. Two times. ( three times actually, if u count the Ayala header too). The two goals had Riquleme written all over them. Especially the 2nd goal. WOW!! I can only marvel at the sublime skills of my man Riquelme, time and again. Saviola justified Pekerman’s faith in him. And hence justified his selection ahead of Tevez and Messi. Pekerman should be purring now. About his playmaker Riquelme. Ayala was too good in defense and the others supported him well.
Last but not least. The Ivorians!! Pace, power, determination, talent, panache. What not!! This team is real good!! I have never seen such pace FROM THE WHOLE TEAM!! As I said, it was like watching a high velocity wave as the Ivorians ran in with fervor. The Ivorians, Take a bow!! Their world cup is far from over.

Bottomline:
Argentina won because of Riquelme’s vision, Saviola and Crespo’s anticipation and Ayala’s solid form. The Ivorians could have at least drawn this game if not for the missed chances. The Ivorians gave a good fight till the very end. Hats off to the Elephants!!

I heaved a sigh of relief at the end of the game. Argentina has collected three points!! I smiled to myself, when I hit the sack finally at three in the morning. Good day, after all. England disappointed. Schumi dint get P1. But Riquelme and the pacy Ivorians brought the smile back on my face.

P.S: I have to commend Trinidad’s performance against Sweden. Awesome!! 10 men. 10 amateurs (except for Yorke) against a quality opposition. And they managed to secure a point. The West Ham Keeper Hislop saved 6 shots and was inspirational throughout. This puts England in a better position though. Sweden, the nearest rivals for England for the number one spot, has collected only 1 point. But beware the Trinidadians, England!!

Did you guys see Lara smile like crazy when he heard that Trinidad has secured a point?

Unconvincing Three Lions

2006-06-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

The Three Lions were not exactly convincing in their world cup opener. I expected the Three Lions to roar. And roar, they did. But only during the first half of the first half. The rest of the game was a damp squib, excluding some moments of slightly increased fervor.

3 mins: England kick started their campaign with the Chief Lion (Becks) curling in a trademark free kick which sailed past the Paraguay Keeper Villar. Well I thought so at first sight and started jumping up and down. Then I saw Owen celebrating much more than the others and thought Owen must hav had the final touch on the ball, en route to the net. Then replays showed that Owen jumped indeed, but it was the defender Gamarra who got the touch. Own goal!! England 1-0. Well, my celebrations tempered down after that realization. Nevertheless, Becks’ ball in to the box meant only one thing. His uncanny knock for converting free kicks was at its absolute best. That’s good news.

After that, it was all one way traffic for a few mins. Paraguay’s defense was in disarray. The defenders dint know how to deal with Crouch’s height advantage. He seemed to latch onto every aerial ball into the Paraguay area. Villar got hurt while trying to put away a lob outside his box and he was replaced by Bobadilla.

Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard was playing the holding role to perfection. Joe Cole and Becks made occasional inroads on the left and right respectively, while Lamps provided a few passes.
It took 13 minutes for Paraguay to threaten England's goal. Carlos Paredes(i) had the first sighter although it was Riveros shot who drew a save from Robinson.
Later, Gerrard, blocking shots and tackling superbly, was booked for a lunge on Riveros.

22 mins: Lampard unleashed a strike from some 25 yards which Villar collected without much difficulty.
Near the end of the first half, Becks hit a shot from outside the box which was jus wide of the far post.
The First half was England’s obviously. Becks and J Cole were brilliant in the wings. Gerrard played the role which he doesn’t like, the holding midfielder. Rio and Terry were rock solid but Ashley Cole was nervous. This allowed Valdes and Paradesi to run in sometimes.
With the first half over, I was hoping to see goals in the 2nd half, with Lampard playing more forward. To be frank, I was disappointed.
England started the 2nd half with verve, but their performance was way below the high standards set in the 1st half opening.
Mins in to the 2nd half, Owen failed to hold on to a Becks cross into the box. It could have been 2-0 easily. Owen was not firing. Cole was more energetic in the 2nd half but Becks was more subdued.
It was time for a substitution and Sven replaced Owen with Downing, a left winger. This move surprised me. Where will Cole play now?? The answer was centre. This move had its positives and negatives. The positive was that Cole, playing as the centre forward behind Crouch, created more chances and Downing showed his pace in the left wing a couple of times. The negative was Crouch was left alone in the front cos much of the game was in the midfield area. England played too deep and nearly paid for it. Valdez was looking more and more dangerous with his runs and passes and he gave the impetus to his team.
Later, Robinson made a meal out of dealing with a cross from Caceres but recovered sufficiently to deny Paredesi a clear sight of goal. Valdez then broke away and unleashed a shot which Robinson collected.
Lamps then repeated his 22nd minute strike in the dying moments of the match only to be denied again. Well at least, Lamps is doing his job.
Post Match Ramblings:
The fact that England dint score goals of its own is troubling me. Agreed, the goal was unofficially Becks’. But the Three Lions lacked the pace, the flow, the final finishing touch. One man could have brought these in abundance. Wayne Rooney. If Rooney had played, he would split open the Paraguayan defence with complete abandon proving the killer pass to Owen waiting in the box. Instead, we saw Crouch staying far up front trying to head balls into Owen’s path. Gerrard played deep and Lamps wasn’t at his best. Becks was impressive in the 1st half and absent in the 2nd. J Cole had a good game throughout.
Rio and Terry, as I said before, were the pillars in defense today. Neville had a decent match. And Ashley Cole needs more studs on his boots I guess. Robinson dint hav much to do.
Overall, England’s defence rocked!! Or rather stood as a rock. The Strikeforce was not all that good. The Midfield was slightly disorganized.
I have to talk about the referee here. He seemed to have a grudge against Crouch, giving free kicks to Paraguay, every time Crouch touched the ball. He dint award that many free kicks to England and the crowd actually cheered him sarcastically when he finally gave a free kick to England in the final mins of the game.
Three Lions, You need to have more edge in attack. Or You will be meeting Germany in the 2nd round. Which I DON’T WANT!!
Now, Sweden seems to be laboring for a goal against Trinidad. They started the match in a lively manner thou.
I am waiting for the Argentina vs Ivory Coast match. With bated breath. Come on, Argentina!!

Go Three Lions!!!

2006-06-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

First things first.
Poland vs Ecuador:
As guru rightly pointed out, Poland was damn unlucky. A disallowed goal that was clearly onside, strikes hitting the post. But Ecuador did play well. Delgado, who had played for Barca and Southampton, was very impressive. The first goal was a Delgado assist and he got the 2nd goal. But, I really pity the Polish. They played really well except for those two defensive errors. But this is football. Underdogs do win often. Courtesy: Refereeing errors. Ecuador hasnt won an away game for many years. Ecuadorians are kings at their own backyard (Altitude is the reason) and have been beaten the Albiceleste some 9 months back.

Previews:

England vs Paraguay.
Now, this is what I have been waiting for. The England opener. Its time for the Three Lions to Roar!!! I love the English team mainly because I grew up watching EPL (like many indians) and most of my facourite players are in the England squad. But i like Holland, Argentina and Brazil too. Not to mention Portugal and Czech Republic. you guys must be thinking "Whoa. this guy likes too many teams". sorry guys, many of my favourite players are scattered across these countries. What can i do??? And NO!! i dont like France and Italy. I like many of the French and Italian players thou.

Now to the preview. Sven has confirmed that Gerrard will play (HURRAY!!!) provided he doesnt have any reaction on his back injury. Rooney is absent, obviously. Sven thankgully gave him some rest. Phew!!! And so, the team which whacked Jamaica 6-0 stays i guess.
The attack is spearheaded by the dimunitive Owen and the lanky Crouch.
An attack-minded midfield with Lampard and Gerrard in the centre, Becks on the right and Cole on the left. A world-class midfield. Ye Baby!!!
A world class defense too. Rio Ferdinand and Terry flanked by Neville on the right and Ashley cole on the left. The brilliant Paul robinson who has impressed all season for the Spurs.
Manutd: 2 players. (3 actually..including Rooney).sorry guys couldnt control it. somewhere somehow, I do talk about ManU.
Arsenal: 1
Chelsea: 3
Spurs: 1
Liverpool: 2
Real Madrid: 1
Newcastle: 1
all EPL players barring Becks. Well, he was in EPL. ManU!!!

Paraguay: Roque Santa Cruz (Bayern Munich) might be playing. He had an injury and is recuperating. He is the ace as far as Paraguya are concerned.

So, England should be able to go past Paraguay unscathed. Rooney will be pissed, watching his team play while he sits out.
Damn you, Carvalho!! for breaking his metatarsal.
Anyway, Go three lions. Bring it on!!

Argentina vs Ivory coast:
I like Argentina, a great footballing nation which has produced legends. Notably, the infamous El Diego. El Diego won the Wc for the Albiceleste almost single handedly in 1986. But thats history. 20 years on, The Argentines are counting on three players to bring them laurels. Juan Roman Riquelme, the magician. Hernan Crespo, the poacher. And the diminutive Javier
Saviola. Not to mention, Carlos Tevez and the wonderkid Lionel Messi from Barca. Messi is in bench thou. Having watched Messi many a time in the Spanish League and UCL, I really think he can become the world greatest player.

Riquelme, one of my favourite players, helped Villareal to advance to the semis of UCL. A genius playmaker,he is a magician with the ball, creating defence splitting passes and making the oppostion defenders look like a bunch of jokers. He doesnt have much pace, ye. But he once said, "It doesnt matter how fast you are. How fast the ball is..That Matters!!".Come on Juan Roman, this might be your world cup. He has the weight of the whole nation on his shoulders (aka Rooney). Do not let the missed penalty againt Arsenal dwindle your confidence. You are the King!!

Albiceleste Team:
Strikers: Crespo(Chelsea) and Saviola(Sevilla)

The pivotal playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme will be supported in midfield by the defensive-minded Esteban Cambiasso(Inter) and Javier Mascherano (Corinthians) and also by the forward running Maxi Rodriguez(Athletico Madrid).

Goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri(Boca Juniors) will be protected by Nicolas Burdisso, Roberto Ayala(Valencia), Gabriel Heinze, who will be making his first competitive appearance since being injured playing for ManU last September, and Juan Pablo Sorin (Villareal).

Ivory Coast:
This is one nation which can go well upto the quarterfinals. Cote D'Ivore has a prolific striker in Drogba (he sucked for Chelsea thou. hehe), a defense which includes the Kolo Toure(Arsenal). Yaya toure (Olympiakos) in the midfield along with Didier Zokora. not but not least. the impressive Emmanuel Eboue. The right back from Arsenal who can run all the way down the
wing like Roberto Carlos.

This is going to be one hell of a match. South American Style and technique vs African speed and power. Hope ARG wins. I was heartbroken in 2002 when it went out in the 1st round itself.

Sweden vs Trinidad:
Sweden is too strong for trinidad with Larsson(Barca), Ljungberg((Arsenal) and Ibrahimovic (Juve). Trinidad has only one notable name. Ex-ManU striker. Dwight Yorke.

Okie guys, me gonna watch formula 1 now. hope schumi gets pole. and after that. GO THREE LIONS!!

An Unusual World Cup Opener

2006-06-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

It has been six months since I started my blog. I dint do any justice to the enthu i had when i created my blog. I dont want to give justifications like lack of time or opportunites or watever. Lets jus say, I dint hav the mood to blog. So here i am, with my first blog. the topic? the obvious answer is football. More precisely, World Cup.

Germany 2006 kicked off with a surprisingly open game from the hosts. Germany, as such, is largely known for its disciplined style of football (Read it ultra defensive) and contests with Italy for the tag of the most boring footballing nation". But for the last few years, Michael Ballack (The genius playmaker heading to Chelsea.Damn it!!) and young talent have infused an edge in the attacking front. The appointment of Jurgen Klinsmann (1990 WC winner) only made the team better. Inexplicably, the defence has suffered..maybe due to the gradual attrition of veteran defenders and a dearth of young quality defenders. Klinsmann's defence lacks experience and they nearly paid for it today.

Okay, now to the match.

World cup’s opening games are usually cautious and boring affairs (understandably so. No nation will want to take risks at the start itself). This was the unwritten rule for more than 30 years. But I guess Germany and Costa Rica never read the rule book and threw caution to the winds.
Man.. Was I surprised to find Germany go all guns blazing (considering the fact that talismanic Ballack was out with an injury). Two minutes into the game, Frings hit the top of the net and I had a feeling it was a sign of things to come. Things you wouldn’t find Germany doing..that too in a world cup opener. Without Ballack.
Even without Ballack, Germany has quality players in Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen) and Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich) – the wingers I have always admired. Lahm, left back, was impressive for Munich. And it was only a matter of time before the first goal was put in.
Three mins later, Lahm picked up possession on the left outside the Costa Rican box and doing away with two Costa Rican defenders, curled a delectable shot that clipped the post before settling into the net. Germany leads 1-0. Sit up folks, this could be the goal of the tournament.
Buoyed by the fantastic goal and cheered by the 60000 strong crowd, Germany began to dominate possession. It could have been 2-0 for Germany if not for Porras denied Klose after a brilliant through ball from the even more brilliant Bastian Schweinsteiger.
But, in football, you are never comfortable with a 1-0 lead. The defence problem rose its ugly head in an inopportune moment for Germany. Friedrich dint look good at all and he broke away from the defence line which allowed Wanchope(the prolific striker who has some 45 odd int’l goals to his name) to avoid the offside trap and latch onto a through pass. He calmly rolled the ball past Lehmann into the German net. Equalizer!! 1-1. I will reserve my comments about Lehmann until later.
The Allianz Arena was silenced and Klinsmann was livid. But he should be proud about the way his team responded. Schneider made inroads in the right and cut the ball to Schweinsteiger who cut the ball across goal into the far post area for Klose and Klose dint make a mistake in slotting it in. 2-1 to Germany. Man, this match IS interesting!!
The first half finished with Germany keeping possession of the ball. The second half started much like the first and I knew a 3rd goal for Germany was on the cards. Lahm, from the left wing, cut a ball across which glanced off a defender’s head onto Klose and Klose headed it typically. But Porras denied the header with a brilliant save and the ball rebounded. Costa Rica’s defence was sleeping and Klose hit home the rebound.
If Germany’s defence was undisciplined, Costa Rica’s was pathetic. 3-1 to Germany.
Another German defensive error, almost identical to the first, allowed Wanchope to claim a 2nd goal. I must comment on Lehmann now. Lehmann was not at all in his best form and yes, he could have saved the 2nd goal. Agreed, he dint have support from his defence but as the first choice keeper he must justify his selection usurping the demi-god Oliver Kahn. Guys, don’t mistake me here. Me being a ManU Fanatic, you guys might think I am biased against Lehmann. But its not like that. Kahn is the man, anyday!! (Psst… I thought I saw Kahn smile sarcastically when the 2nd Costa Rican goal went in)

Okie back to the match. The match was tense now and the Allianz Arena dint know what to expect next. I thought that Germany should not sit back on its one goal lead now and should push for a 4th. A 2 goal cushion. It did arrive ad Boy, it WHAT fashion!!
In the 87th min, Schwiensteiger rolled the ball onto the path of Frings and Frings unleashed a strike from 30 yards which screamed past Porras and blitzed the net.. Gerrard Style!! The strike did everything that a Gerrard screamer would do. It swerved. It curled..It did everything that every football fan would love to watch. Another entry for the goal of the tournament. 4-2 to Germany and Germany won the opener of the World Cup 2006.

Post Match Ramblings:

It was a mixed match for Germany. Impressive attack but woeful defence. Klinsmann needs more experience in the defence if he wants to take on the likes of Brazil, England, Argentina and the other super powers in the knockout stages and come out victorious.
The likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, Riquelme and Gerrard etc.. would prise upon this defence ..like it was a piece of cake.

The positives are.. Schneider, Schweinsteiger and Lahm had a sexy game. They are in form. Ballack’s in next match. German attack can only go better!! Costa Rican Defence was pathetic. And Germany might not have scored at all if it had been countering the Italian or Serbian defence. So shore up your defences, Germany!!

And, I need to mention about ESPN here. Where did John Dykes go? That charismatic host at ease with football discussions. Football expert and What not!!
Harsha Bhogle is a fantastic host, agreed. But, he seemed out of place here. Face it, John is much more knowledgeable and at ease with football than Harsha. Most of the time, Jerry Armstrong and Steve Mcmahon were talking about the technical aspects of the match and Harsha, pitiably, looked like an ignorant kid wanting to know more. Harsha’s job today was to promote those SMS competitions and various add-ons. He looked uncomfortable with this football host thing!! The bit where he asked Ravi’s comments about the World cup was downright funny. And Mr. Ravi brought in cricket in that!! After the match, Harsha commented to Steve and Jerry that the Frings screamer resembled Waqar Younis’s Yorker!! Man, how does he expect Jerry and Steve to know about cricket!!
Harsha, put on a better show tomorrow please.
Me gonna see Poland vs Ecuador now.
Tomorrow is the day I will find out if England, the team I am supporting, are really the force that everyone reckons it to be.

i am Green Latern

2006-01-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern		85%
Superman		80%
Spider-Man		80%
Hulk		70%
Robin		62%
Supergirl		57%
The Flash		45%
Wonder Woman		42%
Batman		40%
Iron Man		40%
Catwoman		20%

Hot-headed. You have strong
will power and a good imagination.

%20HREF="http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/superhero/pics/lantern2.jpg">

2006-01-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Neo Kid in the blog

Seriously, i hav always wondered wats so hot bout blogging. when i first heard the term some three years back, I was mildly interested, so the netizens came up with yet another seemingly brilliant idea for webhosting some of their weird experiences and ideas, so wat? Ok, i accept tat it is much easier than posting on ur normal site. And ye, it is a slight variant of a forum.( lets say author-controlled?). So wat the hell? I am a netfreak ,ye but still this cool term called "blogging" dint strike a chord in me, dunno guys...i really dunno y. And when the whole world went crazy bout it and when even my frnds got hooked onto this blogging frenzy. I was like..Ye, lets give it a try. Wats the point in giving a cold shoulder to sth which is hot,sexy ( ok i admit it...) and positively addictive. Now, i wouldnt mind a girl who is all tat..
Anyway, ppl, I'm Ilango, doing my 4th year BE in Electronics and Communication Engg, at College of Engg, Guindy, a constituent college of Anna University.
I am aspiring to do my graduate studies in the US in the realm of computer networking.
I am known as silverarrow on the net. i would like to say tat my frnds call me as silver(arrow). but unfortunately, only a few oblige. but wat the hell?
so guys, pls bear with me. I'm jus another new kid in the blog. Ppl, if u find my posts hopelessly inane..pls say so..( i would welcome any kinda comments and ofcourse they should not cross the acceptable threshold of decency..hehe)
Lemme say one thing b4 i log off..
Assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups ( now, dint tat happen in ur life, ppl?)
More bout me in the next post
Signing off,
Silver alias Ilango