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Brazil deserves favorite tag
Germany yet to peak after struggling past improving U.S.
Posted: Friday June 21, 2002 2:36 PM
CNNSI.com's World Cup analyst Gabriele Marcotti is covering every kick of the tournament, with a "91st Minute" column filed each matchday. Click here to submit a comment or question to Marcotti's mailbag.
Brazil rolled into the semifinals, coming from a goal down to notch a 2-1 victory over England.
In the other quarterfinal, Germany ended the United States' hope of repeating the feat of 1930, when it reached the semifinal.
Some had billed England vs. Brazil as the "Game of the Tournament," a match more fit for the final than the quarterfinals. What we saw instead was the most talented team in the competition (Brazil) letting its star power rise to the surface against a side (England) that failed to adjust its "score first and then defend in numbers" script even after it was clearly misfiring.
Fifteen seasons spent in Serie A have, in some respects, made Sven-Goran Eriksson more Italian than Swedish. After just 23 minutes, his troops found themselves in front. Lucio failed to control a long ball forward just outside the area, allowing it to bounce straight into Michael Owen's path and, for the former Boy Wonder, beating goalkeeper Marcos from a few yards out was a piece of cake.
How did Eriksson react? By trying to shut up shop, just as he had done so successfully against Argentina. Except this time it did not work, possibly because Brazil has more players who can run at defenses and cause problems than Argentina.
In first-half injury time, Ronaldinho ran at the heart of the England back four, before laying it off to Rivaldo who knocked it home. Brazil made it look easy, giving the impression they could turn it up a notch and make inroads at any time.
Having said that, conceding the equalizer just before the break was a huge momentum shift. England looked dazed when it stepped on the pitch for the second half.
After just five minutes, Brazil scored again to make it 2-1. Ronaldinho lined up to hit a freekick some 40 yards from goal and off to the right. Goalkeeper David Seaman, expecting a cross, came off his line, but Ronaldinho's shot floated straight into the corner with England's No. 1 badly caught out of position.
Eriksson looked pensive on the sidelines. England needed a break and it got one shortly thereafter when Ronaldinho was sent off for a tackle on Danny Mills. It might have been somewhat harsh (it was Mills who initiated the contact by striking the ball), but Ronaldinho's studs were up, his leg was off the ground and it was simply a dangerous, silly thing to do.
One would have thought that with 33 minutes to play and a man advantage, England would have charged forward looking for the equalizer. One would have been wrong.
England simply wasn't clicking. It had trouble regaining possession and, when it did, it showed a lack of creativity and offensive punch. What's more, Eriksson failed to bring in another striker until 11 minutes from time, when Darius Vassell replaced Owen. Teddy Sheringham came on immediately afterwards, but, by then, Brazil was firmly in control. England fizzled when it mattered most. This World Cup certainly proved it knows how to defend, but, for now at least, it lacks something on the other end.
Eriksson will be given the time to turn it around, and he has plenty of young talent at his disposal. He has his work cut out for him.
As for Brazil, it was what you'd expect. Beyond the "samba" stereotypes, it showed that it's much-maligned defense (apart from Lucio's dreadful error) is not as porous as some suggested. The introduction of another ball-winner (Kleberson) for Juninho added some steel to the midfield and gave greater licence to attack to Ronaldinho, Cafu and Roberto Carlos.
At this point, Brazil is the favorite for this tournament and with good reason.
In the Americans' 1-0 loss to Germany, U.S. coach Bruce Arena went for a more conservative formation, with defender Frankie Hejduk replacing Josh Wolff in the starting 11. Germany welcomed back Dietmar Hamann and Christian Ziege from suspension and relied on the quickness of Oliver Neuville, rather than the brawn of Carsten Jancker up front.
Landon Donovan, given a free role behind the lone striker Brian McBride, caused problems from the start with his speed (indeed, after just 2 minutes he was halted by the tournament's umpteenth imaginary offside call), and Oliver Kahn made no fewer than three world-class saves in the first half hour.
Rudi Voeller's men countered by flooding the midfield and threatening on set-pieces. A logical strategy as, to a man, the Germans had a massive size advantage. After 39 minutes, the U.S. defense capitulated on a Michael Ballack header, after several close calls. Miroslav Klose then hit the post with yet another header, one which, if it had met its mark, might have killed the game.
Early in the second half, the U.S. came very close once again. Gregg Berhalter's shot was only partially blocked by Kahn and the ball bobbled off the arm of Torsten Frings, who was on the post, right on the goal line. The ball did not appear to cross the goal line, but a different referee might have given the penalty. In the event, Hugh Dallas, after consulting the linesman, did not.
The U.S. showed plenty of spirit in turning on the heat in the final minutes after Clint Mathis and Cobi Jones had come on, but the Germans held fast, threatening repeatedly on the counterattack. Unlike Italy, which found itself in a similar position against South Korea, the Germans managed to hang on, avoiding the specter of extra time.
The U.S. leaves the tournament with a burnished reputation, showcasing some excellent individual performances (Donovan, Claudio Reyna, Pablo Mastroeni and Brad Friedel come to mind) and, in Bruce Arena, an excellent, modern and tactically sound coach.
There's plenty to work with and the future looks bright.
As for Germany, this is a team that has yet to dazzle. Other than stomping all over Saudi Arabia in the opener, Voeller's troops have never looked dominant -- just effective and uncompromising. Germany will be a tough opponent for anyone, and it's pretty obvious that this team has not come anywhere close to peaking yet.
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Oliver Kahn (Germany).
He made several key saves to preserve the German win. As the tournament progresses and Germany continues to fail to impress, it becomes more and more obvious that he is the real leader of this team.
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David Seaman (England).
A long and successful career is no excuse for a massive error. When Ronaldinho went up to strike his free kick, Seaman's blunder was not a result of nerves or age or bad luck: It was a mental mistake. And, for a man with 20 years experience at the highest level, it was difficult to swallow. Nobody will be more disappointed with it than Seaman himself.
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Rivaldo (Brazil).
An intelligent run, a cool finish... he makes it look so easy. Crucified for his play-acting in the opener against Turkey, he has scored in five consecutive matches, one short of the record. |
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When Sven-Goran Eriksson was handed the England job, it split the nation in two. His supporters argued it would herald a newer, more sophisticated era of soccer, with England's new breed of stars guided by an internationally respected footballing mind. His denigrators were incensed at the idea of a foreigner leading the country that invented the game.
Eriksson's first World Cup is a mixed bag of success and disappointment. Beating Argentina -- thanks also to the media hype off the pitch -- will forever be a part of English soccer lore. Reaching the quarterfinals and losing to the tournament favorite was probably in line with the nation's expectations. And, showing that England could defend in an organized, sophisticated manner against some of the world's best forwards proved many critics (including yours truly) wrong.
The flipside is that this England team showed a distinct lack of creativity going forward. Of the six goals it scored in this tournament, three came on set pieces, another two (Owen's against Brazil and Heskey's against Denmark) were the result of defensive blunders. Everything seemed to dry up in the last half hour of the Brazil game: no ideas, no creativity and (most uncharacteristically for England) no real spirit.
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History will be made if South Korea and Senegal can overcome Spain and Turkey respectively.
Spain has serious injury doubts over star forward Raul, and coach Jose Antonio Camacho has said he will only play if he's 100 percent fit. If he doesn't make it, it will be a huge blow, and Spain may adjust by inserting another midfielder and pushing Juan Carlos Valeron further up the pitch. Korea has no major injury worries and is still riding an emotional high after the victory over Italy.
Turkey, in its first ever quarterfinal, welcomes Emre Belozoglu back from suspension, while Senegal boss Bruno Metsu has Salif Diao and Kalilou Fadiga back at his disposal, though he might be loath to drop striker Henri Camara to accommodate them in his starting 11.
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South Korea:
1. Keep Yoo Sang-Chul involved. His workrate was tremendous against Italy, primarily defensively as the game wore on since Guus Hiddink sent on more offensive players. Against Spain, he needs to be a factor from the start on the offensive end as well.
2. Use the "12 man." The Korean spectators lifted their team until the very end and were very much a factor in the Italy game. They'll be just as enthusiastic against Spain; it's up to the players to channel their energy in a positive way.
3. Keep the pace high. Spain likes a slower tempo; Korea is at it best at breakneck speed. Hiddink's men have shown great stamina and athletic prowess, and they need to use it to their advantage.
Spain:
1. Don't be afraid. Man for man, Spain is far superior technically. It needs to relax and simply impose its passing game, forgetting all about how it struggled against Ireland.
2. Go for the kill. If Spain takes the lead, it needs to go for a second, not sit back and wait for the counterattack the way Italy did. It can learn from Italy's mistakes. After the knockdown, go for the knockout. Otherwise this Korean team can and will come back to haunt you.
3. Fernando Hierro. The speed of the Korean strikers will keep him and the Spanish back four under pressure. He is very much the defensive leader and he needs to ensure Spain concede nothing at the back.
Senegal:
1. Outmuscle your opponent. Metsu's men are bigger, stronger and more physically imposing. They know how to be tough defenders without committing fouls and that's exactly what they need to do.
2. Watch the runner from midfield. Yildiray Basturk and Emre Belozoglu have a tendency to pop up out of nowhere and wreak havoc. The back four needs to be vigilant.
3. Aliou Cisse. The underrated star of this team. A genuine leader, he's the engine of the team and the man who sets the tempo for Senegal.
Turkey:
1. Don't get stretched. El Hadji Diouf is devastating on the counterattack; he must not be given the space to run at defenders.
2. Find Hasan Sas. Hakan Sukur will have his hands full up front, which means Hasan Sas needs to get good service for his darting, diagonal runs, which will trouble the Senegalese defense.
3. Maintain discipline. Turkey has gotten on the wrong side of referees before. Given the way things are going in this World Cup, it needs to stay on its toes against Senegal.
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Jose Antonio Camacho (Spain)
Harshly criticized for his substitution policy against Ireland, the pressure is mounting on the Spanish coach. If he screws up against South Korea, few will remember that by getting to the quarterfinal he has already taken Spain as far as any coach in the past 50 years.
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I was impressed by your article because I was really sad after I got the bad news about the angry reaction of Italian football fans. Absolutely, I believe no Korean hoped to beat Italy in an unfair way. If there were mistakes, they are the referee's fault. The Korean players who kept trying and trying to the end. Yet the fury of the Italians is tarnishing Korea's victory.
We know that the Italian team was very strong. Vieri looked like a strong football machine. I respect his power and commitment.
Even I didn't expect Korean team to win.
However, the Korean players didn't give up.(I think even many Korean supporters gave up victory before the Seol's goal. I heard that one of my friends in Seoul started to shower five minutes before the end.)
The Italians' response was really sad and unpleasant. Do you think that some power was really involved in this game? Why are other journalists keeping silent on this? Why aren't they talking about what the Italians' real mistakes were?
I entirely agree with your comments about this match. You're a reasonable and professional journalist. I wanted to say that I am sad about what happened. I don't want to be a crazy nationalist. I don't wear red shirts. I want to see just and fair "real" sports! I think that many Koreans hope the same thing like me.
--Eunju Lee, Incheon, Korea
Answer:
Thank you. As a columnist, when you see certain things happening, it's difficult to remain objective. The refereeing in that South Korea vs. Italy game was, in my opinion (and that of many others, including FIFA chairman Sepp Blatter), clearly substandard. Referee Byron Moreno made many mistakes, and Italy does have a right to feel aggrieved by the officiating (particularly as it was the third straight game in which it was on the receiving end of dubious calls).
Having said that, nobody has the right to cast unfounded accusations, nor to denigrate Korea's victory. In my opinion, this was one match that neither team deserved to lose. If Tommasi's late goal had not been ruled offside, Italy would have won, but Korea's performance would have been no less spectacular. It battled back after missing an early penalty and trailing for much of the game. People like Yoo Sang-Chul and Ahn Jung-Hwang gave their blood and guts in that match, believing till the very end, even when -- as you say -- many fans had stopped believing.
As for Italy's real mistake, if you're talking about the players, it was missing chances on the counterattack. Christian Vieri (twice), Tommasi and Francesco Totti all could have put the game out of reach. When you fail to convert, you get punished.
As for the more "difficult" issues in your question, one would have to be blind to think there weren't powerful interests in the world of soccer. Sponsors, politicians, nationalists, all sorts of people stand to gain (or lose) a lot, depending what happens on the pitch. But, to some degree, this is true in every sport -- indeed, in every walk of life.
The question is: How much can they influence the outcome of games? In my own personal opinion, there is only so much they can do. People may blame obscure old men in gray suits, but, ultimately it was a young man from Korea (Ahn) who rose into the Daejeon sky and scored the winning goal, and it was young man from Italy (Vieri) who missed his chance at history.
As for nationalism, this is the biggest sport in the world, and this is its biggest stage. It is inevitable that some people will use soccer and the nationalist feelings it evokes to further their own ends, whether they be political or economic. That's why it's so important to measure one's words carefully and not tag entire countries or communities with the same label.
The Korean players should not see their great achievement tarnished, and neither should the Italian players suffer for the actions of some high-profile Italians (such as Perugia chairman Luciano Gaucci and his grotesquely unfair statements about Ahn).
There is a problem with referees at the World Cup though. And it's encouraging to see Blatter and Michel Zen-Ruffinen stating that things will change in 2006. Anything that adds credibility and removes suspicion is welcome.
Click here to read Marcotti's most recent mailbag, and here to submit a comment or question.
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