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Brazil win brings epic final
Turkey proves a worthy foe, but Ronaldo makes difference
Posted: Wednesday June 26, 2002 10:24 AM
Updated: Wednesday June 26, 2002 10:26 AM
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 advances to a climactic showdown with Germany after beating Turkey 1-0.
It promises to be an epic match between the two most successful nations in soccer history. Both are making their seventh appearance in the World Cup Final (Brazil has won four, Germany three). Cafu will become the first player to appear in three straight finals (1994, 1998, 2002).
Amazingly, these two teams have never before faced each other in the World Cup. We can only hope the final is more like the Turkey vs. Brazil semifinal --which was an exciting, entertaining affair -- rather than Germany vs. South Korea, which might have put a few non-soccer fans to sleep.
Brazil was the overwhelming favorite but Turkey proved a very worthy opponent, confirming its outstanding run in this World Cup, as well as the progress the country has made in recent years. Turkey stuck with under-fire centerforward Hakan Sukur and inserted Ergun Penbe down the left in place of the injured Hakan Unsal.
Brazil's Ronaldo passed his late fitness test and teamed up with Rivaldo up front, while Edilson replaced the suspended Ronaldinho.
The match followed the script in the first half, with Brazil pushing forward and Turkey trying to control the possession and hit intelligently on the break. It was always going to be a stern defensive test for the Turkish back line, and goalkeeper Rustu Recber pulled off a string of brilliant saves in the first half, off of Rivaldo (who started very sharply), Ronaldo (twice), Roberto Carlos and Edilson.
Ronaldo was controlled well initially by the pairing of Bulent Korkmaz and Alpay Ozalan, but one felt it was just a matter of time before he got away. And, when he did, it was brilliant. In the fourth minute of the second half he received the ball from Roberto Carlos some 10 yards outside the penalty box, spun past Bulent and poked the ball across the goal mouth and inside the far post.
With Brazil a goal up, Turkey had no choice but to bomb forward, and Ilhan Mansiz was sent on to partner with Hakan Sukur. The Brazilians were still getting plenty of chances on the break, but the Turkish defense held fast.
To be fair, Brazil's strikers didn't do themselves any favors. In the 72nd minute, Luizao had all the time in the world to stop the ball and smack it home from inside the box, but instead he tried a spectacular half-bicycle kick that missed the mark. Shortly thereafter, Denilson tried an improbable chip, when Rivaldo was wide open.
It was showboating and it's the kind of stuff for that you can get punished later on. Alas, Turkey's offensive efforts failed to generate concrete chances, apart from a brilliant close-range strike from Hakan Sukur that Marcos did well to neutralize.
Semifinal hero Ilhan Mansiz had one last chance for Turkey, but on this day it just wasn't to be.
Senol Gunes' men have made history by getting this far in difficult circumstances. They played some fantastic soccer, showing cohesion and some sparkling individual talent. If Turkey can build on this success, given the fact that the likes of Hasan Sas, Yldiray Basturk and Emre Belozoglu will only get better, this is one team which is going places.
As for Brazil, the midfield pair of Kleberson and Gilberto Silva were very solid, while Roberto Carlos enjoyed perhaps the best game of his World Cup. The two "Rs" up front split the burden. Rivaldo was devastating in the first half, and Ronaldo made the difference in the 20 minutes he played in the second.
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Rustu Recber (Turkey).
A chance to recognize one of the unsung heroes of this tournament, at least outside Turkey. He showed all his ability in the first half, neutralizing Brazil's galaxy of stars before being beaten by a Ronaldo gem.
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Ronaldo (Brazil).
Not only did it break the ice against Turkey, it was a gesture of rare skill. His control and spin in getting free from the defender were wonderful, but the way he hit the ball was even more special. He struck in stride with the tip of his boot, which is exactly what coaches tell young players not to do because it's difficult to control the ball. Unless, of course, you're Ronaldo. In this case, it was the last thing Rustu was expecting, and it robbed him of that split second that might have enabled him to make the save. Subtle, delicious stuff.
Incidentally, Ronaldo's six goals now make him the tournament's top scorer. Overall, he has scored 10 World Cup goals, two fewer than the legendary Pele. Given the fact that he has at least one and probably two World Cups ahead of him, it's a record he is likely to break.
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For a long time, the story of Brazil has been the story of stereotypes -- hugely talented, spectacular, tactically suspect with sub-par defenders and laughing-stock goalkeepers. Much of it was unfair, but not without a grain of truth. Brazil always had more Valdir Peres than Gilmars in goal, and Brazilian defenders sometimes were a little too comfortable on the ball when a nice boot up the pitch could have sufficed.
The controversial appointment of Scolari was supposed to change all that. Scolari is a man who places winning above the "Beautiful Game," a guy who has been criticized in the past for his stifling tactics. But it was thought that he would be the right guy to turn Brazil's huge pool of talent into an effective soccer machine.
Scolari was proved correct. His critics, those who feared he would field a team of butchers rather than artisans, were far off-base. Scolari cares about winning above playing well, but he is smart enough to realize that when you have Brazil's offensive potential, the best way to win is by letting your attacking players do what they do best: attack. And that's what he did, which is why Brazil has been the most exciting team in the World Cup.
But he also gave his squad a new-found defensive balance by adding a third central defender and a second holding midfielder. This allowed his fullbacks, Cafu and Roberto Carlos, more opportunities to come forward, without worrying that the back line would be undermanned. It also gave the team a defensive solidity that in the past was lacking. Few believed in Brazil before this World Cup. I myself was derided by many for picking it to reach the final. If Brazil has gotten this far, a good chunk of the praise should go to Scolari.
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Your comment, regarding Germany -- "This may well be the worst German World Cup team since the early 1960s" -- is an unwarranted criticism and shows disrespect for results. It's results that measure and define excellence, whether it's in football or in a company. What other criteria are you using to evaluate success?
--David Ziff, Boca Raton, Florida
Answer:
No, it's not results alone that evaluate success. Brazil in 1978 or 1982 was, in most observers' eyes, a better team than Brazil in 1998, though Brazil '98 got further. You can't judge the quality of a team on 90 minutes and, often, that makes all the difference.
Results in a competition like the World Cup do not automatically define who the best team truly is. If we really wanted to know for sure, the only way to do it is to have a league format where everybody plays everybody else and we see who's on top at the end of the campaign. Obviously this can't be done, so the World Cup's knockout format is the best we can do. One would not argue that Belgium is a better team than Argentina or that Japan is better than France, simply because Belgium and Japan got further in this competition than Argentina and France.
It's a similar argument with Germany. In terms of talent, this German team doesn't stack up very well to previous German teams in the World Cup. Remember, this team is playing without its most creative midfielder (Sebastian Deisler), it's best defender (Jens Nowotny) and a proven veteran who can, at times, win games single-handedly (Mehmet Scholl).
My comments aren't disrespectful to Germany. On the contrary, it's a compliment to Rudi Voeller and his squad, as he has gotten the best out of a group that is far less talented in most departments than the German sides we've seen in the past. Go back and look at Germany's World Cup squads throughout the years -- you'll see that, in terms of individual talent, they were far ahead of this one.
Teamwork, spirit, tactical knowledge, experience and a little bit of luck have been the recipe of Germany's success in this World Cup -- which only goes to show it's not just about talent.
Click here to read Marcotti's most recent mailbag, and here to submit a comment or question.
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