Jose Pekerman seems to have done it again on the World Cup stage.
In 2006, Argentina were the best footballing side. No doubt.
Though, I would make a case that he did not take the side far enough to a footballing euphoria, and that his caution under pressure in the quarter final brought us undone.
However, his success of a footballing idea, which is increasingly lost and misunderstood, must be applauded.
That Argentina side was led by a classic South American enganche, Roman.
Again today, Colombia is led by a classic enganche, James.
(Colombianly pronounced, Hay- meh, or Hay-mes, just go with it).
The genius of what Pekerman does, is that in the current football world of over-scrutinised tactics and systems, he has enough belief in James to let go of the responsibility, and trust in the number 10.
Like Roman in 2006, he pops up everywhere.
On his volleyed goal, yes, he is exactly where a typical coach would want him. But throughout the match, he often goes to where most coaches might say he doesn't need to be.
But he does need to be there.
When the team needs composure, he is there.
When the team needs a push, he is there.
When they need a pause, he's there.
He is given, a somewhat free reign. It is to be admired.
Some were just happy to be here. Their moment on the World stage.
Some expected to be here for a lot longer.
The most exciting group stage of a World Cup I have ever lived.
Here is a quick line or two on those making their way home..
Croatia - Rakitic/Modric midfield, Mandzukic up top. Promised so much, delivered so little..
Cameroon - Promised very little, and delivered! Standard red card too.
Espana - Uff. Welcome and goodbye in two matches. Thanks for bringing the trophy back. A sad goodbye to a absolute quality generation of players. Andresito, Xavi, Xabi, Villa..
Australia - The coaching change needed to happen a year and a half earlier. A group way too hard for a group of players at least 2 years short of experience. Nevertheless, two great performances that gives hope for the future.
Ivory Coast - Fell short, literally, at the hurdle. A cruel way to exit for a side that looked like they could do some damage.
Japan - Been promising a lot for a couple of years now, but also falling short. As always, goals, hard to find.
England - Didn't promise anything this time, and didn't deliver. But some very good young players coming through, and I think that with a good coach they are capable of a lot more in a few years.
Italia - 90 minutes of beauty versus England. And then 180 minutes of disappointment.
Honduras - They scored a goal! Got to be happy with that.
Ecuador - If the World Cup was played at 4500m altitude, these guys would have it in the bag.
Bosnia - Far too nervous. A very qualify-able group, yet they came without enough conviction and belief.
Iran - Very very well organised defensively. Almost pulled off a famous draw.
Portugal - Good riddance. Personally, I just feel they lacked a star player to give them quality. :-p
Ghana - What a shame, such a great side to watch. They showed this against Germany, but the last minute winner to the US hurt their chances.
Korea Republic - To be completely honest. I did not watch any of their games. :-/
Ok so the warm ups are over now. Our World Cup starts now!
With my love for the little guy, it would be easy to get swept up in the Messi/Argentina fever hitting the World Cup. 3 wins, 4 goals, 3 Man of the Match awards. But I'm not yet jumping up and down.. Ok I am, but it's with caution...
It only takes one match for it to all crash to earth from here. And I have seen it crash too often too quickly for my loved Argentina.
Let's be honest, we have faced no one. And I mean that with respect for the opposition because Bosnia were going to be a tough test, but yet they were too nervous to get near their potential. Iran proved to be a test, yet they are not near enough to the quality that the knock out phase brings. And the similiar can be said for Nigeria today, though they do go through to the next phase.
But those were our warm ups.
It's easy to think things are going smoothly, however if we were in a group like Italy or Spain, it could just as easily have been us making the short trip home.
We got blessed, we got luck, and you need that. It has given us time to tinker and build for the first 3 matches. Though the question will be if we can go from 2nd gear, to 5th gear. Will those around Leo step up, or be found wanting??
Today, certainly gave evidence that the players around Leo are growing in confidence. Di Maria was outstanding, and should have been Man of the Match. Mascherano, Lavezzi, and even Rojo were also very good.
I very much prefer Lavezzi to Higuain, although the latter scored a hatful in qualifying. The injury to Kun is a concern, he has been quiet, but that isn't all bad. He may explode at the right time, as he has for City.
Switzerland do worry me. They are similar to the Germans, but less angry.
Ironically, the worry for me is a German, their manager Ottmar Hitzfeld. In Ottmar, they have a very experienced manager who has been with them since 2008.
They will be German like, organised and fast on the counter. Nigeria showed we may struggle with this. And no doubt they are scheming a plan for Leo as we speak.
Thankfully, the little man is growing again.
My head says we need to be careful..
My heart says we may witness something truly special..
Ok now let's think about it. He obviously has an issue. I don't want to be the unqualified one who diagnoses him, but ADHD or something. No joke, we need to look at it from this point of view because it is not normal. He does need help.
And it is a better way to look at the issue then from a racist point of view. I've seen 'dirty south american' mentioned and that is just wrong. Equally disappointing, was seeing John Aloisi say something quite similar on National TV. Moving on to the football…
What a difference a week in football makes.
One week we are marvelling at the Spanish Squad. The next they are packing..
One week ago I marvelled at the ingenious cult figure of Andrea Pirlo. Day 3 - Magical
The next, he has played his last international. I am honestly devastated he is out of the Cup. And the Azzurri. Cesare Prandelli is a marvellous coach, with great value and respect for the game. It would have been nice to see them go further.
But this World Cup is so unpredictable, they all are really. Go back through all the World Cup semi-finalists, there is almost always at least one team there that you would not have been fancied to get to the last four before it all kicked off.
Spain, England, Italy, and almost certainly Portugal, gone, 1st round. Wow.
The great part is that Costa Rica deserve nothing less. They have been a joy to watch.
Another Joy to watch, James Rodriguez - Colombian pronunciation - Haaaaiimmmehhh. :-/
What a player. I think I'm repeating myself again, but who cares. A classic South American enganche, mixed with a bit of a modern attacking midfielder. Here in Australia there is a lot of talk about 'producing' this type of player.
You cannot 'produce' them. As a coach you need to just 'allow' them to develop. Teach them about the game around them. That is all, do not impose restrictions. Enhance, not restrict their ability.
Back to the Cup. I am quite sad we are over half way, but the best is about to come.
One thing to remember.
Luck, and by that I mean good and bad, bad being dodgy decisions, are part of the game. I have always said that it generally evens itself out. An example is that Italy got some luck along the way in 2006, but today, it went against them.
It is how you react though. Much like life.
It's not what happens to you, it's how you react.
Italy could have defended that corner away, and progressed despite the bite…
I am increasingly saying that football is individual. It is subjective. So I am not going to try to convince anyone what they should or should not feel about the Socceroos.
Some are upset and some are proud.
Yes, we lost all three matches and conceded 9 goals. But you can shape and twist any story to suit your own opinion.
If you just look at the results, goals for, and goals against, then the world is probably also black and white to you. It's a poor performance, 0 points.
That is not me. I am proud of the Socceroos performance in Brazil.
We pushed Netherlands and Chile, not to their limits, but we pushed them hard. For 75 minutes or so, both sides were uncomfortable and in a bit of shock at the difficulty of the match.
The manner of our play was far more progressive than under Hogler. Ange has given us structured build up play and quick transition for us to build on when Cahill is no longer with the team.
Also the high press, a feature of the modern game, was bald and a shock to the world that we dared to do it to the giants of world football in our group of death.
Proof that we took it to the best in the world and competed was in the image of the Chilean National manager storming the touchlines, a look of nervousness, wishing the match to be over after Cahill and Bresciano went close to equalizers.
Also the blank look of disbelief on Loui Van Gaal and his assistant Kluivert, as we pressed the Netherlands back line, forcing them into cheap long ball turnovers.
And who can forget Cahill's volley…
Does all of this mean that I think we should be content with losing? Of course not.
Does it mean that everything at National, State and Local level is fine? Far from it.
But for me Ange represents a positive change for the game in Australia. And he gave a very good representation of that on the world stage.
Two match days in for Argentina, and us and the rest of the world, are still unsure about where we are.
Are we building? Are we faltering? Que mierda pasa!!!
What is not in doubt, is that is if we get the ball to Leo, in the right area, then we are good going forward.
Although we have looked a little stale going forward over the 2 matches, I have no doubt it will improve.
In the first match I think Sabella experimented with the 5-3-2/3-5-2 to see if we could get the same forward movement and fluidity with the added protection of 3 central defenders. It did look more secure, and certainly will be an option against the heavier teams later on, in particular say if we are leading a knockout match and need to close up a bit.
However, we completely lost fluidity going forward. Messi had to drop too far to receive the ball, and then he only had Aguero ahead of him. This scenario is far too easy to defend, allows the opposition to literally put 3 or 4 around him. It's clear this can't be the set up in matches we are expected to dictate and go find the goal.
To dictate and find the goals we need the 4-3-3 from qualifying. The problem is though, the 4 at the back are very suspect. Iran created at least 3 good chances, and they weren't exactly piling numbers forward. I worry when I think of a European counter-attack coming at that.
Going forward today I think Gago and Mascherano moved the ball far too slow and not enough. They should have and needed to dominate the game to provide the room ahead for Messi. They have to be the Xavi for Argentina, as they were in qualifying. But they passed too slow, not enough and did not see Leo often when he had a metre on his man, and thats all he needs.
Ultimately I think the key going forward will be the men around Leo.
If they can play their part, it will give him more room to do what he does. He also has to give away some of the responsibility, to allow them to play their part. Too often against Bosnia it was Leo vs 11. We won't win the end goal like this, despite it working so far.
At the back, it's obvious we don't have the quality. Sabella will have to tinker and tactika finely to get it right. I'd say in the knockout stages, expect the 3 central defender defence to come back. In particular in the latter stages of matches if we are already ahead. Leo on the counter will do just fine to close things out.
So, adonde estamos?.. Que se yo, pero VAMOS CARAJO!!!
'The Spanish have characterised the past decade with their intricate passing game. We wondered at times if it would ever end. It seemed as though they had almost perfected the game. But the game always moves on…It seemed it would go on forever. But it's all about to end. Nothing, is forever.'
The commentator hit the nail on the head today.
The game does move on. One manager picks the lock. Then another, and another until what once seemed unstoppable, can barely get going.
It is exactly what happened to Spain. They seemed slow, stationary, sterile.
The Netherlands and Chile, both differing styles, but yet both dominated the Spanish.
The idealistic game had no answers the questions being asked.
'Is tiki taka dead?. Certainly not. They've simply forgotten how to win.'
Guillermo Ochoa, Mexican goalkeeper. Technically, this match is the start of Round 2 but anyway, Play on..
What a save, what a nostalgic moment! If you know World Cup history, then no doubt you had images of Banks and Pele flooding as it happened. The beauty of the World Cup..
Not just a one save wonder, Ochoa showed his technique in the 1v1's and then on the bouncing Neymar volley. It gave a snapshot that he is one talented goalkeeper and will not be a free agent for long.
Another man that stole the show for me, was Marc Wilmots.
Belgium manager Marc Wilmots made all three of his substitutions by 65 minutes. Two of those substitutions were bold decisions to replace key attacking players while chasing the game, Dembele and Lukaku.
His third sub, Fellaini, levelled the score within 5 minutes from coming on and then his half time substitution sealed the blitz 10 minutes from time.
Marc Wilmots won his 1v1 duel.
There was one more man that stepped up today and showed his boldness.
Referee Cuneyt Cakir.
Cuneyt took the bold, unthinkable decision of awarding a foul in favor of Mexico, therefore becoming the first Referinho to penalise the home team. The outcry from the touristic home fans that were busy performing the Mexican wave was immediate. How could he?
And just when it could not get worse, he waved away Marcelo's penalty claims when he had clearly been swept away by the wind while through clean on goal.
Today brought an end to Round 1.
No doubt, the best start to a World Cup that I have lived.
The quality has been unbelievably high. It has made looking like death, mico-sleeping, and carrying a sore back from couch-sleeping worthwhile.
Can we pick a winner yet, no. If anything the competition has opened up.
The big movers, Germany, Netherlands, Colombia.
The big losers, Spain, Portugal and Uruguay.
Refill your coffee pods, purchase more eye drops, set twice as many alarms this round and fingers crossed for more of the same.
The minnows capture an innocent beauty of the World Cup.
Iran vs Nigeria, 0-0.
No superstars, no goals, no real clear chances or highlights. Boring right?..
One of the most enjoyable matches I have watched. Definitely more so than Germany trouncing Portugal.
It was quite an experience watching these two games on the same day.
One match, littered with stars, and big name players that most the fans came to see. And those players knew it. They strutted around the pitch with a sense of self righteousness and some even did the wink during the National Anthem, cringe.
The players took offense to each others challenges too. This highlighted by the Muller/Pepe exchange. God forbid contact be made in a contact sport.
The challenges in the Iran/Nigeria match were heavier. They came in desperate attempts to win the ball and fight for the cause of their shirt, not their ego. And when too much contact was made, an apologetic hand was offered to help the bearer of the challenge to his feet.
There were no egos, just eagerness to find a winner. None of the players berated each other for missing or not giving a pass. Even when a teammate made a mistake, lost possession for example, another sprinted in to try help win it back and minimize the damage, save his blushes. Sadly yesterday and today, I saw neither Ronaldo or Messi do that once.
I’m not having a dig at the stars here. They have reputations for good reason, they are the elite. Some of them became that way due to the environment, and some of them would be nothing without their ego.
What I’m saying is we shouldn’t lament Bale or Zlatan not being in Brazil. We see these players plenty of through the season.
Instead, we should appreciate the true beauty of a World Cup. Get up to watch a pair of minnows battle it out. Watch them appreciate the day they took the world stage.
No doubt, it is a day they will talk about for the rest of their lives.
Today there were crucial errors. Many of them. They are a part of
football. We must not be scared of them, just willing to learn from them. I know I will.
#error1 - Ecuador vs Switzerland
The game was tied at 1-1, 90th minute. I looked at the clock, and
thought,
‘I can sneak away here and bank the injury time into my sleep before
the France v Honduras match. I won’t miss much.’
#error2
France vs Honduras
Again my unwise thoughts,
‘Since its cold and already 5am, I can lay down here on the couch,
be warm, and not fall asleep. I’m match-fit now, I won’t miss anything’
#error3
Alejandro Sabella’s unwisely thought this time,
‘I can drop Higuain, because I have Messi. This will let me play 5
defenders, which will protect us on the counter-attack, and I’ll even drop Gago
for Maxi because he plays for Boca and I don’t like them.’
Lastly #error5, which is in from Day 3 as I somehow forgot to make
note of it,
Wayne Rooney thought,
‘I’ll take this corner, show them how its done’
Switzerland for me was a bit of a shock. For some reason I again
held high hopes for Ecuador. I have done this a few times with either them or
Paraguay and have been let down. But this time in South America, I thought they
would comfortably win.
Switzerland beat Spain last World Cup, and have Otmar Hitzfeld as
their coach. And it shows, they genuinely played some good football. They have
some players who are also at big clubs. They have moved from light horse, to
dark horse.
In the second match, Honduras proved they are definitely among the
lightest horses in the Cup. And France, well, I can never shake the feeling
that they are going to implode. Pogba almost did. He lashed out, and whilst it
was more a swipe than a kick, Beckham saw red for less. Much to my
delight.
Benzema did look very good though, and he made a strong push for my
team of Round 1. Would like to hear your nominations too.
The story of the day though was always going to be about the
strongest horse in the field. And in particular, the jockey of that horse.
I’m going to do a detailed analysis of La Seleccion for those that
are interested. But for now, just a snippet. Just don't be the next person to ask why Tevez didn't get picked.
A game of two halves two halves, two Argentinas, two Messi’s. The
second half one, fluid, swift, rhythmic and almost breathtaking. Still a couple
of shades off what we were in qualifying.
The first half one, one dimensional, boring, safe, unimaginative,
restricted. It was 45 minutes of stress and anxiety that took me 4 and half
years closer to baldness. It was as if our only way to score was through Messi
dribbling it from 30 or 40 metres through 8 players. Yes it's ironic that he did
dribble it from that far in the 2nd half, but in my analysis I'll explain why
and how he was able to do that in the 2nd half and not the 1st.
Either way, we have to get better. We have to be more of a team.
Messi has to give more responsibility away to the team. He can't do it alone. No
one ever did.
Not even Diego.
Having said all that, I was reminded by a gaffer of how we take his
goals for granted. So true. It was some goal! Honda’s goal was half as special,
but we are so accustomed to seeing it with Leo. And the outpour of emotion was
special. I don’t think we can even imagine the amount of pressure on him over
these last few months. I'm not sure a footballer has ever been under so much
pressure coming into a World Cup.
Anyway, I’m so happy for the kid. But we must get better. VAMOS
CARAJO!
Note: I've also changed the comments section so you don't need an account to comment below. Or on facebook. Either way, interested to hear others experiences and thoughts so far.
Wow Wow Wow. What a Day. A case of entertainment induced insomnia. I promised myself before today I would sleep after each match to maintain sanity. Or skip a match or two that gets boring. But thats impossible at the moment because the quality of football being produced is ridiculously high. Naturally I have been awake since 1:30 am after 3 hours sleep.
Caffeine is also my friend.
We could talk a million things like James Rodriguez, Joe Campbell, Bryan Ruiz, and Keisuke Honda. Or the absence of Uruguay, or the overall quality and unique system of Italians. Great job Cesare.
But the day belonged to one man. One man and his beard.
Without exaggerating, I repeat, without exaggerating, what a blessing to have again watched this man paint his passes all over a football pitch. He represents so much for futbol. He was, and is way ahead of everyone on the football pitch and when he stood next to Wellbeck, you could not help but laugh at the athletic figure of Danny. At least I couldn't, I seriously fell off my recliner.
Beyond his immaculate technique, variety, and tempo, the Grand message is that, Pirlo plays, how Pirlo likes to play...
Coaches need to sit and think about this...
Grazie Andrea
Quote of the day - Thierry Henry
Tomorrow - VAMOS ARGENTINA LPMQLP!!!!!
Fact - The free-kick foam shaver spray invention started in Argentina. And while we are on it, how about the respect the referees and the foam has for Pirlo. I have seen about 5 boots been sprayed with foam in this hilarious process. This morning though, the spray stopped short and bowed at his majesty’s boot. #CLASS
Funny foam moment
Day 4 Guest Picker
Emmanuel Zunino from Rio Cuarto, Argentina
Ecuador 2 Switzerland 1
France 5 Honduras 1
Argentina 3 Bosnia 0 ; Messi 2 (1 pen), Di maria or Aguero
Diario Ole can kick it off again, ‘Suck on this Oranje’ , classicallysubtle from the Argies.
What a masterclass! LVG showing why he is so respected among his peers. Literally, every world class manager, mentions LVG in some form of high praise and respect.
Furthermore this match proves the continued rise of the pragmatic game. And yes, you’ll be happy to hear that I continue to be harrassed for it.
Tactical trends are not new, but at least we will see who really believes in a philosophy because it is how they like, love, and believe in playing football, and those who were merely adapting to something foreign to save their job. Which is also why the Socceroos performance was going to be as interesting.
Thank god they finally settled after 20 minutes or so. Thank god for Cahill’s extraordinary heading ability. And Chile will be thanking god that match is out of the way and they survived with the 3 points. Top performers for me were Ryan, Cahill and Leckie. Ryans distribution was world class, and he also demonstrated a great John Crawley stand up and wait 1v1 save to keep Aus in the match at 2-1.
On the red side, Alexis Sanchez turning ability is ridiculous, and another Barca player to revel in a more flexible role with his National side. It poses a few questions. None I’m willing to try answer right now.
In the end, after a fair few suspect decisions, we seemed to lack the energy to press hard enough to create something clear on goal. Our substitutions didn't quite add pressure on Chile and lift the tempo to get the equalizer. Also, we unluckily had to sacrifice a change for an injury.
The margins are small at the top.
4 years ago, Arjen had his 1v1 saved by Casillas in the Final at 0-0. On day 2, four years later, Arjen mad him pay..
Feel I have to get my thoughts down somewhere to save all my friends
and family from the daily clog of status updates and tweets, credit to Ben
Levi. So here is my World Cup Dear Diaries.
Day 1
Headline of the day,
‘JUGO ROBINHO’ via Diario Ole.
Translating to, 'Robinho Played', hinting the referee, helped rob all three points.
Sad but true, Croatia deserved a point, if not could have got more.
Fred and Referinho (credit to Anna Ole) must share the blame here. The former for not playing in the
right spirit of the game, he could have easily stayed up and produced a shot on
the turn, and the latter for being so easily fooled.
Positively though, Neymar shone. Being allowed to roam free, he
along with Oscar took the game to Croatia when Brazil looked flat. It must pose
some thoughts and ideas to Barca of how to get more out of him. Was he too
restricted this year? Maybe.
Croatia also must get a mention. Olic was a good outlet, and whats not to love about a Modric/Rakitic midfield. They also set up defensively very well and stifled
the home team to the point of a Mexican wave going around. :o I love Mexican
waves, and in continuing with my last suggested repercussion of Mexican Waves,
Brazil should now be banned from holding international football matches..
To tomorrow
We are blessed. What a day of football. The World cup Final replay
is sure to be 1000 passes vs an Orange Bus. And then the supposed belting of
the Socceroos.
I hope Australia does well. Ange represents a positive change
forward for football here. There is a chance. His attacking wing play style has
a chance against a high line attacking Chile.
Brain Prediction, Chile 3 Aus 1
Emotional Prediction, Aus 2 Chile 1 (don’t laugh).
Last Thought
Marcelo, could not have happened to a nicer bloke. Well, maybe Pepe.
