Day -432 WorldCup2018
I had a thought earlier today that I was going to write about. Then something else happened, and something else. And more. And here I am now watching Toronto FC and I could write a chapter of a book. I'll go backwards.
Toronto are playing one of MLS's new teams this season, Atlanta United. Kenwyne Jones has just come on for Atlanta. You may, like me, remember him as a player who flopped around with Sunderland, Stoke and Cardiff. He always seemed to be throwing himself around in the opposition penalty area without too much success. His long dreadlocks made him very noticeable but I cannot ever noticing him for a moment of skill. And here he is, coming on as a late substitute for Atlanta, alongside Tyron Mears who played in England with a bunch of clubs including West Ham and Bolton. And their manager? Gerardo Martino, former manager of Paraguay and, up until last August, Argentina. A celebrity coach in the MLS. And he's got his team playing with a lot of South American flair. They're fun to watch and they've been scoring a lot. But I wonder what Martino thinks about the MLS, and especially the referees.
I'm a defender of the MLS, which can be such an easy target for ridicule. "Football in America? Bah! They don't know what they're doing." But you've got to watch it every week to know it's come a long way and I, the Euro snob, enjoy it. However, today I had to cringe a couple of times and expect the worst reaction possible.
In the second half, TFC defender Zavaleta's head had a collision with the elbow of Atlanta's Asad. As Zavaleta rolled around on the ground, the ref had a word with Asad and seemed to indicate that he was getting away with a warning and a "move along." Then it got MLS embarrassing/weird. It looked like it was all over except for Zavaleta receiving some treatment. But as we watched the replay on TV, it looked like it was a combination of Zavaleta trying to obstruct Asad and Asad trying to get his arm out from behind Zavaleta. Whether it was a foul or deserving of a card was not yet the weird bit. It became obvious from the crowd's increased jeering and booing that they had also seen the replay on the big screens in the stadium. When it came back to the live action, players were arguing and coaches were gesticulating. All of a sudden the ref decided he had to consult his assistant on the line (can't I just say the linesman?) and the 4th official. But he had done nothing in the thirty seconds immediately after the incident. He had made his decision and video replays don't exist in MLS yet. But the home crowd was incensed by what they saw and rather than ignore it, the ref decided to re-examine his decision. It was an unofficial video review. And it came as no surprise when Asad was shown the red card. Incredible. Martino almost lost it, repeatedly pointing a finger and yelling at the linesman? The 4th official? Greg Vanney, the TFC manager? Martino's assistant did lose it and was sent off. And he marched down the tunnel, yapping away, probably saying something in Spanish to the effect of what a joke league this is, with amateur referees.
I'd already had my doubts about the ref in the first half when another incident made me think I'd have to write about it, while still defending the MLS. It seems trivial compared to the red card. Armando Cooper, TFC's midfielder tussled with an opponent and as they both fell to the ground the ref awarded a free kick, on the halfway line, to Atlanta. The Atlanta player (sorry, no name) tried to get up quickly and take the free kick. However, Cooper was still pretty much attached to him and his kick hit Cooper. The Atlanta players, and probably the TFC ones too, expected the ref to blow his whistle, tell Cooper to move back the regulation distance and have the free kick re-taken. He could have even shown Cooper a yellow card for not allowing the free-kick to be taken. But no. As the ball rebounded off Cooper and pretty much gave him possession, and as the Atlanta player stared at the ref awaiting the whistle, the ref shrugged his shoulders ("what was wrong with that?") and allowed Cooper to release Giovinco for a very good goal scoring opportunity. The ref's reaction was priceless: the shrug of the shoulders and the "so what" attitude. Oh, if Toronto had scored! Martino's assistant probably wouldn't even have been on the bench to be sent off in the second half.
Aside from all the fun with the officiating, it was n exciting, end to end match. And despite the dubious officiating, it was a good advert for the MLS and the quality that exists. It finished 2-2 and there were lots of opportunities for it to be higher scoring than that.
Giovinco scored his first goal of the season, and it was a beauty of a move and goal. Altidore flicked the ball on perfectly for Giovinco, but other than that Altidore looked like the Altidore of Sunderland when he couldn't score a goal if he was standing on the goal line in front of an open goal. A bit like Vincent Janssen. But more of that to come.
Time to insert a random bit of news: on Monday the football associations of Canada, Mexico and the USA will officially announce a joint bid for the 2020 World Cup. The thinkers at Fifa are already trying to figure how their formula for qualifying spots and the six team play-off is going to work with three countries co-hosting.
Much earlier in this day of football I made the effort to watch Tottenham-Watford online. Spurs were enjoying themselves and Son Heung-min scored a couple of pretty tasty goals. After the second one he celebrated in front of a camera, holding up all his fingers indicating, presumably, that he had scored 10 goals this season. When he was interviewed after the match he was asked about how happy he is that he's reached double digits for the season.
"I'm ecstatic, really, really happy. In a way I'm lucky that Harry Kane has been out injured and I've had the opportunity to play more and show what a good player I am. It's a fantastic feeling to be scoring and I'm looking forward to scoring many, many more for Spurs and for South Korea at next year's World Cup. Yes! What a feeling! And did you see how good my goals were. Ok, for the first one the Watford defence let me set myself and pick my target but it was still a damn good shot. And the second one? That was not easy, it took some real skill," is what Son didn't say. This is what Son sort of said:
"Yes, it was nice to score. But the three points are what matters. And I thank my team mates. We are all working hard and blah, blah, blah....." (has the golf started yet?)
Son, really? You were over the moon happy on the pitch after your goals. The huge, open mouth smile, the little jig with Dele Alli. Why can't you just say that you're so happy for yourself? Why all the media training, polite crap? Speak your mind, Son. Be happy in your happiness.
Son could have also said:
"Well, you know it was even more special when you think we were a player short the whole match. And I wish the police or stewards had noticed earlier that there was a fan on the pitch wearing a Spurs shirt. His name must have been Janssen because he had had it printed on the back of his shirt. How nobody couldn't have noticed sooner that he wasn't a a real footballer is beyond me. Remember when that Fred character scored for Brazil in the World Cup when the ball hit him when he happened to be standing a foot in front of the goal. All of us in the Korean team thought, "even Fred couldn't miss that." This guy with Janssen on his shirt was really bad. He couldn't even score when the ball hit him on his leg and he was standing a foot in front of an open goal. Thankfully, the gaffer finally noticed and rather than make a big security deal about it, he just pretended he was a Spurs player and pretended to have him substituted."
And I think that was that for today. Oh, one more. Aston Villa didn't win today. They drew 1-1, only the second goal conceded in forever. But, more importantly, with the way other results went I think I can stop dreaming the dream that I wasn't really dreaming. And for the first time in my life as a Villa fan I will be watching them for two consecutive seasons outside of the top division.
I had a thought earlier today that I was going to write about. Then something else happened, and something else. And more. And here I am now watching Toronto FC and I could write a chapter of a book. I'll go backwards.
Toronto are playing one of MLS's new teams this season, Atlanta United. Kenwyne Jones has just come on for Atlanta. You may, like me, remember him as a player who flopped around with Sunderland, Stoke and Cardiff. He always seemed to be throwing himself around in the opposition penalty area without too much success. His long dreadlocks made him very noticeable but I cannot ever noticing him for a moment of skill. And here he is, coming on as a late substitute for Atlanta, alongside Tyron Mears who played in England with a bunch of clubs including West Ham and Bolton. And their manager? Gerardo Martino, former manager of Paraguay and, up until last August, Argentina. A celebrity coach in the MLS. And he's got his team playing with a lot of South American flair. They're fun to watch and they've been scoring a lot. But I wonder what Martino thinks about the MLS, and especially the referees.
I'm a defender of the MLS, which can be such an easy target for ridicule. "Football in America? Bah! They don't know what they're doing." But you've got to watch it every week to know it's come a long way and I, the Euro snob, enjoy it. However, today I had to cringe a couple of times and expect the worst reaction possible.
In the second half, TFC defender Zavaleta's head had a collision with the elbow of Atlanta's Asad. As Zavaleta rolled around on the ground, the ref had a word with Asad and seemed to indicate that he was getting away with a warning and a "move along." Then it got MLS embarrassing/weird. It looked like it was all over except for Zavaleta receiving some treatment. But as we watched the replay on TV, it looked like it was a combination of Zavaleta trying to obstruct Asad and Asad trying to get his arm out from behind Zavaleta. Whether it was a foul or deserving of a card was not yet the weird bit. It became obvious from the crowd's increased jeering and booing that they had also seen the replay on the big screens in the stadium. When it came back to the live action, players were arguing and coaches were gesticulating. All of a sudden the ref decided he had to consult his assistant on the line (can't I just say the linesman?) and the 4th official. But he had done nothing in the thirty seconds immediately after the incident. He had made his decision and video replays don't exist in MLS yet. But the home crowd was incensed by what they saw and rather than ignore it, the ref decided to re-examine his decision. It was an unofficial video review. And it came as no surprise when Asad was shown the red card. Incredible. Martino almost lost it, repeatedly pointing a finger and yelling at the linesman? The 4th official? Greg Vanney, the TFC manager? Martino's assistant did lose it and was sent off. And he marched down the tunnel, yapping away, probably saying something in Spanish to the effect of what a joke league this is, with amateur referees.
I'd already had my doubts about the ref in the first half when another incident made me think I'd have to write about it, while still defending the MLS. It seems trivial compared to the red card. Armando Cooper, TFC's midfielder tussled with an opponent and as they both fell to the ground the ref awarded a free kick, on the halfway line, to Atlanta. The Atlanta player (sorry, no name) tried to get up quickly and take the free kick. However, Cooper was still pretty much attached to him and his kick hit Cooper. The Atlanta players, and probably the TFC ones too, expected the ref to blow his whistle, tell Cooper to move back the regulation distance and have the free kick re-taken. He could have even shown Cooper a yellow card for not allowing the free-kick to be taken. But no. As the ball rebounded off Cooper and pretty much gave him possession, and as the Atlanta player stared at the ref awaiting the whistle, the ref shrugged his shoulders ("what was wrong with that?") and allowed Cooper to release Giovinco for a very good goal scoring opportunity. The ref's reaction was priceless: the shrug of the shoulders and the "so what" attitude. Oh, if Toronto had scored! Martino's assistant probably wouldn't even have been on the bench to be sent off in the second half.
Aside from all the fun with the officiating, it was n exciting, end to end match. And despite the dubious officiating, it was a good advert for the MLS and the quality that exists. It finished 2-2 and there were lots of opportunities for it to be higher scoring than that.
Giovinco scored his first goal of the season, and it was a beauty of a move and goal. Altidore flicked the ball on perfectly for Giovinco, but other than that Altidore looked like the Altidore of Sunderland when he couldn't score a goal if he was standing on the goal line in front of an open goal. A bit like Vincent Janssen. But more of that to come.
Time to insert a random bit of news: on Monday the football associations of Canada, Mexico and the USA will officially announce a joint bid for the 2020 World Cup. The thinkers at Fifa are already trying to figure how their formula for qualifying spots and the six team play-off is going to work with three countries co-hosting.
Much earlier in this day of football I made the effort to watch Tottenham-Watford online. Spurs were enjoying themselves and Son Heung-min scored a couple of pretty tasty goals. After the second one he celebrated in front of a camera, holding up all his fingers indicating, presumably, that he had scored 10 goals this season. When he was interviewed after the match he was asked about how happy he is that he's reached double digits for the season.
"I'm ecstatic, really, really happy. In a way I'm lucky that Harry Kane has been out injured and I've had the opportunity to play more and show what a good player I am. It's a fantastic feeling to be scoring and I'm looking forward to scoring many, many more for Spurs and for South Korea at next year's World Cup. Yes! What a feeling! And did you see how good my goals were. Ok, for the first one the Watford defence let me set myself and pick my target but it was still a damn good shot. And the second one? That was not easy, it took some real skill," is what Son didn't say. This is what Son sort of said:
"Yes, it was nice to score. But the three points are what matters. And I thank my team mates. We are all working hard and blah, blah, blah....." (has the golf started yet?)
Son, really? You were over the moon happy on the pitch after your goals. The huge, open mouth smile, the little jig with Dele Alli. Why can't you just say that you're so happy for yourself? Why all the media training, polite crap? Speak your mind, Son. Be happy in your happiness.
Son could have also said:
"Well, you know it was even more special when you think we were a player short the whole match. And I wish the police or stewards had noticed earlier that there was a fan on the pitch wearing a Spurs shirt. His name must have been Janssen because he had had it printed on the back of his shirt. How nobody couldn't have noticed sooner that he wasn't a a real footballer is beyond me. Remember when that Fred character scored for Brazil in the World Cup when the ball hit him when he happened to be standing a foot in front of the goal. All of us in the Korean team thought, "even Fred couldn't miss that." This guy with Janssen on his shirt was really bad. He couldn't even score when the ball hit him on his leg and he was standing a foot in front of an open goal. Thankfully, the gaffer finally noticed and rather than make a big security deal about it, he just pretended he was a Spurs player and pretended to have him substituted."
And I think that was that for today. Oh, one more. Aston Villa didn't win today. They drew 1-1, only the second goal conceded in forever. But, more importantly, with the way other results went I think I can stop dreaming the dream that I wasn't really dreaming. And for the first time in my life as a Villa fan I will be watching them for two consecutive seasons outside of the top division.
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