Day 27. What happened in Brazil today.
Zico said that football died on that day in 1982 when Italy beat that
incredibly talented, freestyle like Brazilian team. And today? Maybe
football as Brazil has ever known it, died. Maybe every sense of pride
felt by every Brazilian in the Selecao, died forever, or was ripped away
by the birth of a German team that will go down in history.
Today really was
unbelievable. It was a sports story beyond football. The hosts, the
country looking for redemption for 1950, torn apart not only by the
Germans but also by their own embarrassing ineptitude. It was so
embarrassing that I joked that it reminded me of the days of watching
Malta concede goal after goal and how we pleaded with the referee to at
least award us an in-existent penalty.
Brazil were absolutely
terrible. Germany were simply outstanding. You put the two together and
you would rarely get that result. Germany were so ruthlessly brilliant
that it produced a canyon between excellence and mediocrity that I don't think
we will see again for a long time
What more to say. 7-1.
Seven. In a world cup semi-final. Brazil lost 7-1. No German player,
honestly, could have imagined this. What would my other idols,
McIlvenny, Lawton and Parkinson say about this. I'm so in awe of what
Germany did, and so shocked by how bad Brazil were that I can't even
bring myself to imagine the conversations between Big Phil and Neymar
tonight. But at least David Luiz had time for a prayer at the end.
For all my taunting of Fred and Hulk and co. I never thought it would
end like this. But it could be that their luck ran out today. There was
little skill before today, all graft and passion. Today, the Germans
said that counts for nothing.
I feel the dream of beautiful
Brazilian football is over. Is it even harder to go back to 1982 now? Or
will they finally realize that playing the way that is their way, the
1982 way, is what they have to do.
What a World Cup this has been. Germany took it to a whole new level today. Simply outstanding.
Saturday, 2 August 2014
Who needs talent when you've got Fred?
Day 25. What happened today in Brazil.
I'll take a day of rest and give you one from me and my ramblings and only say two things.
Luis Suarez's appetite for opponents' shoulders may end up being a good thing for Liverpool as they go about spending the expected 70-80 million pounds they will get for him from Barcelona. After Lambert, Lallana and Emre Can, now they look like they will get Lovren (Croatia), Origi (Belgium) and Markovic (Serbia). And how many English players are being bought by non-English teams? Makes you wonder....doesn't make you proud...to play for England....(reference: 1982 England World Cup song B side.....and don't go asking me what a B side is).
And as the debate rages, between me and myself, about how Brazil, version 2014, are nothing like Brazil version 1982 (who lost before the semis) this is what Carlos Perreira said about Brazil 1994: (Perriera was the manager in 1994, when Brazil beat Italy in the final, on penalties, and even Brazilians were lamenting how un-Brazilian the team were. Perreira is now the technical director with Big Phil) "The World Cup was a short competition and we wanted to win it with the talents we had at hand. I still hear we didn’t play beautiful football. But what is beauty? To me it’s to be efficient. We were unbeaten champions and that will never change.” Discuss and reflect as you think about Brazil's only player of flair lying in a hospital bed somewhere while his team mates (Fred and co.) try to make him a world champion.
I'll take a day of rest and give you one from me and my ramblings and only say two things.
Luis Suarez's appetite for opponents' shoulders may end up being a good thing for Liverpool as they go about spending the expected 70-80 million pounds they will get for him from Barcelona. After Lambert, Lallana and Emre Can, now they look like they will get Lovren (Croatia), Origi (Belgium) and Markovic (Serbia). And how many English players are being bought by non-English teams? Makes you wonder....doesn't make you proud...to play for England....(reference: 1982 England World Cup song B side.....and don't go asking me what a B side is).
And as the debate rages, between me and myself, about how Brazil, version 2014, are nothing like Brazil version 1982 (who lost before the semis) this is what Carlos Perreira said about Brazil 1994: (Perriera was the manager in 1994, when Brazil beat Italy in the final, on penalties, and even Brazilians were lamenting how un-Brazilian the team were. Perreira is now the technical director with Big Phil) "The World Cup was a short competition and we wanted to win it with the talents we had at hand. I still hear we didn’t play beautiful football. But what is beauty? To me it’s to be efficient. We were unbeaten champions and that will never change.” Discuss and reflect as you think about Brazil's only player of flair lying in a hospital bed somewhere while his team mates (Fred and co.) try to make him a world champion.
We're boring, but we win.
Day 24. What happened today in Brazil.
Today's exciting stories in the world:
Mark Cavendish fell and dislocated his shoulder in the first stage of the Tour de France.
Petra Kvitova won the ladies singles at Wimbledon.
Toronto Fc lost at home to DC United.
The three time defending hot dog eating champion of the contest held every year in Coney Island lost her title.
A car caught fire in Malta.
Costa Rica and Holland played a football match in Brazil.
And I really could stop there, other than to tell you, in case you have other things you are interested in right now, about the last minute of the 120 minutes. At 0-0 and it obviously going to penalties, Holland changed their goalkeeper. I only hope that it was planned and spoken about beforehand, because if I was the regular goalkeeper my confidence would have taken a real bashing if I thought my coach didn't think I was good enough. But there was the fairytale ending with the sub goalie saving 2 penalties, and Holland are in the semis.
Now, we all expect the quarter finals to be tight. Nobody wants to make a mistake, no team wants to risk giving away a cheap goal and be out after coming so far. But this really was ridiculous. Holland didn't have a shot on goal for 40 consecutive minutes. Costa Rica, the neutrals' favourite team, had a game plan. Defend for 90 minutes, then another 30, get to the penalties and hope to get lucky. Yes, the important thing is winning, entertainment is an occasional by product. Go ahead, call me a terrible heartless cynic but, unlike what I read all over the place, Costa Rica did not play a wonderful game. They could barely put three passes together. When Holland did shoot they hit the post three times, had a shot cleared off the line, and were a little tame in their finishing. To top it all off, Van Persie had the chance right at the end to put us out of our misery, but couldn't decide whether to stick his head or foot out and ended up crumpling into a heap of forlorn footballer. Holland were not much better than Costa Rica but they did try to win. They were centimetres away from scoring and that would have completely messed up Costa Rica's game plan. That the plan almost succeeded was mostly down to the Dutch missing, rather than the Costa Rican's bravery.
So why do we keep watching? Hidden deep under that mediocrity is the excitement of knowing that there is going to be an outcome. The battle will end, and one team will be out and the other on their way to the semi-finals. The event is exciting for the outcome. Pity about the process.
Of course with nothing much happening on the pitch my eyes wondered, with the help of the cameras, to Patrick Kluivert, the Dutch assistant manager. I've always been slightly amused by his presence on the Dutch bench. He looks like the kid brought along to the important meetings by his father. There's Louis Van Gaal, and the other men who look like they have a plan and system to put in place. And then there's Patrick, following along with scribbles in his notebook (probably writing down the questions he's going to ask later, or trying to figure out how the 30 minutes of extra time is broken into 2 halves. Important disclaimer: Patrick Kluivert is probably a very smart man, who was hired because he does a good job, and I know nothing about his personality and these are all good natured suppositions). Patrick was a pretty decent player, but he seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when he played that made Van Persie's strut look like a timid walk. Patrick strutted around with the look of "I'm better than everybody else around me and I will score when I want to". Today I think he was really baffled as to what his assistant managerial duties were, so in an effort to seem interested, he kept putting pen to notebook. The most entertaining was when he wrote something down just as soon as Van Gaal did. "I wonder what Louis wrote. I hope mine is as good. Maybe I can peak while he's watching the game". As the monotony on the pitch reached epic proportions, Patrick was hard at work on his notebook. The opinions as to what he was doing varied from doodling, to hangman, to tic tac toe (xoxo). Now I think he was probably writing down ideas for his next birthday (see below).
Holland-Costa Rica followed Argentina's 1-0 win over Belgium. Argentina weren't great, Belgium were pretty bad. The best thing about it was how great it is to see Messi playing like he is the best player in the world. He still had not reached the Maradona levels, but I have a sneaky suspicion he is timing his peak to happen in the next 2 matches. Just as he suddenly kicks into 5th gear with the ball at his feet in any match, I believe he is going to hit Formula 1, down the straightaway, speed at any moment. Today he was helped by Higuain actually looking interested. Higuain scored the only goal off a very lucky deflection that gave him the ball but he still needed a pretty good finish. It was sad for the purists that he didn't score when he ran at the Belgian defence, nutmegged Kompany and hit his shot off the crossbar. That would have made for a more satisfying win than the early goal and kill the game kind of win that happened.
Watching Argentina is more entertaining for their fans who take over every stadium they play in and seem to have staked a claim to ownership of Copocabana beach. Their singing adds an atmosphere element that only the Brazilians seem able to match (as seen on TV). The chants back and forth have started even before a possible meeting in the final. Argentinians taunt the Brazilians with something on the lines of, "Brazil, how does it feel to be bossed around in your own back yard", to which the Brazilians in their stadium reply; "five times champions". How can we have a Holland-Germany final when the whole World Cup has seemed like a build up to Messi scoring a last minute winner against Brazil in the final.
I have enjoyed this World Cup immensley. There's been great football, especially in the first round, the big players have shone, not frozen, lots of excitement and passion and Brazil seems to be living up to it's name as the cradle of football civilization. So I will take a few tedious 0-0s. After all, in a week it will all be over for 4 years. But at least I'll have 4 years to plan how to get to Russia.
Patrick Kluivert, celebrating his 38th birthday with Van Persie.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nfQSCNfbzQ
Today's exciting stories in the world:
Mark Cavendish fell and dislocated his shoulder in the first stage of the Tour de France.
Petra Kvitova won the ladies singles at Wimbledon.
Toronto Fc lost at home to DC United.
The three time defending hot dog eating champion of the contest held every year in Coney Island lost her title.
A car caught fire in Malta.
Costa Rica and Holland played a football match in Brazil.
And I really could stop there, other than to tell you, in case you have other things you are interested in right now, about the last minute of the 120 minutes. At 0-0 and it obviously going to penalties, Holland changed their goalkeeper. I only hope that it was planned and spoken about beforehand, because if I was the regular goalkeeper my confidence would have taken a real bashing if I thought my coach didn't think I was good enough. But there was the fairytale ending with the sub goalie saving 2 penalties, and Holland are in the semis.
Now, we all expect the quarter finals to be tight. Nobody wants to make a mistake, no team wants to risk giving away a cheap goal and be out after coming so far. But this really was ridiculous. Holland didn't have a shot on goal for 40 consecutive minutes. Costa Rica, the neutrals' favourite team, had a game plan. Defend for 90 minutes, then another 30, get to the penalties and hope to get lucky. Yes, the important thing is winning, entertainment is an occasional by product. Go ahead, call me a terrible heartless cynic but, unlike what I read all over the place, Costa Rica did not play a wonderful game. They could barely put three passes together. When Holland did shoot they hit the post three times, had a shot cleared off the line, and were a little tame in their finishing. To top it all off, Van Persie had the chance right at the end to put us out of our misery, but couldn't decide whether to stick his head or foot out and ended up crumpling into a heap of forlorn footballer. Holland were not much better than Costa Rica but they did try to win. They were centimetres away from scoring and that would have completely messed up Costa Rica's game plan. That the plan almost succeeded was mostly down to the Dutch missing, rather than the Costa Rican's bravery.
So why do we keep watching? Hidden deep under that mediocrity is the excitement of knowing that there is going to be an outcome. The battle will end, and one team will be out and the other on their way to the semi-finals. The event is exciting for the outcome. Pity about the process.
Of course with nothing much happening on the pitch my eyes wondered, with the help of the cameras, to Patrick Kluivert, the Dutch assistant manager. I've always been slightly amused by his presence on the Dutch bench. He looks like the kid brought along to the important meetings by his father. There's Louis Van Gaal, and the other men who look like they have a plan and system to put in place. And then there's Patrick, following along with scribbles in his notebook (probably writing down the questions he's going to ask later, or trying to figure out how the 30 minutes of extra time is broken into 2 halves. Important disclaimer: Patrick Kluivert is probably a very smart man, who was hired because he does a good job, and I know nothing about his personality and these are all good natured suppositions). Patrick was a pretty decent player, but he seemed to have a chip on his shoulder when he played that made Van Persie's strut look like a timid walk. Patrick strutted around with the look of "I'm better than everybody else around me and I will score when I want to". Today I think he was really baffled as to what his assistant managerial duties were, so in an effort to seem interested, he kept putting pen to notebook. The most entertaining was when he wrote something down just as soon as Van Gaal did. "I wonder what Louis wrote. I hope mine is as good. Maybe I can peak while he's watching the game". As the monotony on the pitch reached epic proportions, Patrick was hard at work on his notebook. The opinions as to what he was doing varied from doodling, to hangman, to tic tac toe (xoxo). Now I think he was probably writing down ideas for his next birthday (see below).
Holland-Costa Rica followed Argentina's 1-0 win over Belgium. Argentina weren't great, Belgium were pretty bad. The best thing about it was how great it is to see Messi playing like he is the best player in the world. He still had not reached the Maradona levels, but I have a sneaky suspicion he is timing his peak to happen in the next 2 matches. Just as he suddenly kicks into 5th gear with the ball at his feet in any match, I believe he is going to hit Formula 1, down the straightaway, speed at any moment. Today he was helped by Higuain actually looking interested. Higuain scored the only goal off a very lucky deflection that gave him the ball but he still needed a pretty good finish. It was sad for the purists that he didn't score when he ran at the Belgian defence, nutmegged Kompany and hit his shot off the crossbar. That would have made for a more satisfying win than the early goal and kill the game kind of win that happened.
Watching Argentina is more entertaining for their fans who take over every stadium they play in and seem to have staked a claim to ownership of Copocabana beach. Their singing adds an atmosphere element that only the Brazilians seem able to match (as seen on TV). The chants back and forth have started even before a possible meeting in the final. Argentinians taunt the Brazilians with something on the lines of, "Brazil, how does it feel to be bossed around in your own back yard", to which the Brazilians in their stadium reply; "five times champions". How can we have a Holland-Germany final when the whole World Cup has seemed like a build up to Messi scoring a last minute winner against Brazil in the final.
I have enjoyed this World Cup immensley. There's been great football, especially in the first round, the big players have shone, not frozen, lots of excitement and passion and Brazil seems to be living up to it's name as the cradle of football civilization. So I will take a few tedious 0-0s. After all, in a week it will all be over for 4 years. But at least I'll have 4 years to plan how to get to Russia.
Patrick Kluivert, celebrating his 38th birthday with Van Persie.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nfQSCNfbzQ
All praise the round ball and those who kick it!
Day 23. What happened today in Brazil.
Somewhere in Brazil, maybe around the Maracana, there must be a sign that says, "Welcome to the Evangelical church of latter day Brazilian footballers. Come join us for praise and to give thanks on the morrow of every great Brazilian victory. Our Minister, Big Phil, will lead the joyous circle, while Preacher David Luiz offers the daily prayers" (and in small print) "our church was created to counter the negative influence on our youth left over from the fake positivity created by the over indulgence of those who believed they were above greatness, namely Socrates, Falcao, Zico, Cerezo and more".
Really, what is it with the Brazilian players and the constant, overly enthusiastic praise to the lord. Kaka used to reveal his I-love-Jesus shirt after he scored. Today we had Luiz and his two-hands-to-the-sky, on his knees, prayer after his goal and at the end. To each their own I say. If they believe, and that's their inspiration, good for them. But do we really believe that they believe? Many years ago David Bowie was part of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London. It was huge, and everybody was there. David Bowie came out on stage, and got down on one knee and asked the crowd to join him in reciting the lord's prayer, for Freddie, you know. The next day a journalist in an English newspaper wrote a wonderful article about the hypocrisy and fakeness of that moment. Who was to believe that Bowie, and the thousands and thousands of drunk and stoned fans, could really be genuine in asking the lord to take care of the very un-religious (through his behaviour) Freddie Mercury. The statement was not about the merits of religion, but the abuse, in a way, and convenience, of it's power. David Luiz....David Bowie.......
So Brazil are on their way to a semi final against Germany after beating Colombia 2-1. Again, it wasn't pretty, but there was a bit more drive about Brazil, which drove them to foul and foul and foul, in an attempt to stop Colombia showing them up for their own lack of creativity. And again, Hulk tried his hardest. He really did and with Neymar having an uninspiring day, it needed someone else to run at the Colombian defence. Fred was a again a mystery, so much so that I wonder what dirt he has on Big Phil, that has forced the coach to play him, or else all will be revealed. My favourite Fred moment today, on top of all the terrible touches, was when Maicon ran pretty much the length of the field down the wing, passed the ball to a teammate who quickly passed to Fred. Maicon had continued his run past Fred, but Fred decided to let the ball run through his legs, expecting Maicon to have stopped moving. The dummy tried the dummy and couldn't even get that right.
A sign of Brazil's reluctance, refusal even, to play good football was the second goal. Hulk was fouled by Rodriguez, not far from the Colombian penalty area. The ball rebounded to Fred just outside the penalty area and he had a clear run on, or shot at, goal. The referee stopped play for the foul rather than allowing a clear advantage for Fred. Not one Brazilian player complained. Why? Because, I bet they thought they had a better chance of scoring from a free kick than through Fred being one on one with the goalie. And so it was. David Luiz scored a beautiful goal from the free kick and Brazil looked home and dry, until a late Rodriguez penalty made for a nervy ending.
Of course, the terrible news for Brazil is that Neymar was kneed in the back, fractured a vertebra and is done, finished, no more World Cup. Thankfully, for him no surgery is required and the doctor says a few weeks of immobilization will see him recover. But for Brazil it is a disaster. Now the Brazilian team is going to have to form a circle around Neymar's bed and pray: Oh Great One! Now that we have lost the chosen one can you please help us by granting the chosen one's powers to another one who is only chosen by Big Phil because there is no other.
After all the players leave I can see Big Phil staying behind with Neymar.
Neymar: "It's ok, Big Phil, dont cry,"
Big Phil: "Oh Neymar what are we going to do? You were right, yes you were right. We cant do this with Uncle Fred and Cousin Jo and the Hulk"
Neymar: "but you heard the rest of the guys. The Great One will help us"
Big Phil "Neymar, even The Great One can't help us now. And I don't believe any of that anyway. It's only because of Fred, and, you know, how he found god....and the people....and....and......"
Neymar: "What Big phil, what is it?"
Big Phil: " Nothing, nothing...but he will play"
Neymar: "have faith"
Big Phil: "we are scewed, son, screwed.......
In the earlier game Germany beat France 1-0. I hate 1-0s, with a goal scored early on from set-piece, more than a 0-0. That's it? A header from a free- kick in the 12th minute and then shut up shop. At least with a 0-0, you know one team has to score at some point late in the game to win, or it will go to penalties. But this? Even France seemed to give up. I'm just surprised that the Bbc didn't call this game "turgid". It was close.
Somewhere in Brazil, maybe around the Maracana, there must be a sign that says, "Welcome to the Evangelical church of latter day Brazilian footballers. Come join us for praise and to give thanks on the morrow of every great Brazilian victory. Our Minister, Big Phil, will lead the joyous circle, while Preacher David Luiz offers the daily prayers" (and in small print) "our church was created to counter the negative influence on our youth left over from the fake positivity created by the over indulgence of those who believed they were above greatness, namely Socrates, Falcao, Zico, Cerezo and more".
Really, what is it with the Brazilian players and the constant, overly enthusiastic praise to the lord. Kaka used to reveal his I-love-Jesus shirt after he scored. Today we had Luiz and his two-hands-to-the-sky, on his knees, prayer after his goal and at the end. To each their own I say. If they believe, and that's their inspiration, good for them. But do we really believe that they believe? Many years ago David Bowie was part of the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in London. It was huge, and everybody was there. David Bowie came out on stage, and got down on one knee and asked the crowd to join him in reciting the lord's prayer, for Freddie, you know. The next day a journalist in an English newspaper wrote a wonderful article about the hypocrisy and fakeness of that moment. Who was to believe that Bowie, and the thousands and thousands of drunk and stoned fans, could really be genuine in asking the lord to take care of the very un-religious (through his behaviour) Freddie Mercury. The statement was not about the merits of religion, but the abuse, in a way, and convenience, of it's power. David Luiz....David Bowie.......
So Brazil are on their way to a semi final against Germany after beating Colombia 2-1. Again, it wasn't pretty, but there was a bit more drive about Brazil, which drove them to foul and foul and foul, in an attempt to stop Colombia showing them up for their own lack of creativity. And again, Hulk tried his hardest. He really did and with Neymar having an uninspiring day, it needed someone else to run at the Colombian defence. Fred was a again a mystery, so much so that I wonder what dirt he has on Big Phil, that has forced the coach to play him, or else all will be revealed. My favourite Fred moment today, on top of all the terrible touches, was when Maicon ran pretty much the length of the field down the wing, passed the ball to a teammate who quickly passed to Fred. Maicon had continued his run past Fred, but Fred decided to let the ball run through his legs, expecting Maicon to have stopped moving. The dummy tried the dummy and couldn't even get that right.
A sign of Brazil's reluctance, refusal even, to play good football was the second goal. Hulk was fouled by Rodriguez, not far from the Colombian penalty area. The ball rebounded to Fred just outside the penalty area and he had a clear run on, or shot at, goal. The referee stopped play for the foul rather than allowing a clear advantage for Fred. Not one Brazilian player complained. Why? Because, I bet they thought they had a better chance of scoring from a free kick than through Fred being one on one with the goalie. And so it was. David Luiz scored a beautiful goal from the free kick and Brazil looked home and dry, until a late Rodriguez penalty made for a nervy ending.
Of course, the terrible news for Brazil is that Neymar was kneed in the back, fractured a vertebra and is done, finished, no more World Cup. Thankfully, for him no surgery is required and the doctor says a few weeks of immobilization will see him recover. But for Brazil it is a disaster. Now the Brazilian team is going to have to form a circle around Neymar's bed and pray: Oh Great One! Now that we have lost the chosen one can you please help us by granting the chosen one's powers to another one who is only chosen by Big Phil because there is no other.
After all the players leave I can see Big Phil staying behind with Neymar.
Neymar: "It's ok, Big Phil, dont cry,"
Big Phil: "Oh Neymar what are we going to do? You were right, yes you were right. We cant do this with Uncle Fred and Cousin Jo and the Hulk"
Neymar: "but you heard the rest of the guys. The Great One will help us"
Big Phil "Neymar, even The Great One can't help us now. And I don't believe any of that anyway. It's only because of Fred, and, you know, how he found god....and the people....and....and......"
Neymar: "What Big phil, what is it?"
Big Phil: " Nothing, nothing...but he will play"
Neymar: "have faith"
Big Phil: "we are scewed, son, screwed.......
In the earlier game Germany beat France 1-0. I hate 1-0s, with a goal scored early on from set-piece, more than a 0-0. That's it? A header from a free- kick in the 12th minute and then shut up shop. At least with a 0-0, you know one team has to score at some point late in the game to win, or it will go to penalties. But this? Even France seemed to give up. I'm just surprised that the Bbc didn't call this game "turgid". It was close.
There's always football somewhere....Gibraltar?
Day 22. What happened today in Brazil.
Can I call yesterday Day 21 and today Day 22 when there was no football? My dilemma, do we count non-playing days as days of the World Cup? Not really a big a dilemma as: 1. how to watch both quarter finals tomorrow while stuck at work, with work that needs to be done, and 2. what to do on July 9th, second semi-final starts 4pm, Toronto time, me and family's flight leaves at 5.45pm. I could possibly be flying all night and not know the result. How will I write update on time?
Today feels like the World Cup is starting all over again. Two days of no play and now tomorrow and Saturday we get into the real nitty gritty. The wannabes are gone home and now the serious contenders are ready to do battle. Even Costa Rica have to be in that bracket. All credit to them, it was no fluke. Italy, Uruguay and England, and then the probably the hardest team to beat, Greece.....and they came through. Costa Rica....quarter final...I have to keep saying that to myself. Poor Holland, the pressure, what happens if they lose to the Ticos?
All the experts are busy predicting results. Who really knows? What's the difference between France and Germany, Argentina and Belgium.....Colombia and Brazil. Excuse the cliches, but really, who is going to step and shine. Who's going to do a Maradona, or Rossi. This is the time....Maradona against England in '86 and Rossi against Brazil in '82.
Meanwhile in the other football world, every Premiership club in England is checking their bank balances to see which World Cup star they can spend way too much money on. But in another football world, the one you may think starts happening in October, the Champions League and Europa League have started. Before players in the World Cup finish playing in the World Cup, and then go on vacation and then start pre-season training, there are clubs, who will not be able to afford any of those World Cup players, trying to get through qualifying rounds to get to the Holy Grail of the groups stage. Yesterday, after the excitement of Belgium-USA, in the Victoria stadium in Gibraltar, Lincoln, the Champions of Gibraltar, the first team from Gibraltar to play in European competitions, drew 1-1 with HB Tórshavn of the Faroe Islands. I wonder what Alex dos Santos, the Brazilian playing for HB Torshavn, thinks of Neymar and Fred and Jo. Countrymen, but a world apart.
Can I call yesterday Day 21 and today Day 22 when there was no football? My dilemma, do we count non-playing days as days of the World Cup? Not really a big a dilemma as: 1. how to watch both quarter finals tomorrow while stuck at work, with work that needs to be done, and 2. what to do on July 9th, second semi-final starts 4pm, Toronto time, me and family's flight leaves at 5.45pm. I could possibly be flying all night and not know the result. How will I write update on time?
Today feels like the World Cup is starting all over again. Two days of no play and now tomorrow and Saturday we get into the real nitty gritty. The wannabes are gone home and now the serious contenders are ready to do battle. Even Costa Rica have to be in that bracket. All credit to them, it was no fluke. Italy, Uruguay and England, and then the probably the hardest team to beat, Greece.....and they came through. Costa Rica....quarter final...I have to keep saying that to myself. Poor Holland, the pressure, what happens if they lose to the Ticos?
All the experts are busy predicting results. Who really knows? What's the difference between France and Germany, Argentina and Belgium.....Colombia and Brazil. Excuse the cliches, but really, who is going to step and shine. Who's going to do a Maradona, or Rossi. This is the time....Maradona against England in '86 and Rossi against Brazil in '82.
Meanwhile in the other football world, every Premiership club in England is checking their bank balances to see which World Cup star they can spend way too much money on. But in another football world, the one you may think starts happening in October, the Champions League and Europa League have started. Before players in the World Cup finish playing in the World Cup, and then go on vacation and then start pre-season training, there are clubs, who will not be able to afford any of those World Cup players, trying to get through qualifying rounds to get to the Holy Grail of the groups stage. Yesterday, after the excitement of Belgium-USA, in the Victoria stadium in Gibraltar, Lincoln, the Champions of Gibraltar, the first team from Gibraltar to play in European competitions, drew 1-1 with HB Tórshavn of the Faroe Islands. I wonder what Alex dos Santos, the Brazilian playing for HB Torshavn, thinks of Neymar and Fred and Jo. Countrymen, but a world apart.
The players rest...the fun never stops.
Day 21. What happened today in Brazil.
No play today but always action going on somewhere.
Tim Howard has become the hero in every American's eyes, for doing what he is supposed to do when standing between those 2 goalposts. So he made more saves than any goalkeeper in World Cup history (15) but that makes me, and other people who's comments I happily read online, think 2 things. One is, 15 shots? What was that defence, of who we've heard so much about how bravely they defended, doing? And I hope Belgium have some better finishing against Argentina.
Luis Suarez copied and pasted his apology from the last time he bit someone, the President of Barcelona thought it was a wonderful apology, Liverpool sighed a huge sigh of relief that somebody will pay ridiculous money to help them solve their moral issue, and today Barcelona and Liverpool started talking about a transfer.
Fifa are so impressed by the level of interest Americans are showing in football, that they think the US federation will make a bid for the 2026 world cup. Level of interest = huge market potential for Fifa.
Ottmar Hitzfield, coach of Switzerland, has gone one step further than some of the other coaches who resigned. He has quit football completely. Good for him. He's 65 and after everything he's won he deserves some peace and quiet. What does he plan to do in retirement? Work as a TV pundit. Very relaxing.
Fabio Capello, coach of Russia, has been called a thief by a couple of Russian politicians, for being paid 6 million pounds and achieving nothing. Bet he wishes he was back in England....or sitting alongside Hitzfield in a TV studio.
Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke said he is concerned by the high levels of drunkenness inside and outside stadiums in Brazil. This is the same man who was instrumental in getting the law in Brazil changed to allow beer to be sold in stadiums in Brazil.
Another rest day tomorrow....
No play today but always action going on somewhere.
Tim Howard has become the hero in every American's eyes, for doing what he is supposed to do when standing between those 2 goalposts. So he made more saves than any goalkeeper in World Cup history (15) but that makes me, and other people who's comments I happily read online, think 2 things. One is, 15 shots? What was that defence, of who we've heard so much about how bravely they defended, doing? And I hope Belgium have some better finishing against Argentina.
Luis Suarez copied and pasted his apology from the last time he bit someone, the President of Barcelona thought it was a wonderful apology, Liverpool sighed a huge sigh of relief that somebody will pay ridiculous money to help them solve their moral issue, and today Barcelona and Liverpool started talking about a transfer.
Fifa are so impressed by the level of interest Americans are showing in football, that they think the US federation will make a bid for the 2026 world cup. Level of interest = huge market potential for Fifa.
Ottmar Hitzfield, coach of Switzerland, has gone one step further than some of the other coaches who resigned. He has quit football completely. Good for him. He's 65 and after everything he's won he deserves some peace and quiet. What does he plan to do in retirement? Work as a TV pundit. Very relaxing.
Fabio Capello, coach of Russia, has been called a thief by a couple of Russian politicians, for being paid 6 million pounds and achieving nothing. Bet he wishes he was back in England....or sitting alongside Hitzfield in a TV studio.
Fifa General Secretary Jerome Valcke said he is concerned by the high levels of drunkenness inside and outside stadiums in Brazil. This is the same man who was instrumental in getting the law in Brazil changed to allow beer to be sold in stadiums in Brazil.
Another rest day tomorrow....
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