Uruguay took the longest, most difficult route to the World Cup, the last to qualify in South American and only after winning a playoff. No wonder they wanted to stick around so long. Let’s also give Holland its due: this team deserves its spot in the World Cup final. Holland has run the table in both qualifying and in the World Cup. …
Germany’s “Psychic” Octopus Predicts Victory for Spain!
Your World Cup Semi-Final Preview
The Reason Behind Germany’s Success: They’ve Got 13 Men!
It’s hard not to resort to cliche when looking at the intricate preparations undertaken by Germany when it comes to World Cup’s, or indeed anything they do in relation to football. But if they do go on to lift their fourth trophy next Sunday night at Soccer City, FIFA may well need to make some extra medals.
Worst Piece of Refereeing of the Tournament
No, not the goal line debacle in the England-Germany game, nor the various bizarro sendings off — and I’ll admit I won’t count the disallowed goal against the U.S. because the ref has never made clear what infringement he was calling, so it’s impossible to rate the error. But in tonight’s Spain-Paraguay nail-biter, I think I saw the …
Arrogance (Spain) 1 Excellence (Paraguay) 0
Against a Paraguayan team that seemed overmatched on paper, Spain looked like a weekend gardener trying to get a balky lawnmower going. No matter how many times it pulled the start cord, it couldn’t get its motor running. Only a late, somewhat fortunate goal by David Villa— in another game with crazy refereeing— afforded Spain a …
Here’s Professor Cranky!
So Spain wins on a 1-0 on a double-pooey-ricochette goal, after: a) a totally legitimate Paraguay goal is culled by an imaginary offsides ruling by the linesman (note to FIFA, check this man’s palms for hair growth, because his eye-sight is clearly defective); b) a totally legitimate Paraguay penalty is blocked, but not ordered …
What’s German For “Bada Bing”?
Germany put a big hurt on Argentina in Cape Town today, but there’s the distinct chance Diego Maradona’s squad isn’t feeling the pain: it never turned up for the match to take the pummelling.
Germany Shuts Argentina Up and Out, 4-0
One of the worst sins you can commit in a big game is to give up an early goal on a free kick. Coaches warn their teams about it all the time. Concentrate. Stick to the player you are marking. No free headers. Yet Thomas Müller left his marker for dead in the third minute of the game to get a head to Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free …
Uruguay Continues to Break African Hearts
Two weeks ago, Uruguay knocked the fight out of Bafana Bafana by beating the host nation 3-0. And now, due to some “gamesmanship” (if we’re being kind), the South Americans have defeated Africa’s remaining hope, Ghana, in controversial fashion.
See?
The two Ghana stars–including the supposed brilliant Mensah (hey, he plays in Europe. Must be good, right)–make mookie-stinks all over themselves not daring to Take The Freaking Shot, while the last shooter from Uruguay rubs their face (and that of the footballing world en masse) with a Pananenka! I don’t mean to rob Uruguay any of its …
Awaiting The Anti-Climax
Sorry, but I hate hate hate hate hate penalty shoot outs, and think they are as equitable a measure for deciding which of two equal sides is better as, say, making the two best rival player strip down stark naked at mid-field then, at the sound of a whistle, see which gets back into his kit faster. (Frankly, I think that solution would …
Boring Brazil Falls to Holland, 2-1
So much for the new Brazil. It’s not that this not-so-special team lost to Holland, 2-1, giving up two goals that your average MLS team would feel ashamed about. It’s that Brazil committed an even worse sin. Brazil was boring. How sad is it that toward the end of the game that Brazil was reduced to sending long balls toward the box …