The new Chѐ?

Diego Maradona, self described as “completely drained of energy” after his side was roughly treated by a young German squad at the World Cup, has stated his uncertainty about continuing as manager of the Argentine national team.  Despite the ridicule that much of the rest of the world (those not named Rob Hughes of the NY Times, at any rate) have foisted on his efforts as the man in charge, he is very much appreciated and loved in his home country.  The president of the Argentine federation has been lavishing el Pibe with praise and bending over backwards to get him to commit to another four years at the helm.

The man himself?  Well, he has been on a busman’s holiday of sorts, apparently advising good friend Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, during his ongoing relationships issues with neighbouring Colombia.  In case you’re unaware, the two countries have been involved in a dispute over whether Venezuela is harboring Colombian rebels on their side of the border.  The Colombians brought what they claim is satellite surveillance, revealing rebel forces hunkered down in Venezuelan territory, to an OAS summit.  The Venezuelans, thinking creatively under pressure, replied that the photos could have been taken anywhere.  Maradona, who is known to have a leftist political view and has famously enjoyed the hospitality of Cuba’s Fidel Castro, was at Chavez’ side today as the Venezuelan severed diplomatic ties with those cheeky coca farmers.

The BBC, that solid bastion of journalistic integrity and staunch opponent of tabloidism, pictured Maradona and Chavez together in a very suggestive manner but somehow failed altogether to mention the Argentine, in the report itself.  Surely though, his council was of the greatest import in aiding Chavez in making such an important political decision?

Maradona is well known for catching his opponents off guard with surprise tactics.  Just ask the 1986 English squad. With Colombia’s government in a state of transition, after the recent election of Juan Manuel Santos, who doesn’t assume power for another two weeks, this is the perfect time to go on the offensive.

The political scene has become so dull in the last few years.  It’s all he said, she said, with plenty of finger pointing and shouting but no real action.  Maradona’s antics and eminently quotable press conferences in South Africa certainly made the World Cup much more interesting.  Maybe he could do the same for Latin American politics. After all, it’s been what, three decades, since we’ve had a good South American war?

Could Diego Maradona have a future as a political consultant?  At least we know his strategy.  Attack, attack, attack!

The three amigos, Maradona, Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales

Luis Felipe Scolari

I did it once, I can do it again!

After a well paid exile in Uzbekistan, Felipão is back at the bench of his beloved Palmeiras.  He has the experience and the crowd stands by him. However, after two not so great gigs, in Chelsea and Bunyodkor, Big Phil’s return to his country was perhaps his only choice. Scolari is the person with more to lose if he accepts this job. He already has a World title and most people in Brazil put the 2002 team in an unreacheable pedestal. His image as a good tactical mind and a conciliator of great minds can quickly change after a couple of  bad results.

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Vanderlei Luxemburgo

Double or nothing!

Well known outside Brazil for his short time spent in Madrid, Luxemburgo has already worked in the biggest clubs of Brazil. His tactical knowledge is always praised in his home country, where he holds a record 5 national championships. Lately, his star hasn’t shone so brightly, with allegations of gambling addiction hovering over his head. Having had an unsuccessful experience in the national squad, his name continues to be brought up among those who remember the good ol’ days.

The rule is: the referee's call is always a bad one.

Mano Menezes

The Corinthians’ coach doesn’t have any international experience. However, his tenure in the popular São Paulo club has been victorious. Born and raised in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, the local Uruguayan and Argentinian influences are shown in his physical, defensive minded game. His shady connections may get him the job, but he is just not ready, yet.

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Wearing his heart on his sleeve, the media loves him. Especially after a loss.

Muricy Ramalho

After three titles in a row with São Paulo, Muricy’s star faded in Palmeiras. He is now trying to get back on his feet in Rio. His temper does not help his cause for he presents an unfitting attitude for a job this big. Tactically stubborn, he would have to change lots of things to make his beloved 3-5-2 work in the Seleção.

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The best choice with his current boss

Paulo Autuori

A former Peruvian national coach, he has experience in South America, Portugal, Japan and the Middle East. He is famous for replacing coaches fired mid-term in Brazil. His South American titles with Cruzeiro and São Paulo, plus good work with Botafogo, add to his resume. Currently, he is making a lot of money in Qatar. Calm and with great knowledge of the game, he is my favorite for the gig.

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Santana has his eye on the job

Joel Santana

The folkloric former South African coach is very popular in Rio. In Brazil, we say that he talks the same ‘language’ as the players, hence his popularity among them and the public. Apart from that, he is not the greatest of coaches. For Joel, his name being in the mix can be considered a prize for his work in some Brazilian big clubs.

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Always classy Leonardo

Leonardo

Still undecided if he wants to be a coach or a GM, Leonardo’s name is brought up more because of his finesse and less because of his coaching skills. He had a bitter-sweet experience in Milan, no one could do a lot better than he did. I wonder if he was really the coach of that team, or just a puppet from master Berlusconi.

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I wonder what he is so happy about....

Carlos Alberto Parreira

Well, when you talk of renewal, new faces or new man for the job, the last thing you want is an old coach back. Somehow, Parreira is always in the mix when it comes to the Seleção, and he should be confirmed soon as a General Manager for the National Team. He has the experience, but his name is still linked with the 2006 debacle, which is not a good memory for Brazilan fans.

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Maybe after 2014, his time will come.

Dorival Junior

Junior is probably the best coach for young players nowadays. After two good seasons (with Coritiba and Vasco), Santos hired him to lead a young and very talented squad. He won some titles and has the right temper. However, some tactical flaws still prevent him from taking this giant leap.

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Looking for a job!

Adilson Batista

The former Cruzeiro coach is one of the best new names. Currently unemployed, after a long tenure in Minas Gerais, Adilson has yet to accomplish something at the greater level in Sao Paolo or in Rio to be taken seriously for a job this big.

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Soon to be unemployed!

Ricardo Gomes

He has had some international experience, coaching clubs in France, between jobs in Brazil. However, his name is in the mix because someone at the CBF likes him. His contract with São Paulo expires soon and has not yet been renewed, which indicates he would be free to take the job.

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And who is the man that chooses the coach?  Well, that would be:

He better think this one through....

Ricardo Teixeira

João Havelange’s ex-son in law, he has been the head of Brazilian football since 1989. He is certainly the type of person people would rather have on their side, due to his power. Even Brazilian Presidents have found that out. Allegations of corruption never stick to him, and he is always quiet when confronted with the lack of stars and money in the Brazilian League. Making most of the decisions alone, he has already announced that the new coach will not split duties between any club and the National Team. He also guaranteed that the new man will have time to work and that he expects nothing less than a title in 2014. Sure, like that’s so easy.

If you’re the gambling type, there are plenty of choices.  So, take your pick.

Soon enough we will know who will sit in the hot seat.

No, thank you South Africa, from the rest of us.

In sport here, it’s win or go home.  When you capture a championship, there’s a big parade and every little thing each player does is on SportsCenter for weeks afterwards.

To come in second, however, is complete failure.  For all that anyone remembers of your season, you may as well have finished last.  Never mind a consolation game between two losers.  If someone went dancing through the streets of New York or LA screaming, “We’re number three!  We’re number three!,” people would think the happy fool was off his nut and, like as not, call social services.

Thankfully, soccer fans in other parts of the globe treat the World Cup more like the Olympics than the Super Bowl.  And rightly so.  Where is the glory in winning a championship if the teams you overcame were not worth remembering?  Thus, coming into their match today,  Germany and Uruguay carried the banners of thirty teams who struggled in admirable but vain pursuit of the World Cup Trophy.

The linesman refuses to help Joachim Low discover who stole his 'lucky' sweater.

A young German squad, led by a maverick coach, came to South America to find not much was expected of them, compared to past sides led by such legends as Lothar Mattheus, Gerd Mueller and Franz Beckenbauer.  Although, after scoring four goals in each of three matches, including startlingly dominant elimination round dismantlings of both England and Argentina, those expectations quickly rose.

Before defeating Germany, Spain had looked very sluggish in most of their encounters and were thought to be lucky to have reached the last four.  In controlling the daunting young Germans, the Spanish reminded everyone of just how strong they were, even when not at their best.  Thanks to die Mannschaft’s performance in the matches leading up to the semi-final, no one can claim that the European champions had an easy route to the title match.

The mercurial Uruguayans and their youthful striker, Luis Suarez, had a tournament which will not soon be forgotten, for reasons both good and bad.  The handball at the end of the quarter-final with Ghana, along with the brazen pride shown in its aftermath will spark debate for a year and a day at least.  Still, as the fifth and last qualifier from South America, their spot only secured after a two legged tie with Costa Rica, Uruguay traveled a long, hard road to South Africa.

The Suarez incident likely will but shouldn’t be the defining moment of their competition.  This squad also deserve to be remembered for having the courage and confidence to open up against a strong Mexican side, going for the win to champion the group, when a pedestrian draw would have seen both sides safely through.  They should also be celebrated for pushing the Dutch to the death, after the game with Ghana, doing so without the potent fourty-nine goal threat of the precocious Suarez.

FIFA, for its part, is happy to provide a relatively meaningless game at this point in the tournament.  After overdosing soccer fans with fifty-six matches in just nineteen days, to start the competition, the weaning process then began in the winding down to the final.  Consisting of far fewer contests with ever longer intervals between, the sudden lack of supply has left severely addicted fans with an epic case of the football jones.  This match is the methadone, administered by Herr Dr. Blatter, to see us through to tomorrow’s (hopefully) exciting finish.

Historically, too, the consolation matches have been very entertaining affairs.  Neither side has anything at stake, beyond their pride, and are thus free to open up, express themselves and show everything of which they are capable.

Today’s game certainly began in that tradition.  The early play was up and down the pitch.  Dennis Aogo, one of several reserve players handed a World cup start by Joachim Löw, was a little over-enthusiastic.  He narrowly escaped a straight red card, coming in hard, studs up on Diego Perez.  Happily, the referee chose not to get too involved in the match.  On four minutes, Thomas Mueller found the net for Germany but was ruled offside.  Two proper calls in a row.  How refreshing.

On their first sustained attack, Uruguay earned a free kick from about twenty-five metres, directly in front of goal.  Diego Forlan’s first effort went off the elbow of Cacau, earning him a yellow card and Forlan a second unsuccessful try from ten metres closer.  Germany would then garner a series of corners in the Uruaguayan end.  Mesut Ozil sent one of them deep, to the far post, where Arne Friedrich would connect on a fade-away header that rebounded off the crossbar.

Müller steals the first kiss, as Germany goes in front early.

Certainly a busy opening 10 minutes.

Germany’s strategy was to attack down the left wing.  At eighteen minutes, they broke on a counter, with Bastien Schweinsteiger finding Marcel Jansen on the flank.  After penetrating almost to the touchline, Lukas Podolski’s understudy sent the ball back out to Schweini, beyond the box, mid-pitch.  The Bayern midfielder hit a low swerving shot which confused Fernando Muslera.  The keeper managed to get in front of  the missile but allowed it to carom straight out into the penalty area.  Thomas Müller, back from his harsh suspension, pounced onto the rebound and deposited it into the twine.  Germany one, Uruguay nil.

The Germans, emboldened by the gaffe, quickly tested the shaken netminder twice more but Muslera gave no further ground.  Uruguay regrouped, probing the German back line for weakness.  On twenty five minutes, a cross into Forlan for a half volley, was deflected away by Per Mertesacker and the ensuing corner cleared off the line by Friedrich.  Hans-Jörg Butt, in goal for Manuel Neuer, hadn’t yet had much to do.

Cavani is king of the world as Uruguay quickly level.

Uruguay, as always, refused to let up and, a moment later, broke on a counter.  Suarez, coming down the middle, found Edinson Cavani racing down the left.  Cavani outpaced the lanky Mertesacker and drilled a shot passed an onrushing Butt, into the far side netting.  Germany one, Uruguay one, with less than a half hour gone.  If only the final is played at this pace!

After Cavani’s strike, the skies over Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium opened up and the rain came down as heavily as the attacks on goal.  Both sides continued to be aggressive.  The linesmen were well exercised, raising their flags for offsides several times.  Then with less than five minutes to the break, Forlan put Suarez through on a diagonal run to the right.  Suarez curled back towards goal and released a laser that beat Butt (hehe, he said beat butt) but was just wide of the outside post.

At the other end, Schweinsteiger blasted an inviting free kick off the wall after Diego Lugano was booked for at first unintentionally and then intentionally handling the ball.  Soon after, Uruguay were able to launch one more raid into German territory but the score remained knotted at one at the half time whistle.

Forlan cuts into Germany, scissoring the ball into goal.

Early after the restart, the Germans dominated possession but had no joy.  Suddenly, the Uruguayans broke on a counterattack.  Edigio Arevalo sent a waist high ball into the top of the box towards a waiting Forlan.  The Atletico striker executed a perfect scissor kick to put the ball past a screened Hans-Jörg Butt.  The lead was short lived, though.  Minutes later, at the opposite end, Jerome Boateng crossed into the box and Marcel Jansen put his header past an awkward looking Muslera.

Jansen's kung fu is strong, though, and the goalward ball pulls Germany even.

Forlan’s goal, by the way, was his fifth of the tournament, drawing him level with Golden Boot contenders Wesley Sneijder and David Villa.  Ten minutes into the second half, the goal output had doubled.  Nor did it look like that would be the end of the deluge.

Shortly after the equaliser, Germany stormed up the pitch again, led by Boateng.  The Ghanian born defender fed the ball to Mesut Ozil on the left but the German of Turkish descent tried to dribble past two defenders rather than return the favour.  The attack fizzled and Uruguay went on the offensive.  Suarez unleashed a cannon to the far post, parried well by Butt.  Forlan couldn’t get everything behind another opportunity and Butt was up to the challenge, again.

Several more chances for both sides went either wide or over the bar.  Then Stephan Kiebling, on for Cacau, split a pair of defenders on the left side of the box, moved in and forced a tough save from Muslera with fifteen minutes remaining.

Khedira follows the bouncing ball...

Ozil continued to try to beat multiple defenders on the dribble.  He did it late against Spain, too.  His skill is a great thing to see and frightening on a German side.  Still, he must learn to use his teammates.

On eighty minutes, Ozil found himself in a situation wherein he had to pass the ball.  He took the corner kick and sent it into the box.  Uruguay was unable to clear and the ball pinballed to Sami Khedira, whose cross-net header sailed over an outstretched Muslera and nestled in the far upper ninety.  Germany three, Uruguay two was the score, with closing time fast approaching.

... and Muslera sings a sad tune.

As Ozil came off for the previously unused Serdar Tasci, the camera cut to a shot of Miroslav Klose.  The Bayern striker, tepid for club but talismanic for country, was declared fit before the match, after a back injury cast his chase of Ronaldo’s World Cup goal scoring record in doubt.  He did not play today, because the Germans, as is their wont, took the team route and granted several reserves the opportunity to shine, if only for a moment, on the world’s greatest stage.  Klose is thirty-two and, so, unlikely to be a canditate for Brazil in four years.  He has had a great World Cup career and, hopefully, will be content with having matched the great Gerd Müller’s tally before bowing out.

Uruguay became desperate in their assault on the German goal.  They rushed their efforts and Germany were able to handle matters easily.  With even more space opening up in the Uruguay rearguard, Kiebling blasted another chance, a very good one, which he wasted over the bar.

Next time, Basti may have to wait an extra day to collect his medal.

Then, at the death, Arne Friedrich served up a helping of karma to the Uruguayans.  As Suarez ran under an enticing long ball, the centre back wrestled him to the ground.  It wasn’t as severe an infraction as Suarez’ handball but Friedrich was booked by the official as Forlan stood over Uruguay’s last chance of the match.  His effort was heroic.  It curled over the wall and the outstretched right hand of Butt, before dipping towards goal.  Unfortunately, it struck the bar and bounded harmlessly away.  Ironically similar to the conclusion of the match versus Ghana, only with Uruguay this time on the short end of the stick, Forlan’s miss, like Asamoah Gyan’s spot kick, also off the crossbar, was the last act of a very dramatic contest.

The Uruguayans scrambled to set up a corner but the referee felt that it was time to get out of the rain and his shrill whistle, rather than the deeper peals of a bell, tolled the end of the South American’s surprising and event-filled World Cup run.

The final score was three to two for Germany and, despite an uncharacteristic lack of attention to defense, on the day, the Germans were once again the number three team at the world’s greatest tournament.  There will be people celebrating in the streets and good on ‘em, I say.

Both teams opened up from the start and went after the match throughout.  With much more at stake, that is not likely to be the case tomorrow.  Hopefully, though, Spain and the Netherlands will be bold enough to take some chances and treat us to a memorable final.  If that happens, today’s match will serve as a consolation for the players only and not for World Cup fans.

In a crucial match, players need to remain cool...

Of the two semi-finals on tap today and tomorrow, this encounter was seen by many as being the battle between the Christians.  The winner would enter the arena in Johannesburg on Sunday to face whomever proved to be the fiercer of the pair of lions playing in Durban tomorrow, be that either Germany or Spain.

The Dutch, pointing to their federation’s crest, might feel they have reason to object to their place in the metaphor.  Yet, despite a perfect run through their UEFA group stage and on into the competition in South Africa, they are not held in the same esteem as their two remaining European counterparts.  Regard for Uruguay, the lone South American side still in the tournament, was close to non-existent thanks to the manner in which they progressed past Ghana and the lack of manners they showed afterward.  To be proud and unapologetic of taking advantage of a loophole in the rules showed none of the sportsmanship which FIFA likes to claim is a cornerstone of the World Cup.

... but fans on both sides were wigging out.

Bert van Marwijk’s charges were heavily favoured in the build up.  Not only had they beaten the number one qualifier from South America, Brazil, in their previous match, making the fifth best nation from that continent seem somewhat insignificant in comparison, but they were healthy again.  Gregory van der Wiel and Nigel de Jong were unavailable, after each totted up their second yellow card, against Brazil, but Joris Mathisjen, much quicker than the aging Andre Ooijer, was back to solidify the central defence, while the depth of the Netherlands’ bench meant that there were plug ‘n play replacements ready to stand in for the two suspended players.

How, on the other hand, do you replace the 49 club and 3 World Cup goals missing from the Uruguayan side with Luis Suarez sitting on his hands up in the cheap seats?  For that matter, there were the absences, through injury, of captain and defensive anchor, Diego Lugano, and the young firebrand in midfield, Nicolas Lodeiro, as well as the suspended left back, Jorge Fucile.  When you are the second smallest nation in the competition, population 3 million, you just don’t have as many alternatives.

It was expected that Uruguayan manager, Oscar Tabarez, would park seven men behind the ball, much as he did against France in their first match, and rely on Diego Forlan to provide some magic on the counter or from a dead ball situation.  Nil-nil for 120 minutes and penalty kicks would suit la Celeste just fine.

In the early going, the Dutch looked for cracks in the Uruguayan wall and found one or two evident.  Dirk Kuyt fired over the goal after getting on the end of a perfect Wesley Sneijder cross and then fed a tasty offering into the box himself, a few minutes later, only to see Arjen Robben softly lob it for Fernando Muslera to gobble up.

After the opening barrage from l’Oranje, the Uruguayans settled and began to ask questions of their own.  Forlan and Edinson Cavani looked to hook up on two occasions but the linesman raised his flag offsides for each.  Replays showed that one definitely, if not both, were poor decisions.

Defensively, however, the South Americans were giving their opponents headaches all over the pitch.  The Dutch were not being given time on the ball and, as a result, their passing was extremely erratic.

The captain saved his best for last.

Then, the Uruguayans efforts to deny the box to the skillful Europeans blew up in their faces.  A weak clearance found its way out to Giovanni van Brunckhorst,  thirty-five metres from goal on the left flank.  With no blue shirt in closing range, he was free to step into his shot with all the power he could muster.  The ball flew off his foot, low and hard, past the outstretched hand of Muslera, bouncing tightly into the goal off both the upright and  the bar.

It was definitely one of the most well taken strikes in the tournament, thus far.  For the Dutch captain, it was just his sixth goal in, possibly, the final of his one hundred and five appearances for his country.

As they say, the best laid plans…  The early deficit would force Uruguay to press matters at the other end.

Like the fella once said, "Ain't that a kick in the head?"

The Netherlands did their best to keep the tetchy Uruguayans at bay and tensions came to a head quickly.  Just before the half hour mark, Martin Caceres attempted a bicycle kick outside the Dutch box.  Unfortunately, Demy deZeuww was also on hand, looking to head the ball clear.  Caceres’ boot caught the flying Dutchman full in the face and earned the offender a yellow card.  Another was also handed out to an enraged Wesley Sneijder, who, in retaliation, angrily shoved Caceres to the ground.

In the aftermath, the midfield was contested hotly by both sides and the pace of the match became ragged at best.  Play in the box was further hampered by two or three more very tight offside calls.

With just under 5 minutes remaining in the half, the Uruguayans pegged the Dutch back with a strike from who else but Diego Forlan.  The Atletico Madrid striker created some space for himself, selling a wide dummy to his marker and cutting inside.  His slightly swerving shot fooled Maarten Stekelenberg enough that all he could do was palm it into the roof of the goal.

Never give this man time and space.

The commentators and analysts at the half all thought the keeper should have done better with it.  I’m of the opinion they should be a little more forgiving.  While there wasn’t that much movement on the Jabulani, Forlan had been going to his left and some how managed to place his shot, against the grain, through a small opening between the heads of two defenders.  With his support crowding the middle, Stekelenberg was naturally moving to cover a wider shot.  Forlan’s somewhat fortunate aim not only caught the keeper by surprise but his successful use of the involuntary screen gave the Dutch backstop less time to react.

The determination and luck of the South Americans was still in force and at halftime it was all square at one goal apiece.  Unexpectedly, it was Bert van Marwijck who felt obligated to make an adjustment during the intermission, bringing on Rafael van der Vaart for the slightly addled deZeuww.

Tactically, it was a sound change.  The Uruguayan midfield was filled with holding players and lacked any real creativity.  By combining the Real Madrid man’s artistry with that of Kuyt, Sneijder, Robben and van Persie, the Netherlands hoped to force the compacted sky blue wall to spread itself a little thinner.

The restart began much as the match had.  The Netherlands had the better of the possession but couldn’t get near goal.  Then after a failed counterattack, Dutch right back, Khalid Boulharouz, replacing van der Wiel for the day, was slow to react to a ball over his head.  Stekelenberg was forced to come out and desperately clear.  His effort went to Alvaro Pereira and, reminiscent of David Villa’s first goal against Chile, he drilled it goalward with the keeper too far from home to get safely back.  Giovanni van Brunckhorst was there to hold the fort, however, thus providing his side with a two goal cushion, first scoring at one end and then saving a second at the other.

That moment of high drama was followed by a handful of wasted chances in front of both goals before the match again settled into a midfield slugfest.  Finally, in the seventieth minute, the stars aligned and the Dutch quality would at last come to the fore, while luck finally deserted the Uruguayans.

The Dutch nickel and dime the Uruguayans

Having set up a siege of the South American box, l’Oranje were moving the ball back and forth between their creative players, when it settled for Sneijder, slightly to the left of center, to attempt a shot.  It pinballed off the legs of one defender and the boot of another before skipping towards the far corner.  A slightly off side Robin van Persie jumped to avoid contact with the ball.  No defender clatteered into him vainly trying to reach it.  Muslera, on his line was not screened but may have hesitated in his reaction, thinking the Arsenal man might play the ball.  The flag stayed down, though, and the ball found its target.  It was Sneijder’s fifth goal of the tournament, drawing him even with Spain’s David Villa.

My first impression was that van Persie was offside and the replay showed that he was.  The assertion, by the commentators, that he was in the line of sight of the keeper was inaccurate.  Nor, as I said, did he appear to be impeding any defenders.  Furthermore, without a visible reaction from the keeper it is completely up to the interpretation of the official as to whether he was interfering in play.  Obviously, they did not.  Perhaps, at the break, they had been informed that they had been a bit quick on the trigger in the first half, and therefore had become more reluctant.  Who can say?  Whatever influenced their ruling, it was two-one to the Netherlands.

For the most part, Robben used his head and stayed on his feet.

The stunning turnaround in fortunes buoyed the Dutch spirit and seemed to daze the Uruguayans, leaving them, for the moment, more cautious.  Having more time on the ball, the skilled orange attack made excellent use of it.  Dirk Kuyt, operating on the left, recovered a rejected effort into the box and sent back a much better cross. The vertically challenged Arjen Robben found some space and leapt to head it into the side netting.  In the space of three minutes, the deadlock had been broken and the Netherlands were seemingly in complete control of the match.

Ten minutes later, Diego Forlan came off for the little used Sebastien Fernandez.  Even down two goals, it was difficult to believe the talisman would want to leave the pitch or that his proud manager would concede the match with time on the clock.  Sure enough, after the match, Tabarez claimed he had no choice.  Forlan had actually begun the tilt with an aggravated thigh muscle, that had become too sore for him to continue.

Diego Forlan alone wasn't enough for Uruguay

Uruguay pressed on but were unable to get even a sniff at goal in regulation.  On ninety minutes, that would change.  Young Eljero Elia would come on to allow Robben to take a bow.  The youngster quickly got himself into trouble over-pursuing Maxi Pereira to the outside.  The midfielder took advantage of the newcomer’s naivete and cut back inside to curl a shot past Stekelenberg.  The ball first past within reach of three Dutch defenders, all of whom inexplicably let it through.

With just a minute or two of stoppage time remaining, Uruguay had been given a lifeline.  Surging forward desperately, they threw everything they had left at the Dutch goal.  A reawakened defense, though, did everything they had to in order to clear ball after ball, until the referee at last blew the final whistle.

In the end, it was a bad hair day for Uruguay.

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An undermanned Uruguay side had certainly given the Netherlands all they could handle.  Obviously outclassed, they fought doggedly and admirably to the end.  Given their previous encounter with Ghana, many may feel they deserved to fall victim to a disputed goal but, in the interests of the game, no one does.  On this night, despite a minor skirmish at the whistle, Tabarez and his players were as gracious in defeat as they were incorrigible in victory.  They had no complaints, taking the van Persie decision as the price of doing business and gracefully acknowledging the class of the Dutch side.

And so, the Christians have crossed swords and a victor has emerged.  Tomorrow, Germany and Spain will fight it out, tooth and claw, for a chance to feast on Sunday in Johannesburg.  See you in twenty four hours!

And so it was today in Germany’s quarter final clash with Diego Maradona’s Argentina. With just 3 minutes gone, the 20 year-old from the small town of Pähl in Bavaria rose to glance Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free-kick beyond the haplessly stranded Sergio Romero to send his country into raptures.

Mueller heads past Romero

Before the match, many (German fans included) believed Germany’s big moment in this World Cup had come with their thrashing of England. Maradona’s Albiceleste wouldn’t be so easy. Messi, Tevez and co would bring Joachim Löw’s young team down to earth they thought. Mueller set Germany on the way to proving that theory wrong with Germany’s fastest ever World Cup goal.

Throughout the remaining 42 minutes of the 1^st half Argentina rarely looked like getting back into the match. Whilst they controlled the majority of possession, Germany worked tirelessly off the ball to deny space to their attacking players. Schweinsteiger and Khedira did an especially good job picking up Messi and denying him the chance to operate between Germany’s midfield and defence. That, coupled with Argentina’s lack of natural width, meant there was no way through. A tame shot at Neuer by Higuaín and a rightly disallowed offside goal (again from Higuain), were the best the Albiceleste could muster.

Messi - frustrated

As well as being well-organised defensively, Germany were also a threat going forward. Mid-way through the 1^st half it was Müller again who pounced on an error by Gabriel Heinze to burst into the box and lay it off to Miroslav Klose, who should have sent the Germans in 2-0 at the break, but he wastefully fired it over.

With the score still at 1-0 at the start of the 2^nd half, Argentina fancied their chances and dominated the opening 20 minutes. A powerful Carlos Tevez shot was blocked on 54 minutes by the face of Per Mertesacker. From the resulting corner, Manuel Neuer had to parry a Di Maria cross to safety. Argentina had further chances through Messi and Higuaín in the 63^rd minute but, as they began to throw more men forward, Germany looked more and more dangerous on the counter.

Just as in their previous match, Germany grabbed the killer goal just when their opponents looked most like scoring. Again, Müller was involved. Having been brought down by Otamendi 25 yards away from the Argentina goal, Müller admirably stayed alert to swivel on the ground and stab the ball into the path of the onrushing Lukas Podolski. The Pole was left with little to do but roll the ball across to his ‘countryman’ Klose to tap into the back of the net. Cue delirium on the streets of Germany, a country today bathed in 37 degree heat. It would be interesting to know how many cases of heatstroke this goal, alone, caused among the many outdoor fan parks across the land. It was the strike that gave the Germans the genuine belief that victory was theirs.

The party didn’t end there however. With Argentina desperately throwing men forward in their increasingly hopeless attempts to salvage the match, Germany broke forward twice more to pick at the gaping holes in the South Americans’ defence. Both goals were similar to Germany’s 2nd, as they took advantage of slack defending on Argentina’s right side. First, man of the match Schweinsteiger slalomed brilliantly toward the byline to cut the ball back for Arne Friedrich to tap home. Then, as if not to be outdone, Mesut Özil rounded off proceedings with a touch of genius, expertly standing the ball up at the far post for Klose to volley home his 2nd goal of the match. A more sublime, perfectly weighted pass you couldn’t wish to see, Klose didn’t have to break stride, he barely even had to move, before stroking it past Romero.

Klose - World Cup legend

The final goal capped a stunning team performance by Germany. Once more, Joachim Löw came up with the perfect tactical plan to foil his opposition. Once again they were strong in defence and devastating on the counter attack. Schweinsteiger, in particular, marshalled his team expertly, keeping the shackles on Messi for much of the game but also getting forward to support in attack. The goal also brought Klose’s World Cup goal tally to 14, level with Gerd Müller and 1 short of Ronaldo’s all time record. All eyes will be on him in Germany’s semi-final against Vicente del Bosque’s (so far) unimpressive and beatable-looking Spain outfit. Unfortunately, they won’t be on Thomas Müller, who was harshly yellow-carded for an accidental handball in the 1st half and will be suspended.

Whether they win or lose against the Spaniards, one thing is certain: just like in 2006, Germany’s young team has made their countrymen, from the Chancellor to the salt of the earth fan, immensely proud, and given them at least one more big party to look forward to.

England fans should feel a bit better also – at least Capello’s men mustered one goal!

That says it all, really

On Thursday, pundits the world over were marveling at how this had turned into a South American World Cup.  With the way the Round of 16 had shaken out, there was a chance that all four semi-finalists would be from that continent.  Added to that was the sudden belief in the abilities of Diego Maradona as a football manager.  Excuse me, while I laugh at that thought one more time.

I will admit that I’m surprised at how easily the Germans handled the kamikaze minded Argentines.  With Per Mertesacke’s nervous efforts so far in the competition and the quickness of Tevez, Messi, et al, I had thought the contest would be fought tooth and claw and that the lack of a cohesive back line and strong goal keeping would ultimately do in the Albiceleste. I wasn’t expecting the Germans to toy with their opponents like a well fed cat with a helpless mouse.

Still, it certainly was an enjoyable experience to see the original Hand of God dealt some comeuppance less than 24 hours after a pathetic clone was undesirably foisted upon the world.  Equally, it gives me opportunity to see Rob Hughes, the NY Times author of this piece, choke down his words, one syllable at a time.

The major reason we can do without the Luis Suarez' of the world

Have I mentioned that I have a particular dislike for Diego Maradona?  Or that I’m supposed to be telling you about the Spain/Paraguay match to decide the last semi-finalist?

Sorry about that.  It’s just that it’s been a wild fourty-eight hours in South Africa.  Brazil has turned out to have a glass jaw, with the Dutch knocking them silly with one punch, Ghana, and Africa, have been unceremoniously dumped out by an unapologetic and less than humble Urugayan side and, finally,  Germany have taken the tournament and Argentina buy the throat and shaken very, very vigorously.  With all that happening in the other quarter final matches, and the one-sidedness (can you say defense?) of the Paraguayan outfit, I hope you’ll forgive me for not expecting the remaining game to add to the insanity.

The opening exchange almost proved me wrong.  Oscar Cardozo flicked on for Jonathan Santana to break in free on Iker Casillas.  Unfortunately, he struck the ball directly into the arms of the Spanish captain.  The shaky start for the Iberians was revisited on eight minutes when Casillas dawdled over a clearance.  Nelson Valdez rushed in and blocked it but the ball bounded wide of the goal.

Sgt. Bilko was raving on the touch line for Paraguay, as usual

From this point, the match settled into a predictable pattern.  Spain began to dominate possession, working their short passing game.  Paraguay settled back, concentrating on defence, while looking for opportunities to counter.  Those chances came and Gerrardo Martino had coached his charges well to take full advantage of Sergio Ramos’ laziness in getting back.

Spain didn’t have much success penetrating the Paraguayan 18.  Fernando Torres was still very unsettled over the ball and David Villa hadn’t been able to find his range in the early going.  Andres Iniesta had some effect, working inside more in this match than in previous ones.

Five minutes before the half, the South Americans came down the right side, for a change, on the break.  A cross into the box found Valdez, both offside and off balance.  His first touch bounced up and hit his outstretched left arm.  The deflection fell to his feet and he buried the ball in the twine.  Sanity was maintained for the moment, though, the shrill scream of Guatemalan referee, Carlos Batres’, whistle quelling the momentary hopes of Larissa Riquelme and her compatriots.

Sorry, the Luis Suarez School of Handball is temporarily closed

Soon after, Valdez streaked in one more time, from the left, as Sergio Ramos watched from mid-field.  His shot was well over the bar, however.  The half remained unblemished by goals.  Paraguay had their opportunities but their finishing was abysmal.  During the break, Vicente del Bosque, would have done well to break out the DVD and show his troops some highlights of the German back line.  They seem to have forgotten the concept of defending, altogether.

As the old rhyme goes, second verse, same as the first.  When play resumed, Paraguay continued to hold the Spaniards at bay, with Torres struggling, Villa erratic and Ramos out of position.  At least la Furia were looking stronger at the back.  Perhaps del Bosque knows how to use a remote.

Ten minutes in El Gaffer made an interesting change.  The ineffective Torres (sorry kid) was replaced by Cesc Fabregas.  Villa switched to operate inside and the Arsenal man was stationed in front of him.

Just one minute later, the insanity returned, despite my misgivings, and at full bore.  First, Gerard Pique was caught redhanded, pulling on Oscar Cardozo’s arm, as though the pair were in a tug of war.  The card handed out was of the less severe shade, however.  Cardozo took his own penalty, blasting it towards the lower 90 on Casillas’ left.  The Spanish keeper was psychic on this chance and quickly there to absorb the shot.

Not so fast, amigos

At the other end, Villa raced through, seemingly clear but was tripped by Antonin Alcaraz.  Somehow, it was again deemed to be merely a yellow card.  For Spain, it was Xabi Alonso stepping in to handle the spot duty.  His shot made it hard and low into the low corner, sparking jubilation, but the momentary enthusiasm was abruptly curtailed by the official.  One of the Spaniards had encroached on the penalty area and Batres ordered a do-over, as we used to say in the school yard.

Alonso stepped in again and, operating on the theory that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, fired for the same target.  Justo Villar’s mindreading powers were suddenly equal to his opposite number’s and, amazingly, we were all still watching a scoreless tie.

The Spaniards, emboldened now,  began to pin back the ears of Justo Villar.  Iniesta attacked the box from the left and forced a point blank save from the Paraguayan keeper.  In the  sixty-seventh minute, the referee apparently decided penalties had become passe.  Fabregas was hauled down at the end line but play continued. Roque Santa Cruz came into the match for the impotent Valdez but Martino’s side needed help at the back before they could dream of moving the ball into Spain’s end of the pitch.

This 2nd verse not as good as the 1st

The Spanish onslaught strengthened.  Iniesta worked in from the left on a short corner and earned another.  The result of that was an eventual Alonso cannonade over the bar after some sustained pressure.Paraguay’s frustration became evident in their play.  Cardozo, desperate for the ball, leaned into Puyol from behind.  If it wasn’t before, the match was definitely getting chippy.

Pedro came on at this juncture, as del Bosque did not want to prolong this match into overtime, much less penalty kicks.  Spare us that, por favor. With the attack redoubled again, Joan Capdevilla overlapped and put a splendid cross into the box but Alcazar wass first to find it and headed the ball back, over the touchline.  With that, it was down to the final ten minutes of regular time.

Cesc's first serious playing time produces a less than clinical finish from the lucky and good Villa

Finally, in the dying moments, we found out why Spain is Spain.  Fabregas began an attack from the centre circle, his pass forward backheeled by Xavi Hernandez to Iniesta.  The little wizard would turn two defenders into stone with his enchanting weaves and dribble towards goal.  Entering the box, he slid it over to Pedro, who drove it off the post.  The rebound was gathered and settled by David Villa, who showed up Pedro by pinballing it off both uprights and into goal! One-nil Spain and Villa, finally  if barely, finds his range and at just the right time.  In Ellis Park, tonight, it was simple math.  Three posts equal one goal.

Desperate, the Paraguayans threw everyone forward.  Roque Santa Cruz, invisible since coming on, tried his first chance and proved no more useful than Valdez.  Jonathan Santana gifted Sergio Busquets an elbow in the face and sees yellow for his effort.  An enraged Spanish side attacked the other end in numbers.  A cross from the right is let through for Villa whose careful shot must evade a defender.  The pace sacrificed for accuracy allowed Villar to recover and save the cross grain shot.

Following that, Paraguay again raised the intensity of their guerilla tactics.  Sergio Ramos was forced to don a head wrap after being bloodied by the boot of Santana.  No punishment was forthcoming as Ramos was attempting a rather low header.  Despite two penalties and a handful of bookings, Referee Bastes can only be described as having been remarkably tolerant.  Four minutes of extra time expired with no further threat from Paraguay and Spain,ragged around the edges are through to the semis.

Paraguay were game but simply didn’t have the firepower up front to hang with the Spaniards.  It occurs to me that if you combined the attacking players of Argentina with the defensive corps and keeper of their continental cousins, such a team might go far.  As both South American teams found out today, you must have balance to succeed in the World Cup.

So, on Tuesday we will see the Dutch take on the Uruguayans, for the right to play for the World Cup on the Sunday following.  Without Luis Suarez to harry their flanks, Bert van Marwijk’s aging centre backs can focus more on the whereabouts of Diego Forlan.  Missing their 49 goal man, look for la Celeste to return to the condensed backline they featured against France, although the injury to captain Diego Lugano may prove critical.  They will hope to wear down the Dutch attack and perhaps strike through the set piece magic of Forlan.  Meanwhile, l’Oranje will keep milking the partnership of Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder, as well as the latter’s own prodigious store of dead ball sorcery.

Wednesday, the other finalist will be determined in a dream confrontation between the calmly efficient young Germans and the fiery Spaniards.  As well as getting a chance to hoist the trophy, Miro Klose will be looking to leave behind Gerd Mueller and join Ronaldo I as the leading goal scorer in World Cup history.  David Villa, with 5 in this tournament will be looking to consolidate his claim for this tournament’s Golden Boot.

If you have any vacation days, it’s time to use them.  See you in mid-week.

Gyan and Mensah should never have had to try, let alone fail.

Having grown up in the age of the television remote and ever faster internet connection speeds, I’m fully aware that I have a short attention span.  With that in mind, I find it impressive that I’ve just spent 90+ minutes, or one regulation football match attempting a single Google search.

For what, you may ask?  Actually, I was hoping to discover the last time that FIFA made a fundamental change in the rules of the game.  Some of the more knowledgeable readers of WFC, I’m sure, will be happy to tell me that the answer to that is never.  FIFA, it turns out, is merely part of another body, IFAB, which decides those changes.

Comprised of the original football associations in the United Kingdom, the FA (England), SFA (Scotland), FAW (Wales) and the IFA (Northern Ireland), along with FIFA, the International Football Association Board deliberates over any changes to the rules of the game.  I say deliberates, because it appears that, beyond trivial matters such as which undergarments players may wear (same colour as their kit, no endorsements of any kind) and what to do about advertisers who try to horn in on FIFA’s gold mine (arrest any group of sexy blondes in plain orange dresses you see, making sure to interrogate them thoroughly and sieze their passports), IFAB just gets together, has a few drinks and laughs at the Republic of Ireland.

What about on the field issues?  Well, they’ve been debating whether to change the last man standing red card to yellow for almost 2 years, now.  Instant replay technology was unanimously swept off the table in just a few hours.  Given the partners which make up this august institution, you might expect that political infighting is keeping anything from getting done.  It’s happened, here and there, but for the most part these fellows are a conservative lot and they seem to agree on one all-encompassing principle.  Change is bad.

Which leads me to one conclusion.  If it makes sense to alter or create a new rule, or improve the game in any way, IFAB isn’t interested.

Which rule do I want to change?  I don’t believe a team should benefit, in the manner that Uruguay has, by advancing through intentional cheating to deny a goal.  Yes, Asamoah Gyan missed the awarded pk but a penalty should not be given in that situation.  What should be given is the goal that would have been scored otherwise.

If a defending position player, located on or near the goal line, deliberately uses his hand to stop what would otherwise be a certain goal, the offender should be shown a straight red card and the goal should be allowed.  Notice that I have worded that carefully, using the word certain.  There can be no question that Ghana would have scored at the death were it not for Luis Suarez’ 2 handed intervention.

Why, then, should a penalty be awarded?  Penalty kicks are not guaranteed to score.  They can be saved or, as in this instance, missed.  Therefore, the offending team is actually being rewarded for cheating and the victim kicked while he is down.

The players don't write the rules but they should have more class than to celebrate a robbery in front of 80,000 victims.

If I offered you $100 in exchange for $83.10, would you take my money?  I’m betting you would every time and happily.   If the shoe were on the other foot, I’m thinking you wouldn’t be so eager.  Given that, according to research, penalty kicks are converted 83.1% of the time, on average, that’s the exchange Ghana was forced to accept by the rules of the game.

Luis Suarez illegally prevented a sure defeat for his side in exchange for a roughly 1 in 6 chance to stay alive in the World Cup.  The desperate gamble paid off.  After the match, he was laughing and joking with his teammates. He won’t play in the semi-final but I’m reasonably sure he won’t be complaining.  Anyone who loves the game should be, however.

So far in this competition, we’ve had refereeing mistakes affect 4 different goal scoring opportunities and now a loophole in the rules has been exposed in a 5th.  Knee jerk reaction to infrequent occurrences is not always the best way to handle matters.  On the other hand, 5 separate blunders in the space of 3 weeks doesn’t seem all that rare to me.

This evening in Soccer City, the better team lost.  Uruguay celebrates, Africa mourns.  Uruguay plays in the semi-final, Ghana goes home.  Uruguay gets a bigger piece of the revenue pie for its ‘victory,’  the development of football in Africa suffers.  Luis Suarez is a hero and likely receives a big payday by moving to a major club.  Asamoah Gyan and John Mensah are branded failures for not being able to win the same match twice in one night.

Sepp Blatter shrugs his shoulders and says he’s sorry.  FIFA will take the matter up after the tournament (transl., sweep it under the rug when no one is watching).

The powers that be in football have adopted the philosophy that life is sometimes unfair, in dealing with these issues.  Life, of course, isn’t fair but the whole point of sport is the level playing field that allows the better team to win.  I think it’s time that IFAB realized that the beautiful game is slightly askew and it’s their duty to do something about it.

Uruguay will contest their first World Cup semi final since 1970 on Tuesday, but the way they’ve achieved it will not be one of the greatest footballing memories for a nation that’s won the World Cup twice. Ghana were bidding to make history themselves; a win tonight would have seen them become the first African nation to have ever appeared in a semi final, after joining Cameroon and Senegal as the only three African nations to have reached the quarters.

The Uruguayans began the match brightly, exerting control over their African counterparts in the opening moments, but twice denied by Ghana keeper, Richard Kingson, as they sought to capitalise. John Mensah deflected a corner towards goal, with Kingson pulling off a good reaction save, but his second, denying the in form Suarez with his fingertips,was even better.

After the opening exchanges, Ghana came into the match a little more.  As half time approached, they were beginning to get the upper hand. On the half hour, Isaac Vorsah headed a corner wide, with Gyan following up with his own miss, after being fed through by Kevin Prince Boateng.

On 38 minutes, Diego Lugano had to leave the field of play with an injury, adding to the headache caused by the absence if his regular partner, Diego Godin.

Muntari celebrates a goal even he must not have expected to score

With the teams well balanced, it looked likely that the scores would be level at the half way mark. For once,Sulley Muntari had other ideas.  More accurately, he could be described as being devoid of options and deciding to trust to luck. After receiving a pass around 40 yards out and nothing doing in front of him, he decided to hit a hopeful left footed shot towards goal. It would have been a routine shot for the Uruguayan keeper, Federico Muslera, to deal with, if only Asamoah Gyan had not been in his line of vision.

Seeing the ball hurtling towards him, Gyan ducked out of the way at exactly the right moment. Muslera was left with egg on his face as the ball sailed into his bottom left corner, despite a despairing dive. To be fair to the lad, he would not have seen it until very late and, despite the lack of real pace on the shot, he simply wasn’t in a good enough position to be able to reach it in time.

The South Americans came out in search of an equaliser in the second half and this helped to open the game up somewhat. Palermo striker, Edinson Cavani, felt hard done by when his penalty appeals were turned down but Diego Forlan, the man of the moment, decided not to dwell on it.  In the 55th minute, Uruguay were awarded a free kick around 20 yards,to the left of goal. Awaiting the referee’s whistle, Forlan only had one thing in his mind; going for goal.

Kingson can't keep out Forlan's free kick

Despite seeming well positioned, Kingson appeared to misjudge the flight of the incoming ball. Having sidestepped to the right, he could only watch as the looped shot sailed over his outstretched fingertips into the net. Forlan dispatched the free kick well, but the shot was not into the corner.  In fact it was little more than a yard to the right of centre. I am sure that Kingson will be watching the replay back tonight, wondering how he managed to let the ball slip by him.

Both sides had opportunities as the game progressed with Ghana looking to strike on the break and Suarez unable to finish on two occasions for the South Americans. Despite the best efforts of both sides, the score remained level until the final whistle blew and, for the second time in the tournament, extra time was upon us.

In typical fashion, the added 30 minutes was a little nervier than the football in regulation, with both sides acutely aware of what was at stake. Ghana looked the more likely team to score, as Gyan saw an effort blocked by Andreas Scotti in the first half of extra time. In the second half, Ghana once more threatened and will feel that they should have wrapped things up in the dying moments.

After Muslera had flapped at a header into the box, Suarez was on the line to block an effort from Ghanaian substitute, Dominic Adiyiah. When Adiyiah struck again, Suarez was once more the man to get in the way, this time deliberately punching the ball away from his own goal to deny what would surely have been the winning goal. Predictably, a penalty was awarded and Suarez was dismissed from the field of play.

Already the knives are out across various message boards, with Suarez being branded a cheat, but if you watch the replay again, you might just notice that Adiyiah appears to be in an offside position when the ball is headed towards the onrushing Muslera. Adiyiah is clearly interfering with play, as he strikes a shot at goal as soon as the ball falls towards the ground. Regardless of whether Suarez denied Ghana a goal, the linesman should, in my opinion, have flagged for offside.

Gyan looks to the sky after his penalty miss, apparently unaware that the Gods have already deserted him

From the resulting penalty, Asamoah Gyan stepped up to send his team into the semi final of the World Cup, only to strike the ball against the cross bar with the final kick of the game. As a result, the game was to be decided on penalties. Gyan courageously stepped up to take Ghana’s first, confidently stroking it into the top right hand corner to level the scores, following Forlan’s opening strike.

Uruguay number 6, Mauricio Victorino, placed the ball into the top left corner to make the score 2-1, with Stephen Appiah placing the ball in almost exactly the same place for Ghana to level the scores once more. Uruguay’s third effort from Scotti was straight down the middle, whilst Ghana captain, John Mensah, was the first to miss, Muslera saving Mensah’s weak penalty to his left.

Maximiliano Pereira followed up by blasting way over the bar, failing to capitalise on the good work of Muslera, before his goalkeeper saved once more down to his left from another weak Ghanaian effort, this time from Adiyiah. 33-year-old journeyman, Sebastien Abreu, stepped up with the chance to put his team through to the semi final to face Holland, and cheekily chipped the ball down the centre.

Sebastien Abreu seals victory for La Celeste

There will inevitably be much debate that comes out of the decisions made by the officials in this match; in fact, it has already started. Did Suarez cheat? Of course he did! Would I have done the same? Of course I would! Whatever people think of him, I am sure he won’t mind.

Robinho shows his anger!

The first game deciding a place in the top four today was Brazil against the Netherlands, at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Port Elizabeth. A much anticipated match, for everyone expected a nice display from both teams. When the match started, I had the impression that some players were a little more nervous than they should be.

Brazil had the best chances as the Dutch team couldn’t keep the ball at their feet for long. The Brazilians’ first goal was disallowed, after Daniel Alves was flagged for offsides before his cross to Robinho. However, just after that, Felipe Melo made a beatiful vertical pass to Robinho and the forward scored a nice second goal in the World Cup. All those things happened before the 1oth minute of the first half.

Before his celebration.

After suffering the goal, some Dutch players got their act together and started playing.  Chances were created by the Oranje side, always seeking Arjen Robben along the right side, although never frightening Julio Cesar or the Brazilian defense.

As Holland appeared to have only one side, Brazil tried to pass the ball quickly, to open the Dutch defense. Daniel Alves, playing in the midfield again, crossed a good ball to Juan in the 25th minute, but the defender wasted it.

Another good opportunity came on 30 minutes. Kaká, Robinho and Luis Fabiano exchanged passes, ending with Kaká trying a nicely curled finish.. That was perhaps the best single moment of Brazilian football in the whole competition.  Ironically, it was well saved by Maarten Stekelenburg.

The match turns on Maarten Steklenberg's save of an upper 90 bound curler from Kaka, attempting to cap off Robinho's determined run.

The Dutch players appeared unfocused during the first half – something was off – they almost seemed to be arguing amongst them. Well, that was about to change. The Netherlands found a goal in the beginning of the second half. A dumb foul by Michel Bastos resulted in a free kick.  The cross by Wesley Sneijder went into the box, where Felipe Melo got in the way of Julio Cesar and, apparently, scored an own goal.

Felipe Melo in the way of Julio Cesar's save.

With the Dutch goal, the Brazilians became more nervous. Way more nervous. The Japanese referee didn’t help, delaying so many restarts, lecturing to the players. When the Brazilians thought that this couldn’t get any worse, Arjen Robben crossed a corner, flicked by Dirk Kuyt to Welsey Sneijder, unmarked, and he headed into the net.

While everybody stares, Sneijder scores!

Brazil still had some time to recover, with the go -ahead goal happening in the 67th minute. However, some Brazilian players were just not present. Luis Fabiano was hiding somewhere near the defense. Gilberto Silva’s must have lost his stamina, because he was walking around the pitch.

Don’t even get me started on Michel Bastos and Felipe Melo. The left back was taken off in the 61st minute, as he was just not able to cope with Robben’s skills. The midfielder, Melo, was expelled in the 72nd minute, after a harsh foul when he stepped on Robben unnecessarily.

Robinho reverts back to anger, lecturing Robben for allowing Melo to stomp on him

On the Ducth side, it has to be said that Mark Van Bommel and Nigel De Jong controlled the midfield well enough.

Dunga looked at his bench and found nobody to help. In a desperate move, he trades forwards, putting Nilmar in the place of Luis Fabiano, trying to get some speed on the field. Lucio turned into a striker because he wasn’t seen after the 75th minute doing his job in the defense. Brazil’s desperation got nowhere and helped the Netherlands create some good opportunities in the counter attack, of which they didn’t take full advantage . Near the ens, they could have scored many more goals.

So the heavily favored Brazilians were out. Dunga is also out, as he announced prior to the tournament. What’s left for Brazil? Picking up the pieces and trying to be a good World Cup host in 2014.

The General and his soldiers

As was pointed out in an earlier WFC column, Brazil and Argentina have plenty of differences, but both have somehow managed to keep one thing in common: the know-how to use their strengths.

Maradona and Dunga are not exactly coaches. One of them worked towards restructuring the Brazilian national squad’s core throughout his three and a half years on the bench, whereas the other one took over the Argentine job almost two years ago and has since spent his time testing far too many players. Some experts, here in South America, seem to consider that they have just continued their previous roles, Dunga as a captain, now off the field, almost like a general, Maradona as the “good friend” of the guys, and the one who still can make the nice moves (at least in practice ).

In the end, both left home some big names.

Dunga realised that, while he has some of the best central defenders and right backs in the world, in order to mantain this fortress he would have to give up on some of the “fantasy” players that were regularly seen in yellow. His main problem always seemed to be the left back, maybe Daniel Alves (who would be a first team regular virtually anywhere) can solve that issue, because Gilberto and Michel Bastos are not playing in the left, at least not for their clubs. Another problem for Brazil is the bench.  It’s not exactly Dunga’s fault but the reserve players are not of the same quality as the first team. It may seem as a natural thing, but the downfall is immense from Kaká to Julio Baptista and from Gilberto Silva to Josué, for example.

How does the beard story go?

Calling Maradona a head coach is merely a figure of speech.  I firmly believe that his only function as a coach is to sign the sheet, Veron seems to be the leader on the pitch. With a pack of good forwards, most of them on the top scoring tables in the main European leagues, and a lack of trustworthy defenders and goalies, the Argentines seem only to have a mind for attacking their opponents. Messi, Tevez and Higuain (with Aguero, Milito and Palermo in the bench) comprise one of the most talented groups of attacking midfielders/forwards in the world; how to best use them is the key to Argentina’s sucess.

There is a famous saying in the game of American Football:  “Offense wins games, defense wins championships.”  Which  will prevail in true football, we will find out during the World Cup.