Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Issue # 4 "The Fourth Froth"
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Is anyone getting tired of hearing the same White Stripes song (7 Nation Army, I think) over and over and over again when a goal is scored? Wouldn’t it be cool if each team had a pre-selected (and different) song to play when they netted one? Perhaps we could hear “The Winner Takes it All” when the Swedes score (ode to ABBA)! England would have it best with “We Are the Champions!” Funny enough, the Miami Heat started using the same song as they took a big lead late in Game 4 against the Thunder in the NBA Finals! And the crowd actually started the “woooaaah…woah woah woah woah woooaaah, woooaaah.” Woah is me!

Back to the best sport on Earth. (For those of you not keeping track,
I pick up half-way thru group play, starting with the second games in Group C.)

Against Croatia, the Italians looked, well, not Italian. Incredibly aggressive, lots of quick passes and shots on goal, they looked better than I expected (surprised me at how well they controlled the ball and tempo). The Croatian goalie did a tremendous job in saving so many big shots, but he couldn’t stop the first free kick goal from happening, struck perfectly by Pirlo. Luckily, the REAL Mario stood up….Mario Mandzukic, scoring his 3 rd goal of the tourney so far. What a ballsy move to bring down the cross with his foot, then strike in a short space of time, top shelf move! The Croatian team played harder, with more heart in the end, and deserved to draw even with Italy.

Redemption Time: Fernando Torres is back! He had similar opportunities Christian Ronaldo did in their respective second games, but unlike Ronaldo, Torres finished twice, the second time on a very similar breakaway pitting striker against goalie. He proved he deserves the starting position…perhaps his CHoking days at CHelsea are behind him?!?

Sweden and Ibrahimovic had their own redemption, bringing Sweden back into a lead of 2-1 after being down 1-0 with a couple assists. But that glory was short-lived as England answered back with two more goals, the second of which may have been THE goal of the tournament so far – a back heel flick by Danny Wellbeck fed by a low cross from Theo Walcott. Perhaps Theo is under appreciated and under-utilized in the EPL at Arsenal?? He was sensational with not only that pass but the goal that equalized England to 2-2 soon after subbing for a lackluster Milner (I still can’t believe it’s the same Milner that carried my fantasy team in the EPL the first half of the season at Manchester City… he’s been playing more like the Milner of the second half… poorly).

So here’s how the group stages ended:

Christ (ian) the Redeemer: In what is perhaps a sneak peek of his final World Cup act in World Cup 2014 in Brazil (perhaps in Rio, most suitably), Ronaldo redeems his poor finishing from Game 2 by putting two in the back of the net against the Dutch. Admittedly, Holland displayed a weak defense in their need to have extra players forward to win by a 2-goal margin needed to advance. This confidence builder should help Ronaldo score at least 1 against the Czech Republic, who played well enough to get first place in the weakest of the four groups in the Euro 2012. I predict a 2-1 thriller in favor of the Portuguese.

Germany proved they deserved first place in the Group of Death by getting 9 points – they beat 3 great teams (surely the Danes and even the Dutch would’ve pulled thru the knock-out stage if they were in Group A!!!). By having a perfect record in the group stage, the first time ever for Deutschland in their history at the Euro Championships, Germany also demonstrated they are THE team to beat, playing well at both ends of the field. I’m sticking with my prediction: Germany defeating Spain in the championships to win it all.

Spain became group winners with a little luck and incredible ball control. They won the possession game against a stingy Croatian defense. When time was nearly done on the clock, Croatia had to pull forward extra players to score, which was necessary for them to pull forward since Italy was in the lead against Ireland. This made Croatia vulnerable in the back, and with a controversial (offside) non-call, Iniesta & Navas both broke free across the offside trap on a Xavi flick and connected for an easy walk-in goal. I feel bad for the Croatians… perhaps they should’ve played harder against Italy knowing they would be eliminated with a tie against the Spaniards. Much respect goes to the Croatians ,who were great on both sides of the ball. My dark horse team has been eliminated, but they’ll be back… watch out for them in the World Cup 2014! Another thought from this game: did a good defense provide evidence that Torres is useless when given little space? It seems all of his recent goals for Chelsea and Spain are during breakaways and defensive break-downs, not when the situation is challenging…but let’s see what he can do in the elimination stage.

I’m disappointed in France for not at least tying Sweden. They had their chances, but the coach experimented with the combination of players, and probably found it to not be as good as the group that started the previous game against The Ukraine. Is anyone impressed with Karim Benzema? I’m not. I’ve seen enough. If they don’t find a better replacement for striker, France won’t have a chance to prove they’re the top teams in the tournament. I feel bad for Ribery…he’s been amazing, perhaps the best midfielder in the tournament with really great passes and amazing stretches of ball possession. France must face a tough Spain to get to the semi’s. That’s deserved after losing to a weaker Swedish side. But you gotta give props to Ibrahimovic for what may be the goal of the tournament…his scissors kick on a crossed ball is definitely a top 3 goal thus far.

As the HWCI Blogger-in-Chief pointed out, England did their historical rivals a favor by defeating The Ukraine, allowing France to advance. But it was a close one, with the Ukrainians have more chances on goal than the English. The co-hosts played very competitively, but just couldn’t convert, with exception of a goal that should’ve been counted when “saved” by John Terry. Boy, that guy’s name sure is associated with so much wrong-doing these days! But then again, the linesman didn’t call offside on the very same play, so perhaps it was the right non-call in the end!? In this game, England showed they have a very strong defense, but they give lots of opportunities to their opponents because they don’t have any great possession midfielders. While Steven Gerrard is a great passer, he doesn’t have the speed or nimbleness of Iniesta, Xavi, Nani or Ribery to penetrate defenses with the dribble. This will hold England back in the end.

Before I wrap up, I want to acknowledge just how great this tournament has been, even for the lay futbol fan: NO zero-zero ties. That’s really great. Every game has been exciting, and each of the last games in the group stages have had something to play for! Next time, lets hope they follow FIFA in putting in goal-line technology to count goals that were actually scored!

My next piece of amateur scribblings will explore who should be named to the “All-Tournament Team.” Think about who has stood out in this tournament, and not just those on the advancing 8 teams but also on some eliminated squads like Russia, Croatia and Denmark.