War!

I was happy to see Argentina win against England, despite the fact that I no longer live or enjoy football as I used to, and probably never will as I enter the winter of my life.

I have seen it all, been hurt and sad, especially in this tournament, so I was expecting nothing from the semifinal, except the hope of seeing a fair and good match between great sportsmen, and no references to history of politics (where I am frankly also much more knowledgeable than the idiotic rabble).

As expected it was dramatic nevertheless, more intense than pretty, but fair enough. 

As many say that the entire tournament is fixed, they should probably look towards England, who had everything to win the match after going ahead 0-1 by the new Barcelona player, Anthony Gordon. But instead of pressing for another goal, England decided to defend deep, giving away the entire match to the Argentinean World Champions, and notably Messi, who after a poor match, suddenly had space and time to create perfect passes into the English area; the little master (whose skills I do not know how FIFA has fixed) provided the assists for both Enzo Fernandez’ and Lauraro Martinez’ goals.

Spain-Argentina in the final; the two best amid the top four in the world who made it to the semifinals in a tournament that despite 48 teams lacked real surprises (frankly, Cape Verde and DR Congo were not surprises). Two sides that have much in common, whose players in many cases know one another, and specially Messi, who is facing many players he knew as kids in Barcelona. Two different sides, two different cultures, two different nations.

It would be a beautiful story if I believed in any of the beauty. Instead what I see is two sides, two countries, that hate one another. 

This is war by other means, nothing else, and as any war, it sells, the rabble loves it. I have one prediction: it will be ugly, it will be violent, and whoever loses, will not accept it, because what characterises the world of today, is accusing the others of cheating whenever you do not win.

Spain World Champions

Spain have become World Champions defeating England 1-0 on a first half strike by the Real Madrid player Olga Carmona. Only her third goal on the national team, the second having come in the semifinal against Sweden. Spain were the better team throughout the match and deserved the victory. England were saved by a larger defeat by a strong Mary Earps on goal.

Spain have been growing for years with a solid base at FC Barcelona, and despite internal struggles before the tournament they have shown stamina, and if anything, will only grown stronger. Certainly they are the side to defeat right now.

It has been a great World Cup with a lot of surprises and fantastic matches and teams. Thanks to everyone and look forward to the next one!

Ups and downs and finally!

I have been a supporter of Argentina since my childhood; since they won the 1986 World Cup. Since then I have suffered more downs than ups with the team; I have been sad, angry and desperate about their lack of results (as amply demonstrated in this very blog) and more often than not been close to giving up. Although the current national team had given us plenty of reasons to be optimistic (as I had also said on this blog) there were so many disappointments that I did not want to be too optimistic despite them having reached the World Cup final against a French team that was looking strangely more vulnerable as the tournament advanced.

The first half of the World Cup final gave every reason to be optimistic: Argentina were fantastic, far better than a French side that looked poor. The first half statistics said it all: Argentina had 15 shots on goal, and France did not once have a shot. Argentina were leading 2-0 on a penalty goal by Lionel Messi, and a truly great counterattack strike by Angel Di Maria. In the second half the French came out a bit more offensive (Marcus Thuram and Kolo Muani came on for Oliver Giroud and Ousman Dembele), but Argentina still appeared to be in full control of the match, and were even creating more chances. 

At this point I was completely relaxed, quietly beginning to celebrate what I had been waiting for...

But to be Argentina fan is to suffer.

I suffered.

The great Kylian Mbappe scored first on a penalty that Nicolas Ottamendi committed on Kolo Muani, and only two minutes later he equalized on a splendid first-timer. 2-2 with only five minutes left. 

It was so unfair! Argentina had been so much better! But France and not least Kylian Mbappe were threatening to show one of the greatest truths in football (and in life): you do not need to be the best to be a winner.

The match went into extra time, and Argentina remained the better side, although the goals had given the French a threatening confidence that they could take the match nevertheless. 

And I was scared.

Then Messi put things right by bringing Argentina ahead 3-2. I was again (carefully) happy with all my hopes within reach.

But soon my hopes were shattered once again, as another penalty gave the annoyingly brilliant Kylian Mbappe the opportunity to score his third goal of the match and make it 3-3.

It took the match into penalties although Emiliano Martinez, "Dibu", made a save from a Kolo Muani free-runner that  almost made me shit my pants and could easily have meant that France would be World Champions.

Penalty kicks are always nerve-wrecking. That said, this one was one-sided as Argentina were dominant. The players scored on every shot, and as he did against the Netherlands, Dibu saved Kingley Coman's penalty. When Aurelien Tchouameni missed the goalposts altogether, Gonzalo Montiel scored the last penalty for Argentina, making them World Champions.

After so much suffering I lifted my arms in a victory that had appeared so unlikely for so long! 

I am still wearing my Argentina shirt!

The final was unique: a never-seen before score of 3-3, with two of the best players in history, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe, scoring respectively two and three goals. It had a great Argentina side (France were frankly very poor, in particular in the first half, and this was one of the final's disappointments) but also an incredible French comeback, as well as drama and nerves.

A great World Cup final that took place in a place that should never have hosted such greatness!

France World Champions and Croatia, the world's Champions

The World Cup final between France and Croatia will be remembered for many things: Croatia's first final and France's second title; the most goals in a final since 1966; the first final since 2002 that does not go into extra time; Mbappe as the youngest goalscorer in a final since Pele in 1958; Didier Deschamps joining Beckenbauer and Zagallo as having won the cup both as a player and manager; the first use of VAR in a World Cup final.

It was a great final that defied expectations in Moscow, proving a fine end to a World Cup that has been better than expected. Croatia started best, and looked superior until Mario Mandzukic scored an own goal to bring France ahead, in what was really France's first shot on goal. Perisic's equalizer was well-deserved, but what will probably be discussed a lot was the penalty award for hands, following a revision from the VAR: initially the Argentinean referee did not call it, but after revising the video he awarded the penalty that Antoine Griezmann scored on. It was not a clear-cut call: in my view the hand did not stop an open goal situation and was unintentional, but that can certainly be interpreted differently. What is clear about VAR is that it does not take controversy away from football, but is a tool to help referees make decisions (which may not always be better).
Although Croatia came out to attack in the second half the French counter-attack was excellent, with Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe making it 3-1 and 4-1. Paul Pogba was young player of the tournament four years ago, a title that now goes to Mbappe, underlining the strength of French youth football. It was only a dreadful mistake by Hugo Lloris (reminding of Loris Karius' giveaway to Karim Benzema in the Champions league final), giving a goal away to Mario Mandzukic (who became the first player in a final to score for both teams...), that gave Croatia some hope that they might make another amazing comeback.
But it was not to be and France won 4-2.

France are World Champions, but Croatia were the world's champions. Added to their quality, the Croat team has fought bravely and with spirit throughout the tournament, playing some of the most dramatic matches of the tournament. Luka Modric deservedly got the award as the best player of the tournament, but the entire team has been fantastic. And in the end they also took their final defeat with a level of dignity that you would be unlikely to see in many other teams: they were disappointed, but congratulated the French and thanked their fans, of which they can now surely count most of the world (including the Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who looked disarmingly excited about the entire final and meeting the players in the award ceremony).

Congratulations France. Thank you Croatia.

The Finalists: France-Croatia

The World Cup has reached the final stage, and after the two all-European semifinals we have an all-European final between France and Croatia.
This will be the second World Cup final for France (having won in 1998), while Croatia makes it to their first World Cup final ever, after they took the world with storm in their first World Cup, also in 1998. In fact, the 1998 World Cup semifinal between France and Croatia was the first time the two teams faced one another, with France winning. Since then, the sides have faced one another four times, with two victories for France (friendlies in 1999 and 2000) and two ties (2-2 at the 2004 European Championships and 0-0 in a friendly in 2011), so Croatia will not only be looking for the world title, but also for their first victory over France.

Neither team has been overly impressing in a World Cup that has been more about organization, defending and set-piece goals. In fact, no team has stood out in this World Cup, that is unlikely to be remembered for any genius on the pitch. France won all their matches in ordinary time except for a boring 0-0 against Denmark, but not in an impressive manner, although they have always looked like possible champions. In particular their central defenders in Rafael Varane and Samuel Umtiti have been impressive, but also their young backs Benjamin Pavard (remember his goal against Argentina?) and Lucas Hernandez have been fantastic. In midfield the ever-working N'golo Kante has shown on the world stage why he has for a few years been the highest rated player of the Premier League, while Paul Pogba has shown what all the hype about him was about. And then we have the genius of the young Kylian Mbappe and the hard work of Antoine Griezmann to create a team that in my view looks like world champions and set to dominate the world stage for years to come.
Croatia's way to the final has been more complicated: they won their group with three straight victories over Nigeria, Argentina and Iceland, but then struggled to defeat Denmark as well as Russia after penalty kicks, where the Monaco goalkeeper Daniel Subasic has been the saviour. But that is not to say that there are not other players: Dejan Lovren has been a solid and experienced defender, while Luka Modric has stood out as perhaps the best player of the tournament. Ivan Perisic has also been outstanding, while Ante Rebic is probably going to be in the sight of bigger clubs than Eintracht Frankfurt. The veteran Mario Mandzukic has been working hard in all matches and scored a deserved winner over England. Although they look more tired than the French, they are a more experienced and patient side, which they showed by their victory over England in the semifinals. That will be their greatest chance.

If I bet, I would put my money on France. But I will probably be supporting Croatia because it would be great to see a small country of 4 million people take the greatest title of world football.

USA World Champion

In reality the World Cup final between Japan and the USA was over in the first 16 minutes, when USA was leading 4-0. The Americans, and most notably Carli Lloyd, had started like lightning, while the Japanese defense had not realized that the match had started.
Japan's defense was dreadful during most of the match, but this does not take the credit away from the USA. Carli Lloyd's three goals were fantastic, and her third goal, from the halfway line, will surely go over in history.
Japan grabbed on to whatever small hope they might have by scoring two goals through Yuki Ogimi and a Julie Johnston own goal, but soon after Tobin Heath made it 5-2 to ascertain American dominance. The only little respect Japan won in this match was that they continued fighting to the very end, but in reality the USA were far superior and are rightful World Champions for the third time and first time since 1999.
It has been a great tournament, and I look forward to next year's Olympic tournament next year (where the Women's game has been far better than the Men's for a long time!).

Japan-USA Final!

The Women's World Cup has been excellent, and the final is already highly anticipated to anyone that has followed the impressive growth of Women's Football over the last decade.
Japan-USA is a repeat of the 2011 Final in Germany, when the Japanese took their first World Cup title winning 3-1 in penalties after 2-2. In 2012 both teams again faced one another in the Olympic final, this time with the North Americans taking the Gold medals after a 2-1 victory.
The USA are probably slight favourites to take a title, which would be their third, making them the most winning football nation of the tournament (Germany has won twice). Playing in Canada is almost like playing at home, and in particular in the semifinal against title favourites Germany, when they won 2-0, the USA ladies were incredibly well-organized and showed their outstanding physical form.
Japan are in fact the only team of the tournament that has won all of its matches. They have been steady, disciplined, and continue playing a high quality fast-passing style of football. They will punish any mistake, just like they did to England in the semi-final, and will be eager to take revenge of the 1-2 Olympic defeat in 2012.
Of the players I must mention the two captains and veterans, who may be playing their last World Cup: Amy Wambach from the USA and Homare Sawa from Japan. Both in their mid-thirties they have nevertheless been solid foundations for their teams advances to the final. No matter what happens on Sunday, they are already to be remembered as two of the greatest women footballers of all time.
This Final will be at least as great as any Final the men play!!! So make sure to watch it!!!!

The final: Germany

Germany has us all in awe. As a football fan they are impossible not to like. And I like them. Had it not been that they are playing Argentina, I would probably have been supporting them against anyone else.
It has been a joy to watch Germany develop its football over the last 12 years. They threw away the tight discipline and hierarchies that had given them so much in the 20th century, and developed a football that fit into the Germany of the 21st century; organized and tactically well-founded, but at the same time with flair and offensive pressure. They took the best of the Spanish tiki-taka and assimilated it into the German style, something that Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have been practicing.
Watchers of the German league will know that it is a league with a lot of attacking, goals, and young talent. In the early 2000s German football implemented a plan to develop youth talents with a  focus on skills rather than muscle. The mayor clubs all signed up for it, and the result was a wave of European u-17 and u-21 titles. In 2009 they won the u-21 European championship in awesome style defeating England 4-0 in the final. Six players from that team are playing today: Ozil, Khedira, Neuer, Howedes, Hummels and Boateng (as an anecdote, Fabian Johnson, now playing for USA, was also part of that team).
At the same time they have some of their former greats in Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteigger, who both played the World Cup final of 2002, and so they build bridge between the old and new Germany.

Germany have been splendid throughout: they started with a complete trashing of Portugal, which was basically enough to win them the group, despite struggling against Ghana and winning 1-0 against the USA in a match where the Americans were more than happy to be defeated. They struggled against Algeria, who showed some of the German weaknesses, but were then systematic in defeating France with relative ease (the French never really threatened them), and then the historic trashing of Brazil has made them the best team of the tournament.
The Germans know they are favorites, but they also know they need to concentrate against a well-organised Argentine side with players who can decide a match in a moment of brilliance. Mats Hummels has been a fantastic defender ahead of Manuel Neuer, whom I rate as the best keeper of the tournament (closely followed by Sergio Romero). Phillipp Lahm should be back as right full back, with Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteigger and Toni Kroos, supporting the flow of Ozil and Thomas Muller, surely form the best midfield of the tournament, and could completely dominate the Argentine midfield, although it is not likely they will penetrate as easily the Argentine lines as they did with Brazil.
Germany must remain concentrated to win. If anyone can do it, it is the Germans. At the same time, they could lose, but if they do, they should still be admired for what they have done.

As an Argentina fan, I will be disappointed, but know there is no shame to be defeated by such a splendid Germany, and I would celebrate with all German fans!

The final: Argentina

I support Argentina and I am wearing my Argentina shirt today. It will be a long-held dream to see them again lift the trophy, as I still remember their last triumph with nostalgia. 1986; when football became my passion.
That said, I have been very critical of their play in this tournament. They are not that offensive side that many expected with the players they have. Perhaps it is understandable: this tournament has proven that headless attack is not a way to go, and Argentina has unfortunately, much before the tournament, been struggling with defensive weakness. In fact, I always thought that defensive weakness would be their problem. However, they have proven far better, if not careful, in defense. Marco Rojo and Martin Demichelis have been surprisingly solid, and Sergio Romero in goal has been one of their best players. Besides this Javier Mascherano has come out as one of the best players of the tournaments, playing splendidly as a holding midfielder.
The apparently strong attacking has been more of a problem. While we have seen glimpses of brilliance in Lionel Messi, he still looks tired, far from his best form, where he would be fearful to the Germans (remember his five goals against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012?). Sergio Aguero's eternal injuries has made him into a non-player in the tournament; not only absent, but even poor when he has come in. Ezequiel Lavezzi has been a better replacement, and worked harder in the last matches than in the first, where he seemed to think he was still on vacation. The same came be said of Gonzalo Higuain, who worked like a horse against the Dutch and scored the winner against Belgium. However, Higuain is still a poor striker; he was in Real Madrid, and he still is one who needs ten chances to score a goal. You don't get ten chances in a World Cup final!
Angel Di Maria has been one of the better Argentines, and his absence will be felt, although Benfica's young Enzo Perez has been a strong replacement. He does not provide the same offensive prowess as DiMaria, but has given the defensive midfield depth, giving space to the attackers.

Although I support Argentina, Germany are big favorites. But they do have weaknesses, and the team that exposed them most in this tournament were none other than Algeria, a side that fought bravely and had a style that is somewhat similar to Argentina.
Germany has played the entire tournament with a high defensive line. This also gave Ghana golden opportunities in the first round, and forced the brilliant Manuel Neuer to play almost as a sweeper. It worked but it was risky. Throughout the tournament, Argentina has faced very compact back lines that have given little space to their strikers, perhaps except for Nigeria. The Argentines do have the potential to exploit the high German defensive line.

Anything can happen in a final! I hope Argentina wins, but know it will have to be the match of their lives! The Germans are an amazing team!

Greatest World Cup Matches: Spain-Netherlands (2010)

The first World Cup final on the African continent was special for many reasons. Firstly it was the first all-European final outside Europe, but also the first final ever without the participation of either Brazil, Argentina, Italy, or Germany.
And there was certainly going to be a new world champion: for Spain it was their first World Cup final; it was the third for the Netherlands, having lost their two previous finals in 1974 and 1978.
The Netherlands had always had a complex of not achieving the pinnacle. Besides their European Championship title of 1988, success had always eluded them. With some of the best football academies in the world, the Dutch produced a long line of incredibly talented players who were schooled in the Dutch model of total football, combining tactical and physical skills and a well-developed understanding of the game.
The Netherlands always entered the tournaments as favourites, but had largely disappointed. In 2008 the former Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk was made manager of the team to lead them to the 2010 World Cup. In qualifying the Dutch made a clean sweep by winning every match. But there was criticism on their style: always proud of playing beautiful football the Dutch became, like the Argentines, divided on whether to play a more cynical style in order to get results. The 2010 team was a result of this. The side contained some superb technical players such as Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder, Arsenal's Robbie van Persie and Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben, but also some uncompromising players such as Bayern Munich's Mark van Bommel, Manchester City's Nigel de Jong (known as the lawnmower) or Everton's John Heitinga. While there were occasional brilliant moments, the team played more result-oriented and physical football than previous Dutch sides. And it seemed to be working.
Arriving at the World Cup the Netherlands had won all three first round matches against Denmark, Japan and Cameroun. In the last-16 they defeated a Slovakian side that had eliminated the defending World Champions of Italy 2-1 on goals by Robben and Sneijder.
In the quarterfinals the Dutch played the favourites of Brazil. After being down 0-1, Wesley Sneijder scored twice in the second half to give his side a semi-final match against the double world champions from Uruguay.
The Dutch won an exciting match 3-2 and were ready to face Spain in Johannesburg.

As defending European champions Spain entered the tournament as the biggest favourites, but started with a debacle when they lost their first match 0-1 to Switzerland. It was a match where Spain had possession and chances, but their feeble attack gave no results. Spain lacked a strong striker, and manager Vicente del Bosque sometimes chose to play without a striker, giving Spain a lot of possession but little to show for it. The side was not outright defensive, but their main strength came from their possession and their outstanding defense around FC Barcelona's Carles Puyol and the Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
In their following two matches Spain fought themselves back to win the group by defeating Honduras and Chile. The next three games resulted in three narrow 1-0 victories against Portugal, Paraguay and Germany to make it to the final. All victories were achieved by a high level of possession that had become Spain's trademark, just as FC Barcelona, but without the powerful striking force of the Catalonians. Still, Spain had every reason to be optimistic before the final against the Netherlands, who nevertheless must have noted the possibility of winning against Spain's low-scoring side.

It was not a nice match. Netherlands came out to destroy Spanish possession, and had already received five bookins within the first 30 minutes of the match. Nigel de Jong should have been given a direct red card by a vicious karate kick against Xabi Alonso, but a forgiving referee Howard Webb only booked him, and the Dutch violence did nothing but break the rhythm of the match.
This was the least likely Dutch side in the history of football.
While not being able to play as polished as before, Spain still had possession; Sergio Ramos had a great chance on a header that was saved by Stekelenburg, but otherwise it was a hugely disappointing first half.
The ugliness continued in the second half, and the increasingly frustrated Spaniards also joined the fight; while they continued having more possession, Arjen Robben had the biggest chance of the match to put the Dutch ahead after Wesley Sneijder had torn apart the Spanish defense, but Robben was prevented by the great Iker Casillas.
In the 83rd minute, Arjen Robben had another a good run against Casillas but Spain's captain again saved his side.
The true star of the match, who gave Spain the title, was Iker Casillas.
Before that Sergio Ramos had missed a free header to put the Spanish ahead, but in the end it was 0-0 of a very ugly final that went into overtime.
Spain tried to put pressure on the Dutch with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas coming in for Xabi Alonso. And Fabregas had the first big chance of extra time when he missed alone with Stekelenburg. In the second half of extra time the Dutch were finally given a red card when John Heitinga brought down Fernando Torres. And soon after this Spain scored the winning goal after a controversial situation where the Dutch should clearly have been awarded a corner-kick after a free kick.
But the Netherlands had made no friends, and nobody really cared about the Dutch protests after Andres Iniesta smashed the ball in with his right foot after Fabregas' through-pass caught Iniesta on-side.
Spain were champions.

The fourth 1-0 victory for Spain in a row made them the least-scoring World Champion ever. Still, it was a well-deserved title, and nobody felt sorry for the Netherlands. It was a record final in terms of yellow cards (12), and it was a pity that the first final on African soil should have been such an ugly match after a wonderful tournament. A historical victory, not only because Spain won for the first time. It was also the first victory of a European side outside Europe.
 

11^th July 2010

Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg

Attendance: 84,490

Referee: Howard Webb, England 

Teams:

Spain: Casillas, Pique, Carles Puyol, Ramos, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Capdevilla, Busquets, Alonso (Fabregas), Villa (Torres), Pedro (Navas)

Netherlands: Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Heitinga (RC, 109), Mathijsen, Van Bronckhorst (Braafheid), Van Bommel, De Jong (Van der Vaart), Kuyt (Elia), Van Persie, Sneijder, Robben 

Spain-Netherlands 1-0 (after extra time)

Goals:

1-0 Iniesta (116)