The Soccer Profs

Railhawks wear down Battery

2007-05-20T11:47:00.000-05:00

Railhawks wear down Battery, scratch out third consecutive win

Cary, NC

May 19, 2007

The Carolina Railhawks soared into third place in the USL-1 at the expense of the visiting Charleston Battery. This was the third consecutive, and third ever, win for the fledging ‘Hawks. It was “Hawai’ian Night” at SAS Soccer Park, and so it was fitting that native Hawai’ian Kupono Low lei’d the ball into the goal from the penalty spot in the 39^th minute. It was a deserved goal, borne of the creative work of midfield dynamo Connally Edozien, nurtured into fruition by the zip of Carrieri and pushed into the world by a terribly clumsy challenge by Karalexis.

Edozien was ostensibly paired up top with Trinidadian Kevin Jeffries, so it may have come as a surprise to see the former collecting the ball sixty five yards from goal to begin the Railhawks attack. While the French could have used head coach Scott Schweitzer’s tactics in 1940, the 4-1-4-1 formation left Jeffries alone to chase through balls, one of which he nearly caught up with in the 15^th minute. Despite their tactical handicap, Carolina cobbled together stretches of possession throughout the opening stanza, forcing the Battery into improvised and decidedly awkward defensive postures.

The Railhawks looked particularly dangerous on the wings, with Carrieri and the recouped Johnny Steele making right back Lee Sandwina look lamely pedestrian. Steele, just back from injury, ran his mouth as much as his legs in the first half and following a moment of brilliance where he turned two defenders in the box on the juggle, he was booked by referee Erich Simmons for unsportsmanlike conduct. The ‘Hawks benefited from Steele’s consistent service from dead ball situations, something they desperately lacked in his two-week absence.

The only opportunities that the Battery could muster came from the inability of an improvised Carolina defense to clear their lines. Anthony Maher, who had been instrumental in Carolina’s recent wins as a forward, was inserted at left back while Caleb Norkus was flipped to the right. Their persistent loss of possession presented Charelston’s King with some precious attacking gems. Gordon Chin was the most industrious Battery on the pitch, running around, through and over the ineffectual Brightwell in center midfield.

The penalty was a well earned and deserved goal, for Carolina had been on the attack for most of the half, Edozien dominating the ball and making good use of width. The pace of the Carolina wings was simply too much for Charleston and while no clear cut chances fell to Jeffries, he was enterprising and effective in possession. The first half performance was as binary as the scoreline, Hawks (1) and on, Battery (0) and off.

In lieu of a full commitment to attacking football, Carolina are always spoiling for a fight. The slightest provocation turns their 4-1-4-1 into a spiraling of Hawks, talons reaching for eyeballs. Their collective distemper goaded the Battery into life early in the second half, center back Sandwina lurching forward to flash a 25 yard shot past McClellan’s left post. Not long after, Low received a sharp kick in the face from Alvarez releasing a schizophrenia of Hawks loose on the pitch (that’s actually a collective noun for Hawks!). The Carolina coaching staff threw more arms in the air than a room full of Pentecostals, righteously indignant invective ringing in the 4^th official’s ears.

Now that they were concentrating on fighting instead of playing soccer, Carolina lost much of their first half initiative, granting the visitors long spells of possession that they contrived to turn into a brace of missed chances. By refusing to give the ball to Edozien, blatantly ignoring their anemic central midfield and forgetting about the substitutes’ bench there was always the feeling that Carolina were going to drop two points into the trash. If not for the stalwart central defending of Sanfilippo and Dombrowski the scoreline wouldn’t have been too different, just enough to draw attention to tactical blunders and give Charleston a valuable road point.

From the other bench, Anaheuser sent on Bennett for Vercollone to provide width and pace, and then changed a forward and midfielder in search of the equalizer. Carolina continued to make things difficult for themselves, refusing possession, clearances and organization in one movement. By the 75^th minute, the game had lost its flow but it was such a perfect night for home grown professional soccer that the 4,462 fans could hardly complain.

The last five minutes saw a bevy of chances fall to the Railhawks as Charleston pushed forward. Carrieri and Fusilier (on for Steele) made good use of the increased space on the wings to get behind the defense and deserved at least one goal between them. The crowd held its breath through four minutes of extra time and released about three metric tons of carbon dioxide on the exhale.

As a fifteen hundred cars started their engines, Railhawks’ pundits roosted in the corners of the stadium to count Carolina’s goal tally over six games. It took most of them one finger short of a full hand, others insisting that two goals against Chivas USA be included. The optimists insisted on counting goals conceded, using the same number of fingers to reach their tally. The optimists will be hoping for low scoring games on the upcoming road trip, where three points from three games will mark a successful west coast adventure against Seattle, Vancouver and Portland. For those who favor attacking soccer, not what Eduardo Galeano called two mouths yawning at each other (0-0), the hope is that these three points will come from one game, most likely against Seattle, with the hope for a fourth point against Portland.

The Railhawks now sit fourth in USL-1 on nine points from 6 games, while Charelston drops to tenth. The first stanza of the Southern Derby is complete, with Carolina taking huge flaps of the wing towards hoisting the cup, if such a thing indeed exists.

Carolina Railhawks pluck Chivas USA, 2-0

2007-05-09T09:49:00.000-05:00

Carolina Railhawks pluck Chivas USA 2-0, earn first victory

Chris Gaffney
Cary, NC
May 8, 2007

In front of 5,205 rain-soaked fans, the Carolina Railhawks of USL-1 defeated Chivas USA of Major League Soccer with first half goals from Phillip Long (’29) and Anthony Maher (’39). The first win in the Railhawks’ short history came at the expense of the Los Angeles-based outfit that fielded a second string team with a combined wage bill of $457,000 ($41,500 average).

A burst of rain just before kickoff livened up the immaculate grass at SAS Soccer Park and signaled a damp evening for the pro-Chivas crowd. Chivas USA is the sister team of Deportivo Guadalajara (aka Chivas), Mexico’s most successful and popular team. With tremendous appeal in the Triangle’s Latino community, thousands of fans came to the stadium dressed in Chivas gear. Though undoubtedly disappointed that Mexican national team idol Claudio Suarez was not in the starting lineup, he did spend time before the game signing autographs.

The rain had no apparent ill-effect on the Railhawks who were playing in their third match in five days. Having failed to score in the previous 349 minutes of play, the locals took less than one hundred seconds to threaten the Chivas goal with former New England Revolution player Connoly Edozien forcing Burpo into an early diving save.

Chivas replied in the 5^th minute, Lopez slashing a tempting ball across the box which required a timely intervention by Carolina’s captain San Filippo. As the rain lessened, the pace of the game quickened and Philip Long, making his first start in the center of midfield released Anthony Maher who flashed his shot across the visitor’s goal. Carolina’s Edozien continued his run of excellent form and was able to open up spaces through midfield with ease.

The weather and the play was to turn somewhat rougher, the skies opening up just before Chivas’ Kleijstan was booked for a late tackle on Stokes. The pain of the challenge did not prevent Stokes from tidying up in the back throughout the half, although his retaliation in the 25^th minute did not go unnoticed by the 4^th official, earning him a booking.

Following a ten minute spell in which nothing much and everything happened, an apparent Carolina goal was disallowed for offside. The momentum was turning in favor of the home team and it was only slightly surprising when Philip Long made the most of his coach’s selection and a poor clearance by the Chivas defense to lash a left-footed blast into the bottom right corner of the goal in the 29^th minute. The sense of relief amongst the home supporters was palpable and put an end to hours of attacking frustration.

The lack of quality in some of the Chivas players was apparent, with Burling and Lopez looking overvalued at a combined salary of $30,600. Carolina pressed their advantage while the throwing of John Deere hats into the crowd proved that people of all cultures love free stuff that they don’t really need.

Chivas did not take kindly to the initiative taken by Long, and began to kick back a little too literally in the 31^st minute. In a violent sequence which oddly saw Carolina’s Kupono Low receive the only booking, a contested ball led to pushes and grabs and kicks, bringing both teams into a melee on the sideline.

Chivas appeared to be riled up, but could not find a way through the Railhawks’ well-organized defense – Stokes and Dombrowski bottling up the middle of the field with pace and precision in the tackle.

As the half moved into its final stanza, the local support found their voices and were rewarded by some enterprising play between Edozien, Carrieri and Maher. Edozien won the ball in midfield after more sloppy exit play by Chivas, released ex-UNC Chapel Hill standout Carrieri down the right flank. His hopeful ball was met with Maher’s sliding right boot and skipped over Burpo’s hand which was desperately reaching for his left post. Two nil, and finally some luck had come Carolina’s way.

The first half ended with a booking for Carrieri after stepping on a Chivas player and a brief attacking flurry which John O’Hara handled with relative ease in the Carolina goal.

In a sporadic downpour, Edozien continued to be a creative menace in the second half. The ill temper of the first half also continued, with Maher and Thomas locking horns in a slow and brutal dance in the center of the park. Despite (or perhaps because of) the aggression of the visitors, Carolina did not look interested in relinquishing their advantage. Joey Worthen slid in from left midfield to flash a Carrieri cross just wide, and in the 56^th minute Edozien again turned provider, his centering pass deserving a better response from a lunging Maher. It wasn’t long before things turned ugly again.

In the 60^th minute, Low was adjudged to have (magically?)drawn down Merlin on a breakaway and received his second yellow. The ensuing discussion led to more fisticuffs yet no more bookings. Chivas, now up a man and clearly angry, could not muster a shot on goal nor get behind the Railhawks’ stalwarts in the center of the park, Stokes, Dombrowski and Sanfilippo frustrating attacks at every opportunity. Carolina changed Edozien, Long, Maher, and Carrieri for Fusilier, Abolaji, Jeffrey and Cephas– Jeffrey receiving a stomp on the backside following a tackle from behind in the 84^th minute. More shirt grabbing and tussles ensued.

Carolina were unlucky not to score their third as Fusilier was released into the box by Cephus in the 88^th minute, his shot banging off the base of the post and skidding across the goal mouth. The unexpected result left Chivas coach Predrag Radosavljević (Preki) screaming for more than one minute of time to be added by the referee. He bustled his team into the bus without talking to the media.

Carolina head coach Scott Schweitzer was predictably pleased with the result crediting his players for working hard for each other: “If we continue to do the right things for long enough, playing our style, the goals will eventually begin to fall. We’re still learning a lot about what we need to do as individuals and a team and I think we’ll be much improved this weekend in Atlanta.”

Carolina (0-3-1, 3pts) are currently ninth in the USL-1, Chivas USA (2-3-0, 6pts) eighth in the MLS. Carolina travel to Atlanta this weekend to take on the Silverbacks in a rematch of last weekend’s game which they lost 2-0.

Match report: Duke v American

2006-09-03T16:15:00.000-05:00

Match Report
NCAA Division One Men’s Soccer

Duke University Blue Devils (3)
American University Eagles (1)
Box score at http://aueagles.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/stats/2006-2007/auvsduke.html
September 1, 2006
Koskinen Stadium
Duke University
Durham, NC

It is a truism in soccer that there are levels of talent and organization that stymie even the most determined efforts to win. American University has a decent pedigree and some quality players, but it was clear that on this Friday night contest in the lingering shadow of Hurricane Ernesto, that the eighth ranked Blue Devils could only beat themselves. However, it took a few minutes for this to become apparent.

The opening five minutes of the match revealed a frenzy of attacking moves as both defenses struggled to adjust to the wet field conditions, which contrived to accelerate and brake the ball like an octogenarian driving a taxi. It took just two minutes for the American #11 (Larry Mark) to connect with a Sal Caccavale to put American into an unexpected lead. The shock was so great for the American #10 that he lost his footing as he ran in ever tightening circles, quickly turning the home fans’ disappointment into mirth.

Less than two minutes later, mirth gave way to exuberance as Duke equalized through 
Spencer Wadsworth, who slotted home Mike Grella’s neatly crossed ball. The goal signaled that
Duke were not taken aback by the young Americans’ early foray into their territory and for the
following fifteen minutes Duke dominated possession although at times they seemed nervous with
the ball at their feet. The seeming ease with which Duke controlled the game came to an abrupt
end in the 24^th minute when Mark fired off the Duke post against the run of play. The sound of the
ringing crossbar spurred Duke coach John Rennie into action, substituting Charowski for Vidiera
in the 25^th minute. Within 90 seconds, Charowski sliced forward from his central midfield position
to combine with Wadsworth and Grella for the second goal. The move was a thing of beauty,
shifting from the center to the right wing and then a long crossfield ball played neatly on the
floor that gave the American keeper no chance and Grella made no mistake. Grella’s form has
been outstanding in the first three games of the young season, and with his flowing tresses and
dynamic moves, he is one of the more entertaining and devastating strikers in the ACC.
               As American sensed the game ebbing away from them, they withdrew a striker into
midfield in order to stop Duke’s ravages. The back line stepped forward to compress the field,
but Duke is nothing if not expert in sending the midfield line flying forward in attack. With
the skill and pace to compete with the best teams in the nation, it was no surprise when the
Blue Devils hammered home their third goal of the half on 40 minutes, 38^th minute substitute
Chris Loftus making his coach look like a genius for the second time in the half. Though they
appeared to be out-classed, American nearly halved their deficit in the dying moments of the
half and only a goal line clearance spared the Devils’ blushes.

The second half featured none of the great drama of the first, but was dignified and manly in
the pursuit of it. On a wet, chilly night the sound of leather against leather and leather against
human flesh combined with the throatiness of post-pubescent young men to create a sense of
urgency on the field, if not in the stands. Both teams did their best to maintain the pace and
creativity of the first half, but the goals for the night had been tallied and the crowd wandered
home, damp and content.

               Duke next take on South Florida University in the championship game of the Duke Classic on Sunday at 7:30pm.

Chris Gaffney

Previewing: What's next?

2006-07-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

So with the World Cup over, we're figuring out how to keep this going. Just like the pros on the pitch, we're resting up and moving around to some new cities.

It's all over, including the shouting

2006-07-20T14:34:00.000-05:00

The World Cup ended a mere 11 days ago, yet it already seems so far away. I suppose this is the human tendency to see the past as something that has already happened, the future as undertermined. I tend to agree, yet the case of Zizou's headbutt will not let me rest at night. It's as if I can see it happening tomorrow as easily as it did on the 9th of July, 2006. Here are some of the more puzzling questions for me:

Did he do it just because he snapped or was it a deliberate, absurd act of petulance intended to make us all scratch and shake our heads?

What could Materazzi have possibly said to the greatest player of his generation to intentionally deny himself the Cup?

How different would our feelings be if it weren't such a beautiful act of violence?
What if he had really destroyed Materazzi's face, like that guy in Fight Club (the debate as to Materazzi's beauty aside)?

The headbutt must have hurt, but it really only knocked him to the floor. And here's the rub...Materazzi just walked into it, looking to the side and not straight ahead, as if daring Zizou to lay him flat on his arse. But as a pure act, it was admittedly pretty cool and might be seen soon at your neighborhood pub. If you're going to lay someone out in your last game in front of one third of everyone you'd better make it good, and in that Zizou delivered. What ever happened to no blood, no foul? Damn this Fair Play bollocks.

Why do people attempt to separate sport from other elements of life such as politics, morality, global economics or other integrated elements of our lives?

The ways in which FIFA, French, Italians and everybody else experiences, judges, moralizes or co-opts Zizou's headbutt, describe as much about the individuals and groups as the act itself. Writ large, the World Cup, Zizou, and everything that is associated with that moment cannot be extracted and understood in brief. The construction, production and consumption of that moment continues as you read and I write this. The anti-racisits got their piece of Zizou's action, the immigrants got a slice and the French made themselves feel ok with violence again. Materazzi got a world cup winners medal.

What would have happened if he hadn't done it? Would France have won?

Unlikely. Buffon is the best goalie in the world. Barthez is a skirt-sniffing poodle-walker who lost his moustache in the locker room. Trezeguet would have taken a penalty anyway, Zidane might have missed, Buffon's save having already defeated him.

Has this irony been expressed anywhere else?
Materazzi ( a notoriously violent defender) questionably takes Abidal down in the box, Elizondo blows his whistle, penalty. Zizou chips audaciously off the underside of the bar, 1 - nil. Ten minutes later, Materazzi rises above the French defense and equalizes with a powerful header, one one. In the first extra time, Zizou is let free into the box and heads beautifully, much like the headers that won the Cup in 1998, but Buffon, who had been going the wrong way, extends his right arm, twisting, and somehow parrys the ball out for a corner. I can see the ball, in the past, going into the net. In the future when I see replays, I will see Buffon make the save. Fifteen minutes later, Zizou lays Materazzi out. In penalties, Trezeguet hits the bar, Italy hit all five and 500,000 people gather in the Circus Maximus to celebrate.

Two days later, the team for which eight of the Italians play (Juventus) was found guilty of match fixing, stripped of their last two titles, taken out of this year's Champions League, relegated to the second division and given a thirty point deficit. Their coach jumped out a window during the World Cup. They will not be playing in Serie A again until at least the 2009/10 season, costing them multi-milllion Euros for years. This is the biggest candal in European football for many, many years and has major implications for the whole league and structure of Italian soccer. Along with "La Veccia Signora" Lazio and Fiorentina went down to Serie B with seven and fourteen point deduction respectively, and AC Milan, the team owned by recently outsed Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was handed a 44 point deduction from last season, which keeps them in Serie A, but out of Europe. They will also start this season with a fifteen point deduction, making it unlikely that they will be playing in Europe until 2008/9. Berlusconi has not yet managed to rise above the filth and will likely face criminal charges.

Out there: Why did he do it?

2006-07-11T02:03:00.000-05:00

Zidane isn't talking, not even in Paris, so it's leading to all sorts of guesses and shady sources. The consensus: It was provoked by "a serious comment."

Some media outlets are reporting the interpretations of one lip reader. But it appears there is a rival lip reader, who pegs it to Zidane's sister and coarse words. Another report flushed out more from the first lip reader report, saying it was death wished on Zidane's family, including his seriously ill mother. The Times of London report sums it all up pretty well.

A possible transcript and translation here, including another death theory, linked not to family but a beloved coach.

Terrorist or son of a terrorist was the verdict from the New York Times, with help from Zidane's brother and a cousin. However the Italian defender Materazzi, who was lifted out of his shoes, denies that. Apparently, Zidane has apologized to his team -- and is bound to speak up soon.

Reviewing: The layman's view

2006-07-11T01:53:00.000-05:00

After a great tournament, the final featured all that was wrong with soccer. And not just deciding the match on penalty kicks. France clearly dominated the match, in all but putting the ball in the net. You can certainly argue that Zidane's penalty kick wasn't a penalty, but there were a couple of others not called that certainly were. Italy's offense packed it in shortly into the second half. They had two dominant players on the field in keeper Gianluca Buffon and defender Fabio Cannavaro. But after that, it was all France.

But as arbitrary as PKs are, these were the most arbitrary: Not one stopped by a goalie, the only miss bouncing off the crossbar. It seems like settling the NBA finals by playing a game of horse -- and deciding the winner only when one ball rolls off the rim. Thirty minutes certainly isn't enough of extra time, not for the final.

And then, the headbutt. It certainly seemed like quite the mystery from watching FIFA's feed. But man, what a replay. There was no doubt about it. But for all of the attention, it detracts from the mediocre nature of the game's play, pinning the blame on Zidane and distracting from the built-in problems that drained this game of power and drama. If only Zidane's header -- the one in the first OT, not the second -- was the shot we were talking about.

It amazes me that Italy can celebrate at all. What did they do to win? They just waited the game out.

The tired, the sad, the livid, the lonley and the loved

2006-07-11T00:16:00.000-05:00

The Tired: My nomination for the most tired team of the tournament goes to Brazil. Parreira came back with Anakin Skywalker's stunt double (Zagallo) to direct a side that had nothing but parasitic bugs wandering around the flanks and horns of the tournament favorites. By contrast, Ronaldo and Adriano looked nothing so much as like a pair of sacred bulls wandering the markets in India, swollen testicles banging off produce, vacant stares at passers-by, immune to both criticism and praise. Since their quarterfinal exit, the Brazilians have been partying like never before, and why not? If the USA, Ecuador, Costa Rica or 21 other teams had won four games on the trot and lost to France in the quarters, they would be partying too. Imagine if Arena had pulled the Yanks to within a nose hair of the semifinals? We'd be dancing in the street. But Brazil was capable of so much more that everyone feels a bit cheated. The burden of expectation was released with the loss to France. Who can really claim they are Brazil's historical rivals in football?

The Sad: Luis Figo. A dead ringer for Corporal Klinger, Luis Figo has aged as gracelessly as a cheese casserole. When he gets tired of dribbling in circles, he falls down. When he falls down frequently enough, defenders hit him harder and he falls down some more. Exuding a look of incredulity when things don't go his way, and that of a petulant turd when they do, Figo still does some good from time to time and his assist in the third-place game was spot on. The last of the "golden generation" of Portuguese players to grace the international stage, Figo got further than any of them, and perhaps this is why he looked so tired.

The livid: What's it like to headbutt an Italian?

The lonley: Wayne Rooney and Bruce Arena. Wayne Rooney because no one wants to hang around a psychopath, and Bruce Arena because no one wants to be around a sociopath.

The Loved: Juan Roman Riquelme, Pirlo, Ghana, Shaka Hislop, Ze Kalanga

The ugly and the beautiful: Tevez, Ribery, Melberg, Torres, Swiss referees

Zizou haiku

2006-07-11T00:07:00.000-05:00

Oh Zizou Zizou,
What did that tall Italian
say to you, Zizou?

Something about your
receding hairline or
your African roots?

Or was it more like
va fangulo negro da
costa da Algiers.

Or did he utter:
"How are your wife and my kids?"
Materrazi, pah!

Whatever it was
Would you be so kind as to
let us in on it?

The world was here, there
while you threw down your crown, there,
Italian grounded.

Can we see justice
in what you did at the last?
I hope there is, oui...

Confusion and finality

2006-07-10T11:11:00.000-05:00

The lingering feeling of the 2006 World Cup final will undoubtedly be one of confusion. Can there be any logical explaination for Zidane's headbutt? Even if Materazzi, who is known for violent behavior, did provoke Zizou with the most vile and odious of insults, with 10 minutes left in the last game of the World Cup, in the last game of a glorious carreer, why, why, why get sent off for violent behavior??? Like most of the rest of the world, I wanted France to do well because of Zidane and his un-merry band of un-French French. With the exceptions of Barthez, Sangol and Domenech the French team were either products of French colonial endeavors or from the lower strata of French society. We could take comfort in not rooting for the French as such but for the individuals that may or may not have represented or identified with the nation (state). But Zizou's reaction to Materazzi gave the Italians the tactical and moral ground to claim their victory and fourth trophy. Given Barthez' weak-chinned, no-lipped, frog-legged performance throughout the Cup, there was no chance that Italy could be beaten in penalties.

The game itself was stagnant and chippy throughout with only 71 minutes of actual play out of 120. Though France produced more scoring opportunities, the 4-5-1 allignments of both teams produced a tedious and tensionless to and fro that was consistent with many of the games throughout the Cup. There is something wrong with the beautiful game, and the 2006 World Cup will likely be remembered more for the prevalence of red and yellow cards -- and for Zizou's violent reaction -- than for its football. There will be millions of words split in the coming years about rule changes. We will all be justified in expressing nostalgia for more free-flowing football. How we get it will probably necessitate a movement beyond the post-modern condition -- that is to say, we need some perspective and some (un)common sense.

Now that the Cup is over and we begin to sit our our hands waiting for Euro 2008 qualifying to pick up in the fall, the reminiscing can begin. There are so many talking points that have been brought up in this blog and elsewhere that merit attention and it is my hope that this will become a continuing forum to wrestle with some of them. I am going to take great pleasure in turning off my TV, letting my emotional world return to normal and making progress on life's other works. For now, I still need time to digest yesterday's drama. After pledging to name my first born Zizou, I have decided to go for a cat instead. It will be far easier to explain the inexplicable that way.

Future thread suggestions:
U.S. Americans and soccer - the world doesn't need U.S.
Global production of soccer talent
The World Cup as megaevent - the proliferation of profit
South Africa 2010 - the logics of hegemonic homogeny
John Harkes, Bruce Arena and the geography of the banal
Tactics and tosspots or why the 4-5-1 ruined June 2006
Mediated myocardials
The best and worst of the 2006 World Cup

Previewing: All down to this

2006-07-09T10:34:00.000-05:00

It won't be long again until qualifying for the 2010 World Cup starts, so let's just pause a moment before today's final to look back at the long road it takes to get to this point. As harsh as we have been on the U.S., it is no given to even reach the Round of 32. The fact that we assume that as a given shows just how far U.S. soccer -- the play and the following has become.

As for the final, taking either side comes with tremendous storylines: France rallying around Zidande -- and surviving Barthez and coming so far from that opener against the Swiss; Italy winning in the face of match-fixing allegations to show its soccer players are the best in the world. You got to like it. And most of all, you got to watch.

Let's just hope the game is settled while the clock is running.

Reviewing: France 1, Portugal 0

2006-07-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

A penalty converted by Zinedine Zidane in the 33^rd minute decided this semifinal contest. Despite bungling keeper Fabien Barthez’s best efforts to gift a goal to Portugal, France hung on to deservedly advance to the final against Italy on Sunday.

The match began with some probing attacks on either side although soon the French began to press more aggressively with Zidane constantly demanding the ball. Just after a half-hour of play, match official Jorge Larrionda from Uruguay pointed to the spot after Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho clipped the ankle of Thierry Henry inside the penalty area. The foul appeared to impede Henry from taking possession alone with only Portuguese keeper Alexandre Ricardo to beat. However, the call might have gone another way. It looked a bit soft. The referee could have fudged it by calling the foul outside the area. Some referees may have waved play on. In any case, the foul came amid a steady stream of attack from the French, which from my perspective makes it less of a fluke.

In the quarterfinals, Ricardo shone in the penalty shootout against England. He guessed correctly four out of four times, blocking three. Here again, Ricardo guessed correctly and nearly got a hand on Zidane’s spot kick. But the French midfielder placed his shot close to the bottom left-hand corner with plenty of power converting a goal that would have beaten any keeper.

Portugal missed several clear scoring opportunities in the second half. In the 78^th minute, Barthez coughed a hard outside shot from Cristiano Ronaldo straight up into the air in front of him. Luis Figo, just yards from the goal and under no direct pressure, agonizingly headed the ball just over the crossbar. The amazing (yet not unexpected) mistake from Barthez was outdone only by Figo’s astonishing miss. In the final minutes, Portugal created several chances and forced a few corner kicks but were unable to crack the French defense anchored by Lilian Thuram and Patrick Vieira. In injury time, a difficult but clear opportunity from a volley situation was sent careening wildly away from goal by Portuguese defender Fernando Meira. The French effectively diffused Portugal’s last corner kicks until the final whistle blew.

France now has the opportunity to consolidate their elite footballing pedigree by adding another World Cup victory along to their 1998 trophy won at home. The France-Italy World Cup final is a rematch of the dramatic final of the 2000 Euro competition held in Holland and Belgium. Italy led 1-0 into the dying seconds of the game when substitute striker Sylvain Wiltord equalized. David Trezeguet scored a golden goal (a sudden death goal in overtime – the World Cup format does not have sudden death goals in overtime) in the 103^rd minute to break Italian hearts and consolidate France’s spot on top of the football world. That final may still be fresh in the minds of many Italian fans (and players)…

Reviewing: Italy 2, Germany 0

2006-07-05T12:54:00.002-05:00

Although certainly brutal from the German perspective, Italy mercifully spared a global audience another agonizing and traumatic penalty kick experience by scoring in the final two minutes of overtime against the hosts. From another game determined by spot kicks to one of the great semifinals of all time in 60 seconds. After the final whistle, I felt I needed to see the whole game over again but now knowing the ending – the same feeling I got after seeing Memento for the first time...

Regulation: Solid defense from both sides kept the game scoreless. Mexican referee Armando Archundia allowed play to flow without unleashing a barrage of cards as officials have done in so many other games in this tournament. Archundia was largely unmoved by plentiful dives from both teams. German strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski were constantly rebuffed by the Italian defense and the always stellar Gianluigi Buffon (can you say best keeper in the world, I knew that you could). Michael Ballack did not have an impact, spending much of his efforts looking for calls from the referee.

Overtime: Once again, a tight game came alive in overtime. The Germans have a 4-0 record in World Cup penalties whereas the Italians are 0-3. As soon as the first extra period began, it was clear that Italy had no desire to wait for penalty kicks. Italy hit the post and the crossbar in the first two minutes of extra time. The first, a dink by Alberto Gilardino, snuck past German keeper Jens Lehmann, hit the base of the post and trickled awkwardly across the German goal before being cleared. Less than sixty seconds later, Italian defender Gianluca Zambrotta rattled the frame from 20 yards with a screamer that had Lehmann beat.

The goals: The specter of oncoming penalty kicks made the Azzurri’s superb goals even more beautiful. The goals were quite similar. Both were made possible by brilliant passes -- perfectly weighted into space against the grain of play. The first came in the 119^th minute -- Andrea Pirlo laced a ball down the right side into the box for Fabio Grosso to curl over the outstretched hands of Lehmann into the far corner. A minute later, two of Italy’s subs combined for the second. Gilardino laid off a cheekily prescient ball which Alessandro Del Piero wrapped into the corner. Game over.

Italy and Germany have won three World Cups apiece –- more than any other countries aside from Brazil’s five. With the loss Germany failed to advance to its eighth World Cup final. Italy advances to its sixth final. The winner of France-Portugal awaits...

Reviewing: France 1, Brazil 0

2006-07-01T17:48:00.000-05:00

After Zidane's performance today, the argument can be rightly made that he is the greatest midfield player of all time. The limits to his genious have yet to be reached - every time he seems like he cannot possibly best himself, he does - raucous applause is the only dignified response. Brazil were pedestrian, as they have been for the whole tournament. Perreira's functional football flew in the face of what even Nike realized would win games, O Jogo Bonito. Perreria's style sucks the life out of creative genius, letting political (and physical) weight get in the way of progress. The old guard, were (as in 1998) too old, and Zidane and Vieira tore them to shreds. Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Dida (who stood amazingly still while Zidane's ball flew into the 6 yard box, and then fell amazingly quickly to the ground as Henry's shot hit the roof of the net), Emerson, Lucio, and Ronaldo can shuffle off the international stage with two trophies and a silver medal. Bring 'em all to the MLS and start a team of retired Brazilian stars.

The bad of Brazil's exit is that the Global South has been eliminated, although in the case of Portugal the socio-political, and geographic conditions might qualify them. As I was walking out of the movie theatre where I watched the game I heard one disgruntled Brazilian fan state without any apparent trace of irony, "The only reason that France won is because they colonized half of Africa." If that is true, then the Italians will win because their Ethiopian defender prevented Germany's Polish forwards from scoring, and the Portuguese were too hopped up on Oriental spices to notice what the French were doing to them from behind. More likely, is that Germany will win in extra time after an Italian is sent off for acting and France will hold Portugal scoreless and hope that Henry figures out the offside rule before Wednesday.

Brazil out! Allez Les Bleus!!! Zizou Immortal!!!

Reviewing: Portugal 0, England 0 (3-1 pk)

2006-07-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

After 120 minutes of scoreless play, Portugal defeated perennial penalty horror show England 3-1 in spot kicks. Portugal fielded a side without key midfielders Deco and Costinha, who were serving suspensions for red cards received in the twenty card round-of-16 debacle against Holland. Both teams were tentative throughout the first half with few real threats made on either goal. Less than 20 minutes into the second half, Wayne Rooney picked up a straight red and England was eventually forced to play about an hour with 10 men.

In overtime: At last, some attacking play from both sides. At times, it was easy to forget England was a man down. During the final minutes of the second overtime, Portugal pressured the English goal more effectively than they had in the 115 minutes preceding.

Man of the Match: Portuguese keeper Alexandre Ricardo. With better observational skills than a "Law and Order" detective, Ricardo outsmarted England by guessing correctly against all four English penalty takers. The Portuguese hero managed to get a hand on but not stop Hargreaves’ shot. He calmly saved penalties from Lampard, Gerrard and Carragher.

Honorable mentions: Portuguese Luis Miguel played another brilliant game of defending and maintained a steady attack down the right side. England midfielder Aaron Lennon became an immediate threat from the moment he stepped on the field as a sub for Beckham. The four Portuguese penalty scorers – Siamo, Petit, Postiga and Ronaldo – deserve a shout out too.

The gaffers: The effectiveness of each coach becomes evident in the substitutions. Just after the Rooney red card, Scolari put in winger Simao Sabrosa to stretch the field. Siamo did much better than a quiet Pedro Pauleta. Three of Portugal’s penalties were taken by subs – the freshest players available. Simao and Postiga converted and Viana beat Robinson but was denied by the post.

And then there is Eriksson. Substituting Lennon for Beckham was in fact one his single best moments as England manager. A long overdue change, Beckham labored again. By contrast, Lennon kept Portugal on their heels and guessing. But then, Eriksson resorts to Crouch for Cole. The problem here is that Eriksson left all of England's goal-scoring strikers back home. Crouch was kind of who was available at the moment. The real mystery move was subbing Carragher for Lennon. Why sub a sub? Furthermore, why wait until minute 118 to make a sub on a team playing a man down for an hour? He led off with Lampard, who had missed his last penalty kick amidst a more general goal drought. Carragher, who came on pretty much to take the kick, took it poorly enought for Ricardo to save confidently. Could Lennon have done any worse?

Rooney’s red card: Did he deserve it? Rooney stepped on a dude’s crotch in front of the referee and then shoved a few guys. He screwed up. Rooney’s young hubris put the match official in that position. Incidentally, the referee was Horacio Elizondo. Where is he from? Argentina…

Déjà vu: Portugal defeated England in the semifinals of Euro 2004, 6-5. In that match, Ricardo converted the final penalty himself.

What?!: Chris Gaffney's predictions for the quarterfinals ... Chris, this might be a good time to play the lottery...

Out there: Getting kind of hectic

2006-07-01T01:39:00.000-05:00

If you missed it amid the celebration, the end of the Argentina-Germany match was marred by not quite a fight but not quite a scuffle. In what might be a World Cup first, Argentine reserve Leandro Cufre got a red card from a game in which he did not play after his team had lost and was eliminated.

Oh, forget what you have heard. FIFA's refs are doing just fine, thank you very much, says the head of the referees committee. Not only that, but it's the best in the competiton's history! And he goes beyond the abstract, speaking in specifics, even everyone's favorite ref, Valentin Ivanov: "Mr Poll is a great ref and a great man who has admitted to a mistake. Mr Valentin is a great referee who showed the cards as he saw fit."

The Mr. Poll to which he refers is a ref who gave three yellow cards to the same Croatian player in the game against Australia. It got him sent home early, and now he is retiring from refereeing, despite the bon mots.

In quite the surprise (not), Reuters reports the Italian courts will hold off the match-fixing verdicts until July 10, a k a the day after the World Cup final.

And finally, love can conquer even the World Cup. A British couple whose wedding reception was waylaid by the England-Portugal match have found a new venue. "It was really upsetting when we were told we wouldn't be able to go in until the football had finished," said bride-to-be Kirsty Hill of her previous reception site.

Previewing and reviewing: A novel idea

2006-07-01T00:57:00.000-05:00

In the case of an England-Brazil semifinal that goes through extra time, this suggestion from an elder: "Have Beckham and Ronaldo square off in a full field dash, the winner will be the one who crosses the opposing goal line or who makes the most progress after five minutes.

Italy 3, Ukraine 0 in haiku

Italia three
Ukraine zero, predictable,
palatable, hmmmm.....

France - Brazil preview haiku

Joga Bonito?
Zizou, -dinho, Trezeguet?
98, será, será?

43rd game poem

I have watched forty three of fifty eight games in their entierty.
My eyes are rheumy
my shoulders hunched
and I have become pale with worry and strain.
I have believed and distrusted
been pleased and inspired
simultaneously bored and anxious
committed and ambivalent
joyous and irate
ritually connecting to millions of people on a month long, overly-emotional roller coaster.
There are six games left,
my heart has already been broken twice,
I am cursing history in my sleep
and renegotiating my promises to the spirit world.
When your team loses, the four-year cycle begins again.
Qualification, expectation, preparation, performance.
The winners wallow in the future,
knowing that they can become immortal.
The rest of us watch and pray, imagining what could have been.

Reviewing: Argentina 1, Germany 1 (2-4pk)

2006-06-30T13:50:00.000-05:00

Auto-rojo directo

Argentina lost because Pekerman choked

And now they queda afuera

Pato Abonzzeri came up lame

And had to get out of the game

Franco entered Hitler’s field and was made to look foolish in the penalties.

A Headed goal from Ayala put Argentina in front until

Germany equalized at Klose range,

Just after Pekerman removed Riquelme

In favor of Cambiasso.

Lucho Gonzales inexplicably stayed, and then Cruz for Crespo?

Dejate de joder!!!

Por Favor!!!!

La puta que te pario!!!

Why not Aimar? Saviola? Messi?

Cruz for Crespo?!?!?!?!? Arghhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

I am too depressed to write any more.

Pekerman, you choked, hijo de puta pecho frio hecho de mierda carbon!

Predictions, predilections and prattle

2006-06-29T17:02:00.000-05:00

As I sit at home staring at the blank TV, anticipating, I catch vague whiffs of wheaty beer and mustardy sausage floating through the air. I can imagine the hearty parties happening in Germany, fingernail biting in France, full-tilt stupidity in the English press and American commentary teams discussing the irony of eating a Big Mac in Hamburg. Two days without soccer feel like an eternity. I am nervous, tired and feel like a grandfather who is being forced to go on Space Mountain for the sixth time. The Soccer Profs, incredibly, picked all of the quarterfinalists correctly (see for yourself, it's in the blog). So without further schweinhunding around:

Ger 2 Arg 2 (Argentina loses on penalties, 4-3)
England 1 Portugual 1 (England loses on penalties, 3-1)
Brazil 3 France 2
Italy 2 Ukraine 0

Out there: Seeing red

2006-06-28T02:01:00.000-05:00

Lots of anger out there in the world, even outside of the riots in Spain after the loss to France.

First, Russian ref Valentin Ivanov, a k a Dealer of the 20 Cards, defends his calls. He called it, "from the point of view of rudeness, it was the worst match I ever had." And then he manages to slur both the Portugese and the Dutch. The Portugese apparently are full of dirty tricks. And the Dutch were unpleasantly surprising in being the instigators.

Ivanov is up against some powerful forces. Earlier in the week, FIFA President Sepp Blatter came out and said the referee could have been given a yellow card. But now Ivanov has the power of an Internet petition at this Web site directed at him.

More anger, from a Chinese TV announcer, who broke into an anti-Aussie rant after Italy eliminated the Socceroos: "Don't give the Australians any chances." "Beat the Australians." "I don't like Team Australia." He also was pretty blatantly rooting for Italy. Like: "Long Live Italy!"

OK, he did apologize, but it was a little backhanded. Among the comments: ""I am a human being, not a machine, not a computer program, and I can't be objective, neutral, impartial and fair all the time." And, dragging Britain in it: "It (Australia) is full of naturalized Australians who play and live in Britain. I don't want to see Australia have good results in the World Cup."

The likely problem: Australian Prime Minister John Howard is now visiting Beijing.

And finally, among all the downsides of Spain's loss to France: It invalidates Nostradamus' prediction for the 2006 World Cup. Oh, yes, they just parsed the text to find out that Spain was the 16th century seer's pick to win the 2006 World Cup.

Reviewing: Brazl 3, Ghana 0

2006-06-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

Match 55 in Dortmund

African teams have long been criticized for their tactical naiveté, and this game will do nothing to dispel the idea. All three Brazilian goals came from tactical blunders on a systemic level, and although the players (especially the right back Pappoe) should be held accountable for the goals, it is the Black Stars’ coaching staff that deserves the biggest heaps of opprobrium.

On the first goal, Brazil built quickly through the midfield, and the Black Stars attempted to hold a very high line against the forwards. While Roberto Carlos lingered on the left, Ronaldo timed his arched run unnecessarily well as Pappoe was holding him onside by five yards. Kaka’s through ball released O Gordo into 30 yards of space, and Ronaldo eclipsed the all-time World Cup goals record with a smooth move that left Kingson swatting at flies. Running an offside trap against Brazil in the first five minutes essentially gave Ghana no margin for error, and it paid dearly for its mistake.

A second tactical gaffe resulted in Brazil’s second goal just before halftime. Ghana had been dominating possession and deserved a goal. Dida did not know much about the ball that pinged off his left foot, despite Marcelo Balboa’s claims that it was a brilliant save. As Ghana massed around the box in possession, Asamoah Gyan attempted to dribble through Emerson and Juan, was quickly dispossessed and three passes later the ball was in the back of the Ghanaian net.

Why, in the name of all that is holy, would one lose possession so easily, against Brazil, when pressing for an equalizing goal at the end of the half, when the entire midfield is committed to the attack? When attacking in numbers as the Black Stars were, it is imperative to have one of four things happen: score, goal kick, corner kick or foul. DO NOT allow Brazil to run at you through the midfield! DO NOT give them 40 yards behind your defenders to exploit with slippery, oblique angled passes. Of course, Adriano was offside on the goal and proved himself to be a sub luminary on the day.

The third goal was another broken offside trap where the central midfielder and central backs did not communicate as to the marking of Ze Roberto. Again, defending such a high line against Brazil does not work, even if Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Lucio are fat and slow. Trest of the team is not, and given so much empty space to work with, Brazilian midfielders can enjoy their literal field day. Coach Ratomir Dujkovic was clearly out of his depth in this match and should hone his defensive stylings. Had he organized Ghana in a more intelligent manner, the Black Stars would have had a chance to win and pull the biggest upset ever, walking into history with a fist held high. As it is, he merits scorn and derision from football fans everywhere for making Brazil look better than they were.

When in possession, Ghana looked strong, organized and capable, although on the day they couldn’t have scored in a brothel. Asamoah Gyan’s infantile yellow cards might have summed up the tactical naiveté of this crop of African teams. One yellow card for kicking the ball away in frustration, a second yellow for diving in the box. The biggest surprise was that Haminu Draman wasn’t sent off earlier. Full marks to the Slovakian referee for this match – so far he is the front-runner to call the final.

Out there: France vs. Spain, Aragones vs. Henry

2006-06-27T02:07:00.000-05:00

Today's match between France and Spain is getting a lot of attention, but not solely because of soccer. Sure, there are hundreds of years of back history between the two nations, but most news outlets are looking back only two years.

Hours before FIFA touts fair play and opposition to racism, it's racist remarks made in October 2004 that have the spotlight. That's when Spanish coach Luis Aragones tried to build up player Jose Antonio Reyes by saying he was better than a black player like Henry. Unfortunately, the comments were captured on TV.

Aragones is trying to forget the controversy and forge new ground, especially with this bizarre claim of his diversity credentials: He went on to assure reporters that he has black, Gypsy and Japanese friends, including someone whose job is to determine the sex of poultry.

One person who isn't forgetting is French defender Mikael Silvestre. He thinks Aragones should have been banned. Silvestre pretty much sums up the case in this account: "Something much worse should be done to people who do things like that. He should have been suspended. He never apologised, which is a shame."

Well, maybe if France is fired up, they'll finally show some life on the pitch. Again, Silvestre: "It's do or die and we have to do something to get a result." Here's hoping les Bleus don't surrender quickly.

In other news, angry soccer fans have a new means of protest: flood FIFA's Web site with e-mails. That's what South Korean fans did after losing to Germany. The count so far? 4.2 million e-mails.

As Brazil prepares to play today, Brazilian candidates for president are making hay, according to the New York Times. Apparently, incumbent Luis Inacio da Silva likes to use soccer metaphors, especially when facing questions about corruption. However, the soccer talk cuts two ways, like when da Silva called Ronaldo fat -- and provoked an angry response from the star.

Amazingly, the former president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, had a bigger hurdle to overcome, according to the piece, and he finally admits it now that he is out of office. He wrote in his new memoir: "In truth, I am a Brazilian who doesn't much like soccer." I never knew there was such a thing.

Finally, speaking of the New York Times, its World Cup blog also takes the TV sportscasting to task. In fact, lots of people are in pain: "At the beginning of this tournament, we received so many comments from readers complaining about the ESPN and ABC announcers that we had to ask you to stop sending them in. It was true, however, that like many of you, I found it so hard to listen to their game commentary that I switched to Univision." They take mainly Dave O'Brien and Balboa to task, but save some bon mots for all of U.S. sports broadcasting.

But then, the killer: "All these strands together add up to the crisis in American sportscasting that is made evident at every World Cup, when English-speaking fans flee in enormous numbers to listen to commentary in a language they don’t even understand. ... The common denominator in the way American TV covers any sport is the absence of the simple, urgent description of what is happening on the field, the court or the ice — the single most visceral thing for any fan watching any sport he or she cares about."

Reviewing: Italy 1, Australia 0, in a conversation

2006-06-26T22:21:00.000-05:00

Hunter Shobe: Is there an office pool at FIFA's referee HQ for who can do the most to ruin a game? My goodness.

Chris Gaffney: What is going on with the refs in this Cup? They are effing crazy!!! Was it justice for Italy or a boomerang from 2002?

Hunter Shobe: The officiating is so bad that you have to wonder if FIFA has threatened the children of the officials or something if they don't give out 10 cards a game. We could easily make a top-10 list of bad calls (might have to be a top 20) or top five games ruined by referees this cup. The worst was the Portugal-Holland debacle...

Vince Tuss: While the Socceroos could have seized the day a bit more with the one-man advantage, they clearly got jobbed. And 9-on-9 soccer, at least for a minute or two in the Portugal-Netherlands game, WTF?

I've been watching international soccer only for a short time, but the opinion I had was that in the past, a red card was such a rare move, it devasated a team. This year, it seems that the teams who lose a man don't immediately pull back in defensive mode because they know another red -- or more likely, a few more yellows -- are possible for the other team.

Chris Gaffney: The cards are indeed cheap this WC. The red against Italy was a sham, as were those in the Por-Hol game. The refereeing in the early days of the cup seemed to be a bit more consistent, but now they have gone too far in handing out plastic. Ironically, there haven't been many or any yellows for diving which has thus turned into one of the prinicpal fonts for compounding problems for the refs.

There have been some suggestions that football be a 10-on-10 game in order to open up the space. I think that each team should be reduced to 10 men after the end of regulation. While it is true that 10 men can be a disadvantage, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that it is not always so. Counterattacks can drive a knife in the heart as easily as slow buildups.

We are now seeing that goals are at a premium, especially in the first half. Don't expect to see more goals as we go forward into the quarterfinals, especially in the first 15 minutes. No yellows came early in the Swiss-Ukraine game; the refs are also jockying for position to be called upon for the important matches. Clearly the Yellow Russian won't be doing the final.

The geopolitics of official membership in the world of soccer

2006-06-26T12:24:00.000-05:00

Broadcasters and journalists routinely state that 32 nations are represented in the World Cup. However, it is more accurate to assert that 32 countries are represented, not nations. A country is a territory which may contain many nations, or at least members of many nations.

In Spain, for example, many Basques and Catalans consider themselves members of the Basque and Catalan nations – not the Spanish one. The Basques and the Catalans each have their own national teams although they are not officially recognized by FIFA. This means they cannot enter in any official tournaments (e.g. the World Cup) – they only play exhibition matches. These teams are vehicles for expressing a national identity (Basque or Catalan) distinct from the national identity of Spain. The Catalan national team usually plays once (sometimes twice) a year. On two occasions they have played the Brazilian national team and recently defeated World Cup participant Costa Rica by a 2-0 scoreline. Galicia and several other regions of Spain also have their own "national" teams.

In addition to the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, other places that have national soccer teams unrecognized by FIFA include Brittany, Chechnya, Greenland, Kurdistan, Northern Cyprus and Zanzibar. There is even an organization that is looking to form a football governing body for non-FIFA teams. (Ominously, the undeveloped website emphasizes how the organization was born in a bar in Brussels called Mort Subite – Sudden Death.)

However, some nations within states are recognized by FIFA. Whereas the United Nations recognizes 191 territories, FIFA recognizes 205 of them. In other words, there are over 20 places that have recognition and representation in the world of football but not in the world of formal diplomacy. They include:

American Samoa, Anquilla, Aruba, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Chinese Taipei, England, Faroe Islands, Guam, Hong Kong, Macau, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Puerto Rico, Scotland, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands and Wales.

Conversely, six places have representation in the U.N. but not in FIFA. They are: Great Britain, the Federal States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Monaco, Nauru and Tuvalu.

Notable…

Whereas the U.N. recognizes the United Kingdom, FIFA considers England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales four different entities. Wrapped up in larger desires for autonomy/independence, many Catalans, Puerto Ricans and Kurds would like the same representation in the soccer world that, for example, Scotland has.

Many island nations, still colonial territories of England (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands), the United States (Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands), the Netherlands (Aruba, Netherlands Antilles) or France (New Caledonia) have their own national soccer teams.

FIFA is one of the few international organizations that recognizes China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate entities. FIFA also recognizes Palestine as an independent nation.

Among the smallest U.N.-recognized countries, Pacific islands Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu (with populations of approximately 105,00, 13,000 and 11,000 people, respectively) gained independence in the late 1960s and 1970s. Kiribati and Tuvalu were formerly part of a territory controlled by the United Kingdom called the Gilbert Islands. They are all expected to apply for membership to FIFA.

Previewing and reviewing: Octavos de Final

2006-06-25T21:25:00.000-05:00

The gross inequalities of FIFA’s ranking and sorting system are becoming ever more apparent as the tournament rolls on toward the semifinals. Breaking the tournament into groups of four, from which one semifinalist will emerge, we immediately recognize that some brackets are much, much more difficult than others. In tournaments before 1990, the four groups would have been played in round -obin style, with the top teams advancing to the semifinals. Now, we can consider these to be mini-tournaments, where winners arrive in the semifinals.

Group One: Germany, Argentina, Mexico, Sweden

Group Two: England, Portugal, Holland, Ecuador

Group Three: Italy, Australia, Spain, France

Group Four: Brazil, Ghana, Switzerland, Ukraine

For my money, what precious little there is of it, I would much prefer to be playing in ANY group but group one. The Germany-Argentina quarterfinal will be a tense hard-nosed affair and I fear that we have yet to see the referee that can handle a game of such magnitude. The Germans have been helped repeatedly by refereeing decisions – so much so that Podolski unctuously patted the Brazilian referee on the back after he unjustly reduced Sweden to 10 men. Not only will Argentina have to beat Germany, but the crowd, history and the referees. The good news is that they will face either a bad England side or a confused Portuguese side in the semi. The bad news is that either England or Portugal will be in the semifinal.

It is a testament to the relative poverty of national team football versus club football that either England or Portugal will be a semifinalist. England has been woeful, and contrary to the supposed codes of “fair play” and “gentlemanly conduct” that supposedly pervade the island, Joe Cole, Gerrard and Terry are among the front-runners for the Greg Luganis award. Portugal has not looked good either, and while one cannot really condone elbowing, there isn’t a more deserving face in world football than Luis Figo’s. It was somewhat of a relief to see Marco Van Basten’s decidedly un-Dutch side go crashing out after scoring three goals in four games. Watching one of the least entertaining oranje sides in recent history, one must wonder what happened to the generation of dark- skinned players that made Holland such a force in world football over the last 15 years. As I mentioned in an earlier posting, when Holland goes bad, the wisdom teeth start acting up.

Italy is the likely candidate to emerge from group three after Spain and France take their licks out of each other. France has been painful to watch, and it is unclear whether or not Zidane’s return from suspension will add to or solve its attacking problems. Coaching has been suspect all along for the French, and one can’t help but wonder whether or not Giuly’s omission for the ineffectual Ribery (for my remaining money, the worst winger in the tournament) wasn’t as large a blunder as Eriksson’s inexplicable stupidities. If Australian eyes smile, they will be focused on Guus Hiddink – does he have Italy’s number, or was his successful Korean experiment attributable to FIFA corruption and the incredible power invested in referees?

In group four, Brazil, if it can beat Ghana, will stroll into the semis with the confidence of a glue-sniffing moleque on the streets of Rio. Half-asleep, immune to the bluster around them, the Brazilians have hardly broken a sweat in three games. Ronaldo has apparently emerged from his long nap and will undoubtedly become the leading goal scorer in the history of the World Cup. Of course, what took Just Fontaine two Cups to accomplish has taken Ronaldo four, but never mind that, he’s a legend at 30 years old. The greatest obstacle to Brazil’s Tuesday morning triumph was nicely eliminated by a piece of over officiousness in the Ghana-USA match when Michael Essien was shown an unnecessary yellow card. Between the referees and a second team that could beat all but two or three of the remaining contenders, Brazil should coast by either Switzerland or Ukraine, whose presence in the quarterfinals is a necessary wart on the face of a tournament that began with more than 200 two years ago.

My picks for the semis: Argentina, Portugal, Brazil, Italy

Did anyone out there see Eric Wynalda’s predictions for the final?? He picked Holland to win the Cup over Argentina, after England lost to Ecuador, and Brazil lost to Spain. It is good to see that he hates Arena (as any rational person should), but had he actually seen Holland play? Yet another reason to use the words GROSS IGNORANCE when it comes to describing American commentary. And why does Brent Musburger have any cache in the world of soccer? And who is this Davy O’Brien toady? Why, oh, why haven’t the producers at ESPN called the Soccer Profs???

Reviewing: Portugal 1, Holland 0

2006-06-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

Recent meeting: Portugal eliminated Holland from the 2004 Euro Tournament (hosted by the Portuguese) in the seminfinals by a score of 2-1.

Man of the Match: Portugal’s defense. Pick one? How about Luis Miguel. Miguel sometimes struggled to keep the shackles on Arjen Robben, yet managed to deny the Dutch striker who throughout the tournament has proved to be Holland’s most effective threat. Also credit Maniche with a great finish in the game’s only goal.

Dishonorable mentions: Russian referee Valentin Ivanov. Ivanov lost control of the match, the plot and his mind (which may not be enough for him to lose his job.) 16 yellow cards (ties a the World Cup record) and four red cards. He'd be perfect for Germany vs. Argentina.

Dutch manager Marco Van Basten. Van Basten's lack of confidence (or tolerance) with Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy prompted Dirk Kuyt’s place in the starting 11. When Cocu came off and a goal was needed, Van Basten (who would apparently rather be right than win) turned to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink instead of van Nistelrooy (now making Ruud outcast from club and country alike). Also, why take off Van Bommel?

Some of the lowlights and the highlight…

9^th minute: Boulahrouz catches Cristiano Ronaldo on the thigh with an ugly studs up tackle which will eventually lead to Ronaldo subbing out and contribute to Boulahrouz getting thrown out.

23^rd minute: Goal Portugal. A classy sequence involving four players - quick decisive passes played on the ground. Ronaldo sends an insightful ball down the right=hand side to Deco, who threads it square to Pauleta in the center of the box. Pauleta lays it off for Maniche to run onto and bury in the upper right of the net.

34^th minute: Ronaldo cannot shake the knock and is replaced by Simao.

45^th minute: Red card to Portugal. In first-half injury time, Costinha receives a second yellow for inexplicably handling the ball. Here the official had little choice but send the player off.

63^rd minute: Red Card to Holland. Khalid Boulahrouz, looking to take out Portugal's other main threat down the wing, receives a second yellow card for an elbow to the face of Figo.

72^nd minute: Carvalho goes down hurt. On the restart, Holland does not play the ball back to Portugal as injury-restart-etiquette demands and instead presses forward. Outraged, Deco picks up a quick foul for a late slide-tackle.

78^th minute: Red card to Portugal. Deco gets a second yellow in six minutes for holding onto the ball for too long after a free kick was awarded to Holland.

What could have been: Holland had many opportunities through Robben, Van Persie and Kuyt. They also hit the crossbar through Cocu. The constant stoppages of play may have worked against Dutch efforts to build an effective attack against an opponent down one man. Ultimately, the finishing touch up front was not there, begging again why van Nistlerooy didn’t get at least 20 minutes at the end of the game.

Bummer: Red card club members Costinha and Deco will be unavailable for the quarterfinal match against England.

Reviewing: England 1, Ecuador 0

2006-06-25T19:06:00.000-05:00

England bumbles and silly-walks its way into the quarterfinals after struggling against a solid but unadventurous Ecuador. The game’s only score came from a set piece outside of Ecuador's goal. In a made-for-the-movie moment, England captain David Beckham curled that crazy adidas ball into the bottom-left corner – a shot many of the world’s top keeper’s would have saved. On the day, it was enough.

Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney. Worked the hardest and seemed to care more than anyone else.

Still watching at home wondering what the hell Theo Walcott is doing in Germany in their places: Jermain Defoe and Darren Bent.

Out there: Knockout round roundup

2006-06-25T01:22:00.000-05:00

A good piece in the latest New Yorker on FIFA and its troubles. The comparsion with the International Olympic Committee is an apt one -- and should probably trouble FIFA and soccer fans more than it apparently does.

The Sunday Times touts England's soccer superiority -- when it comes to the celebrity wives and girlfriends. Even that is a team game, the Times notes: "However, an internet blog about players’ wives reveals that while the England Wags may be the most sybaritic, they hardly feature in a ranking of the global top 10 “sexiest” football wives and girlfriends. That list is headed by Helena Svedin, wife of the Portuguese star Luis Figo. Of the England Wags only (Coleen) McLoughlin (girlfriend of Wayne Rooney) makes it into the list in 10th place."

English bookies are proud to note that if England beats Ecuador today, they can still make a profit.

And it is worth mentioning only because it is the first notable violence, Germany fans and England fans clash, leading to at least 300 arrests. Thank you, luck of the draw, to have both groups drinking away -- on a weekend nonetheless!

Oh, this just in: Bruce Arena is an idiot. Why? Because he says so!

Reviewing: Argentina 2, Mexico 1

2006-06-24T20:55:00.000-05:00

Psychology 101. Argentina has been the understated favorites to reach the final, Mexico has been playing like crap. The first five minutes of the game, the Mexicans came at the Argentines like a Santa Ana wind and were rewarded with a goal. This was their final, and El Tri played like men possessed.

The Argentines, for their part, were unruffled by the storm swirling around them and equalized in the ninth minute through Hernan Crespo (who had some assistance from Jared Borgetti's head). This game had pace, quality and intensity -- and was expertly handled by heartthrob Swiss referee Massimo Busacca. The Mexicans, coached by an Argentine, knew that they had to play above their heads to win, and they did, but such is the irrepressible quality of the celeste that they won the game twice.

The first time Argentina won the game was in the 89^th minute through a delightful combination of substitutes Tevez, Aimar and Messi. Tevez (whose facial scars are a result of an accident with a boiling pot of water pulled off a stove), slotted the ball to a clear on-side Aimar, who then flicked to Messi, who coolly finished. The flag was up, however, and full time came to a close with the Mexicans gasping for breath and the Argentines wondering if they would be dealt a nasty, early exit, again.

It was not to be however, as a stroke of absolute genius occurred in the 12^th minute of extra time. Sorin, the Argentine captain, sprayed a 45 -yard cross-field ball to Maxi Rodriguez, who was closely marked on the far corner of the Mexican penalty area. He received the ball with his chest and before the defender had time to react, he hammered it with his left foot such that the ball appeared to be going over the goal, but dipped in mid-flight, skimming over the flailing arms of Oswaldo Sanchez and rested contentedly in the ol’ onion bag. The best goal of the World Cup, the second-best Argentine goal of all time and, 20 minutes later, El Tri were beaten having shown that they are not to be underestimated, but held in high regard for their skill and tenacity. Sadly for them, they lack the creative genius that defines the Argentines who must put in a more complete performance against Germany if they are to advance to the semifinals.

Reviewing: Germany 2, Sweden 0

2006-06-24T13:12:00.000-05:00

The wrap-up: Germany scored in the fourth and 12th minutes. In the 35th minute, Swedish defender Teddy Lucic received a second yellow card and was sent off in another astonishingly bad call by a match official. In the 52nd minute, perhaps trying to make amends for the red card, a very soft penalty was given to Larsson. Larsson then skied the ball over the net, killing Sweden’s motivation and the game. The only question became how many diving saves would Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson have to make to stop the bleeding and keep the score respectable.

Goal 1: Excellent passing in the box around a sleeping Swedish offense culminated with a ball to Klose, back to the net and two defenders on top of him. Klose’s sick turn split the double coverage, and his shot forced a good save from Isaksson. Lukas Podolski cleaned up the rebound that the Swedish defense should have pounced on and cleared.

Goal 2: Klose’s slant run to the top of the box drew three defenders. He then dropped a perfectly weighted ball across the grain for Podolski to bury in the back of the net.

Man of the Match: Miroslav Klose. In the 2002 World Cup, Klose showed he could score. In this Cup, it is becoming clear that Klose has developed into a complete striker - a great passer who is smart off the ball too. Both of Germany’s goals had as much to do with Klose as they did with Podolski, who did less work in scoring them.

Honorable Mentions: Swedish keeper Andreas Isaksson. Isaksson prevented Sweden from being embarrassed by four or five goals. The Rennes stopper may have earned some new attention from big European teams.

German defender Philip Lahm. Germany’s most consistent player during the first four games. Confident defending, speedy bursts forward and a nose for goal. (Rumors have him linked with Barça…)

Dishonorable Mentions: Match official Carlos Eugenio Simon of Brazil. The second yellow of Lucic was a non-call, a slight grab the kind of which happens all the time. Eugenio Simon took discernible pleasure in sending off Lucic. The penalty call against Germany was also very weak.

German striker Lukas Podolski. Podolski effectively cleaned up two chances served up on a silver platter by strike partner Klose. So hungry for a third, Podolski began shooting when passes were better options. Up two-nil, he ignored the chance to put the ball out of touch for an injured player. When the Swedish player went down, practically right in front of him, Podolski instead ran toward the opposition goal before taking an outside shot. Even worse, Podolski literally patted Eugenio Simon on the back after the official showed Lucic red. Cozying up to the ref who has just thrown a player out for no good reason shows a particular etiquette that I myself do not appreciate. Two goals aside, Podolski revealed some shocking behavior and inexperience. Punk.

German keeper Jens Lehmann. Lucky Lehmann had nothing to do but still managed to look shaky, almost Barthezesque. He didn’t even have to make a move on the penalty kick. This will not do against Argentina. Meanwhile, Oliver Kahn sulks in the corner while his teammates celebrate moving on to the quarterfinals. Kahn actually put in some great performances in 2002, so that the Germans could reach the finals. Seeing Lehmann bumble his way through three shutouts must be killing him.

Our Bruce is Cooked! Ghana 2, USA 1

2006-06-22T18:22:00.000-05:00

If there is one thing that the USA’s group-stage exit from the 2006 World Cup has shown, it is that the fans who know soccer, who follow soccer and who live soccer in the USA suffer like the rest of the world. On the one hand, this should come as no surprise, as more than 15 million people played soccer in the United States last year, but on the other, the depth of feeling and real emotional pain that millions (?) of us (not US) are experiencing today is the same pain felt by Croats, Iranians, Paraguayans and Poles. Granted, life’s other realities are vastly different, and when one quadrennially pins all hope on success in the World Cup because the rest of life is unbearable, the pain can be more acute. However, who is to say there are not poor people in the USA who are today crying into their jar of moonshine, cursing the name of Bruce Arena?

Which brings me to a point that I have been making since 2003, Our Bruce is Cooked. The man is a megalomaniacal Homer Simpson, who has no more business coaching at the international level than a McDonald’s burger flipper does cooking in a five-star restaurant. How is it that if he is a players’ coach, as many suggest, the only players to exude any confidence were Convey and Dempsey? Has he ruined Kasey Keller in five short weeks? Has he taken the nascent puberty of Landon Donovan and caused it to shrivel into Raisinettes? Why bring along players like John O’Brien if they are of no use on the field? Why wait, down a goal, until the “magic 60 minute mark” to bring on Eddie Johnson to provide two badly needed goals? How is it that a team that won their qualifying group, ranked astronomically high, with four preparation games and five weeks of training can look unfit, tactically truculent and only manage one goal in three games? Not to mention that Bruce’s protests at the sending off of Eddie Pope against Italy looked like a gout-ridden housewife shooing away life-insurance vendors. Could he be more despicable? As one of my colleagues noted, he is indeed the luckiest man in the world. From college lacrosse coach to National Team in 10 years…puh-lease…I hear there’s a vacancy at Duke.

The U.S. federation should, right now, fire Bruce and go and buy the best coach money can buy. Something Dutch, perhaps. Something Brazilian, or Argentine. The idea that soccer has to be sold to the USAmerican public is long gone. We were there in the tens of thousands, and in the millions here at home. We have suffered and will now find someone else to cheer for. Thanks for nothing Bruce, Landon, DaMarcus – you sucked and will live long in our collective memory as a fine example of how not to perform in front of the rest of the world.

Player ratings vs. Ghana

Keller 4 – caught flat-footed on the first goal
Cherundolo 4 – more sprightly than effective, as usual
Onyewu 6 – not a penalty!
Conrad 5 – solid in the back, timid coming forward
Bocanegra 6 – best man for the U.S. in the last two games.
Lewis 4 – cross the ball, man!
Reyna 4 – gets hurt while caught in possession which led to the first goal. Captain America strikes again!
Donovan 2 – Does Landon sing Donovan tunes instead of the national anthem? Grow up, you wanker!
Beasley 3 – nice ball for the goal, but the other 89:58 were miserable.
Dempsey 7 – Great game, fearless, nice finish. Didn’t start against the Czechs because??
McBride 5 – warriors heart, paper-machie head, no goals, but fought until the end
Olsen 3 – Ben Olsen…in the World Cup…I’ll have another pint, please
Convey 4 – tried but failed against men twice his size
Johnson 4 – no time to make an impact
Arena 0 – miserable

Reviewing: Bruce Almighty

2006-06-22T17:14:00.000-05:00

From a global perspective, the real story in Group E is the elimination of the Czech Republic (ranked second in the world by FIFA) from the tournament and the success of first-time Cup participants Ghana. The Czechs started with a 3-0 win over the U.S. Ghana began with a 0-2 loss to Italy. Whereas the Czech and Ghanaian (despite the loss) teams both competed well in their first games, only Ghana continued in that vein. Ghana faces Brazil on July 27 and will play without Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, who received his second yellow card of the first round and is therefore suspended for the next game. Italy, defeating the Czech Republic 2-0, wins Group E and faces Australia on July 26.

From the perspective of the United States, the questions concern what went wrong. For many, U.S. coach Bruce Arena’s strategy eerily mimicked that of the Bush administration’s foreign policy – bullheaded yet tentative, confused, out of sync, out of position and carried forward with seemingly no knowledge of how other countries operate. In his postgame comments (here for a transcript, here for audio), an undauntedly smug Arena blamed the match official Markus Merk (host association Germany’s top referee) for the loss. Arena also laid blame at the doorstep of FIFA, complaining that the tournament should seed all 32 teams. Not only did Arena not take any responsibility for the poor showing by the U.S., he had the audacity to say that if he could do it all over again, he wouldn’t change the way he approached the tournament. Arena is an individual who oversees the entire operation but refuses to accept responsibility when things go badly or even admit that mistakes were made. He's the Decider

Arena embraces the role of the ugly American. His press conference after the game against Ghana proved to be even more embarrassing than the team’s on-field performances. Arena has been in charge of the U.S. national team for eight years, an eternity in the soccer world, longer than any other manager at the World Cup. No other coach has had the same time and latitude to craft his own team. Yet, he blames others. When asked whether or not he would continue with the U.S. national team, Arena responded by saying he had many other options. A diplomatic response would have begun with a statement of concern and commitment to U.S. soccer - not a self-centered smarmy retort. But a diplomatic response, regrettably, seems beyond the U.S. leadership

The U.S. performance: In a game where a win was the only useful result, the U.S. lacked any sustained pressure on the Ghanaian goal. Arena’s 4-5-1 formation and personnel choices did nothing to facilitate an effectual offense. Donovan didn’t show up for the tournament. He was invisible during games one and two. Yet against Ghana, with Donovan refusing to run at the defense and blowing set-piece opportunities, Johnson remained on the bench until the 60th minute. John O’Brien, one of the most creative midfielders and best passers on the U.S. side, didn’t figure at all. Too many hopeful crosses in – too few runs at the defense with the ball on the ground

ESPN’s post-game coverage focused on two primary themes – the penalty controversy and Bruce Arena’s future with the U.S. national team. The penalty: Was it a no-call? Probably. Was the call to blame for the U.S. not advancing? Hardly. U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra made a disastrous clearance, which put the official in a position to make that call. The U.S. had rotten luck with officiating, but did little to merit any good luck of their own.

Should Bruce Arena stay on as national team coach? Credit him for putting together the 2002 quarterfinalist team. Then let him go follow up on one of his hot leads. In my opinion, eight years of obstinate and ugly leadership is enough.

Out there: World Cup as crime fighter

2006-06-21T02:26:00.000-05:00

One district of Karachi, Pakistan, is peaceful because of the World Cup, according to Reuters. The "noticeable fall-off in crime" is credited to "the youngsters and agitated elders [who] forget their miseries and just pray for Brazil."

Meanwhile, Argentine prisons are working on a World Cup of their own as a peacemaker. Thirty-two prisons step in and take a little bit longer than the real thing to sort out a winner. There are some changes, most noticeably forgetting about offsides calls; they are just too controversial, according to this report.

The Washington Post has two good looks at identity through soccer: this series of essays in PostGlobal on nations and this piece on divided feelings for immigrant fans.

Vince Tuss

Marketing and Branding the World’s Game: Adidas Impossible Team

2006-06-20T18:12:00.000-05:00

The José+10/Impossib le Team Adidas advertisements, the ones played at the beginning of every commercial block during the World Cup on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, bring together many elements in constructing the Adidas brand. Foremost are the star players which include Zidane, Kaká, David Beckham, Michael Ballack, Arjun Robben and Riquelme. There is the fantasy hook of two Spanish-speaking kids (one who curiously sports a German national team shirt circa the 1990 cup) in a ubiquitous urban plaza picking those stars. That dream is further indulged by the appearance of Franz Beckenbauer and Michel Platini – iconic players of the 70’s and 80’s respectively. And then significantly, there is the music – a key component to making brands feel new, fresh and fantastically hip.

Two songs are used in the Impossible Team campaign. The track played when José and Pedro are picking teams is De l’alouette by DJ/producer RJD2.

When the game begins (the other commercial), the music is provided by British popster Jim Noir. ‘Eanie Meany’ is recognizable by the uber-catchy lyrics “if you don’t give my football back, I’m going to get my dad on you’. The exposure from the Adidas ads supports the US/Canada release of Noir’s album “Tower of Love” to be expected in August on the Seattle based label Barsuk-records. In England, ‘Eanie Meany’ will be released as a single on July 10^th – the day after the world cup ends.

The song recounts the story of a kid who tries to recover his soccer ball after he kicks it into his neighbor’s yard and smashes a few garden gnomes. The integrated marketing campaign - 'Football Time' - includes a video and a cheeky soccer themed on-line video game featuring an instrumental loop of the infectious pop tune. And of course, the video features Noir playing soccer and includes cameos by José and Pedro – completing the marketing loop.

Hunter Shobe

Out there: A Tom Friedman moment

2006-06-19T01:38:00.000-05:00

If you needed proof of globalization, this Associated Press item provides it: A soccer game in Germany between France and South Korea draws thousands of Koreans living in the United States to watch the game at a basketball arena in Los Angeles. The world is indeed flat.

You think we have a do-nothing legislative branch? Bangladesh's parliament, according to Reuters, is considering shortening its sessions so members won't miss out on World Cup games.

More ticket scammers at work! This time, British schoolkids won't make it in to see Portugal-Iran, says the BBC. And now we know how soccer hooligans are born.

Getting back to action on the field, FIFA takes issues with complaints from certain arenas about the number of cards and says the calls have been justified.

Vince Tuss

Out there: Around the world

2006-06-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

In the biggest scandal of the games so far (other than those three red cards in the U.S.-Italy game and the appalling lack of effort in France-Switzerland), FIFA gave a red card of its own to a Botswanan official who was scalping tickets to the England-Trindad and Tobago match.

Why did Ukraine fall down against Spain? If you listen to a Ukranian defender, it was because croaking tree frogs kept the team up all night. Right.

And what was up with the appearance of the Israeli flag in Ghana's on-field celebrations during its win Saturday over the Czechs? According to the Jerusalem Post, defender John Pantsil plays professionally in Tel Aviv.

Speaking of celebrations, if you missed it, Ecuador pulled out a yellow Spider-Man mask during its win over Costa Rica. Don't worry, it wasn't product placement, but a tribute to a fallen teammate. After first threatening to take action, FIFA later backed off.

In our continuing look at the status of World Cup TV, Bangladeshi fans riot after a power outage knocked out coverage of the Argentina-Serbia and Montenegro game. What, could they not live with the drama of whether S&M would score?

And connected to the same game, Diego Maradona was reportedly ticketed for speeding in an autobahn construction zone. No word as to whether he blamed the Lead Foot of God for the infraction.

Vince Tuss

The geo-cultural politics of diving

2006-06-17T00:24:00.000-05:00

In Holland’s 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast on Friday, Arjen Robben received a yellow card for diving. Diving describes the action of falling/flopping/flailing to the ground with little or no contact from the opposition, perpetrated in order to draw a foul or penalty kick. Often dives are embellished: players hitting the deck and grabbing a leg, ankle or knee as if a sniper in the expensive seats had just taken them out from perch in the tenth row.

The broadcasters suggested that Robben had actually been shoved and that although it should not have been ruled a penalty, Robben did not deserve the card. Robben has built quite a reputation for diving (as I allude to in my salute to day three in limerick) in the past few years, and referees are surely looking extra closely at him and others with the same reputation. Before the Cup began, FIFA instructed its officials to deal harshly with diving.

The American media are transfixed on diving in soccer. Often it is trotted out as the primary excuse for why soccer is not popular in the United States. (Apparently those making this point have never seen an NBA game before). In the United States, along with England and parts of Northern Europe, diving is generally viewed as cheating. In England, divers get stick from their own supporters.

In my mind, the debate surrounding diving usually completely misses the point. What is really at play here are different cultural ethics/ideals/aesthetics about how the game should be performed.

In the United States any player that feigns injury is seen not only as a cheat but as cowardly and weak. American athletes are told to bounce right back up if brought to the ground – no matter the sport. Don’t let the opposition see that you are hurt. Be tough, but be fair. These ideals underlie a particular view of masculinity.

America gets this hatred for diving from the sporting ethic developed in England – the so-called ‘fair-play’ model. This ideal (however imaginary) is rooted in the belief that players need to try their hardest to play by the agreed-upon rules and should never try to fool the game officials – that competitors should be "gentlemen." "Fair-play" holds that one should never pretend to be hurt, a very ungentlemanly business. Hence, diving is construed to be unfair-play, a transgression upon the game itself and unmanly.

FIFA adopts this rhetoric and publicizes it before the games in Germany. "Fair play" banners are placed in the center of the filed before matches begin as a reminder of what the game is all about. Sports in the United States also adopt this paradigm. From Little lLague to the professional associations, this inherited English/Northern European notion of how sports are played reigns.

In some places in South America, southern Europe and Africa, diving is not seen as cheating but simply as part of the game. Here different ethics/aesthetics are at play – the ideals of sport as entertainment and sport as unbridled passion. In this case, it is passion and desire that define masculinity – not gentlemanness. Exaggerating contact, under this principle, is regarded as one of many skills that athletes develop in order to entertain supporters and win matches for them. It is seen as a natural extension of the passion that is brought to the game.

Thus, a victory aided by diving (or other trickery) is not seen as unethical and cowardly, but as completely legitimate if not laudable. From this perspective, the "fair-play" crusade against diving is sometimes construed to be an attack on passion. This is not to say that this ideal advocates winning at all costs – simply that getting around the rules has its part in the game. This explains why many Argentine supporters display pride in Maradona’s 1986 "Hand of God" goal and also why he (and Argentina) is abhorred by many soccer enthusiasts in England.

My point here is not to advocate one philosophy or the other. Rather, it is to encourage observers (not necessarily the match officials) to get past the simplistic idea that divers are simply cheats – to examine the roots of their own sporting ethics and aesthetics and understand that not everyone one the world adopts the same approach. Personally, I dislike when players try to get opponents carded by convulsing for minutes on the field after minimal contact, only to spring to their feet the moment they are stretchered off to the sidelines and healed with the magic sponge. But I do love having so many different playing styles and approaches brought to the tournament.

Hunter Shobe

Previewing: U.S.-Italy, via a coverage conversation

2006-06-17T00:21:00.000-05:00

Vince Tuss: Either of you have some thoughts for the U.S. going into the Italy game? I, for one, have been sickened all week by ESPN making viewers think that not only is a win over Italy something in the realm of the possible, but that the U.S. can overcome its horrendous goal differential. Maybe I'm the rube, but I think it would be a miracle if the Americans beat the Azzurri.

Chris Gaffney: It would be one of the greatest sporting miracles of all time. The Italians would have to concede some early goals and then the Italian defenders would have to switch jerseys at halftime and play for the USA. ESPN is trying to boost ratings by talking about recouping a "swagger."

The problem with the USA is that other teams have started to respect them, but it is not apparently mutual. What ... the Czechs were going to just show up and play a friendly? Even if the USA draws with Italy, which would not quite be a miracle, but kind of a divine epiphany, they are going to have their hands full with Ghana, whom they would need to beat handily. That seems very unlikely given Ghana's strong and organized performance against the Italians.

Maybe the USA will get a point out of all this and not end up the worst team in the WC, but we will almost certainly be among the bottom four or five. Look for our FIFA ranking to hit the crapper, putting us somewhere down with the Scots.

Reviewing: A week under our belts

2006-06-16T11:51:00.000-05:00

One week, 20 games.

More than 1,800 minutes of football
42 goals, two draws, one penalty, harshly given.
143 yellow cards, 3 red,
Hundreds of thousands of spectators, live, direct from Deutchland.
One pitch invader, braver than he was drunk.
Three routs, half a bakers dozen of half-baked efforts and the debutantes were rudely greeted.

I have seen nearly all of these minutes, cards, goals, shots, tackles
And the resulting dramas have exhilarated, bored, confused and given rise to my pulse.
Now, friends will gather in my living room
To watch Argentina play Serbia + Montenegrin.
Mate, empanadas, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, camisetas, dale celeste.

Thursday’s fare confirmed Ecuador
Exposed and eliminated Costa Rica,
Proved England is overrated
Showed Trinidad and Tobago’s courage
And Sweden and Paraguay had the consideration to let everyone nap through the afternoon. A one-nil result for the former did not do justice to the lack of quality. They should be forced to watch their own game as punishment.

At the end of a day of watching six hours of soccer, I am emotionally strung out, yelling at the neighbors’ cat, hands held up to the afternoon sun. I have invested heavily, betting my heart and mind on the spectacle, making the drama as large as life. But when I see cars hurtling by, or when between games I wander up to the market and see the traffic stranded on the highway, I wonder if the pain I experience at a bad call, or the joy that I possess from fluid movements and goals, is only in my head, trusting too much to the television, infinite trans-Atlantic and multi-sphered abstractions intervening between imagination and reality. Regardless, I press on, and have no need to set the alarm to prepare for the 8a.m. kickoff. Dale celeste.

Chris Gaffney

Reviewing: Day 6, in many splendid poetic forms

2006-06-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

Iambic pentameter

In truth, I know not why you called the foul
When it was clear to all he fell with ease
Expel? Forsake me not; three nil too much.

Twisted song verse
The goals from Spain fell mainly on Ukraine.

Haiku
Spanish flies, and how!
Over-under, un-over?
Not yet, mind the gap.

Beat poetry
Slam! Woe! Shazam! Qué bueno!
Hanging down, steppe-bound dog meets free-flowing Sanchez, four-goal funfest tears pages from gringo books and laboriously copies them by hand.
Tilt at windmills no longer
For they have fallen.
Will the mighty follow?

Epitaph
At first, Ecuador caught me out
And then I was ransacked by Krauts
No points in two matches
Neither snitches nor snatches
And now I will go home and pout.

Palindrome
Taken Shots
Moving leather and spine
people leaping silly dances
straning, tearful with joy
distracting ruler and ruled
myths of heroes and goats
Watching referees
Ball rolling
Goal.
Rolling ball
referees watching
Goats and heroes of myth
Ruled and ruler distracting
Straining, tearful with joy
Dances, silly leaping people
Spine and leather moving
taken shots.

Etheree
No!!!!
After
Ninety-one
Minutes of good
Brutish, nasty and
Effective defending
Why did the Polish defense
Suddenly forget where they were?
The Germans were more lucky than good
An injury time winner makes three points.

Diamante

Munich
Saudis, Tunisians
Re-visiting, confirming, repeating, combining
Scoring, dejecting, returning, rejoicing
Rigid, aloof, proximate, Allah
Tunisians, Saudis
Riyadh.

Chris Gaffney

Reviewing: Spain 4, Ukraine 0 ¡Ay papi!

2006-06-14T11:31:00.000-05:00

Comments last week by Simon of San Francisco on our Group H preview (where I suggest a star-studded Spain will crash out usual) have been haunting me all morning…

“Got to disagree with your analysis of Spain - I think these guys could go all the way - they have a lot of lads with premiership experience and will keep their heads this time around - like England past failures have given them a sense of cohesion and purpose”

Oh, snap.

Let’s look at the match more closely goal by goal and consider, that in addition to solid play by Spain, they were also awfully lucky.

Goal One: Xabi Alonso. 13th minute. A free kick into the scrum in front of the goal fortuitously bounced onto Alonso and into the goal (admittedly making it a thing of beauty compared to England’s goal).

Goal Two: David Villa. 17th minute. Here, Villa strikes it well but gets a generous deflection from his dead ball outside the area that beats Ukrainian keeper Oleksandr Shovkovski.

Goal Three: David Villa. 48th minute penalty. In the worst call of the tournament so far, Swiss referee Massimo Busacca kills this game at the half. Busacca doled out a straight red card to Vladislav Vashchuk and awarded a penalty to Spain. What call could be more dubious? The answer is none. None more dubious. Villa confidently converted. At worst this should have been a free kick outside of the area and a warning to Vashchuk. In most World Cup games, this is a no call situation, although in Spain this kind of penalty is handed out all the time.

Goal Four: Fernando Torres. 81st minute. No luck here. Defender Carles Puyol fought the ball through midfield before beautifully heading the ball softly into the path of Torres, who buried it in the bottom left-hand corner.

Ukraine’s non-goals: Serhiy Rebrov misfired on an excellent opportunity to draw one back. In the final minutes, Andriy Shevchenko found himself with the kind of half-chance that he often converts casually. This time the beating from Spain and the 90+ degree weather had already drained Sheva of his charmed touch.

But OK. Spain looked good. Villa impressed (I got that right at least). And the midfield transitioned well into the offensive third (that too). Additionally, it is always surreal to see the viciously effective bullies from Barcelona and Madrid (Puyol and Sergio Ramos) knocking heads on the same side. Spain looks poised to flamenco and sardana their way into the knock-out rounds (then we’ll see).

David Villa joins five other players who have scored twice in the first round of games. Tomas Rosikcy (Czech Republic), Tim Cahill (Australia), Omar Bravo (Mexico), Paulo Wanchope (Costa Rica) and Miroslav Klose (Germany).

And in other scores, 6 a.m. games 2, Hunter 4...

Hunter Shobe

Out there: A happy ending

2006-06-14T00:27:00.000-05:00

Apparently Rupert Murdoch read Tuesday's New York Times report about the U.S. military's inability to watch the Cup and stepped up to put the games on. (Wow, I praised Rupert Murdoch. Mark this day down.)

That story is also worth reading just to check out what the ratings are so far. It's not hard to believe that they are up, considering the starting times back in the USA for Japan-Korea. The Associated Press version of the ratings story points out in the second graph that the U.S.-Czech Republic game was the most-watched program on ESPN2 this year. (But the lede notes it was the most-watched soccer game of the year? Methinks I would have flipped those)

But if you compare the NYT and AP reports, it also seems that Mexico-Iran (on ABC?) drew more eyeballs. All the ABC games did. But of the three games playing on ABC, which had the biggest share? Not Mexico. Not England. But Trididad and Tobago against Sweden?!?

In other big news, David Beckham took the German tabloid Bild to task for a spread on how his family spent its time watching his game. Some choice words in that report, according to the Associated Press report: The article said Beckham's wife Victoria, a former singer with the Spice Girls, was a "luxury wife," described two of three of Beckham's sons as dwarves, and called one, Romeo, a girl. It also described Beckham's mother as having "a farmer's smile" and his sister Joanne as "Chubbyham." "Oops is she plump," the paper wrote. "Arms, breasts, bum -- very British. Joanne is one of those who drinks sangrias on a Mallorca beach out of buckets. And after that the first to dance on the table -- topless."

Der Spiegel reports that the English papers are rallying to Beck's defense, with Sun comparing German women to "Nazi submarines." (It must have been the headline or in other display type, because it didn't make it into what was online.)

In searching for the Sun report, I stumbled across this: a review of all the best England items. Which reminded me of this report: Tony Blair can fly flags bearing the cross of St. George proudly, but apparently the dustmen and binmen (garbage collectors, it seems?) and government-owned vehicles of East Herts can't

And you may have read, heard or seen many report decrying the human trafficking and prostitution in Germany connected to the World Cup. But this Los Angeles Times report is the first that I have seen where the prostitutes are complaining -- about not making money.

Vince Tuss

Reviewing: Day 5, the bad, the bad and the ugly

2006-06-14T00:15:00.000-05:00

Napping through the first half of South Korea-Togo, I was awakened from my delirium by an unexpected Togolese goal. Raising my eyebrows to watch the replay, I thought “Nice goal, no chance keeper,” and then went back to sleep until the second half.

After a more enterprising beginning to the second half, the Togolese captain picked up a second yellow card, and on the ensuing free kick from the edge of the box -- just like every Korean team has done in the World Cup, North and South -- they scored from it. The goal deflated the 10 Togo men, and 18 minutes later substitute Ahn found space and time on the edge of the area and slammed the winner past the hapless Agassa in the Sparrowhawk goal. Stirred from my comfy chair, I shook my head with mild disappointment and went to drop the kids off at the pool. Tough luck for Togo, but well dug out by the Koreans. African teams yet to win.

France-Switzerland showed what good hope is for: nothing. With all of the talent of the French team, there should be no excuse for bungling as badly as they did. The coach, Domenech, has fostered problems by choosing the half-baked Barthez over Coupet’s full baguette in goal, choosing the inexperienced Ribery over the in-form Giuly, and leaving David Trezeguet on the bench when everything was going wrong.

The French players are the kind of French that it is difficult to dislike. Products of the Empire, they are not the urban sophisticates of Paris, but rather the uncles and cousins and brothers of the youths that were so recently burning up the suburbs. Great talent, no team. No team, no goals. In fact, the last goal the French scored was when Petit put in the insulting third against Brazil in the 1998 final.

Switzerland looked more interested in playing and deserved a goal. However, Barthez was more lucky than good on two occasions, and both teams will take their point and slide into the next round., Egalitie, libertie, shoot the coach.

Brazil showed that they do not need to do much to win against good opposition. Parreira’s global icons played a style that Le Corbusier would adore: functional, linear, unadorned with flourish or freedom. Sucking the joy out of the game for the sake of results, Brazil were too good to lose to the Croats, who nearly stole valuable points. The picnic-table-covered Balkans were unimpressed by the awesome talents arrayed against them and played some determined, organized fluid soccer. Contrary to the USA, they looked as if they had been coached and knew what they were going to do in order to steal a goal from the World Champions.

Brazil were flat, fat, and ugly. Ronaldo and Adriano lumbered around the attacking third like a pair of sacred bulls, Ronaldinho danced but didn’t smile, and the rest of the Brazilians threw themselves on the ground whenever possible. The good news for the rest of the world is that Brazils look vulnerable, disinterested and as synchronized as a clock shop.

The bad news is that they beat a very good Croatia team without getting out of first gear: “I didn’t think we would be up to speed yet," Brazilian coach Parreira said, "and if we want to go further in the tournament we can’t afford to play flat out at this stage. We played at about 60 or 70 per cent, and I was perfectly happy with that.”

Chris Gaffney

Reviewing: France vs. Switzerland

2006-06-13T14:49:00.000-05:00

To me, Valentin Ivanov, the referee of France-Switzerland, looks just like Ryan Stiles of "The Drew Carey Show" and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" He's such a dead ringer for Stiles that I half-expected Ivanoc to break out into some impromptu comedy bit while handing out one of his eight yellow cards. If he had it would have been the only improvisation occuring on the pitch in Stuttgart Tuesday.

This begs the comment once again - overall, the national teams are just not as fluid as most top division club teams, which makes perfect sense anyway. Brazil andCroatia are playing now - let's see if either team (ahem) has the comprehensive game the top European and South American club teams have.

Hunter Shobe

Out there: More TV blackout

2006-06-13T02:11:00.000-05:00

It seems the Somalis in Mogadishu aren't alone. You may have heard that Iraqis are having trouble in watching Cup games on TV (reports such as this and this). But they have company, in their own country. It seems many U.S. military personnel won't be watching either because Armed Forces Radio and Television Service isn't carrying the games. The New York Times report makes clear that not everyone is shut out, because they have access to commercial networks. For many troops, Armed Forces is their only outlet. Iraqis and Americans in the same boat!

Vince Tuss

Reviewing: Disaster!!! -- Czechs 3, U.S. 0

2006-06-12T14:59:00.000-05:00

Keller 4 – Nothing he could have done on the goals, but poor marks all the same for letting in 3.

Cherundolo 3 – Inept crossing, shaky defending. Deservedly taken off at halftime.

Onyewu 5 – Did well in the air, distributed OK, but badly beaten on the first goal and poor clearance led to the second.

Pope 4 – Burned on the first goal, marked well the rest of the time. Did not really steady things the way an old pro should.

Lewis 3 – Horribly out of position within 3 minutes and opened up space for the cross that led to the first goal. No pace or determination going forward, long balls played up front with no purpose. Terrible.

Convey 4 – Tried, but inevitably failed to take people on. Put in some decent crosses late in the second half, but the runs were long gone by then.

Reyna 5 – Asked to do some of everything; dictated the pace when he could, but never managed to get the USA into a rhythm. Visibly tired at end.

Mastroeni 4 – Effectively played as a fifth defender, which hampered the USA in transition. A bit out of his depth at the international level with the ball at his feet. The USA never had enough possession to make digging balls out of midfield a huge issue.

Beasley 2 – Played the ball backwards whenever possible. Only meaningful contribution came on defense, and even then he was kicking the ball toward his own goal. Terrible.

Donovan – 2 – Invisibility cloak, activate! Needed to seek out the ball more, but should perhaps find his own first.

McBride 2 – Didn’t hold up the ball enough and was outclassed by average Czech defenders.

O’Brien 3 – Came in to provide a midfield spark, but never made it into the attacking third.

Johnson 5 – Created 3 chances on goal in 20 minutes. Needs more time and better service. Clearly should be the first-choice striker.

Wolff 3 – inept and outclassed as usual.

Arena 0 – Tactically naive -- nay negligent, Bruce has clearly been reading too much about himself in the papers. He made all the wrong decisions at the right times and had so woefully underprepared his team that a mutiny is in order. This result will hopefully end U.S. Soccer’s infatuation with this overrated Homer Simpson.

Trying to play an asymmetrical 4-5-1 where the left back, Lewis, moves forward while the left mid Convey pinches in may work for the Argentines, but Lewis is no Sorin, and McBride no Crespo. The USA’s weakness on the flanks was exposed like Tom DeLay, naked stupidity and greed asking to be punished. By relying on high service to McBride, the USA eliminated its only chance of success, which was to play on the ground through the midfield, and were properly and justly punished. A lack of intensity by the Yanks implied that they were overwhelmed by their surroundings, quintessential Ugly Americans, standing gape-mouthed at European sophistication and cool. This was one of the worst displays by an American team since 1998 and does not give much hope for escaping this World Cup with anything more than a point against Ghana. Then again, three losses without a goal scored is also a possibility, which will inevitably renew America’s disenchantment with the game.

The Czechs, for their part, were excellent and took advantage of every American stupidity. Solid in transition, attacking with speed and defending with force, the Czechs looked every bit the part of European giants. There is plenty of good for the Czechs to take away from the game, and if they are lucky, the hamstring injury to Jan Koller will not be too serious. His presence is truly fearsome, and his well-taken goal should serve as a warning that the Czechs are not content to be good on paper.

If the American press is not calling for Arena’s head now, they never will. We should be baying at the doors of the federation, demanding an explanation as to why the richest nation in the history of nations, with nearly 300 million people, cannot beat a nation of 10 million. The USA’s performance today was a sick joke, and we should demand Bruce’s head on a platter.

Chris Gaffney

What you're watching: Monday, June 12

2006-06-12T11:05:00.000-05:00

Chris Gaffney: Much to my surprise, the first game today was Australia-Japan and not Italy -Ghana. In looking at the schedule, this is the only time in the WC that the schedule has not followed the logical order of the groups. Why Aus-Jap at 8am and then no Brazil until tomorrow afternoon? If it were to be consistent, the schedule would be ITA-GHA, USA-CZE, JAP-AUS, BRA -CRO.

As it is, the France group is inserted between the Brazil groups games - a conspiracy to elevate Brazil's TV audience? Was the schedule always like this, or were special concessions made for Brazil. Either way, it would be better to stay in bed than watch AUS-JAP, although the first half hasn't been too bad, plenty of desire, but not much quality. Controversial goal, but Schwarzer really should have come out stronger for the cross....

Hunter Shobe: The non-call on the Japan's goal was weak, but not as weak as Bresciano's harmless shot to the keeper after Viduka's cheeky back heel.

Speaking of coverage decisions ... Disney has decided not to preempt regular programming on ABC or ESPN and is showing the USA v Czech Republic on ESPN2. Opposite the match on ABC is "The Tony Danza Show" followed by "the View." On ESPN it is "SportsCenter" (which has been playing for hours all morning) and NCAA college baseball playoffs.

Out there: Yes, politics at and around the World Cup

2006-06-12T02:17:00.000-05:00

The irony was too hard to ignore: Iran, with its president who denies the Holocaust, playing in Nuremberg, site of the great postwar war-crimes trial, great rallying place for the Nazis and where the laws were signed to clamp down on the Jews in the 1930s. And the protesters took full advantage of it. The BBC gives a good accounting of the protests Sunday -- and the Israeli flags flying in the stands during the game, even if it doesn't include an estimate. (Between 1,000 and 1,500 people by most accounts) A good observation in the Independent: Drawing the wrath of the protesters was Iranian Vice President Mohammed Aliabadi. His seatmate at the game? Nuremberg Mayor Ulrich Maly, who started off his day condemning his neighbor.

Meanwhile, the residents of Mogadishu can abide by years of war, but you know what really gets them angry? Shutting down showings of the World Cup. Perhaps not the best PR move by the new sheriffs in town, the Union of Islamic Courts. But I bet they really aren't thinking about PR. That BBC piece didn't have much explanation, but different pieces attributed to the Associated Press -- on CNN.com and the Washington Post -- have quotes from the union's spokesman.

On the Korean peninsula, the South is building bridges by sharing World Cup telecasts with the North. And in Trindad and Tobago, they are still celebrating, via the in-depth coverage of its Newsday newspaper. (this and this and this and this! But a win over England might be too much to ask for) The tension of the Sweden game even proved fatal.

And if you really wondered if TV really ran the world, here is your confirmation: Afternoon World Cup games may be played under closed roofs so the shadows don't mess with the TV picture. Just as long as the temperatures don't reach 50 degrees Celsius -- that's 122 F -- inside. Even FIFA can't resist the dig at Detroit!

Vince Tuss

Reviewing: Day 3 in haiku

2006-06-12T02:11:00.000-05:00

The Oranje opened
the Montenegrin keeper
and one nil was it.

Iran Mexico
Plucky upstarts with no one
To pass to up top.

Inconsistent snakes
Writhing in mouths of eagles
Need Brazilian flare.

I ran, we ran, you?
Nurenberg has never seen
Magic carpets fly.

Footballers running?
Where is the joy in watching
Portugal fall down?

The game was done
In twelve seconds, before the
Angolans…hey! No!!

Pauleta’s goal gave
Joy to the ancients who were
Asleep in their chairs.

Eighty six minutes
Went by and something happened.
No one remembers.

Colonizer v
Colonized was anything
But historical.

Nobody playing
Because somebody else will
Always pay the bill.

Chris Gaffney

Reviewing: Day 3 in ... limerick?!?

2006-06-12T02:07:00.000-05:00

There was a young diver named Robben
Who scored by his weavin’ and bobbin’
His goal won the game
We all know his name
Hi ego must surely be throbbin

El equipo macro tres goles
El gentío grita los “Olés’
Un gol por Iran
Mas lejos no van
A menos que muestra cahones

Figo passed the ball to Pauleta
Who shot it straight into the net(ah)
Angola played strong
But time was all gone
I think they deserve our respect(ah)

Hunter Shobe

What you're watching: A continuing commentary conversation

2006-06-12T01:56:00.000-05:00

Hunter Shobe: Morning...had trouble staying awake during the first game. Saw the goal and some possesion by the Dutch. Wha happen? Coffee ...

Chris Gaffney: The Dutch game was more interesting than good. Long bouts of possession for Holland, long balls and solid defending from S and M. Robben was dangerous, but going it alone most of the time. Van Bommell was not dominant and Nistelrooy didn't show up, and as our post responder suggets, was well marked. S and M x CIV might be the biggest physical matchup in WC history....The American commentators continue to depress. Lucky Mexico, bumbling Iran...what exactly was it that the Iranian captain handed Marquez before the game...a framed carpet?

Hunter Shobe: Before the U.S.-Iran match in 1998, the Iranian players gave the U.S. squad candy and flowers.

The Mexico-Iran match was made more interesting to me by switching back and forth between the ESPN2 and Univision broadcasts. Early on after Iran began to show some teeth, Andres Cantor (upon further review, maybe it wasn't )proffered that "El partido empieza a tener calor" - the game is heating up. I then switched channels to hear Dave O'Brien heat it up on ESPN2. He oppined that politics should not be conducted in the stadium, referreing to the international standoff surrounding Iran's nuclear program. O'Brain then went on to say that the team was looking to stay away from the "political pressure caused Iran's president" and continued to discuss the "controversial president of Iran." The TV viewer's experience of that stadium is mediated by his commentary. No politics in the stadium, indeed.

O'Brien later discussed the tension in the Mexican team dressing room surrounding their Argentine-born player Guillermo Franco. He suggested that many in Mexico saw a double standard for soccer players than that used for immigrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border for economic resons. No mention of Freddy Adu ...

Chris Gaffney: Holy shite - you've got Andres Cantor? What I wouldn't give to have him instead of these rediculously exaggerated Mexicans on Univision Texas. When the Germans were playing the announcer, whose name we are never told, was really laying into some guttural tongue saying FRIE-den-REICH, like he was coughing up a hairball. If the German announcers do the same with Oswaldo Sanchez, ay yai yi, it's racism.

And what about the dipstick duo of O'Brien and Balboa going on about the sacrifice of the Mexicans because Sanchez's father died? Balboa said at one point: "Mexican fans, the team, Oswaldo Sanchez and his father are going to be happy to get out of here with three points." Why does everything have to be a god damn human interest story about overcoming adversity for the Americans? Overcoming the Minutemen is adversity, some old geezer dying isn't. Oh wait, Balboa doesn't know what a geezer is. Twat.

I too, obviously, was switching back and forth. The two Univision commentators (one Mexican one Argentine), weren't totally shite, but that's as good as I'll give them. The Americans were so bad, in every aspect of the game, from tactics to analysis to runing commentary that it makes me want to puke, hit my head on something really hard (maybe in the act of vomiting) and come out of it only speaking !kung.

ABC also fills up the screen with so much claptrap that it's hard to see the game at times. And on ESPN2, there's the continual stream of info on the bottom, the band of game info that covers the entire screen on top, and the in-screen bullshit announcing PGA tours and such. Why doesn't someone in Bristol have a look at what the BBC is doing and copy that? Ignorant sons-a-imperialistic-bitches.

As for the immigration stich ... the only soccer history that is ever talked about in the USA is post-1990. We were semi-inalists in 1930! But then there is always the asterisk *with mostly foreign born players. The guy who assisted the second mexican goal and scored the third is/was Brazilian! And Franco, who passed for the first, is an Argentine who quickely realized that he was never going to play in South America so then became nationalized Mexican. But I can't imagine that we could ever expect an intelilgent discussion to come from sports commentators in this country when we can't get one out of news media whose job it is to do so. Not to mention the pols. Wankers.

Q and A: An England review

2006-06-11T12:03:00.000-05:00

Q Dear Soccer Profs:

As an avid England fan, I finished watching the Paraguay game pleased with the result, but concerned about the manner of that result. Therefore, a few questions I wondered if you could shed some light on.

1. After Owen's performance (versus Crouch) today, is his place in the starting lineup now more at risk than Crouch's, pending Rooney's return? Also, Rooney appeared anxious to "get off the bench," even Saturday. When would be the game to start him?

2. The ref seemed to be overly penalizing Crouch when the ball was played up to him. Do you think this comment is fair and if so is it because of his unusual jolly green giant/supermodel stature, or fear of his scoring and doing the "robot"? And finally, do you think other referees will continue to officiate his playing style in a similar vein as England progresses?

Rule Britannia!

Chris Hemmings

A Dear longtime-listener-and first-time-caller Chris,

Good questions.

1. For England’s next game against Trinidad and Tobago, Rooney should start the game again on the bench. He is not thinking with any regard for his long-term well-being, which has a lot to do with him being such a fantastic player. The manager, Steve McClar... er mmm, David Beck... um, I mean Sven Eriksson, needs to look after Rooney’s longer term well-being. It is hard to believe Rooney could have healed so quickly from this injury. Caution is wise here. Mutt and Jeff start again against the Soca Warriors. If England gets to 70 minutes at 0-0 (or worse) against T&T, then Owen gets the hook and Rooney gets unleashed upon the World Cup (providing his healing is in fact legit). Normally with Sven in charge, Owen starts no matter what. However for game three, Rooney should start ahead of Owen and pair up with Crouch against the forest of Swedes.

2. It is fair to say that a few of those calls against Crouch playing with his back to the opposite goal were suspect. There were a couple of cases in particular that probably should have gone the other way. Will other referees continue in kind? If it happens again several times next match I’ll start to wonder. For now, I think it can be chalked up to the idiosyncrasies of how a particular official calls the game. With referees from all over the world, consistency is particularly illusive. What clearly underlies all of this are the twisted facts that Sepp Blatter and FIFA are waging an all out war on trendy goal celebrations and the officiating corps has been told to thwart Crouch at all costs.

Cheers,

Hunter Shobe

A For me, Owen needs space to run into behind the defense, and England was so bad that he never got the ball going forward. He is at his best when going at full speed -- the only way England was going to get up to speed yesterday was with an armful of crystal meth. Against T&T, the English should be able to open up a few more spaces. The real question that should be asked is if Gerrard or Lampard should be changed in favor of Hargreaves.

As for the Crouchmeister, I think the ref was a bit unkind to him, but I doubt that there will be a systematic penalization of His Lankiness. Unless of course he scores and takes his shirt off, simultaneously blinding and frightening millions of people around the globe. The Empire Upon Which the Sun Never Rises crashes out in the first round!!! Brilliant!!!

Chris Gaffney

UPDATE: Chris, you're not the only one asking questions about what England is going to do.

Previewing: Sunday, June 11, Angola vs. Portugal

2006-06-11T01:29:00.000-05:00

For the first time, three Portuguese-speaking countries feature prominently at the World Cup – Angola, Brazil and Portugal. The present day footballing connections of these three countries, like other economic/cultural networks, are tied together because of a shared colonial legacy – a legacy which produced very different situations in each country.

Present-day Angola served as a primary source of slaves. Some were brought to Portugal and North America but above all, enslaved people were taken to Brazil. Millions of slaves were brought to Brazil and other parts of the Americas to work on sugar plantations. The slave trade continued until the mid-19th century. Whereas Brazil achieved independence in 1822, Angola remained a colony of Portugal until 1975. This modern era of independence for Angola has been marked by extreme political turmoil and division. (See Group D preview)

Many of Angola’s estimated population of 13 million people are impoverished. According to the UNDP, Angola ranks 160 out of 177 countries on the Human Development Index. The good news would seem to be that Angola’s petroleum industry now produces more oil than anywhere in Africa outside of Nigeria – whose national team Angola surpassed to qualify for the World Cup. The petroleum industry generates over 50 percent of GNP and 95 percent of exports. Yet 85 percent of the population depends on agriculture for employment, and some one-third of the population practices subsistence agriculture. Like in many other places, the benefits of the oil economy are not shared by the majority of people in Angola.

Angola and Portugal have only met on the football field twice, with both games played in Lisbon. The first in 1989 resulted in a 6-0 victory for Portugal. The second match, a brutal affair in November 2001, began with an Angolan goal in the first minute by Antonio Manuel Viana Mendonca (who plays club football with Varzim in northern Portugal). Three Angolan players were then sent off for dangerous tackles and dissent in the first 25 minutes. Figo’s penalty (26th minute) tied the match, and Portugal went on to tally four more goals. In the 64th minute, the official displayed the red card to a fourth Angolan player. Minutes later an Angolan player left the field with an injury, leaving his side six players and no substitutes, resulting in the abandonment of the 5-1 match with 20 minutes remaining. Although memories of the 2001 encounter remain, few players involved in that match figure in the roster of either team today. Ecuador and Trinidad & Tobago have gained unexpected points in the cup so far. Angola would like nothing more than to continue that trend.

Hunter Shobe

Out there: Maybe TNT instead of T&T

2006-06-11T01:08:00.000-05:00

Trinidad and Tobago fans are going wild, and well, why shouldn't they? Backup keeper starting. Playing down a man for almost all the second half. And still a draw. Agence France-Presse reports traffic jams in the capital as people rushed to watch the game, as well as a run on booze and team jerseys. There you go.

Before the match, the nation's president had kind words, comparing the team and its humble origins to those of Maradona and Pele. OK, but it would have been nice if they scored.

And wonder what the Soca Warriors' secret is? Maybe it's this popular music compilation jumping off the shelves. Titles include "Soca Warriors," “Deutschland (Gih dem goals),” "Fighter," “Red for T&T,” "Football Song," "The Boys from T&T" and "Go Warriors Go." Two songs focus not on the Cup finals but the team's qualification victory: “Beat Bahrain” and “Bahrain.”

Vince Tuss

Out there: So you wanna bet?

2006-06-11T00:54:00.000-05:00

This is also the World Cup of gambling, making the stakes at the World Series of Poker look like Saturday night bingo at the Kiwanis. The New York Times reports that ”as much as $1.89 billion would be bet with British bookmakers alone during the World Cup.” More money will be won and lost in the next month than ever before. The odds change quickly, factoring in things such as game results, game performances and injuries.

On June 8, one day before the tournament began, William Hill, one of the largest bookmaking operations in Great Britain, offered odds to take home this year’s World Cup:

9/4 Brazil, 6/1 England, 7/1 Germany, 8/1 Argentina, 9/1 Italy, 12/1 France, 14/1 Spain, 14/1 Holland, 22/1 Portugal, 33/1 Czech Republic, 40/1 Sweden, 50/1 Mexico, 50/1 Ivory Coast, 66/1 Ukraine, 66/1 Croatia, 80/1 USA, 80/1 Australia, 100/1 Serbia and Montenegro, 100/1 Poland, 150/1 Switzerland, 200/1 Korea Rep, 200/1 Paraguay, 200/1 Japan, 250/1 Ghana, 400/1 Tunisia, 400/1 Ecuador, 500/1 Togo, 500/1 Iran, 500/1 Costa Rica, 500/1 Saudi Arabia, 750/1 Angola, 1000/1 Trinidad And Tobago

After two days and five games later, the betting house now gives these odds:

Brazil 3.40/1, England 6/1, Argentina 7.50, Germany 8/1, Italy 11/1, France 13/1, Spain 15/1, Holland 17/1, Portugal 23/1, Czech Republic 34/1, Sweden 51/1, Mexico 51/1, Ukraine 67/1, Croatia 67/1, USA 81/1, Australia 81/1, Switzerland 101/1, Ivory Coast 101/1, Serbia & Montenegro 126/1, Korea Rep. 201/1, Japan 201/1, Ecuador 201/1, Ghana 251/1, Poland 301/1, Tunisia 501/1, Paraguay 501/1, Iran 501/1, Trinidad And Tobago 751/1, Togo 751/1, Saudi Arabia 751/1, Angola 751/1, Costa Rica 2001/1

So what changed?

Germany and Costa Rica: The goalfest does nothing to change Germany’s odds, but it did quadruple those given for the Ticos, who now sit at 2001/1 odds to win it all.
Ecuador and Poland: Poland’s odds doubled to 301/1 while Ecuador’s odds improved from 500/1 to 201/1.
England and Paraguay: A win, an unconvincing performance, a healthy Gerrard and an improving Rooney boosted England from 7-1 to 6-1 favorites. After the loss Paraguay’s odds plummeted from 200/1 to 501/1.
Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago: Curiously, the 0-0 scoreline did not affect the odds givesnon Sweden. However, bookmakers are no longer willing to give 1000/1 odds on the Soca Warriors, shaving that figure by 25 percent.
Argentina and Ivory Coast: A solid performance moved odds for Argentina from 9/1 to 7.5/1, putting it past Germany to third most favored pick for the Cup. Ivory Coast falls from 13th to 18th on the favorites list.

Bookmakers offer odds on many aspects of the tournament – more traditional bets involve the result of each game, the first scorer for each game and the overall goal leader for the tournament. In this last category, best odds are now given to Klose 5.5/1, who has two goals after his first game. Crespo has 11/1 odds, while Brazilian teammates Ronaldo and Adriano, who have yet to play, follow tied for third with 12/1 odds to become top scorer of this year’s World Cup. The odds offered on Costa Rican forward Paulo Wanchope, who scored two goals in the opener, are 34/1, placing him in a three-way tie for 17th most likely player to finish top scorer.

Poppin' and Lockin' with Peter Crouch

As evidence of the great diversity in betting opportunities, some betting houses are offering 2 to 1 odds that Peter Crouch will rock the robot at some point during the month. Those who aren’t familiar with Crouch’s recent goal celebrations may want to visit this website. Those who already know about the lanky striker’s dance stylings will definitely want to follow the link. Turn up the volume (or down if you are at work).

Hunter Shobe

Reviewing: Day 2 in haiku

2006-06-11T00:45:00.000-05:00

En-guh-lund were crap
Own goal in the third minute
Dracula in black.

Pobre Paraguay
Are your frontal lobes broken?
5 minute 'keeper.

Bobadilla, hi!
Replacement parts meet gringo
Accent, Pear-uh-gway.

Chelo: “The sub was
A tactical move.” Now that’s
Just too dang funny.

Why is it that
American announcers
Are such total wanks?

One goal, zero, zero, zero.
Group B Stands for ineptness.
Soca Warriors!

Chris Gaffney

The venues: Leipzig and Zentralstadion

2006-06-11T00:25:00.000-05:00

For those of you fortunate enough to be going to the 43,000-person capacity Zentralstadion in Leipzig today to watch Holland, the Netherlands, the Dutch, the Low Countries, and die Orange take on Serbia and not-so-much Montenegro, you might want to have a look at the 2006 World Cup stadium regulations.

These rules are not, as it would at first appear, regulations for architecture, dimensions, accoutrements, number of parking spaces, tensile strength of concrete rods, but rather what you as a person are allowed to do in the stadium. These rules also apply to you, the individual, and you the crowd. They, and the physical space of the stadium, are designed to control your movement, put you in the optimum position to consume the spectacle, the beer, the schnitzel, the culture, the game. Yet these rules, both written and unwritten do not just apply to you in the stadium, but you outside the stadium, you on your way to the stadium, you on the way home from the stadium. In a car, on the train, on foot, with a full bladder, doubled over with post-game need.

The German World Cup will likely go down as one of the most surveilled and controlled in history. Fear of terrorism, fear of people running on the pitch, fear of looking bad. Desire for money, the need for the Cup, the want of spectacle, diversion and achievement. All of these fears, desires and need conspire to put the spectators in a position to consume, keep them for an optimal period, while watching them very closely, and then send them on their way to consume in other areas and arenas in the city and country. We have read how 400,000 prostitutes keep the juices flowing long in to the nacht, so there needs be no end to the consumption. Having teams and groups move around the country ensures that visitors will travel more frequently, spending money on transport, new hotels, taxis. The stadiums are but static nodes in a much grander system of production, consumption, regurgitation and reproduction. And not just economic production, but cultural and geographic production, presentation, reformation, assimilation and many more things that end in –tion.

These chains extend back to us at home, at a safe distance from our televisions and computer screens. Producing, consuming, wondering, yelling, writing and reading. And a few other things that end -ing.

Matches in Lepzig

June 11: Serbia and Montenegro vs. the Netherlands
June 14: Spain vs. Ukraine
June 18: France vs. South Korea
June 21: Iran vs. Angola
June 24: Group C first-place finisher vs. Group D second-place

Chris Gaffney

Marketing and Branding the World’s Game: Mascots

2006-06-11T00:14:00.000-05:00

The genesis of the English term mascot dates back to medieval Latin. The term masca (from which the word mask is also derived) signified a witch or specter. Mascotto, a Provençal word that denoted a charm or amulet, became the French word mascotte (circa 1881), keeping a similar denotation. It entered into the vernacular through the Edmond Audran opera "Le Mascotte." From this magical and operatic background come the giant feathered and furry mascots that entrain/terrify small children in stadiums across the United States and various parts of the world.

One of the early wacky ideas in modern sports marketing originating with the San Diego Chicken, the mascot is now an accepted part of promoting a team’s or organization’s brand. Along with live organ music, mascots were the initial forays into peripheral entertainment at sporting events. This entertainment has become so central to sporting events in the United States and Canada that at times the games themselves often seem peripheral.

This year, a mythology promotes the official 2006 World Cup mascots. The first character is Goleo VI, an affable lion. The official FIFA website provides the history of this soccer beast. FIFA explains that following an idyllic upbringing in the steppes of Botswana, Goleo VI fell prey to poachers who sought to smuggle the creature into Germany. Before that could happen, the ship captain liberated Goleo VI so that it could go onto fulfilling its destiny as World Cup mascot.

The lion’s partner in crime is a talking soccer ball named Pille, which FIFA describes as a “cheeky little football” who came to life in the Adidas factory when inflated with some kind of wonder gas. The choice of a lion to represent Germany’s World Cup is odd considering the fact that rival team England’s crest features three of the giant cats. In fact, England 1966 marked the appearance of the very first World Cup mascot – a lion called World Cup Willie. The choice of the Adidas soccer ball as mascot … much easier to understand.

Hunter Shobe

What you're watching: A conversation about Saturday's commentary

2006-06-11T00:04:00.000-05:00

Hunter Shobe: Did anyone else hear Marcelo Balbao say, "Everyone around the world knows the name Michael Beckham"?

Chris Gaffney: It would be very interesting to compile a list of Marcelo Balboa's incredible absurdities during the Cup. I've been listening/watching the Univision version, which is frequently just as bad. Here are a couple from Chelo to go with the Beckham one from before:

"Having a coach at a time like this could only affect your team" about the Togo coach....

"The sub was a tactical move."

And how about the "Pare-Uh-Guay" for Paraguay? What is wrong with these fools that they can't get someone to teach them how to enunciate?? Make me f'in furious.

Hunter Shobe: All of the broadcasters were pretty bad. The last game was horrible. It was as if the only player the announcers had ever heard about was Riquelme. The five-second delayed reaction on a near-goal by the Ivory Coast made me and my friends think he was watching a baseball game on a studio monitor or something. And yes Chelo is a complete disaster. Ta-bey-go or Ta-bah-go?

(Note from Vince Tuss: Two of the ESPN/ABC announcing crews aren't even in Germany. They're calling the games from Bristol with the crowd noise allowed to come through.)

Reviewing: Well, thankfully the soccer was exciting

2006-06-10T02:10:00.000-05:00

If not for the scoring show put on by Germany and Costa Rica, the first game at Munich may have been totally forgotten because of the opening ceremony put on beforehand. Now the Germans had a tough assignment, going up against the Olympic pagentry and spectacle offered by the Italians at the Winter Games earlier this year. And some, such as the BBC and this Swiss news site, used the words "spectacular show" to describe the festivities (without any real support for the assertion...). But these reviews don't mince words in describing the lowlights (lederhosen!!!) in Munich:

As this Associated Press column by Nancy Armour, spread to newspapers and Web sites across the United States, put it: "So what does FIFA do to kick off this oh-so-special event? It puts on an opening ceremony that even a two-bit carnival wouldn't take. A reggae band. Goat herders cracking whips. Dancers who looked as if they took a wrong turn on their way out of a club in Amsterdam. Faux haystacks, a wagon and cowbells. And a bunch of floating Carmen Mirandas, one complete with a fruit tree on her head. Indeed, nothing says 'World's Biggest Sporting Event' quite like Carmen Miranda.
Paul Lelso in the Guardian names names: "Local boy Christian Stuckl designed the show, and demonstrated an unerring eye for typecasting that should guarantee him work should 'Allo 'Allo be revived. Those whose preconceptions of Germany involve ranks of lederhosen-clad hairy-legged thigh-slappers were not disappointed as the 50-minute display began with 182 Bavarian drummers beating a tattoo. With Nubuck shorts and braces as far as the eye could see the Allianz Arena resembled a Sound of Music convention, even more so when they were joined by stout burghers clanging oversize cow bells and 150 Schuhplatters, the dancers whose coordinated heel-and-thigh clouting drew almost as big a cheer as the German team. They were followed by Seeed, an 11-strong outfit billed as Berlin's leading multilingual dancehall reggae-based band. One must be thankful Stuckl had not booked the second-best, but they made up for it by bringing dancers, who contrived to look just as silly as the Schuhplatters only with lower-slung trousers.
And finally, Naveed Raja of the Gulf News in the United Arab Emirates finds all the disturbing images and relates them in short order: "Germany 2006 got underway with the de rigeur psychedelic affair that we've come to expect from these events. Scores of lederhosen-clad gentlemen beating drums or performing a thigh-slapping dance? Check. Models dressed in somewhat impractical outfits seemingly designed by Pete Doherty after a big night out? Check. The utterly bizarre sight of lines of German men enthusiastically banging their groins into large metal bells? You guess it. There was also a quite appalling band apparently performing a hip hop track. They were so bad the German crown resolutely refused to get off their seats -- coming from a nation which loves the music of David Hasselhof, that's as big as a snub as they come."

UPDATE: Apparently, we could have been saved from some of this spectacle. The opening ceremony went on after the folk dancers threatened to boycott. It seems they were upset about getting only 45 seconds to perform. (The ceremony was limited to a not-short-enough 40 minutes.) As reported by Deutsche Welle way back in November, Bernd Walter, the irate deputy president of the Bavarian folk dancing association, (yes, the story really says that) summed his group's stance this way: "We won't allow ourselves to be made fools of. If they don't give us any longer, we simply won't take part."

Too late, Bernd. Too late.

Vince Tuss

Out there: Two sides of the soccer spectrum

2006-06-10T02:01:00.000-05:00

This Washington Post story out of Britain is a little on the not-so-fresh side, but it's worth revisiting as England plays today. In cracking down on hooligans, not only did 3,300 Britons have to turn their passports to local authorities to keep them out of Germany, but they have to register at their local police station every day England is scheduled to play. Wonder if crime will rise in Britain during the World Cup?

And on the other side, young Iranians just want to have fun -- and according to this New York Times story, they are turning to soccer to celebrate. Yes, there is mention of Iran's differences with the rest of the world over the right to enrich uranium. Maybe we should crack down on their right to invoke Queen in stadium celebrations, as mentioned in the lede.

Vince Tuss

What you're watching: ESPN, home of spelling bees AND geography instruction

2006-06-10T01:49:00.000-05:00

ESPN (read Disney) did an interesting thing during the broadcast of the first two games. They tried to teach remedial geography to the American viewing public.

This educational campaign began with a broadcaster offering up the observation that "Costa Rica is in Central America." The comment in the Eugene, Ore., bar where I viewed the game provoked an erruption of laughter. During both games Friday a globe graphic appeared at the bottom of the screen and depicted each country's location and then equated the area of each in terms of U.S. states. The problem here of course is the same public that can't find Ecuador on a map may also struggle with envisioning the combined land area of New Mexico and West Virginia.

National Geographic conducted a survey of the geographic literacy of U.S. citizens ages 18 to 24. Among the findings:

Only 37 percent of young Americans can find Iraq on a map -- even though U.S. troops have been there since 2003.
Six in 10 young Americans don't speak a foreign language fluently.
20 percent think Sudan is in Asia. (By the way, it's the largest country in Africa.)
48 percent believe the majority population in India is Muslim. (It's Hindu -- by a landslide.)
Half of young Americans can't find New York on a map.

Hunter Shobe

Previewing and reviewing: A Q, an A and some images of the day

2006-06-10T01:41:00.000-05:00

One day of play prompts a question from the readership. We're more than happy to answer any and all, even if you don't share a last name with one of the contributors to this site. E-mail them to soccerprofs@hotmail.com

Q Is the new ball going to lead to higher scores in this Cup?

Tom Gaffney

A Dear reader (dad): Any time the goalkeepers are complaining about new balls, it is likely to lead to more goals. Brazilian free kick specialists have commented on the differnt movement dynamics of ths ball, which implies that there is truly something at work here. However, while the new balls may be tougher for keepers, they might be equally difficult to keep on target, and in a game of two halves, this seems about right.

Chris Gaffney

Images from Friday

The First Goal: Five minutes after the Argentine referee first blew his whistle, Lahm cut in from the left flank at the top of the area grande. His Costa Rican defender backed off, providing the German the time and space to steady himself before launching an arching, dipping thunderbolt into the top right corner. Not Gomes, nor Banks, nor Yashin was going to get to it, and Germany were on their way. The haus erupted, and even now Lahm's name is being sung in Bavaria.

The First Counter: Wanchope lingered on the edge of the German back line as if he were trying not to fall off a cliff. Released into space he loped toward Lehmann as the crowd sucked in its breath. As the ball rolled gently into the net, thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people rose to their feet, arms in the air. No offside flag, no surrender, 1-1.

Poland v. Ecuador: Ecuadorian Eagles had only previously flown at very high altitudes. Following their outing of poor Poland, they can claim the tidal marshes of Gelsenkirchen as a nesting site. Two well earned goals, coupled with pace and solid defending plus three points, place them as quick favorites to progress to the next round. Goalkeeper Christian Mora's face paint was a refreshing symbol of child-like pleasure, so infrequently in games between men.

Chris Gaffney

Previewing: June 10, Argentina v. Cote d’Ivoire

2006-06-09T17:38:00.000-05:00

Throw hands in the air
Take a breath, look around. Why?
Your wife has left you.

Chris Gaffney

Reviewing: June 9, with two haikus

2006-06-09T17:36:00.000-05:00

Germany four
Costa Rica Two. No chance
For the cup, danke.

Too slow Poland were
Exposed by lithe Ecuador
Two nil Aguilas.

Chris Gaffney

The venues: Munich-Allianz Arena

2006-06-09T12:07:00.000-05:00

1972, 1974, 2006. These are the three dates that the world has focused its collective sporting eye on Munich. 1972 witnessed the tragic deaths of Israeli athletes so ineptly captured by Spielberg’s "Munich." 1974 saw the Germans come from a goal down to beat the more gifted Dutch in the World Cup. Between that historical Dutch choke and June 9, 2006, Munich has hosted innumerable international sporting events, European Cup finals and the general passings of everyday life.

Munich’s urban history is longer than most German words, and only the brave or foolish can hope to give an idea of the depth and texture of this world city. Henry the Lion founded Munich in 1158. Munich was granted town rights in 1214 and became the seat of power of the duchy of Bavaria-Munich in 1255. Gustav Adolf of Sweden occupied the city during the Thirty Years War; in 1806 Munich became the capital of the kingdom of Bavaria. During the reign of King Ludwig I such famous buildings as the Glyptothek, Old and New Pinakothek, the royal palace, Feldherrnhalle and Siegestor were built. Munich developed into one of Europe's most important cultural centers. Kurt Eisner proclaimed the Free State of Bavaria in 1918. In 1933 the National Socialists, the Nazis, seized power in the City Hall. Allied air bombardments caused widespread destruction in Munich in 1944. Today the Bavarian capital on the river Isar is an economic and media metropolis with an international reputation.

With so much dang history lingering around every corner, it’s a wonder that Munich’s residents aren’t continually covered in dust. Perhaps the weekly absolutions of the majority Roman Catholics keep them clean (the current pontiff is a Bavarian). More likely it is the massive quantities of really good, locally brewed beer. A constant supply of sausage combined with the aforementioned suds create a cultural environment distinct from the rest of Germany.

The inward looking politics of the region, dominated by the Christian Social Union since the late 1950s, promote social conservatism and a heavy-handed state. What else would one expect from beer-loving Catholics? Fortunately, the combination of faith and foam results in fast, and frequently folksy, friends, frauleins and such. Besotted with wealth, the Bavarians and Munchenhausens in particular, have one of the highest standards of living in the world. Technologically sophisticated and “progressive,” though with an eye toward the bottom line, the Allianz Arena is a perfect symbol of the city, region and shifting demands of a global sporting marketplace. The city is as well-prepared for an event of the magnitude of the World Cup as any in history and will be a Cup-goers dream site. (Here is more information on soccer and Munich.)

From the air, the arena looks like a post-modern diaphragm, more soft tissue than plastic and steel. The translucent coverings of the stadium contain three sets of lights that can change instantly to shift the appearance of the structure to suit the occasion. When Bayern Munich is playing, the stadium is red. When 1860 Munich is on the pitch, the stadium is Blue. The 280 million Euro pricetag for the Allianz Arena, built in the northeastern suburbs of the city, was shared between Bayern and 1860. This sort of private largesse is extremely unusual in the global sporting economy, and the private/public funding of multimillion dollar stadiums will be a major issue in the coming years as South Africa prepare to host the next Cup.

Games in Munich

June 9: Germany vs. Costa Rica

June 14: Tunisia vs. Saudi Arabia

June 18: Brazil vs. Australia

June 21: Ivory Coast vs. Serbia and Montenegro

2006-06-07T23:51:00.000-05:00

Predicted finish: Germany, Poland, Costa Rica, Ecuador

Taking the most basic lessons from geography, we can observe that this group will feature teams from very different cultural and physical regions. Germany and Poland together comprise a massive swath of central and eastern Europe, stretching from the card trick borders of Alsace-Lorraine in the southwest to the hot potato Russian steppes in the east. Beer drinking, polka dancing, orderly, barley and wheat growing, nice cars, very long words, World Wars I and II, the Cold War was bullshit let’s all make some money, Solidarity, Lech Walesa, John Paul II was a keeper and all that. Costa Rica, with no national army and an entrenched democracy, links gringo idealism with Latin American social structures in a naturalist’s wet dream, while tiny but sprightly Ecuador trembles under the threat of gastric volcanoes and the second coming of Charles Darwin.

Poland and Germany have teams stacked with large lads with solid pedigree, speed, regulated diets and a penchant for aggressive behavior. They should both emerge from this group and might even agree not to take too many nicks out of each other if they both win their first games easily. If the Germans win this group with 9 points, the rest of the world will take them much more seriously and militate against them. No one really wants the Germans to win the whole thing, not even the Germans. Too much party in zee hause machts nicht gut. What have they really done to deserve it anyway? Poland could win the group if the Germans forget to tie their shoelaces. The Poles were excellent in qualifying, but have some obvious weaknesses that cannot be accounted for, even, and perhaps especially, if they are doing the math. However, they were very good in qualifying and could win the group if the Germans act like the French and surrender some points.

The Ticos and the Aguilas will provide some attacking style in the Latin American mode, but will not offer too much in the way of grand spectacle. It would be nice to see the coaches release their players onto the field with the freedom to delight. Joga bonito, as Cantona is inveighing. Costa Rica has the usual assortment from CONCACAF Champion Saprissa but isn’t much to worry about away from home. As for Ecuador, well, they didn’t win a qualifying game outside of Quito, but beat Brazil and Argentina at altitude. So long as their opposition doesn’t smoke at halftime, don’t look for them to impress. The element of surprise will make it doubly pleasurable if they do.

The Germans have clearly come away with an ideal first round of games, however, their likely opponents in the next round are either England or Sweden: the Dorsetshire might just have Klinsmann’s Bismark in its periscope.

Chris Gaffney

Previewing: Who we are and why we are here

2006-06-07T23:28:00.000-05:00

For many people in the United States, soccer happens for one month every four years. For a smaller group, it is a daily obsession. We are in this latter category. This gives us something in common with a bunch of people around the world. In our cases, we are so utterly soccer mad that we wrote master’s theses and Ph.D dissertations about it. Now we’re soccer profs, and the summer session has begun.

Not only do we love and know the sport, we are fascinated by the myriad political, economic and cultural phenomena that make this universal game something distinct throughout the world. Throughout the World Cup we will provide a different take on the proceedings than the ordinary media outlets, with an eye toward the compelling subplots that make soccer such a powerful global force. Our training in geography compels us to look at the intersection of sport and society, teasing out the deeper meaning from 90 minutes in front of a television. Throughout the 2006 World Cup we will report on the wider social questions and geographic implications tied to this quadrennial event but go largely ignored by commentators.

Look to the Soccer Profs to bring you up to date on information and provide critical insight throughout the World Cup. Soccer, it's not just for watching anymore.

The Soccer Profs:
Dr. Hunter Shobe began playing soccer in Middletown, Conn., at the age of 6. He's been playing organized (and disorganized) soccer ever since. Shobe lived in Belgium during the 1990 World Cup (hosted by Italy). Watching the intensity and passion expressed by fans of every country spill out onto the streets of Brussels, he felt that he had just been let in on a great secret that the entire world except the United States knew about. Since then he has made soccer the center of his academic career and personal life. Shobe has a B.A. in international affairs from the George Washington University (1994), and an M.A. (2000) and Ph.D. (2005) in geography from the University of Oregon. His dissertation is entitled "Place, Identity and FC Barcelona: A Critical Geography of Sport." He teaches urban and cultural geography at Portland State University. He supports FC Barcelona and DC United.

Dr. Chris Gaffney grew up kicking on the soccer fields of suburban Dallas before playing left-midfield for Trinity University in Texas. Following an undistinguished indoor professional career he moved to Taiwan where he was named the TBLs 1997 Footballer of the Year. He then taught and coached at Suffield Academy in Connecticut before completing a master's in geography at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (thesis: Soccer and the geographic construction of reality) and a doctorate in geography at the University of Texas at Austin (Dynamic sites and cultural symbols: the stadiums of Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro). Gaffney has played, watched and studied soccer on four continents and is author of the upcoming book "Temples of the Earthbound Gods" to be published by the University of Texas Press. Gaffney hosts a weekly radio talk show called "Soccer Mad" on KOOP 91.7 FM Austin, TX. Wednesdays at 2:30 CST (koop.org). He supports the New England Revolution, FC Barcelona, Celtic, Boca Juniors, Vasco de Gama and Argentina.

The Soccer Profs editor:
Vince Tuss started his love affair with soccer in his backyard, reenacting the games of the 1986 World Cup hosted by Mexico. He later learned the ins and outs of the game at George Washington University, where he covered the men's and women's teams for the student newspaper, the GW Hatchet. There he also studied international politics and international communications, and found the role of culture -- and especially sports -- paramount in both. He has gone on to work at various U.S. newspapers as an editor in the sports and news departments. He currently works at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. He will be compiling the links and the "Out There" entries on the World Cup playing out in the news and the world. He follows Arsenal, DC United and the U.S. team.