WORLD CUP - Day 1
GROUP A
Something's not quite right. The opening game of the tournament was a cracker, with six goals in what is traditionally a game better known for dodgy own goals (see Scotland v France in 1998); a violent punch up punctuated by blokes occasionally kicking a ball (see Argentina v Cameroon in 1990); and Diana Ross missing that penalty in 1994 for Bolivia against Germany. (Of course she played for Bolivia; she swears by their medicinal powders.)
I missed the special opening ceremony, that in days gone past I would make a point of watching until my eyes glaze over, because we were tivo'ing Meredith Viera's last appearance on the View (that was a waste of time), but also because ESPN2 decided not to cover the opening ceremony in its coverage, so I have no idea if the organisers had the Scorpians, Nena or David Hasselhoff as the special rock guest(s) of honour to usher in the beginning of the tournament.
A couple of brilliant goals from Germany, with Klose also scoring two, which prompts me to wonder why I didn't pick him for my World Cup Fantasy Eleven, and then I remember it's because I didn't even know he was still playing football. Everytime Wanchope got the ball, the commentator on ESPN2 mentions that Wanchope grew up in Southern California, and was an excellent basketball player as a teenager. (Makes me wonder what the commentary will be like on Scottish TV when Trinidad and Tobabgo are playing their games - think about it.) Surprised to see how many Costa Rica fans are in the crowd when their team scores, and I've also decided that Germany are the ugliest team in the tournament. (Rooney is still injured, after all.) The commentator mentions that one of their players is known as the David Beckham of German football because of his good looks and glamour; I think he looks like the ugly one from Boyzone. And, of course, I have to acknowledge that I got the scoreline wrong, but I'm glad that I was wide of the mark.
Second game of the tournament, and Poland have already let me down. For no other reason than the fact that they have two Celtic players in their starting eleven, I thought I would go out on a limb and predict that they would do well in the tournament. The commentator seemed to agree with me 'cos early on in the game he kept mentioning that Maciej Zurawski's nickname was 'Magic'. Ten minutes into the second half, I swear that he mentioned that Zurawski's nickname should be 'Tragic'.
It was frustrating at times watching Poland, as they seemed to dominate large swathes of the match without anything actually resulting from all all possessional play. Time and time again, Smolarek glided past the Ecuadorian defenders, only for Poland dominance to peter out once they got into the Ecuadorian penalty box. It was almost as if Ecuador were toying with them, and even when Poland hit the woodwork twice in the last ten minutes the Ecuadorians didn't appear at all rattled.
I still think Poland have a chance to get into the second round and, if nothing else, it makes their game against Germany all the more of a must see.
I'm guessing that the ESPN2 commentator doesn't subscribe to National Geographic - or World Soccer for that matter - as he had difficulty coming up with any factoids relating to Ecuador. He kept falling back on the fact that Ecuador play their home games at very high altitude in Quito, and perhaps they wouldn't adapt so well to playing in Europe. That factoid disappeared around about the same time as the mentions that Zurawski's nickname was 'magic'. With Ecuador winning their first game, it looks like he - and the rest of us - will have to do a crash course in cliches the history of Ecuador. I was surpised by how good Delgado was during the course of the game. I bet Southampton fans will be pleased for him, but not so surprised by how obsessed the ESPN director was in finding camera shoots of pretty female Ecuadorian supporters. Fair play, I'm sure he will only tell us that he - it can only be a bloke - is just getting some practice in for the upcoming Brazil games.
3 comments:
Yet another superb post from the boy Dazza (well, we are into real football season aren't we?)!
Day one was excellent, Germany good but what a dodgy fucking defence. Poland all out of ideas, while Ecuador were a brick wall at the back - Hurtado and Espinozo (I think his name was) were unbelievable. But, back to Poland, I don't think Germany will beat them and I think Poland will beat Costa Rica, but, as we say, we shall see ...
"He kept falling back on the fact that Ecuador play their home games at very high altitude in Quito, and perhaps they wouldn't adapt so well to playing in Europe."
Actually, you're wrong there. What he kept repeating over and over again was that they are at an advantage because they can already move fast in high altitudes, and could certainly be faster in a lower altitude, like in Germany. Anyway, all they were doing was coming up with an excuse as to why Poland sucked so bad.
Damn.
You're right and I'm wrong. I now realise that the factoid that the commentator kept repeating was that it was apparently only the fourth game that Ecuador had ever played on European soil, and what adverse effect that might have on Ecuador's performance. Can that fact really be true?
So much for my stream of consciousness style blogging on the World Cup.:'(
It sometimes sucks that you're smarter then me, but I fall back on the fact that I'm cuter.
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