No More Onion Bags

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

// July 6th, 2010 // 13 Comments » // Uncategorized

**Update** You can listen to my Uruguay post-mortem on The People’s Game at http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/m3u.php?mp3fil=27811

Yeah, we put up a good fight.  Yeah, we scored at the end to make sure we went out with our heads held as high as possible.  And yeah, they are dancing in the streets in Montevideo today, just as much as after the Ghana game.

But I can’t help thinking that we could have gotten to the final.  The first Dutch goal came after a horrible foul by Vam Bommel on Gargano that wasn’t called.  The second Dutch goal was probably offsides.  Worse, Uruguay got called for 2-3 offsides in the first half when they were clearly on-side.   (FIFA?)  And I’m still waiting to see a replay of that final play that came off Van Persie’s head or hand, I’m not sure which. 

We suffered today without Suarez and Fucile (Victorino had a good game in place of Lugano).  And we kept three defensive midfielders in the second half, when the Dutch, to their credit, put on Ven der Vaart for De Zeeuuwweeuuww (or however the heck you spell that guy’s name).  I feel  a little like we played not to lose, when we could have played to win.  For goodness sake, we were playing with house money.  Why not go for it, at least in the second half?  I guess that once you get close, you start to feel like you almost have it, and the worry about losing something takes over.  I would have preferred that we went all out in a blaze of glory.

But the team gave us some moments: Forlan’s goals and leadership, Perez’s bloody determination, Muslera’s confident stops, Maxi’s endless running, Rios’ everywhere-ness, Abreu’s penalty, Suarez’s goal against South Korea… it was wonderful.  They made us proud.  And just you wait, because in four years, the World Cup is in Brazil — and we know a thing or two about winning the World Cup in Brazil.

Posted by Lazar

Why Uruguay?

// July 5th, 2010 // 15 Comments » // Uncategorized

Jump on board the bandwagon!

There are four teams left, and odds are, your team is out of it.  The USA and England are long gone.  Ireland never made it.   If you like frontrunners, Brazil and Argentina have left you high and dry.  And now you feel empty.  Well, I’ve got a solution for you.  Root for Uruguay.  Here are the top ten reasons why:

**Update**  Here’s reason #11.  FIFA doesn’t want Uruguay in the final.  They wanted Ghana in the semis (here is proof: http://www.teledoce.com/noticia/10124_La-batalla-celeste-frente-a-Ghana/) and they want Holland in the final.  Eff FIFA.  Root for Uruguay.

10. Do you really want to root for a gigantic European power when you can root for a tiny country of three million? 

9. Holland are a bunch of jerks.

8. Diego Forlan and his girlfriend are models of fitness and healthy living.

7 . Germany bombed your granny.

6. Uruguay started the French downfall.

5. Uruguay is playing without its captain, best scorer, and best fullback.  We need the help!

4. Spain is too good.  And David Villa’s soul patch is annoying.

3. We’ve got really nice jerseys.

2. Abreu’s penalty.

1. Fate is on our side! 

So, please, come on and get on board the Uruguay bandwagon.  We offer fine food, wonderful people, and no pressure, because we are playing with house money.  If we beat the obnoxious Dutch, who also lose big matches, then we get Suarez and Fucile back and get to take on an even bigger power in Germany or Spain.  And anything can happen in one game.  It’s a high risk, high return strategy, but isn’t that what living is all about?  For once in your life, live a little! 

Posted by Lazar

Greatest. Penalty. Ever.

// July 3rd, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Uncategorized

Some people still appear to be mired in the Luis Suarez debate that I still don’t understand (in addition to the rules issue, it shouldn’t have even been a penalty because Appiah was WAY offside), but I want to make sure we don’t forget about one of the other greatest moments in World Cup history: Sebastian Abreu’s game-winning penalty. 

In real time, it seemed to take forever, at least for me.  What nerve, to pull off a Panenka as the final moment in a World Cup quarterfinal.  Yes, the original was special, and yes, Zidane did one in the World Cup final, but this was greater, for two reasons.

First, the irony of it all.  Asamoah Gyan had just missed a penalty to win the game because he was way too nervous.  As soon as the ref blows the whistle he is off to the races — he can’t get the experience over with quickly enough.  No composure at all.  So, in a sense, Abreu was showing him up.  Yikes.

Second, neither Panenka or Zidane were well-known worldwide for taking penalties like that — they had the element of surprise.  But Abreu who has a massive Youtube library of taking penalties exactly like that.  Here’s a clip of him doing the same thing a few months ago.  And here’s another one. And another.  Yawn.  And another.  Hey, Oliver Twist, would you like some more?  Really, for him to do it again made it even more special.

We’ll be on to the Uruguay-Holland analysis soon (and it doesn’t look good for us, without Suarez, Fucile, Lodeiro, Lugano, and probably Godin — jeez, that’s like half our team), but I’m still savoring that chip for a little longer.  Yum.

Posted by Lazar

Suffering, and Fairness

// July 2nd, 2010 // 13 Comments » // Uncategorized

**Second Update** Now everyone really needs to stop whining, because it should not have been a penalty at all against Uruguay.  Appiah was offside: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaV46PmyvOU

**Update** All those who are calling Luis Suarez a cheater are out of their minds.  The result is not unfair.  A handball is a foul.  If it’s in the box, it gets a penalty. If it’s the last man, it gets a red card. Just like any other foul. Uruguay was rightfully punished.  Uruguay did not complain. Ghana could not take advantage.  Unfair would have been if the foul was not called.  Please stop whining.

This is me.

It got better

Posted by Lazar

Vamos Uruguay

// July 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

It’s time.

Posted by Lazar

New World Cup XI

// June 30th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

I know, I’m doing a lot of these, but really, this is the most fun thing in the world.  And before you get upset about all the South Americans, please realize that the oddsmakers have three of the four semifinalists coming from down there.  Further explanation, yadda, yadda, let’s get down to it:

Goalkeeper: Eduardo (Portugal).  One goal, despite facing Spain, Brazil and Ivory Coast (and North Korea).  And that only goal came on a rebound after he had made a good save.  He’s earned himself a biiiig transfer.

Right-back: Maicon (Brazil).  There’s nothing like stating the obvious.  What a beast.

Center-back: Despite looking like a 47 year old bank teller, Lucio has got skiiilllzzz.  Brings the ball up out of the back like no other defender.  I have a feeling he’s looked like a 47 year old bank teller since childhood.  Poor guy.

Center-back: Diego Lugano.  The crazy-eyed Uruguayan is the intensity that keeps his team in line.

Left-back: Arturo Vidal (Chile)/Carlos Salcido (Mexico). I can’t decide which of these marauders I like more, and am sad that both are gone. 

 Defensive midfielder: Lots of great candidates here, including Anthony Annan (Ghana), who has been a revelation; and Diego Perez (Uruguay) who has bloodied himself for the cause; but Javier Mascherano (Arg) has been incredible.  At times, he is all alone in that midfield, with three forwards in front of him, and Di Maria and Maxi off on the wings, but he somehow still controls the games.  He’s a lot smarter than he gets credit for.

Right midfielder: Lots of great options here, including Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana), Alexis Sanchez (Chile), and Tomas Muller (Germany).  But I’m going with Ghana’s other right-sided player, Dede Ayew, who does something great with the ball every time he gets it.  Thank God he’s out for the game against Uruguay! 

Central attacking midfielder: Diego Forlan started off strong, El Mago Valdivia (Chile) was a flurry of lovely dummies and backheels, and Keisuke Honda is the real Free Kick Master, but Mesut Oezil is the clear favorite here.  What an effing player.  That third goal against England where he raced past Gareth Barry and then absolutely worked Glen Johnson with the fake to the keeper and nutmeg-pass to Muller was a thing of beauty.  Do yourself a favor and watch it again.  Where does Oezil play next season?

Mesut Ozil has Ashley Cole looking concerned

Left midfielder: It’s hard to reconcile the pathetic Robinho that turned out for Manchester City last year with the guy now playing for Brazil.  Sigh.

Forward: David Villa (Spain).  Just a constant threat when he pulls out to the left and attacks a team’s right back.  Reminds me of Thierry Henry about six years ago.  (Don’t get me started on how bad of an idea it is for the Red Bulls to sign the walking corpse now parading itself around as Thierry Henry.)

Forward: Leo Messi (Argentina).  Might not be scoring, but is definitely leading the tournament in oohs and ahhs.  He’s still the best.

Posted by Lazar

Kicking Back

// June 29th, 2010 // 6 Comments » // Uncategorized

I love this picture (which was taken by Diego Forlan).  It’s just a bunch of Uruguayan dudes drinking mate, and about to eat a lot of beef. Yeah, so Luis Suarez scored a superb game-winning goal to send Uruguay into the World Cup quarterfinals.  Today he’s just another guy waiting for the meat to grill.  Ghana is in big trouble, because Uruguay brought its own beef!  From Uruguay!  And Uruguayan beef is the best! 

** Update!! ** According to an article that my father sent me, this is the third “asado” that the team has held.  They’ll need to keep eating, because the team brought, get this, ONE TON of Uruguayan beef with it to South Africa.  For the meat lovers out there, it’s comprised of 450 kg of tenderloin, 200 kg of rib-eye, 75 kg of flank, 75 kg of rump roast, 150 kg of prime rib, and 50 kg of prime sirloin.  No wonder they’re playing well.

Posted by Lazar

I am blind, I am deaf…

// June 28th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

...I want to be a ref

While both Germany and Argentina were clearly superior to England and Mexico respectively, the horrible decisions we saw on Sunday could have had an impact on the outcome of the games. England had just scored to cut the German lead to 2-1, and had Lampard’s goal stood, the psychological impact of surrendering a two-goal lead in one minute could have been severe on the young German team. The English defense was horrific, but the two goals scored by the Germans in the second half were on the counter, and the blown call took away Capello’s option to play defensively in the second half (something Italian coaches are prone to do).

The case for Mexico is harder to make, but Salcido had hit the crossbar (he had a great tournament), and Guardado had just missed on a long range effort before the blown call, so Mexico was threatening. Going down 1-0 forced Mexico to chase the game, and the psychological impact on the Mexicans was noticeable, as their play worsened significantly after the incident. Seeing just how wrong the refs were on the in-stadium replay probably didn’t help the Mexican morale (or the refs). I am baffled that FIFA is powerless to stop replays from being shown on the in-stadium screens.

Either way, Argentina and Germany were probably worthy winners, but the call for technology to help the refs is bound to get louder. Personally, I think replays have no role in soccer. But the argument against a microchip in the ball which would immediately let the ref know if a ball has crossed the line is harder to make. The fourth and fifth officials used on the endlines in the Europa league this past season could have also prevented the Lampard incident. I have heard that we will see them used in the Champions League next year. I hope so, because the stakes are too high to allow such blatant errors to continue to happen. As someone once said, football is just a game, but oxygen is just a gas.

Posted by Alain

In the End, Quality Defeated Fear

// June 26th, 2010 // 7 Comments » // Uncategorized

Quality player

Uruguay showed two sides of itself today: quality and fear.  Luckily, the former prevailed, but not after a long bout with the latter.  South Korea’s first warning signal that it was to be taken seriously, a free kick against the post early on, was not the event that frightened Uruguay.  La Celeste brushed itself off and took control of the game.  Rather, it was Uruguay scoring itself, only moments later.  The team did not appear prepared to play with the lead.  They were afraid to lose their advantage.  The problem is that this fear changed their identity.  So, by the middle of the first half, they had completely conceded possession of the ball to the Koreans, in an attempt to play the counter attack.  The problem with this approach is that it’s not Uruguay’s game, at least not against a team like South Korea, who is so much faster than Uruguay, and while inferior in terms of technique, able to put Uruguay’s defenders under constant pressure.  Uruguay suffered for about 60-70 minutes, until Korea’s goal, which was coming for a long time, seemed to wake them up.  Now Uruguay could be itself again; a team that sought out control, put pressure on defenders, and could be deadly in front goal.  After a couple of chances he should have done better with, Luis Suarez showed what true quality is.  He received the ball, patiently got himself into the perfect spot at the corner of the box, and curled an unstoppable shot into the top corner.  And in the end, quality prevailed.

Player ratings:

-          Muslera – 5 – gave up his first goal of the tournament, a play on which he was not completely to blame, but on which he could have done better. He also let a (very wet) ball slip through his grasp and almost into the goal.

-          Maxi  Pereira – 7 – strong on defense and produced an incredible “sombrero” in the Korean box, which should have earned him a penalty for a handball that the referee completely missed.

-          Diego Godin – 6 – strong in the first half but had to be taken off at the break when it became clear he was not over his stomach flu.

-          Victorino – 5 – generally good replacement for Godin but his header did not clear the ball and let to the Korean goal.

-          Lugano – 7 heroic performance at the back for the captain.  Faced a lot of pressure all game, and did not err.  Countless headers to clear danger.

-          Fucile – 6 – when Uruguay was itself, in the first 15 and last 15 minutes of the game, he was himself, marauding and dangerous.  When Uruguay went into its cocoon, so did he.  But still showed his quality.

-          Perez – 6 – not his best game, but showed his usual doggedness and was one of the players who most pulled Uruguay back into the game after the Korean goal.  Deserves a statue in Uruguay for his determination and spirit alone.

-          Arevalo-Rios – 6 – type of player who never gets recognition since all he does is dirty work, but he does it so well.  Only Uruguay-based player in the lineup showed that he deserved his place with another good performance.

-          Alvaro Pereira – 4 – continues to be the weakest player on the team.  Not as many errors as in games past, but nothing great to sing about either.

-          Diego Forlan – 5 – his worst game of the tournament.  Was lively up until the Uruguay goal, which he created, but appeared tired and uncomfortable playing as a counterattacking forward when Uruguay handed the possession game to the Korean.  Appeared to wake up a bit at the end.

-          Cavani – 7 – won’t get the plaudits that Suarez will, but when the ball is played to him, he has an incredible ability to hold off defenders, dribble, and creates space for teammates.  Was terrific when Uruguay controlled the game, and tried valiantly on defense (not his speciality) when Uruguay didn’t.

-          Suarez – 8 – showed incredible intelligence on his first goal, sneaking in behind the defenders when he sensed confusion (most strikers would have given up on that play).  Missed a couple of header chances he should have done better with, but his game-winning goal was a work of art.  Showed that he doesn’t lose faith in himself.  Man of the Match.

Posted by Lazar

A Saturday of Suffering Awaits

// June 25th, 2010 // 4 Comments » // Uncategorized

I’ve got my top two teams playing Saturday, so I can look forward to a day of complete suffering.  Fantastic.

First off, it’s Uruguay vs. South Korea.  It was the draw that Uruguay wanted, as we avoid Argentina, and would face the USA (my other team) or Ghana if we win.  But the  I am only cautiously optimistic.  South Korea are pretty good.  They were great against Greece, but then only so-so against Argentina and Nigeria.  They have nice attackers in Park Ji Sung, Park Chu Young, and Lee Chong Young (I’m sure I’ve gotten some or all of those names slightly wrong), but Argentina (understandably) and Nigeria (not so understandably) picked them apart at the back.

Uruguay did the same to Mexico and South Africa, so we should be able to score.  The bigger question is whether the Koreans’ much faster pace will be able to get them more goals.  It didn’t work for Mexico, so I’m hoping the same is true.   There’s a little history between the two teams — in 1990, we scraped into the second round thanks to a last-minute goal against South Korea, by a then-largely-unknown young striker named Daniel Fonseca:

(The best part about the clip is watching Uruguay miss about 400 easy chances to go ahead before finally scoring.  Sigh.)  I’ll be watching this one from home, where I can suffer in peace.  I tried watching one Uruguay game (the opener against France) in a bar and it was awful.  I don’t like people to see me like that.  Basically, I turn into the golem in a light blue shirt.

The USA – Ghana match, however, is something I will get out of the house for, where I can suffer and (hopefully) celebrate with others.  I saw the game against England with about 800 other people, and it was terrific, even if Americans still don’t know how to cheer for soccer.  (You are supposed to sing the loudest after your team has been scored on, you cheer good attacking plays even if they don’t lead to goals, and, above all, you applaud players who have been subbed as they walk off the field.  Really, now.)

The USA and Ghana have more recent history, when they met to decide who made it to the second round in 2006.  Ghana rightfully prevailed, although the USA did put up a good fight, and the first time goal from Dempsey was delicious.  But this is a new Ghana team, without Stephen Appiah and Michael Essian, its best players in that game.  These new Black Stars have me a bit baffled — they keep possession pretty well, and I love their holder, Anthony Annan, but they make terrible decisions as they attack.  Everyone seem to want to score a wonder goal, and they end up with a lot of crappy shots from distance.

Do it again, Deuce!

The USA, on the other hand, looks more dangerous than it ever has.  Jozy Altidore is one of the best strikers in the tournament (there, I said it) despite not even scoring — he’s holding up play beautifully, bringing in others, and creating goals (that header down to Bradley for the second goal against Slovenia?! Come on, now!).

So, I’m predicting a 2-1.  Given the way things are going, we are more likely to see the USA concede a goal early, tie in the 90th minute, and win on penalties.  And all the new American soccer fans will know the joys of suffering!

Posted by Lazar