World Cup review thread. Your thoughts....

[osarusan]

Ok, I know the final hasnt been played yet, but I wanted to get this thread rolling.

As for myself........here goes.

Diving. Did it really reach new levels, or was every world cup before just as bad. I think this is the worst I've seen. Not every team, but a few serial offenders, and FIFA really has to take action.

Refereeing. Some terrible performances (take a bow, (or three), Graham Poll), but what annoyed me was not the individual referees but the Fifa policies. Football was almost a non-contact sport, way too many red and yellow cards, especially for time wasting (one yellow awarded to a goalkeeper for time-wasting-after only 7 minutes, with his team already 1-0 down!!). But a lot of criticism was unwarranted also.

Players. Cannavaro was immense, Zidane showed glimpses of magic, Ballack was poor, Lampard was awful, Crouch was Crouch. Klose scored lots, but always from about a yard out.

Managers. Klinsmann surprised me, Sven didnt. Lippi has done very well. If Domenech is the reason for the French turnaround, then all credit to him.

Matches. There hasnt been (for me) one match which stood out as a classic, the way that there usually has been in other world cups. Lots of tension, but I didnt see any genuine classics. Hope the final will make me need to edit this part of the post.

Teams. What has disappointed me most about this world cup is that there hasnt been one team which really peaked, and proved themselves to be the best in the world, the way that Brazil in '02, France in '98 did. Of course you have to be good to win a world cup, but for me, no team really stood out.

Overall. Not a bad world cup, but no classic.

[pineapple stu]

Very poor World Cup. Possibly the poorest bar Italia 90. From the knock out stages onwards, there were far too many tedious games in which the less bad team rather than the better team won. France, England, Portugal, Holland, Brazil, Spain, and to a lesser extent Germany and Argentina simply didn't perform when the chips were down. And yet the smaller countries weren't able to take advantage. Similarly with the big players - Ronaldinho, Zidane, Henry, Ballack, etc - anonymous in the bigger games, by and large.

[Closed Account 2]

I think this was a poor world cup, most of the knockout games lacked a certain fizz so to speak.

[drinkfeckarse]

Superbly well organised as expected. Average football, only really enjoyed about 4 games. Diving at epidemic levels.....

[Dodge]

Just a couple of thing on the points already made. France weren't by far the best team in 1998, Brazil just didn't show up in the final. France struggled in all matched bar the final.

Oh and stu, how can you say Zidane was anonymous in the big games, He was MOTM in probably all 3 knockout games and certainly made his mark on the final (I know you wrote it before)

In the end, the best team in the tournament one. I also thought Argentina v Mexico and italy v Germany were classic matches

[shakermaker1982]

I enjoyed the WC. No stand out team or stars but Holland-portugal, Brazil-France, Italy - USA, France-Spain and any game involving Ghana were all exciting with moments of class. The diving was no worse than a week of Champions League action, it's a shame but it is now part of the game until the authorities clamp down on divers by banning them for 2 games if caught by tv coverage after the game.

[osarusan]

France weren't by far the best team in 1998, Brazil just didn't show up in the final.

Actually......................true.

[pineapple stu]

Oh and stu, how can you say Zidane was anonymous in the big games, He was MOTM in probably all 3 knockout games and certainly made his mark on the final (I know you wrote it before)
Meh.

I actually wrote the comment after the final. He did indeed leave his mark on it, but other than the penalty and a good header (and the red card), he was very quiet. I think he only really played in the Brazil game. Other than that, very disappointing.

Was pondering whether or not to include the entire English team in the "disappointing players" category as they pretty much lived up to expectations...

Pointless trivia, incidentally - Zidane is the fourth player to score three goals in World Cup Final matches (after Vava, Pele and Hurst), the fourth player to score a penalty in a Final (after the two in 1974 and Brehme in 1990) and the fourth player to be sent off in a Final (after the two in 1990 and Desailly in 1998).

Also, Klose's 5 goals make him the lowest Golden Shoe winner since 1962 (when one game fewer was played), and the third-lowest of all time (4 also won in 1934, when there was just four games to win, I think). Don't know how much you can read of the quality of the tournament from that though.

[tetsujin1979]

Also, only the second tournament ever not to feature a hat trick, 34 was the other I believe.

[NeilMcD]

Is Zidane the only person along with Pele to score in 2 different world Cup Finals.

[Dodge]

Breitner and Vava did it too

[Stuttgart88]

I don't think Ballack was poor at all. I don't like the attitude with which he plays the game: sly, sneaky, diushonest. But his skills are excellent and he's effortlessly two footed, very rare sadly.

Cannavaro was player of the tournament, granted, but my favourite was Gattuso.

Why? Reads the game brilliantly, tackles brilliantly, distributes brilliantly and, given the prevalance of type of attitude I described above, he plays in a very honest, sporting and manly way. By "manly" I mean he doesn't ever pretend to be injured, like in rugby or GAA. He plays like it's an embarassment to be hurt. If fouled he'll pick himself up and just get on with it.

If Ferguson is looking for a successor to Keane then there's only one place to look in my opinion.


Overeall I don't think it was a great tournament though I must say I totally enjoyed it, the English OTT media aside.


Managers: I'm disappointed Argentina didn't progress further & I can only blame Pekerman for that. Far too cautious. Brazil's m,anager was too set in his ways. He had much better resources available than those he put to use. In general I think most managers were too cautious and those who weren't were, by and large, rewarded: Klinsmann & Lippi (in the semi-final) stood out.

Players' Attitudes: I wouldn't say diving per se was the worst aspect of the WC, but the general attitude of players. Being fouled is one thing but being fouled and then staying down forever made me cringe. And both the Dutch & Portuguese should be forever ashamed of themselves for the manner in which they played the last 16 tie.

Refereeing: Refereeing was erratic, but several controversial decisions were in my opinion correct: Rooney's red, the Schevchenko penalty (which I only realised on 5th replay), likewise the Malouda penalty (maybe it wasn't a foul, but it most certainly wasn't a dive either), the Grosso penalty against Australia, the USA red cards, almost all of Valentin Romanov's decisions in the Dutch / Portuguese game.

A bif disappointment was the failure of FIFA to stand up to their own edict on waving imaginary cards. This would have been simple & uncontroversial to enforce. I'd also like to have seen retrospective action taken for things like Maniche's pretending to have been hit in the face by Ferdinand. This was so obvious action could easily have been taken. FIFA bottled it in 2002 (Rivaldo's playacting against Turkey) and they did it again.

General:

I think one reason why it wasn't a vintage WC was because, with few exceptions, no team was at its peak. Italy was actually at its peak - experience in every position & hardly anyone whose best years were behind him - and it showed, England should have been at its peak but it never showed (what a wasted chance in this regard) and then arguably Portugal (a bit past theirs maybe).

Of the other fancied teams Holland, Spain, Germany, Argentina even, were all work in progress. Brazil, France were notably a bit long in the tooth but France used their blend of experience & youth (of which really only Ribery impressed though Malouda had a decent final) to good effect obviously.

Too many teams employed only one forward. This was a major disappointment. Of those that only employed one orthodox forward only Italy (a) did it correctly and (b) showed a willingness to add numbers forward, either from midfield, or by formal changes - bringing forwards off the bench. The Dutch did too I suppose by using Robben & Van Persie the way they did. Portugal on paper did something similar but for me just played sideways in key positions too much.

Some of the African teams looked good I thought and were unlucky to face such good opposition so early.

David Pleat made the comment that although there were no really good teams there was a really good set of "playmakers" on show, many of whom did a good job, but some didn't come up to scratch or were erratic: Zidane, Ballack, Riquelme, Totti, Deco, Fabregas, Ronaldinho & Kaka etc.

In the "Greatest Show on Earth..." thread a month or so ago I said that I'll be looking at the tournament from a few angles:

1. Watching to see how / if the best teams adapt to recent rule changes & refereeing guidelines
2. Watching to see which wins out: the technocrats or the English style, or a combo of both
3. Our Euro 2008 opponents' form
4. Whether the tournament backs up my mantra of great teams not requiring great players throughout the team
5. Is anything other than 4-4-2 used to good effect, and if it is, why, and what are the essential ingredients?

Well, here's how I'd call the answers:

1. They did so by cheating / dishonesty, with only a few exceptions. Only a few teams really had the quality to spread the ball around at speed as FIFA are trying to steer the game.
2. A combo of both though more of the former. Italy's skill level, tactics and organisation was excellent, but I still can't help wondering if employing Luca Toni as a target man wasn't a bit "English".
3. Germany impressed but not unbeatable. Czechs were a curate's egg: good in parts. Looked poor without Koller I thought.
4. Not really. The really good teams here had really good players. Not many teams played beyond "the sum of its parts". Germany maybe.
5. Yes. Italy's shape and adaptablity was a major positive. I liked the way Hiddink lined the Aussies up. Three big guys at the back, Grella protecting them and so on. 4-3-3 (4-5-1) resulted in a lot of pretty passing but no incision in my opinion. If anyone's interested I'd be interested in thrashing out which systems worked / failed and why. Which players were essential for the system working and so on. And, obviously, how this could be applied to Ireland.

Not a vintage WC, but I enjoyed it. One last, very biased point: not one winger in the WC has a final cross as good as Duff :)

[finlma]

Very disappointed with the World Cup overall. There were some fantastic goals but not much else

There were only a handful of classic games - Italy Germany will be remembered for a long time.

There wasn't a single shock apart from Ghana beating the Czechs and that wasn't really a shock. The World Cup needs games like that.

Apart from Klose the world seems very short of decent goal-scoring strikers.

Way too much diving and way too many cards.

Zidane getting the golden ball was a joke. Cannavaro was the best player at the World Cup by a country mile.

Coaches played very defensive tactics with teams scard to play 2 men up front.

South Africa would want to be better and we'd want to be there.

[Roadend]

I wasd disappointed I have to say, the stop start nature of most of the games was infuriating. FIFA seem to want to outlaw the tackle from the game completely which is obviously plain wrong. 64 matches and I could pick maybe 5 that I really enjoyed. That doesn't say a whole lot. Alas I guess I was hoping that teams might go out and give it a go, unfortunately the scurge of football in the shape of teams being to afraid to make a mistake and let the other side in is just too rife these days. Ah well.......

[Stuttgart88]

James Lawton's review is, in my opinion, a must-read:

"Football's fundamental need is not a review of its rules but a scourging of its spirit. "

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/comment/article1171383.ece

[Marked Man]

James Lawton's review is, in my opinion, a must-read:

"Football's fundamental need is not a review of its rules but a scourging of its spirit. "

http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/comment/article1171383.ece

Meh.
Outrage against Zidane, big players didn't perform, Erikson isn't as good a coach as Lippi. Diving is bad.

Nothing there that we haven't heard many times already.

[Clifford]

Not my work, but good stuff imho.

Warning looooonnnnngggg post....2 parts.....

There's been a lot of talk about the gamesmanship, cheating bad reffing, etc. etc. and lack of sportsmanship in this World Cup. For me it wasn't the greatest World Cup I can remember but it was certainly not the worst. There were some cracking games the opener Germany v Costa Rica, Mexico v Argentina, Italy v Germany. Some teams really did impress like Argentina, Mexico, Germany, Ghana, Spain. Others really disappointing such as Brazil, England, Holland.
If you look at the history of the competition there have always been negatives. For what its worth I always enjoy it. The spectacles and the controversies are part of it. Below is a brief history of the competition. Popular consensus would say there have only been two classics 1970 and 1982, but to say this has been the worst World Cup ever is highly subjective and when you start looking back at the history nothing has really changed that drastically....

'30 : Hosts Uruguay : winners Uruguay
Only 13 teams participate and only 4 from Europe (France, Yugoslavia, Romania, Belgium) due to the cost and logistical nightmare of actually getting a team to the competition. Participation was through invitation of FIFA affiliated countries. The final was shrouded in controversy about who should supply the ball forcing FIFA to intervene and decree that the Argentine team would provide the ball for the first half and the Uruguayans would provide their own for the second


'34 : Hosts - Italy : Winners Italy
16 teams participate after qualification but only 4 are from outside Europe. Mussolini's influence reaches all the way to selecting the referees for the Italian games. The Swedish referee who refereed the semi-final and final was said to have met with Mussolini before the matches, and disputed decisions were given in favour of Italy. Some referees ruled so much in Italy's favour that they were suspended by their home nations after the tournament. This tournament is regarded by some as having been as "politicised" as the 1936 Berlin Olympic games!!!.

'38 : Hosts - France : Winners - Italy
16 teams enter but the location caused outrage in South America where it was believed that the venue would alternate between the two continents. As a result neither Uruguay nor Argentina enters the competition. Spain was also out because of the Spanish Civil War. Austria qualified but withdrew after being annexed by Germany, so Sweden received automatic entry into the quarter-finals. Five of the first round matches required extra time to break the deadlock; two games still went to a replay. Mussolini sends a telegram to the Italian team "Vincere o morire!" ("Win or die"). Referring to Mussolini's pre-match threats, the Hungarian goalkeeper Szabo (perhaps jokingly) quipped "I may have let in four goals, but at least I saved their lives".

'42 & '46 cancelled because of WWII

'50 : Hosts - Brazil : Winners - Uruguay
16 nations qualify, though Germany and Japan are refused entry due to the past War. Scotland, Turkey and India withdraw from the competition, India because they are not allowed to play barefoot. France is invited to participate instead of Turkey but withdraw as they refuse to travel more than 3,000kms to games. This leaves the 1st stage groups looking very stange - 2 groups of 4 teams, 1 group of 3 teams and 1 group of two teams!!!

'54 : Hosts- Switzerland : Winners - West Germany
16 nations qualify. 4 groups of 4 with a system very different than todays - Each group was comprised of two of the eight seeded teams based on World rankings (Austria, Brazil, England, France, Hungary, Italy, Turkey and Uruguay) and two unseeded teams. Instead of a conventional round-robin where each team would play three matches, the two seeded teams and the two weakest teams in each group didn't have to play each other, so each team played only 2 group matches. Extra time was played in the group stages for any game that was level in after 90 minutes. The two teams finishing at the top of their group would go through to the quarter-finals. Goal average was ignored and teams battling for a qualifying spot who were on equal points at the end of the group stages were required to a play-off. Consequently Switzerland and Italy played each other twice with Switzerland winning the play-off 4-1, while West Germany, who were unseeded, had two encounters with the seeded Turkish and beat them convincingly on both occasions. Uruguay and Austria finished the group stages level on points in the qualifying positions and drew lots to determine who they would play in the next round.
This World Cup was to become famous for one of the worst displays of soccer ever played on the world stage, The Battle of Berne. The second half bad temper and violence even continued into the dressing rooms!!
Even the final was subject to controversy when Hungarian superstar Puskás claimed that after entering the German lockerroom after the match he found many of them vomiting. The proceeding months saw many of them also develop jaundice. In 2004 a lockerroom attendant uncoverred that he found syringes in the German room after the match, aiding the doping allegations!!!

'58 : Hosts - Sweden : Winners - Brazil
16 teams qualify though Hungarys team is seriously depleted as many of their top players have fled the country 2 years previously due to the failed coup against the communist regime there. Pele makes his world stage debut. In the semi-finals, Sweden continued their strong run as they defeated West Germany 3-1 in a vicious game that saw the German player Juskowiak sent off and German team captain Fritz Walter injured, which further weakened the German team as substitute players were not allowed at the time (substitutes were first allowed in the 1970 World Cup)

'62 : Hosts - Chile : Winners - Brazil
16 teams qualify. Few teams or players lived up to their reputations in this tournament. Brazil's Pelé, the hero of 1958, was injured in the first group match against Czechoslovakia. USSR goalkeeper Lev Yashin, arguably the world's best at the time, was in poor form and cost his team an elimination to Chile (1-2) in the quarter-finals. None of the stars of leading European clubs of the time left a mark on the competition. The only bright spots in an otherwise dull tournament were the emergence of the young Brazilians Amarildo (standing in for Pelé) and Garrincha, the heroics of Czechoslovakia goalkeeper Viliam Schrojf against Hungary and Yugoslavia, and the inspired performance of host Chile, who unexpectedly took third place with a squad of relatively unknown players, thanks to an outstanding team spirit.
The competition was marred by overly defensive and often violent tactics. This poisonous atmosphere culminated in the infamous first-round match between host Chile and Italy (2-0), known as the Battle of Santiago. Although only two players (both of them Italian) were sent off by the overly weak English referee Ken Aston, the match saw repeated, deliberate attempts from players on both sides to harm opponents, and the Italian team needed police protection to leave the field in safety. The only real note of this competition is that it took place at all as Chile had suffered a huge earthquake during its preparation.

[Clifford]

'66 Hosts - Enland : Winners - England
16 teams qualify. England received the recovered Jules Rimet trophy and were crowned World Cup winners. Recent digitally-enhanced footage clearly illustrates that Geoff Hurst's second goal did not cross the line and, as his third goal was scored as a pitch invasion was in progress, many regard the result as a controversial example of home advantage!!!!

'70 Hosts - Mexico : Winners - Brazil
16 Teams qualify. This tournament saw the return of free-flowing, attacking play after the physical battles of 1962 and 1966, and is still considered by many fans to be the finest World Cup in history. The event featured the first ever use of red and yellow cards for misconduct by players, although no red cards were actually issued in the competition. The semi-final between Italy and West Germany went beyond history and into the legend as arguably the greatest game ever.

'74 Hosts West Germany : Winners - West Germany
16 teams qualify. The Dutch finish second but the competition is dazzled by their Total Football.

'78 Hosts Argentina : Winners - Argentina
16 teams qualify. There is a controversy surrounding this World Cup dealing with Argentina's final game in the second round against Peru. Because of goal difference, Argentina needed to defeat Peru by at least four goals to qualify for the final instead of Brazil, thanks to Brazil's 3-1 victory against Poland played a few hours earlier. The Peruvian goalkeeper at the time (Ramón Quiroga) was actually born in Argentina and had, until that game, only let in six goals in five matches. Argentina had only scored six goals in the competition up to this point; they put the same number past Peru, winning 6-0 and advancing to the final.
Another controversial fact surrounding the 1978 World Cup was that Argentina had suffered a military coup only two years before the cup. Because of this, some countries, most notably the Netherlands, considered publicly whether they should participate in the cup. Despite this, all teams eventually participated without restrictions although the Dutch team attended without its star, Johan Cruijff, who refused to participate.

'82 Hosts - Spain : Winners - Italy
24 teams qualify. Billed as the second best tournament ever after '70, after a series of fantastic matches including the epic semi-final between France and West Germany. This competition was not without its controversies either, the most famous ones been between West Germany and Austria on the third and final day. As Algeria had already played its third match the day before, West Germany and Austria knew that a West Germany win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. (The fourth team in the group, Chile, was eliminated regardless of the outcome.) After West Germany scored after 11 minutes of furious attack, the two German-speaking teams went into an unspoken agreement and just kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the game to the chants of "Fuera, fuera" ("Out, out") from the disgusted Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This sham performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans. Maradona also managed to get sent-off in the match between Brazil and Argentina for a well aimed kick to Batistas nuts!! In the semi final match West Germany v France Germany goalkeeper Harald Schumacher hurled himself at the French player Battiston, foot forward, knocking his opponent unconscious and breaking two of his teeth, he didn't even receive a yellow for this!!!

'86 Hosts - Mexico : Winners - Argentina
24 teams qualify. Famous for Maradonas "hand of God" against England, though his second goal was voted the "best ever in a World Cup..". The Portuguese national team went on strike during the competition. Players refused to train between their first and the second games (against England and Poland) and were eliminated by Morocco.

'90 Hosts - Italy : Winners - West Germany
24 teams qualify. Widely regarded as one of the least spectacular and most cynical World Cups ever. It generated a record-low goals-per-game average and (at the time) record 16 red cards. Most teams relied heavily on defensive play and hard tackling, as well as aggressive intimidation of the referee. In the knock-out stage of the cup, many teams would "play it safe" for 120 minutes and try their luck in the penalty shootout, rather than risk going forward. Runners-up Argentina were the prime example of this trend. The final was one of the ugliest games ever seen in a World Cup. The fraught atmosphere was not helped by a number of questionable penalty decisions by the Mexican referee Edgardo Codesal, who denied clear penalties first to German player Klaus Augenthaler and then to Argentine player Pedro Monzón. Six minutes from the end, Codesal awarded a highly debatable penalty for the Germans, which was put away by Andreas Brehme. West Germany won 1-0 and the match ended amid scenes of unprecedented chaos with Argentina reduced to nine men, Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti having been sent off.

'94 Hosts - USA : Winners - Brazil
24 teams qualify.Despite been held in the USA the total attendance for the final tournament of nearly 3.6 million remains the greatest in World Cup history. This World Cup was the first in which winners of group matches received three points for a victory instead of two. Columbian defender Andrés Escobar scored an own goal in a match against the United States, shortly after the team returned to Colombia, Escobar was murdered. An impressive qualifying campaign had included a 5-0 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires and the Colombians played with a dazzling, carefree style that seemed to have been lost from the South American game. On 5 September 1993, Argentina welcomed Colombia to Buenos Aires for their final Group A qualifier for USA 94. Lying a point behind the Cafeteros, Alfio Basile's side needed a win to qualify directly. What they produced instead was one of biggest debacles in the history of Argentine football as they were crushed 5-0 by the Colombians and consigned to a play-off against Australia. Valderrama, Asprilla and Rincon were drawing comparisons with the 1970 Brazilians, and Pelé favored them to win. However, there were rumors that betting syndicates and drug cartels were exercising their influence over the squad. Coach Hernan Gomez was reported to have received death threats over matters of team selection. Colombia's players were affected. They looked edgy and unfocused as they suffered a shock 3-1 loss in their opening game against Romania.

'98 Hosts - France : Winners - France
32 teams qualify. Zidane gets sent-off agaist Saudi Arabia. England's David Beckham gets sent-off after kicking Argentinas Diego Simeone. Simeone later admitted that he had purposely fouled Beckham, hoping to get Beckham to relatilate. Netherlands-Argentina match was marred by violence; the Netherlands was reduced to 10 men early on after a tackle injured Diego Simeone and he had to be carried off the field for treatment. Late in the match, Argentina star Ariel Ortega received a red card for headbutting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after van der Sar confronted Ortega on the latter's play-acting attempt to draw a penalty. the final, Zinedine Zidane took over and scored two goals, with Emmanuel Petit adding one late to give France a 3-0 win over Brazil. Brazilian star Ronaldo played poorly, having a mysterious fit the night before and many questioned his reinstatement in the starting lineup. Even the sending off of Marcel Desailly could not mar the French celebration of their first World Cup title, as an estimated one million people took to the Paris streets to celebrate through the night.

'02 Hosts S.Korea & Japan : Winners - Brazil
32 teams qualify. The tournament featured the unexpected early elimination of many of the most highly regarded teams, with France, Portugal, and Argentina not surviving the first round and Italy and Spain defeated by Korea Republic during the knockout phase. Particulary, the Italians were eliminated in a debatable and controversial match against host Korea Republic. Spain's elimination also proved controversial, as the referee made several erroneous decisions in Korea Republic's favor. There was a controversy during the group C match between Brazil and Turkey with the unsporting behaviour of Brazilian player Rivaldo. Brazil go onto win the competition for a record 5 times!!!