The Story of the World Cup
Page 56
Hopes rose when Defoe headed against the bar, although he was wrongly ruled offside. But then the Germans scored a goal of high quality and flair: Ozil to Klose, Klose to Muller, who was sprinting into the box, Muller to a deplorably unmarked Podolski, who shot between James’s legs. But you could hardly blame the exposed keeper.
Upson then made amends for his early error with a fine header from Gerrard’s cross. 2–1, with possibilities of redemption, only for Lampard’s palpable equaliser to be denied. It never rains but it pours.
At half time, the England players—and Beckham, no show without Punch—confronted and lambasted the hapless Uruguayan officials. When the game resumed, there again seemed to be hope for England. Lampard, still a potent threat, now struck the bar with one free kick and crashed another into the defensive wall, whereupon Germany broke devastatingly away: Jerome Boateng to Muller, instantly to Schweinsteiger, this pair combining with irresistible pace, Schweinsteiger finally pulling his pass back, Muller shooting home via James’s left fist.
A fourth German goal rubbed salt into the wound. Ozil left Barry stranded and gave the ebullient Muller the pass to beat James once again. Capello didn’t stay to watch the rest of the tournament. He took off to recuperate on an Italian beach.
Inevitably, perhaps, there was German exultation over Lampard’s disallowed goal, which was seen as belated revenge for the goal awarded in the 1966 World Cup Final to Geoff Hurst, when his shot had hit the underside of the West German bar and bounced down. Working, as I did, on the official World Cup film, Goal!, I looked at the incident time after time on the Moviola, but could never be sure whether or not the ball had crossed the line. By contrast, Lampard’s shot was palpably and indisputably over.
Still, Capello, whose pre-tournament optimism had been sadly excessive, at least left the competition unscathed, secure in his enormous salary, immune from serious repercussions from his ill-judged launch of the Capello Index.
By no means as fortunate was the hapless Kim Jong-Hun. The manager of the North Korean team, annihilated 7–0 by Portugal after playing resourcefully against Brazil, was publicly and horribly humiliated on his return to Pyongyang. In the repugnant tradition of that brutal dictatorship, he had to face a phalanx of over four hundred carefully assembled ‘critics’, among them not only ‘athletes, officials and students’, but also the twenty-three members of his own squad. They, too, were excoriated, but, in true Communist fashion, they were also incited to put the blame on their coach. Not only was he stripped of his office, he was also thrown out of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and condemned to work on a building site, without pay. Catastrophically, the 7–0 disaster was the only one to be shown on public television. In so far as FIFA forbids any state interference in a nation’s football, and had already intervened in one African case, you wondered whether it was incumbent upon them to take up the cudgels on behalf of the wretched Kim Jong-Hun, and if they were almost inevitably met by obdurate defiance, to throw North Korea out of FIFA.
Maradona, to his bitter resentment, also lost his job, though in substantially less onerous circumstances. It seemed, at first, that he would keep it, though he arrogantly declared that not a single member of his coaching team, above all the former rugged centre-back, Oscar Ruggeri, should be dismissed. He had overplayed his hand, however, and when the Argentine hierarchy met, it decided to remove him. An outraged Maradona claimed he had been betrayed and put the blame on Carlos Bilardo, the team’s technical director, under whom he’d played when Argentina, thanks to his various and variously scored goals, had won the World Cup in Mexico in 1986.
There was much sympathy for a lively Ghanaian team, the only African side to distinguish itself in South Africa. In the second round, the sole African survivors out of half a dozen teams got the better of the USA in Rustenburg, though it took extra time to do it. The USA, whose attacking capacities were questioned by their manager, Bob Bradley, afterwards, were arguably condemned by defensive slips. In barely five minutes, Kevin-Prince Boateng had robbed Ricardo Clark and advanced to shoot powerfully between Tim Howard and his near post. But on 62 minutes, a clumsy foul by the experienced Jonathan Mensah enabled Landon Donovan to equalise from the resulting penalty. Ghana, who’d lost only 1–0 to Germany, scored the winner thanks to another American mistake. Jay DeMerit, recently discarded by Watford as a centre-back, was beaten to the bounce by the alert Asamoah Gyan, who chested the ball down and volleyed home. ‘It is a stinging, tough defeat,’ Bradley said.
More stinging still, perhaps, would be Ghana’s elimination by Uruguay in the quarter-finals, courtesy—or discourtesy—of Suarez’s last-gasp handball on the line. But the Ghanaians could blame only themselves for Gyan failing with the consequent penalty. ‘It was worth being sent off in this way,’ said an unrepentant Suarez, ‘because at that moment, there was no other choice … It is a miracle, and we are alive in the tournament.’ Another Hand of God?
The Dutch continued to make progress, but without ever scintillating in the dazzling manner of Cruyff and co. Arjen Robben was invaluable, making light of the hamstring injury which, arguably, should have kept him out of the action, Holland’s insistence on using him enraging the Bayern Munich doctor when he returned to Germany unfit to play. Robben it was, in his first start, who typically cut inside to score from the right with his famed left foot in the 2–1 second-round win against Slovakia.
To show his exceptional versatility, Robben proceeded to head a spectacular goal in a vibrant semi-final in Cape Town against Uruguay, though who knows what might have happened had Suarez not got himself suspended after his notorious handball. Was Robin Van Persie offside when on seventy minutes Sneijder’s deflected shot flew through his legs to deceive Musiera in the Uruguayan goal? Undoubtedly, yes, but the arcane interpretation of the offside law now in force absolved him of blame. Robben got the third Dutch goal, and Maxi Pereira’s ninetieth-minute response was no more than a gesture. But if Uruguay mourned the absence of Suarez, it seemed no more than condign punishment. Forlan, for all his virtuosity and a forty-first-minute goal, couldn’t quite compensate.
It was, perhaps, something of an irony that, in the other semi-final in Durban, Spain’s famous interpassing team prevailed against Germany with a thunderous, old-fashioned headed goal from Xavi’s corner by their resourceful centre-back, Carles Puyol. With Xavi in command, Spain’s midfield, a formidable attacking force, now denied the young Germans the space they’d exploited against England and Argentina. The suspension of Thomas Muller was a blow and a burden to Germany, while the inclusion of the young Barcelona striker, Pedro, gave fresh drive to Spain. ‘Our players carried out their job in a magnificent way,’ declared Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s manager, who this time kept Torres off the field for eighty-one minutes. ‘We can say that Germany weren’t as good as we’d expected, but that’s thanks to the excellent work of our team … If we’re comfortable with the ball, we don’t suffer.’ Nor, by and large, did they.
What suffered was the deplorable Final, whose sequel was a fine for both teams—justifiably a much heavier one for the Dutch—by FIFA. In Johannesburg, the Dutch played with a ruthless cynicism which alienated any neutral observer. If De Jong should certainly have been sent off for his disgraceful foul on Alonso, the incorrigible Van Bommel might well have been expelled even before him, and should certainly have gone for a second deplorable foul. One could sceptically say that this was all too fitting an end for so mediocre and unpalatable a World Cup.
Should Del Bosque’s Spain, unquestionably by far the better footballing side, have played with more adventure, rather than deploying David Villa alone up front, while keeping Pedro largely in midfield? However negative their attitude, Holland could have scored two through the irrepressible Robben, who was twice through on goal, only to be thwarted by the resilient Iker Casillas. Against that, Spain could have gone ahead as early as the fifth minute when, in his last game for Holland, Gio Van Bronckhorst, who had previously struck one of the most specta
cular goals of the tournament against Uruguay, fouled Sergio Ramos, whose own header from Xavi’s free kick produced a spectacular save by Maarten Stekelenburg. Throughout the tournament, Ramos was almost more of a right-winger than a right-back.
How ironic that the one player to be sent off by a permissive Howard Webb should be the Dutch defender John Heitinga in extra time, for pulling Iniesta’s shirt. A palpable foul, rightly and legitimately punished, but negligible by comparison with the excesses of De Jong and Van Bommel. For Cesc Fabregas, frustrated by the excellence of Alonso, Iniesta and Xavi, there was rich consolation in the handful of minutes he played as a substitute, delivering the pass from which Iniesta scored the decisive goal, thus averting the threat of a penalty shoot-out. But would the goal have come had Heitinga not been expelled? Possibly not, but one could hardly weep for Holland.
So the hideous cacophony of the so-called vuvuzelas died away. And no more was heard about the supposedly treacherous, goalkeeper-deceiving flight of Adidas’s much-vaunted new type of football, the Jabulani. Literally a matter of alarm and bewilderment, the longer the tournament went on, the less it was evident. And the tournament over, no more was seen or heard of it at all.
RESULTS: South Africa 2010
First round
Group A
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein
South Africa 1, Mexico 1
Uruguay 0, France 0
South Africa 0, Uruguay 3
France 0, Mexico 2
Mexico 0, Uruguay 1
France 1, South Africa 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Uruguay 3 2 1 0 4 0 7
Mexico 3 1 1 1 3 2 4
South Africa 3 1 1 1 3 5 4
France 3 0 1 2 1 4 1
Group B
Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, Polokwane
South Korea 2, Greece 0
Argentina 1, Nigeria 0
Argentina 4, South Korea 1
Greece 2, Nigeria l
Nigeria 2, South Korea 2
Greece 0, Argentina 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Argentina 3 3 0 0 7 1 9
South Korea 3 1 1 1 5 6 4
Greece 3 1 0 2 2 5 3
Nigeria 3 0 1 2 3 5 1
Group C
Rustenburg, Polokwane, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria
England 1, USA 1
Algeria 0, Slovenia 1
Slovenia 2, USA 2
England 0, Algeria 0
Slovenia 0, England 1
USA 1, Algeria 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
USA 3 1 2 0 4 3 5
England 3 1 2 0 2 1 5
Slovenia 3 1 1 1 3 3 4
Algeria 3 0 1 2 0 2 1
Group D
Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Rustenburg, Johannesburg, Nelspruit
Serbia 0, Ghana 1
Germany 4, Australia 0
Germany 0, Serbia 1
Ghana 1, Australia 1
Ghana 0, Germany 1
Australia 2, Serbia 1
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Germany 3 2 0 1 5 1 6
Ghana 3 1 1 1 2 2 4
Australia 3 1 1 1 3 6 4
Serbia 3 1 0 2 2 3 3
Group E
Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Cape Town
Holland 2, Denmark 0
Japan 1, Cameroon 0
Holland 1, Japan 0
Cameroon 1, Denmark 2
Denmark 1, Japan 3
Cameroon 1, Holland 2
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Holland 3 3 0 0 5 1 9
Japan 3 2 0 1 4 2 6
Denmark 3 1 0 2 3 6 3
Cameroon 3 0 0 3 2 3 0
Group F
Cape Town, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Nelspruit, Johannesburg, Polokwane
Italy 1, Paraguay 1
New Zealand 1, Slovakia l
Slovakia 0, Paraguay 2
Italy 1, New Zealand 1
Slovakia 3, Italy 2
Paraguay 0, New Zealand 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Paraguay 3 1 2 0 3 1 5
Slovakia 3 1 1 1 4 5 4
New Zealand 3 0 3 0 2 2 3
Italy 3 0 2 1 4 5 2
Group G
Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Nelspruit
Ivory Coast 0, Portugal 0
Brazil 2, North Korea 1
Brazil 3, Ivory Coast 1
Portugal 7, North Korea 0
Portugal 0, Brazil 0
North Korea 0, Ivory Coast 3
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Brazil 3 2 1 0 5 2 7
Portugal 3 1 2 0 7 0 5
Ivory Coast 3 1 1 1 4 3 4
North Korea 3 0 0 3 1 12 0
Group H
Nelspruit, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein
Honduras 0, Chile 1
Spain 0, Switzerland 1
Chile 1, Switzerland 0
Spain 2, Honduras 0
Chile 1, Spain 2
Switzerland 0, Honduras 0
GOALS
P W D L F A Pts
Spain 3 2 0 1 4 2 6
Chile 3 2 0 1 3 2 6
Switzerland 3 1 1 1 1 1 4
Honduras 3 0 1 2 0 3 1
Second Round
Port Elizabeth
Uruguay 2, South Korea 1
Rustenburg
USA 1, Ghana 2
Bloemfontein
Germany 4, England 1
Johannesburg (Soccer City)
Argentina 3, Mexico 1
Durban
Holland 2, Slovakia 1
Johannesburg (Ellis Park)
Brazil 3, Chile 0
Pretoria
Paraguay 0, Japan 0
Paraguay win 5–3 on penalties
Cape Town
Spain 1, Portugal 0
Quarter-finals
Port Elizabeth
Holland 2, Brazil 1
Johannesburg (Soccer City)
Uruguay 1, Ghana 1
Uruguay win 4–2 on penalties
Cape Town
Argentina 0, Germany 4
Johannesburg (Ellis Park)
Paraguay 0, Spain 1
Semi-finals
Cape Town
Uruguay 2, Holland 3
Durban
Germany 0, Spain 1
Third-place match
Port Elizabeth
Uruguay 2 Germany 3
Musiera; Fucile, Butt; Boateng,
Lugano, Godin, Mertesacker,
Caceres; M. Pereira, Friedrich, Aogo;
Arevalo, Schweinsteiger,
Perez (Gargano 77), Khedira; Muller,
Cavani (Abreu 88); Ozil (Tasci 90),
Suarez, Forlan Jansen (Kroos 81),
Cacau (Kiessling 73)
SCORERS
Muller, Jansen, Khedira for Germany
Cavani, Forlan for Uruguay
Final
Johannesburg (Soccer City)
Spain 1 Holland 0
after extra time
Casillas; Ramos, Stekelenburg;
Pique, Puyol, Van der Wiel,
Capdevila; Heitinga, Mathijsen,
Busquets, Van Bronckhorst
Alonso (Fabregas 67), (Braafheid 105);
Iniesta, Xavi, Van Bommel, De Jong
Pedro (Navas 60); (Van der Vaart 99);
Villa (Torres 106) Robben, Sneijder,
Kuyt (Elia 70),
Van Persie
SCORERS
Iniesta for Spain
BRAZIL
2014
Better than South Africa? Yes. More shocking and sensational? Yes. Won by the best team? Yes. Yet with its surfeit of extra time, its dreary abundance of penalty shoot-outs—even if, hallelujah, the Final itself avoided one—it was hardly a classic World Cup.
Certainly, it produced what was arguably the greatest surprise in the competition’s history: Brazil 1, Germany 7. And in Belo Horizonte of all places, the scene, albeit not the same stadium, of what was previously perhaps the biggest shock of all: the 1–0 defeat of an England team brimming with famous names by a job lot of Americans—all part-timers, three of them not even eligible—in the 1950 World Cup.
When Arsène Wenger, Arsenal’s sophisticated manager, said after the 7–1 annihilation, ‘The whole idea of Brazilian football was killed tonight. It died,’ he may have been exaggerating. True, there were no clear extenuating circumstances, but for a country that has won the title five times—more than anyone else—the disaster was of epic proportions, verging on the inexplicable. It has to be said that after the early fusillade of German goals, Brazil simply gave up the ghost. But why the fusillade?
‘Big Phil’ Scolari, the team’s manager, inevitably paid the price for the débâcle. Yet he had won the World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002 with a team that was somewhat less than refulgent, and during his days in Brazilian club football at Grêmio had been renowned for a highly pragmatic, even cynical, approach, whereby his teams had been encouraged to wear down the opposition with a deliberate series of fouls outside the penalty box.
So how could so pragmatic a tactician choose as a centre-back a player as undisciplined, impulsive and irresponsible as David Luiz, who would forever surge out of defence into attack, leaving gaps behind? Against Colombia he scored Brazil’s second goal with a glorious free kick, but against the Germans he was a black hole in space. And in the severe, though less embarrassing, 3–0 defeat in the third-place play-off against Holland, it was his mindless header back into his own penalty box which gave the Dutch a goal. Surely it would have made far more sense to have used him in midfield.