I have to admit that I underestimated the Spanish during the World Cup. I’ve seen them underachieve so many times over the years – much like the English – that I gave them no chance to reach the final in this years’ World Cup. They’ve proven me wrong thankfully! I like their style, but I still have a problem supporting them…

See, I think a coach has a very specific job in leading a team and Vicente Del Bosque has done a perfect job with this team. What a coach does is either A) come up with a new and revolutionary way to approach the game and teach the players what that system is, or B) just brings a bunch of individual players together and makes them a team. Some coaches succeed and some don’t. Maradonna succeeded in this World Cup in my opinion, though he didn’t take the team as far as he wanted. Del Bosque has done what so many before him have failed to do in getting the Spaniards to the final. He’s a great coach!

However, what I’ve said about the Dutch in games prior to the final are meaningless because, as much as I hate their system, I think they may be perfectly situated to stifle the Spanish. We’ll see what actually happens…

First, Spain got Germany off their game something fierce and I have to give them credit for that. I’ve never seen another team intimidate Germany so much. The Germans were completely freaked out by the Spanish attack. They played a defensive game that didn’t suit them. They sat back defending until they could make the occasional counter-attack which never worked. The Spanish kept the Germans on their guard until it was too late to change up the system and make a convincing challenge for the win.

The Dutch however play an ugly system of falling down and crying when a player or someone in the first row of seats sneezes… They behave like amateurs and then score incredible goals when the opposing team leasts expects it. I hate their game. It’s cheap, amateurish and they should be ashamed of themselves. Except for the fact they are in the finals… I stand corrected by what they’ve achieved… The goals they’ve scored are of such great skill and surprise when it happens that I’m blown away by it! Jerks!

Perhaps their system of falling down at the slightest touch and earning fouls is the perfect foil for the Spanish attack!

We’ll just have to see.

As for The Blues, I just bought R.L. Burnside’s album “I Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down,” and it’s freaking awesome. My introduction to R.L. Burnside was very recently and his later stuff is much more to my personal liking than his earlier stuff. Not that his earlier music is bad or anything, it’s just that my tastes are more along the lines of the freakin’ rock-ass blues with crazy cool screaming guitars and sangin’ and shit. R.L. Burnside fits that bill to a “t” for me. This album though is a bit different and shows so much soul I can’t describe it.

The emotion displayed even in light-hearted tunes like “My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble” is thick and heavy. He ditches the hard guitars in favor of acoustic guitars and harmonization, not that R.L. Burnside has a voice that’s going to make people go, “OH WOW! He’s got a great voice!” He just tries to paint a picture without cussing out the lyrics as on earlier albums…

Just listen to it, and you’ll see what I mean. He’s a great Blues Man, and you’ll appreciate the experience and the album.

Every team has the occasional “dive” or fall after a light challenge during the run of play, but it seems the Netherlands practices! I accept that it happens to every team, and I accept that once in a while a player that’s recently recovered from an injury goes down easily out of tentative fear of re-injuring themselves. In the case of the Netherlands specifically though I’ve never seen so many players on the same team fall down at the blink of an eye during each game they’ve played. They are all experienced and expert in the handling of the ball as indicated by the fact they made it into the World Cup to begin with, but also by the fact they are in the semi-finals. They are also looking for cheap calls from the ref, and I hate to say they get them more often than not, and I think it has helped them reach the semi-finals… They’ve become the team I hate most during the Cup.

After the hand ball in the Ghana versus Uruguay match in this year’s World Cup I’ve developed strong feelings about how they are handled in certain situations… When Gyan was robbed of a goal by Uruguay’s player slapping the ball out of the air right on the line, they were given a penalty kick. Of course Gyan missed the kick and at the end of the game the situation was that Ghana went home after losing on Penalty Kicks to break the tie.

I think they should modify the rule to be similar to a foul committed inside the box – basically, if the foul is committed by a defender, but the player with the ball still has a scoring chance the ref lets play continue and if he scores the foul is disregarded. A penalty kick is not awarded as the player has scored.

I think in the case of a hand ball in the goal mouth in a flagrant attempt to block a certain goal – as in the case mentioned above – the player handling the ball should be red carded and the goal should be awarded because it was a certain goal had the defense not handled the ball. Disregard the penalty kick. Allow the goal.

By awarding only a penalty kick rather than the goal that would have been scored, the attacking team is also penalized in a way, and I don’t like it. I think the penalty for handling the ball in that type of situation should be swift and painful. Especially in cases where the player flagrantly handles the ball.

Damn! Those Ghanaians – Ghana-ites – Ghanareans…. Whatever…

Damn those dudes can run fast and score goals! We made two – count them – TWO – mistakes and they scored on both of them to win in the Round of 16. Good on them! They were faster to the ball, they played quicker and more precisely, and basically just beat us up. We lost to the better team on the day. I give the USA a lot of credit for making it TO the Round Of 16, but we weren’t ready for the fight.

I’m looking forward to the Brazilians and the Argentines to go into the latest rounds at this point.

We’ll see what happens though…

After the USA clinced top spot in Group C. (from imgur.com)

This picture cracks me up bad!

So the World Cup is about 10 days in and it’s getting really interesting as the last games come to a close… So far nearly every team has played two of their three games in the first round, and the giants of the game are looking pretty fallible. Italy tied New Zealand. Germany lost to Switzerland. England has tied twice. France is falling apart! They sent one of their best strikers, Nicolas Anelka, home after their second game for arguing with the coach, then other coaches quit the team, then the team didn’t even go to training! On the other hand North Korea looked pretty good – better than expected against Brazil – not so well against Portugal (there’s a lot of history between those two teams), New Zealand played well against Italy and tied them! That’s one of the biggest deals in World Cup history! New Zealand doesn’t even have a soccer league! It just seems that the small teams are playing far better and the big teams are playing far worse than expected!

Now let’s see if the USA can beat Algeria in their last game and advance to the Round Of 16!

The final matches of Groups A, B, C and D have been played. The rest start tomorrow.

I wondered why they scheduled the last match for all four teams in each group are played at the same time, and the reason is traced back to the 60′s. Apparently the games were not played simultaneously, so when the first game ended the other teams knew how their game had to end for them both to advance… They already had a result that would put both teams through so they kicked the ball around for 45 minutes or more and pissed off the crowd something fierce! Therefore they changed the rule.

So in the round of 16 we have our first four matches already line up:

Uruguay vs South Korea: Uruguay should win this, but don’t underestimate the Koreans. They have a tremendous work ethic.

USA vs Ghana: The USA should win this game, but again, at this level don’t underestimate the “underdog.”

Argentina vs Mexico: Argentina has been raining goals onto opponents’ nets except for their last game. Still, they are on fire and Mexico will have their hands full. On the other hand, Mexico is organized, intelligent, well trained and they never stop. This will be an awesome game!

Germany vs England: So far this is the game of the round. Who will go home in round 2? I predict a German win.

OK… I’ve been pondering and thinking and trying to decide how I truly feel about the World Cup final this year. I think I’ve figured out most of it, but I’m not 100% positive… The controversy was overwhelming! The game started with a bizarre event that I’ve never even seen before – a player running into another player while looking the other direction and knocking himself out in the first minute of the game! Five minutes later a penalty is called and the French-raised Algerian immigrant, Zinedine Zidane (aka “Zizou”), scores from the spot. 14 minutes later the Italian, Marco Materazzi, equalizes for the Azzuri.
Then things settle down to a defensive grind and normal time ends at 90 minutes with both teams still tied at 1-1.

It was a titanic defensive battle that could have had either team winning. The French controlled the game overall, but they suffered lapses during which the Italians ascended and took charge, though neither team could score another game winning goal.

Into Over Time it went – two 15 minute periods that were NOT “golden goal” worthy. They just play another 30 minutes total and if someone scores and the other team doesn’t a winner is declared. This is how Italy defeated Germany to reach the final. They scored at 117.30 minutes! And again at 119! Well, they couldn’t pull it off this time, but they didn’t need to.

At 110 minutes Materazzi and Zidane squared off trading insults and Zidane decided he was too upset to let it pass so he headbutted Materazzi in the chest and got himself sent to the dressing room. This was the final act of his illustrious career. He was voted best player in the world three times, though not without controversial acts like this in the past. He had a bad temper on occasion. This time it led to the French losing the World Cup to the Italians.

They have won 4 times now. France has won once. It was a great game and the controversy, as weird and bizarre as it was, will only help the game grow even more. A new rivalry has been born, and it will go on for generations! Vive la World Cup!

Germany VS Italy: As good as Italy has been throughout history, I don’t believe they can beat a very determined German squad. The Germans are too focussed, and they want to win on their home turf. I believe Germany will beat Italy.

POST GAME: The German crowd in Dortmund was outstanding, and very vocal. They were in full voice the entire game – whether the were cheering the Germans or letting the Italians know they didn’t like their play. Speaking of play, both sides were outstanding, and the footwork, passing and intelligence of the play was obvious.

At this level they call it “The Beautiful Game” for a reason and this game proves that without a doubt. The Italians are the spoilers of the Germans in Cups past, so I knew they’d have a good game. Both the Germans and the Italians have won three World Cups apiece, and both want this semi-final game badly.

The play started smartly and flowed well for both sides through the first half, but as the game progressed it got more and more physical – especially toward the end of the first half. The first yellow card came in the 41st minute after an overly-aggressive tackle from behind by the Germans. Incidentally, the referee is Mexican and set a new record for being in 5 games during this Cup.

Play went back and forth from one team to another repeatedly, each team controlling the play for a few minutes, then the balance of power shifting to the other team. The Italians were incredibly fast down the wings, but couldn’t put together the final pass and shot. The same for the Germans, though their offense looked a bit crisper and sharper than the Italians, and the Germans managed to pick apart the Italian defense several times, with Canavaro saving the Italians numerous times.

The second half was more of the first with both teams misunderestimating the other, though neither could put the ball in the back of the net, or as the Scottish announcer, Tommy Smith, would say, neither team could “put a bulge in the old onion bag!”

I’d have to say that this was the game of the tournament so far. This had everything a FINAL match should have – blistering offence, rigid defence, passing, trapping, great crosses, incredible goal-keeping… It was excellent football! The last minutes of the second OT period were some of the most exciting! It was end to end, and either team could have won! Outstanding soccer! Calcio! Football!

Italy finally won on the “take a shot and see if it goes in!” state of mind with one and half minutes left in the second OT period. The second goal was better than the first! What an incredible goal!!! Germany’s OUT! ITaly is going to the final match!

Oh, and the referee was man of the match in my opinion.

France VS Portugal: France just gets better and better! After beating Brazil, they’ve situated themselves as potential spoilers. Many people predicted a Germany VS Brazil final, but now that Brazil are out of it you absolutely have to give France respect. They played an absolutely perfect game against Brazil, and they get better every round after starting the tournament so poorly. I believe their confidence is growing to a level that can carry them into the final and possibly even win it.

POST GAME: This went down as I predicted with France winning. There were no major surprises at all.

My prediction for the rest of the World Cup is as follows:

FINAL MATCH: Germany VS France – WINNER: This is an extremely hard one to predict, but I think France can take Germany and win the Cup as they did in 1998.

THIRD PLACE: Portugal VS Italy – WINNER: Another difficult pick, I believe Italy will play well enough to win the game, but like England, they will need to score early in the game and control it after that or Portugal will win late in the game.

POST GAMES:  Germany played Portugal and won 3-1. Germany looked awesome and played a very aggressive attacking game. They didn’t score their first goal until after about an hour had been played, and then the “flood gates opened.” Portugal did get the last goal of the game for a consolation, and it was absolutely fantastic! Luis Figo went down the wing on the right side and put a perfectly curling pass around three defenders for Pauletta to put into the net on a diving header. It was truly fabulous.

FINAL MATCH: ?????

Germany VS Argentina: This will be an incredible game! Both teams are in outstanding form, but I believe the Germans will come out victorious because they are in Germany and the “12th man” is big. Still, Argentina could win the game and knock the Germans out, and I’d love to see it happen.

POST GAME: An outstanding match! Germany came through as I expected, but I was rooting for Argentina… Both teams were almost perfectly equal, but Argentina started losing it toward the end. The Germans pushed the right buttons to pick apart their defense and wear out their controlling mid-fielder, Riquelme. Once he had been substituted, the team looked a shell of what they had been throughout the tournament.

Italy VS Ukraine: Italy will destroy Ukraine. Nuff said.

POST GAME: Italy controlled the game thoroughly, and won easily.

England VS Portugal: Like Germany and Argentina, this will be a close game, and if England doesn’t raise their game and look great in the opening minutes of play, Portugal will win. Scoring early will be very important for England. If they don’t score early, it will be better for Portugal. This is a tough one to call, but I’m gonna say England will win.

POST GAME: England didn’t score early, and the game went into Over Time tied at 0-0 (not “nothing to nothing,” but “nil nil”). Beckham was injured and substituted at 52 minutes, and Wayne Rooney was red carded after that, which exhausted the rest of them. After a full 120 minutes of game time, it went to a penalty kick shoot out which Portugal won.

Brazil VS France: France could not have a tougher draw, but then again, Brazil have only showed moments of brilliance so France could pull off an upset. France raised their game against Spain, but can they do it against Brazil? Brazil blundered 3 balls into the net in their last game against Ghana, so if they are “on” they’ll score a million. Brazil will win, but I’d like to see France take the game.

POST GAME: As I said before, Brazil have two teams (much like the USA), one is good and one is mediocre. Today the mediocre team showed up and France won 1-0! I thought Brazil would rise to the occasion, but alas, they did not. France has again upped their game, and I have to say I think the Final might be Germany VS France. The Brazilians go home having set a number of records though:

• Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal over three World Cups, replacing Gerd Muller (“The Bomber”) as highest ever scorer. Gerd held the title for decades with 14 goals over two tournaments, but in a very sportsmanlike manner he says the greatest scorer of them all is Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup finals (13 goals in 6 games)!!!
• Adriano scored Brazil’s 200th in FIFA World Cups when they defeated Ghana. The 100th was scored by none other than Pele, the magnificent header against Italy in the 1970 Final in Mexico City.
• Captain Cafu’s appearance in the game with Ghana in Dortmund was his 19th FIFA World Cup game – a Brazilian record, taking him past Claudio Taffarel and Dunga who were both on 18.
• The victory was also Cafu’s 16th winning game in the competition – another FIFA World Cup record. Both Matthaus and Wolfgang Overath enjoyed 15 wins with Germany while Paolo Maldini and Franz Beckenbauer are next best on 14.

A very nice set of numbers to be honest.

Germany VS Sweden: (Post Game) The Germans dominated early and never showed any signs of letting up, but I expected more than a 2-0 win after the Swedes lost a player to the Red Card. The Germans look tougher every game and are finding their rhythm.

Argentina VS Mexico: (Post Game) A very spirited game! This was also the first game to go into over time periods. This game had everything I expected from both teams. I knew this would be a great match and it definitely lived up to it. The winning strike in the first Extra Time period was the best of the Cup so far, and I predict Argentina to go far in the tournament.

England VS Ecuador: Pre-game prediction – England 2-1 Ecuador. England absolutely must take care of them selves if they expect to go all the way. They can’t blow themselves out early in the game to lose to Ecuador in the dieing minutes. Ecuador simply must survive the early stage, strike back on the break and wait until the end game to use their stamina against England to win this one.

POST GAME: England wins 1-0, but they again did not dominate play and they looked questionable for most of the game. They absolutely must up their game at this point or they have no chance against Portugal in the next round. They simply haven’t shown the desire team-wide to win the whole shebang.

Portugal VS Netherlands: Both teams are getting stronger, but my prediction is that Portugal will take this game. The Netherlands will have to score two early goals and keep the pressure on if they hope to win this. The Portugese have to control the game through Luis Figo, and stop the Dutch from scoring (DEFENSE!!!!).

POST GAME: What an unbelievable game. After 4 red cards, 2 for each side, Portugal take the game 1-0. It was ugly, brutal, and filled with fouls. Portugal will have little hope of achieving anything in the next round where they’ll face England. This might be what England needed to ensure a win in the next round… The stakes were high and each team gave their all, but Portugal get the ugly win.

Brazil VS Ghana: The Brazilians must turn the heat up to high if they don’t want any ugly surprises from the Ghanaians, who have shown their speed and ability to strike. Watch out for a possible upset here – that is unless the Brazilians play the outstanding Samba style of football they are known for.

POST GAME: Brazil blundered around the pitch for 90 minutes and managed to shove 3 balls into the net. Ghana controlled the game for long stretches making the Brazilians look not so much like Champions, but they just couldn’t buy a goal… Therefore Brazil is moving on to the next round to face France.

France VS Spain: This could possibly be another really good game. France is an awesome team but they aren’t playing up to their standards at the moment. I think they’ll raise their game against the Spaniards, who have been stronger this Cup than any other I’ve ever watched. The Spaniards will take this game in my opinion.

POST GAME: I would have put money on Spain, but I would have lost all of it. I didn’t expect France to show up, but they scored two late goals to win with a final score of 3-1. It’s disappointing because I really wanted Spain to do well. They remind me of the USA team – tons of promise, but they just can’t get it done in big tournaments.

Switzerland VS Ukraine: I think Ukraine will win this game based on the fact they have a world class front line. It will be a cold day in Europe this summer if Switzerland can take this game. It just won’t happen.

POST GAME: This could be the ugliest, worst game of the Cup. You might expect this type of brutal, boring, long-ball fest in the first round, but not the second or later… Both teams had shots hit the post or crossbar, but no one was able to put a shot IN the net. Both teams were tired, sloppy, and there were uncountable turnovers. The best man on the pitch was the referee who allowed the teams to play through many aggressive tackles which might have been yellow cards in other games. They went to the penalty kick shootout after playing 90 full minutes, then an extra 30 minutes to get a winning goal, but it wasn’t gonna happen. Ukraine takes the game on penalty kicks 3-0. Unbelievably, Switzerland gave up ZERO goals in the tournament in regular time play, but they are going home.

Italy VS Australia: I’d love to see the Aussie’s take this game, but I predict Italy will win. The Aussie’s have been getting better and better over the first three games of the tournament, and they may be on enough of a roll to beat the Italians, but they’ll have to be better than their best.

POST GAME: Playing a man down for a good part of the game, the Italians advance after the slimmest of victories over the Australians. The Aussie coach, Dutchman Guus Hiddink, gambled on getting to the 30 minute extra time period and in the final seconds of normal time they gave up a penalty. Totti rarely misses freebies like that so Italy advance and will play the winner of Switzerland VS Ukraine. My prediction is Ukraine.