Post Mortem On It All

by SamFels on Jul 12, 2010 9:38 PM PDT Comment 5 comments

Here are what Jamie and I had to say about it all today, Ally will be along later.

Favourite moment of the tournament:

Jamie: Tshabalala - "A goal for all of Africa". Corny or not, it was the perfect way for the tournament to get underway. I'm pretty sure I heard the cheer here in northern England. Just a shame South Africa didn't have the required quality or good fortune to find a second goal to kill off that opening game, and that the rest of the tournament largely failed to live up to that level of quality.

Sam: Personally, it has to be Donovan's goal against Algeria. At the time, we didn't know the US would crash out in buffoon like circumstances. All we knew is that the US had pulled a rabbit out of their hat that never happened before, and we were winning the group, and we didn't care who was next. Sadly, the loss to Ghana colors this moment a bit, but I'll remember the unrestrained joy I felt right then, and the perfect excuse it provided to be in the bag by noon on a wednesday.

Todd: The replay of Iniesta's goal in the final revealing that his shirt on underneath said "Dani Jarque, with us forever." That was a beautiful moment. A Barcelona player not just paying tribute to a fallen friend, one who just happened to play for hated city rival Espanyol, but sharing the biggest moment of his entire life with him. I literally gasped when I saw what the shirt said. Just a great moment for not just football, but life in general.

Player of The Tournament:

Jamie: Sebastian Schwiensteiger. Consumate quality and drive throughout each of Germanys performances. His industry, craft and graft were the perfect foil for the rest of Germanys young stars to play around. Having first been impressed with him during Germanys poor showing at Euro 2004, he'll hopefully finally begin to get the praise he deserves. Top player.

Sam: It's easy to say because he won the Golden Ball, but Diego Forlan dragged a pretty ordinary Uruguay side to 4th. Other than Suarez's winner against South Korea, he was involved in every Uruguay goal, and was playing two positions at once. He was creator and scorer, and he had to be.

Todd: Andres Iniesta had a hell of a tournament and I certainly find no fault in Fifa giving Diego Forlan the Golden Ball. But for me, Mesut Ozil was consistently the most impressive player throughout the tournament with the exception of the semi-final where the entire German team failed to show up. His passing both in its creativity and execution was absolutely unrivaled. That creativity combined with his tremendous work rate and olympic pace put him beyond everyone else this tournament. Why Jogi Low took him off during the Serbia match I'll never understand, and his thunderbolt against Ghana only reconfirmed his class. He's apparently committed his immediate future to Werder Bremen, but he's destined for much bigger things.

Goal of The Tournament:

Jamie: I don't think this is really up for debate. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst against Uruguay in the semi final. Absolutely astounding, and correctly described by Sam as something Thor would have been proud of.

Sam: Ditto. Although Villa's from the halfway line was pretty wonderful.

Todd: So many to choose from. Dempsey's against England was a classic. Lampard's against Germany was a sublime piece of...oh wait, never mind. Donovan's against Algeria almost made my head explode. But the best goal of the tournament was David Villa sliding and twisting past 4 Hondurans and curling a shot from almost a prone position into the top corner. A special shoutout needs to go out to all of the terrific crossbar rattling efforts this tournament. I don't know what it was, but it seemed like more balls pounded the frame in this tournament than I can ever remember. Pavel Nedved would've been proud.

Biggest surprise:

Jamie: Germany. I don't think anyone had even spoken of Germany in the tournament preamble. While most people probably wouldn't have been surprised by them reaching the last 8, but no-one expected them to charge into the semi finals with the style they did, and having come within one poorly defended set piece of the final itself took the bronze medal with aplomb. Winning rave reviews for their flair to go along with their usual efficiency and steely determination, Germany will surely be a force to be reckoned with in world football over the next 10 years.

Sam: France. I'm amazed they got a point.

Todd: Uruguay in the semis. They're a good team and all, but that was a hell of a run. They got there convincingly too. Shame they lost their heads for those five second half minutes in the semis.

Biggest Disappointment:

Jamie: Brazil. They had the quality to be the equals of Spain in this tournament, and in Dunga they had a head coach who could have added the steel that this bunch of global superstars desperately needs. Instead, while Spain got their heads down and churned out 1-0 results like Arsenal under the management of George Graham, Brazil acted like Arsenal under the captaincy of William Gallas and wilted the first time someone threatened to give them a game.

Sam: It brings me pleasure to say, but England. I didn't expect them to win the thing, but I also didn't expect them to look like they couldn't give a shit at all. They were slow, uninspired, and looked like they wanted it all to be over. Maybe it's the press, maybe it's just this generation of players, but I can't look at the manager and his resume and think he's to blame. And they've got so far to go.

Todd: Argentina's performance against Germany. You can't run absolutely riot for 4 matches and then shit the bed that badly. I don't care that Maradona is your coach and has the tactical nous of a retarded Raymond Domenech. You got absolutely shitbeat by a Germany team too petrified to even show up against a Spain team that has less attacking prowess than you do. What a scandalous performance. Hopefully you find a central midfielder in the next 4 years.

Your team of The Tournament:

Jamie: My heart says that with their starry-eyed march into the quarter finals, inspiring a whole continent who had no-one else to left to cheer, it could be Ghana. But with my head it's clear they were still a relatively poor footballing side (what price Michael Essien being fit to partner Boateng in that midfield) and as pretty much the only team to come out of this tournament with any credit, it has to be Germany. Again. Notable mention for the only unbeaten team in the whole tournament, New Zeland. Weird, eh?

Sam: Kingson-Ramos, Pique, Lugano, Cointreau-Alexis Sanchez, Oezil, Bradley, Robben- Villa, Forlan

Todd:

Casillas

Van Der Wiel--Pique--John Pantsil--Fabio Coentrao

Diego Perez--Iniesta--Ozil--Sneijder

Forlan--Villa

How does this World Cup rank?

Jamie: The football was, honestly, horrible. But it was at times at least exciting - Portugals thumping of DPRK, the crazy 3 minutes of penalties in Paraguay vs. Spain, Holland dumping out Brazil, Suarez's handball, Iniestas golden goal, Germany dismantling Argentina, Lampards disallowed "goal", and more - the list of memorable incidents is seemingly endless. While many will bemoan the final as a tense and turgid affair, it had more excitement than many world cup finals in recent times. As for the tournament as a spectacle and experience, in my memory it's been better than 2002, 1994 and 1990. Not as good as 1998 or 2006, and I'm willing to bet that anyone who can remember further back than that will tell you through their rose tinted specs that all the world cups before 1990 were miles better than 2010. But in terms of the legacy it could leave, both for African football and the long overdue changes to FIFAs rules and regulations for refereeing, it could be one of the most important world cups in our lifetime.

Sam: I won't be as harsh as Jamie, as the perspective looks different for a Yank. All four of the US's games will be remembered by its fans. The opener against England was the biggest one we've ever played, the valiant fightback against Slovenia, the euphoria of Donovan's winner, and the heartbreak that followed. But beyond that, J's right in that there weren't too many classic games, or moments. Uruguay-Ghana was about as good as it got. Though the Dutch upset of Brazil was a shocking result, the game itself was nothing to write home about. No one wanted to engage Spain once they got rolling. We only had two penalty shootouts, and one involved Paraguay and Japan so who cares? Not up to the past tournaments.

Todd: Ho-hum. About the same as WC 1994. At least a new country can add a star to their national team jerseys.

What will it be remembered for?

Jamie: As Ali insightfully pointed out before the tournament even began, the buzzy sound of the Vuvuzela. I for one love them and welcome our new one pitched sport-stadium overlords. The bad tempered final which featured no fewer than 14 yellow cards might also live on for a few years, and I actually think that for those lucky enough to have been able to make the journey to South Africa, the atmosphere in the host country which bordered on pure carnival from the start to the finish of the tournament will surely be an abiding memory.

Todd: It will be remembered rightfully as one of the greatest generations of players from any country solidifying themselves as an all-time legendary team. My early prediction is that they go on to win Euro2012 and become remembered as the greatest collection of players ever for one national team, usurping the crown from Brazil '70. This World Cup will also be (hopefully) the tipping point in the battle for installing some sort of in-game video review. It's a shame that there was no 'phantom goal' during the final to really light a fire under people's asses and put some serious pressure on Fifa.

And the World Cup 2014 winners…?

Jamie: Argentina. If they get anyone who even vaguely knows what they're doing in charge in 4 years time, when the bulk of their present talent should peak and some of the older tired legs can be replaced, they should destroy everyone. While the same could be said of Brazil, particularly in their own back yard, the likes of Kaka and Robinho have been shown that they can biff it up even when someone as astute as Dunga is in charge. If we're lucky we'll be rewarded with a Brazil-Argentina final in 2014.

Sam: Logic would dictate that there's no way Brazil can lose at home. But the pressure will be so great on them, I wonder if they won't crack. Four years is such a long time in football now, it's hard to know what will happen to these players. If they can stick together, stay healthy, and keep form, I wonder if that Ghana side we saw who were all like 20 years old won't make some serious noise in four years time.

Todd: Well, I'm certainly not wagering against Brazil. But let's go out on a limb and say Germany, at least they'll definitely be competitive. Ozil, Mueller, Boateng, Khedira, Marin, Schweini...not a bad nucleus.

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I actually kind of like Germany in 2014

They showed flashes of brilliance in getting third place in this tournament, and they only have 3 players on their current squad who are 30 or older. Plus, they’ve been to at least the quarterfinals in every World Cup since 1982, placing in the top 3 in 6 of those 8 World Cups (75% of the time)! Pretty amazing when you think about it.

In all honesty, I think this World Cup was, in a word, forgettable. There were a fair number of good matches, but none that I would think that I’ll be talking about much in the future. As USA football supporter, I had wished the US would do a bit better. It was definitely annoying to see several good goals for the US disallowed, but that’s the nature of the game I suppose. They didn’t matter anyways because the US topped the group regardless. I think I’ll always remember the fight and determination that this American squad had, but also be disappointed to think about how well they might have done if they always didn’t dig themselves into holes in the first 15 minutes of a match.

A few players really stood out for me. Asamoah Gyan showed real power when dribbling towards goal and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him on an English side sometime soon. I don’t care that he hit the crossbar against Uruguay – it happens to the best of players. The quality of the Uruguayan strikers surprised me. Forlan and Suarez both put on quality performances (deliberate handball aside). Suarez is 23 and shows an immense amount of promise. Say what you will, but he puts the ball in the net and creates loads of chances. Like Gyan, I think he’ll get nabbed by a more notable club than Ajax sometime soon.

On the negative side, Van Persie didn’t seem all there, did he? I’m sure Arsenal are hoping he’s a bit more lethal when the Premier League starts up in about a month. I’d always held Van Persie in a bit of high regard, but he had a pretty terrible tournament.

Finally, as a Liverpool fan, I was pretty happy to see Torres donning the Liverpool scarf while holding the World Cup trophy! Hopefully that’s a good omen.

"But we all know that games aren't played on paper...they are played by little men inside our TV sets." --Kenny Mayne

by dishingoutdimes on Jul 13, 2010 12:09 AM PDT reply actions

RvP

Great point. As someone who missed much of the season but came back in enough time to regain his match sharpness, he should have been perfectly rested and primed for this tournament but he was a colossal let down. I honestly expected big things from him, especially in the final when his pace should have given Puyol and Pique kittens, but he did absolutely nothing of note for the entire tournament. In fact, in the final, it was like Holland were playing with 10 men, which against Spain is a big no-no (of course they were also playing with Dirk Kuyt, so it was like they were playing with 9 men, but that’s by the by).

by Jamie Douglas on Jul 13, 2010 2:59 AM PDT up reply actions

I don't think this World Cup...

…did much to cause “soccer” to catch on here in the US. I mean the US games were exciting, but they were kind of like a novelty for most people who don’t follow soccer regularly. They exited a bit earlier than people would have liked as well. And the rest of the games were a mix of the unexciting, poor calls, and flopping/diving. Not a good mix for Americans who love their brand of football which features big hits on nearly every play, and it’s a lot harder to act for a penalty.

"But we all know that games aren't played on paper...they are played by little men inside our TV sets." --Kenny Mayne

by dishingoutdimes on Jul 13, 2010 12:25 PM PDT reply actions

Mueller and Xavi

Were the two best players at this tournament by a country mile (with maybe Forlan in sight in the rearview mirror). I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Germany played so poorly against Spain with Mueller out. I think his god awful performance in the CL final for Bayern woke up his inner sleeping giant and he’s going to do some dirty, dirty things for the next decade. I’m still not as convinced about Oezil, obviously he’s really good but it seemed like occasionally he’d have a donkey touch that would waste a perfectly good chance that you would not see in other players of his caliber/position/hype.

As for the comment above by dishing, I think the tournament created “World Cup” fans in the US which is a step forward. Full soccer popularity is not going to happen overnight or even over the course of two or three World Cups. But soccer grows in strange ways and we have to accept that this is how it is. Maybe a viewer got attached to a certain player and will want to follow him and his club team and through that the viewer’s fandom will grow. Maybe people will want to see what this “Manchester City” is all about since it was mentioned at least six times in every broadcast.

The final, of course, will give the doubters BP-spill to throw on the fire but overall much more good than harm was done. Can’t wait to see what happens when there are primetime games US time (assuming the next tournament is actually played in Brazil….)

by GrahamG on Jul 13, 2010 9:06 PM PDT reply actions

Also - betting on Brazil

Final judgment must be reserved until squads are announced but I would bet against Brazil. The pressure on them will be so intense Chuck Norris would be scared.

Now obviously this will be counterbalanced by FIFA doing everything in its power to make sure Brazil at least makes the final, but either way it’s likely to cause more than a few aneurysms by fans and bettors alike.

by GrahamG on Jul 13, 2010 9:15 PM PDT reply actions