BearcatSA Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 I was really impressed with Robben's play on the left flank, then was equally unimpressed with his sulky slow walk off the pitch when he was subbed (maybe he was injured and distraught that he couldn't take part anymore, I don't know). Regardless of the decision, it wasn't a class move on his part. It's so ironic that the homeland of "Total Football" has so many gifted players that seem to think that you spell "team" with an "i". On the one hand you see a natural midfielder like Gio Van Bronckhurst willing to play left fullback, then you see guys like Seedorf yapping that if he isn't playing in a certain position, he doesn't want to be on the pitch. Go figure! They might just implode against Latvia! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Crampton Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Three comments: 1) 2nd goal was offside by a mile and a half even considering the passive offside rule. I think that the rule does add confusion IN SOME CASES (ie.D Dutch first goal where Ruud was offside as well) but not in this one. He was offside, the ball was played long, and he turned and ran at net gaining advantage from his position - the defenders never even caught up to him. 2) The poor officiating - and it was as bad as it gets - actually added to the drama of the match. I know that ref's should optimally be "invisible" to allow the players to star but in terms of storyline (imagine if this were a movie) a bad ref can actually be more interesting. This was the best match of the tournament bar none and it's hard to imagine it being topped. It had everything: great goals, great saves, controversial goals, a controversial sending off, incredible moments of skill, late goals, an early goal, and open end-to-end action involving two great teams both willing to play to win. I made sure to tape the replay (with commercials unfortunately) because this is going in my all time great games collection; an absolute major tournament classic on par with Argentina - Holland '98. 3) Don't count the Dutch out just yet. I actually think that it's almost more likely for the Dutch to blow it against Latvia (who still have a great chance of advancing actually) by imploding on the pitch ala Holland - England '96 than the Germans getting a result. The Czechs are flying and will want to maintain that momentum and being close neighbours of Germany I'm sure they'll want to get one over on them. Even if they don't start all their most important players I wouldn't be surprised if the subs play even harder - this could be their one chance to show at a major tournament and/or impress the manager. Not to mention the fact that the German's have absolutely no offense outside of Ballack. This is Germany though and as much as I'd love to see them out early (proving '02 was a fluke that mostly came about due to the weak opponents they kept meeting; sandwiched between to early Euro exits) they do tend to be the "Rasputin" of international football. One can hope though. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattbin Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Actually I'm interested to see the Germans for similar reasons. It was rather delightful when [a far, far more inspiring] set of Portugal second-stringers destroyed Germany in the third match in '00. Concecaio scoring all three, if memory serves. Will Germany implode completely, showing that the Euro just isn't their bag any more? Or will they actually earn their keep for once? Allez les Rouges, M@ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amacpher Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 quote:Originally posted by Mimglow You're absolutely correct on that one DJT, but 15 seconds earlier RVN was bowled over in the penalty area. At the time, I figured it was poetic justice. But the calls kept going the Czech's way after that. Sorry guys, you're wrong about this one. By the way the offside rule is written, this was CLEARLY are good goal. You can argue that the rule is ridiculous (and I would agree) but when you say this was a bad call by the linesman, you are incorrect. (I was a little unsure about this DURING the game, but this is where watching the game on ITV is priceless ... as opposed to having a bunch of curling and hockey fans attempting to break-down the beautiful game for you on TSN). [V] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbsfc Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Good goal - bad rule. Holland got what they deserved in the end - fair play to the Czechs! Nedved is something else! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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