Usually I childishly lose interest as soon as England go out, but this time around I was largely unmoved by their exit, having had such low expectations, so perhaps I will be less childish, and continue to watch. Ghana, obviously, has to be the neutral's favorite now, but I assume that will be short-lived. I have the Argies winning in my pool, so some rooting interest there, and they will get revenge against the Germans for us. And I have a soft spot for Maradona, whose personal failings have obscured the fact that he arguably is the best ever to play the game.
To be frank (no pun intended), although we looked inferior and slow and old and fat the whole game, I don't buy that the two second half goals somehow negate the effect of the the disallowed goal. At 2-2 we would't have been pressing so hard, or been so exposed at the back. And, more importantly, I think if we got that goal (the second in as many minutes), we would have had them on the ropes, and there is a good chance we would have scored again before halftime. At 3-2, the game is very different indeed. Shame.
There are some terrific match-ups on the cards. Spain / Portugal could be a classic. Holland / Brazil, if that works out, could be a great game.
I suspect that officiating has always been this bad, but now we have twenty simul-cams and ultra slow-mo hi def to accentuate the particular ineptitude.
Maradona, Hand of God from 1986 (sounds like a bad Herzog movie) is the forerunner to this year's poor calls. Andrew is more forgiving to the Argentinean than many of his fellow Brits.
Don't know if any bastards have had the pleasure to referee much. Back in the day I ran up and down the soccer field and sideline as referee/linesman, and offside can be a pretty tricky call in real time. In basketball, I still have trouble telling a charge from a blocking foul.
4 comments:
Is it too soon to ask who you will be supporting the rest of the way?
Usually I childishly lose interest as soon as England go out, but this time around I was largely unmoved by their exit, having had such low expectations, so perhaps I will be less childish, and continue to watch. Ghana, obviously, has to be the neutral's favorite now, but I assume that will be short-lived. I have the Argies winning in my pool, so some rooting interest there, and they will get revenge against the Germans for us. And I have a soft spot for Maradona, whose personal failings have obscured the fact that he arguably is the best ever to play the game.
To be frank (no pun intended), although we looked inferior and slow and old and fat the whole game, I don't buy that the two second half goals somehow negate the effect of the the disallowed goal. At 2-2 we would't have been pressing so hard, or been so exposed at the back. And, more importantly, I think if we got that goal (the second in as many minutes), we would have had them on the ropes, and there is a good chance we would have scored again before halftime. At 3-2, the game is very different indeed. Shame.
There are some terrific match-ups on the cards. Spain / Portugal could be a classic. Holland / Brazil, if that works out, could be a great game.
Is officiating always this bad in soccer, or has this been a special event?
I suspect that officiating has always been this bad, but now we have twenty simul-cams and ultra slow-mo hi def to accentuate the particular ineptitude.
Maradona, Hand of God from 1986 (sounds like a bad Herzog movie) is the forerunner to this year's poor calls. Andrew is more forgiving to the Argentinean than many of his fellow Brits.
Don't know if any bastards have had the pleasure to referee much. Back in the day I ran up and down the soccer field and sideline as referee/linesman, and offside can be a pretty tricky call in real time. In basketball, I still have trouble telling a charge from a blocking foul.
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