Just not nasty enough. That is the conclusion I've come to about the Japan football team. Against Australia they were taken apart by one player that embodies all that Japan don't have, Tim Cahill. Cahill is physical, strong, with bags of energy, yet no slouch in the technique department either. But what he has in spades, more than anything else, is total commitment and belief. He doesn't want to lose and if that means scything through a few players who get in his way, then he is perfectly happy to do it. He is nasty. Plain and simple. Not a nice bloke on the pitch. But one of the most effective players in football today. Does Japan have anyone that comes close in terms of temperament? Not really. The closest might possibly be Inamoto, honed in the school of "hard knocks" by a season of battling at the foot of the Premiership - not a place for the faint of heart. Zico should have brought him on in the last game to get stuck in.
Tonight Japan take on Croatia. Croatia will also provide a strong physical opposition. A strong backbone is what Japan needed against Australia and they were found wanting. Have they spent the last five days with a "psychological osteopath" straightening out the kinks in that backbone? There are a lot of nervous people in Japan who don't think so. If they haven't then they'll be getting on a plane sooner rather than later to be welcomed home by a subdued populace.
Copyright (c) jh & Soccerphile.com
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Sunday, June 18, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
England less than the sum of its parts
Famously, the late great Brian Clough produced teams that were always greater than the sum of its parts. Individually, Clough's sides were permeated with average talent, together with the classy ones we all know. It was as a collective that the team strode to victory. Sven Goran Eriksson, on the other hand, seems to have taken what amounts to 11 of the best English talents in a generation, and reduced them to a Sunday-league standard team. No, that's an insult to Dog and Duck F.C., who would surely have had to nous to realise that Wimbledon's era died long ago.
It's an exaggeration of course but the frustration of England's two games so far is that, Brazil aside, England arguably has the best midfield quartet at the World Cup. Yet, while those four are hardly working in unison, they have had little chance to do so, circumvented as they are, far too often. It could be argued that the inclusion of Peter Crouch in the side has increased the temptation for the side's best long passers - Beckham and Gerrard - to aim for the beanpole striker as a first option rather than look to manoeuvre an opportunity through midfield. However, it's a contention that is contradicted by the evidence of Sven's five years in charge. The Swede always wants his teams to play this way. In terms of raw talent this England side surely justifies its position as one of the top four or five favourites at the tournament. Tactically - as captain Beckham has so proudly claimed this week - the 11 are inept. This is an ignorance led by their manager.
Sven has at most five games left in charge. This is more likely to be two on the evidence of the past week's matches. Indeed, few England fans will shed a tear for the Swede when he goes; unfortunately we have mini-Sven waiting in the wings to take over. History may just record this to be a criminally wasted generation of English talent.
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It's an exaggeration of course but the frustration of England's two games so far is that, Brazil aside, England arguably has the best midfield quartet at the World Cup. Yet, while those four are hardly working in unison, they have had little chance to do so, circumvented as they are, far too often. It could be argued that the inclusion of Peter Crouch in the side has increased the temptation for the side's best long passers - Beckham and Gerrard - to aim for the beanpole striker as a first option rather than look to manoeuvre an opportunity through midfield. However, it's a contention that is contradicted by the evidence of Sven's five years in charge. The Swede always wants his teams to play this way. In terms of raw talent this England side surely justifies its position as one of the top four or five favourites at the tournament. Tactically - as captain Beckham has so proudly claimed this week - the 11 are inept. This is an ignorance led by their manager.
Sven has at most five games left in charge. This is more likely to be two on the evidence of the past week's matches. Indeed, few England fans will shed a tear for the Swede when he goes; unfortunately we have mini-Sven waiting in the wings to take over. History may just record this to be a criminally wasted generation of English talent.
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Friday, June 16, 2006
One man and his log
One man and his log
Wednesday 14th June Berlin. Hamm. Dortmund. Hamm
I mentioned earlier the exorbitant prices some hotels were charging. Coupled with this was a stipulation that you also had to book a minimum of three nights in some places. As a result of a compromise I ended up booking three nights in Berlin in one place, as it was cheaper than one night at the other options I had found.
So despite having accommodation in Berlin I set off for Dortmund as I had managed to get a ticket for the Germany v Poland match. All the talk before was of high security and a good chance of a major incident. Although there was a higher police presence in the city all the bars were open, the Fan fest was packed and everyone was singing and dancing in the streets. It is normal for German football fans to be walking down the road carrying a crate of beer to any Bundesliga match. I thought that the police may have clamped down on this behaviour but they are very relaxed and life continues as normal.
Before the match chants of Ecuador rang out as the Germans revelled in the situation their opponents found themselves in. The game itself was tense and as time wore on the Poles started to look for a goal that could have been their lifeline. Twice breaking down the left flank, cynical German fouls stopped promising attacks and resulted in bookings. The next foul committed by a Pole resulted in a booking, his second and the game swung towards Germany.
The euphoria after the game, fuelled by Coke (ads) which as you may have seen predict victory in Berlin and remind Germans that statistically speaking everytime the World Cup is held in Germany that they win. Led to chants of "Germany, World Champions" and "Berlin, Berlin we're going to Berlin".
In addition to this German fans already have flags printed with 'The Wonder of Berlin', and someone sat nearby me had the German flag painted on their face with 4 stars.
Having seen their performance I can clarify that, yes they are going to Berlin. But only to play Ecuador in the final group match if they don't show more imagination.
Thursday 15th June Hamm. Hamburg. Berlin
Heard German radio paying homage to their football team, first thing in the morning with a song called Deutschland Weltmeister immediately followed by another song which contained the numbers 54, 74 & 90, obviously referring to their past victories. It was refreshing to hear something different, as in the stadiums they still revel in the spirit of '96 with the borrowed anthems of "Fußball's Coming Home" and "All Together Now".
I had been warned that the weather was due to break and sure enough it rained in the morning, but the afternoon although cloudy, saw temperatures of 25 degrees.
My revisit to Hamburg revealed less tickets available outside for Ecuador v Costa Rica then Ivory Coast v Argentina! There has also been a sign outside two of the games I have been to offering €2000 for England v Sweden tickets, I am confident he is not going to the game.
This was my first 3p.m. kick off and the heat had been bearable. The finish of the match before 5p.m. and a brisk jog through the park ensured I was at the train station in plenty of time to be at 9p.m. kick off in Berlin, where I had accommodation for the night available to me.
This journey was pretty tame compared to the one I heard of yesterday. I met a scout for Hibs who had been to Leipzig in the afternoon then caught a plane to Köln, and taken a taxi to Dortmund in order that he could see Spain v Ukraine and Germany v Poland.
Arrived at Berlin in time to pick up a ticket from the Paraguayan F.A.
Copyright (c) Ross Clegg & Socerphile.com
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Wednesday 14th June Berlin. Hamm. Dortmund. Hamm
I mentioned earlier the exorbitant prices some hotels were charging. Coupled with this was a stipulation that you also had to book a minimum of three nights in some places. As a result of a compromise I ended up booking three nights in Berlin in one place, as it was cheaper than one night at the other options I had found.
So despite having accommodation in Berlin I set off for Dortmund as I had managed to get a ticket for the Germany v Poland match. All the talk before was of high security and a good chance of a major incident. Although there was a higher police presence in the city all the bars were open, the Fan fest was packed and everyone was singing and dancing in the streets. It is normal for German football fans to be walking down the road carrying a crate of beer to any Bundesliga match. I thought that the police may have clamped down on this behaviour but they are very relaxed and life continues as normal.
Before the match chants of Ecuador rang out as the Germans revelled in the situation their opponents found themselves in. The game itself was tense and as time wore on the Poles started to look for a goal that could have been their lifeline. Twice breaking down the left flank, cynical German fouls stopped promising attacks and resulted in bookings. The next foul committed by a Pole resulted in a booking, his second and the game swung towards Germany.
The euphoria after the game, fuelled by Coke (ads) which as you may have seen predict victory in Berlin and remind Germans that statistically speaking everytime the World Cup is held in Germany that they win. Led to chants of "Germany, World Champions" and "Berlin, Berlin we're going to Berlin".
In addition to this German fans already have flags printed with 'The Wonder of Berlin', and someone sat nearby me had the German flag painted on their face with 4 stars.
Having seen their performance I can clarify that, yes they are going to Berlin. But only to play Ecuador in the final group match if they don't show more imagination.
Thursday 15th June Hamm. Hamburg. Berlin
Heard German radio paying homage to their football team, first thing in the morning with a song called Deutschland Weltmeister immediately followed by another song which contained the numbers 54, 74 & 90, obviously referring to their past victories. It was refreshing to hear something different, as in the stadiums they still revel in the spirit of '96 with the borrowed anthems of "Fußball's Coming Home" and "All Together Now".
I had been warned that the weather was due to break and sure enough it rained in the morning, but the afternoon although cloudy, saw temperatures of 25 degrees.
My revisit to Hamburg revealed less tickets available outside for Ecuador v Costa Rica then Ivory Coast v Argentina! There has also been a sign outside two of the games I have been to offering €2000 for England v Sweden tickets, I am confident he is not going to the game.
This was my first 3p.m. kick off and the heat had been bearable. The finish of the match before 5p.m. and a brisk jog through the park ensured I was at the train station in plenty of time to be at 9p.m. kick off in Berlin, where I had accommodation for the night available to me.
This journey was pretty tame compared to the one I heard of yesterday. I met a scout for Hibs who had been to Leipzig in the afternoon then caught a plane to Köln, and taken a taxi to Dortmund in order that he could see Spain v Ukraine and Germany v Poland.
Arrived at Berlin in time to pick up a ticket from the Paraguayan F.A.
Copyright (c) Ross Clegg & Socerphile.com
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