OK. Although on track
for the most part, some of my key World Cup predictions didn't turn out as I
was expecting. Time to eat some humble pie!
And apologize for my lack of belief in the US team. But in all fairness, who in their right mind
would have put money on Spain exiting early with only a consolation win against
Australia? Or the Ticos making it to the
quarterfinals. Wow!!
Yet, that has been the theme in the early group stages. Italy is also out early (only two years ago
they played the Euro final against Spain).
So are England and Portugal. Big
surprises, of course, but so far the teams that have gone through really showed
a lot of heart, desire and drive. That’s
what I love about football; the ball is round, as they say… and in a major tournament
“name” alone won’t get you too far.
Another factor that I blindly omitted in my initial
write-up: THIS IS a
South American World Cup. It feels like
a South American tournament everywhere you turn. And I've ‘turned’ up in Argentina, Peru and
Ecuador (where the Colombian contingent was phenomenal). All the teams from the continent (and even
Central America) are extremely well supported.
Like playing at home, which is why – with the exception of Ecuador – all
have made it to the second round. Not to
mention the lowly Costa Rica is now in the top 8!
Here’s a few impressions from my live experience down in
Rio:
I was astonished by the Argentinian presence at the Maracanã. Yes, my childhood dream came true on June 15
when jet-lagged and all (flew in that morning) I stepped into that historic
arena for the first time, to see no other than the best player of this
generation – Leo Messi, of course – in action.
Bucket list stuff…
However… this very much anticipated emotion didn't go down
just as planned…. Thanks mighty FIFA for screwing it up for me!
First, let me shout out to some of my new friends on the
BigSoccer forums, who over the last few months have constantly helped each
other, exchanged tickets, and actively planned for this one-in-a-lifetime event. Hope you are all having a wonderful World
Cup. I know I am, even now back in the States. But after this experience (that allowed me to
witness the World Cup first hand in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Ecuador) I only
have one thing to say: even though the
next World Cup will be in Russia, I’m pretty sure I’d rather come back to South
America to experience the love for the sport first hand!
I loved having a “duel” with Ghana fans in a restaurant in Leblon (Rio) as the US were getting revenge from 4 years ago. Or watching Germany absolutely destroy Portugal at the Fan Zone on the Copacabana beach. And Ochoa stopping Brazil from scoring in a bar half a block from our apartment, with Ken and his German friends at the next table, while we’re “serenaded” by samba music… Or Suarez ensuring a nasty welcome back to England as we were transitioning through the Sao Paolo airport… Or the subdued Argentinian audience in a bar across from Teatro Colon where all they managed was a late brilliant goal from Messi against lowly Iran… And the fantastic atmosphere in a very international bar in Buenos Aires where US were seconds away from sending Portugal packing… And the subsequent nail-biter against Germany at the wonderful Mantaraya Lodge in Ecuador… Or the Brazilian kid praying on his knees in a bar in Quito as Chile was agonizingly close to end all the fun for an entire nation. The list can go on, but I’m telling you: South America is where soccer feels at home. Absolutely mesmerized by the experience!
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| Germany - Portugal at the Fan Fest - Copacabana beach |
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| Haft time at Brasil-Mexico: a beer with Ken and his German friends |
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| Vamos Colooooombia! (in Quito/Ecuador) |
But I digress...
Back to pissing on FIFA for a while:
As I mentioned BigSoccer helped me and others secure the
tickets we wanted, exchange the ones we didn't and so forth. Thanks again to Ken, James, Jack, Meaghan, Felipe,
André and Yaron for helping me sort ours out.
Unfortunately, I had a problem with my ticket that took almost 45
minutes to fix (darn chip didn't scan).
It could have been solved in 5 minutes (as I had enough proof that the
ticket was real), but not only did they have a total of 2 (two) people in the
‘customer service’ booth (2 servicing 30-40 people that is), but neither of
them spoke English (and my Spanish is rudimentary at best). The other ‘service center’ they sent me to
(where allegedly the guy spoke English) was even less help.
Small parenthesis. If
you’re ever in South America, you ask someone if they speak English and the
answer is “more or less” it typically means “barely”. True story.
Happened to us at least 3 times.
So after countless minutes (that seemed like hours) and
running back and forth between service centers I finally convinced them that
the ticket was indeed legal and I was OK to get in the stadium. But wait… as the game was now already well
under way, and the Argentine crowd was getting loud (it was 1-0 by now) there was
still a little paperwork to be filled out.
Yes. Pen to paper. In the 21st century. But that’s not all. Between the two customer service reps I
mentioned earlier, they were apparently sharing only ONE pen. Because I had to stand there, fuming, while
one guy was finishing writing down whatever stupid details he needed on one
form, so that the woman helping me could use THE SAME pen. No.
I’m not making any of this shit up.
Getting worked up just thinking back on that. You can only imagine the amount of rage I had
in me at THAT time.
So FIFA – and yes, you’ll hear from me directly on this
matter: fuck off and get your act together!
Eventually, 22 minutes into the game (or was it 27?) I
finally was living my dream. Maracanã. At last!
My recent rendition of this dream involved me pinching
myself as I was watching Messi lead his team onto the field, the ovations of
the crowd, and the emotional presentation of the Argentinian national
anthem. Instead, I had to settle for
breathlessly running to my seat, short of breath and drenched in sweat, cursing
the hell out of the aforementioned inept organization responsible for this
event.
FIFA – you incompetent bastards – thank you for screwing up that
experience. I hope you collectively rot
in Hell.
Yet, once my pulse returned to normal, there it was: Maracanã. The Mecca for any football lover in all its
modern splendor. The place were dreams
were born and hearts were broken. Draped
today in all its white-and-light-blue glory.
Fantastic fans, the Argentinians (take a quick peek).
Hated to death by the Brazilians. In the end the game was OK… Argentina didn’t play that well and Bosnia could have tried harder, but it only took a moment of brilliance from Messi to give the fans a reason to sing and dance well into the night.
But let’s rewind.
If three days earlier the number of Argentine supporters
seemed overwhelming, the Chilean contingent was unreal. Slightly over 74 thousand were in total
attendance that day, 70 thousand of them were sporting the red Chilean
jersey. The tumultuous “CHI-CHI-CHI LE-LE-LE” (click to get a taste of it) chant was so overwhelming that I
knew Spain didn't have a chance while their valiant opponent had such a strong
12th player behind them (not taking anything away from their team –
of course – who with a little luck (and couple inches lower in the last minute
of play) could have ‘sent’ Brazil home early).
It was amazing to live through that experience. In the end, I did pinch myself. The hair on the back of my neck did stand
up. My heart raced. And I have a fantastic memory to carry with
me for the rest of my life. One way or
another I lived my dream. It wasn't
quite the way I planned (or dreamt it) but nonetheless, bucket-list material
that I will cherish forever.
FIFA – you’re not forgiven.
Especially since the next two world cups are going to take place in
Russia (come ‘on… I ran as far away from that part of the world 25 years ago)
or Qatar (really?? No, seriously…
really??? I do hope that the ongoing investigation finds the bribes that were
undoubtedly passed under the table and awards the 2022 World Cup to a place
that’s more deserving of such a prestigious event. Preferably somewhere in South America, if you
ask me!
But let’s get back to the current World Cup and its
excellent host.
Brasil (or at least Rio where we spent a few days) has been
fantastic. Just as I expected, all the
polemic about money unwisely spent, crime, safety and so on went out the window
the moment the tournament started.
People here eat, drink, breathe and live football. It’s a universal language that everyone
understands and everyone is fluent in. Nothing
else matters. Nada mas.
But more on the overall Rio experience and the fantastic
days we spent there in a separate post.
Now back to humble pie and pulling that proverbial foot out of my mouth…
Group A: Brazil topped the group, as expected, but for me
Mexico coming in second was a surprise (especially after the way they squeezed
through to qualify for the tournament against New Zealand). With a bit more concentration – and less
diving from a very gifted player that for some reason I simply can’t stand
[maybe exactly for his diving panache] they would have still been in and sent
Holland packing… Croatia was a letdown; I was wondering if Rakitić and Modrić could
play well together. Clearly, the answer
was that they didn’t. And why Sušić would
play Rakitić (an offensive midfielder who had 15 goals and 17 assists in Spain
this season) in a defensive role is beyond me…. I tell you, sometimes these
coaches [glorified tacticians as some call them] simply lack common sense…
Group B: At every tournament there’s a big BIG surprise
where the reigning champ (see France in 2002) or a big favorite (see Italy and
France in 2010) manages to fall flat on their face in the group stages. It was Spain’s turn this time, and clearly
the end of an era for a team that quite possibly played the most beautiful
football over the last 6 years or so.
They simply didn't show up.
Deplorable is the word I’m looking for.
As for the Dutch, as much as they started in force (driven by the desire
to revenge their final loss from South Africa and make amends for leaving the
Euros two years ago on zero points) and secured top spot with Spain out of the
way, they looked out of ideas against Mexico.
All the “van Gaal is the greatest tactician” crap that’s in the news is
just bullshit to me. If he is such a
great tactician, why didn't they have the game wrapped up by half time (like Germany
against Portugal)? They just got a bit
lucky and the ref finally awarded a [dubious] penalty to Diving-Robben when in
turn he should have already shown a yellow or two for his previous attempts… Sure…
you’ll say… they destroyed Spain, but even Malta (no offense) could have
destroyed Spain at this World Cup.
Group C: Columbia has
been brilliant, but frankly, they didn't have much competition. Japan has been weaker than in previous
competitions, Ivory Coast a bunch of individual talent that can’t play as a
team if their life depended on it, and Greece barely scraped through…
Group D: Now there’s something for you. Costa Rica on top, with England and Italy
out. It was all about heart in this
group. Clearly none bigger than the
Ticos’. And my doubts about England were
proven right. EPL should seriously look
at their young talent coming through the ranks, as this batch doesn't look up
to par… As for Suarez… oh boy… what a complete retarded idiot (not sorry if
that in any way sounds offensive). He’s
clearly not welcome back in England after ensuring their elimination, and now
with the 4 month ban not sure anyone would want him. I hear rumors about Barça being interested
and I cringe. Fantastic goal scorer, no
doubt, but clearly nothing “upstairs”…
Group E: No surprise here.
Ecuador and Honduras were just along for the party. Never a serious chance… France, however – for the first time in many
years – has been playing attractive football.
Pretty impressed!
Group F: Argentina was expected to top the group, but as I
predicted, over-reliance on a Messi that only shows up for moments during the
game [albeit brilliant moments that pretty much carried the team so far and
account for 5 goals and 1 assist out of the 7 goals scored by Argentina so far;
6 if you don’t count the own goal] can’t go on much longer. They barely missed the penalty roulette by 2
minutes and a few inches to the right against the Swiss… Nigeria seemed the
most serious of the African teams, but in the end France easily discarded them
in the round of 16.
Group G: I knew Germany would top the group, but surely
another portion of humble pie is on my plate for the “zero-chance, zero-points,
Klinsmann-out” prediction I had for the US team. They had redefined fighting spirit, Howard
was by far the goalie of the tournament, and the young team looks promising for
2018. Portugal and their primadonna
[yes, Ronaldo] would have gone home after 2 games had the US kept their
concentration 1 more minute… In the end, the only good thing Ronaldo did was to
score an otherwise pathetic goal that ensured US qualification without sweating
it until the last minute… Ghana (like most African teams) another big disappointment. Great individual talents, but crap in terms
of team play. Didn't help that Muntari
and Boateng were sent home in the middle of things for disciplinary reasons.
I was also surprised by the support back home in the States. The whole nation got behind the team; I saw
images of a completely full Soldier Field in Chicago with people watching the
game on a big screen. Several other
cities had similar massive gatherings.
And even the Wall Street Journal had their picture on the front
page! Respect.
Group G: I saw Belgium topping this one (I still stand by my
surprise-of-the tournament prediction; watch out Argentina) but Russia only
have themselves to blame for not progressing out of a relatively easy
group. Algeria deserved second place,
and even put up a good fight against Germany…
* * * * *
So now what’s left?
In general, there’s no team that really impressed (maybe
with the exception of Columbia). Some
(like Germany, France and the Dutch) have started strong, but are fizzing
out. And Brazil and Argentina are yet to
hit their stride…
For the quarterfinals, I’m on track with my Brazil
prediction (only against Columbia now, instead of England or Uruguay). It should be another firecracker of a
game. The Colombian play attractive
attacking football. Brazil is still not
running on all cylinders. But I think
they’ll step it up tomorrow. Too much is
at stake and like I said before, La Copa will not be the same with Brasil
eliminated… There sure will be drama one way or another.
France – Germany is spot on.
Just how I called it. I still
stand by the Germans on this one (although France has been surprisingly
effective; and as I mentioned earlier, incredibly disciplined)
With Argentina – Belgium (another quarterfinal I called
accurately) I stand by my initial Belgium-surprise win. The South Americans have ridden their luck so
far, yet played uninspired football and Messi might find it hard to deal with
tight marking from Kompany, Fellaini & Co.
The Dutch – with their oh-so-mighty tactician van Gaal –
have it easy. Any of the small team
surprises run out of gas prematurely because they don’t have the depth. Costa Rica will put up a valiant fight, but
by now the “surprise” factor is gone.
Won’t be able to hang with the big boys much longer…
In the end, Brazil will still make it to the final after defeating
the Germans along the way. I really
think the Seleção will get better, and early goals in their upcoming matches will
be key. Looks like instead of Spain
[RIP] they’ll play the other team from group B in the final: Holland (who I
think will eventually end an impressive Belgium run). That leaves Germany third, Netherlands losing
their third World Cup final, and Brazil winning it for a record 6th
time!
But stranger thing have happened so far in this World
Cup. Brace yourselves for some surprises
still!
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| ...what everyone in Brasil believes... we'll know for sure in a few more days! |
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