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Author Topic: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain  (Read 30751 times)

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Offline dinho

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #210 on: July 08, 2010, 02:16:20 PM »
Amazing how men could watch this brand of football being played by this Spain side and not label it anything but beautiful. The intricate passing, the movement off the ball, the pressing, the defensive structure.. basically ah bess brand and men calling that frustrating???

Even the German coach come out and say that Spain right now are the masters of football and acknowledged them as the plainly superior team. Germany looking bad yesterday is more a consequence of Spain looking good, and it is to the credit of the strength of this German team that they were able to plug the holes and limit the opportunities that Spain had to cut them open.

Spain peaking at the right time in this tournament. It will take alot for them not to win this World Cup.

But lewwe see what Paul the Octopus have to say about the matter.
         

Offline Flex

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #211 on: July 08, 2010, 04:40:40 PM »
Spain ’s seductive siesta salivates.
By: Lasana Liburd (T&T Express).


Ten minutes into the 2010 World Cup semifinal between European giants Spain and Germany , the British television commentator declared “nothing of relevance so far…”

And there I was—spellbound by the rhythm of the game.

The commentator’s mood did not change in the first half.

I thought the distaste for football that did not involve breakneck pace and smashing bodies was a cliché. Perhaps not.

For me, though, this was the game I fell in love with in the late 1980’s when artists like Zico, Michel Platini, Michael Laudrup, Marco Van Basten, Socrates, Enzo Francescoli, Carlos Valderamma, Roberto Baggio, Paul Gascoigne and the incomparable Diego Maradona wore shorts and created vivid, brilliant pictures with a football.

It was an era when Dutch legend Johan Cryuff could chastise his players for running too much without inviting ridicule.

“Football is a game you play with your brains,” said Cryuff, a champion as a player and coach. “You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.”

These days, advances in diet, medicine and physical conditioning tip the scale in favour of natural athletes and football is often a game of whack and move like tennis.

And then, right after the slog fest of Uruguay versus Netherlands and Germany ’s free scoring triumphs over Argentina and England , along comes a Spanish team moving with all the intensity of a civil servant after his lunch break on a Friday afternoon.

“It is a game that can burst into life at anytime,” he said, as though imploring viewers not to switch to Channel Three’s cooking program.

But the game was humming. Spain were not stumbling through a siesta.

Rather Spanish manager Vicente Del Bosque deduced that the young German outfit fancied the all-action, kamikaze stuff. And so, he made it a game of patience. It was like a cricket test match started, unannounced, in the middle of a 20/ 20 tournament.

Xavi and Andres Iniesta toyed with the ball while the anxious Germans sat back and waited for their turn to play. For all the benefits of the counter-attacking game favoured by the likes of twice European champion, Jose Mourinho, it is a retro-active and therefore—at least in the opinion of a writer with no coaching badges—an inferior style. It relies on a team pushing without abandon into opposition territory, being loose with possession and then tardy in setting up a defensive trap while also leaving gaps to be exploited.

The Spanish squad moved together in a compact unit and pressed high up the pitch as a safeguard against the long, majestic diagonal balls from midfield that tore Argentina and England to shreds. But that was only Plan B. The pro-active Spaniards focused more on exploiting German weaknesses than becoming too preoccupied with the unquestionable ability of their opponents.

If every game were a slugfest, would such high scoring, reckless clashes not become boring and predictable?

Spain had other ideas about their semi-final assignment. Del Bosque set up a squad capable of the intricate “tikki takki” passing game espoused by Spanish champions, Barcelona . They pushed Germany back and waited. Like a parent pretending to be reading the paper while eyeing a child becoming more engrossed in a game with running water.

When Germany least expected it… Slap!

Carlos Puyol soared through the air to power home his first World Cup goal after eight years of trying. It was his third international goal after 89 appearances. German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, quite understandably and for more reasons than one, never saw it coming.

The televised highlights would show Puyol’s superb headed effort and a few near misses. But it will not come close to telling the tale. In the same way that brief replays of tumbling wickets can never capture the essence of an epic test match. Or the image of a sword being thrust into a bull’s shoulder says nothing about the drama of a bullfight.

After an unsightly identity crisis following their opening defeat to Switzerland , Spain seem to have regained their composure and belief at a crucial juncture. There were seven Barcelona employees in their starting line-up to face Germany and there is unlikely to be change for Sunday’s final against the Netherlands .

The Dutch are muscular in central midfield where the bruising pair of Nigel De Jong and Mark Van Bommel are surely two of the harshest art critics in the game today. Neither will be as easily seduced by a feigned Spanish siesta as the green Germans.

There were signs of unease too by Spanish captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas that might encourage Dutch fans.

If the captain is meant to embody the ethos of his squad, then it must be incongruous that Spain are led by a goalkeeper who is always anxious to punch and hack rather than hold the football.

But let us not get ahead of ourselves with thoughts of Sunday’s show.

Instead, kudos to a cerebral contest that was more “Sixth Sense” than “Die Hard”. Some patrons would scoff at one movie and praise the other. A true connoisseur can appreciate both.
The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline palos

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #212 on: July 08, 2010, 07:11:52 PM »
WOW!

Top class stuff from Lasana here.  I would put this article alongside ANY OTHER in ANY PUBLICATION by ANY WRITER and it would more than hold it's own.

Lasana mus be a Spaniard by osmosis because he right at de top of his game here.   :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

Respeck and thanx Flex for posting this  :beermug: :beermug:
Carlos "The Rolls Royce" Edwards

Offline weary1969

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #213 on: July 08, 2010, 08:56:20 PM »
WOW!

Top class stuff from Lasana here.  I would put this article alongside ANY OTHER in ANY PUBLICATION by ANY WRITER and it would more than hold it's own.

Lasana mus be a Spaniard by osmosis because he right at de top of his game here.   :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

Respeck and thanx Flex for posting this  :beermug: :beermug:

LASANA IS A BOSSSS
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline Sam

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #214 on: July 09, 2010, 04:39:26 AM »
Lasana, I think Van Bronckhorst is de Dutch captain.... :devil:
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Offline Dutty

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #215 on: July 09, 2010, 06:52:31 AM »
WOW!

Top class stuff from Lasana here.  I would put this article alongside ANY OTHER in ANY PUBLICATION by ANY WRITER and it would more than hold it's own.


I was jus about to say dat

This man writing style improve by leaps since he lil 'hiatus'.......on the other hand he was probably sandbagging with de express all along
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Offline sammy

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #216 on: July 09, 2010, 07:04:11 AM »
steups....doh care what no one say, that game was boring no arse. Best casillas and puyol play 1-2 in the back, whole game. All that knocking with no aim, imagine puyol had to come and score the winner - to his credit offcourse.




I fear for the finals snooze fest. I wonder who will fall down the most in the final, iniesta or robben? >:(
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Offline dinho

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #217 on: July 09, 2010, 07:36:55 AM »
Excellent article by Lasana!! :applause: :applause: :applause:

I like how he call Van Bommel and De Jong two of the game's harshest art critics.. lol
         

Offline kicker

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #218 on: July 09, 2010, 08:46:38 AM »
To me Spain's game is more precision, patience and compactness than it is jogo bonito.  Their passing is not that special to look at unless they decide to spring intricate one-two's in the attacking third (which they did particularly in the 2nd half against Germany) as opposed to the easy option of  knocking it out wide to Sergio Ramos for the cross... which when they fall into the trap of doing (i.e. in the confed-cup against U.S.A, and against Switzerland and Honduras for long periods) they are actually kinda ordinary IMO...but it's very effective because it moves the ball forward in small increments allowing the team to inch forward as a unit and stay compact- one of the reasons why Spain isn't too susceptible to the counter-attack.  If the Dutch can hustle and muscle them off the ball like Chile did before they went down to 10 men, Spain's passing game all of a sudden will look very poor and out of sorts as it did in the Chile game before they got the man advantage.

Barca's game for e.g. all around the field is alot prettier than Spain's- Barca works the ball quicker, they're more resilient to defensive pressure and they execute passes within tighter spaces and with more non-traditional angles which gives their passing game a much better look.  Brazilian, Argentine and Dutch teams of the past have been prettier in possession than this Spain team - Maybe using less passes, but more non traditional angles, and less straight-forward passes i.e. flicks, no-looks, dummies and dribbles in between... but in the modern int'l game Spain is probably as good a passing team as we'll see...   
Live life 90 minutes at a time....Football is life.......

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #219 on: July 09, 2010, 08:52:20 AM »
But lewwe see what Paul the Octopus have to say about the matter.

He say Spain will win and I say  :flamethrower: for Paul.....literally!!... :devil: ;D
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: WC 2010 - Match 62 - Semi-finals: Germany vs Spain
« Reply #220 on: July 09, 2010, 12:38:02 PM »
WOW!

Top class stuff from Lasana here.  I would put this article alongside ANY OTHER in ANY PUBLICATION by ANY WRITER and it would more than hold it's own.

Lasana mus be a Spaniard by osmosis because he right at de top of his game here.   :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

Respeck and thanx Flex for posting this  :beermug: :beermug:

LASANA IS A BOSSSS

COSIGNNNNNNNN!!!!!.... :beermug: :beermug: :beermug:

(p.s ah only NOW read the article   ;D)
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

 

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