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Monday 25 June 2012
Andrea and Ashley, or when men with girls' names play a major role: Recap of England-Italy.
14:01 | 
Posted by
Bappo |
As a French football fan, it was disheartening to see my team stumble yet again at a major finals without much dignity. Whilst losing to Spain wasn't dishonourable at all, the furore that surrounded certain spoilt players (I'm looking at you Samir Nasri!) ensured that we paid no attention to the football, and that French fans were once again disillusioned with a team for which they now have no love.
Contrast the French situation with the England team. It seemed to me like England were the total opposite of France. Used to bloated expectations and scandals, England finally approached a major finals with the right manager. And no, this is not said with the help of a beautiful thing called hindsight.
Roy Hodgson was and is the perfect choice as an international manager. With bags of European experience, the polyglot was a much more able candidate than 'Arry, a man only the press seemed to want. With particular organisational acumen (look how well organised his Fulham and West Brom teams were) and an ability for producing miracles with average sides, Roy had the credentials to take over a distinctly average England team.
And average this team is. Due to pundits and Sky's continued exposure of the Premier League as 'the best league in the world', people had become accustomed to judging English players by how well they played in the Premier League, convinced that it was the only arena in which world class players performed. Unfortunately, people could not be more wrong. Whilst the Premier League is unbelievably entertaining and does possess players of incredible worth, it is also the place where tactical nous in both managers and players is the least developed. The typical Premier League game? 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, and let's bomb forward. And the defending in particular is awful. The fact that people considered Ryan Shawcross to be a promising prospect was fallacious. The man can't kick a ball. And whilst Germany did dally with Robert Huth as an international centre-back, this was during particularly lean years. The man hasn't come close to the German squad for ages.
Whilst this shouldn't be seen as a knock on the Premier League, which is a great deal more interesting and entertaining that Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga, it nevertheless blinded people for years to the real worth of the English players. The tactical acumen in Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga in particular is nevertheless of a much higher standard than in the Premier League, and technical ability in the Bundesliga and La Liga again is more impressive than in England.
And here is why this team captured the imagination of the English nation. With a core provided by players who would have never found their place in the team under the Eriksson years, England were for once humble and dedicated to performance. I mean, look at the squad and honestly tell me who is world-class. Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard definitely are, even though Stevie G only proved it again during this Euro. Wayne Rooney claims to be, and is a great player, but his inability to shine at international level for England put a doubt in my mind as to whether he classifies under that very subjective label.
Otherwise, let's look at the rest of the team.
Joe Hart? On the cusp of being world-class, but it's scary to see that goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer, Hugo Lloris, Valdes (Spain's 2nd-3rd choice!), Buffon and Stekelenburg are all at least his equals yet were not particularly rated by English 'pundits'.
The rest of the team was either made up of promising players (Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain), distinctly average players (Milner, Walcott, Johnson, Parker, Carroll) or players whose ability at this level we were unsure of, for different reasons.
Lescott, for example, had performed admirably at Man City, and yet he was never the first defender on the team sheet at his club (that honour belongs to Kompany). His performances in the Champions' League also didn't set the world alight.
Terry was more of a problem. First of all, and even the most ardent and myopic Chelsea fans should agree, the man is a total douche-bag. He should have considered himself lucky to even be at the Euro, thanks to the traditional celebrity-friendly nature of the English judiciary. Had District Judge Howard Riddle done his job properly, Terry would have faced trial in March and questions would have been raised. However, given that the judge was an England fan, Terry was able to compete.
Not only that, but Terry was also an unknown on the football pitch. His 'performances' this season weren't particularly reassuring, and JT (hate that nickname) saved his 'best' for the end of the season, kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the Champions' League semi-final and playing an absolute stinker in the league against Liverpool.
So it can clearly be argued that England for once did not possess many players who could make the difference. Contrast that with the Euro 2004 team which lined up with James, Neville, a fit King, Ferdinand, Cole, Gerrard, Beckham, Lampard, Scholes, Owen and Rooney. The comparison is quite scary.
Roy Hodgson had done a great job organising this team in the simplest way possible and getting them to set their egos aside, that last part probably being the hardest part of an egotistical bunch of players. England fans had fallen in love with their team again, and with humility and hard work came quiet confidence.
England were however about to face a sterner test than people predicted. Italy, under the underrated and under-appreciated Cesare Prandelli, had found a new breath of life. Based on a ball-playing midfield anchored around Pirlo, the Italians had decided to come to the Euros to play football the right way, and had demonstrated in the group stages that they meant business. It was going to be a tall task for any England side, let alone a distinctly average one.
THE LINE-UPS
ENGLAND: Roy loves the 4-4-2. As a Fulham fan I quickly understood that this was going to be the way my team was always going to be set up. And yet Roy loves a flexible team. As we explained before, his 4-4-2 with Milner and Young on the wings had the possibility of turning into a 4-5-1 when defending, or a 4-3-3 when going forward.
This was based on the dedication and effort of James Milner, an under-rated servant for the cause. Every team, great or simply good, needs a player like Milner willing to adapt and work hard. Spain has that in Iniesta, a central midfielder willing to play on the wing, and Podolski and Muller for Germany are more than willing to play out of position to ensure that the team is well balanced. Indeed, even Daniele de Rossi, now playing as a left-sided midfielder after having played centre-back, can attest to the value of flexibility and sacrifice.
Did I just compare Milner to Iniesta, Podolski, Muller and De Rossi? I'm guessing you understand that the level in skill wasn't being compared (it can't, such is the chasm between Milner and those players) but the heart and understanding of one's role was the common link.
Whilst his 4-4-2 had provided enough security in the group stages, Hodgson knew that the influence of Pirlo had to be negated. Sacrifice was to be expected of Welbeck and/or Rooney who would have to drop back to counter the great ball-playing Juve midfielder.
As for the rest of the team, Roy had decided to keep faith with the same players as beore. And in a tournament where dynamics and team spirit are vital, this was a wise choice.
ITALY: Cesare Prandelli had impressed us with his tactical acumen in the group stages. After playing a 3-5-2 to counter Spain's and Croatia's midfield, the Italian manager had allowed himself to play with a back four against Ireland due to the low technical ability of the Irish as well as Trapattoni's decision to keep favouring a 4-4-2 for Ireland. Now faced with England, a team set up in a deep 4-4-2 with lesser technical players than Spain or Croatia, Prandelli decided to keep a 4-4-2, albeit a narrow one composed exclusively of central midfielder. Aware of England's incapacity to spread the ball wide and fast, he knew that his wing-backs could contain England's wide midfielders whilst providing support to a midfield which should control the ball. In that sense he was spot on.
As for his choice of players, the smooth Prandelli (great hair, great suit, typical Italian) decided to keep with Balotelli and Cassano up front, even though Di Natale certainly could have found himself unlucky to be on the bench.
THE GAME
You know the deal by now. No need for minute-by-minute recap, but here are our observations and conclusions:
* Boy what a player Andrea Pirlo is! The great man gave an absolute footballing lesson to every midfielder present on the pitch. Yes, I even include his Italian team-mates. Omnipresent, composed, and using a great variety of passing, Pirlo was the architect of the Italy side. Every move flowed through him, and his influence was such that he even reduced Daniele De Rossi to a simple waterboy role for the whole game. How can we tell Pirlo was class? The man is 33, never ran all game, never had more than 3 touches on the ball and only lost the ball in a dangerous area once. Not only that, but he didn't shirk his defensive duties and showed huge cojones by doing a beautiful Panenka in the soot-out. Top draw.
* England would do well to watch tapes of Pirlo. When presented with no good options, Andrea was happy to pass the ball backwards and keep play flowing. Gerrard and Parker, whilst admirable in their effort, too often showed the naivety of Premier League footballers by always trying to go forward. In a game where England never had the ball after the first 25 minutes, this was a cardinal sin.
* Ashley young was incredibly poor, continuing a trend started at the end of his club season and throughout Euro 2012. Whilst he helped Cole defensively, the Man U winger always lost the ball. And this is no exaggeration when I use the word 'always'. Unbelievably poor. It was a surprise that Milner was taken off rather than Young, for Milner had shown more composure on the ball and his effort was never to be put in doubt.
* Chelsea's win in the Champions' League has given hope to many teams, but it has also lessened the overall quality of play and entertainment. England never looked to trouble Italy past the half-hour mark and were more than happy to go to penalties. And even though justice was done with Italy's win, it would have been one more injustice to account for, with Portugal's performance against Germany in the group stages being another example. Whilst defensive and tactical discipline are great attributes, these shouldn't overshadow the need for ambition and actual football.
* Is it just me or did Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole once again perform to the highest level? Unappreciated by their own fans for different reasons, their displays were spotless. Not sure whether Micah Richards would have had the discipline Johnson displayed throughout the tournament. Just saying.
* It's a bit of a nostalgic sidenote, but the sight of goalkeepers sincerely embracing each other before and during a penalty shootout always brings warmth to my heart. I remember David Seaman and Andoni Zubizarreta doing the same thing at Euro 96, and Hart and Buffon displayed the same class yesterday. Great sportsmanship.
* Talking of sportsmanship, Hart's decision to try and put off the Italian penalty-takers with his antics didn't particularly pay off, and showed the difference in class between him and one of the greatest of all time. Buffon simply unnerved already frail English penalty takers by simply being Buffon. His aura was enough. Hart isn't there yet, he's still young, but he didn't make himself any friends there. Nocerino in particular wasn't happy, and he gave Hart the stare of the tournament after his successful penalty. Great stuff.
* Call me harsh, but shouldn't we have expected such a dire performance from Rooney? The man had only played one game in a month, against Ukraine, and he hadn't really set the world alight. Not as fit as he could be, Wazza also didn't show as much heart as others. Clearly charged with taking care of Pirlo, he instead let the Juve man take charge of the game and instead tasked Welbeck with doing all the tracking. Hart's screams at Rooney, which could be heard on the telly, were emblematic of his lack of interest and desire in doing this particular job for the team. Again, might be a tad harsh, but the only times Pirlo was pressured into giving the ball away were when Welbeck decided to sacrifice himself.
* Again, the Premier League-centric vision of pundits made me laugh. Oh yeah, bring on Andy Carroll, the Italians have never seen anyone like him. Except they have, and a better version at that, with a man called Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Not only that, but it showed the classic Premier League vision that tactics aren't particularly important. Tactical acumen is bread and butter for Italian players, and it was telling that Andrea Pirlo actually won a few headers against him. The Italians also decided to lay off Carroll and let him win headers, knowing that they would always win the second ball. Carroll had no impact except in his own box. Again, a classic example of Premier League tactics translated to the international stage. Wake up, it doesn't work. And that's because you can't qualify that as a tactic.
* I've given Scott Parker a lot of stick, denying the fact that he's of international class, but he was immense yesterday in his midfield destroyer role. Of course it helped that there was no pace and width in Italy's midfield, which played right into Parker's hands, but it nevertheless was a great performance full of heart by the Tottenham midfielder. His reading of the game was impeccable, and he left Euro 2012 on a high after several sub-standard international performances.
* Don't get me wrong, Terry had a great performance, but he once again showed the tendency to love the last-ditch tackle a bit too much. His tackle on Balotelli in the first half was top-draw, but it was also due to Terry's failure to play the offside trap properly. Of course, Glen Johnson was automatically blamed by the commentators, and you expected harsh criticism to ensue. Instead, when they realised it had been Terry's fault, the commentators focused on his great tackle rather than his positional failures. Double standards. Terry later tried and failed to catch Balotelli offside and was lucky to get away with it unscathed. Whilst his overall performance was solid, the Chelsea defender has a tendency to shirk his positional duties in favour of the 'inspirational' last-ditch tackle. What is Terry famous for in an England shirt? His 'heroic' dive in front of the Slovenian shot at World Cup 2010, which overshadowed the fact he had failed to mark him properly. There is no one better than Terry at putting his body on the line, but he shouldn't get there that often if he simply marked his man properly.
* Whilst Pirlo (best player at World Cup 2006) continued his excellence, De Rossi's poor play led me to wonder where his great reputation had come from. Having never seen him set the world alight for Roma in the Champions' League, yesterday was perhaps proof that he isn't as good as advertised. Of course I don't watch many Serie A games, and managers (better judges than me) swear by him, but it's still a puzzling fact.
* Somewhere, in front of his telly, Roberto Mancini was smiling. We finally saw Balotelli's 'potential' explode yesterday. Committed, full of running, he gave Terry and Lescott, excellent themselves, a tough task. Whilst he is still infuriating and loves a good shot from outrageous angles, he was superb, particularly in the first half. His diminished influence was more due to Italy's failure to feed him properly and Cassano's tendency to try the outrageous pass than to any failure on Super Mario's part. If he plays like that every week in the Prem next year, then maybe we'll finally understand what the big fuss about Balotelli is.
* Speaking of Super Mario, name me one person who didn't enjoy his walk to take his pen in the shootout. A cheeky smile, great confidence and spotless finishing. Brilliant.
* Serie A is still viewed as a dour league obsessed with defending. We should however acknowledge that the Italians still produce good players. Bonucci and Balzaretti are relative unknowns yet were impressive yesterday. The pony-tailed left-back (there has to be one in every Italian team. Some sort of quota has to be filled) was full of running and defended well. Bonucci looked very assured, never panicked, and was better than his counter-part Barzagli. Marchisio and Montolivo were also very good on the ball.
* Once again, the Premier League isn't the definitive judge of a player's ability, far from it. Diamanti, a 'West Ham reject' as Mowbray called him, came on and performed admirably. Not only that, but he slotted in the winning penalty with rather more aplomb that Man U and Chelsea players Young and Cole. Just saying.
PLAYER RATINGS
ENGLAND
HART: A commanding presence, unafraid to tell his players to show more heart (hear his scream at Rooney. Impressive). Was more than ably protected by his defenders. Did flap at a shot by De Rossi but pulled off a few good saves. An entertaining duel against Balotelli. England's goalie for years to come. 7/10
JOHNSON: Superb. Covered effectively, putting Montolivo off when presented with a good chance. Marshalled the right-hand side with authority, ably helped by Milner, less so by Walcott. Again displayed international class. 8/10
TERRY: Suspect positioning in the first half led to a few chances, but grew in stature and was outstanding by the end of the game. 8/10
LESCOTT: Authoritative, positionally spot on. Was given a good challenge by a fiery Balotelli, and it was telling that Super Mario preferred trying his chance against Terry than against his club team-mate. Very impressive. 9/10
COLE: A classic Cole game, which means a minimum of 7/10. Nullified Abate in the first half, but found it tougher in the second half when Abate perked up and Maggio came on. Still a very good defender. A poor penalty, but at least he had the stones to go up and take it. 7/10
MILNER: Protected Johnson very well and even provided a few dangerous balls into the box in the first half, when the game was still 50-50. It was a surprise to see him taken off. Didn't do anything wrong. 7/10
Replaced by Walcott, who was clearly brought on to add some pace and scare the Italians on the counter. Theo found it tough, and his technique really isn't that good, as evidenced when he took ages to bring the ball under control when trying to break. Didn't help out Johnson as well as Milner. 5/10
GERRARD: Another inspirational performance by the captain, whose effort cannot be doubted. Ran his socks off but never controlled the midfield, instead chasing Pirlo's shadow all night. Also lost the ball a great number of times, but he wasn't helped by his attacking players giving him no options whatsoever. Still tended to rush forward a bit too much when playing it simply would have given England a desperately-needed breather, 6/10
PARKER: Full of heart. Kept his passing simple and was particularly impressive in the first half. Was completely dominated in the second half, as was the whole of England's midfield. Was replaced as his legs died, testament to his effort. Finally a performance of international caliber. 7/10
Replaced by Henderson, who came on to bring fresh legs to a tiring central midfield. Not sure whether he actually touched the ball but covered well. 5/10
YOUNG: Where to start? Young should have been the only outlet to provide support to Rooney and Welbeck. Instead the Man United winger settled for running straight at Italian defenders and lost the ball countless times, never helping his team breathe. A poor performance which epitomised his contribution at Euro 2012. A very poor penalty, and nerves got to him as he completely altered his penalty-taking technique, opting for power rather than finesse. A poor performance. 2/10
ROONEY: Clearly rusty, Wazza was also uninterested in helping Welbeck and his midfield take care of Pirlo. Was anonymous throughout the game, and chose the flashy over the efficient with his bicycle attempt in the last minute. A poor Euro 2012 for Rooney, and question marks should be raised regarding his ability at the highest level of international football.
WELBECK: Full of heart and running. Tried to play simple one-touch football which helped him fashion a decent chance in the first half. Was the only one who tried to stifle Pirlo, and did so effectively a few times. An encouraging performance from a player who grew in stature during Euro 2012. 6/10
Replaced by Carroll, whose only contribution was helping his team defend set-pieces. Tried to scare the Italians with his size and aerial ability. Didn't work. 5/10
ITALY
BUFFON: World-class, both in skill and attitude. Uncharacteristically flapped at a cross in the first half, spotless otherwise. His aura in the penalty shootout clearly played his part, and didn't lower his standards by engaging in Hart's antics. 7/10
ABATE: A quiet first-half followed by a second half full of running. Took on Cole a few times and provided teasing crosses. Was a handful and provided good width. Left slightly injured. 7/10
Replaced by Maggio. If Cole thought he was going to have breather with Abate going off, then he was wrong. The Napoli full-back hit the ground running and continued Abate's work very much in the same vein. Unlucky to be booked. 7/10
BARZAGLI: Efficient, but was the most tested of the two centre-backs, and looked a bit shaky at times due to Welbeck's movement. 6/10
BONUCCI: Impressive performance. Handled Rooney with ease and played the ball out of defence comfortably. Inspired confidence even though he didn't have that much to do. 8/10
BALZARETTI: Very impressive performance from the pony-tailed left-back from Palermo. Was a constant threat in the first half and provided great width. A bit shaky defensively but wasn't asked to do too much going backwards. His crossing could perhaps have been better but his energy and enthusiasm going forward were impressive. 8/10
MARCHISIO: Good passing and neat controls ensured he helped Italy maintain control of midfield. Was overshadowed by Pirlo's majestic performance and Montolivo's enthusiastic passing game, but still played an important role. 7/10
PIRLO: Superb. The metronome of the team. England knew they had to stifle him yet they couldn't. Italy's game flowed through him and he was superb in possession. 10/10
DE ROSSI: Not particularly effective in possession, and guilty of a few play-acting antics. Didn't live up to his reputation, and missed an absolute sitter. The worst performer in the Italian team. 4/10
Replaced by Nocerino, who was an impressive addition to Italy's midfield. Created himself a good chance with a glorious touch, and looked dangerous. Took his penalty with aplomb, and his reaction to hart's antics was a joy to behold. 7/10
MONTOLIVO: Dangerous whenever he had possession, he was given the freedom to move between England's two lines of four, and found space in tight angles. Nearly provided a glorious ball for Cassano. Full of running and invention, he helped keep Italy ticking. Very impressive stuff, even though he missed a good opportunity. 8/10
CASSANO: The AC Milan striker ran his socks off and created havoc with his dribbling. But his intentions were often followed by poor passing, and he wasn't so decisive in the end. 5/10
Replaced by Diamanti, the 'West Ham reject' (scoff). The man from Bologna was enthusiastic and creative, and moved between the lines effectively. Has a glorious left foot and wasn't afraid to use it, even though the end product wasn't always there. A good penalty to win it for Italy. 6/10
BALOTELLI: Finally, this was the version we'd hoped and perhaps hadn't really been expecting. Ran tirelessly and displayed a superb touch. Was dangerous throughout whenever he was given a good ball, and beat the offside trap a few times. His movement was good and he played it simple whenever he didn't simply shoot from 30 yards. He was clearly fired up for his confrontation with Lescott and Hart and relished it. A superb penalty. This was maybe Balotelli finally living up to the hype. 8/10
Contrast the French situation with the England team. It seemed to me like England were the total opposite of France. Used to bloated expectations and scandals, England finally approached a major finals with the right manager. And no, this is not said with the help of a beautiful thing called hindsight.
Roy Hodgson was and is the perfect choice as an international manager. With bags of European experience, the polyglot was a much more able candidate than 'Arry, a man only the press seemed to want. With particular organisational acumen (look how well organised his Fulham and West Brom teams were) and an ability for producing miracles with average sides, Roy had the credentials to take over a distinctly average England team.
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| A humble man for a finally humble team |
And average this team is. Due to pundits and Sky's continued exposure of the Premier League as 'the best league in the world', people had become accustomed to judging English players by how well they played in the Premier League, convinced that it was the only arena in which world class players performed. Unfortunately, people could not be more wrong. Whilst the Premier League is unbelievably entertaining and does possess players of incredible worth, it is also the place where tactical nous in both managers and players is the least developed. The typical Premier League game? 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, and let's bomb forward. And the defending in particular is awful. The fact that people considered Ryan Shawcross to be a promising prospect was fallacious. The man can't kick a ball. And whilst Germany did dally with Robert Huth as an international centre-back, this was during particularly lean years. The man hasn't come close to the German squad for ages.
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| Shawcross: highly-rated because he plays in the Premier League. Actually rubbish. An example of England fans and pundits' Premier League-centric attitude. An example of why England have been poor internationally (see Upson, Matt) |
Whilst this shouldn't be seen as a knock on the Premier League, which is a great deal more interesting and entertaining that Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga, it nevertheless blinded people for years to the real worth of the English players. The tactical acumen in Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga in particular is nevertheless of a much higher standard than in the Premier League, and technical ability in the Bundesliga and La Liga again is more impressive than in England.
And here is why this team captured the imagination of the English nation. With a core provided by players who would have never found their place in the team under the Eriksson years, England were for once humble and dedicated to performance. I mean, look at the squad and honestly tell me who is world-class. Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard definitely are, even though Stevie G only proved it again during this Euro. Wayne Rooney claims to be, and is a great player, but his inability to shine at international level for England put a doubt in my mind as to whether he classifies under that very subjective label.
Otherwise, let's look at the rest of the team.
Joe Hart? On the cusp of being world-class, but it's scary to see that goalkeepers like Manuel Neuer, Hugo Lloris, Valdes (Spain's 2nd-3rd choice!), Buffon and Stekelenburg are all at least his equals yet were not particularly rated by English 'pundits'.
The rest of the team was either made up of promising players (Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain), distinctly average players (Milner, Walcott, Johnson, Parker, Carroll) or players whose ability at this level we were unsure of, for different reasons.
Lescott, for example, had performed admirably at Man City, and yet he was never the first defender on the team sheet at his club (that honour belongs to Kompany). His performances in the Champions' League also didn't set the world alight.
Terry was more of a problem. First of all, and even the most ardent and myopic Chelsea fans should agree, the man is a total douche-bag. He should have considered himself lucky to even be at the Euro, thanks to the traditional celebrity-friendly nature of the English judiciary. Had District Judge Howard Riddle done his job properly, Terry would have faced trial in March and questions would have been raised. However, given that the judge was an England fan, Terry was able to compete.
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| District Judge Howard Riddle: Law comes second to England's footballing hopes. |
Not only that, but Terry was also an unknown on the football pitch. His 'performances' this season weren't particularly reassuring, and JT (hate that nickname) saved his 'best' for the end of the season, kneeing Alexis Sanchez in the Champions' League semi-final and playing an absolute stinker in the league against Liverpool.
So it can clearly be argued that England for once did not possess many players who could make the difference. Contrast that with the Euro 2004 team which lined up with James, Neville, a fit King, Ferdinand, Cole, Gerrard, Beckham, Lampard, Scholes, Owen and Rooney. The comparison is quite scary.
Roy Hodgson had done a great job organising this team in the simplest way possible and getting them to set their egos aside, that last part probably being the hardest part of an egotistical bunch of players. England fans had fallen in love with their team again, and with humility and hard work came quiet confidence.
England were however about to face a sterner test than people predicted. Italy, under the underrated and under-appreciated Cesare Prandelli, had found a new breath of life. Based on a ball-playing midfield anchored around Pirlo, the Italians had decided to come to the Euros to play football the right way, and had demonstrated in the group stages that they meant business. It was going to be a tall task for any England side, let alone a distinctly average one.
THE LINE-UPS
ENGLAND: Roy loves the 4-4-2. As a Fulham fan I quickly understood that this was going to be the way my team was always going to be set up. And yet Roy loves a flexible team. As we explained before, his 4-4-2 with Milner and Young on the wings had the possibility of turning into a 4-5-1 when defending, or a 4-3-3 when going forward.
This was based on the dedication and effort of James Milner, an under-rated servant for the cause. Every team, great or simply good, needs a player like Milner willing to adapt and work hard. Spain has that in Iniesta, a central midfielder willing to play on the wing, and Podolski and Muller for Germany are more than willing to play out of position to ensure that the team is well balanced. Indeed, even Daniele de Rossi, now playing as a left-sided midfielder after having played centre-back, can attest to the value of flexibility and sacrifice.
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| A battling Milner: the reason for his inclusion in the team. |
Did I just compare Milner to Iniesta, Podolski, Muller and De Rossi? I'm guessing you understand that the level in skill wasn't being compared (it can't, such is the chasm between Milner and those players) but the heart and understanding of one's role was the common link.
Whilst his 4-4-2 had provided enough security in the group stages, Hodgson knew that the influence of Pirlo had to be negated. Sacrifice was to be expected of Welbeck and/or Rooney who would have to drop back to counter the great ball-playing Juve midfielder.
As for the rest of the team, Roy had decided to keep faith with the same players as beore. And in a tournament where dynamics and team spirit are vital, this was a wise choice.
ITALY: Cesare Prandelli had impressed us with his tactical acumen in the group stages. After playing a 3-5-2 to counter Spain's and Croatia's midfield, the Italian manager had allowed himself to play with a back four against Ireland due to the low technical ability of the Irish as well as Trapattoni's decision to keep favouring a 4-4-2 for Ireland. Now faced with England, a team set up in a deep 4-4-2 with lesser technical players than Spain or Croatia, Prandelli decided to keep a 4-4-2, albeit a narrow one composed exclusively of central midfielder. Aware of England's incapacity to spread the ball wide and fast, he knew that his wing-backs could contain England's wide midfielders whilst providing support to a midfield which should control the ball. In that sense he was spot on.
As for his choice of players, the smooth Prandelli (great hair, great suit, typical Italian) decided to keep with Balotelli and Cassano up front, even though Di Natale certainly could have found himself unlucky to be on the bench.
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| Prandelli: great tactician, great hair, great suit. Simply Italian. What else? |
THE GAME
You know the deal by now. No need for minute-by-minute recap, but here are our observations and conclusions:
* Boy what a player Andrea Pirlo is! The great man gave an absolute footballing lesson to every midfielder present on the pitch. Yes, I even include his Italian team-mates. Omnipresent, composed, and using a great variety of passing, Pirlo was the architect of the Italy side. Every move flowed through him, and his influence was such that he even reduced Daniele De Rossi to a simple waterboy role for the whole game. How can we tell Pirlo was class? The man is 33, never ran all game, never had more than 3 touches on the ball and only lost the ball in a dangerous area once. Not only that, but he didn't shirk his defensive duties and showed huge cojones by doing a beautiful Panenka in the soot-out. Top draw.
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| Pirlo surrounded by three England players. Still has the ball. The only player with his head up. A majestic performance |
* England would do well to watch tapes of Pirlo. When presented with no good options, Andrea was happy to pass the ball backwards and keep play flowing. Gerrard and Parker, whilst admirable in their effort, too often showed the naivety of Premier League footballers by always trying to go forward. In a game where England never had the ball after the first 25 minutes, this was a cardinal sin.
* Ashley young was incredibly poor, continuing a trend started at the end of his club season and throughout Euro 2012. Whilst he helped Cole defensively, the Man U winger always lost the ball. And this is no exaggeration when I use the word 'always'. Unbelievably poor. It was a surprise that Milner was taken off rather than Young, for Milner had shown more composure on the ball and his effort was never to be put in doubt.
* Chelsea's win in the Champions' League has given hope to many teams, but it has also lessened the overall quality of play and entertainment. England never looked to trouble Italy past the half-hour mark and were more than happy to go to penalties. And even though justice was done with Italy's win, it would have been one more injustice to account for, with Portugal's performance against Germany in the group stages being another example. Whilst defensive and tactical discipline are great attributes, these shouldn't overshadow the need for ambition and actual football.
* Is it just me or did Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole once again perform to the highest level? Unappreciated by their own fans for different reasons, their displays were spotless. Not sure whether Micah Richards would have had the discipline Johnson displayed throughout the tournament. Just saying.
* It's a bit of a nostalgic sidenote, but the sight of goalkeepers sincerely embracing each other before and during a penalty shootout always brings warmth to my heart. I remember David Seaman and Andoni Zubizarreta doing the same thing at Euro 96, and Hart and Buffon displayed the same class yesterday. Great sportsmanship.
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| Zubizarreta and Seaman at Euro 96: another example of great sportsmanship within the goalkeeping fraternity |
* Talking of sportsmanship, Hart's decision to try and put off the Italian penalty-takers with his antics didn't particularly pay off, and showed the difference in class between him and one of the greatest of all time. Buffon simply unnerved already frail English penalty takers by simply being Buffon. His aura was enough. Hart isn't there yet, he's still young, but he didn't make himself any friends there. Nocerino in particular wasn't happy, and he gave Hart the stare of the tournament after his successful penalty. Great stuff.
* Call me harsh, but shouldn't we have expected such a dire performance from Rooney? The man had only played one game in a month, against Ukraine, and he hadn't really set the world alight. Not as fit as he could be, Wazza also didn't show as much heart as others. Clearly charged with taking care of Pirlo, he instead let the Juve man take charge of the game and instead tasked Welbeck with doing all the tracking. Hart's screams at Rooney, which could be heard on the telly, were emblematic of his lack of interest and desire in doing this particular job for the team. Again, might be a tad harsh, but the only times Pirlo was pressured into giving the ball away were when Welbeck decided to sacrifice himself.
* Again, the Premier League-centric vision of pundits made me laugh. Oh yeah, bring on Andy Carroll, the Italians have never seen anyone like him. Except they have, and a better version at that, with a man called Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Not only that, but it showed the classic Premier League vision that tactics aren't particularly important. Tactical acumen is bread and butter for Italian players, and it was telling that Andrea Pirlo actually won a few headers against him. The Italians also decided to lay off Carroll and let him win headers, knowing that they would always win the second ball. Carroll had no impact except in his own box. Again, a classic example of Premier League tactics translated to the international stage. Wake up, it doesn't work. And that's because you can't qualify that as a tactic.
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| The 'tactic' of scaring the Italians with Carroll didn't work. Pirlo and Barzagli didn't even have to jump. |
* I've given Scott Parker a lot of stick, denying the fact that he's of international class, but he was immense yesterday in his midfield destroyer role. Of course it helped that there was no pace and width in Italy's midfield, which played right into Parker's hands, but it nevertheless was a great performance full of heart by the Tottenham midfielder. His reading of the game was impeccable, and he left Euro 2012 on a high after several sub-standard international performances.
* Don't get me wrong, Terry had a great performance, but he once again showed the tendency to love the last-ditch tackle a bit too much. His tackle on Balotelli in the first half was top-draw, but it was also due to Terry's failure to play the offside trap properly. Of course, Glen Johnson was automatically blamed by the commentators, and you expected harsh criticism to ensue. Instead, when they realised it had been Terry's fault, the commentators focused on his great tackle rather than his positional failures. Double standards. Terry later tried and failed to catch Balotelli offside and was lucky to get away with it unscathed. Whilst his overall performance was solid, the Chelsea defender has a tendency to shirk his positional duties in favour of the 'inspirational' last-ditch tackle. What is Terry famous for in an England shirt? His 'heroic' dive in front of the Slovenian shot at World Cup 2010, which overshadowed the fact he had failed to mark him properly. There is no one better than Terry at putting his body on the line, but he shouldn't get there that often if he simply marked his man properly.
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| Terry's fish dive and last-ditch tackles: aesthetically pleasing, poor footballing skill. |
* Whilst Pirlo (best player at World Cup 2006) continued his excellence, De Rossi's poor play led me to wonder where his great reputation had come from. Having never seen him set the world alight for Roma in the Champions' League, yesterday was perhaps proof that he isn't as good as advertised. Of course I don't watch many Serie A games, and managers (better judges than me) swear by him, but it's still a puzzling fact.
* Somewhere, in front of his telly, Roberto Mancini was smiling. We finally saw Balotelli's 'potential' explode yesterday. Committed, full of running, he gave Terry and Lescott, excellent themselves, a tough task. Whilst he is still infuriating and loves a good shot from outrageous angles, he was superb, particularly in the first half. His diminished influence was more due to Italy's failure to feed him properly and Cassano's tendency to try the outrageous pass than to any failure on Super Mario's part. If he plays like that every week in the Prem next year, then maybe we'll finally understand what the big fuss about Balotelli is.
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| Roberto's face in front of his telly yesterday. We finally understood your faith in Super Mario. |
* Speaking of Super Mario, name me one person who didn't enjoy his walk to take his pen in the shootout. A cheeky smile, great confidence and spotless finishing. Brilliant.
* Serie A is still viewed as a dour league obsessed with defending. We should however acknowledge that the Italians still produce good players. Bonucci and Balzaretti are relative unknowns yet were impressive yesterday. The pony-tailed left-back (there has to be one in every Italian team. Some sort of quota has to be filled) was full of running and defended well. Bonucci looked very assured, never panicked, and was better than his counter-part Barzagli. Marchisio and Montolivo were also very good on the ball.
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| Balzaretti: lively. Not simply filling the pony-tail quota for Italy. |
* Once again, the Premier League isn't the definitive judge of a player's ability, far from it. Diamanti, a 'West Ham reject' as Mowbray called him, came on and performed admirably. Not only that, but he slotted in the winning penalty with rather more aplomb that Man U and Chelsea players Young and Cole. Just saying.
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| Diamanti: West Ham reject. Never saw Bowyer, Carrick or Dyer doing that. |
PLAYER RATINGS
ENGLAND
HART: A commanding presence, unafraid to tell his players to show more heart (hear his scream at Rooney. Impressive). Was more than ably protected by his defenders. Did flap at a shot by De Rossi but pulled off a few good saves. An entertaining duel against Balotelli. England's goalie for years to come. 7/10
JOHNSON: Superb. Covered effectively, putting Montolivo off when presented with a good chance. Marshalled the right-hand side with authority, ably helped by Milner, less so by Walcott. Again displayed international class. 8/10
TERRY: Suspect positioning in the first half led to a few chances, but grew in stature and was outstanding by the end of the game. 8/10
LESCOTT: Authoritative, positionally spot on. Was given a good challenge by a fiery Balotelli, and it was telling that Super Mario preferred trying his chance against Terry than against his club team-mate. Very impressive. 9/10
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| Lescott: so commanding he doesn't even feel Balotelli's boot up his arse. |
COLE: A classic Cole game, which means a minimum of 7/10. Nullified Abate in the first half, but found it tougher in the second half when Abate perked up and Maggio came on. Still a very good defender. A poor penalty, but at least he had the stones to go up and take it. 7/10
MILNER: Protected Johnson very well and even provided a few dangerous balls into the box in the first half, when the game was still 50-50. It was a surprise to see him taken off. Didn't do anything wrong. 7/10
Replaced by Walcott, who was clearly brought on to add some pace and scare the Italians on the counter. Theo found it tough, and his technique really isn't that good, as evidenced when he took ages to bring the ball under control when trying to break. Didn't help out Johnson as well as Milner. 5/10
GERRARD: Another inspirational performance by the captain, whose effort cannot be doubted. Ran his socks off but never controlled the midfield, instead chasing Pirlo's shadow all night. Also lost the ball a great number of times, but he wasn't helped by his attacking players giving him no options whatsoever. Still tended to rush forward a bit too much when playing it simply would have given England a desperately-needed breather, 6/10
PARKER: Full of heart. Kept his passing simple and was particularly impressive in the first half. Was completely dominated in the second half, as was the whole of England's midfield. Was replaced as his legs died, testament to his effort. Finally a performance of international caliber. 7/10
Replaced by Henderson, who came on to bring fresh legs to a tiring central midfield. Not sure whether he actually touched the ball but covered well. 5/10
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| Parker helping out Lescott. |
YOUNG: Where to start? Young should have been the only outlet to provide support to Rooney and Welbeck. Instead the Man United winger settled for running straight at Italian defenders and lost the ball countless times, never helping his team breathe. A poor performance which epitomised his contribution at Euro 2012. A very poor penalty, and nerves got to him as he completely altered his penalty-taking technique, opting for power rather than finesse. A poor performance. 2/10
ROONEY: Clearly rusty, Wazza was also uninterested in helping Welbeck and his midfield take care of Pirlo. Was anonymous throughout the game, and chose the flashy over the efficient with his bicycle attempt in the last minute. A poor Euro 2012 for Rooney, and question marks should be raised regarding his ability at the highest level of international football.
WELBECK: Full of heart and running. Tried to play simple one-touch football which helped him fashion a decent chance in the first half. Was the only one who tried to stifle Pirlo, and did so effectively a few times. An encouraging performance from a player who grew in stature during Euro 2012. 6/10
Replaced by Carroll, whose only contribution was helping his team defend set-pieces. Tried to scare the Italians with his size and aerial ability. Didn't work. 5/10
ITALY
BUFFON: World-class, both in skill and attitude. Uncharacteristically flapped at a cross in the first half, spotless otherwise. His aura in the penalty shootout clearly played his part, and didn't lower his standards by engaging in Hart's antics. 7/10
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| World Class both in skill and attitude |
ABATE: A quiet first-half followed by a second half full of running. Took on Cole a few times and provided teasing crosses. Was a handful and provided good width. Left slightly injured. 7/10
Replaced by Maggio. If Cole thought he was going to have breather with Abate going off, then he was wrong. The Napoli full-back hit the ground running and continued Abate's work very much in the same vein. Unlucky to be booked. 7/10
BARZAGLI: Efficient, but was the most tested of the two centre-backs, and looked a bit shaky at times due to Welbeck's movement. 6/10
BONUCCI: Impressive performance. Handled Rooney with ease and played the ball out of defence comfortably. Inspired confidence even though he didn't have that much to do. 8/10
BALZARETTI: Very impressive performance from the pony-tailed left-back from Palermo. Was a constant threat in the first half and provided great width. A bit shaky defensively but wasn't asked to do too much going backwards. His crossing could perhaps have been better but his energy and enthusiasm going forward were impressive. 8/10
MARCHISIO: Good passing and neat controls ensured he helped Italy maintain control of midfield. Was overshadowed by Pirlo's majestic performance and Montolivo's enthusiastic passing game, but still played an important role. 7/10
PIRLO: Superb. The metronome of the team. England knew they had to stifle him yet they couldn't. Italy's game flowed through him and he was superb in possession. 10/10
DE ROSSI: Not particularly effective in possession, and guilty of a few play-acting antics. Didn't live up to his reputation, and missed an absolute sitter. The worst performer in the Italian team. 4/10
Replaced by Nocerino, who was an impressive addition to Italy's midfield. Created himself a good chance with a glorious touch, and looked dangerous. Took his penalty with aplomb, and his reaction to hart's antics was a joy to behold. 7/10
MONTOLIVO: Dangerous whenever he had possession, he was given the freedom to move between England's two lines of four, and found space in tight angles. Nearly provided a glorious ball for Cassano. Full of running and invention, he helped keep Italy ticking. Very impressive stuff, even though he missed a good opportunity. 8/10
CASSANO: The AC Milan striker ran his socks off and created havoc with his dribbling. But his intentions were often followed by poor passing, and he wasn't so decisive in the end. 5/10
Replaced by Diamanti, the 'West Ham reject' (scoff). The man from Bologna was enthusiastic and creative, and moved between the lines effectively. Has a glorious left foot and wasn't afraid to use it, even though the end product wasn't always there. A good penalty to win it for Italy. 6/10
BALOTELLI: Finally, this was the version we'd hoped and perhaps hadn't really been expecting. Ran tirelessly and displayed a superb touch. Was dangerous throughout whenever he was given a good ball, and beat the offside trap a few times. His movement was good and he played it simple whenever he didn't simply shoot from 30 yards. He was clearly fired up for his confrontation with Lescott and Hart and relished it. A superb penalty. This was maybe Balotelli finally living up to the hype. 8/10
Tuesday 19 June 2012
Zlatan's legacy: the unrecognised maestro
There is no doubt that Sweden have been one of the major disappointments at Euro 2012. Whilst I remember brushing aside their chances when seeing their starting XI, there was still hope that they would produce some decent football. After all, players like Kallstrom, Larsson, Elm and Toivonen had a glowing reputation in European football. What's more, older players like Mellberg (great beard!) had bags of experience at the highest level and could draw on that to perhaps cause an upset in a quite open Group D. Not only that, but Sweden could call on a unique world class striker in the shape of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. As Zlatan goes, so Sweden goes.
I feel safe in assuming that I'm not the only person constantly puzzled by Ibra throughout his career. I remember the hype surrounding him when he was at Ajax, especially after THAT goal when he decided to dribble past the entire opposing team before basically walking the ball into the net. Granted, this was in the Eredivisie where Kezman was also scoring goals for fun (Remember Mateja Kezman? 105 goals in 120 games for PSV. The man retired after a last stint with South China FC). So could we seriously believe Ibra was going to be the next big thing? After all Zlatan wasn't particularly prolific at Ajax, scoring a goal every other game. Good by any striker's standard, but even Dirk Kuyt scored 29 in a season for Feyenoord and had a better scoring record. Yes, we're talking about Dirk Kuyt, the man who went from lone striker to defensive right-midfielder.
Not only that, but Ibrahimovic displayed an arrogance that overshadowed his (at the time) meagre achievements on the football pitch. When you watched Zlatan play you could tell here was a man who thought of himself as one of the best in the world even though he still had to prove himself. This wasn't the sort of 'swagger' which Henry or Van Nistelrooy had. This was an undoubted self-belief in his own abilities which bordered on the ridiculous. Ibra still had to prove himself. And for that reason we didn't believe he was up there with the best. And most importantly, we didn't particularly like him.
(It's obvious the man hasn't always helped himself with some of his statements. Take this one from his autobiography: 'Then Guardiola started his philosopher thing. I was barely listening. Why should I? It was advanced bullshit about blood, sweat and tears, that kind of thing.')
Was it also the fact that he moved to the best Barcelona side we had ever seen, and barely seemed to enjoy himself? Was it the fact that he arrived and considered himself Messi's equal? Was it the fact he replaced the likeable yet eccentric Eto'o, himself not immune to delusions of grandeur? Pick any reason you want. The main thing was that people still didn't like him and labelled Zlatan a bust after he left Barca after one season.
It is quite clear that Ibrahimovic's image has played a huge part in the way we view him. And when this realisation hit me, I started to appreciate his game and career immensely, to the point where a sudden understanding of his valour and ability dawned on me.
Arrogant? The man has not only represented Sweden, he has also represented a certain type of population within Sweden itself. Born to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother, Zlatan came to symbolise a uniting figure within Sweden's multi-cultural identity. He has always embraced that role, repeatedly giving back to his local community, such as when he funded 'Zlatan court' back in his hometown of Malmo.
A flop? Here was a player who had won a championship for every club he had played for. Up until this 2011/2012 season, Zlatan had won every championship he'd played in since 2001. There are no such things as coincidence when stats like these pop up.
A flop at Barcelona? The man actively participated in Barca's capture of the La Liga title, scoring 16 goals in 29 league games. He was also an integral part of their Champions' League run, scoring goals against Arsenal, including a beauty of a lob in the 2-2 at the Emirates. Again, it was no coincidence that Barcelona failed to beat Inter once Guardiola, whose own ego has been protected through great PR, lost his faith in Ibrahimovic and dropped him from the starting XI.
The main criticism for Ibrahimovic was that he failed on the biggest stage. He had this unfortunate stat of not scoring in the knock-out rounds of the Champions' League until he moved to Barcelona. But his Juventus and Inter sides were particularly mediocre at the European level. And, because he failed to score against British sides, surely the best teams in Europe according to football 'pundits' (sense the irony), Zlatan was deemed a bust at the highest level and not worthy of the world-class label. This was the case even though I saw Zlatan dismember Arsenal at the San Siro in the Champions' League this season.
People could not have been more wrong.
Zlatan was and still is part of the footballing elite of Europe. His goals for his different clubs have given him an unusually high number of honours and winners' medals. And his performances for Sweden should have helped cement his status as one of the world's best.
Euro 2004 in my mind sticks to my mind. One of the enduring visions I have from this dour tournament was the sight of Ibrahimovic lifting himself higher than Buffon (at the time the world's best goalkeeper) to acrobatically back-heel the ball into the top corner. This was footballing skill at its highest degree of difficulty, combining grace, power, athleticism and subtle technical ability in one instant to produce one of the best goals ever scored at international level.
And as I watched Sweden pitifully lose to an inspired Shevchenko-led Ukraine in the first game, I was reminded of that day in Portugal in 2004. And as I watched Olof Mellberg launch a long ball with 5 minutes left, I finally understood Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the weight he carried on his shoulders.
It finally struck me that Zlatan was carrying this team on his back. And whilst results didn't go his or Sweden's way, I thought about how other players have had their careers considered and how unlucky Zlatan was. After all, he has won major honours in three different leagues and carried Sweden by himself to a Euro quarter-final (lost on pens to Holland) and to World Cups. Had, say, Wayne Rooney been in his position, would we have qualified him as world class? After all, the burly Liverpudlian has never showed his worth at a major tournament since Euro 2004, even playing an active role in England's defeat against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup and severely undermining his team by getting suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012. Would Wayne Rooney have brought Sweden to these tournaments if he had been the one fed long balls by Mellberg, or if he had been forced to partner Johan Elmander or Markus Rosenberg?
Please understand me; this is not an attempt to denigrate Wayne Rooney, even though I deeply dislike him. This is more an attempt to finally understand and value Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his achievements and his career as a whole.
And whilst Zlatan didn't have the best of Euros, struck down by a niggling injury, he was still the classiest player against Ukraine, his touches creating danger and space every time. Had Elmander equalised in the last few minutes against Ukraine, perhaps Zlatan would have been credited with one of the assists of the tournament (seriously, look at that outside of the foot flick again. Enjoy).
Dragged down by Sweden's mediocrity, the tae kwon do practising Swede will once again leave a major international tournament with a damaged reputation. Once again this is an unfair reflection on one of the most talented players in Europe.
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| Mellberg: Superb beard, too old for Sweden and Zlatan to have an impact |
I feel safe in assuming that I'm not the only person constantly puzzled by Ibra throughout his career. I remember the hype surrounding him when he was at Ajax, especially after THAT goal when he decided to dribble past the entire opposing team before basically walking the ball into the net. Granted, this was in the Eredivisie where Kezman was also scoring goals for fun (Remember Mateja Kezman? 105 goals in 120 games for PSV. The man retired after a last stint with South China FC). So could we seriously believe Ibra was going to be the next big thing? After all Zlatan wasn't particularly prolific at Ajax, scoring a goal every other game. Good by any striker's standard, but even Dirk Kuyt scored 29 in a season for Feyenoord and had a better scoring record. Yes, we're talking about Dirk Kuyt, the man who went from lone striker to defensive right-midfielder.
Not only that, but Ibrahimovic displayed an arrogance that overshadowed his (at the time) meagre achievements on the football pitch. When you watched Zlatan play you could tell here was a man who thought of himself as one of the best in the world even though he still had to prove himself. This wasn't the sort of 'swagger' which Henry or Van Nistelrooy had. This was an undoubted self-belief in his own abilities which bordered on the ridiculous. Ibra still had to prove himself. And for that reason we didn't believe he was up there with the best. And most importantly, we didn't particularly like him.
(It's obvious the man hasn't always helped himself with some of his statements. Take this one from his autobiography: 'Then Guardiola started his philosopher thing. I was barely listening. Why should I? It was advanced bullshit about blood, sweat and tears, that kind of thing.')
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| Zlatan and Pep. Apparently one of them is full of shit. A relationship that damaged Ibra's reputation. |
Was it also the fact that he moved to the best Barcelona side we had ever seen, and barely seemed to enjoy himself? Was it the fact that he arrived and considered himself Messi's equal? Was it the fact he replaced the likeable yet eccentric Eto'o, himself not immune to delusions of grandeur? Pick any reason you want. The main thing was that people still didn't like him and labelled Zlatan a bust after he left Barca after one season.
It is quite clear that Ibrahimovic's image has played a huge part in the way we view him. And when this realisation hit me, I started to appreciate his game and career immensely, to the point where a sudden understanding of his valour and ability dawned on me.
Arrogant? The man has not only represented Sweden, he has also represented a certain type of population within Sweden itself. Born to a Bosnian father and a Croatian mother, Zlatan came to symbolise a uniting figure within Sweden's multi-cultural identity. He has always embraced that role, repeatedly giving back to his local community, such as when he funded 'Zlatan court' back in his hometown of Malmo.
A flop? Here was a player who had won a championship for every club he had played for. Up until this 2011/2012 season, Zlatan had won every championship he'd played in since 2001. There are no such things as coincidence when stats like these pop up.
A flop at Barcelona? The man actively participated in Barca's capture of the La Liga title, scoring 16 goals in 29 league games. He was also an integral part of their Champions' League run, scoring goals against Arsenal, including a beauty of a lob in the 2-2 at the Emirates. Again, it was no coincidence that Barcelona failed to beat Inter once Guardiola, whose own ego has been protected through great PR, lost his faith in Ibrahimovic and dropped him from the starting XI.
The main criticism for Ibrahimovic was that he failed on the biggest stage. He had this unfortunate stat of not scoring in the knock-out rounds of the Champions' League until he moved to Barcelona. But his Juventus and Inter sides were particularly mediocre at the European level. And, because he failed to score against British sides, surely the best teams in Europe according to football 'pundits' (sense the irony), Zlatan was deemed a bust at the highest level and not worthy of the world-class label. This was the case even though I saw Zlatan dismember Arsenal at the San Siro in the Champions' League this season.
People could not have been more wrong.
Zlatan was and still is part of the footballing elite of Europe. His goals for his different clubs have given him an unusually high number of honours and winners' medals. And his performances for Sweden should have helped cement his status as one of the world's best.
Euro 2004 in my mind sticks to my mind. One of the enduring visions I have from this dour tournament was the sight of Ibrahimovic lifting himself higher than Buffon (at the time the world's best goalkeeper) to acrobatically back-heel the ball into the top corner. This was footballing skill at its highest degree of difficulty, combining grace, power, athleticism and subtle technical ability in one instant to produce one of the best goals ever scored at international level.
 |
| Genius. |
And as I watched Sweden pitifully lose to an inspired Shevchenko-led Ukraine in the first game, I was reminded of that day in Portugal in 2004. And as I watched Olof Mellberg launch a long ball with 5 minutes left, I finally understood Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the weight he carried on his shoulders.
It finally struck me that Zlatan was carrying this team on his back. And whilst results didn't go his or Sweden's way, I thought about how other players have had their careers considered and how unlucky Zlatan was. After all, he has won major honours in three different leagues and carried Sweden by himself to a Euro quarter-final (lost on pens to Holland) and to World Cups. Had, say, Wayne Rooney been in his position, would we have qualified him as world class? After all, the burly Liverpudlian has never showed his worth at a major tournament since Euro 2004, even playing an active role in England's defeat against Portugal at the 2006 World Cup and severely undermining his team by getting suspended for the first two games of Euro 2012. Would Wayne Rooney have brought Sweden to these tournaments if he had been the one fed long balls by Mellberg, or if he had been forced to partner Johan Elmander or Markus Rosenberg?
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| Elmander: Zlatan's partner for Sweden. Of course he's missing the target. |
Please understand me; this is not an attempt to denigrate Wayne Rooney, even though I deeply dislike him. This is more an attempt to finally understand and value Zlatan Ibrahimovic for his achievements and his career as a whole.
And whilst Zlatan didn't have the best of Euros, struck down by a niggling injury, he was still the classiest player against Ukraine, his touches creating danger and space every time. Had Elmander equalised in the last few minutes against Ukraine, perhaps Zlatan would have been credited with one of the assists of the tournament (seriously, look at that outside of the foot flick again. Enjoy).
Dragged down by Sweden's mediocrity, the tae kwon do practising Swede will once again leave a major international tournament with a damaged reputation. Once again this is an unfair reflection on one of the most talented players in Europe.
A ridiculous beanie and no biscotto: Recap of Group C
As a Fulham fan, I often get the same reaction when I mention that fact to someone: 'Fulham? Nice team! They're my second favourite team after [insert douch-ish or obscure team].'
I reckon Ireland fans know what I mean. After the heartbreak of the Thierry Henry 'Hand of va-va-voom', many were quick to declare their 'secondary' allegiance to the (other) Green Army. So it was a pleasure for many to see Ireland make it to Euro 2012 after defeating Estonia in the play-offs.
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| The moment that made us root for Ireland. notice Henry's marker. Yes it's Paul McShane. A sign of things to come. |
Giovanni Trapattoni had somehow managed to take a team of distinctly average yet likeable players to the finals of a major international tournament. Showing a commitment to Irish success which shamed Capello and his 'efforts' for England, the wise old Trap was probably looking for a last swansong, and Irish fans and neutrals alike were happy to go for the ride.
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| Trapattoni: passionate, competent and with fire in his belly. |
And then the draw for Euro 2012 was made, and we should have known right there that Ireland was doomed. Croatia, Italy and the mighty Spain were standing in the way of the Irish. The last two World Cup winners and a perennial contender. This was to be no easy task for the Irish, and so it proved to be.
The draw for Group C was also the perfect opportunity for me to rekindle the love/hate relationship I'd always had with Slaven Bilic, the maverick manager of unheralded yet supremely talented Croatia. I hadn't really known Bilic as a player, but his legacy in my eyes had been to get Laurent Blanc sent off in the semi-final of World Cup 98 through outrageous play-acting. This act, combined with what I considered to be an over-hyped view of his achievements, had ensured the I was unsure as to how I felt about Slaven Bilic. He was a polarising figure, and I was secretly looking forward to seeing him at the Euros. I was just undecided as to whether I wanted him to fail or succeed.
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| The obstacle to my man-crush: a diving Bilic against France in 98. Not the most likeable guy then. |
As for Italy and Spain, the feeling was one of deja-vu. Spain hasn't changed in the last 4 years, and for good reason too. Italy, on the other hand, were in turmoil due to the match-fixing scandal which forced their dignified manager Cesare Prandelli into dropping Domenico Criscito, his starting left-back implicated in illegal bets.
A ball-playing Spain squad and an Italian team hit by scandal. We'd all been there before.
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| Domenico Criscito: predicted left-back for Italy. Soon to be in prison. Not seen at Euro 2012. Classic Italy. |
Now let's recap each team's accomplishments, with their star players (good and/or bad) and the best quotes or moments.
IRELAND
The worst team of the tournament with Sweden. Even though their group was outrageously difficult, Ireland showed no courage in any of the games they played. Completely outclassed by their opponents, the Irish seemed happy just to be there and to listen to the incredible support their fans gave them.
Based on a supposedly solid defence, Ireland were meant to counter quickly and work hard. Their effort cannot be doubted, yet the lack of quality, particularly in midfield, was shocking. Over-hyped due to the fact that most of their players play in the Premier League, albeit for bottom-of-the table teams (and Stoke), the Irish never had control of the ball for consecutive minutes during their matches. It was an embarrassing performance, and the most interesting thing to come out of their camp was the spat between Trapattoni and Roy Keane. A team in turmoil which will likely go through many lean years as no decent young players apart from McClean are coming through.
Speaking of McClean, many people were calling for his inclusion in the starting XI. Whilst Trap's confidence in Simon Cox was baffling, the winger from Sunderland would have had no impact whatsoever. He would have needed the ball, and Ireland never came close to controlling play in any of their games.
There shouldn't also be any doubting of Trapattoni's abilities. The man did a great job getting this poor team to the Euros, and luck played a huge part in it. Facing Estonia in the play-offs was a godsend which hid many of their limitations. Trap was let down by his players, who weren't particularly any good in the first place.
Hansen and Pardew's assessment of their last game against Italy told the whole story: "Ireland went down bravely". Except they lost 2-0 and didn't create a single goal-scoring chance. It was an appropriate indictment of their time in Poland.
Hansen and Pardew's assessment of their last game against Italy told the whole story: "Ireland went down bravely". Except they lost 2-0 and didn't create a single goal-scoring chance. It was an appropriate indictment of their time in Poland.
Best Quote: "He has been a great player and had great success. I don't know if he achieved the same results as coach or manager." Trapattoni saying out loud what everybody thinks about Roy Keane and his 'punditry'.
Best Moment: Keith Andrews acting like a maniac after being sent off against Italy.
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| Andrews making a point to the ref. Don't bother Keith. We don't listen to average footballers. |
Star Player: Damien Duff. The Fulham man worked incredibly hard and helped John O'Shea immensely defensively. The fact that this made him Ireland's best player is staggering, especially considering he had no attacking input whatsoever. A special mention to Sean St Ledger who showed far more commitment than many of his 'established' Premier League team-mates.
Worst player: The rest of the team. We'll give Shay Given the benefit of the doubt as he wasn't helped by his defenders and was coming back from injury. But otherwise, it's hard to single out any particularly awful player when the whole team played so poorly and was out of their depth. However, we would like to congratulate John O'Shea on wasting years of experience at Champions' League level and deciding not to turn up and be the leader of the defense. Kudos, JOS.
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| Good luck trying to find the worst player. No, it's not a compliment. |
Rating: F
CROATIA
Talk about not deserving to go out. Croatia were by far the most entertaining team of the group, putting Ireland to the sword, dominating Italy and matching Spain for the majority of their game.
Built on a talented group of technically comfortable players, Croatia were not afraid to take the game to their opponents. Led by an improbably attired yet tactically astute Bilic, the Croatians combined grace in midfield with pace and power up front. Had Rakitic scored that header against Spain, Croatia could have potentially put up the upset of the Euros, even if it shouldn't have been so surprising considering the calibre of their players. Even Kranjcar cannot find a place in the starting XI, and there were contributions all across the board from either under-rated Premier League players like Corluka or players like Srna, who demonstrates every two or four years that he is one of the best wide players in Europe.
Croatia would have walked past any team in Group A, and England and France will be happy that they weren't drawn against them in Group D, such was the quality of Modric and Co. It's just a shame they were in the other group of death, yet they bowed out in style and with pride. Seeing Modric swap his shirt with a respectful Iniesta symbolised the quality of football they produced.
Not only did they play with great gusto and heart, but their performance helped me define my relationship with Bilic. It's a man-crush. And man what a great beanie hat!
Best Quote: "It is a big problem all around Europe and all around the world, and on behalf of the entire nation, not even as a football manager, I want to say that I am really disappointed as a Croatian, a parent, and a sportsman, a person who comes from a modern, open-minded and tolerant state. Everone is welcome in our country, I don't like these kinds of supporters and nor do my players. I don't want them to come into the stadium." Slaven Bilic's reaction to racist chants heard from Croatian fans.
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| Slaven Bilic: tactically aware, fashion guru. A proponent of the suit-beanie hat combo that even Boyz II Men were wary of pulling off. |
Best Quote: "It is a big problem all around Europe and all around the world, and on behalf of the entire nation, not even as a football manager, I want to say that I am really disappointed as a Croatian, a parent, and a sportsman, a person who comes from a modern, open-minded and tolerant state. Everone is welcome in our country, I don't like these kinds of supporters and nor do my players. I don't want them to come into the stadium." Slaven Bilic's reaction to racist chants heard from Croatian fans.
Best Moment: Luka Modric dancing past the Spanish defence, biding his time and playing a deligthful outside of the foot pass to a rampaging Ivan Rakitic. Gorgeous.
Star Player: Luka Modric. Apart from a difficult first half against Italy, the little Spur was outstanding throughout, dictating play from deep or playing higher up the pitch. A special mention to Ivan Strinic, a relative unknown who produced consistently good performances from left-back.
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| Modric: Superb. |
Worst player: Who the hell is Gordon Schildenfeld? The burly centre-back seemed a step slow next to the 'rapid' Corluka. Schildenfeld wasn't particularly poor yet he didn't exude confidence either.
Rating: A
ITALY
Italy came into this tournament in a state of turmoil. Great credit must be given to Cesare Prandelli, seemingly the only honest Italian in that group, for deciding to send home his starting left-back Domenico Criscito due to his arrest by carabinieri for his involvement in the match-fixing scandal rocking Itlian football yet again (Yawn).
Playing a functional 3-5-2 due to the absence of many players, and positioning De Rossi as a new centre-back, Prandelli and Italy rode their luck in the second half against Croatia yet were convincing against Spain and Ireland. For once we saw an ambitious Italy rather than a simply efficient one, and the sight of Marchisio and Pirlo playing together in the centre of midfield attests to that desire to play expansive football. Shame Thiago Motta is there though.
And with Cassano and Balotelli playing up front together we now possess one of the most entertaining teams on the continent.
Italy finally playing expansively: a joy to behold. A dark horse for the rest of the tournament.
Italy came into this tournament in a state of turmoil. Great credit must be given to Cesare Prandelli, seemingly the only honest Italian in that group, for deciding to send home his starting left-back Domenico Criscito due to his arrest by carabinieri for his involvement in the match-fixing scandal rocking Itlian football yet again (Yawn).
Playing a functional 3-5-2 due to the absence of many players, and positioning De Rossi as a new centre-back, Prandelli and Italy rode their luck in the second half against Croatia yet were convincing against Spain and Ireland. For once we saw an ambitious Italy rather than a simply efficient one, and the sight of Marchisio and Pirlo playing together in the centre of midfield attests to that desire to play expansive football. Shame Thiago Motta is there though.
And with Cassano and Balotelli playing up front together we now possess one of the most entertaining teams on the continent.
Italy finally playing expansively: a joy to behold. A dark horse for the rest of the tournament.
Best Quote: "We don't think there will be a 'biscotto' this time. Spain are world champions, they have too much class to do any deals." The Italian team pissed off at the suggestion of a 'biscotto' (nickname for unedr-hand deal) between Spain and Croatia that would have seen both these teams go through. Italians victims of under-hand deals. Isn't half of their team used to it anyway? Why the indignation?
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| How is a biscotto an appropriate synonym for under-hand Maffia-style dealings? We don't get it either. |
Best Moment: Leonardo Bonucci shutting up Balotelli after the striker scored a glorious goal against Ireland and felt vindicated in his 'style' of play.
 |
| Grazie Leonardo! |
Star Player: Andrea Pirlo. The metronome of this Italian team. Capped off a couple of fine performances with a superb free-kick against Croatia; Despite looking 45, Pirlo managed to boss play against Spain. Not a mean feat when you're playing in a 3-man midfield and one of your partners is Thiago Motta. A great player.
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| Pirlo: the metronome of the team. even though he doesn't actually run that much |
Worst Player: Mario Balotelli. Lazy, petulant. A striker who doesn't make any runs. A great goal, but it won't hide his abject performances. Possesses outstanding entertainment value though. The Charlie Sheen of itnernational football.
Rating: B
SPAIN
Boring, boring Spain. This is what many 'pundits' would have you believe. Probably not as good as their 2010 version, Spain nevertheless dispatched a sorry Ireland by teaching them an absolutely frightening footballing lesson, and controlled their game against Croatia. The best team of this group, and yet they are somehow flying under the radar.
The talk of 'we shouldn't be so worried if we end up meeting them in the quarters' by Lineker and co smacked of idiocy. They had just slated a Spain team which qualified top of the second hardest group of Euro 2012 by only conceding twice and scoring six. Disregard them at your peril. Spain are still incredibly good.
(On a sidenote, could we please stop being bewildered by Del Bosque's decision to play without Torres a few times. The lack of a traditional Number 9 works for Spain, and it'd be great if commentators and pundits woke up to that. The game against Croatia was a perfect example of that. So please stop being so backwards. Football has evolved, and let us reiterate that it works for Spain!)
Oh yeah, and they still have Mata, Llorente, Cazorla, Fabregas, Pedro, Navas and Javi martinez to come off the bench. Just saying.
Boring, boring Spain. This is what many 'pundits' would have you believe. Probably not as good as their 2010 version, Spain nevertheless dispatched a sorry Ireland by teaching them an absolutely frightening footballing lesson, and controlled their game against Croatia. The best team of this group, and yet they are somehow flying under the radar.
The talk of 'we shouldn't be so worried if we end up meeting them in the quarters' by Lineker and co smacked of idiocy. They had just slated a Spain team which qualified top of the second hardest group of Euro 2012 by only conceding twice and scoring six. Disregard them at your peril. Spain are still incredibly good.
(On a sidenote, could we please stop being bewildered by Del Bosque's decision to play without Torres a few times. The lack of a traditional Number 9 works for Spain, and it'd be great if commentators and pundits woke up to that. The game against Croatia was a perfect example of that. So please stop being so backwards. Football has evolved, and let us reiterate that it works for Spain!)
Oh yeah, and they still have Mata, Llorente, Cazorla, Fabregas, Pedro, Navas and Javi martinez to come off the bench. Just saying.
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| Not good enough to start. Think about that for a sec. |
Best Quote: "I've decided to play a 1-0-10 with Reina in centre midfield." Del Bosque decides to try something new as his players get bored playing 'traditional' football (imaginary quote).
Best Moment: The goal against Croatia. An exquisite chip by Fabregas, followed by a perfect touch and pass by Iniesta into the path of Navas who decides to emphatically smash it into the top corner from 2 yards out.
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| Navas's finish: absolutely unnecessarily beautiful |
Star Player: Andres Iniesta. Hard to pick one out, but as Iniesta goes, so does Spain go. Their main man, even though he plays on the wing.
Worst Player: Gerard Pique/Sergio Busquets/Alvaro Arbeloa: hard to pick one, but these three players have not been particularly impressive. Busquets slows play down, whilst Arbeloa and Pique haven't looked at their best defensively.
Rating: B. Spain top the group, smash the record for passes in one game, and play incredible possession football and yet we still give them a B. Just goes to show what we've come to expect from these footballers.
ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT
We harp on about the quality of the punditry at Euro 2012. Whilst there is no point in even mentioning ITV's coverage (hated by everyone, can't believe they still insist on Adrian Chiles and Clive Tyldesley), BBC was hot and cold.
Mark Bright was on top form. Trying to tell us for 90 minutes that a certain Mandzuko was playing up front for Croatia was a good start, and showed a superb disregard for the basics of phonics. But our personal favourite was his particularly astute comment regarding Del Bosque's decision to take off Torres for Fabregas, a gamble which (obviously) ultimately paid off. Baffled by the substitution of a classic Number 9 who had done nothing whatsoever and clearly wasn't in synch with his team, Bright told us: "It looks like Del Bosque wants to reinvent football by playing a central midfield player up front!".
Ever heard of Barcelona, Mark?
Mick McCarthy, on the other hand, was a delight. Clearly uninterested in the beauty of the game, Big Mick (can we call him that now?) spent the game having a go at lazy Italian players (i.e. Balotelli) and incompetent Irish players (i.e. Ireland). His commentary on Balotelli's goal was absolutely glorious.
ANOTHER GREAT MOMENT
We harp on about the quality of the punditry at Euro 2012. Whilst there is no point in even mentioning ITV's coverage (hated by everyone, can't believe they still insist on Adrian Chiles and Clive Tyldesley), BBC was hot and cold.
Mark Bright was on top form. Trying to tell us for 90 minutes that a certain Mandzuko was playing up front for Croatia was a good start, and showed a superb disregard for the basics of phonics. But our personal favourite was his particularly astute comment regarding Del Bosque's decision to take off Torres for Fabregas, a gamble which (obviously) ultimately paid off. Baffled by the substitution of a classic Number 9 who had done nothing whatsoever and clearly wasn't in synch with his team, Bright told us: "It looks like Del Bosque wants to reinvent football by playing a central midfield player up front!".
Ever heard of Barcelona, Mark?
Mick McCarthy, on the other hand, was a delight. Clearly uninterested in the beauty of the game, Big Mick (can we call him that now?) spent the game having a go at lazy Italian players (i.e. Balotelli) and incompetent Irish players (i.e. Ireland). His commentary on Balotelli's goal was absolutely glorious.
TEAM OF GROUP C
Pletikosa
Srna Bonucci Ramos Strinic
Pirlo Xabi Alonso
Silva Modric Iniesta
Mandzukic
Sunday 17 June 2012
England vs. Sweden Recap:
Odds are that if you’ve ever seen an England match, you’ll
have had a pretty big feeling of déjà vu on Friday evening. Each of those
typical emotions: hope, surprise, resignation, and incandescent rage, they all surfaced
at some point, with the odd result that England actually won.
Let’s start with surprise and hope. Andy Carroll scoring a
bullet header from 10 yards shouldn’t be too surprising really. After all, it’s
what he was bought to do at Liverpool, what he succeeded in doing a lot at
Newcastle, and actually, pretty much what he was doing towards the end of this
season going into the tournament. The ball from Gerrard was sublime and Carroll’s
header every bit as good, vindicating Roy’s decision to start him with Welbeck
to exploit the obvious flaws in the Swedish defence, and Carroll probably
(just) outperformed his lookalike on the opposite team.
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| Beautiful, aren't they? |
Resignation came in the form of our own massive flaw: we
simply have no idea what to do when we’re winning. Surprising really, when you
consider that we have Ashley Cole and John Terry in the back four - whilst they
are two of the most morally reprehensible people to walk the planet, with their
experience, they should be counted on to know what to do to close out a game.
Instead we go into headless chicken mode, trying to play an offside trap with
split centre backs, refusing to play a single 5 yard pass, and abandoning
anybody in the team in possession of the ball whilst 3 opposition players
surround them. It’s a wonder we don’t concede more to be honest.
The incandescent rage could be aimed at any number of
players, but watching Olof Mellberg score the tamest of headers to put Sweden
2-1 up with nobody anywhere near him made stomachs turn. Terry, presumably, was
looking after Ibrahimovic, but Joleon Lescott had no such excuse. After Alou
Diarra’s header in the France game, that now makes two very simple set plays
where we have looked totally at sea.
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| Don't expect Walcott to play well again for at least another 6 months |
Cue Plan B with Theo Walcott. If you believe the tabloids,
Roy Hodgson is a genius for sending Walcott on when we were losing. Theo’s
match statistics (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 key passes out of 5, with a 100% pass
completion rate) would support this, but sending on a speedy attacker when you’re
losing is hardly rocket science. Much as we love Roy, this is just what any England
manager would have done, although we have to say, telling Theo to shoot down
the middle of the goal from 25 yards was a wonderful premonition. Walcott’s
shot shouldn’t have troubled Isaksson in the slightest, but the Swede decided
instead to do his best Matrix impression, and England drew level. A shade over
ten minutes later, Walcott made a trademark burst to the byline, cutting it
back nicely for Welbeck to backheel into the net à la Kanu (there’s definitely a
resemblance there as well…)
To cut a long-winded ramble short, here are the ratings:
Hart: 7/10 - Didn’t do much wrong to be honest, Larsson’s
cross for the 2nd Swedish goal probably curled too late for him to
come and claim it, but he will be disappointed nonetheless. Also produced a
wonderful save from Källstrom late on.
Johnson: 4/10 - Had a bit of a shocker after half time.
Played Mellberg onside for the first and should have probably cleared it off
the line as well before giving away the free kick for the second. A long range
shot into row Z pretty much summed up his night.
Terry: 6/10 - Barked a lot, but was humiliated in a foot race
with Ibrahimovic toward the end of the first period. Will be disappointed with
how badly England lost their defensive shape at the start of the second half.
Unlucky not to equalise with a great header however.
Lescott: 5/10 - As previously mentioned, was at fault for
Mellberg’s header, and shares equal responsibility with Terry for the lack of
shape in the second half.
Cole: 5/10 - Looked strangely shaky in defence and will feel
he could have contributed more in attack.
Parker: 6/10 - A 25-yarder looked destined for the net but
was denied by a great save from Isaksson. Otherwise, broke up play well,
although doubts still remain about how much he offers going forward.
Gerrard: 8/10 - An all-action performance, although he will
be disappointed not to have scored at the death. His cross for Carroll’s goal
was simply perfect and surging runs caused the Swedes problems all night long.
Man of the match.
Milner: 5/10 - Still struggles to get a foothold in this
team, but much of the criticism has been over the top given that he has to
protect Glen. The fact remains that he is not a winger, let alone one of international
class.
Young: 4/10 - Utterly anonymous. Need we say more?
Carroll: 7/10 - Defended from the front and his header to
put England in front was reminiscent of the traditional English number 9 he was
supposed to replace. Will need to learn from the silly challenge for the
Swedish free-kick though.
Welbeck: 8/10 - Continues to mature game-by-game and his
movement off the ball is excellent, occupying defenders and holding the ball up
like a player 5 years older. His improvised finish for the winner was
spectacular and well-deserved.
Subs:
Walcott: 9/10 - Can’t deny that he changed the game,
although it would be interesting to know exactly where he was planning to put
that shot. Great burst and a surprisingly good ball for Welbeck’s goal as well.
Oxlade-Chamberlain - No time to make an impact
Thursday 14 June 2012
Spain, Germany and packing the midfield
In recent years, it has been seen as 'European' to drop the
second striker to midfielder, as if naming your formation as 4-2-3-1
automatically makes you a more sophisticated team. This led to a period where
we saw a number of dour, disappointing games involving two packed midfields and
teams playing not to lose. So far however, Euro 2012 has surprised us all with
very open and attacking matches. So why have two of the cagiest matches
involved the two teams that most people cast as favourites, Spain and Germany?
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| Torres endured another in a long succession of painful evenings in front of the cameras |
One reason for this could be the level of respect showed to
both teams. Portugal recognised the force they were up against, playing a
defensive 4-5-1, with Veloso sitting just in front of the back four to negate
German playmaker Mesut Özil, whilst Italy manager Cesare Prandelli showed his
tactical nous by adopting a 3-5-2 formation to stifle the Spanish threat. In
the last few days, much has been said about how Roy Hodgson has got the best
out of the players available to him, but even he could learn from the way
Prandelli used his players to his advantage.
So, let’s start with Germany. One of the most attractive
teams at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, this is a team packed with quality
and pace, whilst retaining that strong core and work ethic that makes them so
difficult to beat. In reality however, their tactics are relatively
straightforward, with each player having strict roles. Boateng, Hummels and Badstuber are predominantly defensive players, with
the sole interest of winning and retaining the ball, with Khedira and Schweinsteiger constantly attacking or defending selflessly as need be, whilst Lahm (bombing from
full-back), Müller, Podolski, Özil and Gomez providing the attacking threat,
showing quick interchanges, with the three attacking midfielders probing as much
as possible to find that yard of space.
 |
| Germany's Mesut Ozil teasing Portugal's resident winker |
However, to an extent Germany have been victims of their own
success. In 2010, they played in a way that surprised many people, and soaked
up pressure before pouncing: overloading one flank, with the result that the
centre backs moved across, leaving space for the cross-field ball to
Podolski/Müller (see England’s 1-4 lesson in South Africa for examples). Now
that the world knows what they are capable of, defences sit deeper, and don’t
tend to play too recklessly. Portugal have hardly been the most expressive of
sides in recent years (a shame given the talent they have), but their dogged
approach is likely to be what the Germans are faced with. Consequently, Joachim
Löw’s team had to stay patient and carve out their openings in a fashion more
synonymous with the tournament holders, Spain, before Gomez finally made their
pressure count.
This brings us neatly onto the favourites, who suffered a
huge blow pre-tournament with the loss of David Villa. The tiki-taka style is
now well-renowned with the successes of this team and Barcelona, and there is
no doubt that it can be great to watch, but it is very hard to pull off without
a focal point. Del Bosque’s decision not to field a recognised striker was
therefore odd to say the least. Sure, Barcelona play a false nine… but then
Barcelona have Messi. There are many good things to be said of Cesc Fabregas,
but neither he nor David Silva are strikers and defences will know that they can sit back and watch play unfold in front of them.
The well-noted problem with Spain’s performance was a lack
of two things: a striker, and width. The passing is all well and good, but as
long as you can keep it in front of you, it’s not particularly dangerous. The
Spanish looked so much better with Torres on the pitch - sure, he’s not firing
by any means, but he got in the positions they needed and gave Spain’s 5 or 6
playmakers someone to pass to.
 |
| The man Spain really need... |
And so we reach the best team, tactically, of the tournament
so far. Italy did exactly what they had to do, and could certainly consider
themselves unlucky not to have been 2-0 up before Torres’ late chances. The
decision to play 3 centre backs worked well, with the Italians soaking up the
pressure, whilst Marchisio and Thiago Motta stifled the play in midfield. The
man with the metronome, Andrea Pirlo, did what he always does, finding the
right pass, and he was helped by actually having two outlets in Cassano and
Balotelli, who tested their Spanish counterparts with their pace and movement.
Finally, we also saw the wingbacks keeping the Spanish full-backs Alba and
Arbeloa occupied, ensuring that there was no way for the Spanish to get the
width they needed. Everyone had their role and knew exactly what they were
doing. Sure, it wasn’t necessarily pretty, but they adapted to counter their
opposition, and bar one magical pass from Silva, Spain had no answer. Does
anyone see the Italians adopting 4-2-3-1 any time soon?
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