The World Cup was treated to its final, just two games too early. For drama and intensity, the spectacle of the Netherlands stunning and bullying Brazil will be hard to outdo at this tournament.
The five-time champions are such soccer giants that there is always an earthquake-like thump when they are brought to their knees. Yet, this time, their 2-1 loss didn’t feel like a massive shock.
Kaka and his amigos mistakenly thought they could lift the heavy gold statue without showing up in South Africa with the beautiful game that made Pele and his teammates world-famous.
PHOTO: AFP
Coach Dunga gambled that merely winning would be enough to assuage the critics on the beaches and farms, in the cities and shantytowns back home who worried that Brazil’s traditions of entertaining, dancing soccer were being betrayed.
Dunga was right. Had Brazil won, the manner of it wouldn’t have mattered, but losing wasn’t part of the deal. In the end, the manner of Brazil’s play was far more important than Dunga made out. In kidding themselves that efficient, often unglamorous, percentage soccer would take them to the July 11 showpiece match, the Brazilians forgot to light up and really spark in South Africa. They were definitely good, but not Brazilian brilliant, and that was their undoing. They let Argentina claim the crown as kings of attacking, inventive soccer. As a result, Diego Maradona is looking like an increasingly good bet to win the World Cup both as a player and coach.
Dunga blamed a poor second-half against the Dutch, but that was only half the story.
In five World Cup games, Brazilian beauty came only in flashes and it wasn’t enough. Maicon’s oooh-aaah! strike in the first match against the North Koreans, squeezed between the keeper and his post from the tightest of angles, was, in fact, a mirage, because it misleadingly suggested that Brazil would be both flashy and victorious. With hindsight, the 55 minutes it took Brazil to break open the Korean defense should have set alarm bells ringing.
Luis Fabiano’s illegally handled second goal took some of the shine off Brazil’s 3-1 defeat of Ivory Coast. A goalless draw with Portugal was not only boring, but again showed that Brazil couldn’t call up goals at will. Only half an hour into the round of 16 elimination game against Chile did Brazil finally turn it on.
Never mind, we told ourselves, this is Brazil. They’ll find a higher gear when they need it.
Well, they needed it against the Netherlands, but instead, they lost their heads. Turns out that Brazilians get hot, bothered and lose their focus when niggled by the likes of Mark van Bommel, who was a real bully in the Dutch midfield, and Arjen Robben, who did not score, but made a real pest of himself with his light-footed runs.
A turning point was Felipe Melo’s stupid hot-headed stamp on Robben’s thigh. It got him sent off with 20 minutes left, scuttling Brazil’s chances of recovering from its 2-1 goal deficit.
Also vital was Maarten Stekelenburg’s astounding save of Kaka’s shot on 31 minutes. Had it gone in, it would have been curtains for the Netherlands, giving Brazil a 2-0 lead.
The lead-up — Robinho wriggling past two defenders, passing to Luis Fabiano, his subsequent backheel to Kaka — was the most delightful piece of Brazilian play at this World Cup. Had Brazil done that more often, Brazil would still be here, not making excuses.
“I just called home and my son was crying,” Felipe Melo said after the match. “I have to apologize.”
However, the fault was collective not individual, and it didn’t help Brazil that Kaka was not at his best in South Africa. Like other stars of world soccer — think Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney or Samuel Eto’o — he failed to live up to his billing.
Like his team.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS