World Cup Days 1 & 2
[Saturday 14th June 2014]
So the World Cup is finally here - the greatest show on Earth! I'm here to give daily or bi-daily (is that a word?) analysis on Brazil 2014, a slightly more advanced version of the written diary I kept of South Africa 2010. Nobody ever saw it, so I was practically talking to myself! As a disillusioned Newcastle United fan, this summer is a welcome distraction and has reinvigorated my love for football.
Sticking to chronological order might be tough, considering tonight's iconic Spain vs Holland match, but let's give it a go. Before Brazil kicked off against Croatia, ITV revealed their hand in their war with the BBC. It's a one-sided war, let's face it, because ITV seemingly go out of their way to be abysmal in almost every aspect of football coverage. Their theme song is poor, the commentary team of Tyldesley, Matterface, Townsend and Carlisle is laughable and the section with Ian Wright chatting up some German bloke on a beach was probably the most cringeworthy piece of television broadcasting I've ever seen.
Second place would go to that opening ceremony - wow! So, so bad. And the stadium's sound guy needs to get fired for the J-Lo/Pitbull/Brazilian lass catastrophe. Of the three pre-match doves released, two were found dead after flying into stadium walls. To be fair to ITV though, their on-screen scoreboard is a thing of beauty and their studio has a gorgeous view of Copacabana beach.
It's virtually identical to the BBC's studio though, which is a shame. The Beeb have nailed the theme tune, going for a Stevie Wonder classic, but went for a boring scoreboard. Back to ITV, within 20 seconds it looked like Fabio Cannavaro was regretting his decision to spend his summer with the channel. After 5 minutes of Dixon and Chiles fawning over good-looking men, Cannavaro inserted the phrase "look, it's the World Cup" into almost every answer. Maybe those protesters weren't angry at FIFA, maybe they just know their stuff.
The Brazilian national anthem was mesmerising, as the stadium continued with a second verse to deafening effect. Neymar was a constant nuisance but I felt he had poor end product. Yet, he was ultimately the hero. The Barcelona forward could have been sent off for elbowing Modric, he scuffed his first goal and hit an awful penalty, which Pletikosa let slip. The main talking point until the Spain vs Holland classic was the standard of refereeing this tournament, which has been diabolical.
As well as the Neymar elbow, the penalty was completely the wrong call and disallowing a Croatia equaliser was debatable. Lovren and coach Kovac were seething, rightfully so, but Croatia made a great account for themselves. They were determined to be party poopers and went 1-0 up thanks to Marcelo's own goal. Man of the match Oscar sealed a flattering 3-1 win with his late goal.
Mexico deservedly beat Cameroon 1-0 with Oribe Peralta's goal. Cameroon were far too defensive, considering this was their most winnable game and, despite the intentions of a shady Colombian linesman, were punished. The Colombian incorrectly ruled out two Giovani dos Santos goals for offside, adding to the previous night's outrage.
Then, it happened. Reigning world and European champions Spain were dismantled by Holland in a rematch of the 2010 Final. The Spaniards went 1-0 up through a Xabi Alonso penalty and things seemed to be going swimmingly. Diego Costa was fouled by Stefan de Vrij, although replays suggest the Spanzilian was creative in his fall. Iniesta's gorgeous defence-splitting pass saw Silva chip the ball wide, something which hindsight looks upon unfavourably. Just a minute later, Daley Blind's magnificent lofted pass was spectacularly looped over Iker Casillas by Robin van Persie's diving head. A goal of supreme beauty.
1-1 at half time, nobody expected what was to come - not only the unravelling of Iker Casillas' phenomenal career, but an 'end of an era' Dutch demolition. It was epic, iconic, outrageous and - unfortunately for a Spain fanboy like myself - incredible to watch. Goals from Arjen Robben (x2), de Vrij and van Persie completed a humilating rout, with a typical Fernando Torres howler not even giving Spain a late consolation. Taking off Xabi Alonso at 2-1 proved to be a poor decision by Del Bosque, who will surely drop Casillas for Wednesday's match against Chile. At fault for Atletico Madrid's Champions League Final goal, he takes the blame for Holland's first, third and fourth goal - perhaps the fifth! 90 minutes can undo a whole career's work, but let's hope history looks kindly upon the Real Madrid legend.
I'm still in disbelief that we saw Spain 1-5 Holland. Even typing it out is odd. But, not only was it an incredible scoreline, it was a hugely entertaining match. The best World Cup match I've seen in some time - at least four years! I know it's only day two but if we see another match like this in the next month, we've been truly blessed.
The day's final match was also entertaining, as Chile stormed into a 2-0 lead over Australia and the floodgates were meant to have opened. Yet the gutsy Aussies were better from that point on, scoring via Tim Cahill and having an equaliser controversially ruled out. Chile originally looked like they'd meet the hype and maybe they will, but there were enough defensive weaknesses to suggest they'll not be the dark horses that some want them to be. Goals for Alexis Sanchez, Jorge Valdivia and Jean Beausejour sealed the win. Spain face Chile on Wednesday in a huge match.
One of my favourite tidbits from today is a picture from Union Berlin, who have converted their pitch into a giant lounge. Thousands of Germans gather on sofas to watch World Cup football on huge screens - an amazing idea!
Saturday is the only day containing four matches, with a testing 2am match between Ivory Coast and Japan following England's opener against Italy. The pitch is worrying, with a dodgy surface painted over. But there seems to be a refreshing fearlessness around Hodgson's men and it'll be interesting to see how both teams cope with the searing Amazon heat. I can't see there being more than two goals, possibly a 1-1. I'm also intrigued to see Colombia play without Falcao, though they have enough strikers to finally get through the resilient Greeks.
Enjoy!
So the World Cup is finally here - the greatest show on Earth! I'm here to give daily or bi-daily (is that a word?) analysis on Brazil 2014, a slightly more advanced version of the written diary I kept of South Africa 2010. Nobody ever saw it, so I was practically talking to myself! As a disillusioned Newcastle United fan, this summer is a welcome distraction and has reinvigorated my love for football.
Sticking to chronological order might be tough, considering tonight's iconic Spain vs Holland match, but let's give it a go. Before Brazil kicked off against Croatia, ITV revealed their hand in their war with the BBC. It's a one-sided war, let's face it, because ITV seemingly go out of their way to be abysmal in almost every aspect of football coverage. Their theme song is poor, the commentary team of Tyldesley, Matterface, Townsend and Carlisle is laughable and the section with Ian Wright chatting up some German bloke on a beach was probably the most cringeworthy piece of television broadcasting I've ever seen.
Second place would go to that opening ceremony - wow! So, so bad. And the stadium's sound guy needs to get fired for the J-Lo/Pitbull/Brazilian lass catastrophe. Of the three pre-match doves released, two were found dead after flying into stadium walls. To be fair to ITV though, their on-screen scoreboard is a thing of beauty and their studio has a gorgeous view of Copacabana beach.
It's virtually identical to the BBC's studio though, which is a shame. The Beeb have nailed the theme tune, going for a Stevie Wonder classic, but went for a boring scoreboard. Back to ITV, within 20 seconds it looked like Fabio Cannavaro was regretting his decision to spend his summer with the channel. After 5 minutes of Dixon and Chiles fawning over good-looking men, Cannavaro inserted the phrase "look, it's the World Cup" into almost every answer. Maybe those protesters weren't angry at FIFA, maybe they just know their stuff.
The Brazilian national anthem was mesmerising, as the stadium continued with a second verse to deafening effect. Neymar was a constant nuisance but I felt he had poor end product. Yet, he was ultimately the hero. The Barcelona forward could have been sent off for elbowing Modric, he scuffed his first goal and hit an awful penalty, which Pletikosa let slip. The main talking point until the Spain vs Holland classic was the standard of refereeing this tournament, which has been diabolical.
As well as the Neymar elbow, the penalty was completely the wrong call and disallowing a Croatia equaliser was debatable. Lovren and coach Kovac were seething, rightfully so, but Croatia made a great account for themselves. They were determined to be party poopers and went 1-0 up thanks to Marcelo's own goal. Man of the match Oscar sealed a flattering 3-1 win with his late goal.
Mexico deservedly beat Cameroon 1-0 with Oribe Peralta's goal. Cameroon were far too defensive, considering this was their most winnable game and, despite the intentions of a shady Colombian linesman, were punished. The Colombian incorrectly ruled out two Giovani dos Santos goals for offside, adding to the previous night's outrage.
Then, it happened. Reigning world and European champions Spain were dismantled by Holland in a rematch of the 2010 Final. The Spaniards went 1-0 up through a Xabi Alonso penalty and things seemed to be going swimmingly. Diego Costa was fouled by Stefan de Vrij, although replays suggest the Spanzilian was creative in his fall. Iniesta's gorgeous defence-splitting pass saw Silva chip the ball wide, something which hindsight looks upon unfavourably. Just a minute later, Daley Blind's magnificent lofted pass was spectacularly looped over Iker Casillas by Robin van Persie's diving head. A goal of supreme beauty.
1-1 at half time, nobody expected what was to come - not only the unravelling of Iker Casillas' phenomenal career, but an 'end of an era' Dutch demolition. It was epic, iconic, outrageous and - unfortunately for a Spain fanboy like myself - incredible to watch. Goals from Arjen Robben (x2), de Vrij and van Persie completed a humilating rout, with a typical Fernando Torres howler not even giving Spain a late consolation. Taking off Xabi Alonso at 2-1 proved to be a poor decision by Del Bosque, who will surely drop Casillas for Wednesday's match against Chile. At fault for Atletico Madrid's Champions League Final goal, he takes the blame for Holland's first, third and fourth goal - perhaps the fifth! 90 minutes can undo a whole career's work, but let's hope history looks kindly upon the Real Madrid legend.
I'm still in disbelief that we saw Spain 1-5 Holland. Even typing it out is odd. But, not only was it an incredible scoreline, it was a hugely entertaining match. The best World Cup match I've seen in some time - at least four years! I know it's only day two but if we see another match like this in the next month, we've been truly blessed.
The day's final match was also entertaining, as Chile stormed into a 2-0 lead over Australia and the floodgates were meant to have opened. Yet the gutsy Aussies were better from that point on, scoring via Tim Cahill and having an equaliser controversially ruled out. Chile originally looked like they'd meet the hype and maybe they will, but there were enough defensive weaknesses to suggest they'll not be the dark horses that some want them to be. Goals for Alexis Sanchez, Jorge Valdivia and Jean Beausejour sealed the win. Spain face Chile on Wednesday in a huge match.
One of my favourite tidbits from today is a picture from Union Berlin, who have converted their pitch into a giant lounge. Thousands of Germans gather on sofas to watch World Cup football on huge screens - an amazing idea!
Saturday is the only day containing four matches, with a testing 2am match between Ivory Coast and Japan following England's opener against Italy. The pitch is worrying, with a dodgy surface painted over. But there seems to be a refreshing fearlessness around Hodgson's men and it'll be interesting to see how both teams cope with the searing Amazon heat. I can't see there being more than two goals, possibly a 1-1. I'm also intrigued to see Colombia play without Falcao, though they have enough strikers to finally get through the resilient Greeks.
Enjoy!
