A Road Map

photo by thejourney1972 (South America "addicted")	via PhotoRee

Scott sounds off:

Beating Spain 3-0 is one thing. But doing it by completely off-balancing them for large portions of the game (including most of the opening 20 min), by harassing and pressuring high up the pitch and throughout midfield, is really something. Sure, Brazil had some luck - David Luiz' goal-saving slide (how did the ball manage to go over the bar?) and Segio Ramos' missed penalty. Not to mention a first goal that was the antithesis of Joga Bonito. But it takes a little luck to go all the way. After all, Spain was only in the final due to one missed penalty by Italy in the semi-final.

While Spain was beaten convincingly, that is not to say that they were dominated, despite the cacophonous Selecao fans. La Roja was able to take the reins from time to time and create opportunities. They were just less able to do so than normal, due to Brazil's gameplan, and it made all the difference. I'm not sure many teams can pull off what Brazil did but they certainly laid out a roadmap for victory over the defending world champions. And with all due respect to the Bossman, with similar effort and fan support, I think they can do it again in 2014, Confederations Cup Curse notwithstanding.

While I think it is still too early to be sure of Neymar's immediate impact at Barca (fitting into the system, Messi, etc.) there is no denying he has the chops to be the real deal. His goal in the Final was textbook field-awareness, skill and power - shuffling back onside, deft first touch and powerful left-footed strike to the only place that would have beaten Iker Casillas from that angle. I just might have to watch more La Liga next year.

The Reign in Spain: Spain 4 - Italy 0

photo by pasotraspaso	via PhotoRee

Columnist Scott -- a veritable dynasty of the written word himself -- passes judgment on a Spain team that may go down as the world's best ever:

Vicente del Bosque has been alternately extolled and vilified by the media throughout the Euro  tournament which just concluded, but Spain's victory over Italy in the 2012 Final can't be interpreted as anything other than vindication for La Roja Furia's coach.  Attacking from the start despite that nontraditional formation that lacked a formal striker, the Spanish instantly placed the Azzuri on their heels and needed fewer than 15 minutes to go ahead.  Cesc Fabregas could have put it only one place for David Silva, which he skillfully did for the diminutive Manchester City playmaker to head home at full stride.

Silva's Manchester City teammate, Mario Balotelli, however, had his Super Mario cape confiscated in Kiev. A frustrating day for the mohawked phenom saw him limited mostly to pot shots from distance. Spain's back line, and Sergio Ramos in particular, deserve credit for personifying Mario's kryptonite as they consistently withstood and reciprocated the Italian's muscling style of play.

But the victory was not all Spain all the time. When Xavi put Jordi Alba thru to double the lead, Italy responded valiantly for 10 - 15 minutes as they sought to bring the game back into reach.   But then Spain re-asserted their dominance once more and mostly controlled from then on, showing frequent flairs of the type of football their critics had recently insisted they were lacking.

When Italy did threaten, Iker Casillas was more than up to the task, parrying away a couple hard shots and swatting away a pair of dangerous corners.

****

Coaching questions must be asked of Cesare Prandelli who inserted Giorgio Chiellini into the lineup despite the Juventus defender struggling with fitness and missing earlier games. While he may be the best Italy has, that is only true when he's 100 percent fit. Not surprisingly, Prandelli was made to pay when forced to substitute the fullback in the 21st minute as the injured hamstring tweaked again.

Tactics and coaching do matter. To wit, when Prandelli then subbed again in the 56th minute, it was his third and final instead of his second. That proved to be a fatal flaw when Thiago Motta went down to injury after only minutes on the pitch and the brave Azzuri were forced to play the balance of the game with only 10 men.

Pulling two goals back with 11 healthy players is a monstrous feat against the reigning world champions - it's impossible with only 10.  This axiom was proven when the stretched and tiring Italians conceded twice more in the final 10 minutes.

****

The Business End: Spain 2 - France 0

photo by j.reed	via PhotoRee

If we're getting down to the business end of the Euro 2012 tournament, we must be talking about Spain:

o If anyone out there is the least bit surprised by the comfortable nature of the Spanish victory yesterday -- positively Barcalounger-ish --  you should ask yourself the following question: what in the world were the French doing in the Euro 2012 Quarterfinals anyway?  This was a team that had won one -- count it, one -- game at a major international tournament since 2006.  And that was over a Ukraine side that failed to reach the knockout round of a tournament played on its home ground.

o For all the talk about France's vaunted midfield -- featuring Malouda, M'Vila, Ribery, Cabaye among others -- they were completely asleep for Spain's first goal of the day, allowing Xabi Alonso to ghost in completely untouched for a free header.  In fact, the midfielders' view of the action was so good, so close up, that Laurent Blanc should think about charging his players a price equal to
the highest ticket for the privilege of watching Spain cut them apart.

o It may have taken Spain a while to get rolling, but they began to dominate possession about halfway through the first period, and looked in a completely different class than their Pyrenean neighbors by the interval.  Second gear is seemingly enough against almost all teams but a very select few.  And the French aren't in that group.

o The game got a tiny bit more interesting around the hour mark, as the French seemed to both 1) attack more and 2) wear down from their constant defending.  The result was a bunch of chances for the Spanish and a more exciting game to watch for the neutral fan.

Beauty or the Beast? Thoughts on England vs. France, and Euro 2012

Photo by Loren Javier on Flickr

More thoughts, as the Euros roll ever onward:

o Beauty or the Beast?  Or, in other words: What to make of the English Team's performance in their first round game against France yesterday?  Michael Ballack and Alexi Lalas got into a rather fierce debate on ESPN about how to interpret the Three Lions' effort: while Lalas thought it was just what the doctor ordered, and even pronounced it a thing of "beauty," Ballack disagreed as vehemently as can someone who has had their personality surgically removed.  For the record, I agree with the unemotional German. Is parking the bus and looking for the rare counter against the French really the best the founding nation of football has to offer....? 

o Although the 1-1 draw did neither team any harm, it also didn't do much to help their cause with the host nation still for both to play.  England fans had better hope there is more in the tank than the team showed on Monday.  England under Uncle Woy retreated into a defensive shell early and often -- pulling off the rather amazing feat of showing the French how to retreat -- and were only very reluctantly coaxed into attacking. 

o With Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlaid-Chamberlain on the pitch, England should have displayed some deadly speed and ambition in attack.  Instead, they consistently ceded possession to their rivals from across the Channel, and seemed more than happy to defend their lead and then satisifed to play for a draw once Samir Nasri drew the French level.

o Yesterday's early match was Exhibit A in why I don't love first round games.  There's too much at stake as both teams know they can't afford an early slip up.  The first round of this year's tournament has produced several uninspired games in which both sides played cagily, preferring the type of defensive postures that commonly produce nil-nil or 1-1 draw to looking for an outright win.

o Fortunatelty, that wasn't the case when Spain met Italy, a match that paired the winners of the last two World Cups.  Unsurprisingly, this game also produced the best match of the tournament's first round, and although the action ended at 1-1, the game was played with anything other than a cantenaccio mindset, and both sides should really have scored more.  The end result was just about fair.

o Spain look bored to me, as if they need a new challenge after winning the last European Championship and World Cup.  For the record, no team has ever repeated as European Champion, and although there's always a first time, I don't think 2012 will be it.  None other than Cesc Fabregas admitted that the team had never practiced the 4-6-0 that they sent out against Italy, and it looked almost as if Coach Vincente Del Bosque was daring his team to take their game to the next level.  Unfortunately for the Spanish, the Italians gave almost as good as they got.

o Without the focal point of a striker, Spain to me looked like Barcelona without Messi: all tiki and no taka.

o Why Del Bosque kept his formation intact until late in the game is a mystery to me, and why he chose to insert Fernando Torres rather than Fernando Llorente is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, inside of a riddle.  The diminutive Spanish midfield looked as if they were tilting at windmills as cross after cross flew over their heads -- exactly the kind of situation that would have been tailor made for Llorente, one of the few Spanish strikers who can be counted on to score with his head. 

Euro-fun

photo by What Makes The Pie Shops Tick?	via PhotoRee

The Euro’s are upon us, and the respective national teams in place and ready to go.  Here are Columnist Ed’s thoughts on three of the more relevant sides (to him, at least).

1.        Spain

This may be the last hurrah for Xavi, arguably the best midfielder in the history of the game.  Spain once again seems the class of Europe.  Their success will largely be a matter of how much they care about this Euro title. After winning the biggest prize world football, I’m just not sure whether the fatigued pros want it enough.

2.       England 

Not sure who’s left to play on the England team.  Frank Lampard out and Jordan Henderson in.  Eewww.  Gareth Barry also out (yawn) and replaced by Phil Jagielka.  And of course, most recently out is Gary Cahill after an outrageous push that deserved a red by Belgian forward Dries Mertens -- although it only got a yellow.  (The push was intentional and malicious, and as bad as the injury was it could have been worse.)  Oh, and Jack Wilshere never even made it to the initial team due to injury.  So where does England stand?

Actually, not so bad, I think.  England usually suffers from outrageously high expectations.  For the first time they can play the role of the underdog.  And this despite more speed than I can remember up top with Danny Welbeck, Ashley Young, Theo Walcott, and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain.  There’s also that Rooney guy coming back after a suspension.  Needless to say, these guys can break and they can score on the break.

As for the midfield, Scott Parker and Stephen Gerrard should be able to hold down the fort, although this is a weakness of this team even with Barry in the lineup.  In short, these guys are neither terrific possession guys nor terrific runners.  As much as I love Stevie G, and as much as I suspect he will do well in the Euro’s, he doesn’t seem to have the flash he did a few years ago.  And perhaps it’s his ankle injury, but Scott Parker has also looked a step too slow in the friendlies.

As for the defense, I think England will be fine with Ashley Cole, John Terry, Phil Jagielka, Martin Kelly and Glenn Johnson.  Cahill would have been nice, but this squad will be fine.

Finally, Manager Hodgson will have this team playing disciplined and tight football.  It probably won’t be easy on the eyes, but I suspect more games just like the one they played against Belgium.  For most of the game, Belgium looked the better team, but England was of course the most lethal.  You simply cannot get too aggressive with the finishers England has up top, and sometimes when you dominate possession you tend to forget their skill and push too far forward.  

Two Scoops Too Much

Photo by Joelogon on Flickr

Columnist Ed likes his Raisin Bran served with a nice big glass of prune juice:

Raisin Bran has got to be the most ill-conceived breakfast cereal known to man.  I mean, who wants hard and chewy dried up raisins sprinkled in their cereal?  I don’t want anything like that in my cereal.  Bananas – good.  Strawberries – terrific.  Dried up brown surprises?  No thanks.  I think Raisin Bran is the best proof there is that advertising works, because without that jingly commercial they used to have I don’t think anyone’s really buying the stuff.

So why am I writing about Raisin Bran and why am I so angry about it?  I’ll tell you why.  It’s because we’re in the midst of yet another painful two week international break.  With apologies to our sister site www.farlieonfracking.com, what the frack?!!  Watching these friendlies is like taking a break from the playoffs to watch a couple of pre-season games.  But because I have to, because I’m (theoretically) paid to, I will now comment on a few of the games.

A Four Course Meal: England 1 - Spain 0

Photo by BriYYZ on Flickr

Fat Frank led England out in their poppy-emblazoned Anthem Jackets (coming soon to a store near you) on Saturday at Wembley against a world champion Spanish side that featured Xavi, Iniesta, David Silva and -- on the bench -- the out-of-form Fernan-d'oh! Torres.  The home side held on for a slightly undeserved 1-nil victory, proving the critics wrong and sending the majority of the crowd home happy. 

Some thoughts after watching the game:

o It's somewhat surprising that the NFL logo at midfield was still visible almost a month after the venerable stadium hosted its American interlopers. I would have thought the FA could have found a way to make the logo disappear more effectively than just letting it fade away.... In the end, it was another free advertisement for the NFL -- as if it needs more of that.

o In the first half, England were all too happy to sit back and absorb pressure in their own end, while Spain took the opposite approach, preferring to pressure the man with the ball and give him relatively little time or space with which to make a pass. So guess which side created more turnovers and opportunities?

Portugal Toast Spain, and Reclaim Iberia

photo by das farbamt	via PhotoRee

farlieonfootie is happy to introduce our newest football correspondent, Todd.  Fresh off a weekend in Ibiza with his supermodel girlfriends, Todd recently took the time to check in with a compelling description of Portugal's 4-nil rout of arch rival Spain:

Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa / Leira, Portugal / November 17

While it may have been Spain's worst defeat since 1963, the Portuguese have been reeling  ever since Pope Alexander IV’s Line of Demarcation (codified in the Treaty of Torsedillas) divided the world between Spain and Portugal more than 500 years ago. For you conspiracy theorists, Alexander IV was himself a Spaniard.  

Oh, and more recently, the Portuguese played the blandest of matches against Spain in South Africa, and were handed a well-deserved elimination for their efforts, complete with tickets to the Algarve to ponder yet another disappointing exit from the world stage. 

On this night, though, the Portuguese avenged those set-backs with, well, a vengeance.  Four goals from four elegant passing combinations, combined with a dash of super-human wizardry from Ronaldo (called back due to an unfortunate offside position by Nani), sent Spanish players back to their villas where their supermodel girlfriends canceled bottle-room reservations at nightclubs in Barcelona and instead ordered take-out tapas.