Beckenbauer? Beckenbauer!
Part I - Equipo
Part II - Partido
Those two commercials have actually been two of the major highlights of ESPN 2's occasionally lackluster World Cup coverage. On the whole, things aren't that bad, but if I have to sit through many more matches called by Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa, I may have to take drastic, undesirable action. Great acquisition on O'Brien, ESPN/ABC. Really choice. Fuckers. The David-Messing pairing runs a close second on the badness scale. If it wasn't for the occasional match handled by Adrian Healy and Tommy Smyth, I'd probably just watch with the sound off.
All complaints aside, the first round of group play has offered plenty of exciting moments. Here's my top five.
5) Furia Roja's Statement Game - On Wednesday, Spain silenced all doubts about its mindset coming into group play. A traditional underachiever in early games, the Spaniards exploded in a blast of fiery offense and cunning defense, slapping around Ukraine in a 4-0 drubbing. An added bonus of this game: with their defeat, the Ukranian squad replaced the United States as the current tournament cellar dweller.
4) Germany's Wild Ride - Germany's Wednesday night game against Poland had it all: grudges fueled by events both on and off the field, pre-game hooligan clashes, and some of the most exciting near-miss offense that the competition has seen thus far. During one attempted socring drive, the Germans were beaten by the corssbar not once, but twice. As time expired, the Poles, coming off of the Day 1 shocker against Ecuador, thought they had escaped Dortmund with a draw, but it was not to be. In the third minute of stoppage time, German sub Oliver Neuville slipped one past Artu Borac, ending the game and Poland's dreams of a second round appearance.
3) Battle For The Desert - So far, Wednesday has been my favorite day as far as overall action is concerened, and it's not hard to see why. Wednesday's thriller between Germany and Poland was only the second most impressive ending of the day. The first came during the second match, a game that matched the powerful (and highly paid) Saudis against Tunisia. As the last African country to start group play, Tunisia was the continent's last chance for a first-game victory. Though the former French colony led for most of the game, a late breakaway by Sami al-Jaber in the 84th minute gave the Saudis the lead and the game... or so it seemed. In the 3rd minute of stoppage, Tunisian Radhi Jaidi headed in a brilliant equalizing goal, stealing the win from Saudi Arabia and earning Africa its first point of group play.
2) Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - Monday, I only cared about one match: the USA's opener against the Czech Republic. Having spent the weekend partying with Mike Hannemann (Homer Glen, IL's own master of debauchery), I knew I'd need a good night's sleep in order to catch the game at my freshest. So, Sunday night, I set my alarm for 10:30 and hit the sack. In the morning, I woke up, ate a hearty breakfast, and settled in for what I thought would be an inspiring victory. After I stationed myself on Mike's couch, I called my friend Randy to see what was up. This game was the first thing he mentioned. Japan, after going up 1-0 in the first half, spent most of the game locking down the Socceroos defensively. The Aussies, who had never scored a goal in their entire World Cup history (1974's squad lost to East and West Germany and tied Chile 0-0), looked poised to continue their not-so-winning ways. However, once Tim Cahill broke the curse thanks to a well-timed blunder by Japan's keeper, the Aussies were ready to shine. In the end, the Australians scored not one, or two, but three goals, all of which came after the 80th minute. They now find themselves the centers of attention in a Group F that includes perennial favorite Brazil and former Cinderella Croatia. Not bad for the land down under. Not bad at all.
1) The Soca Warriors! - Teams like Trinadad and Tobago are tough to read. On the one hand, they're easy to doubt: this squad represents the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup, and is set as a 750-1 longshot to win it all. However, on the other hand, their natural grit, determination, and happy-to-be-here attitude renders them a likeable (and dangerous) underdog. No one knows this better than Sweden, who felt the brunt of the Soca Warriors pluckiness in their 0-0 draw on Saturday. While both teams played hard, Trinidad and Tobago manage to win by not losing, earning a point thanks to the Herculean talent of their goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. At time, Hislop (who wasn't even slated to start) played like a man possessed, blocking assault on his teams goal by a Swedish team that grew progressively more desperate as the afternoon wore on. TnT face England on Thursday, a game that will likely end their hopes of advancing. However, no matter what the outcome, for the fans of Trinidad and Tobago, this World Cup is already one worthy of remembrance.
I'll be popping up periodically to offer more thoughts on the World Cup as it happens. If anyone else is as into this as I am, may I recommend a companion: The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup. Designed as a companion to this year's tournament, the book features literate, witty, and often thought-provoking musings about soccer and its place in the global community in the form of short essays about each of the tournament's nations. Pieces range from straight-out satire (Dave Eggers' examination of why the USA disregards soccer) to fan accounts (Ben Rice's wry examination of Australia's unfortunate status as an Oceanian team) to inspirational narratives (Courtney Angela Brkic's moving look at how Croatia's surprise success in the 1998 Cup helped foster the war-torn country's sense of post-independence cultral identity), and all offer a stirring testament to what the Brazilians call "the Beautiful Game". This one should be available wherever you are; if my local bookstore had it (they did), then yours will, too. If going outside isn't your game, then you can also find an online merchant here.
And now, some World Cup music.
Jim Noir - Eanie Meany. Remember earlier when I talked about how much I love Adidas' "José+10" campaign? Well, this song is part of the reason why I feel so fondly. Heard during the match in the second commercial, this bouncy track recalls the best moments of the now-defunct Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Noir's even-handed coolness chills everything out, while left guitars and a laconic bassline makes everyone want to forget soccer and lie in a sunny field somewhere. It may also induce frolicking.
BONUS: New Order - World In Motion. This is the sound of a) England's official theme from the 1990 World Cup in Italy, b) New Order's only #1 single, c) footballer John Barnes' rap debut, or d) all of the above. You have five minutes. No peeking.
If you need a visual aid, here's the video:
Part II - Partido
Those two commercials have actually been two of the major highlights of ESPN 2's occasionally lackluster World Cup coverage. On the whole, things aren't that bad, but if I have to sit through many more matches called by Dave O'Brien and Marcelo Balboa, I may have to take drastic, undesirable action. Great acquisition on O'Brien, ESPN/ABC. Really choice. Fuckers. The David-Messing pairing runs a close second on the badness scale. If it wasn't for the occasional match handled by Adrian Healy and Tommy Smyth, I'd probably just watch with the sound off.
All complaints aside, the first round of group play has offered plenty of exciting moments. Here's my top five.
5) Furia Roja's Statement Game - On Wednesday, Spain silenced all doubts about its mindset coming into group play. A traditional underachiever in early games, the Spaniards exploded in a blast of fiery offense and cunning defense, slapping around Ukraine in a 4-0 drubbing. An added bonus of this game: with their defeat, the Ukranian squad replaced the United States as the current tournament cellar dweller.
4) Germany's Wild Ride - Germany's Wednesday night game against Poland had it all: grudges fueled by events both on and off the field, pre-game hooligan clashes, and some of the most exciting near-miss offense that the competition has seen thus far. During one attempted socring drive, the Germans were beaten by the corssbar not once, but twice. As time expired, the Poles, coming off of the Day 1 shocker against Ecuador, thought they had escaped Dortmund with a draw, but it was not to be. In the third minute of stoppage time, German sub Oliver Neuville slipped one past Artu Borac, ending the game and Poland's dreams of a second round appearance.
3) Battle For The Desert - So far, Wednesday has been my favorite day as far as overall action is concerened, and it's not hard to see why. Wednesday's thriller between Germany and Poland was only the second most impressive ending of the day. The first came during the second match, a game that matched the powerful (and highly paid) Saudis against Tunisia. As the last African country to start group play, Tunisia was the continent's last chance for a first-game victory. Though the former French colony led for most of the game, a late breakaway by Sami al-Jaber in the 84th minute gave the Saudis the lead and the game... or so it seemed. In the 3rd minute of stoppage, Tunisian Radhi Jaidi headed in a brilliant equalizing goal, stealing the win from Saudi Arabia and earning Africa its first point of group play.
2) Aussie, Aussie, Aussie - Monday, I only cared about one match: the USA's opener against the Czech Republic. Having spent the weekend partying with Mike Hannemann (Homer Glen, IL's own master of debauchery), I knew I'd need a good night's sleep in order to catch the game at my freshest. So, Sunday night, I set my alarm for 10:30 and hit the sack. In the morning, I woke up, ate a hearty breakfast, and settled in for what I thought would be an inspiring victory. After I stationed myself on Mike's couch, I called my friend Randy to see what was up. This game was the first thing he mentioned. Japan, after going up 1-0 in the first half, spent most of the game locking down the Socceroos defensively. The Aussies, who had never scored a goal in their entire World Cup history (1974's squad lost to East and West Germany and tied Chile 0-0), looked poised to continue their not-so-winning ways. However, once Tim Cahill broke the curse thanks to a well-timed blunder by Japan's keeper, the Aussies were ready to shine. In the end, the Australians scored not one, or two, but three goals, all of which came after the 80th minute. They now find themselves the centers of attention in a Group F that includes perennial favorite Brazil and former Cinderella Croatia. Not bad for the land down under. Not bad at all.
1) The Soca Warriors! - Teams like Trinadad and Tobago are tough to read. On the one hand, they're easy to doubt: this squad represents the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup, and is set as a 750-1 longshot to win it all. However, on the other hand, their natural grit, determination, and happy-to-be-here attitude renders them a likeable (and dangerous) underdog. No one knows this better than Sweden, who felt the brunt of the Soca Warriors pluckiness in their 0-0 draw on Saturday. While both teams played hard, Trinidad and Tobago manage to win by not losing, earning a point thanks to the Herculean talent of their goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. At time, Hislop (who wasn't even slated to start) played like a man possessed, blocking assault on his teams goal by a Swedish team that grew progressively more desperate as the afternoon wore on. TnT face England on Thursday, a game that will likely end their hopes of advancing. However, no matter what the outcome, for the fans of Trinidad and Tobago, this World Cup is already one worthy of remembrance.
I'll be popping up periodically to offer more thoughts on the World Cup as it happens. If anyone else is as into this as I am, may I recommend a companion: The Thinking Fan's Guide to the World Cup. Designed as a companion to this year's tournament, the book features literate, witty, and often thought-provoking musings about soccer and its place in the global community in the form of short essays about each of the tournament's nations. Pieces range from straight-out satire (Dave Eggers' examination of why the USA disregards soccer) to fan accounts (Ben Rice's wry examination of Australia's unfortunate status as an Oceanian team) to inspirational narratives (Courtney Angela Brkic's moving look at how Croatia's surprise success in the 1998 Cup helped foster the war-torn country's sense of post-independence cultral identity), and all offer a stirring testament to what the Brazilians call "the Beautiful Game". This one should be available wherever you are; if my local bookstore had it (they did), then yours will, too. If going outside isn't your game, then you can also find an online merchant here.
And now, some World Cup music.
Jim Noir - Eanie Meany. Remember earlier when I talked about how much I love Adidas' "José+10" campaign? Well, this song is part of the reason why I feel so fondly. Heard during the match in the second commercial, this bouncy track recalls the best moments of the now-defunct Welsh band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci. Noir's even-handed coolness chills everything out, while left guitars and a laconic bassline makes everyone want to forget soccer and lie in a sunny field somewhere. It may also induce frolicking.
BONUS: New Order - World In Motion. This is the sound of a) England's official theme from the 1990 World Cup in Italy, b) New Order's only #1 single, c) footballer John Barnes' rap debut, or d) all of the above. You have five minutes. No peeking.
If you need a visual aid, here's the video:
