Iberian players take the stage
05 July 2006, 11:27
When France played Portugal in the semifinals of Euro 2000, there was a bench-clearing melee. Portugal had started strongly and looked the better team at first. Nuno Gomes opened the scoring. After the half, though, the French came roaring back. Thierry Henry equalized and sent the match into overtime. Twenty-seven minutes into the extra period, the referee awarded a penalty to France for a questionable handball. The Portuguese erupted in anger. The game stopped for several minutes. Then Zidane scored. France went on to win the tournament.
They meet today in an even bigger semifinal. If you ask my cousin E.J., Portugal deserves to lose. He is an England fan, you see, and he can’t abide all that Iberian complaining and rolling around. He prefers red-faced balls-kicking Brits to the thespians with the slick hair and maroon shirts.
It’s true that Portugal has a lot of characters. Luis Figo may be called a ‘matinee idol’ for his dramatic dives, not for his looks. Deco seems to laugh and cry in succession. Cristiano Ronaldo, with his superfluous dribbling flair and his baby face, has a tragic air about him. My friend Steve calls him Paris.
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Day 13: Elephant swansong
21 June 2006, 23:37
About an hour into the match between Argentina and the Netherlands, the “lazy magician” Juan-Roman Riquelme received the ball just inside the penalty area on the left side of the Holland goal. He was quickly surrounded by three Dutch defenders. He shifted his weight one way then the other. He spun around twice, using the bottom of his shoe to hold the ball in place, and to gently drag it behind him. The defenders spun around him, all flailing limbs. He had nowhere to go and no one to help him, but somehow he slipped free, now strangely near the end line, and fired a shot. Numbers were against him. The shot was smothered….
Day 13 Preview: Portuguese matinee
21 June 2006, 00:39
When the World Cup schedule was announced, everyone said, mark your calendars: June 21st. The match we were anticipating, which takes place today, is the Netherlands v. Argentina. The excitement has waned a little because both teams have already booked their places into the second round. The only thing at stake is placement and pride. The first will barely matter. I’m sure neither team wants to face Portugal next, but there’s no Brazil in the near future no matter what happens. Expect them to play it safe.
That being said, this could be a preview of the final, and there is still pride. It will be interesting to see if Argentina coach Jose Pekerman gives his youngsters Tevez and Messi a bit more time on the field. The Univision commentators call Messi “the flea” because he is so small and quick. They call Tevez “the Apache” because, I guess, he looks Apache-like as he slashes up the defense.
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Day 9: Art Deco
19 June 2006, 17:51
When I went to Portugal in 2001, I discovered three things: white port, vinho verde, and Deco. I discovered them the way Vasco Da Gama discovered India (or something like that). Everybody else already knew about them, but I felt like they were mine.
On a lovely fall evening, my brother and I shared a bottle of vinho verde at a café and headed to the old Dragao stadium in Porto to see a Champions League match against Juventus. From our perch in the top bleachers, we were stunned by one of the local players. He outplayed Alessandro Del Piero and Pavel Nedved that night, and after the match (after we were shoved with a crowd through a maze of dangerous fences), we asked around in a vague imitation of Portuguese (followed by English): Who is number 10? Oh yes, Deco. He is the best.
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Day 8: As the World Cup turns
19 June 2006, 17:06
In the telenovela of Group D, Mexican captain Rafael Marquez plays the heavy. He sports a tight, black pony-tail and carefully calculated Miami-Vice stubble. He’s not opposed to getting physical, and he usually comes out on top of brutish encounters. At the same time, Marquez is suave. Though he’s a defender, he glides up the field with ease, and shoots and passes gracefully. We might be seduced by him, even though he has a dodgy past and works as a hit man on the side.
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Day 3: War and peace
12 June 2006, 16:29
In 1575 Portugal established a colony at Luanda. They had originally been looking for gold, but turned instead to the slave trade, sending thousands of Angolans to work their Brazilian plantations. We all know what happened in Brazil. They won five World Cups. Back in Angola, Portuguese exploitation lasted until 1975, when the Africans finally gained independence. They have been immersed in a civil war ever since. Portugal meanwhile is no longer a colonial power or a fascist state. They concentrate instead on fortified wine, filigree, and corks.
The two nations have met twice in soccer. Portugal dominated, winning by a total of eleven goals to one (The last game was halted due to violent play). This year, Angola qualified for its first World Cup. Their first opponent: Portugal. The Africans came out in very cool, Houston-Astros-like striped jerseys with weird black-and-white socks. The Portuguese wore their traditional burgundy. They dominated possession early. When the aging, but always smooth, Luis Figo decided to run for a few minutes, he easily eluded an Angolan defender and played the ball back to a wide-open Pauleta. Goal for Portugal after 4 minutes. Down 1-0, Angola played hard and disrupted the Portuguese attack. They had a few chances as well. Their central striker Akwa was guided by an interesting, if inefficient, principle: the only way to score was through a bicycle kick. He tried it several times and came close once. Bursting up the Angola wing was another player with peculiar ideas and a name to match: Loco. He has no hair except for a patch on his forehead. It looks something like a dreadlock mustache, but he made a menace of himself and nearly created a goal.
It wasn’t enough. Angola lost, in a mostly peaceful match, but they showed the world that they might have a future like the more famous Portuguese colony in South America. It will be interesting to see how they fare against fellow oil-producing nation, Iran.
Iran is apparently a quasi-theocratic state. The announcers on ABC were told that this was the most important thing about the Iran-Mexico match. They ignored the soccer almost entirely. At one point, they mentioned that a victory for Iran would cause external expressions of joy, “which never happens.” Apparently, Iranians do not smile. Mexico dominated possession, but the Iranian attack looked dangerous whenver they got forward. The game was knotted at 1-1 for a long time until the Mexicans got a goal on a bad defensive giveaway. It broke the back of Iran. They lost 3-1. There will be no joy in Tehran.
Group D Preview
08 June 2006, 11:04
Angola, Iran, Mexico, and Portugal. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought of those four nations at once. Angola are rank outsiders. Their resource-rich, but war-ravaged, country has a life expectancy of 38. Their team has the lowest FIFA ranking of the 32 participants. I am supporting them all the way. On Sunday they face Portugal who ruled Angola for hundreds of years. The last time they played each other, four Angolans were ejected, and the game had to be abandoned with 20 minutes left. Fasten your seatbelts.
Portugal have the oddly coiffed and languid Luis Figo. He’s no longer at his prime, but the young dribbling wizard Cristiano Ronaldo (named after Ronald Reagan) may shine. They should win the group.
Mexico scored the most goals in qualifying. Many of them came off the head of Jared Borgetti. They are still reeling from their loss to the USA in 2002 and hope to redeem themselves this time.
Iran’s best player, Ali Karimi, is often called the Maradona of Asia. I’m not sure why. He doesn’t look or play like the Argentine great, but he is very good. Iran’s got a solid nuclear program and sexism (Will women be allowed to watch the World Cup?). They also have a good team that might get through.
Speaking of dreams
06 June 2006, 10:04
Did the USA play Angola or did I imagine it?