O Fenômeno
28 June 2006, 12:30
On June 16, 1998, twenty-one-year-old Brazilian striker Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal. It was in the ninth minute of the first round match against Morocco. Rivaldo played it forward to Ronaldo, who was open at the top of the penalty area. He took the ball out of the air, striking it first time into the back of the net. It looked easy.
Day 19: The golden possum
27 June 2006, 09:14
Will Fernando Torres win the Golden Boot? If the twenty-two-year-old Spanish striker finds the back of the net today, he will keep pace with Germany’s Miroslav Klose in pursuit of the award for top goal scorer. Here at the Newsletter, Torres is officially known as “La Zarigüeya” or “The Possum.” (Thanks to all of you that entered the name-that-haircut contest.)
La Zarigüeya is also called El Niño because of his baby face. He has some peculiar adolescent traits. A tattoo on the inside of his arm reportedly says his name in JRR Tolkien’s invented language, Tenwar. After one of his goals, he slid into the corner and acted like he was wielding a bow and arrow. Perhaps the celebration, which he performed with a combination of boyish exuberance and shy embarrassment, was another Tolkien reference. Whatever the case, his goals (like the breathtaking volley against Ukraine) can seem otherworldly.
Spain faces France today. As a fake Spaniard, I’ll pull for La Zarigüeya.
Elsewhere, Brazil takes on the strong Ghanaians. The game will not feature incredible dribbler Robinho, who is injured, or Ghana’s versatile midfielder Michael Essien. Brazil still has a big carnival of tricks. Ghana still has Stephen Appiah and an excellent team.
Comments [1]
Day 18 Preview: Socceroos look to bounce the Azzurri
26 June 2006, 07:33
When I was in Naples last summer, I witnessed a lot of stereotypical behavior. I saw women being whistled at by gangs of men. I saw seas of vespas ignoring the normal laws of traffic. One afternoon, I watched some kids playing soccer in a public square. A big kid (he was built like Ronaldo) dribbled through three or four players. It was a fantastic display. Finally, a defender stuck out his leg, and chopped him down. The big kid hit the pavement and rolled around in agony holding his leg. The game stopped for a few minutes to allow him time for his personal drama, but no one seemed too concerned. He got up, and everyone resumed as if nothing had happened. Italia!
Comments [2]
Day 14: A carnival at last
23 June 2006, 16:49
My brother thinks I look like Juninho, the back-up midfielder for Brazil. I used to find this insulting. Now I’m just going to go with it. Juninho Pernambucano got a start Thursday against Japan as Brazil rested Emerson and some of its other stars. Just before halftime when Brazil was trailing 1-0, Juninho headed the ball to Ronaldo who headed it in. The Brazilians had been sleepwalking (but winning) through the better part of two and a half games. Suddenly they were awake.
Juninho, whose real name is Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Junior, takes his nickname from the word “junior” (There are many other Brazilian soccer players named Juninho) and from the province in which he was born. He is 31 years old, and this is his first and probably his last World Cup. He is a specialist in long-range shots. He scored Brazil’s second goal with a scorcher from 35 yards….
Comments [5]
Day 10: The last waltz
19 June 2006, 18:17
I had forgotten about the Korean fans. I have a South Korean supporters’ T-shirt from the last World Cup that is bright red. For me, the shirt evokes both a Coca-Cola ad and a communist party uniform. It says (in English), “Be the reds.” What does this mean?
It takes 10 to tango
17 June 2006, 21:42
I saw a minivan driving down my street yesterday, flying two Brazilian flags. Brazil’s quadrennial moment is here. Suddenly everyone you meet is Brazilian, or they know someone who is Brazilian. They love samba, and they always drink caipirinhas. It’s wonderful—the green and yellow face-paint, the abandonment of earthly cares.
But there is a dark side to this carnival. I’m not talking about politics or poverty. I’m talking about Nike. Before the final match of France ‘98, Ronaldo had all kinds of health problems. First his ankle was in rough shape. Then he started vomiting and suffering from dizzy spells. Naturally, he was left off the starting lineup, but at the last minute he was added. He played poorly. France won 3-0. Why, fans asked, did the Brazilian coach play the ailing striker? The answer: Nike.
Well, at least that was the rumor. Conspiracy theorists decided that Nike had forced him onto the pitch. They had put too much money into his bulging legs and his round head for him to sit out of the final of the biggest tournament in the world. As Brazil faces Australia on Sunday, you might want to keep this tale in mind. Nike sponsors both the Selecao of Brazil and the Socceroos of Australia, so they have a vested interest in this one. They may not be forcing players onto the field, but they are conducting some strange, stealthy advertising campaigns, like this fake myspace page. It’s supposed to be a fan site, but it contains ads for Australia’s team. In them, an old troll represents “history.” The upstart Socceroos don’t pay that old history any mind. They just do it. Ugh.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s at it again. He’s been under heavy criticism for his bloated body and his apparent inability to run. And now, Spanish sports paper La Marca reports he’s having dizzy spells that, a team doctor says, are caused by stress. Oh, history!
Whatever happens with fat Ron, the Brazilians need to play better if they want to match their South American rivals from Argentina. At one point during Argentina’s 6-0 thrashing of Serbia & Montenegro, Univision color commentator Jose Luis Chilavert claimed that Argentina was passing to the beat of a tango. He sang along, and it seemed true. I counted 24 passes that led up to Cambiasso’s goal. The end sequence: Sorin to Saviola, to Riquelme, back to Saviola, across to Cambiasso, flicked to Crespo, backheel to Cambiasso. Gol.
Brilliant.
Comments [1]
Day 4: One man's 0-0 draw is another man's 0-0 draw
13 June 2006, 09:45
It turns out that it’s harder than one thinks to watch three games a day and to carve out time for other things: a bit of writing, a phone interview, some exercise. So I have great respect for the multi-tasking Trinidad & Tobago goalkeeper Shaka Hislop. After his valiant performance in the 0-0 tie with Sweden, he churned out a few hundred words for the London Times, describing his experience. Hislop combines humility with genuine pride. He writes, “For things to go as they did, well, I think I’ll die a happy man.”
Where you find death-bed happiness, though, you also find serious blues. I got a taste of these on Day 4. First Zico’s Japan team lost to the Socceroos of Australia. The Socceroos wore yellow and green outfits that, my friend Steve McClure pointed out, made them look like a college team. They played a rough match, Australian-Rules style. Japan grabbed the first goal. They had Mohawks and good skill, so I was rooting for them. But they couldn’t score again. In the closing moments the Japanese wilted. The Socceroos pounced. Suddenly it was 3-1.
Then the USA was up. Why do I root for this team? I have mentioned in this newsletter that I had a dream about the USA in which Bobby Convey and DaMarcus Beasley played at the same time. Bruce Arena must have had the same dream because that’s how they lined up. It turned out to be a nightmare. The comically tall Jan Koller scored after four minutes, and the Czechs never looked back, winning 3-0. The Americans enjoyed a lot of possession. Except for Claudio Reyna’s strike against the post, though, they did not threaten goal. Tomas Rosicky showed them how to score and score magnificently. I couldn’t appreciate it. I pretend I don’t care much about the American team. I do.
A bit woozy from the loss, I had to live-blog the Italy-Ghana match for the Times, but their server was down, so everything I typed would disappear. I began to sweat. I couldn’t watch the game, which was apparently entertaining, and I couldn’t get the blog to work. Two hours later, Italy had won. I shut down my computer and rushed to Harlem where I had my own soccer game to play. The 4 train stopped for a “police investigation at Fulton Street.” I fidgeted in my seat and replayed the day. When I finally arrived uptown, 25 minutes late, my game was canceled.
Shaka Hislop writes, “What do we play football for? Contrary to what you might think, we play to make people happy.” Really?
Commentary [1]
Group F Preview
09 June 2006, 09:29
The Brazilian midfielder Juninho is the best player in the French league. He scores incredible goals from free kicks, dribbles through defenses, and sets up his teammates in perfect positions. But he may not play at all in the World Cup because Kaka is the best playmaker in Italy, and Ronaldinho is the best player in the world. Brazil is too good. They will play with four interchanging attackers, Kaka, Ronaldinho, and the two big, bullish goal-scorers Ronaldo and Adriano. Everyone behind them, including the legendary wingbacks Cafu and Roberto Carlos, will support the attack. They have a bunch of great young players like Robinho (the new Pele) to bring off the bench, and they have a guy whose name is simply “Fred.” If the stars are aligned, this Brazil team could put in the greatest performance of all time, and this World Cup could be the Ronaldinho show. If not, they could end up like France in 2002. The French entered the World Cup as defending champions and favorites and went home without scoring a goal.
None of the other teams in this group is outstanding, but they each may do well. Japan is coached by one of the great all-time Brazilian players, Zico. My friend Steve says that they have trouble scoring goals and sometimes they play with five forwards. Five forwards! Awesome.
Croatia always has some version of a red-and-white checkerboard on their shirts. This year their jersey is a little too much of a pastiche, just a nod toward the red checkerboard of the past. It’s still good. The team is young. They hope to repeat Croatia’s 1998 surprise third-place performance.
Australia hasn’t been in the World Cup in 32 years. But they scored a lot of goals in qualifying, then beat a tough Uruguay team. Their Dutch coach Guus Hiddink did an excellent job with South Korea in 2002. But the Australians may be held back by an unfortunate nickname: the Socceroos.