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.
Riquelme’s fruitless trickery was a metaphor for the match. Both teams rested star players, and neither pressed forward with any urgency. But these are good teams. There were flashes of individual brilliance, chiefly on the Argentine side. They all seemed to be isolated moments of one against three. The most compelling protagonists were Argentina’s second-string strikers, Messi the flea and Tevez the Apache. If you are trying to defend Tevez, keep your legs tightly closed, or he will play the ball right between them and end up behind you. If you are guarding Messi, don’t blink.
The game ended 0-0. Argentina won the group. They’ll face Mexico on Saturday. Holland plays Portugal on Sunday.
When Ivory Coast entered the tournament, there was a lot of sentimental talk about the power of soccer to stop a war (Cue Bono). Once they lost their first two matches, we didn’t hear so much about it. It’s not surprising, I suppose, that African teams inspire unrealistic political visions and short attention spans. Here’s another stereotype that was fulfilled: This was a defensively weak, but wildly entertaining, fast paced, fun soccer team. In the driving rain in Munich, they went down 2-0 quickly. Serbia & Montenegro played long balls into the box, and capitalized on defensive mistakes with perfect finishes.
For the next hour, the Elephants attacked. (Was this déjà vu? The went down two in their first two games.) They were up a man for much of that time. They assaulted the goal with long shots and short ones. The quick midfielders and outside backs poured down the wings and played balls into the area. Yaya Toure and Kanga Akele drove through any open space in the middle of the field. The Plavi could only sit back and defend. So many misses for the Ivorians! Just enough went in. When the whistle blew, each team had 10 men, and the Elephants were the winners, 3-2. I had to catch my breath. Come on the Elephants!
I’m not sure about how this will affect the war. Nor do I know what’s going to happen with little Monetenegro. But I do wish the Elephants weren’t eliminated, for my own sake.
I must admit that “work” prevented me from seeing the morning matches. Don’t worry, I’ve taped them.
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Serbia & Montenegro v. Ivory Coast, 3:00
Day 14 Preview: A victory in itself