Spain:
Tommy Smythe could not get over how good Spain looked in their match - he also gave the U.S. team a lot of credit for apparently convincing Spanish coach Luis Aragones to put Villa up top with Torres. So perhaps friendlies aren't pointless.
Russia:
They had solid chances against Spain, though, they just mucked them up.
Greece:
Defending champions could be out of the tournament soon. Though I love the story of the little country making it big - I don't like their style of play, so I wouldn't mourn overmuch.
Portugal: Already in the next round and looking in fine fettle.
Switzerland:
The Swiss misters are out - though there's individual talent on the squad, it never seemed to gel. Looking back perhaps their loss to the U.S. was prophetic.
Sweden:
Ibrahimovic! Freddy Adu's favorite Swedish player finally shows up big for his national team. Great goal.
Italy:
Everybody else is voicing their position on the offside call - here's my take. Buffon hit his own defender, yes, but what if Panucci hadn't moved completely over the goal line? What if he had stayed just on the edge of the field? Would he still count as part of the play? I'd venture to say yes, and then to me there's no difference that he was a bit further back. Either whistle the play dead for an injury (which is a different matter altogether) or count the defender as part of the play no matter which direction he rolls.
Croatia:
The dangerous sleepers of the tourney.
Germany:
Lukas Podolski's subdued celebration versus Poland reminded me of how Herculez Gomez barely acknowledged scoring a goal for the Rapids against the Galaxy. Luis had this whole theory that there's a little loyalty to his old fans there on Herc's part- or in Podolski's case, to his heritage, that tones down the normal goal reaction a bit.
Turkey:
Perhaps they're finding a bit of the form that drove them to great results in 2002.
Netherlands:
Total football reloaded.
Czech Republic:
After a disappointing World Cup, the Euros mean much more for this country, but they'll have to take on the Turks to advance.
Austria:
Can either co-host survive?
Poland:
I wonder how it reflects on the U.S. that the two European teams they beat recently have done poorly in the tourney thus far?
Romania:
A decent result by this squad could determine Italy's fate.
France:
Les Blues need to step it up to even advance out of the Group of Death.
And a little Euro eye candy
6 comments:
After the matchday, I haven't heard anyone complain about the offside ruling. The rule is pretty clear in stating that the defender still counts as part of the play.
Law 11:
"It is not an offence in itself to be in an offside position.
A player is in an offside position if:
• he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the
second last opponent
A player is not in an offside position if:
• he is in his own half of the field of play or
• he is level with the second last opponent or
• he is level with the last two opponents"
Going by UEFA/FIFA's ruling, Van Nistelrooy was onside because the fallen defender was still in play. No arguments about that here.
But here is an interesting case I thought of....
The rule says "he is nearer to his opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second last opponent."
From my viewing of the video, it appears that Ruud was further from the goal line than both the keeper and the defender. Based on the overhead view, it looks like Ruud was near the edge of the 6 yard box when the ball was kicked. But what if the defender had been lying 7 yards behind the touchline? A situation that doesn't seem possible on that field since, as far as I can tell, there are less than 7 yards between the touchline and the ad boards. Wouldn't that put Van Nistelrooy in an offside position because he would be closer to the goal than the 2nd to last defender?
Well, I don't think the Italians have stopped complaining about it, and others are certainly arguing
about it.
Your take is an interesting one as well.
Logically, that goal has to count.
The assistant referee moves up and down the field based on the offside line. He can do this because it moves continuously...the line can only move as fast as the second-to-last defender.
If that play was offside, what that means is that it's possible for the offside line to instantaneously jump 10-15 yards when the player slides over the line. I can't think of any other situation where that happens.
So, if that play is offside, since an assistant referee can't instantaneously move 10-15 yards, the laws of the game are actually putting the AR out of position. That can't be right, at least not when the alternative doesn't put him out of position.
Podolski did what is generally the custom when you play your former team.
Hakan Yakin took the same approach yesterday against Turkey.
I like to think that Guiseppi Rossi is so evil he'd do his biggest celebration if he ever scored against the US and finish it off by pulling a US flag out of his shorts and wiping his ass with it. Because he is after all, the devil.
If Panucci was out of play and the ball called back, that would sure change football. Every team could station a defender at the opposing goal line to roll over it and trigger the offside trap whenever danger approached. This might be good news for certain countries criticized for raising players only capable of "punting it it up the field," with the trifling drawback that only a handful around the world in any generation can score from their own half.
Panucci was in unless injured and the goal was good. Or we're in trouble. It was a fantastic match to watch from start to finish and good to see Holland in such great form again.
Was hoping France would be more fun (also a little concerned about Laurie's mental health over at theoffside if they don't manage to step it up ;-) ! ).
Croatia: I'm tempted because I called Greece on a whim before the start of 2002, but so many of the players I follow are on Spain that my heart stays with them this year.
Eye candy: sweet picture of Villa celebrating hat-trick in duggout with Torres!
Some of these teams are incredibly loaded, Spain for one. It's hard to imagine that Fabergas doesn't start and players like Raul and Guti aren't even on the team.
Portugal is stacked too. Having the luxury of bringing a player like Quaresma off the bench. How about the Netherlands crushing Italy without Babel even on the team or Roben out, and Van Pearsie coming off the bench.
Wow, are these teams fun to watch.
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