Scolari'02 played Ronaldinho better than Parriera'06
- WC 2002 Scolari played his cards well and there was Brazil with the 3 Rs, Rivaldo/young Ronaldinho/Ronaldo shredding defenses. Rivaldo defied age with his speed/skill, Ronaldinho showed great vision feeding the two and became the player he is now. Everyone called it Ronaldo's WC but for me it was Ronaldinho's WC though still fans at Barca doubted his talents during the horrendous inital 6 months with the Catalan giants.
- Brazil deserved to loose the way they have been playing throughout the tournament :). I was cheering them all through inspite of hating to see my favourite player Ronaldinho in a Riquelmesque position. Sacrificing his skills, playing long balls to slow teammates Ronaldo/Adriano and not gaining the trust of his teammates to give him the ball when wanting a solution. France looks upto Zidane, Argentina looks upto Riquelme, Brazil ? .... at times they seemed not wanting to give him the ball. The only time Brazil played like the way we wanted them to was, aganst Japan. Young legs took over from the seniors and ran wild over the asians.
- Finally when 30minutes of time left to salvage something; they turn on to Ronnie and it was too late and vintage Zindane inspired France got their deserved victory. But for me the key man of the French team was none other than Makalele. He masterminded and became a bottleneck b/w the defence and the midfield. Kaka (who I thought would play better than Ronaldinho after taking over in that position) and Ze Roberto hardly got the ball; Ronaldo and Ronaldinho did not get any service. Those who saw brazil in the last 30minutes, saw Ronaldinho close to his good (not best) and the youth of Robinho pumped up more adrenaline into the Brazilian attack. Even Ronaldo showed pretty decent ball control. Well, it was all too late. Neverthless, to say the least, Robinho could have done better with that chance in front of goal.
- No one got to see Ronaldinho due to Parriera's tactic and fans who don't follow club matches would be wondering 'was this the person who was crowed with all those prestigious European trophies ?'. But believe me - follow the club football and you will know why ?. I sill feel he is the world's best by miles :). There is no one who comes near him when he has the likes of pacy Messi, Etoo, Guily and the divine Deco at FC Barcelona that form the catalunya attack. Now that they have procured Eiuder Gujdhjohnsen from Chelsea, lets hope form something interesting.
- Argentina, another from my wish list, failed. Jose Pekerman played Lionel Messi overcautiously. Why ?. And worst he never played a part in the quarters. The South Americans did not play their free flowing pacy game and lost. The French used Thierry Henry effectively against the ageing legs of Cafu ( I was thouroughly impressed by Cicinho against Japan). Roberto Carlos probably made the mistake of his life by leaving Thierry Henry to run freely in the Brazilian box and score.
- Man of the Match : Brazil Vs France (France: Makalele who laid the foundation for Zidane to architect Brazil's downfall; and Brazil: Ronaldinho (got his precision passing close to perfect with whatever little he had; esp. under pressure in the dying moments).
- Man of the Match: Germany Vs Argentina (Germany: Jurgen Klinsmen, for his ice cold calmness and not exprimenting too much; waited for Pekerman to commit the first mistake by doing those wierd subsitutiions and taking the pace out of Argentina; and Argentina: Tevez. Without doubt , the one who caused trouble for Germany, would have surely caused more damage with Messi by his side.
- Messi, Ronaldinho, Gerrard .. none of them shone the WC like i wished them them to. Blame it on the tactics of the coach and now my WC is over (with Germany as THE choice for the victory, though I wish a DECO led Portugal do something). No team/club beats Germany in Germany. Even the best falter. We saw Argentina .. let's see who else falls.
- Another footballing season and the anthem's back 'Forca Barca' !!! ....
Sad weekend of footbal with Argentina n' Brazil ... bowing out.
Shit happens :) ...