ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CASUALTY.
RUSSIA TRAMPLES OVER HOLLAND TO QUALIFY FOR THE SEMI-FINALS ):<
Rawr, it was one helluva crazy match!! I could do nothing but watch in desperation as the Oranje were crushed by one of their most unlikely opponents. 5 minutes into the Game and one could almost tell it was over. (But it was faith that kept fans of the Netherlands watching with their fingers crossed, all the way to the Final Whistle.)
I must, first of all, admit that Guus Hiddink is a genius. Veteran tactician and ultimately what some people term as "The Better Dutchman", after this morning's performance. But I'd like to think it's more along the lines of - "Traitor of the Year". Cute and dashing (!!) as Marco van Basten may be, he failed to pull Netherlands through to the next stage. And I find it such, such pity. No other Team this UEFA EURO 2008 could've sworn to've tried as hard as the Dutch. They played such wonderful football, surviving the Group of Death, emerging tops and went on even further to achieve the maximum of 9 points. They stunned the hearts of many, having played even better than Germany (the supposed favourites); they were the Team to beat this Season.
But Guus' formation held the Dutch at bay, suppressing any of their attempts to attack. Kolodin was on to Ruud van Nistelrooy, the same way Friedrich had been instructed by Lehmann to mark down Cristiano Ronaldo, 2 Quarter-Final matches earlier. It was antagonizing to watch Sneijder repeatedly hitting the ball in the direction of Akinfeev, only to find one of the defender's foot.
Towards the end, it was clear that Holland was desperate. Many times, there had been opportunities to score but the Team just failed to connect. Tactically, physically and definitely mentally, the Russians were notches above. After Extra Time, the score was 3-1 in Russia's favour, with poor Van Der Sar having almost given up all hope. What a tragic end to a promising start through this EURO journey for Holland. ):
This guy was absolutely amazingggg :O
The jerseys of these men should've been Orange ):
Johnny, Terence and Zac were super sian after the match ended. Oh, and rightfully so, I say! D: I was so upset I wore orange to Church today even though I'm a Germany supporter.
It's stupid how I care more for Soccer than my work but heck, CTs can just go fly kiteeee.
Rawr, it was one helluva crazy match!! I could do nothing but watch in desperation as the Oranje were crushed by one of their most unlikely opponents. 5 minutes into the Game and one could almost tell it was over. (But it was faith that kept fans of the Netherlands watching with their fingers crossed, all the way to the Final Whistle.)
I must, first of all, admit that Guus Hiddink is a genius. Veteran tactician and ultimately what some people term as "The Better Dutchman", after this morning's performance. But I'd like to think it's more along the lines of - "Traitor of the Year". Cute and dashing (!!) as Marco van Basten may be, he failed to pull Netherlands through to the next stage. And I find it such, such pity. No other Team this UEFA EURO 2008 could've sworn to've tried as hard as the Dutch. They played such wonderful football, surviving the Group of Death, emerging tops and went on even further to achieve the maximum of 9 points. They stunned the hearts of many, having played even better than Germany (the supposed favourites); they were the Team to beat this Season.
But Guus' formation held the Dutch at bay, suppressing any of their attempts to attack. Kolodin was on to Ruud van Nistelrooy, the same way Friedrich had been instructed by Lehmann to mark down Cristiano Ronaldo, 2 Quarter-Final matches earlier. It was antagonizing to watch Sneijder repeatedly hitting the ball in the direction of Akinfeev, only to find one of the defender's foot.
Towards the end, it was clear that Holland was desperate. Many times, there had been opportunities to score but the Team just failed to connect. Tactically, physically and definitely mentally, the Russians were notches above. After Extra Time, the score was 3-1 in Russia's favour, with poor Van Der Sar having almost given up all hope. What a tragic end to a promising start through this EURO journey for Holland. ):
This guy was absolutely amazingggg :O
The jerseys of these men should've been Orange ):
Johnny, Terence and Zac were super sian after the match ended. Oh, and rightfully so, I say! D: I was so upset I wore orange to Church today even though I'm a Germany supporter.
It's stupid how I care more for Soccer than my work but heck, CTs can just go fly kiteeee.