(no subject)
I'd just like to start this entry off with a Mark Lawrenson is a prick. I know I'm quite defensive of any ex-Liverpool member - but that man is a fucking fool.
I've been waiting for Brazil to play for ages. I mean, who hasn't? They are a fantastic team and play sexy football that makes me orgasm. Yes, they are *that* good. They played against Croatia today and I was expecting an entertaining show of them cruising around, showing us all those moves that we've been anticipating. Sadly, I was let down.
Right now, I'd just like to say that I would never rubbish Brazil. I think they are formidable and there is no other team that can boast that they can offer something remotely similar.
OK, so today Brazil's starting team was, typically, immense. Ronaldo, Cafu, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lucio, Emerson etc etc but their perfomance lacked all pazazz. It was... strange. Really flat and, as (the absolutely fantastic Alan Hansen said) mediocre. Oh, they did the job alright but just by doing the bare minimum. And what was going on with Ronaldo? It was awful. Did he move? Well, just about. He made one great strike and then... Oh look at that, he's standing around DOING NOTHING. This scares me. The last time I saw Ronaldo playing like this was in the 1998 World Cup Finals against France*. Kaka and Cafu, for me, were the only players that really shone out in this match. Overall I'm disappointed and a little baffled. Everytime Brazil play I just want them to do magnificently well. I *really* enjoy watching them. Everyone says it, and it's true, Brazil is everybody's second favourite team (after their own national team). So after today's performance I'm left feeling unfulfilled and a bit down.
Croatia, however, did damn well (for them). They had their moments where they actually scared Brazil. Mostly they were kept under control by them but I have to give a shout out to Prso. He was the one, especially towards the end, who was making all the chances. It was great seeing him play.
So back to Brazil. I'm not going to be a fool and write them off for the rest of the tournament. It's the first game. They're up against Croatia. So I suppose naturally they're not going to try very hard because hey, they don't need to. (Even so, I've seen them play against teams like Scotland, and they still played well, showing off their skills.) I'll be watching Ronaldo closely (yes, even more than I normally do) from now on and see how his health is faring. His performance today scared me - I don't want anything to be wrong with Ronaldo. He worked so hard to get his fitness level back up for the last World Cup (you know, after the 1998 fiasco) but even so, he will never be as good as he was before that fateful season. Even so, despite not being able to play up to 100% to his ability, he is one of the best strikers in the world. He managed to win the Golden Boot four years ago after all. Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. As I was saying, I'm not going to write Brazil off. I still believe that in matches to come they (and especially Ronaldo) will silence critics everywhere. They are not, as Gary Linekar said, past their best.
* During the 1998 World Cup, Ronaldo was Nike's main sponser. However he suffered a serious injury before hand and was pumped with all sorts of shit before the tournament kicked off so that he could star in it. This stress eventually led to him having a seizure before the finals. Roberto Carlos actually saved his life because Ronaldo was choking on his own tongue before Roberto Carlos intervened. He was forced to play in the finals and arrived for the match just two hours before it started, from the hospital. Watching him play (he was struggling to walk) was horribly agonising, and since then he isn't as good as he once was. Still damn good though mind. Remember 2002?
I've been waiting for Brazil to play for ages. I mean, who hasn't? They are a fantastic team and play sexy football that makes me orgasm. Yes, they are *that* good. They played against Croatia today and I was expecting an entertaining show of them cruising around, showing us all those moves that we've been anticipating. Sadly, I was let down.
Right now, I'd just like to say that I would never rubbish Brazil. I think they are formidable and there is no other team that can boast that they can offer something remotely similar.
OK, so today Brazil's starting team was, typically, immense. Ronaldo, Cafu, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Lucio, Emerson etc etc but their perfomance lacked all pazazz. It was... strange. Really flat and, as (the absolutely fantastic Alan Hansen said) mediocre. Oh, they did the job alright but just by doing the bare minimum. And what was going on with Ronaldo? It was awful. Did he move? Well, just about. He made one great strike and then... Oh look at that, he's standing around DOING NOTHING. This scares me. The last time I saw Ronaldo playing like this was in the 1998 World Cup Finals against France*. Kaka and Cafu, for me, were the only players that really shone out in this match. Overall I'm disappointed and a little baffled. Everytime Brazil play I just want them to do magnificently well. I *really* enjoy watching them. Everyone says it, and it's true, Brazil is everybody's second favourite team (after their own national team). So after today's performance I'm left feeling unfulfilled and a bit down.
Croatia, however, did damn well (for them). They had their moments where they actually scared Brazil. Mostly they were kept under control by them but I have to give a shout out to Prso. He was the one, especially towards the end, who was making all the chances. It was great seeing him play.
So back to Brazil. I'm not going to be a fool and write them off for the rest of the tournament. It's the first game. They're up against Croatia. So I suppose naturally they're not going to try very hard because hey, they don't need to. (Even so, I've seen them play against teams like Scotland, and they still played well, showing off their skills.) I'll be watching Ronaldo closely (yes, even more than I normally do) from now on and see how his health is faring. His performance today scared me - I don't want anything to be wrong with Ronaldo. He worked so hard to get his fitness level back up for the last World Cup (you know, after the 1998 fiasco) but even so, he will never be as good as he was before that fateful season. Even so, despite not being able to play up to 100% to his ability, he is one of the best strikers in the world. He managed to win the Golden Boot four years ago after all. Anyway, I've gone off on a tangent. As I was saying, I'm not going to write Brazil off. I still believe that in matches to come they (and especially Ronaldo) will silence critics everywhere. They are not, as Gary Linekar said, past their best.
* During the 1998 World Cup, Ronaldo was Nike's main sponser. However he suffered a serious injury before hand and was pumped with all sorts of shit before the tournament kicked off so that he could star in it. This stress eventually led to him having a seizure before the finals. Roberto Carlos actually saved his life because Ronaldo was choking on his own tongue before Roberto Carlos intervened. He was forced to play in the finals and arrived for the match just two hours before it started, from the hospital. Watching him play (he was struggling to walk) was horribly agonising, and since then he isn't as good as he once was. Still damn good though mind. Remember 2002?