these are my shit-colored glasses.
Well, if the team is gonna have a shit game, at least it's better to find out within 10 minutes than in the 94th.
I don't know, tonight is just one of those nights where maybe the team hasn't found a rhythm yet, and who knows if they will, but despite all optimistic aspirations, every player just looks like a donkey? I don't know if this happens to anyone else. When I'm tired and cranky, nothing any team does out there looks right to me, and the start to the Argentina vs Colombia match definitely isn't helping.
I don't care how offside Abbondanzieri thought the player was, there's no reason not to at least try to stop a fricken ball. And then all of the hacking by the Colombian players, multiple times on Veron and one really bad time on Masche, plus whatever freak accident Gaby sustained to his mouth, gave me a headache.
The creativity wasn't there, and there wasn't much flow to Argentina's game. They didn't control possession like they did against the U.S. and they were losing the ball way too easily for my comfort. Veron? Couldn't complete a pass if his life depended on it. Cuchu did nothing but send the ball back to the defense. Roman looked more disinterested than usual, even.
The penalty was pretty dodgy, but it seemed like a gift from the gods at that point. I did not expect Crespo to take it -- how often does he do it for club OR country? -- but I guess if it helped pad his goal count before he got subbed out, I can't complain. Plus, he buried it -- the high point of the game so far, not because it evened the score but because someone did something competent on the field. Enzo (lol shut up, I need SOME amusement in my life) Milito was probably the best sub choice for keeping the shape of the attack, although quite honestly I wouldn't have minded sending Tevez on for a different look. This team needed a facelift. Or maybe just some Botox.
Thank god the passing finally improved, and thank god someone finally did something to elevate the level of this game. A fabulous run and cross move between Messi and the always-dependable Zanetti resulted in a cross that found Roman inside the box. Although his header wasn't as dead-on or as powerful as Pablito's was on Thursday, it did find the back of the net. I might have imagined it, I don't know, but Telefutura cut away from him just as he was heading over to the bench, perhaps to celebrate? Let me have my happy delusions. In any case, it was a good goal, well crafted and well executed, and it gave both Argentina and myself a shot of positivity going into halftime.
Of course, Roman's second goal -- and what a classic free kick it was, ow, the memories -- didn't hurt either. I'm still grouchy but things are looking up!
... At the start of the second half, I could have sworn I heard one of the Telefutura commentators describe a play as "sin cebolla." The only reason I picked up on it is because that was my favorite phrase to use when ordering food in Spain. Or maybe I'm finally going insane. SGAHDGAFHFHHGA.
Argentina is really grabbing a hold of this game now, despite not really doing anything with the ball. You know how I know? The commentators started counting the number of passes they strung together. At 20 Vargas finally had enough and went into Gaby Heinze with two feet.
There hasn't really been anything to cheer for so far. Pablito is still on the bench, the attack has all but died, and even the crowd sounds deflated, booty dancers or no. I hope Messi's chest injury isn't serious. He looked pretty shaken up. By the way, how poor was Pato tonight. Lifted spirits or no, he didn't look right at all; good thing Colombia has rarely tested him in the second half.
GOD I ALWAYS TYPE TOO SOON. No sooner than I type it that it happens, and Pato has another botched save attempt to answer to. Credit to Colombia, the header was incredible, but we've seen this kind of performance before, against Algeria. Another attempt a few minutes later was thankfully aimed straight at him.
Lucho for Veron, yeah, yeah. There's a larger issue to be addressed here. Basile, for the love of god, Veron IS NOT WORKING. He just isn't. He couldn't make a play right now even if he wanted to, much less an assist. He's had two subpar games, and his physicality isn't what we need. We need his creativity, but he isn't giving it to us. CUT HIM BEFORE I LOSE MY MIND WATCHING HIM PASS IN CIRCLES.
I can't even fault Colombia for making the game more interesting in the last 15 minutes, that's how grumpy I am. Two set pieces resulting in two goals smacks of either bad defending or bad goalkeeping, and defending was absolutely not the problem tonight. Take the long-range attempt at 85 minutes that nearly caught him off-guard. He had to race back, and barely managed to tip the ball off the crossbar as it is. Hopefully he snaps out of it by the Paraguay match, because we're really gonna need him at his best for that.
Crespo's early exit did cost Argentina -- as much as I love D Milito, no one manipulates his way around the defense or strikes the ball quite like Crespo does -- and I still think Tevez should have made his appearance much, much earlier than he did. D Milito's goal merely sealed the victory, and needed a fortuitous deflection, but I guess it made up for his one-on-one miss a few minutes earlier.
Shirtless Lucho at the end. I've missed that guy so, so much, him and his tattoos. Well, that ended on a good note.
I'm gonna go pass out now. Uggh.
I don't know, tonight is just one of those nights where maybe the team hasn't found a rhythm yet, and who knows if they will, but despite all optimistic aspirations, every player just looks like a donkey? I don't know if this happens to anyone else. When I'm tired and cranky, nothing any team does out there looks right to me, and the start to the Argentina vs Colombia match definitely isn't helping.
I don't care how offside Abbondanzieri thought the player was, there's no reason not to at least try to stop a fricken ball. And then all of the hacking by the Colombian players, multiple times on Veron and one really bad time on Masche, plus whatever freak accident Gaby sustained to his mouth, gave me a headache.
The creativity wasn't there, and there wasn't much flow to Argentina's game. They didn't control possession like they did against the U.S. and they were losing the ball way too easily for my comfort. Veron? Couldn't complete a pass if his life depended on it. Cuchu did nothing but send the ball back to the defense. Roman looked more disinterested than usual, even.
The penalty was pretty dodgy, but it seemed like a gift from the gods at that point. I did not expect Crespo to take it -- how often does he do it for club OR country? -- but I guess if it helped pad his goal count before he got subbed out, I can't complain. Plus, he buried it -- the high point of the game so far, not because it evened the score but because someone did something competent on the field. Enzo (lol shut up, I need SOME amusement in my life) Milito was probably the best sub choice for keeping the shape of the attack, although quite honestly I wouldn't have minded sending Tevez on for a different look. This team needed a facelift. Or maybe just some Botox.
Thank god the passing finally improved, and thank god someone finally did something to elevate the level of this game. A fabulous run and cross move between Messi and the always-dependable Zanetti resulted in a cross that found Roman inside the box. Although his header wasn't as dead-on or as powerful as Pablito's was on Thursday, it did find the back of the net. I might have imagined it, I don't know, but Telefutura cut away from him just as he was heading over to the bench, perhaps to celebrate? Let me have my happy delusions. In any case, it was a good goal, well crafted and well executed, and it gave both Argentina and myself a shot of positivity going into halftime.
Of course, Roman's second goal -- and what a classic free kick it was, ow, the memories -- didn't hurt either. I'm still grouchy but things are looking up!
... At the start of the second half, I could have sworn I heard one of the Telefutura commentators describe a play as "sin cebolla." The only reason I picked up on it is because that was my favorite phrase to use when ordering food in Spain. Or maybe I'm finally going insane. SGAHDGAFHFHHGA.
Argentina is really grabbing a hold of this game now, despite not really doing anything with the ball. You know how I know? The commentators started counting the number of passes they strung together. At 20 Vargas finally had enough and went into Gaby Heinze with two feet.
There hasn't really been anything to cheer for so far. Pablito is still on the bench, the attack has all but died, and even the crowd sounds deflated, booty dancers or no. I hope Messi's chest injury isn't serious. He looked pretty shaken up. By the way, how poor was Pato tonight. Lifted spirits or no, he didn't look right at all; good thing Colombia has rarely tested him in the second half.
GOD I ALWAYS TYPE TOO SOON. No sooner than I type it that it happens, and Pato has another botched save attempt to answer to. Credit to Colombia, the header was incredible, but we've seen this kind of performance before, against Algeria. Another attempt a few minutes later was thankfully aimed straight at him.
Lucho for Veron, yeah, yeah. There's a larger issue to be addressed here. Basile, for the love of god, Veron IS NOT WORKING. He just isn't. He couldn't make a play right now even if he wanted to, much less an assist. He's had two subpar games, and his physicality isn't what we need. We need his creativity, but he isn't giving it to us. CUT HIM BEFORE I LOSE MY MIND WATCHING HIM PASS IN CIRCLES.
I can't even fault Colombia for making the game more interesting in the last 15 minutes, that's how grumpy I am. Two set pieces resulting in two goals smacks of either bad defending or bad goalkeeping, and defending was absolutely not the problem tonight. Take the long-range attempt at 85 minutes that nearly caught him off-guard. He had to race back, and barely managed to tip the ball off the crossbar as it is. Hopefully he snaps out of it by the Paraguay match, because we're really gonna need him at his best for that.
Crespo's early exit did cost Argentina -- as much as I love D Milito, no one manipulates his way around the defense or strikes the ball quite like Crespo does -- and I still think Tevez should have made his appearance much, much earlier than he did. D Milito's goal merely sealed the victory, and needed a fortuitous deflection, but I guess it made up for his one-on-one miss a few minutes earlier.
Shirtless Lucho at the end. I've missed that guy so, so much, him and his tattoos. Well, that ended on a good note.
I'm gonna go pass out now. Uggh.