Ok, so my best laid plans to blog daily on the progress of the World Cup fell by the wayside under an umbrella of laziness, mostly. It wasn't a stellar tournament by any yardstick. In fact it had more lows than highs. I'm going to do a highlights and lowlights package.
HighlightsGermany: They embraced this campaign with gay abandon and provided it's brightest moments attacking wise. A mainly youthful side threw caution to the wind and played with real verve, especially on the counter attack. They disposed of Argentina in ruthless fashion in what was for me the best display of attacking football in the whole tournament. They also embodied the team concept better than any other, there was a real sense of team unity in their play. Stars such as Thomas Muller (golden boot winner), Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil were born. If they keep this rate of progress up they can look forward to 2012 & 2014 with confidence.
New Zealand: Ok, they didn't set the tournament alight with their football but they optomised their limited resources to the very maximum. When all was said and done they emerged as the only team unbeaten. Drawing with Italy represented their greatest achievement ever on a soccer field. Considering some of their team aren't even professional it was a monumental achievement.
RTE Broadcasts: At times stretching to hyperbole, courtesy of Eamon Dunphy chiefly, it still stood head and shoulders over the staid output of the British channels. Banter, comedy, intelligent analysis were all mixed together to create a blend of required viewing. Welcome additions in the form of Didi Hamann and Ozzie Ardilles bolstered the traditional stronghold. Returning analysts Denis Irwin and Richie Sadlier added weight to the highlights package ably steered by the jovial Con Murphy. Apres Match was along to wind it all down. Hit and miss best sums up their input this time round, the undoubted hit being the Vincent Browne spoof.
Goals: There were some absolute pearlers. Suarez's winner against South Korea in the last 16 was my personal favourite. Notable mentions to Van Bronckhorst, Tshabalala and Maicon (Did he mean it?).
LowlightsHolland losing the final: This is purely from a betting point of view. I was in line for a decent payout only to be denied by Iniesta three mins from penalties. The blow was slightly softened by profits made earlier in the tournament and the fact that Spain were clearly more deserving winners.
Vuvuzuela: After the horrors of listening to these abominations during the confederations cup I dearly hoped that FIFA would have the balls to ban them. Of course they didn't. Apparently they are part of South African tradition. They are in my bollix and they added nothing to the tournament. A nuisance to the viewing public I hope is never repeated again.
Cynical Play:What was shocking was the widespread nature of it in this World Cup. Diving, encouraging the ref to book players, dangerous tackling were all present. The games governing bodies really need to get a grip on these antics in football because the neutral isn't impressed.
France:The team that got to this World Cup at Ireland's expense, in questionable circumstances it must be said. They imploded from the outset and gradually became an embarrassment to their country and to the competition. A coach who commands no respect and a fragmented squad beset by accusations of racism was a recipe for disaster and it all unfolded in distasteful fashion. Karma is a bitch!
Officiating:The first round of games passed off without much incident but as the tournament progressed the performances of the officials came to the forefront. Poor and fussy refereeing stifled honest endeavor. The performance of Howard Webb in the final was roundly criticized and went a long way towards ensuring the boring spectacle we were served up.
FIFA: Chief clown Sepp Blatter is eminently capable of messing things up, even on the biggest stage. They firstly priced out local fans resulting in half empty stadiums for a lot of games. Their continued rejection of video technology was cruelly exposed in the England v Germany game. Their was an incident with ejecting a couple of female Holland fans over a deemed advertising infringement. These guys are an embarrassment to the game of football and need to emerge from the dark ages quite quickly for the good of the game.
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