Replay, Mr. Blatter?

I know that I’ve been harping on this for a while, but when is FIFA going to realize that goal-line technology is essential to soccer? To be honest, the introduction of technology into the game should not be limited to goal-line technology. FIFA should also allow fourth officials to use video analysis in order to aid the referees, and keep them from making game-changing decisions that only hinder the contest.

This year’s world cup has already been marred by a number of no-goal decisions, two of them victimizing the United States. However, no decision - or no-decision – will prove more controversial than the one that basically sealed England’s fate in South Africa. Frank Lampard’s shot was clearly a goal, and an impressive one at that, and the referee’s failure to recognize it as such completely changed the dynamic of the game. Had the goal counted, England and Germany would have ended the half tied, and while the latter was clearly the superior team, psychologically, the English would have felt like they were in it. As it stood, England had to chase the game, exposing the team at the back – something that Die Mannschaft’s counterattacking prowess took full advantage of.

Apart from disallowing or allowing goals, overzealous referees are also tarnishing the game by pulling their card trigger a little too soon, or for no reason at all. I’m not simply referring to red cards, but yellows as well, as their accumulation leads to a one game suspension. All one has to do is review a few of the games played so far to see at least one case where a player has been hard-done by stringent refereeing. Switzerland’s world cup dreams all but ended when Behrami received a straight red for a seemingly innocuous, and unintentional elbow to a Chilean player. Gourkuff received the same punishment for the same offense, when France was already doing a good enough job of destroying its world cup hopes.

As this world cup marches ahead, there’s no doubt that bad calls will continue to be made, which is completely understandable as referees and lines-men are only human. Still, it is FIFA’s responsibility to overturn bad calls when bad calls are made. And for those of you, who believe that technology will only belittle referees, think of Koman Coulibaly’s fate after he disallowed America’s game-winning goal against Slovenia. So, replay, Mr. Blatter?

Soccer Films: Review of "Goal Dreams"

Set against the backdrops of Ismailia (Egypt), Gaza (Palastine), Beirut (Lebanon), Doha (Qatar), and Santiago (Chile), Jeffrey Sauders’ and Maya Sambar’s Goal Dreams, documents the Palestinian national team’s attempt to qualify for the 2006 world cup in Germany.

Only recently recognized by FIFA (1998), the team’s existence rests heavily on its ability to gather talent from the (largely unknown) Palestinian diaspora – some players come from as far as Chile, where the domestic soccer league includes the Palestino team – as well as the few domestically based players who spend much of the film seeking to cross the Israeli controlled border into Egypt in order to attend the team’s training camp.

Much of the film centers on the inherent conflict caused by the hasty aggregation of players of Palestinian descent from disparate cultures, as well as the added “leadership” provided by Alfred Riedle, the slightly naïve, yet experienced Austrian coach, whose on-field instructions are often butchered by a Palestinian translator who doesn’t seem to have great command of the English language (a fact that is emphasized by Morad Farid, a New York City based player).

The Palestinian “melting pot” gains new momentum when the Gaza based players are finally able to join the rest of the team fifteen days into training camp. The Gaza players, who are represented by the goalkeeper, Ramzi Saleh, bring with them the inexorable burden of having to deal with the casualties of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is evidenced in what is perhaps one of the film’s most affecting scenes. Faced with frowning players at the beginning of a practice, Riedle attempts to make a joke at their expense, only to realize that they’d recently heard that five of their friends had been killed in an Israeli air raid. Instead of trying to provide some comfort to his players, the Austrian shockingly scolds the players for not informing him of the event beforehand, highlighting the disconnect between the “mercenary” coach, and the lives of his Gaza players.

Goal Dreams finds its climax in Doha (unable to play in Palestine, the team depends on surrogate home fields), where the team is to face the Uzbek national team, in what is the decisive game for Palestinian hope of qualification. Oil-rich Qatar is a serendipitously fitting setting for such a game, as it contrasts the deep divide between one Middle-Eastern country’s incredible wealth, and another’s dilapidated state.

Almost by default, movies that revolve around emotionally charged content of this sort run the risk of self-destructing by appealing too much to sentiment. However, Saunders and Sambar cautiously steer clear of dripping sentimentality by breaking up emotive content with cleverly placed comic relief provided by Riedle and his adjusting players. As such, both filmmakers produce a film that captures not only the trials of running a fledgling national team, but also the desire to establish a Palestinian identity that is so conditioned by external influences.

Drawing Conclusions: Groups Stage 2/3 Complete

Raul Meireles & Tiago celebrate Portugal's first goal (photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

All the second group games have been played; thus, it is time for another installment of “Drawing Conclusions,” this time with addition of the Bigsoccerhead Offside Award ™, which will reward the biggest refereeing blunder of the week (we all know who the this week’s recipient will be).

Best Team: Portugal

In my analysis of Portugal’s world cup chances, I wrote that Portugal’s performances oscillate between brilliant and down-right pathetic. The Portuguese game against the Ivory Coast could well be categorized as pathetic, given the team’s lack of offense. However, the game against North Korea was a stark reminder that when the team clicks, it is capable of beating anyone. Of course, we mustn’t forget that Portugal netted seven goals against world cup minnows North Korea, and not a more reputable team. But then again how many surprising results have the supposed “small fish” of the tournament pulled off so far?

Worst Team: England

Italy could be called the worst team of the week, but at least they showed some semblances of worthy attacks against New Zealand. To be fair, the Azzuri should have won the game. England, on the other hand, has shown no sign of being an effective team anywhere on the field. Against Algeria, the Three Lions were out of ideas, at a certain point relying on aimless crosses that never reached their intended targets. A similar performance against the Slovenians will almost certainly oust the team from the cup. Can you imagine the fallout?

Most Surprising Team: New Zealand

Sure the Italians got unlucky, but the Kiwis deserve a lot of credit for their defensive organization. The only legitimate Italian threats came from shots that were taken from outside the box. And even if the Islanders spent most of the time defending, they did manage some notable offensive forays.

Most Disappointing Team: Slovakia

I didn’t anticipate a very strong run from the Slovakian’s; nevertheless, the Slovakians never looked like they could get anything out of their game against Paraguay. From the very beginning, Slovakia was pegged back by the South Americans. Where did Napoli’s Hamsik go?

Most Surprising Result: France 0 Mexico 2

The fact that Mexico won isn’t what’s surprising. It’s the fact that the French never looked like they could score. Did the French even play with a forward? Oh Yes, Anelka was subbed at the half, and got on the first plane heading to the land of fraternity. Oh wait…

Most Impressive Player: Tiago

When it was reported that Deco would be unable to play against North Korea, the Portuguese took a collective deep breath, and braced for the worst. The Brazilian-born playmaker has been the team’s offensive catalyst since Rui Costa’s retirement, and there have been doubts whether there’s an adequate replacement in the squad. Tiago has all but crushed those doubts. The Atletico Madrid playmaker took Deco’s place and put on a clinic against the North Koreans. Starting with a wonderful assist to Raul Meireles’ goal, Tiago went on to score two of Portugal’s seven goals. Now it would be hard to foresee Tiago spending any more time on the bench.

Most Disappointing Player: Wayne Rooney

So far England’s hope hasn’t rewritten the future (that’s a reference to the Nike commercial for all you half time mutters). Perhaps he’s a victim of his team’s ineptitude, but the striker has yet to find the back of the net, and he doesn’t even look close. Towards the end of the game against Algeria, Rooney was busier sulking than anything else. And once the whitle, his infamous temper took hold, as he berated the English fans for booing.

Bigsoccerhead Knucklehead Moment ™: Kakà’s Second Yellow

Not one pundit believes that Kakà should have been sent off for his elbowing of Keita. I’ll be the contrarian. While Keita made a meal of the situation, the elbowing was intentional. He didn’t hit him in the face, but he hit him nonetheless. I can’t blame the Brazilian for wanting to hurt the Ivorian, as the latter was determined to injure one of the Brazilians, yet Kakà should have been less rash, especially for such a devoutly pious man.

Bigsoccerhead Offside Award ™: Koman Coulibaly’s Call Against the USA

Perhaps Coulibaly shouldn’t get as much of the blame as Mr. Blatter, FIFA’s president. After all, it is the latter who refuses to use instant replay to validate, or invalidate goals. And it is Blatter who will roast the African for his blunder. Mr. Coulibaly’s biggest mistake, apart from making the terrible call, was to deny having made a bad call at all. Still, this is on the FIFA president, who believes that video replay will take away from the passion that makes the game so great. Mr. Blatter better hope a similar mistake doesn’t occur with a bigger team than the USA – or in the final, for that matter – because if it does, passion may result in the torching and pillaging of a South African town.

Soccer Films: Goal Dreams by Jeffrey Saunders

Goal Dreams by filmmaker Jeffrey Saunders is screening next week during World Cup events at Play Beautiful NYC, an amazing venue at 201 Mulberry. playbeautifulnyc

Synopsys:

Goal Dreams is the story of a team like no other. The feature film follows the Palestinian national soccer team as it attempts to qualify for the World Cup. The team must overcome obstacles of physical, emotional, cultural and geographical nature just to exist. Watch as they learn to forge a common bond and a 'nation' learns the hope and tragedy that lay within dreams. (goaldreams)

Q/A after with Jeffrey Saunders and former Palestinian national team player Morad Fareed.

Tuesday, June 22nd, 7pm
Play Beautiful
201 Mulberrry st, NYC

free tickets

England, France & Italy: Impotent Powerhouses

While there were questions about their world cup readiness, only a few doubted that England, France, and Italy would qualify from their respective groups comfortably. As it stands, though, all three world cup regulars are facing tough games ahead of them, since only wins guarantee their progression to the next round (even though France needs a favorable result in the other group A game). Only making this task more difficult is the fact that all three teams are facing turmoil outside the lines. Achieving the desired result in this world cup is proving hard enough, so will the squabbles that were once reserved for the Dutch dictate a premature end to these traditional world cup powers?

England

On the Pitch

There were a number of difficulties facing the England team long before the start of the world cup. For one thing, there were questions about Rooney’s potential partner up-front. So far, Heskey has gotten the nod in both games, but apart from claiming an assist in Gerrard’s goal against the US, the Villa striker has been rather innocuous. The problem is that England doesn’t really have any other reliable options. While Crouch has an enviable scoring record for his country, he spends most of the game wandering aimlessly, and Defoe has never been able to replicate his club form when playing for his nation. Another problem facing the English is their lack of width. This isn’t really a surprise given the fact that Gerrard is back playing on the left side of midfield, now that Barry is fit. For all his talent, the England captain has never been able to play to his ability as a winger. England’s injuries have also created problems at the back. The three lions suffered a huge blow losing Rio Ferdinand, and King’s (predicted) physical ailments are only adding to England’s already shaky defense.

Off the Pitch

When he took over as England manager, Capello was regarded as a savior. His austere manner was perceived as the remedy to the brashness that pervaded the team, and subordinated the necessary “team first” attitude. That may have been the case had England started the world cup on the right foot, but unfortunately that isn’t the case, and as a result players are seeking a different, softer, and more personable side to Cappelo - one, which the Italian doesn’t seem to have. There had been warning signs of Capello’s inability to be simpatico. When the whole Terry – Bridge saga erupted, the Italian left the cleaning duties to his second in command, and according to reports, never even approached the participating players about the regrettable event. Now, as self-doubt, and ill feeling diffuse through the England camp, there are reports that Capello doesn’t even acknowledge the players outside of practice, apparently walking by them without even uttering an hello. Additionally, there is a lot of unrest surrounding his line-up policy (Capello will only announce his starting eleven two hours before kick-off). The players have already aired out their grievances in a team meeting, but with the likes of Terry publicly calling for line-up changes, the Three Lions could find taking the thorn out of their foot a little hard.

France

On the Pitch

Zinedine Zidane has declared that the French play like isolated individuals who lack direction, and more importantly, have a coach who is incapable of giving them any. Fellow world cup winner, and now New Yorker, Yuri Djorkaeff, reportedly refuses to support the team out of embarrassment (rumor has it he recently declined an invitation to watch the game at a Francophile bar for that reason). Given that both men led France to its football zenith, it would be silly to disagree with their assessment of the team. It’s amazing how a team comprised of so many world-class players can do so poorly, especially against inferior opposition. The team’s main problem is its lack of offense. Much maligned Domenech has employed Anelka as an isolated striker, supported by three attacking midfielders. Anelka, however, isn’t a box striker, and he refuses to fill that role, and as a result, players like Ribery don’t have a forward they can play off of effectively. The team also lacks a player who can take control of the game. For all his talent, Ribery is a winger, and wingers are usually the beneficiaries of good midfield play, and not the ones who pull the strings. Bordeaux man, Gourcuff, was supposed to be the team’s Zizou this year, but apparently some players on the team requested Domenech bench him.

Off the Pitch

Anelka’s refusal to adapt his game to the team’s strategy is what allegedly led to his argument with Domenech, which consequently landed him on a plane back to France. His dismissal has prompted an all-out mutiny in the French camp, “captained” by Patrice Evra who is far more concerned with the supposed “traitor” who leaked the argument to the media, instead of focusing on reconciling differences, and patching up the ever-growing team fissures. The players’ refusal to practice two days before the team’s final group game is living proof that hostilities will not be overcome.

Italy

On the Pitch

Marchetti looks on in disbelief as the Kiwis strike first (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)

Like the French, the Italians are lacking a defined strategy. The Italian defense is far weaker than it’s ever been, their midfield looks about as creative as white rice, and their offensive play relies on unconvincing, and inconsistent forwards. You know you’re in trouble when your best defender is a 37 year old who’s coming off a less than stellar season, and is heading for the Middle-Eastern football grave. It’s also abundantly clear that the Azzuri cannot function without Pilro. The Milan playmaker dictates the Italian game, and is the link between Italy’s infamous defensive midfield and the attack. If Pilro’s calf does not improve quickly, there is little chance the Italians will move beyond the next round.

Bigsoccerhead Makes NY Daily News

courtesy of Bill Bramhall
New York Daily News