Top of Group F… June 16, 2006
Posted by dave128 in Football, Media, World Cup.1 comment so far
… at least for now.
This was the front of yesterday's Age sport section. Very creative I think!
Bruce Arena creeps me out June 14, 2006
Posted by dave128 in Football, World Cup.2 comments
The 18th World Cup has been going now for almost one week, and what a feast of fantastic football it has already been. By far the highlight, so far, for us Aussie’s was Australia’s 3-1 win over Japan, with all three of our goals coming within the last nine minutes of the game. What a game for our first ever win at a World Cup. I loved Guus’s reactions to the goals, he’s so charming. It also brought a tear to my eye to see the Australian supporters in Sydney and Melbourne going crazy. They were such a diverse group, all untied by two colours: green and gold.
And now for Brazil and Croatia! It all seems so far away from the night Australia qualified and the World Cup draw (I still have nightmares about the obese bear/lion thing (Goleo), talking ball (Pille) and that magician Hans Cluck). I actually have no idea what day it is, I’ve lost all normal perspective just as I do around Christmas/News Years. I think it might have something to do with all the wall-to-wall football.
One of the many games I’ve watched was the match between the USA and the Czech Republic. It was a very entertaining game, the Czech’s were wonderful to watch, though it was sad to see Koller injured. I’ve heard the US team written off, then talked up then talked up some more, so I was looking forward to seeing them in action. The US supporters must have been disappointed. Apart from a close shot in the first half and a couple of chances from Johnson in the second the Americans played a rather forgettable game. Rosicky is already in line for goal of the tournament. Arsene Wenger must be rubbing his hands together with satisfaction. He certainly knows how to get a great bargain.
There is one thing, however, that I won’t be able to forget about the Americans. Their manager, Bruce Arena. What is up with this guy? He didn’t just look indifferent, he appeared as if he’d never seen a football match in his life and had no idea what was going on. Of course I don’t expect every manager to be running around all over the place, but Arena was downright creepy with his apparent apathy.
Wenger, for instance, isn’t an extrovert, but you know he is deeply engaged in the game by his thoughtful expression. And a cool indifference is fine. Ricardo La Volpe had an air of arrogance about him as he puffed away on a casual fag on the sideline in his ruffled suit. But his indifference spoke of an extreme confidence. “It’s obvious Mexico is going to win, I’ve not a care in the world.” But Arena looked like he didn’t care about anything. He didn’t look like the manager of a national football team, especially with all the experience he has. Rather he appeared more like a baseball fan that had been abducted by aliens, then dumped into the most boring moment of his life. As one commentator put it, he looked “emotionally disconnected.”
