A World Cup of Surprises
The quarter-finals that turned the World Cup on its head. That’s how they’ll be remembered. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since surprises make for excitement, and excitement doubles over on itself. Brazil: gone. Argentina: gone. Africa: gone, with the last breath going to Ghana, who lost in the most gut-wrenching of circumstances to a Uruguay team that became hard to root for.
And the Dutch, a well-received club that has been close often enough but never sealed the deal, are a victory away from the first World Cup final since 1978.
The South American dominance of the tournament, something usually anticipated and expected, has been shattered with the exit of Argentina and Brazil, two teams that showed themselves to be formidable squads before suffering defeat. If there’s one thing to be said about the teams, it’s that as good as they were, they were also hyped. Hyped by the mystical sound of the phrase ‘Coach Dunga,’ or the Oedipal drama of Maradona and Messi.
At the same time, European soccer, which was seen as being completely empty and hopeless after early losses of France, Italy, and England, have surprised by having three teams of four in the semis.
The lesson to take is this: don’t count your chickens before they hatch, especially on the soccer field.
Not a week ago, the world was convinced that FIFA refereeing had reached a draconian low, with bad calls affecting two matches enormously, and Sepp Blatter refusing to acknowledge the need for video technology. That issue’s still up and running, but given the shapings of the semis it already looks like old news.
Looking back, take the circled teams and consider what they mean at this point. Little to nothing. Italy, Brazil, Argentina, England, France, all thrown out with yesterday’s bath water.
It’s safe to assume that only aliens could have confidently predicted that Holland, Germany, Spain and Uruguay would be the last four standing. And going into the tournament, no one would have been able to predict individual stats like these: Lionel Messi, zero goals. Wayne Rooney, ditto. Kaka, ditto. Ronaldo, one measly goal against North Korea. Fernando Torres of Spain likewise remains goalless, but he has two more games to redeem himself. Surely then, South Africa hasn’t been kind to football’s glamour boys.
On the other hand, first rate players that have lacked wide-media coverage have totally dominated this time around. Contenders for player of the tournament include Wesley Sneijder, with four goals in five games, and David Villa, with a stunning five goals in five matches.
In terms of team management, Maradona is flying home and saying he might quit, after the magic that surrounded him came to a devastating end against Germany. All of the symbolism of taking his team to the final and winning with apprentice Messi would have been grand indeed—but now it’s a wonder how the two must feel together, Maradona playing the unwise coach and Messi the star who couldn’t win the metallic glory. Brazil couldn’t fire Dunga and his management team fast enough on Sunday, and England’s dapper Fabio Capello, while failing to offer an all-star team despite boasting all-stars, has told press he has no intention of quitting, and has sucked up to the heads rather regrettably. Lippi wasn’t able to take the Italians anywhere near the Cup this time around, and Domenech of France proved everyone right who said he should have been dropped years ago.
With Holland and Uruguay playing Tuesday night, and Germany and Spain the following, there’s the possibility of a final between two teams, Holland and Spain, which have never won it before. The Dutch made it to the final in 1978, but were defeated then by Argentina.
Each of the four teams left offer enchanting story lines. Uruguay is the country that won the first World Cup in 1930, but that will probably have its glory tainted by the Suarez handball against Ghana, which led to a failed penalty kick, and ultimately a shootout. That was a breach of sports ethics, and it seemed to demonstrate what the cynics had always implied: cheating wins matches.
As the next games get under way, it really is anybody’s game.
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