Franz Beckenbauer on the World Cup Final
The German legend and one of the greatest football players of all time, Franz Beckenbauer has criticized the way the World Cup final was played between the Netherlands and Spain. Although in most footballing circles the criticism has been reserved for the Dutch players, Beckenbauer believed both sides were to blame for what he called an "anti-advertisement for football".
The match between Spain and Netherlands was decided in extra time after a goal from Barcelona man Andres Iniesta but it came after a refereeing error by Howard Webb whose performance was also criticized by Der Kaiser. Beckenbauer said the referee failed to live up to the standard one expects at a World Cup final and had a big hand in the game's stop-start nature.
The game had, in total, 14 yellow cards (which is a record) and one red, something that left a bad impression of football in the eyes of viewers across the world. Beckenbauer is not the first to criticize the nature of the game, which was very physical and players always appeared to be on the brink of losing control.
Some of the tackles, notably De Jong's kick aimed at Xabi Alonso's chest, were horrible and it was shocking to see that a referee who was giving yellow cards for the smallest offenses failed to send the Dutchman off for violent conduct despite his attempt to break the Spaniards ribs.
Beckenbauer, was himself a defender and one of the most elegant ones to play football, has voiced his concern over the nature of football these days on many occasions. Due to his strong presence in all FIFA tournaments, his opinions have been taken seriously but it appears that when it comes to the teams at least, his concerns have fallen on deaf ears.
When the tournament was in the first knock-out round, Beckenbauer warned the English of the consequences of playing what he referred to as 'kick and run' football but that advice was not considered important by the English. Fabio Capello dismissed Der Kaiser's criticism as misguided but after suffering a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany, even the usually stubborn Capello must have realized what Beckenbauer was talking about.
In contrast to his opinions about the World Cup final, Beckenbauer only had good things to say about the 3/4th place play-off between his native Germany and Uruguay. He held both teams in great esteem and referred to how the game was played as 'quite likeable'.
Going further, he commented on the good natured way in which the match was played and the attractive brand of football played by not just Germany but also the South Americans.
For football purists today's cagey, slow paced and defensive game is hard to take, something that is evident from Beckenbauer's displeasure at the way the final was played. It seems a long time has passed since the world saw some good old attacking football, at the international level at least. Even the masters of Total Football (Netherlands), it seems, have resorted to what can only be described as anti-football in hopes of winning something but if it comes at the cost of the very game they play, one wonders if it is worth it.
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