Well, in matters both related and unrelated to football, this morning’s advent of dawn here on the peninsula was less eventful than was yesterday’s. There was no craning of necks here in the Cave of Dissidence looking skyward for migrating birds, only intent gazing at the TV set to witness the settling of Italy’s opponent in the finale at the weekend.
Perhaps KJI is backing Italy to win the World Cup, as I personally think his fireworks display was less a brazen attempt to overshadow either the U.S.’s anniversary of declaring independence from Curious George or the U.S.’s relaunching of the space shuttle program than it was a militaristic cry of “Forza Italia!!!”
All the hullabaloo over Jung-il’s immature javelin-throwing, complete with one or two acts of amateur detonation, certainly got the attention of not only Marmot readers, but also of newspaper hacks and TV quacks the world over, all of which led to lots of premature extrapolation–and we all know what always follows such acts of unfulfillment: disappointment and lowered self-esteem. But such thoughts take a backseat to footie for now…
Portugal 0-1 France
While there was always a hint of simmering tension just beneath the surface of this match, this semifinal was somewhat less chippy than the one 24 hours previous. In fact, viewers could have felt a sense of letdown by the relative lack of drama in this one, but there was still fine play on both sides of the ball.
There were elements of unsavouriness in this one: regardless of how much I was backing France and how much I like Thierry Henry, I’m still not convinced that Carvalho’s foul on him, which garnered the penalty kick that Zinedine Zidane converted with the coolest of verve (*sigh*, take notes, England), warranted such a harsh penalty. Henry went down more easily than I would have liked at Carvalho’s trip.
However, karma is an unerring, faithful reaper of what has been sowed and a somewhat dubious penalty given to a Portugal opponent gives the football astral plane a more level look. And it got even more level when, moments later, Histrionics Ronaldo gave the dive of a lifetime in the France box from a phantom push by a defender.
Seriously, did you see that dive? You would have thought he’d gotten passed over for the lead role in Superman Returns and was re-auditioning in front of a near-worldwide audience in hopes that public sentiment would change the casting director’s mind and give him the role. That dive made Henry’s splash look like he was corralled by a Lex Luthor kryptonite tripwire.
The referee was outstanding, for a change, ignoring dives from both squads, unwarranted calls for bookings, remonstrations from both benches, turning his cheek to the play-acting, and constantly gesturing to players just to play. That only two players were booked was both a relief and a welcome sight.
Remember, this was a rematch of that infamous Euro 2000 semifinal where there was a post-match brawl, an encircling of the ref by a posse of Portugal players, and a total of two years’ banning from international play for several of said posse, so there was less acrimony than I thought there would be.
Aside from his efforts to win an Academy Award, Ronaldo was really the only Portugal player to trouble constantly the France defence. He was never able to quite create any real clear-cut chances, but he was dangerous throughout the match, nonetheless.
Figo was tireless and should have done better with a point-blank header rebounded from a Ronaldo free kick late in the second half, but the rest of the Portugal midfield and strike force were pathetic. Part of this, of course, was due to the suffocating France defence, led by Thuram and aided by Sagnol, Gallas, Abidal, and holding midfielder Makelele. The France defence continues to be remarkable.
On the other side, the Portugal defence was nearly just as tough. There were periods of dominance by the French with Zidane, Ribery, and Vieira, but Henry was mostly shackled the entire match, save for his one big splash. The result was a bit harsh on the Portugal defence and on Ricardo in goal, but they were let down by the underperformers up front and the middle (again, save for Ronaldo).
In the end, France, just as Italy 24 hours previous, were the better team. Portugal’s run to the semifinals was unexpected and all of their supporters should be proud of their historic run, though a bit disappointed in the overall team performance in this match. If their evolution continues in the same line of ascent, they will be serious contenders for Euro 2008.
But, that’s the future. For the present, we have a mouthwatering final in Italy v. France. Storylines will no doubt abound in this one–itself a repeat of the same Euro 2000, that match a final, as well–and we’ll get to the storylines in a preview at the weekend.
19 Comments
i also like henry and zidane to pull this out
i think the italians play to much to the referee’s for flopping all over the pitch
i do not see that from france and i think its why they will win
italy is due to give up a goal or two
Their two goals in the last minute of the game against Germany show that they’re an outstanding – and have me scared shitless
Still, Germany and Portugal will have a last game, although I guess they’d loved to play this one for the title, not a dubious 3rd place!
Being a long time Portuguese supporter, I was hugely disappointed by the game. The penalty was the right decision, although I’ve seen alot harshers ones go unpunished. I thought France played too safe in the second half and bored my socks off, Portugal, like Brasil, Italy and Spain do play beautifully. I love their short one-two’s and overall sense of where their players are. France, apart from Zidane and Henry were a mediocre team at best. IMHO.
“but the rest of the Portugal midfield and strike force were pathetic. ”
Postiga has been known to be a lazy fart, and started diving about 1 minute into the game. I think he dove onto the pitch to be honest. I’m quite sure I saw a splash! But I disagree with that statement you made above, the Portuguese midfield did control the ball for extended periods of time, Maniche was definitely everywhere for them, he played as well as he could! Deco was alright, C.Ronaldo played his usual, diving and dribbling, great to watch!!
I do agree, the best team won! Congrats France, I do think that Portugal could have taken y’all out had it not been for that penalty decision ;-P
What kind of parrallel universe am I stuck in where I find myself pulling for France?
“In the end, France, just as Italy 24 hours previous, were the better team. Portugal’s run to the semifinals was unexpected and all of their supporters should be proud of their historic run, though a bit disappointed in the overall team performance in this match. If their evolution continues in the same line of ascent, they will be serious contenders for Euro 2008.”
100% agree. It was a beautiful dream, but now it’s over…Forza Italia!
pyroz, while it’s true that portugal dominated the bulk of possession time in the second half, they still were shit. they didn’t attack france enough, they seemed content to allow france to sit back and protect their lead. it looked to me that only figo and ronaldo really had attacking on their minds. i concede that maniche probably wasn’t as bad as the others with whom i lumped him, but still…
time of possession is such an overrated statistic in football and this match is a good example of why. their style in the second half was a little reminiscent of their style in the england match after rooney was sent off: not enough intent to take themselves to the game and too much intent to let the game come to them. it’s the semifinal of a world cup–i can understand france’s understated 2nd-half offensive performance but i don’t understand portugal’s lack of fierceness in attack…
that’s what i meant in my commentary
Some of my kids (students)think that becuse France beat Brasil, and Korea had previously tied France, that it’s like Korea beat Brasil.
Same for the Portugal game
And can you believe that it was the same ref from the Italy-US bloodbath in the group stages? He learned to swallow his whistle, which is a good thing. Carvalho’s trip on Henry was a clear penalty, as straightforward as it gets. Thierry embellished, but all strikers do.
I asked before in the other post, but what happened to Nuno Gomes? Has he fallen that far from grace?
Some post-match comments from the flopp.. I mean Portuguese:
Big Phil Scolari:
“We know South American referees and that they know how to kill a game. All I can say is that he was right when he granted the penalty on the French player and he made a mistake when he didn’t give Portugal a penalty when Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled.”
“I don’t believe that France was better than Portugal - it was a balanced match and one penalty decided it. We are a very small country and it is difficult to reach a World Cup final.”
C. Ronaldo:
“We played well and did our best but the referee didn’t help us. Everyone who saw the match could see that the referee wasn’t fair. He should have shown yellow cards but he did not because Portugal is a small country. We just have to carry on working and then we will be a big country. Portugal showed that they can play good football. France were no better than we were. They got a penalty but not much else.”
Carvalho:
“It was my mistake. I know I made contact with Henry but the referee could have played the advantage. He (Larrionda) did their job for them. When we had dangerous situations he did not help us out. We did not play as we wanted to and are capable of but all the same we deserved more than this. I don’t think France were any better than us - they managed to score a penalty and then defended. We did not manage to equalise and it was very difficult for us.”
Thanks for using some capitals.
dissidentdave: “it’s the semifinal of a world cup–i can understand france’s understated 2nd-half offensive performance but i don’t understand portugal’s lack of fierceness in attack…”
Two words: Pauleta, Postiga
With these two “strikers” you simply can’t have any fierceness in the attack. In fact, if you combine the Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup these two “killers” have scored 2 goals between them. *sigh* we desperately need a decent striker.
PS: Rumour has it that Nuno Gomes didn’t play because he was caught smoking (!!!) after practice by Scolari. This happened before the game against Holland. Ever since he hasn’t even been allowed to warm up.
Smoking! Wow… well it didn’t hurt Gianluca Vialli or Romario I guess
It’s pretty impressive how France turned itself around after the last couple of uninspiring games against Switzerland and Korea. They just keep getting better and better. I can’t begrudge Italy, either, for those two last-minute (literally!) goals in extra time on Tuesday. Both teams have shown that when it matters, they can play like top-class professionals. Let’s just hope that neither team disappoints on Sunday and reverts to its more typical antics…let Zidane retire with grace, and let there be no diving or the other usual theatrics!
“…but also of newspaper hacks and TV quacks the world over, all of which led to lots of premature extrapolation–and we all know what always follows such acts of unfulfillment: disappointment and lowered self-esteem….” You have a job with Private Eye or The Register when you return home, I think. Keep it up, so to speak!
Okay, who forgot to shut off the blockquotes? Let’s try this…
And now…?
There are clips of Ronaldo’s diving over at youtube.
As I said, in 2008, in China, he can join the Portuguese diving team. He *is* largely better at that than anyone else