I think Netherlands got too used to playing against older teams like France and Italy The Russian young squad's counter attacks wore them down until they finally caved.
Feel for ya anro-ed. More time to get ready for World Cup I guess. I just cant get behind recent Dutch teams, not sure why. In the 80s and early 90s Holland and AC Milan were my fav. teams. Mostly because of Ruud Gullit, my all time favorite player. I also liked Van Basten, Ronald Koeman, and Frank Rijkard. I kept rooting for them and Gullit to win the World Cup, but unfortunately that never happened. 88 Euro Cup was fun as hell though. I guess after all those guys left/retired, the Dutch team lost its personality to me. Now I just root for anyone that plays against England or Italy.
Yeah I forgot he was out for the first game. I know the World Cup has twice the teams and an extra knockout round, but why does the yellow card count not reset after the group stages? This is gonna kill Turkey and Russia will be without a key defender too.
I don't think Russia is a much better team on paper. I didn't think Netherlands would crush Russia either. To me it was 40-60 game in favor of the Dutch. You miss a couple of good opportunities and the Russians caught a couple. But coaching wise, I thought Russians were much more deliberate about what they want to do. I always thought Netherlands need a game like that to get a clear look at themselves, and hopeful get a win. Too bad, they lost. I was rooting for Netherlands to go all the way after Portugal lost.
Sorry arno and ace. I called it before the game. If there is anything to learn here, it is that teams/countries who celebrate themselves too much after group stage victories will not go all the way. Teams like Germany and Italy don't shine much in the groupstages, but they are there when it matters. This is also why I think Italy will beat Russia. Germany's biggest threat against Turkey is the danger of thinking we are already through to the next round, which is basically what happened to Holland and Portugal and what will happen to Spain against Italy.
Did you know that 2 of the best players from germans, Klose and Podolski were born in Poland, and are Poles ?;] Fking traitors ;]
Why in god's name didn't Robben play?? the Dutch have the worst luck ever.. and who are those Russians?! never heard of em the Nistelrooy goal was sick though, and the 1st Russian goal was just whack and it was a result of lazy defense.. and the midfield sucked..and I'm pissed..
Great win. I was pulling for a 3-3 at the end to go into penalties. I love penalties. So I'm calling a 2-1 win for Spain in the next game. GO SPAIN! Spain vs Turkey finals, here we come! Anyone know if any key members of the Spanish squad is injured or suspended??
Gatusso and Pirlo are out on yellow card accrual for Italy, a key defensive and offensive piece. However, they do have depth with Camoranesi etc, but they are still without Cannavaro. For Spain, I don't think they have any card worries and from all accounts Puyol will be ready and he was the injury concern.
I am glad the Russians win; they are my dark horses in the tournament. I have to agree with arno_ed that Basten was out coached by Hiddink. It seemed that the Dutch could not find rhythm and launch effective attacks the whole first 60 minutes. Then Snejder went alive, firing some strong long distance shots and helped create the free kick opportunity which scored the equalizer. Despite wining, this Russia team has shown some glaring weakness: 1. Goalkeeper does not like to catch the ball if it is high; he likes to bat it out. 2. Set plays. The Russians are not efficient at corner kicks and free kicks ( a little better than corner ones). They are terrible at defending set plays. 3. Lack of finisher. Many golden opportunities were wasted. I guess there is still room for improvement if the Russians want to go a little deeper.
Good news indeed. Sounds like the Italians might be the underdogs afterall since everyone is so quick to brush off the Spaniards. I wonder who's gonna replace the 2 suspended Italians. ..and speaking Cannavaro, I don't think he would've made that much of a difference in this tourney.
Not to me. The Italians have rediscovered their ability to play smash and grab. Its a great match if you're a fan of excellent defending and 1 goal to win a match. I'm no fan of Spain or the Azurri's but as a fan watching on tv I'll always prefer to watch a free-flowing match with goalscoring opportunities and a few goals never hurt nobody.
I sort of understand. But IMO the beauty in futball is the intreget passing to try to break down the defense. In this match Spain is playing the ground ball while Italy is playing the long ball to break down the defense. Del Piero just sub'ed in for Italy. Look for him to score a goal.
Spain plays good futbol, Italy plays muck it up and counter attack futbol.... Not to mention Italy flops on their backs more often than a $5 hooker on payday. And this ref has missed at least 2 PKs on Italy....in the first half. DD
I HATE both teams so much but I'd much rather see Spain advance and actually play good football as opposed to the Italian Catanaccio go further in the tourney. Damnit Guiza. Damnit Spain
