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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

AMENDED WORLD CUP XI

Luckily I included a disclaimer in my world cup XI, which was;



IKER CASILLAS

SERGIO RAMOS GERARD PIQUE WALDO PONCE FABIO COENTRAO

BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER XAVI

WESLEY SNEIJDER LIONEL MESSI THOMAS MUELLER

DAVID VILLA



COACH: Bert Van Marwijk
SUBS: Richard Kingston, Capdevilla, Gary Medel, Andre Iniesta, Arjen Robben, Luis Suarez, Miroslav Klose

After the final game, I now issue without apology the amended XI, now in 4-3-1-2 formation to accommodate Diego Forlan after his performance v Germany:

CASILLAS

RAMOS PIQUE PUYOL COENTRAO

XAVI SNEIJDER MUELLER

MESSI

FORLAN VILLA

COACH: VICENTE DEL BOSQUE
SUBS: KINGSTON PONCE LUCIO SCHWEINSTEIGER ROBBEN OZIL INIESTA SUAREZ KLOSE


Monday, July 12, 2010

THE BOSQUE AWARDS - NOW VUVUZELA FREE

Sadly, we reach the end of the line.Football has prevailed over Holland, and we can but reflect on the crazy 31 days of the world cup.




Aherm, we present for you the BOSQUES, awards dedicated to the serious and not so serious aspects of the tournament.

In no particular order then;

The Josimar Bosque for best goal.
Nominees:
A Giovanni Van Bronckhorst v Uruguay
B Brett Holman v Serbia
C Carlos Tevez v Mexico
D Maicon v Nth Korea
E Honda v Denmark
F Forlan v Germany
G Podolski v England
H Quaguiarella v Slovakia
I Suarez v Uruguay

The Bosque goes to Van Bronckhorst. Anything that recalls the long range classics of Rats, Aleihnikov and Josimar gets me more than a little excited. Nice way for Gio to be remembered rather than leading a team of street fighters.




The 'PATTI SMITH SOMETIMES LOVE JUST AIN'T ENOUGH' Bosque goes to...Diego Maradona. Who else? His motivational hugs, love taps and latino man kisses carried the Albiceleste to the quarters before running out of puff more abruptly than Mal Meninga's political career.




The Benjamin Massing Bosque for the crudest tackle:
Nominees:
A Felipe Melo
B Nigel De Jong
C Edi Ayew
D Mark Van Bommel
And the winner is...
B Nigel De Jong chose the biggest stage on which to showcase his martial arts prowess, stamping Xavi Alonso in mid air with the ball 3 feet away. He then enhanced his trash talkin' credentials by trash talkin' his team mates, presumably revving them up to follow his lead. Nice look.
For the origin of the Benjamin massing Award, watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeRlJJbtdHc



Frank Lampard's wrongly disallowed goal was one of the low points of the World Cup in South Africa.
The Retractable Testicles Bosque for defiance before sense sets in goes to FIFA, for bravely saying that the issue of goal line or any technology was 'not on the table' the day after Lampard-Gate before relenting and stating that the 'non discussion of technology would not be sensible' and the pearl 'the game is fast, the ball is fast so we have to help them'. Nice work FIFA.


The Ironclad Idiot Bosque has no nominees due to the utterly inept and shameless performance by the French national team.

The George Costanza Lord of the Idiots Bosque, following from the above, goes to Raymond Domenech. The less said the better.




The 'Nah nah nah nah' Bosque for the player left behind as his team faltered.
Nominees:
A Javier Zanetti
B Theo Walcott
C Esteban Cambiasso
D Karim Benzema
E Antioni Cassano
Winner: Joint winners, Zanetti and Cambiasso. The rampant display by Germany would not have taken place under the watch of these 2 warriors.




The Valentin Ivanov Kaartenfest Bosque for the Most Cards Issued goes to none other than Howard Webb, whose performance in the final made all Poms proud as he dished out more cards than Kenny Rogers. Says Webb;
"Not sure if I like this recognition. But the ***** didn't exactly make it easy for me. I thought that De Jong was an extra from Game of Death.."

Still, aspiring referees have a an Everest of a job to surpass Ivanov, who dished out 17 cards at the above referenced match between Portugal and (surprisingly) Holland in the 2006 quarters.




The You Had Me Before The National Anthem Bosque for the most noticeable fan.
Nominees:
A Larissa Riquelme

B Bobbi Eden

C Susana Werner

D Sara Carbenero
Pardon the expression but hands down, Larissa Riquelme has ensured her long term exposure to the world outside Paraguay with her willingness to spur on not only her countrymen, but the Spanish as well. Nokia and Blackberry are also rumoured to be patenting the handset pouch idea for all outgoing women wanting to keep the mobile but leave the purse and bag in the car.




The Aren't You ....? Bosque for the best doppelganger.
Nominees:
A Carlos Tevez = Ugly Betty
B Diego Lugano = Rocco Siffredi
C Javier Aguerre = Kenny Bania
D Raymond Domenech = Eugene Levy
E Ned Zelic = 50% Seth Green + 50% Alex Dimtriades
F Mesut Ozil = Marty Feldman
Sorry Carlos, but the resemblance quite frankly has taken our attention away from that South African runner who was thought to be a woman who wanted to be a man impersonating a girl...
Honourable mention goes to Mesut Ozil, who proved to be anything but wide eyed.





The Thanks But You Can Go Now Bosque for the best return to normal life goes to Paul the Octopus. Despite his ability to choose the result in 8 consecutive world cup matches (at odds of 125-1), the poor pulpo is destined for a life of being pointed to more times by snotty children than Dennis Walter in Bourke St as he endures a life of no sleep as the staff at his aquarium wake him for a tip on the 5th at Randwick or how many drunk tourists will be skewered at the Run of the Bulls at Pamplona. A victim of his own success, Paul will face the skara as soon as a new oracle with less maintenance issues renders him surplus to requirements.


The best channel on earth award goes to SBS, whose sins of engaging the services of Los Trios Korakes, Kevin Muscat and the relative absence of Martyn Tyler are far outweighed by the perfect scheduling and replaying of games. The Santo, Sam and Ed Cup Fever show was the dusting of icing sugar on top of the cherry on top of the frosting of what was a very, very, large and bountiful cake from which we all ate. World Cups are like sex, even a bad or average world cup is far far better than none (the analogy stops before the 4 year frequency though). News of a new Working Dog production on the back the show's success makes us all moist in anticipation.

And so we move on to the froth and bubble that is the European transfer market, the season itself and eagerly to the Champions League, Euro qualifiers before the draw in December for the 2018 and 2022 world cup hosts. May we be favoured and may the infection that almost all the world has caught be spread to places like Mt Isa, Koolyanobbing, Rooty Hill and Coffin Bay. Australia can host the greatest sporting event. If we do, I'll be 52. Only 4,300 days or so to go.

GP

FOOTBALL 1 HOLLAND 0

No one would have spotted the ball in the old days with this one...

WORLD CUP FINAL

SPAIN 1
HOLLAND 0


As Bill Woodfull once said during the bodyline series "There's 2 teams and only one's playing cricket." The Dutch may have set out to negate the Spanish team via its midfield and maybe the tension of the moment gave the Oranje a collective case of white line fever, but the overt aggression that sucked in even the classy Wesley Sneijder bordered on lunacy. While we have seen aggressive Dutch displays before (1994 with Koeman, Wouters et al, and the infamous Kaartenfestival of 2006 v Portugal), this one was in a world cup final. The Dutch effectively waved the white flag with one hand and brandished the switchblade with the other.

Spain persisted with their 3 P's; possession, passing and patience, and the Dutch their 3 N's; negative, nasty and nonsensical. The only Englishman to feature in a final since 1966, referee Howard Webb, must have felt like he was marshalling his 3 kids at home with some of the niggling, whingeing and general bad blood on his plate. It was all Webb could do not to send off the Steven Baker of football, Mark van Bommel. Had he done so, the game would have been ruined as a spectacle, but he chose correctly. All a referee can do in this circumstance is book and book until a double up occurs and players hopefully get the hint.
Tough night for Webb

The sole Dutch opportunities were on the break or from set pieces, usually involving Arjen Robben. He did have a valid claim for a foul when being held by Chewbacca, but Webb allowed advantage, and quite rightly too, as he managed to get shot away. Man of the match Iker Casillas showed great resolve and judgement on 2 occasions to keep Spain in the match.

Eventually, karma won the day with a hard working if not impressive Iniesta burying the goal after Van Der Wiel kept him onside. Again more whingeing from the Dutch and game over.

While the right team won, it is staggering to think that a team like Holland would go in with such deplorable tactics, especially with artists such as Sneijder and Robben. It is simply beyond comprehension.

Spain's win has its genesis in a rich home grown pool of talent that plays with few exceptions only in La Liga, nurtured not only by its own way of playing, but by the influences of Dutch coaching. Add the quality of foreign players that have played in Spain and the mix is a heady one of possessive dominance. The Dutch have been prided themselves on clever exploitation of space, pass and move theology that tonight has defeated them, but not without some help from within.

Deserved winners.

GP




Sunday, July 11, 2010

BRIDESMAIDS REVISITED

GERMANY 3
URUGUAY 2

True to form, the 3rd place play off has delivered a cracker, with Germany prevailing 3-2 over a resilient Uruguay, who have managed to lift again. If not for the woodwork denying Forlan's last kick of the match, extra time would have beckoned.

Uruguayan keeper Muslera ruined a good tournament, at fault for the 1st and 2nd goals. German player Dennis Aogo was lucky not to have been lynched for his an agricultural scythe that would not have looked out of place in Prov League 2 NW.

In the end, Germany happened to be in front when the whistle blew and can both teams can be proud of their achievements. Let's hope the final is as half as entertaining.

Back in RIo, Ronaldo (the one that has produced at world cups), was heard to cackle through his buck teeth as Miroslav Klose missed out on breaching his 15 goal record.

And so on to the final. One version of 4-2-3-1 v another, one looking to nullify the other's creative spirit. Holland to win 2-1, even though my heart wants to see their creative methods rewarded. If the Brazil of 1982 & 1986 can go without the spoils, so can the Spain of 2010. Just as long as Van Bommel finally receives his overdue red card...


GP

Saturday, July 10, 2010

BRIDESMAIDS HAVE MORE FUN

Imagine if Toto had scored this is the 1990 final!

The play off for 3rd place is the bridesmaids' chance to show off without the pressure if preparing for the biggest game of all. The bridesmaid can basically have fun and get away with anything; booze, drugs, pleasure with strangers and it all gets forgotten the next day when the final occupies full attention.

There have been some great 3rd place games in recent history; Turkey's 3-2 over Sth Korea in 2002, Croatia's 2-1 victory over the Dutch, Sweden's 4-0 celebration v Bulgaria in 1994, and Germany's 3-1 win over Portugal in 2006. The games are rarely frugal and have a certain joy about them, especially when it is 1990 and the Poms lose 2-1 to Italy via a penalty on 86 minutes.

Uruguay have to lift again after the drama v Ghana and the draining semi v Holland. Suarez is back to partner Forlan upfront, but most expect the Germans to celebrate their unexpected success in the tournament thus far with a win. So does the octopus.

GP

The Special 1 - More Great Gear

www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DIeiG99juzXw&source=video&vgc=rss&usg=AFQjCNF_gn8wCOlv88PoK80BpyXXB_hATA

Brilliant.



Pulpo Paul Gets to Choose Again


Paul the Ocotpus chooses Germany to defeat Uruguay

Pulpo Paul has chosen.

Germany to beat Uruguay for 3rd place, and Spain to win its first world cup.

The amazing thing is that Paul has evaded the pot and the skara grill.

GP

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Entsorgen Sie die Krake (dispose of the octopus)

Paul in happier times

Let's face it, Paul would have been eaten anyway, whether it be through celebration after a 4th German world cup or through treason. It was gone the moment it began distinguishing itself by choosing between Germany and its opponents.

It now has a record of 6 consecutive correct tips, or 1 in 64. Good effort, but not enough to save it from being diced and stewed in hot zigeuner paprika tomato sauce.

Don't expect it to be featured in another live telecast before the Uruguay game.

GP

El momento de Chewbacca

Hero ... Spain's Carlos Puyol (on the ground) heads the winning goal.
SPAIN 1
GERMANY 0

In the best technical display so far, Spain has made it into the final to play the Dutch after an absorbing contest with Germany.

Spain arm wrestled the Germans in the end through sheer possession and technique on the ball, with Iniesta and Xavi again dominating the centre, and Ramos and Capdevila providing great width. Ramos in particular gave German left back Boateng a bath, forcing a switch for Marcel Jansen.

Spain set out to win and possess as much ball as possible, and after 15" had a staggering 72% of possession. The principle of keeping possession was strictly adhered to as Spain starved the Germans of any momentum, with any chances a brief counter rather than a patient build up. The shot on goal from substitute Kroos on 68" was as close as Germany were going to get.

On 73", a great delivery by Xavi was met by Chewbacca with a thunderous header past Neuer. From there, German were forced to bring on Mario Gomez for Khedira and play more direct, leaving more gaps for Spain on the counter, from which sub Torres should have scored if Pedro el codicioso went for glory. The failure to lay off for Torres will probably cost him a spot in the final XI and Boaque will be thankful that Pedro has made the decision easier for him.

The game's quality was also enhanced by the referee's commendable example of minimalism, with no unnecessary punctuations for ego or pedantic decisions. Maybe the Mexican referee who oversaw Germany-Australia could do worse than to watch this. No cautions, good authority without the ego.

Spain-Holland it is then.. The romantic final of the chokers is finally here. As for Germany, they face an already overachieving Uruguay, who will welcome back Luis Suarez and welcome the chance to catch Germany while they are on a downer.

One person for who the game will not end is the oxygen thief in the superman tee and the vuvuzela who invaded the pitch after 18".

GP

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

World Cup 1986 BBC TV Trailer

This BBC trailer promoting the 86 cup is a collector's item, featuring
3 teams from the British Isles about to play in a world cup. Those
were the days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mQ7GDy_GgQ&feature=youtube_gdata

ITV world cup 1986 moments

More nostalgia from the 86 world cup from the ITV coverage. Watch for
the commentary at 2:13; facile but funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56gfKe50oqQ&feature=youtube_gdata

World Cup Mexico 86 Top 20 Goals BBC

Top 20 goals from Mexico 86 from the BBC. Love the decor, love the
outfits, loved the 86 world cup. Turning 40? Cue nostalgia...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPtCxH7tuKo&feature=youtube_gdata

FLOPS FC


Let's make this short. Good performances should be eulogised and poor ones economised.

In 4-4-2 formation and wearing the soon to be famous Nike all brown strip:



ROBERT GREEN

OTTAMENDI FABIO CANNAVARO JOHN TERRY ANDY COLE

RONALDO KAKA LAMPARD RIBERY

YAKUBU ROONEY



COACH: MARADONA & SLIM PIM
SUB: HOWARD, DE MICHELIS, EVRA, DE ROSSI, GOVOU ANELKA, TORRES(now he'll prove me wrong I know it)

'nuff said

GP

WORLD CUP XI 2010

I will offer upfront that when I see a best XI, it typically chooses the best 8 attacking players and shoehorns a keeper and 2 token defenders, rendering it a joke of an exercise. Sort of what the AFL does with its All-Australian (redundancy at its very best as I don't remember seeing a Malaysian player at half back flank..).

My XI conforms to the 4-2-3-1 formation that has typified this tournament with a balance of attacking and defensive players who I think would be hard to knock off on any given day.

While the remaining 3 games may change a position or 2, this is my line up at the moment:

KEEPER
Iker CASILLAS narrowly pips Ghana's Richard Kingston. His central defence went AWOL at key moments during the games against Switzerland and Chile, but Casillas' numerous saves went unnoticed.

RIGHT BACK
Sergio RAMOS has been the archetypal overlapping right back that I enjoy watching. In the vein of Roberto Carlos,Lizarazu,Cafu and Zambrotta, Ramos has excelled and proves that in a proper football team, marauding full backs with good judgement, pace and technique are invaluable.

LEFT BACK
Ditto the above remarks for Portugal's Fabio COENTRAO.

Despite the Castrol index ranking Phillip Lahm well above both, these 2 typify what a full back should be. Lahm, whilst effective, is no more than a better skilled Gary Neville. Juan Capdevilla also misses out on the left but only just.

CENTRE BACKS
Very few teams were able to penetrate the Chilean defence during the group stage, due to Gary Medel and Waldo Ponce. The suspension of both and not much bite upfront meant second place and a bad draw v Brazil.

Of the 2, Ponce probably slightly outshone Medel, so we'll give him one spot. The other goes to Gerard PIQUE, who has lifted immensely since his first 90 minutes of horror against the Swiss.

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS
Bastian Schweinsteiger has grown into midfield royalty with his form, with few now worrying about when Michael Ballack will return. Xavi is the general of Spain's midfield, and his battle with the pig climber will be crucial to tomorrow morning's cracker.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
Simple. Messi, in an underwhelming and undercoached team, has proved that he is still in the top 3 of the world, even if he was muted against the Germans. Sneijder is a great bet for player of the tournament and Thomas Mueller has gone from 'ball boy' to golden boy.

STRIKER
If you are going to have a sole striker, he shouldn't necessaily be a man mountain to hold up the ball. If you're after a great finisher both in and out of the box, then Villa es tu hombre.

COACH
Close call between Van Marwijk and Loew, although I give to Van Marwijk for getting the Dutch this far without an ego explosion the size of the Pacific rim preventing the obvious talent from progressing. Bert has also managed to keep his own ego under wraps, with little but salient comments offered when pressed about his side's chances. Bert it is.



IKER CASILLAS

SERGIO RAMOS GERARD PIQUE WALDO PONCE FABIO COENTRAO

BASTIAN SCHWEINSTEIGER XAVI

WESLEY SNEIJDER LIONEL MESSI THOMAS MUELLER

DAVID VILLA



COACH: Bert Van Marwijk
SUBS: Richard Kingston, Capdevilla, Gary Medel, Andre Iniesta, Arjen Robben, Luis Suarez, Miroslav Klose

Criticism and mocking comments welcome. It's football...

Next I'll look at the flops, and yes the Poms and the French will be represented somewhat...

GP


Paul strikes again...

"Psychic"octopus ... Paul has picked Spain to beat Germany.
Paul the Octopus delivers his verdict

The Mollusc medium, as the German media have dubbed him, has chosen Spain to deliver pain tomorrow morning. At the Euro08 tournament, Paul only chose 1 game incorrectly, tipping Germany to beat Spain in the final. Maybe the encephalopod has become intuitive.

The odds of Paul tipping all the German games correctly to now is 1/25, ie 1 in 32. About time he showed his human side.

GP

niet totaal, maar genoeg (not total but enough)

HOLLAND 3
URUGUAY 2

Not total football, but enough. In any case, the notion of total football has long been an anachronism flattened out by pragmatic football. WC 2010 has been characterised by teams mostly playing 4-2-3-1 with 3 skilful midfielders playing in behind a forward doing his best to drag central defenders with him.

At last we have seen a long range bomber, with veteran Van Bronckhoorst unleashing a 35m bullet past Muslera on 17". The spirit of 1986 was all over it, with the 5 replays not enough. Think Rats and Aleihnikov, Josimar and add this to the collection.

Forlan then unleashed the bazooka from 30m just before halftime that Stekelenburg should have dealt better with, although the lateral swerve was later than George Costanza to a job interview.

After the break fortune favoured the Dutch again as a shot from Sneijder went through the legs of an offside Van Persie, with the benefit paid. No doubt about the 3rd though, as an excellent Kuyt cross was met by an unmarked Robben who angled his header for an unsavable goal off the post.

A late Maxi Pereira goal from a nicely worked free kick on 92" that had echoes of Javier Zanetti v England in France98, but the Dutch held on.

At game's end some frustration and far too many shots of Dutch royalty, with some antics more akin to Eurovision than to the world cup. The cameraman should take more licence and film the real fans. not the Jaggers, Di Caprios, Berlusconis, King Wilhelm (or whatever his name is) et al.

GP

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

THE BEST WHINE COMES FROM SOUR GRAPES

An old saying sure, but the old ones are the ones still left.

Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez, already on edge after a supposed closed training session was filmed and reported on by what he termed 'war correspondents', has lashed out at claims by mostly UK hacks who feel his team does not deserve to be the semis and facing Holland.

Some of the criticism stems from the heroic act of handball by Luiz Suarez, which prevented the last minute goal but went unpunished by Asamoah Gyan. Tabarez quite rightly points out that if the Ghanaian had buried the spot kick, Uruguay would be having mad Monday or their version of it by now. That Suarez was touted as a hero by his team mates is purely an extension of their joy in making the semi finals, and while the Poms et al can moralize all they like, the rules were enforced and the opportunity afforded by the rules not taken.

The English can get over it as they froth over the usual transfer activity that has the journos at the business end of a hammer drill at this time until the kick and rush starts again.

Had the French and the English played anywhere near their potential, they'd be spoken about regarding their chances in the quarters and beyond. They have 4 more years to stew over it. At least the French have a system and a culture of play that allows them to look at the latter rounds of a world cup, whereas the English system relies on high tempo, poor tactics and more expectation than Peter North on his wedding night.

Uruguay are without some key players for tomorrow morning's clash against Holland, and will probably be put to the sword. So sure they have played above their own expectations, but name a world cup where a team hasn't snuck into the business end with some raised eyebrows? Turkey, South Korea, Cameroon etc. I will be hoping for a Uruguayan victory, however unlikely it will be.

GP

CASTROL ANALYSIS BEFORE SEMI FINALS

Monday, July 5, 2010

Wrong Analogy

Why the English squad chose Postman Pat for Fabio Capello as a nickname is beyond me. After all, Postman Pat always delivers....

Thanks Special 1. You Champion.

GP

YouTube - SPECIAL 1 TV (world cup EP05) Cabbage man Pat & FIFA's video tech alert, What Next !

YouTube - SPECIAL 1 TV (world cup EP05) Cabbage man Pat & FIFA's video tech alert, What Next !

More on the French debacle...


Eric Cantona's assessment on the French campaign;

"Raymond Domenech is the worst coach of French football since Louis XVI."

THE DREAM IS OVER BUT NOKIA THANKS HER..

NOKIA - ALWAYS ASK FOR THE BEST RECEPTION

SPAIN 1
PARAGUAY 0

Alas, the promise of a woman called Larissa will never be fulfilled, although many lonely nights will end happily in the bedrooms of many prepubescent, adolescent and 35+ incandescent men. Nokia has also cashed in with some of the best unsolicited advertising since Shane Warne let his penis do the talking on the 1999 Ashes tour.

Paraguay set out to frustrate and parked the bus early, with Spain wasteful. A penalty drama at both ends with Paraguay defender Alcaraz lucky to stay on the pitch, and then another piece of Villa opportunism finally put the Albiroja away and with it the above fantasy.

Spain now go onto to play Germany in a tie that begs the former to awake from their slumber as the Germans will force them out of their self imposed cave. If Switzerland and Chile could sneak a goal on the counter, the Germans will fancy themselves.

The midfield battle will be a tasty one; Ozil, Schweinsteiger and Mueller v Xavi, Alonso and Iniesta.

GP

eins zwei drei vier, wieder


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not content with slotting 4 past Australia and the Poms, Germany have officially become the entertainers of South Africa. We can ridicule Joachim Loew's sense of couture and gastronomic appreciation of his own nasal debris, but the bloke is winning through intelligent tactics and great execution of these tactics by his young and expressive team.

Argentina never recovered from the initial set piece, where Thomas 'ball boy' Mueller headed home. They kept persisting through the middle, where their biggest strengths were, and Germany kept the flanks, where they plundered, especially down the left, where all their goals came. Podolski, Mueller and the Feldmanesque Mesut Ozil tore strips off the fancied South Americans, with Bastian Schweinsteiger showing none of the nervousness that Maradona taunted him with 24 hours earlier. For all of the German anxiety about losing Ballack, they had the pig climber all along. The other piece of the German success came through nullifying Messi, not by crudely marking and fouling him out of the game, but by limiting his supply to receiving the ball in the back two thirds of the park. Once they had gone down 2-0, Messi and his suppliers had lost their heads and with no coach to reform matters, the game was up.

Germany have been far from the dour, collective and cold monolith they are stereotyped as. Rather, they play as a team but allow those with individual strengths to express when needed.

As for Argentina and Diego, well pretty much enough has been said. To the AFA goes the blame for players left behind and for the paucity of tactics employed by the man they employed. Diego can play the sympathy card but no one is listening, especially in Buenos Aires.

The sidebar was the constant and unsettling image of a celebratory Angela Merkel with a rather interested Berlusconi behind her as she high-fived anyone who would reciprocate. Unsettling...

GERMANY 4
ARGENTINA 0

GP