Cup Crazy - 13 June
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Day 5 saw the World Champions finally take the pitch, the 1998 champs stutter out of the gate, and another game performance from an African debutante. Let's see if Brian has anything of relevance to discuss...
Fat Boy +10
The reigning champs took to the field today when Brazil opened their World Cup campaign against Croatia. While Brazil did walk away with a 1-0 victory, they were hardly convincing. Like with England and Portugal, we'll write this one off as a case of first game jitters and say Brazil is slowly settling into the tournament. But we saw a number of vulnerabilities in the Brazilians: a suspect defense, a midfield that has trouble keeping its shape, and a ridiculously out-of-form Ronaldo. Ronaldo was simply awful. What's most appalling is that he won't even run anymore. He just sits outside the box hoping to poach a goal. With him on the pitch, it's almost as if Brazil was playing a man down. The big question is if Carlos Alberto Parreira has the stones to bench him in favor of Robinho. Brazil will get better, but they are far from invincible. They were fortunate to walk away with a win today versus Croatia, thanks to a wonderful strike from Ricardo Kaka.
Brazilian Fan of the Day
After each Brazil contest, we'll feature our Brazilian Fan of the Day. Today's winner is Daniella from Sao Paolo. She likes travel, shopping, and strong caipirinhas. Welcome to Bookable Offense, Daniella! (On a side note, Bryce once told me if I ever wore a Brazil shirt that was spelled "Brazil" instead of the proper Portuguese "Brasil," he'd stop being my friend. I think we can give Daniella a free pass.)
Allez Les Vieux Hommes!
France showed us today pretty much what they showed us at World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004 - not a whole lot. Switzerland matched mighty France step for step in an evenly played game. It's really remarkable that a team with the names France has just can't seem to make it work out there on the pitch. It got so bad in the second half that Zidane was actually pointing with his hands where he wanted players to make runs to while he had the ball at his feet! Want to find a way to neutralize Thierry Henry? Put him in a France shirt. For all of their greatness, Henry and Zidane just can't seem to link up well. With Vieira and Makelele out there, Les Bleus basically have two players who do the same job. If France is going to play Henry alone up front, then one of those midfield players must be sacrificed for a wing player or attacking midfielder. But the answer might be starting Louis Saha from the start - he does the things Henry doesn't do, like score goals with his head and gets his hands dirty in the box. France looked like it didn't have many answers with their lineup today, so expect changes before their next game against Korea.
Other Thoughts
Since we're updating the site everyday during the World Cup (well, I'm updating it everyday while Bryce is drinking beer and having fun in Berlin), we'll feature letters from the our mailbag here on Cup Crazy occasionally:
Jon in San Diego, CA: Longtime reader, second time writer. As you know, I’m a HUGE Italy fan, and was very happy (although surprised) to see that Brian picked them to win it all. Should they go up against Brazil in either the Round of 16 or the final (I can only wish), how would you play them tactically (assuming of course they’re going with their standard starting 11)? The 4-3-1-2 setup with Totti as the attacking mid seemed to work well yesterday in their 2-0 against Ghana. Do you see that same sort of setup working against the quicker and less error-prone Brazilians?
Brian: Is this Bookable Offense's very own Italian expert, Jon from San Diego? Welcome, Jon. Well, I think the key to beating Brazil is not to over-compensate defensively (for example, taking off a forward for a midfielder), but to play a very attack-minded game. Beating Brazil means controlling the tempo and having the lion's share of possession. I think we saw today that the Brazilian defense is vulnerable. So with that said, I like the 4-3-1-2. As Totti improves, so will Gilardino. I like what I'm seeing from the Azzurri up front. I think to compensate by playing essentially three forwards, Lippi would be smart to stick with good two-way midfielders like Gattuso and De Rossi who can help clog up the midfield and slow down Ronaldinho and Kaka. I wouldn't man-mark Ronaldinho with Gattuso, though. Given Gattuso's style of play, I could easily see him picking up two yellows if he were man-marking Ronaldinho. The Italian defense is world class and has as good of a chance as anyone of slowing down Brazil. That would be a contest I'd love to see, but I'd prefer it to be the final!
Tomorrow's Predictions
I had a fair day today, correctly guessing a 1-0 Brazil win over Croatia. I got the result right in the Korea-Togo game, but incorrectly picked France to beat Switzerland. Here's what's on tap for tomorrow:
Spain 2, Ukraine 0
Tunisia 2, Saudi Arabia 0
Germany 3, Poland 2
Bonsoir, mes amis!
Photos courtesy yahoo.com, fifaworldcup.yahoo.com, and soccernet.com. Hey, is Bryce still alive? I'm getting suspicious of his "computer problems." Holla at Brian: bookableoffense@gmail.com.
Fat Boy +10
The reigning champs took to the field today when Brazil opened their World Cup campaign against Croatia. While Brazil did walk away with a 1-0 victory, they were hardly convincing. Like with England and Portugal, we'll write this one off as a case of first game jitters and say Brazil is slowly settling into the tournament. But we saw a number of vulnerabilities in the Brazilians: a suspect defense, a midfield that has trouble keeping its shape, and a ridiculously out-of-form Ronaldo. Ronaldo was simply awful. What's most appalling is that he won't even run anymore. He just sits outside the box hoping to poach a goal. With him on the pitch, it's almost as if Brazil was playing a man down. The big question is if Carlos Alberto Parreira has the stones to bench him in favor of Robinho. Brazil will get better, but they are far from invincible. They were fortunate to walk away with a win today versus Croatia, thanks to a wonderful strike from Ricardo Kaka.
Brazilian Fan of the Day
After each Brazil contest, we'll feature our Brazilian Fan of the Day. Today's winner is Daniella from Sao Paolo. She likes travel, shopping, and strong caipirinhas. Welcome to Bookable Offense, Daniella! (On a side note, Bryce once told me if I ever wore a Brazil shirt that was spelled "Brazil" instead of the proper Portuguese "Brasil," he'd stop being my friend. I think we can give Daniella a free pass.)
Allez Les Vieux Hommes!
France showed us today pretty much what they showed us at World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004 - not a whole lot. Switzerland matched mighty France step for step in an evenly played game. It's really remarkable that a team with the names France has just can't seem to make it work out there on the pitch. It got so bad in the second half that Zidane was actually pointing with his hands where he wanted players to make runs to while he had the ball at his feet! Want to find a way to neutralize Thierry Henry? Put him in a France shirt. For all of their greatness, Henry and Zidane just can't seem to link up well. With Vieira and Makelele out there, Les Bleus basically have two players who do the same job. If France is going to play Henry alone up front, then one of those midfield players must be sacrificed for a wing player or attacking midfielder. But the answer might be starting Louis Saha from the start - he does the things Henry doesn't do, like score goals with his head and gets his hands dirty in the box. France looked like it didn't have many answers with their lineup today, so expect changes before their next game against Korea.
Other Thoughts
- Hop Suisse! The Swiss will be tough to beat. Their defense is pretty solid (although my boy Senderos made one brutal mistake that he got away with when he gave the ball away to Ribery in the first half). The midfield passed the ball around well, and the attack created a couple of incredible chances. The Swiss hit the post in the first half, and were unlucky not to score on a free header that was mishit in the second. If the Swiss can get any offense at all, they can win this group.
- The Koreans showed they came to play, battling back to beat Togo with two second half goals. South Korea was well organized and could cause the stagnant French trouble. Both goals were very well taken. But unfortunately, the win was dampered by a bush league display by Korean fans. Over two million turned out to celebrate the win in the streets of Seoul. Guys, act like you've been there before. You beat Togo, not Brazil.
- Togo surprised me today, overcoming numerous internal problems to put up a good fight. I don't think they'll win a game, but they showed me that they are not the worst of the 32 teams at this World Cup. As for who will get that dubious distinction, it pains us to say that we may have to look closer to home...
Since we're updating the site everyday during the World Cup (well, I'm updating it everyday while Bryce is drinking beer and having fun in Berlin), we'll feature letters from the our mailbag here on Cup Crazy occasionally:
Jon in San Diego, CA: Longtime reader, second time writer. As you know, I’m a HUGE Italy fan, and was very happy (although surprised) to see that Brian picked them to win it all. Should they go up against Brazil in either the Round of 16 or the final (I can only wish), how would you play them tactically (assuming of course they’re going with their standard starting 11)? The 4-3-1-2 setup with Totti as the attacking mid seemed to work well yesterday in their 2-0 against Ghana. Do you see that same sort of setup working against the quicker and less error-prone Brazilians?
Brian: Is this Bookable Offense's very own Italian expert, Jon from San Diego? Welcome, Jon. Well, I think the key to beating Brazil is not to over-compensate defensively (for example, taking off a forward for a midfielder), but to play a very attack-minded game. Beating Brazil means controlling the tempo and having the lion's share of possession. I think we saw today that the Brazilian defense is vulnerable. So with that said, I like the 4-3-1-2. As Totti improves, so will Gilardino. I like what I'm seeing from the Azzurri up front. I think to compensate by playing essentially three forwards, Lippi would be smart to stick with good two-way midfielders like Gattuso and De Rossi who can help clog up the midfield and slow down Ronaldinho and Kaka. I wouldn't man-mark Ronaldinho with Gattuso, though. Given Gattuso's style of play, I could easily see him picking up two yellows if he were man-marking Ronaldinho. The Italian defense is world class and has as good of a chance as anyone of slowing down Brazil. That would be a contest I'd love to see, but I'd prefer it to be the final!
Tomorrow's Predictions
I had a fair day today, correctly guessing a 1-0 Brazil win over Croatia. I got the result right in the Korea-Togo game, but incorrectly picked France to beat Switzerland. Here's what's on tap for tomorrow:
Spain 2, Ukraine 0
Tunisia 2, Saudi Arabia 0
Germany 3, Poland 2
Bonsoir, mes amis!
Photos courtesy yahoo.com, fifaworldcup.yahoo.com, and soccernet.com. Hey, is Bryce still alive? I'm getting suspicious of his "computer problems." Holla at Brian: bookableoffense@gmail.com.
posted by Brian at 6/13/2006 09:50:00 PM 
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