Free Kicks - 25 July 2006

Bookable Offense is Back
After a two week break following our daily coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, we're back with semi-regular updates throughout the summer as we prepare to embark on the 2006/07 season. The English Premier League kicks off play in less than four weeks, boys and girls. We'll have full coverage of what's going on in the transfer market and previews of the upcoming season. The mailbag will return, so send in your questions for Brian and Bryce on anything and everything relating to the world of football. And we'll once again bring you our most anticipated preseason feature, "Fashion Corner," where Brian will take a look at this season's "must haves" and "don't bothers" in the world of football kit fashion. Let's let the good times roll.

Final World Cup Thoughts
Well, what can we say that already hasn't been said? The Italians were worthy champions. The Azzurri have the best defense in the world and clutch players who came up big when it counted. Like most finals, this one was not the most eye-pleasing as far as football matches go. But it was tense and relatively well played. The French outplayed Italy in midfield for most of the contest. But Italy got stronger as the game went on. By the end of the game, France's four most dangerous players - Vieira (injury), Ribery, Henry (exhaustion), and Zidane (lunacy) - were off the pitch and even though it would go to penalties, Italy always looked to be the winner. It was no surprise that David Trezuguet, one of the most overrated players in the world, missed his kick. Still, making the finals was an impressive and surprising accomplishment for the unfancied French. Despite Zidane's madness, France can hold its head up high. The same can't be said for the dire English or overrated Brazilians. This World Cup might be remembered for big disappointments and poor officiating than it will be for the good things. But let's give a hand to the Germans, who put on a good show both on the pitch and off.

Italian Hangover
It looks as if the final verdict in the Italian match fixing probe is in. While the punishment for the four teams involved - Juventus, Fiorentina, Lazio, and AC Milan - was not as harsh as many had hoped, the message has been sent. Juventus likely will have at least a two year battle back to top-flight football and a three-year wait until European play. Fiorentina and Lazio will find it nearly impossible to compete for the Serie A crown next year and will have a serious challenge to get into Europe next term. Milan got a slap on the wrist. But you can bet they won't try anything sneaky in the near future. The good news is that teams that played straight and fair like Internazionale, AS Roma, and Chievo will be in the Champions League this term. As for the weeks ahead, we likely will not see many players leave the teams remaining in Serie A. But the sell off at Juve has already begun. Thuram, Emerson, Cannavaro, and Zambrotta are already gone. Look for all of Juventus' foreign-based stars - Trezuguet, Vieira, Ibrahimovich, Mutu, etc. - to move on. The jury is out if Italian stars Buffon or Del Piero will leave, or if Pavel Nedved will retire. Expect a very active August in the Italian transfer market.

Goodbye to a Legend
Arsenal said hello and goodbye all in one special day this past Sunday. As the classy English team opened its state-of-the-art, self-funded stadium, the team said goodbye to Dennis Bergkamp with a testimonial match. Simply put, Bergkamp is one of the classiest players the game has ever seen. Many in England credit the likes of Bergkamp and Eric Cantona for rebuilding English football in the 1990s after the five-year English ban from European football and opened the door for the world's best players to come to England. At Arsenal, Bergkamp is a legend. He has played a vital role in all of the club's success in the past decade and helped return the team to among England's elite. On a personal note, Dennis Bergkamp is one of the main reasons I'm a football fan. At the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Bergkamp's class and skill left a lasting impression on me that led me to becoming a football fan years later (not to mention an Arsenal supporter). There's only one Dennis Bergkamp, and he will be missed. Here's a little something to remember him by:




Transfer of the Week
The award for Transfer of the Week goes to Newcastle United, who swooped up exciting Irish winger Damien Duff for a paltry £5 million from Chelsea. Duff is a world class player and has consistently been Chelsea's best wing player the last three seasons. Chelsea made a mistake for letting him go, and the Magpies are the beneficiaries. If Newcastle fancies itself as a contender for a spot in the Champions League, they'll need to pick up more players in Duff's class. Newcastle has done a good job in recent years of signing good midfield players. Now only if they had a clue as to how to find defenders and forwards. If so, Bryce might actually have a proper football team to cheer for.

Pictures courtesy yahoo.com and sportcentral.ie. Video courtesy youtube.com. Email us at bookableoffense@gmail.com.

Will They Be Partying in Rome or Paris on Sunday Night?

We started with 32 less than one month ago. After the final whistle on Sunday evening in Berlin, only one team will be able to call itself the best in the world.

France and Italy have both taken unique paths to the final. But both very much have earned their places in the showpiece game.

There are many subplots that the media will focus on heading into this game. It will be the final bow for Zinedine Zidane and many of France's golden generation which won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Italy has rallied in the face of ongoing scandal back at home. With wins, both teams will solidify their places in history. A win for France would be their second, and one for Italy would be an astounding fourth.

But who cares about that stuff, right? The focus should be on the pitch. And there are many intriguing things to watch on Sunday.

Expect a defensive battle and not many balls reaching the back of the net. Italy's strength is in the back. Gigi Buffon has shown us repeatedly in this World Cup that he is the best keeper in the world. The Italian defense has not conceded a goal to an opposing player in this tournament (the only goal being an own goal against the US in the group stage). Fabio Cannavaro is one of the top three centerbacks in the world. He has not made a single mistake this entire tournament.

France is also solid defensively, although their strength comes from their pair of world class defensive midfielders, Claude Makelele and Patrick Vieira. The French defense is rarely tested because of the superb play of France's imported holding midfielders.

Italy may play into the hands of the French defense. Italy prefers to attack up the middle as opposed to down the wings. If Italy continues this trend, they could have a lot of trouble getting the ball to Luca Toni and getting quality scoring chances.

Likewise, France may be trouble getting the ball up to Thierry Henry. In the first half against Germany, the Italian defenders gave Germany's midfield too much space to operate, and the Germans generated some good attacks. In the second half, Italy put the clamps down on the German midfield, and Italy began to take control. If Italy doesn't defend deep, Zidane and Ribery won't have much room to operate.

So, does than mean we're in store for a defensive yawner? Perhaps. Both teams play with a lone striker, which often leads to a clogged midfield and not a lot of pretty football. But fear not, for we have enough skilled players on the pitch to create some magic.

Zinedine Zidane was frustrated and ineffective in France's first two games at this World Cup. He sat out their third due to suspension. Since returning in the Round of 16 against Spain, he has been as good as he's ever been. Most remarkably, he has finally struck up an understanding with Thierry Henry.

Francesco Totti has had a quiet World Cup for Italy after making a remarkable return from a broken leg. Still playing with screws in his ankle, Totti hasn't made fans stop and notice him on the pitch. But it's pretty easy to tell from watching Italy when Totti is on the pitch and when he is not. When Totti is out there, the Italian forwards see a lot of the ball. When he's not, they are largely invisible.

So, the Zidane and Totti match-up will be key on Sunday. Whoever is more dominant is likely to come out the winner.

We've established that it'll be a defensive battle and that the two playmaking stars are key. That's not rocket science, true. But they are important to this game nonetheless.

Who will win, you ask?

Well, I really can't see Italy's defense failing now. The Azzurri have a poor track record in the past of blowing leads late because of their defensive mentality. But this is a different Italy team. The Italians have been very good late in games at controlling the ball. And this may be the most dominant Italy defense in decades. Henry can be neutralized by Cannavaro.

The French defense will be tough to penetrate, but if Italy can move the ball down the wings or over the top of Makelele and Vieira, they can get chances on net.

It'll be tight, but the score will be:

Germany 2, Portugal 0

Oh, you meant the final?

Italy 1, France 0

Enjoy your party on Sunday night, Rome.

Pics courtesy fifaworldcup.yahoo.com and yahoo.com. Of course Brian is picking Italy. He picked them to win the tournament a month ago! Let him know what you think at bookableoffense@gmail.com.

Sorry England Go Home

It turns out I was right all along.

I didn't want to be right. In fact, in a moment of madness I went out on a limb and predicted a semifinal finish on this very website before the tournament. But we could all see this in the making months ago. There was simply no way that England was going to make it past the quarterfinals at World Cup 2006.

It wasn't going to happen with two injured forwards.

It wasn't going to happen with a horribly unbalanced midfield.

And it certainly could never happen with Sven Goran Eriksson in charge.

The sad part is that England could be so much more. This generation has legitimate talent and real stars. The defense is absolutely world class. There are international stars who have done it on the big stage like Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard.

But when The FA decided to keep Sven on as a lame duck in the aftermath of the fake sheikh affair, England's World Cup fate was signed, sealed, and delivered.

We knew after Euro 2004 the Sven wasn't the man to get England over the hump. Now, don't get me wrong, Sven should be credited for rebuilding England into a credible team in the aftermath of the Hoddle and Keegan disasters. But, Sven's last big win was over four years ago against Argentina. His only other noteworthy win was the historic 5-1 drubbing of Germany in 2001.

Since then, he has lost or tied every major competitive match in a big tournament. He couldn't beat Sweden in 2002 or 2006. England looked a class below Brazil in its quarterfinal loss in 2002. He blew a game that was won against France at Euro 2004. And most notably, he's been knocked out of the last two major tournaments by a less talented, but better coached Portugal team.

It's not just the results, but how Sven's decisions played a key role in England being unable to compete with the world's elite.

Sven has absolutely no clue how to balance a midfield to save his life. Cole, Lampard, Gerrard, and Beckham are all very good players. But they do not make a midfield, particularly on the international level. Beckham adds nothing down the right. He has no speed, no skill on the ball, and can't beat opponents. He can do little else than deliver a good ball on set pieces. Lampard and Gerrard, for all their greatness, can't play together because they are far too similar. Both are good passers and decent scorers, but neither is a ball winner, a defensive stopper, or a true playmaker. Oddly, it's the most recent addition, Joe Cole, who most belongs in this midfield. I've been making this point about the midfield until I've turned blue in the face. But I knew it was a worthless fight because Sven wouldn't change.

Sven's answer this tournament was to switch to a 4-5-1 in the knockout rounds. This was lunacy, and I said as much. You lost too much by having only one forward. And Wayne Rooney was horribly wasted as a lone striker, particularly when you consider that he was not 100% fit. If anything, his red card against Portugal was the result of him trying to do too much due to the frustration of not getting the ball for the better part of three matches. Owen Hargreaves, who Sven brought on in midfield as a holding player, was superb and his play against Portugal justified a starting spot. But the answer would have been to play him in favor of Beckham or Lampard, not Peter Crouch.

England did not score a single goal from open play while in the 4-5-1 formation, which was a very predictable outcome. In making the formation switch, Sven added nothing to make England more dynamic. In fact, he made his team more defensive, more pensive, and less likely to score. England's entire approach to goalscoring was getting lucky on set pieces. You aren't going to win tournaments doing that.

England, of course, had a puncher's chance at beating Portugal when the game went to penalties. But if you look at the players England had on the pitch at the end of 120 minutes, you couldn't feel good about the Three Lions' chances. Beckham was out with an injury, which was probably a blessing. But also out were Rooney, of course, due to his dismissal, and Owen, who was injured earlier in the tournament. That left Lampard and Gerrard as the only reliable penalty takers - and both missed! But why was there not another scorer on the pitch? Sven took off Joe Cole earlier in the match. Also off was Aaron Lennon, who came on as a sub and inexplicably was taken off in favor of Jamie Carragher in extra time. Theo Walcott, the 17 year old prodigy Sven surprisingly picked in the squad, was unused all tournament. Other options like Darren Bent and Jermaine Defoe were left home.

If this sounds familiar, it's because Sven also made a mess of his squad and substitutions during the Euro 2004 penalty loss to Portugal. At least in that shootout England gave the impression that it might actually try to win it. This time around, after Lampard missed the first kick, England was done. You could see it on the faces of the players.

But the truth of the matter is that England was done before the World Cup even began. England was a shambles this entire tournament. They played horribly against Paraguay and won due to an own goal. They were fortunate to beat Trinidad and Tobago late in the game after 80 terrible minutes. England blew a late lead and once again couldn't beat Sweden. It took a fortunate free kick goal to beat Ecuador. And England never came close to scoring against a weakened Portuguese team.

So, where does England go from here? That's a great question. Step one is balancing the midfield and reverting to a 4-4-2. It's time to have a holding midfielder and a speedy, skilled winger down the right. If you look at the last four at the World Cup, all four teams have a balanced midfield.
But it might be a moot point. Remember, new manager Steve McLaren has been Sven's right-hand man the last five seasons. Why should we think that things will be any different with McClaren in charge? As long as we see our pal Posh in the stands and her man Becks on the pitch, England are going nowhere fast.

Photos courtesy yahoo.com. Where does England go from here? Let us know at bookableoffense@gmail.com.

Cup Crazy - 3 July

Brian looks ahead to the semifinals as the World Cup turns into Euro 2006...

Europe Reigns Supreme
The home cooking must be good in Europe. World Cups in Europe tend to be parties just for those on the continent, and such is the case at this World Cup. Italy will take on Germany tomorrow in a game that could go either way. Germany didn't look nearly as potent offensively against Argentina in the quarterfinals. But they turned out a gutty performance and got better as the match progressed before winning on penalties. Italy, after a few close calls, turned it on in the second half and beat Ukraine soundly to reach the semifinals. Italy has the edge defensively, while Germany's attack has been much stronger throughout the tournament. I like Italy to come out on top, but never count out the hosts. In the other match-up, surprise semifinalists France will take on Portugal, who survived an ugly game with England. France is improving with each game and are the clear favorites, especially with Portugal coming off of two grueling games against Holland and England. Regardless, both games should be compelling.

Tomorrow's Predictions
I struck out with a couple of my predictions in the quarterfinals. Let's see if I can get back some credibility:

Italy 2, Germany 1
France 1, Portugal 0

Goodnight now.

Photo courtesy fifaworldcup.yahoo.com. Email us at bookableoffense@gmail.com.