Fazzinchi

Quarter Finals, Day 1

Well the early match saw Germany face Argentina. As a loyal England follower, it was hard to know who to cheer for as our two old footballing enemies went head to head. The first half was a dire affair with no chances, no imagination and almost nothing of interest. Ayala bravely headed the South Americans in front shortly after the break only for Klose to get his fifth of the tournament with 10 minutes left and the tie livened up a bit. Extra time was tense; penalties were inevitable; the Germans were lethal. 4 almost perfect pens from the hosts has taken them through to yet another semi final. It was after everything had finished when everything kicked off, so to speak. There were some pretty ugly scenes as the two sets of players clashed after the final whistle. Then the Argentinian head coach resigned, which was only fair given the terrible substitution decisions he made during the game.

The Germans’ opponents in the semi-final will, in another mouthwatering tie, be Italy. Zambrotta opened the scoring early against Ukraine and a 1-0 result looked to be a dead cert. However, in a more lively second half, Ukraine began to threaten only for Luca Toni to double the lead when Italy counter attacked and then score his second and Italy’s third after 70 minutes. It was easy in the end, but if we’re honest we’re only worried about tomorrow afternoon’s match, England v Portugal is sure to get masses of viewers, and I’ll be one of them. C’MON ENGLAND!!!!!

Ow - no!
Well, last Tuesday night I thought that this moment, when Owen’s knee popped out in glorious high-def, was going to signify the end of England’s (albeit slim) World Cup hopes. However, as they used to say in old US sports commentary, it’s not bad to “win ugly”…. and you couldn’t win more ugly than England do at the moment. Another slim victory this afternoon, 1-0 over Ecuador, saw our once mighty nation scramble their way to the quarter finals. The good news is that we’re going to play Portugal who battled through a vaguely ridiculous match of 16 yellow and 4 red cards, and therefore will have suspensions and cautious players aplenty. All in all it has been a great World Cup so far, intriguing games, super goals, and all set up for some pretty fantastic knock-out football…. try and predict the outcome of the Germany vs Argentina 1/4-final! Go on, have a go.

This is how to talk football.

You’ve gotta hand it to Sky Sports. Unlike their domestic monopoly, they have no rights at all to show to show any World Cup football and yet, if you need a sensible update on what’s been happening out in Germany, there’s not much better than tuning in to one of their 6 or 7 daily World Cup Reports. Nick Collins has based himself with the England squad in Baden-Baden (so good they named it twice) and manages to talk very sensibly about the state of the team. It is something that the BBC and ITV should start to take notes on. It is at times like these when the BBC’s advert-free style should be paying dividends, but the cliche-ridden commentaries and cringe-worthy panels are almost too much to bear. Gary Lineker seems to want to be a stand up comic rather than a sports pundit and his persisent interrupting almost came to a head with Martin O’Neill yesterday afternoon…. “Theo Walcott couldn’t come on in the 2nd half because he was having his afternoon nap” [cue self-congratulatory laughter]. Ha-Bloody-Ha… the look of disdain from Martin was priceless. Over on ITV, the scene is not much better: the sporting equivalents of c-list celebs litter the studio as the amiable Gaby Logan presides. Sam Allardyce, Stuart Pearce and El Tel are watchable enough, but the rest detract rather add to the event.

This is not!

On the pitch, we thankfully find much more palatable viewing. The big teams are all doing well (so far) with Germany, England, Argentina and Holland all having secured victories in their opening games. 16 of the 32 teams have made their World Cup bow, but none have really stood out from the crowd. It bodes well for some unpredictability and close matches as the tournament progresses. Currently we’ve had 8 games, 18 goals, 1 red card, 30 yellow cards, and no penalties (!), who’d have thunk it.

“In Euro 96, I wasn’t allowed to stay up late and watch the football.”

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you won’t have failed to notice that World Cup fever has begun in earnest. Cars and houses are adorned with St George Crosses, as the nation collectively braces itself for our two-yearly dose of heart-breaking discussions of what-might-have-been. This afternoon we saw the final warm-up game in anticipation of the main event of the summer… England 6-0 Jamaica may have flattered the hosts but it will be in good heart that “our boys” head over to Frankfurt. One month, 32 teams, 64 matches, and no hiding place for those who don’t appreciate the beautiful game. The talk so far has been of Rooney’s foot, Owen’s match fitness, Theo Walcott’s age and dancing like a robot, so who knows what we’ll be talking about by July 9th. Even my natural pessimism started to be swept along by yet more tales of ‘66 that seem to pop up on almost every channel from day-to-day, and there’s a prize for anyone who spots an advert that doesn’t have a football theme to it. The BBC are almost certain to win the ratings war, and the confident presentation skills of Linekar et al will win the hearts and minds of housewives and fans alike. Just when the weather seems to be getting better, we can all stay indoors and watch the telly. Let the drama commence.