Fearsome Foursome: All the World Is Their Stage
In a major development at the World Cup Monday, it was revealed that Brazil, two victories removed from an unprecedented fifth world title, is no good.
“I’ve seen them play a number of teams and I don’t think it is going to go how they want it to go,” Netherlands defender Jaap Stam said.
“Norway beat them, Denmark came very close, so why can’t we?”
Weaknesses in the Brazilian team?
Do you have an hour or two?
Start with the defense.
“We’ve noted they aren’t always as tight as they should be,” Dutch Coach Guus Hiddink said.
Then, there’s Brazil’s goalkeeper, Claudio Taffarel.
“Overall his technique is flawed,” Bob Wilson, Scotland’s former national goalie, said. “He chooses to punch rather than catch, which as a goalkeeping coach I believe is a mistake.
“Taffarel made an error which was almost schoolboy-like against Denmark when he lay down in front of the goal as Brian Laudrup scored in the quarterfinal. That was an elementary error, because he was committing himself too early.”
How about Ze Carlos, the veteran right fullback due to start tonight in place of the suspended Cafu?
“He didn’t go forward decisively and worse still, left spaces behind him which [center back] Junior Baiano had to cover,” Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported after observing Ze Carlos in an intrasquad scrimmage Sunday.
“With Ze Carlos, [the first team’s] defense concedes three goals, all coming down the right side,” added the Folha de Sao Paulo’s Internet site.
Well, at least Brazil can always turn to Ronaldo.
“It will not be easy to stop Ronaldo, but others have managed it and so can I,” Stam said.
“Ronaldo’s not having the tournament he, and everyone else, thought he would. I think he believed he would be top scorer by now, but he’s not and he’s getting a lot of attention on the pitch--most of the time there are two defenders on him and it is not easy [for him].”
Even the way Brazil has gone about its business, reaching tonight’s semifinal in Marseille against Holland, is getting slammed.
“In every spot on the field, they used to have players who were artistic, [but] they have changed their philosophy,” Hiddink said. “For me, as a football lover, it is a pity.”
Brazil’s Coach Mario Zagallo, who has dealt with this sort of mudslinging for months, responded as one might expect him to by now.
He agreed.
“Today, football is totally different,” Zagallo said. “With the physical development and the speed imposed, spaces are minimal. Thinking has to be a lot faster.
“Today, the idea is not to let the other team play. Back then, we played football.”
So, in other words, Brazil hasn’t a prayer tonight, which means the Dutch will roll on through, setting up a Sunday championship match with host team France at Saint-Denis.
Not a chance, it was also revealed Monday in another major development.
“I’ve said all along that France are the favorites, but I still don’t think they can beat us,” Croatia’s Coach Miroslav Blazevic said.
“My view is that the French defense is not that strong. I know that seems like a paradox because they have only conceded one goal in this competition and that was a penalty. But the two fullbacks [Lilian] Thuram and [Bixente] Lizarazu both push forward a lot and that leaves space on the flanks. Then the French defense is open.”
And when the French defense is left open, goalkeeper Fabien Barthez becomes a ticking time bomb, it was also announced.
“Ever since Monaco played Manchester United in the Champions League last season, we have known that Fabien Barthez had a flawed technique and is a chancy goalkeeper,” Wilson said.
“Barthez is the riskiest of the four goalkeepers [in the semifinals]. He commits himself far too early and will race off his line for the aerial ball. Bernard Lama on the bench is technically a better and more consistent keeper.”
Which means it will be Holland and Croatia in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Except you can scratch Holland because, according to Brazil’s assistant coach, Zico, the Dutch “are a very technically gifted team, but we know they’ve got defensive weaknesses.”
And you can forget Croatia, because its goalkeeper, Drazen Ladic, is “perhaps the most flawed of the remaining keepers,” Wilson said. “Goalkeeping is about consistency and it is the crucial feature which he lacks.”
In a major development, it was revealed Monday, that no one can win the World Cup.
Except, perhaps, Jamaica. No one was saying anything bad about Jamaica.
TODAY’S SEMIFINAL
Netherrlands vs. Brazil
at Marseille
Noon
(ESPN, Ch. 34)
*
WEDNESDAY’S SEMIFINAL
France vs. Croatia
at Saint-Denis
Noon
(ESPN, Ch. 34)
