Nothing exciting about this match until Ghana was awarded a penalty for a handball in the area. Zdravko Kuzmanovic was guilty of the handball, which received a yellow. He then argued the yellow to the point of another yellow...bye bye. Asamoah Gyan converted the penalty, making Ghana the first African team to win in the first World Cup on the continent.
After the final whistle, the Ghana players ran across the field in jubilation, some carrying national flags as they received applause from a crowd that pretty much made them the home team.
"Every African is behind us," Gyan said. "I salute all you guys. We win this match for you."
Gyan's penalty gives the Ghanans a victory for Africa
GERMANY vs AUSTRALIA
The Socceroos were looking to prove that they belonged in the World Cup. Germany quickly dashed their dreams when Lukas Podolski (who is really Polish...hmmm) made quick work of Mark Schwarzer in goal. The Germany player who assisted was offside when he received the ball so I'm not sure why that wasn't called. The Australian players saw that and stopped playing, just in time to give Podolski a clear shot at the goal. Schwarzer tried to parry but knocked it into the net.
The tempo of the game was controlled completely by the Germans. Australia had a few chances on goal that they wasted with wild shots, but Joachim Low's team were patient and clinical with their passing, which befuddled the Socceroos. Miroslav Klose (who is really Polish...hmmm) made it 2-0, which stayed the score until halftime. Although Australia picked up the pace in the second half, their fate was sealed when captain Tim Cahill was sent off for a challenge on Bastien Schweinsteiger in the 56th. The announcers and myself agreed that it was a harsh red, at most a yellow. But the leader of the Socceroos took the walk of shame, leaving the already-taxed defense stretched even further. Thomas Muller made it 3-0 on 67' and Cacau (a recently naturalized Brazilian...hmmm) scored the final goal three minutes later.
Give the Australians some credit that they played the last 21 minutes without conceding, despite being a man down. One issue that Low will have to deal with was the only two yellow cards received by the Germans, not for harsh tackles or mouthing off, but for diving (simulation as FIFA refers to it). That could come back to haunt Die Mannschaft in the later rounds...refs never forget. Ozil and Cacau were the ballerinas in this case, and I'm sure Low will have a talk with them.
I enjoy watching the Germans, although I'm not a fan. They play a very similar style to the athletic and physical English Premier League, the style which Low prefers.
My one happy moment happened after the game when I realized that Germany didn't miss Michael "the hack" Ballack one bit. I'm sure that wasn't a happy moment for the egotistical loudmouthed lout. Auf Wiedersehen, Michael...
Miroslav Klose, who was very "close-uh" with one goal, finally scored to make it 2-0
Lukas Podolski scored for Germany (instead of Poland)
Tim Cahill is shown the red while Podolski looks on
Game over for the Socceroos
FOR CLUB OR COUNTRY?
Watching today's match between Germany and Australia made me think about the issue of club or country. Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose always play brilliantly for Germany, but are absolute crap for their respective clubs. Is playing for their country more important?
Many players say that to play for their country is the highest honor in footy. Really? Even more so than winning the Premier League or Champions League? I suppose if you play for an international side that has a good chance of winning the big trophy then that might be the case. Or if you play for a small-time club team that struggles to win and you also play for a small-time country team who are just lucky to be there. But Podolski and Klose are not the only players who struggle to find the same form for both club and country:
Lionel Messi...plays brilliantly for Barcelona, but has failed to replicate that for Argentina, so much so that his own countryman have cursed and ridiculed him for it.
Cristiano Ronaldo...was brilliant for Manchester United and is the only player worth noting for RM...but he hasn't scored a goal for Portugal in nearly 18 months. Granted, he isn't surrounded by the likes of goalmakers Luis Figo and Pauleta anymore, but he does have Nani, and Simao. ESPN keep touting him as the "world's most expensive player," but he hasn't shown anything on the "world" stage in a while.
Kaka...he is just the opposite of Messi and Ronaldo. He was crap for RM this year, but always manages to play well for Brasil. He has had mysterious niggling injuries throughout the season which prevented him from playing for RM on a regular basis, and when he did he was completely invisible on the pitch...that is horrid considering his job is to feed Cristiano and Higuain goal opportunities. Now that the dreadful failure of a season is over for RM he is now inexplicably fit to play for Brasil...it makes a person say "hmmmmm."
Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas for Spain also have had spotty club seasons this year. Torres was injured more than not and watched his team finish seventh in the EPL table. Fabregas, who captains Arsenal (maybe not for much longer), was also injured at the end of the season, which meant his Gunners limped to a third-place finish 10 points behind United, despite being right in the thick of it with five matches to go.
For Spain these two perform admirably, and nobody can forget Torres' goal that won the Euro 2008 title for the Spaniards.
The question remains...what's more important? Club or Country?
MY HORROR MOMENT OF THE DAY:
Discovering that I share a birthday (June 21) with Frank Lampard and Iker Casillas, who just happen to play for my two most-hated teams, C-Club and RM. That kind of takes the air out of my party balloons. :)
TO VUVU OR NOT VUVU
FIFA has received many complaints from fans, players, and managers about the dreaded sonorous cacophany of the vuvuzelas. Lionel Messi is the latest to chime in about the annoying buzz that permeates the stadiums during a match. Managers are upset that they can't communicate with their players because they can't hear them. The teams say it doesn't add to the atmosphere, but hinders the actual match. During the final of the Confed Cup last year DaMarcus Beasley missed a pass from Landon Donovan because he couldn't hear Donovan yell to him over the annoying sound.
I can't imagine paying 400 dollars for a ticket to see the WC and having to hear what sounds like an elephant in heat blasting at the back of my head. Many times throughout the match I will put the "mute" button on just to relieve myself of the constant noise.
To me, the person who came up with the idea of the vuvuzela should be sat in a room, tied to a chair, and blasted with ten of those things 24/7 for punishment. Sitting next to him? The person who invented the "thunder sticks" that have infiltrated US sporting events. If I'm paying good money I don't want to have a drunk moron waving those things in front of my view.
My question is "How can a person blow one of those things for 90-minutes straight?" Do they go to school for this? Talk about breath control! I would pass out after ten minutes, much to the enjoyment of the people within earshot of me.
I think the World Cup should be filled with the voices of the masses chanting for their teams, "USA! USA!" rather than subject the ticket-holders to hearing loss.
The WC organizers have promised to "look into" the issue of the vuvuzela.
There is a blog dedicated to the demise of the plastic horn of scorn:
http://banthevuvuzela.blogspot.com/
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