Brazilian agony Gyan’s pain Orange ecstasy Agreu’s swagger
As Holland were about to take that corner I was reminiscing about the many virtues of a good near post corner. Particularly I had in mind the Stoke City 82/83 Big Bren flick on phenomonon! Then hey presto the Dutch read my mind and bagged the winner. What happened to Brazil at half time? The first half consisted of Brazil keeping the ball well and Holland struggling with Brazil’s kaleidoscopic movement. In the second half Holland increased the pace of their game but it shouldn’t have been too much for the Brazilians to handle. The clumsy defending for the equaliser shook them and the collapse was well underway. Being undone by something as simple as a corner won’t please Dunga at all. Melo’s
daft stamp on Robben was the final significant act of Dunga’s reign. They never looked like remotely like equalising. The plethora of self inflicted wounds bringing the curtain down on their campaign. Two World cups in a row Brazil have been eliminated in the quarter finals which is a poor showing for a team of their immense stature. 2014 they will surely emerge victorious in their own back yard when they can finally lay the ghost of 1950 to rest.
I watched in the pub and Brazil might be the Man Utd of world football. For all the Brazil shirts on display there weren’t actually many Brazilian people. On the stroke of kick off I turned to wish a ‘Brazil fan’ good luck and he replied with a broad cockney accent. All the more bewildering that the cockney Brazilian seemed baffled to hear some of the Brazil shirt wearers actually talking Portugese!! The Albert Square soundalike looked on suspiciously. How can they support Brazil when they are Brazilian? It just ain’t right guvnor!
The real question about the Uruguay v Ghana game is the red card. No question the ref was 100% correct to send him off but why did he handle it when it would have been just as easy for him to head it??! It was going straight for his bonce. Gyan missing the penalty was one of the most pivotal moments of the tournament. In one fleeting moment the dream of an entire continent dissolved. Gyan will be haunted by that moment forever, although the point has to be made that to step up minutes later and score one in the shootout took admirable character. Agreu’s clinching penalty was the epitome of grace under pressure.
Clicking about on the interweb I just found this article. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/england/7866942/World-Cup-2010-unlike-the-players-Englands-loyal-thirsty-army-really-will-be-missed.html
There were times when the notion that a host city would want England in town was unthinkable. The transformation is pleasing. Instead of places cowering at the prospect of an England visit the three lions are embraced. Instead of skinheads with NF tattoos there are family holidays from Carlisle. Of course there will be some English people who would prefer to see fear in the eyes of locals, but then again, some people still think the earth is flat. It’s just a pity the team let us down so pitifully.