Welcome second instalment of EP’s WC Notebook. I’ve got a pu pu platter of goals, a big pay day, the Socceroos future and Germany’s present for you.
As with my first World Cup post, I want to take time to buzz round the broader World Cup, not entirely focus on the Socceroos, as other people on The Roar do that job particularly well.
Oh what the heck.
TIMMAY! What a goal! I’ve watched it so many times and can’t get enough.
For your viewing pleasure (again, I’m sure), here’s Cahill’s gorgeous volley against the Netherlands, this time with Lord of the Rings music. Get in!
Such a good goal. I feel like Van Persie’s header was a more unique goal for its blend of touch and finesse. But everyone loves a volley, so Timmy, add a World Cup goal of the tournament to your mantelpiece.
Best goals
While we’re talking great goals, let’s quickly recap a few other good ones from games 9 to 18.
Lionel Messi nips in with the crucial second goal for Argentina, a lovely run and placed shot.
It’s easy to be a little disillusioned with another Messi goal. But he effectively takes four defenders out of the play in this movement, one who can barely keep up, and three others who are in various states of horror throughout his dribbling and shot.
Andre Ayew’s goal for Ghana in their loss to the USA was a lovely piece of football.
The backheel was nice and then the outside of the foot shot completely wrong-foots Tim Howard in goal.
Speed
The defining factor of this World Cup so far is speed. So many goals come from movements that zip up the pitch in the blink of an eye. If I was a defender I’d be soiling myself every time my side lost possession.
It is the product of coaches all over the world needing to learn how to score goals and win matches when so many of the good teams try to dominate possession. Making the most of what possession you may or may not get as been paramount and speed is the way to get that done. It means in quite a few matches both teams are sitting back and trying to play on the counter, creating an effect where the whole pitch is open for a track meet.
A great example is Switzerland’s winning goal against Ecuador. It took mere seconds to go from their own goal-box into the opposite net, including a foul where the player had to roll and get back up. Both sides were playing with a deep backline and trying to use speed to open each other up.
Just about every nation is using this tactical blend of speed and sitting deep to counter. England, Holland and Brazil (more individually) try to use speed to get the job done.
Other non-contenders are going about their work on the counter with more pace than ever before. Japan looked good going down the flanks before getting into Keisuke Honda in the central areas further up the park.
Argentina use speed a little differently because their buzziest players are Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria, and they both played through the middle for the majority of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, although Di Maria looked good in wide areas as the game opened up later on.
For most grand final aspirants, it will be the teams that find the right balance on how to deploy their speed in attack and get back on defence that do well.
The major exceptions to this rule are Spain and Italy.
Spain has been hammered and is now out of the tournament. It’s interesting that so many teams have adapted their style to breakdown a possession-based dominance by Spain, but that team is no longer in play.
Italy used a slower tempo to control the game with possession against England for large parts. Their midfield is adept at interchanging, retaining possession and probing rather than exploding. They will be candidates trying to use blazing pace down the flanks to open things up against their rigid midfield.
Who has earned themselves the most money so far?
Every World Cup there are players that stand out and earn themselves new contracts or become targets for big money transfers to bigger clubs. In the 2010 World Cup it was Mezut Ozil of Germany who caught everyone’s attention, moving to Real Madrid after a big tournament.
This time the most likely candidate could be a goalkeeper.
Guillermo Ochoa of Mexico has put on a shot-stopping clinic for Mexico so far. He was the main reason they didn’t lose to Brazil in their second group match, with some brilliant close-range saves – he literally pulled a Neymar header off the line!
Check him out. Some of this stuff is so good you won’t notice the mediocre dance track.
It’s not the first time he’s performed like that either. Check out this reel of stonewalling Ochoa pulled off against Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Ligue 1.
Ochoa is currently a free agent. So yeah, I think he’s earned himself a sizeable paycheque somewhere.
Undercover giant
We need to talk about Germany. For some reason it seems as though not many people have talked up Germany leading into this tournament and haven’t really considered them as possible winners.
Brazil was the early consensus favourite of the tournament, being the hosts coupled with the fact no European team has ever won a World Cup in South America. That’s something legitimate to overcome, although travel methods, planning and physical preparation improvements have been huge since the Cup was last in this region.
Germany started the tournament with a resounding 4-0 win over Portugal, staking their claim to be considered in the very top tier of contenders.
Their squad might be the most versatile of any.
In their opener Germany played a formation with one of the best full backs in the world at central midfield and no true striker. This is possible because Thomas Muller – a midfield/wing/forward hybrid – is so good at finding room to score, they have a goal scorer without needing to start a striker. Philipp Lahm, a brilliant full back, has also been playing very well in midfield for Bayern Munich this year.
Mezut Ozil was the player leading the line against Portugal but if they ever needed to play a more direct game, they could start someone like Lukas Podolski or Miroslav Klose instead. Both have goal scoring pedigree in tournaments and can offer more of a target.
We haven’t even mentioned Bastian Schweinsteiger, he of over 100 national caps, who didn’t play against Portugal. In a game that required a solid defensive structure, he could anchor the midfield and Lahm could slot in at full back again and the team would still have world-class players at both positions.
This is a versatile team that has come third in the last two World Cups, with many players in the squad that experienced those deep runs and others that will bring new energy.
Watch Germany.
Socceroos heat check
Being a Socceroos fan is so unique at the moment. They are the perfect blend of ‘happy to be here’ and ‘we want to overachieve’, so they occupy one of the best places in a fan’s psyche.
We know this team can’t win, they are out of their depth and too inexperienced at this level. But at the same time they’re punching above their weight.
We get to enjoy this team become something before our very eyes, with the only expectation being to make us proud – we’re like 24 million parents right now.
Without wanting to look too far ahead – because the achievements of the team so far are worth being excited about – it will be interesting to see how the nation receives them when they host the Asian Cup, with realistic expectations of winning the thing. That’s a whole new kettle of fish.
This World Cup is the ultimate mental and physical test. Players like Tim Cahill and Mark Bresciano have provided enough experience and delivered the goods on the park to help drag this next crop of Socceroos up a few rungs in class. We were nowhere near ready to host and possibly win an Asian Cup just six months ago, the Brazil World Cup crucible has already helped forge a more willing national team.
And there’s still a game to go to live and learn more. That comes against a demoralised and deflated Spanish team, so who knows what might be possible?
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Even though St.Pauli ultimately lost a high-scoring affair, Jackson Irvine was a standout, as well as scoring a late goal.
What if we celebrated all of the achievements big and small, and weeded out those hell-bent on bringing down a game that is doing a hell of a lot right?
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
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