Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer looks at the ball that hit the bar to bounce over the line during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Germany and England at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, Sunday, June 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Yesterday, June 27, 2010, a date which will live in infamy. Mark it in your calendars, for it’s the day that will go down in history as the one in which FIFA were finally forced to concede that video technology must be introduced at the highest level of the game.
Regardless of how impressive Germany’s rapid-fire football was in the second half of their 4-1 dismantling of England, the fact is that the complexion of the game changed thanks to one key moment in the first half.
Six minutes before half-time, England midfielder Frank Lampard sent a looping half-volley over the head of German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and on to the underside of the crossbar.
The ball clearly bounced down over the line, yet the ‘goal’ was missed by both the referee and his so-called assistants.
It won’t have been missed in England – you can thank the ravenous English press for that – and just days after FIFA supremo Sepp Blatter once again dismissed the notion of video technology being introduced to the game, pressure must be brought to bear on the governing body for continuing to make decisions which, contrary to their grandiose declarations, are clearly not “for the good of the game.”
It’s a shame that a refereeing blunder will prove the major talking point, because it takes away from an excellent performance by an impressive German side.
I’m not quite sure why English fans were so confident going into the game – had they spent as much time thinking about Germany’s obvious counter-attacking abilities as they did spouting the usual clichés and dredging up the same old tired war songs – they might not have been, but in the end their confidence was clearly misplaced.
My fellow FourFourTwo.com columnist Andy Mitten recently argued that “England are the Aston Villa of football,” suggesting that an international team with so little depth has no chance of winning the World Cup.
And how coach Fabio Capello must look back and rue Robert Green’s howler against the USA – a goalkeeping error which cost England the chance to top the group and thereby avoid a Round of 16 clash against their arch-rivals Germany.
Yet Green is hardly the only villain of a mediocre campaign, and his 39-year-old replacement David James must be wondering how players of the calibre of Ashley Cole and John Terry can be made to look so ordinary by the likes of Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose.
I can give you one good reason: the English Premier League is the most overrated league in the world, and several members of the England squad would never have got a look in at some of the top international teams.
Whether there are too many foreign stars in the Premier League will once again come under scrunity, but a German side bristling with Bundesliga talent ultimately tore Capello’s men to shreds.
They were helped by a ludicrous goal on the twenty minute mark, as Neuer thumped a goalkick which Terry and the beleaguered Matthew Upson let bounce, allowing Miroslav Klose to use all his predatory instincts to poke home a simple opener.
Germany’s second was just as simple, and by the time English hearts had been broken thanks to their contentious disallowed strike just before the break, a second-half onslaught from the Germans was always on the cards.
So it is Joachim Löw’s side that marches on to a richly deserved quarter-final appearance, and in the form they’re in, it would take a brave soul to bet against Germany reaching the final in Johannesburg.
You can bet that video technology will be in use by Brazil 2014 as well.
On a night in which Germany proved their World Cup pedigree with a thumping win over the old enemy, Fabio Capello won’t be the only one having nightmares about the replay, with FIFA once again set to be bombarded with calls for video technology to be introduced at the World Cup.
Postscript: The Argentina-Mexico round of 16 match also had a controversial decision when Carlos Tevez scored the first goal of the game for Argentina from what was a clear offside position.
Referee Roberto Rosetti allowed the goal to stand despite the anger caused by a replay of the incident on the stadium’s giant screens.
Rossetti initially consulted with the linesman, seemingly seeking a second opinion, before ruling the goal legal, as players from both teams protested furiously. The goal stood and Argentina went on to win 3-1. Full details of the match HERE.
Colin N
Guest
"I don’t want to get into he-said, she-said. Rather, I just want to say that I think there has been misunderstanding of what Mike wrote and of my points in support of it." But when someone writes this: "I can give you one good reason: the English Premier League is the most overrated league in the world, and several members of the England squad would never have got a look in at some of the top international teams." It seems a rather obvious statement that is going to be picked up on. "We would also opine that this is a major reason why the English team is overrated (and I stress the word opinion here)." By whom? No one in England thought they would win the tournament. Most thought semi-finals because of the kind draw we were meant to have (ie we should have finished top and then gone on to face Ghana and then Uruguay) "So I think you can tell from this that Spain’s successes in Europe are driven far more by Spanish players than England’s are by English players" Ah Spain - the perennial world cup underachievers - it's always been the same with the Spanish squad (where they come from I mean), so it's not a good example. Always had a very good side but never reached their ability. Why do think that is Greg, or were they overrated as well? The point I am making is that I don't think you can doubt the individual talent of the England team, but instead look at the team selections, the formation, maybe the their state of mind. People say Johnson isn't a very good player, or at least, not international class. Well, they've got someone left at home in Micah Richards who's always performed well for England, but Capello was stubborn, didn't like him and I think should be regretting that. Upson was another poor choice. He's had a terrible season for his club. In contrast, Dawson and Gary Cahill have been excellent. Barry shouldn't have been selected - he was only half fit. Carrick also had a disappointing season, but was the best player when England played Germany in their last match because of his ability to pick out passes and hold onto the ball. Either that or he should have kept Huddlestone in the squad, because he's had a great season, better than both Barry and Carrick. I agree about the quality of our strikers, although I don't know why people dislike Crouch so much - great feet, a threat in the air, scores goals. However, this is where the mistake in the formation comes in. 4-5-1 with Rooney up front on his own should have been played. And I don't think you can doubt the talent of Lennon, Milner, J.Cole etc. "Portsmouth came last in the EPL and contributed David James to the English team. Well I admit he was not nearly as bad as many people feared he would be, but …" From that quote, it's pretty obvious you don't watch him, or I suspect, the English league nearly enough. David James is a very talented goalkeeper with a good all-round game, but throughout his career, has had a the odd clanger - a concentration thing, and he has become more consistent in these last few years.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
I don't want to get into he-said, she-said. Rather, I just want to say that I think there has been misunderstanding of what Mike wrote and of my points in support of it. The EPL's high UEFA coefficient undoubtedly reflects the performances of Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in European club competitions. Neither Mike nor I would dispute that these are all truly excellent sides and amongst the very best in Europe. However what one must ask is: 1. To what extent are these performances by the big 4 due to English players? I think some numbers here are illustrative: England's WC squad had 4 players from Chelsea, 3 from Liverpool, 1 from Man U and 0 from Arsenal. Spain's has 7 from Barca and 5 from Real. So I think you can tell from this that Spain's successes in Europe are driven far more by Spanish players than England's are by English players. I don't imagine that many people would challenge this assessment. Of course this point does not prove that the EPL is weak, not at all. But it is a point that explains why the England team is not nearly as strong as one would conclude from the strength of the big 4. Inter Milan and Italy is no doubt another case in point. 2. How strong are the "little 16" underneath the "big 4"? (I use the word "little" here loosely - obviously I recognize that Man City, for example, is no longer "little" in a financial sense). Mike and I are of the opinion that the quality of the "little 16" is not nearly in proportion to the quality of the "big 4" and the EPL's UEFA coefficient. We would also opine that this is a major reason why the English team is overrated (and I stress the word opinion here). I know individual examples are dangerous, but here is one that illustrates my point. Hertha BSC came last in the Bundesliga this year, but Arne Friedrich from that team is having an outstanding World Cup as a central defender for Germany. Portsmouth came last in the EPL and contributed David James to the English team. Well I admit he was not nearly as bad as many people feared he would be, but ...
Colin N
Guest
As Roger Rational implied and I'll reiterate, the fact that you think the English strikers aren't very good is irrelevant to whether the EPL is weak. After all, only 35% of the Premier League is English, which people keep saying As regards to point two, it's just as well that only three of England's players came from those bottom twelve teams isn't it then Greg? "Only a competent supporting cast should be needed to make a top-quality side out of this cast of stars. Questions must be asked why this group were so flat at the WC." Let's have a look at some of the team from the best two teams in the tournament: Argentina: Romero - worse than any of England's goalkeepers. Heinze - average and EPL failure. Otamendi - average. Veron - average, past it and EPL failure. Gutierrez - average and poor for Newcastle. Rodriguez - disappointing for Liverpool. Brazil: Gilberto Silva - playing for Panathinaikos because he wasn't good enough for Arsenal at his age. Elano - couldn't get into Man City side - a huge disappointment for them. Robinho - Again, struggled for form at Man City - Bellamy and Adam Johnson were preferred to him. That's from the first team, but then there's the likes of Julio Baptiste and Kleberson who were terrible when they came to play in the EPL, yet are in the squad which is favourite to lift the title.
Roger Rational
Guest
1. Eh? Tevez (and Drogba and Torres and van Persie and Robinho) play IN the EPL! Posters seem to be confusing English players with EPL players. 2. Actually, it is imaginable. The Spanish League is actually worse - two clubs (Real and Barca) dominate everybody, rather than four in the case of the EPL. The other 18 La Liga clubs actually wish to import the EPL's policy of sharing the broadcasting revenue. Real and Barca are able to strike their own massive TV deals, which makes La Liga grotesquely uncompetitive.
Roger Rational
Guest
It makes for a comically bad read. I'm just startled that seemingly intelligent journalists can fall for such fallacious arguments. It's simply a fallacy that summer tournaments are somehow the litmus test of ability. They are not. In fact, they are famous for showcasing seemingly brilliant players who then go on to crash and burn in the big leagues. It's well known that the top club managers have a policy of refusing to sign anybody on the basis of what they do in summer tournament football. They have been burned too many times. Moreover, it seems kind of absurd to judge the EPL on the basis of the World Cup when there is actually a little competition called the Champions League - you might have heard of it, Mike? - which actually pits EPL clubs against Bundesliga and other clubs every season. The UEFA coefficient rankings of league power make for interesting reading: 1. EPL 81.856 2. La Liga 79.757 3. Serie A 64.338 4. Bundesliga 64.207 5. France 53.740 I think that knocks these silly kneejerk arguments on the head.
dasilva
Guest
“Of the 184 players still involved in the World Cup, less than 10 per cent ply their trade in England. The true worth of the EPL has been laid bare.” I don't think that proves anything I think that argument will be a bit more relevant if the World Cup has the top 32 teams in the world but that is not the case. Surely players from North Korea and New Zealand will distort the % of players at the world cup as representative of league strength. Maybe the EPL is overrated but it's definitely the top 4 leagues in the world.
Mike Tuckerman
Expert
Excellent points as always, Greg. "Of the 184 players still involved in the World Cup, less than 10 per cent ply their trade in England. The true worth of the EPL has been laid bare." I think Mike Cockerill's take on the matter makes for an interesting read as well. http://www.smh.com.au/world-cup-2010/world-cup-news/epl-players-to-cop-the-backlash-over-englands-capitulation-20100629-zj9k.html
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
"I can give you one good reason: the English Premier League is the most overrated league in the world, and several members of the England squad would never have got a look in at some of the top international teams." 1. Compare England's WC strikers (Rooney, Defoe, Crouch, Heskey) with Argentina's (Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Lionel Messi, Diego Milito and Gonzalo Higuain), or England's goalkeepers with anyone's - case proven. And yet there can be no doubting the quality of Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, Terry and Ashley Cole - they have proven themselves too often against the best in Europe. Only a competent supporting cast should be needed to make a top-quality side out of this cast of stars. Questions must be asked why this group were so flat at the WC. 2. In the 2008/9 EPL season, Man U took 70 out of a possible 72 points from the bottom 12 teams in the EPL. It is unimaginable in the other major leagues of Europe that the bottom two-thirds of the league could be so weak compared with the top team. This is the EPL's problem.
OneJayBee
Roar Rookie
it was a soft group - both qualifiers got knocked out straight away (by the teams that finished ahead of Oz!!)
OneJayBee
Roar Rookie
i think the incident was actually a base umpire called one guy in who was clearly out which denied the bloke his perfect game. I'm not a baseball fan but i happened to see this as it attracted a lot of coverage, and whilst I can't remember the pitchers name I do recall he was very gracious in not spitting the dummy about the glaring error.....
OneJayBee
Roar Rookie
that's an interesting stat about the coaches.....
Dublin Dave
Guest
In conversation wtih a young American of my acquaintance today and he tells me that baseball has been embarrassed into introducing video technology next season because of a recent controversy in which some young pitcher was denied the honour of a "perfect game" when his opposing batter was allowed walk a base after the umpire incorrectly called a ball a strike. (Or at least I think that's what he said. Maybe he was just talking about the weather)
sheek
Guest
Well said Sir, very well said..... !
Roger Rational
Guest
Drogba, Torres, Essien, Mikel, Evra, Anelka, Gallas, Nani, Ballack - all either unfit, knackered or not even at the tournament.
Jim Bom
Guest
No Dave, no video technology in MLB. Thats why you often see the great theater of the umpire ejecting dissenting managers with the "You're outta here" command.
Jim Bom
Guest
I thought the best (wittiest) English tabloid headline about their group was this; E ngland A lgeria S lovenia Y anks Wasn't to be so easy after all.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
"And how coach Fabio Capello must look back and rue Robert Green’s howler against the USA – a goalkeeping error which cost England the chance to top the group and thereby avoid a Round of 16 clash against their arch-rivals Germany." While this is true, one should not forget that had England managed a win against Algeria, they still would have topped their group. "Best group since The Beatles" was the witty heading in an English tabloid after the World Cup draw. England squandered several chances to win a ridiculously easy group. And it's not just that they would have avoided Germany in the round of 16. Had England won their group they would have been in a quarter of the knockout draw with Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea, i.e., as easy a passage as one could hope for to the semis.
westy
Guest
It would help if the officials were fit. The Russian linesman was about 25 metres behind the play!
John
Guest
As soon as that England goal was disallowed I snapped. I turned off the telly and won't be watching any more of this absolute joke of a game. I can't take the ridiculous administration of the game anymore. Whoever runs it (Blatter?) is way out of his depth. He must go.
Dublin Dave
Guest
Trust you to remember that Sheek. First-hand experience? :) The point is not that the use of technology will completely remove controversy, it is that it reduces the most blatant mistakes to a minimum. In the case of England v Germany, I don't know how many million people around the world were watching the game but they could all see within seconds that Lampards shot had clearly crossed the line; the ony person who couldn't was the poor fecker who actually had to make the decision. That was a clear one. The OTHER famous England v Germany cross bar bounce controversy is STILL not 100 per cent certain even today, with all the computer simulations and video jiggery pokery that we have now. That would still be a judgement call today. But at least the question would be "was it or wasn't it?" as opposed to "How did he not see that?".