WC 2014 Column


 

Day 2 - Wherever he is, Rinus Michels smiles



By Gabriel Cazotto

    Rather than begin to describe the games in chronological order of the day, I prefer to describe the best to the worst in intensity. Let's start with one that was one of the best games of the World Cup in the last 20 years.

    If the first day began with intense competition, the second day was as amazing as Brazil and Croatia, both in intensity football and unfortunately, bad referee.

    Spain and the Netherlands played in Fortaleza as a verse of a famous Brazilian poet, Leila Diniz says; "They fight Spain and the Netherlands for the rights of the sea .... I add, the rights of the Field. Right acquired by the Spanish conquistadors on South African soil in 2010 Final.

    The Netherlands then came with a vengeance, though not declared openly in interviews by van Gaal. But if there was someone with that game was stuck in his chest, it was Arjen Robben, the man who had the World Cup in 2010 decision at his feet, face to face with Casillas and failed. Today, there is nothing stuck in his womb anymore. Today, he purged his ghosts.

    If Spain got better in the start, imposing the tiki-taka with Iniesta and Xabi Alonso (Xavi, a shadow of himself as the entire season), reached the goal in a non-existent penalty on Diego Costa which Xabi Alonso converted, this was already the 4th wrong decision in less than 3 World Cup matches.

    But if van Gaal had started on a strong 5-3-2 triangle betting on Robben, Sneijder, van Persie, he soon changed to the 3-4-3 Michels undeniable Carousel. Like any similarity is purely coincidental, Daley Blind played as a left winger as Rensenbrink, van Persie played as Cruijff come by the center and Robben, infernal in the right as Johnny Rep. And in three phenomenal long balls from Rensenbrink .... sorry, Blind, Robben and van Persie destroyed La Roja’s defense (which to date has never won as La Blanca), the first a spectacular goal from van Persie, second and fifth in the speed of Robben, De Vrij and van Persie would close the score on two crucial errors by Casillas, the best goalkeeper of 2010 and Robben’s executioner that time. Not this time, 5x1, like the 1974 Clockwork Oranje. Somewhere, wherever he is, Rinus Michels smiled.

    Mexico and Cameroon sum up the Group of Brazil, in an unfamiliar scenario Natal, Always hot, rained a lot. While, rainny days, a typical climate of Sao Paulo, yesterday was curiously sunny.

    Mexico dominated the game completely, while Cameroonians locked themselves in two lines of 4 and 5 respectively, with Eto'o used as striker in Moukandjo and Choupo-Moting spped counterattack. But in vain, in a great game by Giovani and Peralta, with two goals from Gio, wrongly canceled by Wilmar Roldán, Peralta left to decide on a rebound to close the win to Mexico, which makes the match against Brazil decisive for the classification for one of them.

    In the Pantanal, near the Paraguayan Chaco, Chile put more than five thousand fans in something that has become a small National Stadium in Santiago in Cuiabá. The Loco style of Sampaoli were to attack and in two minutes they did perfectly; 2x0; with the same scheme as usual he sent the Chilean to attack nevertheless, since the outcome of Spain can be crucial to passing phase. Thus, Australia managed to dominated the middle, and especially the an aerial move, which managesd to allow, Cahill, best header of the Premier League to score over the averaging 1.70m central defenders of Chile; difficulting the game for the Andeans. Pushed by its fans, to the sound of "Esta Noche teenmos que Ganar", Chile held the 2x1 till the end, when Beaseujour scored from a long shot and allows Chile with two draws to advance to the second round.

My Man of the Matches:

Giovani dos Santos - MEX
Arjen Robben-HOL
Matthew Leckie - AUS



 

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