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| January 25th 2005 |
Paris, Stade Colombe
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| CZECHOSLOVAKIA - BULGARIA |
1-0 (0-0)
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GOALS 88' 1-0 Svatopluk Pluskal
REFEREE Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)
ATTENDANCE 34,000
YELLOW CARDS Pesek-Kada, Dobias, Nedved (CZE)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (Coach: Rudolf Vytlacil, system 4-4-2)
1 Frantisek Planicka (-17)
2 Karol Dobias
19 Svatopluk Pluskal
4 Anton Ondrus
3 Ladislav Novak
7 Antonin Panenka
6 Karel Pesek-Kada (captain)
10 Josef Masopust
8 Pavel Nedved (-65)
9 Zdenek Nehoda (-60)
11 Antonin Puc
Substitutes:
12 Ivo Viktor (+17)
13 Josef Silny (+60)
5 Jan Popluhar (+65)
BULGARIA (Player/Coach: Dimitar Penev, system 4-3-3)
1 Borislav Mikhailov (2nd captain)
2 Aleksander Schalamanov
18 Dimitar Penev
6 Trifon Ivanov
3 Boris Gaganelov
7 Stefan Boskov
13 Dimitar Jakimov
10 Hristo Bonev (captain) (-73)
14 Petar Jekov (-82)
9 Georgi Asparukhov
8 Hristo Stoichkov
Substitutes:
4 Nasko Sirakov (+73)
20 Todor Diev (+82)
MATCHREPORT
Just when the battle seemed to be all over and everyone had settled for the
first goalless draw of the tournament, Czechoslovakia struck as yet.
Svatopluk Pluskal, the central defender, rose above Bulgaria's playing coach
Penev and headed a Panenka corner past Mikhailov. That way the win didn't
land with the team that could claim the most rights. Though neither the
Czechs or Bulgaria had really convinced in this encounter of East-European
sides, Bulgaria all in all had the better of the match.
Barely 15 minutes had gone past before a real drama for Czechoslovakia came
about. Goalkeeper Planicka dived into Asparukhov's feet and stayed lying on
the ground. It soon became clear that he couldn't carry on, treatment didn't
help, and the 1934 finalist had to be replaced by Ivo Viktor. Planicka, as
was found out afterwards, had broken his arm; a sad and premature end to the
tournament for the goalkeeper on whose capabilities Czechoslovakia relied a
lot on. Now Viktor was a superb goalie too, not many teams had as much depth in
their squad on the goalkeepers position as the Czechs, and he played a match
without making a single mistake.
Before the Planicka-accident nothing important had happened, or it had to be
that referee Dienst kept a tight rein over the game. Above all
Czechoslovakia made it a physical match, but Dienst showed a yellow card to
the hot-tempered captain Pesek-Kada and Dobias, and this way he kept things
under control. Later in the match Pavel Nedved received one too. Bulgaria
was dangerous through their great technician Jakimov in midfield. The
match-up with Antonin Panenka was one between real footballers, men with
confidence in their own technical abilities without caring much about the
opponent. Jakimov released Asparukhov but Viktor was in the right place to
parry the shot. Moments later the playmaker tried himself, but saw his
rasping volley go just wide.
Czechoslovakia chose the direct approach and tried to use the quick
counter-attack. With two strikers playing wide they left space in the center
of the attack for their midfielders to run into. This required a lot of stamina
from Masopust and Nedved, but they didn't get many chances once they
appeared in Mikhailov's domain. The Bulgarian defense, led by Trifon Ivanov,
had a calm night. Both Nehoda and Puc were no big threats. Then suddenly,
just before the break, excitement. Dienst awarded a penalty to Bulgaria
after a clumsy foul from Novak on Jekov. Stoichkov, who else, put himself
behind the ball but shot it wide from the post. If anything was clear, it
was that the goals would be expensive this match.
In the second half the game advanced but nothing changed. Vytlacil tried his
luck with Silny instead of Nehoda, who had achieved little. Silny did a lot
of work, Masopust benefitted from it and went close with a low drive,
Mikhailov didn't surrender. Bulgaria on their turn had a goal disallowed
when Stoichkov found the net, but Dienst had seen a push in the back of
Anton Ondrus, awarded a free kick to the Czechs and spoiled the party for
Bulgaria. This wasn't Stoichov's match. The decision seemed to be okay. Of
course, not with Stoichkov. It would have been the first time in his career
that he agreed with a refereeing decision not going his way.
Obviously both teams tried to secure at least one point. Czechoslovakia
replaced Nedved, who had run out of steam, with defender Popluhar and that
took away all possible doubts about their intentions. The Bulgarian captain
Hristo Bonev, who had a quiet game too, went off slightly injured and Nasko
Sirakov came in. He made his presence felt when he showed up in the
Czechoslovakian box twice. His shots howver missed precision. Everything
pointed to a stalemate, until Pluskal broke the deadlock. Bulgaria had no
time for a revival.
In this very even group an important win for Vytlacil and his men. For
Bulgaria however new chances came with the matches against Yugoslavia and
Scotland. No reasons for depair yet. It seemed it would be close in this
group until the very end.
Next Friday the first real topmatch in the All Time World Cup when Italy and
Hungary meet in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. It will be great match-up
between one of the world's best defenses and one of the world's greatest
attacks. Vittorio Pozzo, the Italian coach, has many options to choose from.
What to think about: Baresi or Scirea, Facchetti or Maldini. Or what about
the eternal combat between Rivera and Sandro Mazzola? Will father Mazzzola,
Valentino, play or Giuseppe Meazza? Italy can certainly field two great
sides, but Pozzo must choose just 11 players. How will they fare against
Hungary? Puskas leads his teams packed with magnificent strikers: Kocsis,
Schaffer, Schlosser, Hidegkuti, Sarosi, Kubala and Czibor. Surely
defensively they are not on the same level, but this will be match to await
with great expectations. Romualdas Arppi Filho from Brazil handles the
whistle.
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