On The Spot


 
Follow PWC columnist Paul Marcuccitti's World Cup diary as he travels around Germany.

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This is your world champion?



June 18th, 2006

    Today, Munich saw a great football nation in action. It’s famous for its brilliant players, colourful and exuberant fans, and beautiful scantily-clad women.

Sadly, the great nation I just described lost to Brazil.

    You can scoff if you like. But it’s time we talked sensibly about the defending world champion because there’s a chance that you believe the myth about Brazil, not the reality.

    Brazil simply isn’t the shimmering collection of out-of-this-world players destined to win a sixth World Cup that the myth would have you believe. It is a fine team and, yes, it may win the tournament. But don’t fall for the Brazil’s-best-is-unbeatable line. It’s nonsense.

    Betting markets have the defending World Champion at ridiculously short prices to win another title. That means that people don’t just believe the myth, they are indulging it with their dollars, pounds and euros.

    Players from Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany, England or Spain would be incredibly silly if they suffered extra anxiety before a match against Brazil. It’s a meeting with a top football nation – but nothing more.

    Did you see the game from Munich, people? The Brazilians couldn’t breathe easily until they scored an 89th minute goal. And this against Australia, a team I probably rate more highly than you do but, I concede, doesn’t belong in the group of nations in the previous paragraph.

    I did the long Frankfurt-Munich-Frankfurt trip a few days ago and decided to get to Bavaria a bit earlier this time. I had a quick walk around Munich’s amazing Residenz which was once a palace for Bavarian rulers. It was another hot day though, so I then made my way to the famous Hofbräuhaus beer hall because I knew that Australian fans would be congregating there.

    The Aussies were already in fine voice. I didn’t understand what the Brazilian fans were singing as they walked past but it sounded like they were going to barbecue kangaroos. We replied with chants of, “You’ve got the world’s fattest striker”.

    Today I had the worst view I’ve had for any match – but it had its upsides. I was at pitch level, in the second row behind the goal on television viewers’ right, and directly behind the penalty spot. It was not an obstructed view ticket but it should have been – I had a big camera right in front of me and had to move a lot to see around it.

    Nevertheless, it’s nice to occasionally be really close to the action and I was also part of the large section of Australian fans. Amazingly, the chap that was sitting next to me lives no more than one kilometre from me in Adelaide and he and I got our tickets from completely different sources.

    I was in my seat two hours before kick off so I was able to watch the second half of Japan v Croatia on one of the stadium’s screens. The 0-0 result was good for Australia. It means that a draw against Croatia will be enough to give the Socceroos a place in the last 16.

    The Brazilians were a little surprised by Australia, both on and off the pitch. In the first half, Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer didn’t have to make a single save. And our fans easily outsang theirs (a relief, because the Japanese were far more vocal than the Aussies in Kaiserslautern).

    The Socceroos started conservatively with Tony Popovic joining Lucas Neill and Craig Moore in the middle of defence. But Australia’s tactics worked and the team coped with Brazil’s early pressure. The only thing that disappointed me a little was that the Aussies didn’t start to apply pressure of their own until after Adriano gave Brazil the lead early in the second half.

    Australia’s second half display was fantastic. The players created good chances but couldn’t finish them with goals. Harry Kewell, who had been a bit subdued against Japan, looked quite lively and missed a golden chance to equalise that he would normally bury. From where I was sitting, I also had a wonderful view of a dipping Kewell shot that flew narrowly over the bar.

    Mark Viduka and Marco Bresciano also went close. Bresciano’s acrobatic effort forced Dida to scramble on his line.

    Late in the game, Brazil put the match beyond doubt when Fred was able to tap in a rebound from the goalpost. That’s often the way it goes in football. Nevertheless, an inescapable fact emerged from this game – a team that is supposedly miles behind the Brazilians in world football’s pecking order was good enough to create several chances against them.

    So Brazil is your world champion team? There’s a good chance it won’t be holding the FIFA World Cup on 9 July. Mark Schwarzer was kept far busier when Australia played the Netherlands in a friendly earlier this month.

    Australia’s fans were pleased with their team’s display after the game. It was nice to see that the players weren’t overawed. It was, however, difficult not to be a little frustrated. With a little more polish the Aussies might have grabbed a draw, and the less said about today's referee the better. (After the match, Harry Kewell walked over to the officials and, while I couldn’t possibly know what he said, he certainly showed his displeasure.)

    Leaving the stadium, I sensed that Brazil’s supporters weren’t that impressed with their team. You would have been forgiven for thinking that everyone had just been to a funeral.

    The Brazilian celebrations only really started back at Marienplatz in central Munich. But, at the risk of shattering all your dreams, I’m afraid that what you know about their World Cup fans is also more myth than reality. Only a small handful of them bang drums, dance and party (the cameras will find them though). I’ve seen far more flavour from the fans of Tunisia, Japan and Trinidad & Tobago.

    By the way, after seeing two matches in Munich, I can’t conclude without commenting about the city’s organisation (or lack of it). The new stadium may be magnificent but it’s a nightmare to reach and a nightmare to leave (and the area around it is a treeless wasteland). Also, when you reach the Allianz Arena, it’s not easy to know which part of the stadium you need to go to because there are few signs and they’re difficult to see.

    The underground trains to and from the stadium are quite inadequate. After the Brazil-Australia game, I and thousands of other fans spent 45 minutes literally standing on one spot. Transport to and from the other four World Cup stadiums that I’ve been to so far is much better.

    I didn’t leave Munich until after midnight so I got back to Frankfurt at 5.30 in the morning with the sun already out. Should I get some sleep on 19 June? Nah, I have to watch another three matches.



 
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