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| January 21st 2005 |
Mexico City, Estadio Azteca
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| ROMANIA - PARAGUAY |
2-1 (1-0)
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GOALS 42' 1-0 Dudu Georgescu
65' 2-0 Ladislau Bölöni
79' 2-1 Arsenio Pastor Erico
REFEREE Nikolai Latichev (Soviet Union)
ATTENDANCE 54,000
YELLOW CARDS Dinu, Lucescu (ROM) - Jacquet, Ayala (PAR)
RED CARDS Torales (PAR)
ROMANIA (Coach: Emerich Jenei, system 4-3-3)
16 Helmuth Ducadam
2 Dan Petrescu
6 Cornel Dinu
4 Gheorghe Popescu
14 Stefan Sames
12 Anghel Iordanescu (-22)
8 Ladislau Bölöni (2nd captain)
10 Gheorghe Hagi (captain) (-80)
20 Iuliu Bodola
9 Dudu Georgescu
11 Mircea Lucescu (-65)
Substitutes:
15 Radu Nunweiler (+22)
19 Dorinel Munteanu (+65)
17 Ion Dumitru (+80)
PARAGUAY (Coach: Cayetano Ré, system 4-3-3)
1 José Luis Chilavert (captain)
17 Juan Bautista Torales
4 Carlos Alberto Gamarra
5 Celso Rafael Ayala
20 Justo Jacquet
2 Francisco Javier Arce
8 Julio Cesar Romeo (-71)
6 Jorge Amado Nunes
9 Roberto Cabanas
10 Arsenio Pastor Erico
12 Aurelio Gonzalez (-75)
Substitutes:
7 Delfin Benitez Caceres (+71)
11 Enrique Villalba (+75)
MATCHREPORT
Romania-Paraguay wasn't exactly the match the whole world expected most
from in this first round. It became a match strangely tame, packed with
failed passes but also with a few very good goals. A half filled Estadio
Azteca witnessed it.
Both teams started this tournament knowing that they were real outsiders,
but this wasn't the incentive for them to make it a free, attacking and
entertaining match. Of course for the Romanians Hagi was the man to look
for, but the captain had a hard match against Arce. Bölöni stood in for his
captain, and all in all he was far more effective than the big star.
Paraguay tried to reach Erico, their main striker. However the main
provider, Julio Romero, didn't manage to get a single ball to him. Little
creativity therefore from midfield as far as Paraguay was concerned.
Most startling in that opening period certainly was Gheorghe Popescu,
Romania's sweeper, who tried to cross midfield with huge steps and create
danger in front of Chilavert's goal. His distance shot in the 20th minute forced
Chilavert to make a superb save, resulting in a corner. Paraguay was only
dangerous from set pieces. Arce had two chances to fire a free kick, the
first one skimmed the bar, the second was tipped over by Helmuth Ducadam,
the surprise choice between the posts for Romania. And this was about it in
the first half, until minutes from the break Stefan Sames, the leftback,
suddenly rushed up front and released a high cross. Dudu Georgescu took it
out of the air and hammered it towards goal. It left Chilavert stranded, a
goal that recalled Marco van Basten's great opening goal in the Euro 1988
final. So 1-0 at half time, no team really deserved a lead.
Both coaches thought they had nothing to change during the half-time period.
Romania had already been forced to take Iordanescu off and bring in Radu
Nunweiler, one of the famous seven brother Nunweiler Dynasty, though one
Radu made the squad for the All Time World Cup. When the second half
progressed, it seemed that Romania got better and Paraguay even faded
further away. Hagi now had something to tell against Arce and some fine
passes came from his feet. Bölöni still controlled the ball very well and
Nunweiler picked up every ball that fell behind his two playmaking
teammates. The second Romanian goal didn't come as a suprise, and it was
rather logical that Bölöni was the man that produced it. Again it came from
more than 20 metres out, it had a strange curve and a lot of speed.
Chilavert could do nothing. A great goal from the man holding a serious
claim to the title "Best man on the pitch".
Cayetano Ré at last changed something and substituted Romero and Gonzalez,
both very if not too quiet for a match at this level, with Benitez Caceres
and Villalba. It didn't really matter. Romania had the game under control,
though suddenly they had to concede a goal. Erico wizzed past Dinu and
chipped the ball over Ducadam in the net: 2-1. That brought back life into
the game. Torales went over the line, tackled Bodola heavily and was sent
off by referee Latichev. In the counter attack both Petrescu and Georgescu
had the chance to finish it of but both times they glanced the ball wide. In
the end, Paraguay didn't have anything to moan about. A clear case of a team
among those happy to make a point in a tournament like this. And this point,
not to speak about a win or even a qualification for the knock-out stages,
had to come from games against superpowers Hungary and Italy. Good luck,
Paraguay! Romania on the contrary took their chances in their own hands and
could hope for an upset against the two other rivals in this group. But it
would certainly take a much better performance than they had shown against
Paraguay, one of the minnows of the event.
Next Tuesday the tournament progresses and Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria step
in. History speaks in favour of Czechoslovakia, but what about Bulgaria?
With Stoichkov, Bonev and Asprukhov they have big guns up front capable of
hurting any team. Czech coach Vytlacil has a lot of fine strikers to choose
from too. His midfield, with Antonin Panenka, Pavel Nedved and captain
Karel Pesek-Kada can stand many comparisons. And will he put Planicka in
goal or Ivo Viktor? The team that wins takes a great step towards the
second round. The match will be played in the old Stade Colombe in Paris
where Gottfried Dienst, famous or infamous for the Wembley goal in 1966, is
the referee.
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