There is more than enough bad soccer commentary to go around. We would remiss to not say we will not miss Alexi Lalas's commentating. As a player he was great in the air but less than stellar with this feet, including dribbling. But I would take watching his careless dribbling over one more day of hearing him speak about soccer. While I often agree with the content, his presentation lacks appeal.
But enough of Alexi Lalas, let's speak about Kristian Dyer, one of the soccer writers for Metro newspapers. In his article on the the World Cup's best players, he not only chooses some unworthy players but his commentary on the teams and players he chooses is also lacking. I wonder where Metro found such a writer? When choosing Argentinean defender Javier Mascherano he writes, "Traditional powerhouse Argentina didn’t have high expectations, but the nation soared in the quarterfinals due to a tight backline." I guess Dyer thinks that Messi and company had no shot at this Cup. I wonder what games, Dyer was watching. Argentina won their group, admittedly not the strongest, by only conceding 1 goal and scoring 9. Let's not forget that Messi also had Tevez, one of the best pure goals scorers in the world to compliment his unmatchable play making skills. I admit that they looked atrocious against Germany but they were convincing in their other 4 games and let's not forget how strong a German team this was. Dyer, in fact, named 3 Germans to the Cup team described in the article.
Langdon Donovan? Really? Your name does not seem American and yet you chose Donovan? As an American, I am proud of the clutch play of Donovan against Algeria, but you could not find a fourth midfielder better than him? Now rumor has it that Donovan may get a $4M contract next year in England. Wow. Overrated is all I can see. Check out his stats at Everton this past partial season to see what he did.
Carles Puyol was dominant in the air but on his feet he lacked agility. He was lucky the referee in the Final was so lenient. He should have been taken off with a blatant red for trying to tackle Arjen Robben on the late breakway in the second half. The referee rightly let Robben continue the play after he broke free of Puyol's arms, but there should have been a serious card awarded for the attempted tackle. Puyol made no attempt for the ball or even the man he went for an all-out bear hug.
A right decision was made by giving the nod to van Bronckhorst. He probably had the goal of the tournament (as seen in the embedded video), but he also provided stellar defense and was a true captain for a Dutch side that needed him. His experience and mental toughness made him a peerless player. He reminds me of a joke I have heard. A very wealthy man meets a very experienced man and they go into business together. The experienced man ends up with much of the wealthy man's money and the wealthy man gains an experience. Van Bronckhorst is that experienced player able to defend against even the wiliest of strikers.
Dyer also got it right with Diego Forlan. But then again how could someone not choose him?
Tomorrow expect to see some of the busts of the tournament.
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