WORLD ஜ۩۞۩ஜ CUP♥♡2010 &#1008

[kueytoc]

World Cup 2010 - Queiroz: I will not quit Portugal

PA Sport - Thu, 01 Jul 12:11:00 2010

Carlos Queiroz insists he has no intention of resigning as Portugal coach following the team's last 16 exit at the World Cup.

Portugal emerged from the 'Group of Death' to set up a second round clash with Spain, but were knocked out of the tournament by David Villa's goal.

Since Portugal's elimination from the finals, Queiroz has come under fire for his tactics in South Africa after his team scored in only one of their four matches - the 7-0 thrashing of North Korea.

But, despite calls to step down, Queiroz does not believe it would be the right thing to do and is keen to lead the national team through the qualifiers for the 2012 European Championship.

"It is totally out of the question (resigning)," said Queiroz.

"If the national coach must resign for having lost 1-0 against Spain in the last 16 of the World Cup then there is something that is not right.

"Spain is one of the big favourites. We haven't succeeded in winning. That will be for the next one."

The former Manchester United assistant manager added: "Continuity is assured.

"For the moment we are going to rest and then do better in the next challenge, and try and win over two or three discontented supporters."

PA Sport

[kueytoc]

French federation president ashamed of team

JEAN-LUC COURTHIAL, AP - 1 minute ago

PARIS (AP) -- Outgoing French Football Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said Friday he is ashamed of France's World Cup fiasco and accepted a large share of responsibility for it.

Escalettes submitted his resignation Friday, but is staying on the job until July 23. An announcement on his successor was expected after Friday's meeting, but officials want more time to choose one.

Escalettes offered his first lengthy public explanation about what he called the "debacle" at the World Cup. France finished the first round without a victory, and worse, there were open conflicts between the squad and team management.

At one point, France players boycotted a training session to protest Nicolas Anelka being thrown off the team. Anelka's expletive-filled tirade directed at coach Raymond Domenech led to his being sent home.

"I am ashamed, and I present my apologies to the French football world," Escalettes said.

Escalettes, who has run the federation since 2005, spoke emotionally of the crisis during the World Cup, when he tried unsuccessfully to get players to change their mind about boycotting the practice. He said he took responsibility "for being unable to convince these players to get off the bus and do their job."

The federation also confirmed the replacement of Domenech by former Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc, a World Cup winner with France in 1998 and a European Championship winner two years later.

Domenech's last gesture at the Cup was his refusal to shake hands with coach Carlos Alberto Parreira after France's loss to South Africa.

Escalettes said he was "disappointed in (Domenech), but above all disappointed in myself."

Escalettes was widely criticized for standing by Domenech despite France's humiliating first-round exit at the 2008 European Championship.

While Domenech and Escalettes were grilled this week about the World Cup flop by a parliamentary committee, that meeting took place behind closed doors. Domenech still hasn't given a full public explanation.

Lawmakers who heard the former coach speak said he largely blamed the media for the team's problems. But Escalettes insisted that Domenech apologized "with a lot of humility."

[kueytoc]

"African dream dies, Brazil out too

Reuters - 51 minutes ago

By Andrew Cawthorne

* Uruguay beat Africa's last team Ghana on penalties

* Netherlands shock Brazil 2-1 to also reach semi-finals

* FIFA gives ultimatum to Nigerian government

JOHANNESBURG, July 2 (Reuters) - Uruguay beat Ghana in the cruellest of circumstances to end African hopes at the World Cup on Friday and Netherlands knocked out perennial favourites Brazil in yet another shock of a fascinating tournament.

Twice former champions Uruguay's "La Celeste" now go into their first World Cup semi-final in forty years against Brazil's surprise conquerors, Netherlands, who hope to bury their history of producing entertaining teams but no trophy.

At Johannesburg's Soccer City, the highest drama of the tournament unfurled when Ghana, the only African team left, won a penalty right at the end of extra time with the score at 1-1.

Striker Luis Suarez got a red card for handling on the line and blocking what would have been a certain match-winning goal.

Up stepped Asamoah Gyan with a chance to put Africa's first ever team in a World Cup semi-final -- but he hit the bar.

After that, in a penalty shootout dreaded by players but compelling for millions watching worldwide, Uruguay held their nerve to win the shootout 4-2 and shatter the Ghanaians.

Gyan wept uncontrollably as the African majority in the 84,000-strong crowd went horribly quiet.

"All I can say is this is football," Ghana's coach Milovan Rajevac said. "We didn't deserve to lose in this way."

URUGUAY'S JOY

In contrast, the Uruguayans danced for joy as they stirred memories of long-past World Cup wins in 1930 and 1950.

"We played a great game, we made history!" beamed Sebastian Abreu, who scored the decisive penalty with a cheeky kick over goalkeeper Richard Kingson.

Fellow South Americans Brazil's departure from the tournament spelt the end of coach Dunga's term.

"It's sad, it's difficult, nobody prepares to lose," he said. "As Brazil's commander, I have to take most of the blame."

Dunga's four-year term included winning the Copa America in 2007 and the Confederations Cup in 2009 but many Brazilians did not appreciate his team's physical, disciplined approach.

Dunga must be furious with the nature of Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Netherlands.

His team went 1-0 up early on through Robinho but lost their cool and organisation in a disastrous second half.

First, Netherlands equalised through an own goal when Felipe Melo flicked a Wesley Sneijder free kick into the Brazilian net. Then Sneijder nicked in front of Brazil's defence to head in a close-range winner on 68 minutes.

END OF THE WORLD?

From then, Brazil uncharacteristically lost the plot.

Melo was sent off for stamping on Dutch winger Arjen Robben, a constant thorn in their side, and the Brazilians abandoned their flowing passing-game for long punts up field.

"If you eliminate Brazil, one of the biggest, best teams of this championship, the feeling is relief," said man of the match Sneijder, who patted his bald head in delight after what he said was a first headed goal.

Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar tried to put on a brave face. "It's not the end of the world," he said, a tear rolling down his face. But in soccer-mad Brazil, it will feel like that.

The Netherlands, whose teams have thrilled down the decades without ever bringing the trophy home, will surely start to believe that this could be their time at last.

Off the pitch, soccer's global governing body FIFA threatened to suspend Nigeria for political interference after President Goodluck Jonathan pulled the under-performing "Super Eagles" from international competition for two years.

Secretary general Jerome Valcke gave Nigeria's government a deadline of Monday to reverse its decision, but a presidency source in Abuja said that was unlikely to happen.

FIFA suspension would mean the blocking of funds and the banning of all Nigerian teams, including club, junior and female sides from international tournaments.

FIFA is also anxious about political repercussions of the tournament in France, where the humiliating exit of 2006 runners-up "Les Bleus" has prompted an official inquiry.

(Reporting by Reuters World Cup team; Writing by Barry Moody and Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Ossian Shine)

[kueytoc]

Netherlands shocks Brazil 2-1

ANDREW DAMPF, AP - 34 minutes ago

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AP) -- Don't call the Dutch underachievers anymore.

Not after the way the Netherlands rallied to upset five-time champion Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals Friday.

After waking themselves up at halftime, the title that has eluded the Dutch for all these years is now just two wins away.

"For 45 minutes we went full throttle," said Wesley Sneijder. "We were rewarded."

One of the shortest players on the field, Sneijder put the Netherlands ahead in the 68th minute on a header -- a thrill so huge he ran to a TV camera, tapped the lens and stuck his face in for a close up.

"It just slipped through from my bald head and it was a great feeling," Sneijder said.

He was in the middle of the post-game party, too, as his teammates swarmed him when the final whistle blew. John Heitinga picked up Sneijder and slung him over his shoulder as Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a Brazil shirt in hand, leaped up and rubbed Sneidjer's closely shaved head.

The result was a case of role reversal for both sides.

The top-ranked team in the world and one of the most impressive squads in the tournament until Friday, Brazil lost its composure after falling behind and defender Felipe Melo was ejected in the 73rd minute for stomping on the leg of Arjen Robben.

The Dutch made the championship match in 1974 and '78, lost both, and rarely have lived up to their talent in other World Cups. They did this time, helped by an own goal off the head of unfortunate Felipe Melo that brought them into a 1-1 tie in the 53rd.

"I'm devastated. It was hard to see the players crying back there," Felipe Melo said after emerging from the locker room.

"I have to apologize to the Brazilian fans. I came here thinking about giving Brazil the title, but I'm a human being. Everybody can make mistakes."

He was almost the hero.

Robinho gave the Brazilians the lead on Felipe Melo's brilliant low pass up the middle of the field that the striker put home with a low shot.

But the second half presented the unusual sight of the Brazilians scrambling wildly to find an equalizer.

It never came.

Instead, it was the Oranje and their fans doing the dancing as Brazil's players lay on the turf.

Brazil also lost in the quarterfinals four years ago, falling to France 1-0. Former team captain Dunga was hired to coach the team after that defeat, despite having no previous managerial experience.

"We didn't expect this," he said. "We know that any World Cup match is about 90 minutes. In the first half we were able to play better and we weren't able to maintain that rhythm in the second half."

Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk agreed that everything changed at the break.

"We could have lost it in the first 15 minutes," he said. "At halftime, I made it very clear to the players. I told them time and time again, 'You have to play your own game. You have to have patience against Brazil."'

Said Sneijder: "At halftime we said to each other that we had to improve things and put more pressure on the Brazilian defense."

The Netherlands reached the semifinals for the first time since losing to Brazil on penalty kicks at the 1998 World Cup, and will next face Uruguay, which defeated Ghana on penalty kicks.

Having won all five matches so far, the Netherlands extended its team-record unbeaten streak to 24 games, stretching back to a September 2008 loss to Australia.

On a warm afternoon before a sellout crowd of 42,286 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Brazil controlled the tempo early on. Before the Dutch comeback, goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg timed his leap perfectly to deflect a shot by Kaka that was headed into the right corner of the net.

The one-goal lead wasn't enough. Brazil began to unravel when Felipe Melo jumped in front of keeper Julio Cesar and inadvertently headed the ball into his net.

"We had two players going for the same ball and what happened happened," Julio Cesar said, his eyes filled with tears.

Sneijder's goal followed a corner kick from Robben. Dirk Kuyt flicked the ball with his head to Sneijder in the middle of the 6-yard box and he rose high enough to deflect it into the left corner of the goal.

"It was an amazing game. I think we showed the whole world how we can play," Sneijder said. "Finally we won, we beat Brazil."

[kueytoc]

Ghana loses, Africans still proud

DONNA BRYSON, AP - 14 minutes ago

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Africa's last World Cup hope ended Friday with Ghana's loss to Uruguay in a penalty shootout, but supporters across the continent say they are still proud of the team.

In Burkina Faso, however, fan Seydou Tiendrebeogo was in tears after watching the game on a big screen television in the capital, Ouagadougou.

"Ghana has ruined the dreams of the continent," Tiendrebeogo said.

Elsewhere in Ouagadougou, supportive chants of "Ghana! Ghana!" rang out after the final whistle, and fans noted that Brazil was also knocked out Friday and France did not make the final 16.

In a statement, South Africa's governing African National Congress said it was impressed by Ghana's performance, which proved Africans were capable of playing at the highest level.

"We are also very confident that the lessons learnt from this tournament will put Africa in a better position for the next World Cup in Brazil," said the ANC, which had urged South Africans to support Ghana after South Africa became the first host nation to fail to reach the final 16.

Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria and Ivory Coast have also been eliminated.

Muslim fans in Guinea had appealed for Friday prayers in support of Ghana, and sacrificed chickens according to the rites of traditional religions.

Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan hit the crossbar with a penalty in the last kick of extra time after Uruguay forward Luis Suarez was sent off for handling the ball on the goal line. Uruguay won the shootout 4-2.

In Yeoville, a central Johannesburg neighborhood that is home to immigrants from across Africa, strains of Shakira's official World Cup song, "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," rang out from bars after each of Ghana's successful penalty kicks. At the end, somber fans walked slowly home.

Musa Badjie, a fan in Gambia, was angry.

"This is football, not handball," he said. "The right decision would have been to validate the Ghanaian goal and give a red card to the Uruguayan player who used his hands to push the ball back in the field of play."

In the Liberian capital, businessman James W. Saye Kea said Ghana had still made history.

"I have every reason to support Ghana," he said. "Just that I am disappointed by the defeat."

Ghana is only the third African team to reach the final eight. Cameroon in 1990 and Senegal in 2002 lost their quarterfinals.

Associated Press writers Jonathan Paye-Layleh in Sierra Leone, Brahima Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso, Lesego Motshegwa in South Africa and Aboulie John in Gambia contributed to this report.

[kueytoc]

Penalty miss denies Ghana, Uruguay advance

Reuters - 17 minutes ago

By Mark Gleeson

* African hopes end with Ghana's exit in shootout

* Gyan distraught after missing extra-time penalty

* Uruguay reach first World Cup semi-final since 1970 (writes through)

JOHANNESBURG, July 2 (Reuters) - Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan's penalty miss in the dying seconds of extra time against Uruguay on Friday cost the African side a place in the World Cup semi-finals and broke hearts across the continent.

Uruguay's 4-2 shootout win after a 1-1 draw took them into the last four for the first time in 40 years where they will face Netherlands, who earlier shocked Brazil 2-1, and stopped Ghana becoming the first African side to reach the semis.

Gyan blasted his spot kick against the bar with the last kick in added time on a night of pulsating drama at Soccer City that not even a Hollywood scriptwriter would have penned.

Uruguay made the most of being let off the hook to progress with Fernando Muslera saving two of Ghana's penalties before a cheeky chipped spot kick from Sebastian Abreu that was full of Latin bravado and panache delivered the spoils.

Uruguay celebrated their good fortune with unbridled joy on the pitch while Gyan broke down and wept. Ghana's Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac struggled to hold back the tears at the post-match news conference.

"At the end we had a historic opportunity. It would have been a fairytale. We didn't deserve to lose in this way," Rajevac said, his eyes swollen as he bit repeatedly at his bottom lip.

SUAREZ HANDBALL

The difference between the sweet taste of victory and bitter defeat turned on a handball by Uruguay forward Luis Suarez on the line that denied Ghana a goal in the final seconds.

While he was sent off for the offence, and will miss the semi-final, Uruguay got an effective lifeline that they snatched to book a meeting with the Dutch in Cape Town on Tuesday.

"We did what we had to do to win without playing brilliantly," was Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez's response to a question about the credibility of his side's success.

Gyan had netted two penalties in the first round of the tournament but struck Friday's effort high, grazing the top of the crossbar and then clutching his head in his hands as the opportunity of a lifetime slipped by.

Ghana had taken the lead on the stroke of halftime when Sulley Muntari, restored to the starting lineup after an earlier bust-up with the coach, fired a speculative shot from long range that deceived Uruguay keeper Muslera.

It came after the Africans had weathered a jittery opening spell as Uruguay's much vaunted attack of Suarez and Diego Forlan set up three good early chances.

Uruguay equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Forlan struck a wicked swerving free kick over the top of the defence and keeper Richard Kingson.

But it was the Black Stars who had the better of the late chances in a flowing game that taxed the physical conditioning of both sides.

Missed chances in extra time suggested the game would limp to the lottery of a shootout but it suddenly came alive when Kevin-Prince Boateng narrowly missed with a header in the 118th minute before the scarcely believable finish unfolded.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

[kueytoc]

Mandela feels for Ghana's Gyan

Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports - 16 minutes ago

JOHANNESBURG – Heartbroken Ghana star Asamoah Gyan received a message of condolence from Nelson Mandela after his devastating penalty miss led to his team's dramatic World Cup exit against Uruguay.

Former South African president Mandela, who sent a letter of support to the Ghana team before the match, was further moved to pass on his sympathy to Gyan upon seeing the forward in a flood of tears after missing a chance at winning a place in the semifinal.

"[Mandela] wanted us to know he was proud of our players," Ghana Football Association president Kwesi Nyantakyi said. "He wanted Asamoah to know he was proud of him and his efforts and what he gave for his team. That support is very special and significant to everybody."

With just seconds remaining in extra time on Friday, Luis Suarez's handball on the goal line gave Gyan the opportunity to seal victory with a successful penalty. Gyan had already scored twice from the spot during the tournament, but on this occasion he crashed his effort against the crossbar.

As a result the quarterfinal moved on to a penalty shootout. Uruguay prevailed 4-2 to set up a showdown with the Netherlands in the semifinals on Tuesday.

After Sebastian Abreu sealed Uruguay's passage with the final kick, Gyan sobbed inconsolably and had to be assisted back to the locker room by national team staff.

Ghana was the only African team to qualify from the group stage. After seeing off the United States in extra time in Rustenburg last Saturday, the Black Stars were seeking to become the first team from the continent to ever make the last four of a World Cup.

Ghana took the lead just before halftime thanks to a brilliant long-range strike from Sulley Muntari, but was pegged back when Diego Forlan smashed home a superb free kick after the break.

As the sides were level at 1-1 after 90 minutes and headed into extra time, there was little hint of the mayhem to follow. Yet in the space of a few astonishing minutes, the African dream at this World Cup died and the hearts of Gyan and his teammates were ripped to shreds.

"This is cruel," Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac said. "But it is football. What can you say to him [Gyan]? We were so close and somehow it did not happen. We were so close to history.

"There were times when it seemed like there was someone else in control of this, someone above."

With host nation South Africa having been dumped out of the tournament early on, local sentiment switched heavily to Ghana, which enjoyed huge crowd support.

But on a night that twisted and turned with reckless frequency, it was not enough.

[kueytoc]

Dunga confirms will not stay with Brazil

Reuters - 6 hours ago

By Brian Homewood

* Dunga confirms he will not stay as Brazil coach

* Team exits World Cup after losing to Dutch

* Says quarter-final defeat is sad and difficult

PORT ELIZABETH, July 2 (Reuters) - Brazil coach Dunga made it clear he would not continue in the job after his side lost 2-1 to Netherlands in their World Cup quarter-final on Friday.

Asked about his future, he told reporters: "We knew when I started that I would be here for four years."

"It's sad, it's difficult, nobody prepares to lose."

Dunga replaced Carlos Alberto Parreira in July 2006, immediately after the last World Cup.

A hard-tackling midfielder in his playing days, Dunga captained the Brazil team that won the 1994 World Cup and finished runners-up four years later.

He was a surprising choice, having had no previous coaching experience, and his appointment was a response to a perceived lack of discipline and commitment among the players.

His first decision was to drop stalwarts such as Cafu, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos and he later lost patience with Ronaldinho, leaving him out of the squad for South Africa.

Dunga's team won the Copa America in 2007 and the Confederations Cup in 2009, also finishing top of the South American World Cup qualifying group, but many fans and pundits did not like their physical, counter-attacking style.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)

[kueytoc]

ANALYSIS-Soccer-World-Ghana hopes die on a simple twist of fate

Reuters - 15 minutes ago

By Kevin Fylan

JOHANNESBURG, July 2 (Reuters) - Ghana's attempt to set a new high watermark for African soccer failed not for any lack of skill or tactical failure but on a cruel twist of fate that saw a last-gasp penalty miss by less than the width of a crossbar.

Another brave, skilful and supremely committed display from Ghana took them to the brink of a place in the World Cup semi-finals on Friday only for Luis Suarez to deny a goalbound shot with his hand in a goalmouth melee and Asamoah Gyan to lift the resulting spot-kick a fraction too high.

Uruguay, given a reprieve they had no right to expect, went on to win the penalty shoot-out 4-2, after the match at Soccer City had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and a tense half-hour of extra-time went, scarcely credibly, without a goal.

Uruguay, World Cup winners in 1930 and 1950, can savour a return to the glory days with a match against the Netherlands to come, 40 years after they last reached the semi-finals.

That they took their place in the last four was in part down to the brilliance of Diego Forlan, who scored a spectacular free kick to cancel out Sulley Muntari's equally special opening goal, as well as their cool in the shoot-out.

But in the end their victory was down to luck -- luck and the handball from Suarez that their fans will accept as an instinctive reaction in an impossible situation while others will decry it as opportunistic cheating.

AFRICAN HOPES

Ghana have carried the weight of a continent's hopes at this World Cup ever since five of the six competing African teams went out at the group stage.

Their dream was to become the first African side to reach the World Cup semi-finals, and in the first African World Cup too.

It was a responsibility they made light of in beating the United States in another match that went to extra-time in the second round and they were undaunted again at the magnificent Soccer City stadium on Friday, the last match here before the final.

With Muntari relishing his recall to the starting line-up, Gyan menacing one of the tournament's best defences and Kevin-Prince Boateng cutting in from both flanks, Ghana had a real presence about them.

Of course they were tired, but no more so than their opponents, and they started and finished extra-time looking much the more dangerous side.

Their weakness all tournament has been in applying the final touch in front of goal.

Muntari gave them one goal with a speculative shot from over 30 metres but too many chances came and went as Uruguay squirmed in defence, particularly after captain Diego Lugano was forced off injured seven minutes before half-time.

Boateng also missed with a clear headed chance two minutes from time before Dominic Adiyiah did everything right with his header only for Suarez to intervene.

That was the story of the night for Ghana -- too little reward for a collective display that was as disciplined as it was artful.

They had little trouble shouldering the expectations of Africa but in the end Forlan carrying his team proved the easier task.

[kueytoc]

Maradona neither genius nor clown

AAP - 4 hours ago

The World Cup proved that Diego Maradona is no coaching genius. But nor was he the clown that some expected.

True, there were times when it wasn't possible to observe the Argentine coach without humming the theme tune to Benny Hill. Picture, for example, the Argentine training session where Maradona pretended to beat up a member of his staff and theatrically acted as a target for his players to shoot a hail of balls at. He came out of it furiously rubbing the back of his head. Ho-ho, what a jester!

But as Argentina's victories piled up, there seemed to be method in Maradona's madness. No other team had Argentina's swashbuckling flair. With Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez slotting in goals and world player of the year Lionel Messi supplying inspiration, passes and even leadership on the field it was possible to ignore the holes in Maradona's defense and midfield and not second-guess his decision to leave defender Javier Zanetti and midfielder Esteban Cambiasso at home. Maradona's strategy, if it can be called that, was to outscore not shut out opponents.

"Permanently on the attack" is how he lovingly described Argentina's style of play.

"We are here to give joy to the Argentines, to play as we like, in the way which makes us happy," he said.

What fun, but naive too.

Maradona used enthusiasm to compensate for his inexperience as a coach. He smothered his players with hugs and kisses before and after games because he had little else to offer in terms of tactical wizardry. The instructions he barked in practice were of the "Come on! Look alive!" variety, not useful nuggets of strategic insight. He talked about the need for "sacrifice, blood and courage" from players, not about playing formations. His players, in turn, praised the value of his experience of having competed in four World Cups not his game plans - if, indeed, there were any.

"Nobody ever told me where to play. So, I shouldn't have to tell Messi where to play either," Maradona said in the best example of his let-them-get-on-with-it approach.

He made no apologies for it. In fact, after three group-stage wins, he was demanding apologies - "I'm not suggesting you drop your trousers, but it would be honest and great," he said - from critics who had predicted that Argentina could only flop with the former cocaine addict in charge and waste its best chance in years of winning the World Cup that Maradona lifted as a player in 1986.

The upside of Maradona hogging the limelight in South Africa with his large personality and entertaining and provocative news conferences was that he deflected attention from Messi and why the star forward wasn't scoring.

But the downside for Argentina was that Maradona failed, as he also did in World Cup qualifying, to make the most of Messi's goal-scoring abilities. Too often, Messi was starved of the passes that help to make him such a match-winner for his club, Barcelona. That forced Messi to go hunting deep in the midfield himself for the ball.

Because of Argentina's in built defensive frailties and Maradona's lack of alternate plans B, C or D for when his A-plan - attack, attack, attack - failed to work, there was always the suspicion that Argentina's exciting adventure could slam into the buffers if its forwards couldn't score. Yet few suspected that Argentina and Maradona would be found out quite so starkly as they were by Germany in the quarterfinals.

German manager Joachim Loew is his own greatest admirer. But it is also true that he thoroughly outthought Maradona, executing his game plan brilliantly - just as he did against the England side of Fabio Capello, a coach more experienced than Maradona. Messi's attacking runs broke against the rocks of dogged, organised German defending, while the Argentine defense and Javier Mascherano in midfield were overwhelmed by the speed of the German forays.

Most importantly, the Germans played as a well-oiled team, finding each other with just the right pass at just the right time. Argentina, in contrast, looked like talented individuals who just happened to be wearing the same blue and white stripped jerseys. As the German goals mounted up, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and finally 4-0, it grew increasingly clear that Maradona had no answer. He looked so sad on the touchline.

This World Cup would not have been as much fun without Maradona, without the sight of him pacing up and down as though he were still out on the field kicking every ball, living every emotion.

But it was always too much to expect that he would be the same genius as a coach as he was as Argentinian football's greatest player.

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press.

[kueytoc]

Maradona plan unravels with no solution in sight

Reuters - 10 hours ago

CAPE TOWN, July 4 (Reuters) - Diego Maradona's Argentina, having promised so much at the World Cup, find themselves back at square one with the same problems which plagued them in the South American qualifiers.

Argentina's four wins at the finals, scoring first in them all, hid frailties subsequently exposed by Germany in their 4-0 rout in Saturday's quarter-final at Green Point Stadium.

The attack was unable to bail them out. In fact, in 13 competitive matches under Maradona, Argentina never came back to win after falling behind.

FIFA player of the year Lionel Messi, touted as the potential player of the finals, retreated deeper into midfield in each of Argentina's five matches.

A puzzled Maradona, who is regarded as having almost singlehandedly won Argentina's second world title in Mexico in 1986, said: "It's different now ... I think players used to play much more for themselves and today players are more practical, more team oriented ...(that is) the new fashion.

"We had players who would carry the team on their shoulders."

On Saturday, Germany coach Joachim Loew had the answer to Maradona's tactics.

"Argentina are a team divided between the defence and the attack. That was the key to be able to control the midfield and from there build our victory," said Loew, a contemporary of Maradona's, not in the same league as a player but clearly more than his match as a coach.

Behind after three minutes, Argentina were under constant pressure from the flanks with fullbacks Nicolas Otamendi and Gabriel Heinze, both central defenders at club level, struggling to cope with Germany's pace.

The goals Argentina's talented forwards scored in the group games and the second round against Mexico also hid the fact that the midfield lacked bite.

Maradona, who was regularly found wanting from the touchline during the qualifiers, provided no answers from the bench except to boost his attack when Argentina were ahead.

MIDDLE EXPOSURE

Having dispensed with Juan Roman Riquelme or even Esteban Cambiasso or Fernando Gago as a central midfield partner for Javier Mascherano, the team's captain was horribly exposed on his own in the middle.

Why did Maradona not play Juan Sebastian Veron, the one man in the squad who could have given Argentina more ball holding and depth of passing?

Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger controlled midfield doing a job that Veron might have done for Argentina, even taking the free kicks like the one that led to their opening goal.

When former coach Alfio Basile quit suddenly in September 2008, a candidate for the Argentina job was Sergio Batista, Maradona's former 1986 World Cup team mate, who had steered the under-23s to their second successive Olympic gold medal.

The job went instead to Maradona, who opted against what would have, in retrospect, been a wise choice in taking Batista as an assistant.

Maradona returns to Argentina to ponder his future, knowing his family will urge him to carry on, since that the job has done the former drug addict so much good on a personal level.

He has an agreement with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) until next year when Argentina host the Copa America and he said in a television interview shortly before the finals he was also building towards that tournament.

AFA president Julio Grondona is unlikely to stand in Maradona's way.

(Editing by Jon Bramley)

Edited July 5, 2010 by kueytoc

[kueytoc]

Brazil sack Dunga, players face angry backlash

AFP - 5 hours ago

RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazil coach Dunga was sacked on Sunday following the team's World Cup quarter-final exit with charismatic Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the title in 2002, immediately being tipped to take over.

"The cycle of work started in 2006 and which culminated with the elimination of Brazil in the World Cup in South Africa is finished," said a statement from the Brazilian football confederation (CBF).

"The CBF announces the dismissal of the technical commission of the Brazilian team. The new commission will be announced at the end of July."

Dunga, 46, who skippered Brazil to the 1994 World Cup, had been national team coach since 2006.

He had already said that he was intending to step down after four years following the five-time champions 2-1 defeat to Holland in the quarter-finals in Port Elizabeth on Friday.

However, on his arrival home on Sunday, Dunga did not rule out staying in the job.

"I am going to rest before meeting, in one or two weeks' time, the president of the CBF, Ricardo Teixeira to talk about it (extending his stay in charge)," Dunga told a news conference before the CBF quickly shattered his optimism.

Brazilian media immediately started speculating on the identity of Dunga's successor whose job will be guiding the team on home soil at 2014 World Cup.

The favourite is Scolari, who won the World Cup in 2002, although he has ruled himself out saying he intends to honour his contract with Palmeiras which runs until 2012.

"I have a contract with Palmeiras and it is here that I am going to work," Scolari told El Dorado radio.

"It would be great to finish my career coaching a team at the World Cup to be staged in Brazil, but I cannot respond to any offer until after 2012."

Other names being mentioned are Mano Menezes, currently coach at Corinthians, and ex-AC Milan boss Leonardo. Jorginho, who was Dunga's assistant in South Africa, is also believed to be in the running.

Brazilian players were met with insults and pushing and shoving from angry fans amid a welter of recriminations for their poor World Cup showing when they arrived in Rio.

Aside from Dunga, the target for much of their ire was Felipe Melo, who deflected in Wesley Sneijder's opener for the Dutch and then got himself sent off.

The Brazilians landed after a 10-hour flight from South Africa and fans immediately vented their anger, judging Melo one of the "fathers of defeat."

Fans were more forgiving with goalkeeper Julio Cesar, some shouting out their gratitude for what they saw as a good showing overall by the Inter Milan shot-stopper who was tearful after the Dutch defeat.

"I am very emotional - I want to thank the Brazilian fans. This was the fruit of three-and-a-half years of work," said Julio Cesar before being driven off along with his mother.

Kleberson, Gilberto Melo, Juan and Thiago Silva also had to run the gauntlet along with team doctor Jose Luiz Runco.

Runco admitted that star midfielder Kaka, who failed to shine at the World Cup, was not properly fit and wouldn't have played at a lesser event.

Kaka came into the tournament on the back of a disappointing season with Real Madrid which was marred by thigh problems which forced him to miss more than six weeks of the season.

"I suffered a lot since I got injured," the 2007 world and European footballer of the year told journalists.

Fans were not impressed and whistles and jeers were aimed in his direction during Real's defeat by Lyon in the last 16 of the Champions League in March.

"They did it in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with Milan ... it happens to all players. The fans are very emotional," he said.

Kaka failed to score in the World Cup and was also red-carded, albeit unjustly, in the group win over Ivory Coast.

[kueytoc]

Dunga fired as Brazil coach

9 hours, 40 minutes ago

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)—Dunga is out as coach of Brazil’s national soccer team.

The coach and his staff were fired Sunday, two days after Brazil was beaten by the Netherlands in the World Cup quarterfinals.

The announcement was made by the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF). The decision was widely expected after the 2-1 loss to the Dutch. Brazil led 1-0 on Robinho’s first-half goal, but allowed two goals and had a player sent off in a dismal second-half performance in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

“With the closing of the work cycle that started in August 2006 and ended with the elimination of Brazil from the World Cup in South Africa, the CBF announces the dismissal of the Technical Commission of the Brazilian team,” the federation said in a statement.

A new coach will be appointed before the end of the month, CBF said.

Former Brazil player Mano Menezes, AC Milan coach Leonardo and Wanderley Luxemburgo are being mentioned as potential successors to Dunga.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, who coached Brazil to its fifth World Cup title in 2002, had been mentioned as a successor, but he has signed a two-year deal to be with the Brazilian club Palmeiras.

The new coach and his staff are likely to face several exhibition matches in the next few months and then the South American championship—the Copa America — in 2011 in Argentina.

Dunga returned to Brazil with the team early Sunday and was met with applause and cheering by fans in his native Porto Alegre in southern Brazil.

Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014 for the first time since 1950.

[kueytoc]

Bolton Boss Owen Coyle Criticises Fabio Capello For Gary Cahill's World Cup Snub

Goal.com

3 hours, 32 minutes ago

Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle believes that Fabio Capello should have taken Gary Cahill and Jack Wilshere to the World Cup.

Coyle lobbied on Cahill’s behalf before the tournament began and also said that Wilshere should have been given a chance to prove himself for England.

After Rio Ferdinand and Ledley King went down injured and Matthew Upson performed poorly when called upon Coyle insists that he was correct about Cahill being included.

“I am not trying to be smart after the event. I am on record as saying that there is no better centre half in England than Gary Cahill,” Coyle told The Mirror.

"He is the complete package. I felt he was good enough.

“I recommended him strongly for the squad. The disappointment is that Gary did not make the initial 30. I believe if he had he would have shown what he has got and forced himself in.

“I can accept that he was out injured and maybe they felt he wasn’t back at his best level. But they should have seen him go toe-to-toe with Didier Drogba and look the best defender on the pitch in the Tottenham game.”

The Bolton boss believes that Cahill and Wilshere will be a big part of England’s squad in the immediate future and that Capello missed a chance as these two would have helped the Three Lions in South Africa.

“When Gary was left out I spoke with him. He is passionate and patriotic.

“He was hurt as much as everyone else was. He was disappointed but I know he is desperate to be part of it in the future.

“It’s the same with young Jack. He is so skillful and brave, he goes in where it hurts and he has the ability to take the ball into tight spaces. If you were going to take a young one I had no doubts about him.

“I thought - with the players England have got - that they had a chance of being in at the shake-up and even making the final.”

[kueytoc]

Rooney, Ronaldo, now Messi -- stars misfire in Cup

BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, AP - 1 hour ago

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Rooney, then Ronaldo and now Messi.

They were supposed to light up the World Cup after scoring a total of 114 goals for their clubs this season, but left South Africa with only one goal in 13 matches.

Wayne Rooney huffed and puffed but failed to score before England was sent packing by Germany. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo scored -- once, in garbage time -- but didn't run much at all before being eliminated by Spain. Argentina's Lionel Messi couldn't produce the magic when it counted, against the Germans in the quarterfinals.

All 25 or younger and considered three of the world's best players, they were the World Cup's biggest disappointments.

For Rooney, it seemed a case of fatigue or injury -- he had knee, ankle and groin problems over the last two months of his club season. Whatever the cause, rarely did the 24-year-old Manchester United striker storm past defenders with a typically powerful run after a season in England in which he scored 34 goals to make up for Ronaldo's record transfer to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo's lone goal -- against North Korea in a 7-0 rout -- was little solace for a player hyped in a well-publicized commercial as Portugal's savior.

Even with the captain's armband, the 25-year-old forward did little to inspire his team. He rarely tracked back in defense, lost the ball when dribbling and looked a shadow of the player who was selected as the world's best in 2008.

That title went to Messi last year after he led Barcelona to an historic series of national, European and world club titles, and he continued his stellar performances with an astonishing 47 goals for his team in the 2009-10 season. The 23-year-old forward has often been accused of failing to reproduce his best form for Argentina, and will have done little to erase that charge in South Africa.

Diego Maradona has called Messi his heir apparent. But in his second World Cup, Messi failed to find the target and never conjured the magic of Maradona when his nation needed him, fading out of the match as Argentina was thrashed 4-0 by Germany.

"To see Messi cry in the dressing room, whoever says that he doesn't feel pride for his shirt is stupid," Maradona said.

Rooney, Ronaldo and Messi weren't alone.

From Brazil, there was Kaka. The 28-year-old playmaker was voted the world's best player three years ago, but was coming off a disappointing season after a lucrative move to Real Madrid, forced to play a deeper, more defensive role behind Ronaldo.

Back in his favored position just behind the strikers with Brazil, Kaka was sent off in the group match against Ivory Coast.

He came back for the round of 16 match as Brazil beat Chile 3-0, and nearly scored for a two-goal lead in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands. But when the Dutch came storming back in the second half to win 2-1, Kaka went quiet.

Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o and Ivory Coast's Didier Drogba have won five of the last seven African player of the year awards. With the weight of a continent on their shoulders, neither player could lift his team.

Eto'o, after moving from Barcelona to Inter Milan, was coming off a second straight season in which his club won everything possible -- a triple crown of titles in the domestic league and cup, and the Champions League. He scored twice in three games in South Africa, but Cameroon was the first team eliminated.

Drogba broke a bone in his right arm just before the tournament and had to wear a soft cast to play. He missed a late chance to break a 0-0 draw against Portugal but scored a late consolation goal against Brazil. However, the damage was done -- and even a solid 3-0 win over North Korea couldn't rescue a talented Ivorian team's tournament.

There have been others hampered by injury. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon played only half of a match in Italy's poorest World Cup showing since 1974, while Franck Ribery failed to follow in Zinedine Zidane's footsteps for France after an injury-blighted season at Bayern Munich.

Spain's Fernando Torres still has a chance. The 26-year-old striker has struggled since undergoing knee surgery in April, but his team has reached the semifinals. That's been largely due to the scoring prowess of David Villa, who leads the World Cup with five goals.

"It's been a difficult tournament for me because my fitness is bad, but I'm improving every game," Torres said.

Diego Forlan has also cemented his status among the world's best marksmen. He scored a vital free kick to keep Uruguay alive in the quarterfinals against Ghana before tucking away his penalty as his nation prevailed in a shootout.

Another striker who has starred is Miroslav Klose, who seemed washed up after a season on the substitutes' bench for Bayern Munich. The rest has done him well, as he's already scored one more goal in the World Cup -- four -- than he did all season in the Bundesliga.

A new group of talented youngsters have also made their mark on the world stage. The Netherlands has been aided by 22-year-old wingback Gregory van der Wiel, while 23-year-old striker Luis Suarez has scored three times in Uruguay's run to the semifinals.

Germany has probably the two best youngsters to emerge in Mesut Oezil, 21, and Thomas Mueller, 20.

What's most startling about Oezil is how composed he looks on the ball, slipping passes left and right with startling ease. Add to that his darting runs into the box and he looks like a young Kaka, a description few Germans familiar with their team's typically stoic play could have imagined a few years back.

Mueller may be the star of the tournament so far. After only one full season as a Bayern first-team player, the attacking midfielder has had a series of match-winning performances, scoring twice as Germany hammered England 4-1 and another in the quarterfinal win over Argentina.

Mueller will be suspended for the semifinal against Spain after picking up his second yellow card on Saturday.

"It will be a great loss," Germany coach Joachim Loew said.

Mueller might not possess Rooney's vigor, Ronaldo's flashiness or Messi's natural elegance on the pitch. But there's hardly been a more dangerous player in the tournament.

[kueytoc]

Surprise package Uruguay on brink of WCup final

MARK WALSH, AP - 1 hour ago

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- The last country to qualify for the World Cup, Uruguay is hoping to be the last to leave.

"We gatecrashed the party, but now we are here we want to keep dancing as long as possible," veteran striker Sebastian Abreu said Sunday.

Uruguay needed a playoff win against Costa Rica in November to reach the tournament, but has excelled in South Africa and plays its first semifinal in 40 years on Tuesday against the Netherlands.

"The dream of the guys is getting bigger and bigger and the team is improving day after day," captain Diego Lugano said. "Now we are at the highest level of football and every victory becomes more important."

Few pundits gave the team much chance of progressing from a group containing 2006 runner-up France, host South Africa and a strong Mexico side. But Uruguay topped the section without conceding a goal and then knocked out South Korea and Ghana.

The team's profile is also growing. At the beginning of the tournament only a handful of journalists followed the team's practices and press conferences in the sleepy town of Kimberley.

Sunday's final briefing in Johannesburg before leaving for the semifinal in Cape Town was attended by hundreds of journalists, photographers and TV cameras -- all swarming for a chance to talk to the players.

Getting off the bus at the team's hotel after training, Diego Forlan looked on at the horde of reporters.

"So, you didn't believe in us?" Forlan said, smiling.

Actually, there were few clues that Uruguay -- World Cup winner in 1930 and '50 -- was about to burst back onto the international scene.

The side finished fifth in the South American qualifiers, which necessitated a two-legged playoff against CONCACAF's No. 4 team, Costa Rica.

A place in the finals was secured with a 1-0 away win and nervous 1-1 draw at home in Montevideo.

Despite the problems, Uruguay is the only team from South America left in the tournament -- outlasting traditional powers Brazil and Argentina.

The difficulties in getting to South Africa seem to have fortified the team.

"The qualifying in South America is the strongest and hardest there is," Abreu said. "When four of the quarterfinalists in the World Cup are from this region, that tells you something."

Lugano struggled to explain why the team struggled to get to South Africa in the first place.

"There hasn't been much change," he said. "We are the same players, we have the same mentality of trying to do our best and fighting for the jersey.

"The other thing is that the South American qualifiers are very hard. Argentina struggled to qualify and even Brazil didn't do very well at first."

It's a view shared by midfielder Diego Perez.

"We were the last team to qualify -- and we had to play 20 games to get here," Perez said. "Passing through those difficult moments made us stronger and that's been a help as we've progressed. Now we will try to keep going."

[kueytoc]

Why soccer’s biggest stars failed to shine

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

9 hours, 28 minutes ago

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – Soccer’s superstar players never materialized here at the World Cup. The game’s best – Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, etc. – often failed to lift their play and, in turn, their teams, to a level this grand stage demands.

The conventional wisdom on why: They were too selfish, unable to adapt to the team concept of a national squad.

Then there’s Diego Maradona’s take: Unlike the past, the stars weren’t selfish enough.

“Today the players are more collective, more team players,” the Argentina coach said after his own star-studded team was bounced from the World Cup. “They want to do everything with their teammates. It is a different type of game right now.”

This goes against so much of what we’ve come to believe, and expect, in sports. The reason that Uruguay and the Netherlands square off here Tuesday in a semifinal is because they embraced selfless, team-oriented play.

Such a mentality is celebrated.

What Maradona is suggesting is that this line of thinking has become so widespread it’s actually killed the star player, who no longer acts like a star player. Rather than demanding his place in the natural pecking order of pure talent and past performance, they sink back into the pack.

Such thinking would carry little weight except it is Maradona who said it. Who could know more about what’s needed for a talented player to morph into a larger-than-life superstar and dominate the World Cup? No one owned this event the way Maradona did in 1986 when he led Argentina to the title.

His implication is that the star needs to act like the star. That he is better than his teammates is a given. Rather than apologize for it, he must remind them of it, make them respect it. He must lead not by being one of the guys but by being above the guys. It’s the cult of personality, if you will.

“I think we were more selfish,” Maradona said, which has to be the first time an old player said that about a bygone era. “Maybe before it was about being selfish players who [made the] rest of the team work for us.”

Today’s players receive remarkable hype – television commercials, video games and media attention. They are single-name personalities around the globe.

Yet you’d never hear one say that the rest of the team works for them. They’d be vilified. Instead today’s stars go out of their way to support their teammates and talk publicly about how no one player is more important than the other.

Only some players are more important, Maradona notes.

Consider the most competitive environments on earth – the military battlefield, the flight deck of a commercial airliner or a hospital operating table.

This is where failure is not an option. In those cultures, the delineation between the star (the general, the lead pilot) and the others (private, flight attendant) is clear. Often socialization between classes is prohibited – enlisted men do not dine with officers – and the word of the higher-ranked person must be respected.

When having open-heart surgery, no patient would care if the lead surgeon is friends with or helps empower the nurse. In fact, the idea that the nurse would fear disappointing the lead surgeon and would clearly defer to him at all times might be considered a positive. You’d want the most brilliant talent to be the leader.

In Maradona’s day, he says, that carried over to a soccer team. He was Diego Maradona and they were not.

“Time changes in life,” Maradona said.

In this time, the star player must be humble and supportive. And not just on the field, but in all parts of team life. Obviously all players know they need others to make them better in the game. Someone has to pass them the ball. Or receive a pass. But off the field, is one for all, all for one really the best concept?

It’s difficult to say. Maradona only knows the mentality that made him lead a country to World Cup glory. It certainly isn’t the only way.

Perhaps it is one of them, though. And with most of the world’s top individual players home watching the semifinals, with criticism of their selfish play ringing through their heads, maybe the opposite is true. Maybe they weren’t selfish enough.

Maybe Maradona’s correct. Maybe the soccer world has gone soft.

[kueytoc]

Diego Maradona Tells Reporters: My Time Is Up

The outspoken coach tells Argentine television that he has no more to give the national team, while stopping short of an official resignation.

By Daniel Edwards

Jul 5, 2010 11:37:00 AM

Dejected Argentina coach Diego Maradona seemed to admit that his spell directing the national team had come to an end in an interview with national TV station Cronica.

"That is it, my time has finished," 'El Pelusa' told reporters from the channel who had come to his house on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

"I have given all that I have."

After harsh criticism during qualifying, the controversial trainer won international plaudits for both his attacking style of play on the field and often unorthodox behavior off it. His inexperience as a coach was eventually found out in the World Cup quarter-finals however, as the Albiceleste were taken apart by a superior and better-organized German side.

Despite many senior players and officials calling for Dieguito to stay at the helm, from today's words it seems that Maradona has made his decision to step down, although there is yet to be an official statement from either him or the AFA.

As happened so often in South Africa however, it was the legendary number 10 who had the final word this morning in Buenos Aires, telling Cronica and fans who had gathered to beg for his continuity: "I just want to enjoy the afternoon with my family."

[kueytoc]

Gio van Bronckhorst: Goal of the tournament?

Tue Jul 06 05:19pm EDT

By Carter Daly

It doesn't get much bigger than a World Cup semifinal (unless we're talking about a World Cup final) and Giovanni van Bronckhorst's opening strike against Uruguay was more than worthy of the occasion. It sparked the Netherlands to a 3-2 victory over Uruguay — their most impressive win of the tournament — and sends them through to their first final since Argentina '78. Gio's thunderous left-footed strike went just over Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's fingertips, rocked the far post and bounced into the net, giving the Clockwork Oranje a clockwork start to the semifinal.

Some are calling it the goal of the tournament and it makes a strong case. Between the sheer awesomeness of it and the fact that it came in the biggest game of the tournament so far, it's hard to argue different.

That absolute rocket is going to be tough to top, but if he can somehow get the ball over the line in the final as the Netherlands try to win their first World Cup, van Bronckhorst would surely be the king of Holland.

[kueytoc]

The world cup is already determined by the numbers...

1. Brazil won the World Cup in 1994; before that they also won in 1970.Adding1970 + 1994= 3964

2. Argentina won its last World Cup in 1986; before that they also won in 1978. Adding 1978 + 1986= 3964

3. Germany won its last World Cup in 1990; before that they also won in 1974. Adding 1974 + 1990= 3964

4. Brazil also won the World Cup in 2002; before that they also won in 1962. Adding 1962+ 2002= 3964

5. Therefore if you want to know what nation is going to win the World Cup in 2010, you only have to subtract 2010 from the magic number that we have determined: 3964.

3964 minus 2010 = 1954...

In 1954 the World Cup was won by Germany !!! Probably not scientific...but pretty interesting

[kueytoc]

Forlan deals with injury, but devastated by loss

BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, AP - 1 hour ago

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Diego Forlan ignored the pain for as long as he could, carrying Uruguay on his shoulders and giving the little nation hope of a most improbable World Cup final berth.

That made the disappointment all the more bitter.

The score was 1-1 in the second half and the South American nation was making it a tight game against the Netherlands. Forlan was leading by example as the stand-in captain, tying the match with a 25-yard shot, spreading passes from deep and threatening in the box.

Then, the Dutch scored twice late and Forlan's thigh became so unbearable he couldn't continue. Despite a fantastic tournament for himself and his country, Forlan was disappointed.

"We were so close to the final," said the 31-year-old striker, who scored four goals in South Africa. "It's very disappointing. We had chances and we didn't take them."

Forlan said he felt pain in his thigh before the 3-2 semifinal loss on Tuesday, but was determined to play -- and the immediate results were astounding.

After Giovanni van Bronckhorst scored a stunning first-half goal for the Netherlands, Forlan brought his country of 3.5 million people back into the match with a swerving shot that Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg couldn't keep out.

With Uruguay missing a number of regular starters because of injury or suspension, Forlan wore the captain's armband in place of Diego Lugano and seemed determined to compensate for the absence of his normal forward partner Luis Suarez and part of the first-team midfield.

There he was almost as a right back, sending a pinpoint through pass halfway across the pitch to an onrushing Uruguayan winger. He tested Stekelenburg again with a swerving, 30-yard free kick that brought out a good save. And he was fighting for every loose ball.

Then, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben scored for the Dutch in quick succession. The Uruguayans were deflated, and Forlan's thigh was hurting.

"When we started the game, I had a bit of pain. In the later minutes it was more painful," he said.

Still he ran off the pitch at full speed when Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez replaced him in the 85th minute with Sebastian Fernandez.

Those seconds might have counted as the team closed the gap to 3-2 with a late goal, setting up a frantic finish.

"He was hurting," Tabarez said. "It wasn't anything grave, but obviously you could see, especially at the end, that he wasn't 100 percent."

Forlan said he hoped to play in Uruguay's third-place consolation match in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.

The team will face either Spain or Germany, who meet in the other semifinal match Wednesday, and it might be the last chance for Forlan to display his talents on the world's biggest stage. He will be 35, and possibly too old, when the 2014 World Cup takes place in Brazil.

After averaging more than 20 goals a season at club level in Spain over the past six years, and twice winning the Golden Boot as Europe's top scorer, this tournament cemented the blond-haired striker's reputation as one of the world's top marksmen.

Forlan acknowledged the team's great improvement in recent years, and its fine showing at the World Cup.

But a bitter sense of frustration pervaded.

"It's a shame because we lost a unique opportunity," Forlan said. "We had a chance to score a goal in the second half. The game was going for us. But we didn't score, and they scored."

[kueytoc]

Uruguay Captain Diego Forlan Bitterly Disappointed With Defeat To Netherlands

Goal.com - 2 hours ago

Uruguay captain Diego Forlan declared himself disappointed following his sides 3-2 defeat to Netherlands in the semi-final of the World Cup in Cape Town.

Forlan had cancelled out Giovanni van Bronckhorst's stunning opener to leave the sides level at the break but la Celeste eventually fell to two second half goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben despite a late effort from Maximiliano Pereira.

"The truth is that I have a bitter taste, because there were more difficult games than this," he was quoted as saying by El Pais before revealing that he was not in ideal shape for the game.

"Personally, I feel useless because I was not in a good enough physical state to be able to perform at my best. Collectively I think it was very good, but it cost us a lot to get the second goal, they got two in those four minutes and that settled it.

"I was not contributing anything to bother them so it was better that another player came in. I was tired. I believe I will be okay, now it hurts but I hope to make the [third place play-off] game, it's still several days away. We all hope to be well enough to play for third place. We are all very proud even though we lost."

[kueytoc]

Spain warned Germany tougher to beat than in 2008

AFP - 1 hour ago

DURBAN, South Africa (AFP) - Spain headed into their World Cup semi-final with Germany here on Wednesday having been warned they would have to overcome a much stronger side than the one they beat in the Euro 2008 final.

German striker Lukas Podolski has spoken of his desire to avenge the defeat by the Spaniards in Vienna two years ago, when Fernando Torres's strike settled a match in which Podolski was head-butted by David Silva in an incident missed by the officials.

Xavi Alonso, the Real Madrid midfielder, insisted that any hangover from that match would have no impact on Wednesday's contest.

"Once you go on to the pitch, history is not important," the former Liverpool star said.

"The important thing is how we plan to handle this match, our motivation and attention to even the slightest details. In a World Cup, the small details can send you home."

Germany's four-goal hammerings of England and Argentina in their last two outings have underlined the potency of Joachim Loew's rejuvenated squad and their pace, power and clinical finishing has made a strong impression on his Spanish counterpart Vicente Del Bosque.

"I think Germany are greatly improved since 2008," Del Bosque admitted.

"Their squad has undergone a renewal with important young players coming through but they have maintained the traditional values of German football.

"They have players of high quality with good technical skills.

"They have their moments when they attack and when they fall back. They have strong individuals who can make the difference in the match, so it is going to be an interesting meeting of two strong teams."

Del Bosque, who took over the Spanish side following the retirement of Luis Aragones in the wake of the Euro 2008 triumph, also believes Spain have got better, despite relying on the same core group of players.

"We have followed the path laid down by the the previous coach, but we have included some new players. You can't stand still in football. We have tried to build on what we achieved before but I think we have also improved."

Del Bosque's German counterpart, Joachim Loew, believes his side's progress over the last two years has been significant enough to give them every reason to believe they can turn the tables on their opponents and book a spot in Sunday's final.

"After we lost the 2008 final we were all very disappointed but you have to admit that Spain were clearly the best team in that tournament so they deserved to win the Euro," Loew said.

"Two years on, we have made a lot of changes, Spain not so many. In this tournament, in terms of how we've been playing, we've clearly come on several steps since 2008.

"In 2008, we were not as consistent and we perhaps did not have the same quality in every position as we have now.

"The players we have now have incredible skill, technique and tactical nous.

"We worked on developing these players and the team. Our combinations and flow are superior to 2008 when we used a lot of energy but were not always able to dominate.

"Now it's a different story. We have been able to keep opponents under control and put them in trouble."

Spain have found themselves frustrated at in South Africa by the determination of opponents to stop them playing, but Del Bosque, Loew and their players are all anticipating an open encounter on Wednesday.

"What we have seen so far in the tournament, tells us that we will have an open match," said the Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta.

"Both teams will attack. The important thing for us will be to play our own game, keep possession of the ball and try to move it into dangerous positions."

[kueytoc]

Same old, same old: Europe wins World Cup

JOHN LEICESTER, AP - 2 hours ago

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Same old, same old. The World Cup champions will be European. Either Dutch, Spanish or German, to be precise.

Hang on a second, the old continent hogging the summit of world football, haven't we seen that before?

Well, yes. Four years ago, in fact. Remember Italy winning and the head-butt that rocked the world by French captain Zinedine Zidane?

The truth is, we shouldn't be surprised. Four weeks and 61 matches into the first World Cup in Africa -- there's just one semifinal, Sunday's final and the third-place game still to play -- have reaffirmed a cold, hard fact: The sport's center of gravity is still, and perhaps more than ever, in Europe.

Africa proved at this World Cup that it is more than capable of hosting the biggest single event in sport, but that it also is nowhere close to winning it. Ghana was the only country to make a real impression and even it got no further than the quarterfinals. Africa has fine players, competing across Europe in some of the biggest clubs. It also has passion, as evidenced by the way the continent swung behind the Ghanaians after the other five African sides failed to get out of the group stage. But Africa doesn't have the decades of experience, the coaching expertise, and the wealth that make Europe's giants so strong.

For a while at this World Cup of relatively few goals but also genuine upsets, South America strung us along with the illusion that it would be the dominant force. But that, too, wasn't to be. Four of the eight quarterfinalists were South American. None will be in the final. Thank you, Brazil for letting someone else win for a change. The five-time champions were nowhere near their dancing, awesome best in South Africa. The Brazilians are organizing the next World Cup and must regroup, perhaps unearth a new Pele, if they want to win it and add a sixth gold star to their bright yellow jerseys.

Thanks, too, to Argentina for a bundle of goals and for lighting up the World Cup with the passion and quirkiness of Diego Maradona, Argentina's greatest player, who discovered that coaching wasn't so easy. His philosophy of swashbuckling attacking football was the necessary antidote to the dull defensive fare served by teams so unambitious that we've already forgotten them.

And gracias Uruguay, for giving the World Cup its pantomime villain, Luis Suarez. At the very end of an absorbing quarterfinal, he illegally used his hands to block what would have been a match-winning goal for Ghana. But that cheat also proved to be a Pyhrric victory for Uruguay. As punishment, football governing body FIFA made him sit out Tuesday's semifinal against the Netherlands at Cape Town's ghostly white and brand new Green Point Stadium. Deprived of Suarez's goal-scoring talents, Uruguay never looked likely to win. There was a measure of poetic justice for Ghana and Africa in the scoreline -- Netherlands 3, Uruguay 2.

The Dutch captain, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, lit up the match with a moment of beauty. His goal after 18 minutes of constricted and flat football -- neither side wanted to make a mistake -- whooshed into the top corner of Uruguay's net. He thwacked the ball from 36 meters (yards) out, top speed: 109 kilometers (67 miles) per hour.

So often at this World Cup similar shots have zoomed frustratingly over the crossbar. Players have blamed their lack of control on the Jabulani ball, said by some to be too fast and too light, and the high altitude of some of the stadiums, where shots cut quicker through the thin air. Maybe Cape Town's muggy, denser sea air was a factor in van Bronckhorst finding the back of the net so sweetly against Uruguay. Of all the goals at this World Cup, only the very first of the tournament was better. Siphiwe Tshabalala's shot on the run for South Africa was both athletic and the perfect start.

The Netherlands will play either Spain or the most impressive side of the tournament, Germany, in Sunday's final at the cooking pot-shaped Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

Germany's young side has played with such verve and teamwork that it is the favorite. But Spain is the European champion and, unlike three-time champion Germany, has never won a World Cup. Its talented team of players, many from Spanish champion Barcelona, has not been as impressive as was expected, but could make amends now when it counts.

The Dutch have reached the final playing not the prettiest football, but perhaps the most pragmatic. Defend well. Score goals. They have won all six of their matches in South Africa. Like the Spanish, they have yet to win a World Cup.

And while no European side has ever won the cup outside of Europe, that will change Sunday.

So in the end, it won't be same old, same old, after all.

John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press.

[kueytoc]

England’s return of the WAGs

By Martin Rogers, Yahoo! Sports

jul 5, 15:15 EDT

CAPE TOWN – The most spoiled, pampered and over-hyped group of soccer players at the World Cup are close to getting their wish.

Not content with letting down a nation with a series of pitiful performances in South Africa, it now appears that players on the England team will now get greater access to their infamous WAGs (wives and girlfriends) for future tournaments.

Head coach Fabio Capello attempted to ban the WAGs from this World Cup, describing them as a “virus” following their big-spending, hard-partying ways during the 2006 World Cup.

Now, according to a report in the Sun newspaper, Capello feels he should have allowed his squad to take a two-week holiday with their partners before heading to South Africa, instead of embarking on an intensive training camp in Austria.

It also is expected that, following player unrest at what they felt were draconian measures by Capello – he had rules that included banning cell phones and ketchup – more interaction with their loved ones will be permitted.

Despite Capello’s insistence that the WAGs should stay away, many of them turned up at the World Cup, sparking a paparazzi frenzy. Now it looks as if they may be back with a vengeance from now on, this time with an official stamp of approval.

If that turns out to be the case, it may actually be the lowest point of England’s entire campaign. More than phantom goals or goalkeeping errors, it succinctly explains what is wrong with an England team that boasts some of the world’s finest individual talents but can’t come together as a cohesive unit.

Namely, that by being asked to be professional, they feel they are being treated like teenagers and having their freedom restricted.

Plenty of England’s players from this World Cup should be given more freedom. They should be given all the freedom they want by being dumped from the national team and replaced by individuals prepared to show more passion and desire. No international team should be held hostage by the fragile egos and pampered ways of its foot soldiers.

The problem wasn’t Capello’s idea of wanting to keep a close eye on the off-the-field behavior of his players, but rather England’s bunch of overpaid millionaires who couldn’t handle being told what they could and couldn’t do.

Former captain John Terry’s answer to the team’s frustrating 0-0 draw with Algeria in its second game was to beg for him and several other players to be allowed to drink beer.

“The players were able to say how they feel,” Terry said. “If it upset him [Capello], then I was on the verge of just saying, ‘So what? I’m here to win it for England.’

“If we can’t be honest with each other, there is no point in being here.”

And he was right … about there being no point for being there.

The England players should be allowed to spend more time with the WAGs. They should be able to spend all summer with them, and not let some silly little soccer tournament like the World Cup get in the way.