footballspectator

If last night’s semifinal between Italy and Germany was a celebration of football, tonight’s clash between France and Portugal came close to being an abherration of the beautiful game.

Neither of the teams seemed to be overly bothered with securing a ticket to Berlin: after a lively start, the Portuguese were more concerned about perfecting their diving skills in the hope of being awarded a generous penalty (no presents from the referee but why didn’t he book them once for that?), while France looked like they were always in control, despite no texactly trying very hard.

All in all it was a very boring encounter that resembled more an average group stage match than a semi-final… There was a goal, for France, of course: Zidane coolly slotted in a penalty awarded after Carvalho’s foul on Henry in the 33rd minute. And that was pretty much it. Portugal never looked like a real threat, and the impression they gave was that had the match lasted 180 minutes or more, they would have still failed to put one in.

Maybe had they had a proper striker (can someone explain us how Pauleta managed to score 47 goals in 83 international appearances?), things could have been different. It wasn’t meant to be: the French curse continues for the Portuguese, and Zidane and co are now off to Berlin to face Italy on Sunday 9 July.

Make no mistake: they will have to step up one or two gears if they want to have a chance to beat the mighty Italians.

For 80 minutes France dominated possession against South Korea, but rather than go for a second killer goal they decided to play keep ball and paid for it as Park’s bundled 82nd minute effort earned the Koreans a draw. Only after the equalizer did France start to play with any degree of urgency. Vieira and Henry had excellent chances but Vieira skyed his and Henry, normally so clinical shot too close to Korean keeper Lee.

At least there are a few positives that France can take from this match. First, Thierry Henry scored their first goal in a World Cup finals since Petit scored their third in the final agoinst Brazil in 1998. Second, their performance was a vast improvement on their match against Switzerland.

On the negative side, first they should never have allowed the Koreans a way back into the game. Second, Barthez has started acting like a clown again which must make an already unhappy Coupet furious. Third, Zidane earned a yellow card and now misses their third match against Togo. Visibly irritated with Domenech following his withdrawal when it was already too late, Zidane threw his sweat band at the bench. If France fail to reach the last 16 we will never see him play again.

Henry is desperate for more support up front and it is puzzling why Trezeguet has played such a small role so far. Domenech’s overcautious style is hampering Les Bleus. They now need a win against Togo to have any chance and will have to hope the Swiss win their next two games otherwise there might be a three way tie at the top which the French are unlikely to be favoured by. Gone are the golden years. This is very much a team clinging on to past glories. 

The average number of goals per game in the World Cup prior to this one was approximately 2.5 but Switzerland and France tried their best to reduce this. There were few chances. Switzerland hit the post through Philippe Senderos’s first-half header and also went close when Barthez saved from Frei in the second-half. France looked like this World Cup was a step too far for Zidane, Vieira, Thuram et al. Thierry Henry, so clinical when playing for Arsenal was again poor and the lone sparks were provided by Ribery. The team needs rebuilding and coach Domenech must realise that the time of the golden generation that won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000 is over. Last 16 for Les bleus maximum on this showing and only because they are in a weak group.

Giant Czech striker Jan Koller has left Dortmund on a free transfer and signed a two-year contract with French club Monaco. Monaco will be looking to Koller to provide them with the firepower they need to improve on last year’s disappointing showing in Le Championnat. Koller only returned to action last month after a long spell out with a knee injury sustained in September. The 33 year-old has an impressive international scoring record with 42 goals in 67 appearances. The Czechs will be hoping that his little and large combination with Milan Baros will carry them through a tough group which includes Italy, the USA and Ghana. The prize for qualification? A potential second round clash with Brazil…oh dear..

Mahamadou Diarra could be on his way to Manchester United in a part exchange deal with Ruud Van Nistelrooy, according to sportime.gr. The 25-year Mali international, who began his European career with OFI of Crete as a 16 year old before moving to Vitesse Arnhem in Holland and then Lyon, is seen by Sir Alex Ferguson as the perfect replacement for United legend Roy Keane, now at Celtic.

Sportime reports that the French champions are willing to let Diarra go for €38 million but that United believe the price to be too high and so are prepared to offer Van Nistelrooy, who has scored 150 goals for United and finished second to Thierry Henry in this year’s Premiership scoring charts, in part-exchange after his recent falling out with Ferguson. Lyon have been on the lookout for a top class forward and have been heavily linked with a bid for Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.

Bernard Lacombe, who is responsible for the majority of Lyon’s transfer activity said:

“It’s true that Lyon is interested in Van Nistelrooy. We haven’t yet contacted the United board to initiate formal talks. The financial side of the deal will be complicated unless we agree to swap some players.”

Watch this space..