Pure Magic: Torres and Spain at Euro 2012

Photo credit: UEFA

When Spain fielded a 6 man midfield (4-6-0) formation against Italy in the opening day of Euro 2012 Group C most of us asked ourselves: What happened to the best attacking team in the world? How come Cesc Fabregas, an attacking midfielder, was playing the lone "forward" role? Italy, it seems, answered for us by scoring the first goal in that match. Fabregas himself would tie it up a few minutes later. And then it all changed when Del Bosque inserted Fernando Torres for Fabregas. Suddenly, the forward third moved faster, cleaner and more dangerously.

On match day two, Del Bosque decided to start Torres as the lone striker in front of a pentagonal midfield that has Silva, Iniesta and Xavi as attacking options and Busquets and Xabi Alonso as box-to-box players. Scarcely 4 minutes had passed in the game versus Ireland when the Fernando Torres that we all knew and loved from 4 years ago came back with a stunning goal. A steal first, a quick self pass and a no-look, not-thinking strike that inflated the net behind Shae Given.

Spain coasted through the first half and they could have had 2 or 3 more goals. Instead, it was 1-0 at halftime and Ireland remained within striking distance. David Silva would silence the Irish crowd, however, with a well-placed slow-roller through 4 different players that only the best players can conjure. And then it came again, a ball lofted over O'Shea that Torres pounced on like a Serengeti predator. He raced with it until he met Given and went for a "puntazo" with his shot. Goal. Spain 3-0.

Not to be left behind, Cesc Fabregas had only one chance and took it, and from a difficult angle too. His muted celebration said it all: I can score just as much as Torres. And so this is where Spain is now, Torres or Fabregas, or perhaps even Pedro. But clearly, a pure forward allows the Spaniards to keep the ball better and to be far more dangerous in the opposing squad's half.

The numbers in the game said it all: 750 completed passes late in the second half, the most since 1980. The Spaniards have added something different to the world's game, a beautiful style without the need for samba or Messi, a possession-based game that is easy on the eyes, a happiness to every play that has been missing since 1986. This is, perhaps, the best national team ever, for if you were to put Brazil 1970 alongside it, the sheer completeness of this team would stand out. 

And if the Spanish are to fall in Euro 2012 then there is only one way to do it: score early, score in bunches and keep the ball away. Italy succeeded, partially, but the match didn't have a finality of the latter stages in a tournament. At this time, however, only one team has the arguments to strip away the Euro champions of their reign: Germany. And what a final that would be.

World Cup teams set, scheming begins

Vive la France. Vive les Bleus. France are in after Henry "handed" them a victory thanks to his pass for William Gallas. It's tough to argue that significant dividends will come from the French's inclusion in next year's tournament. Add Anelka, Benzema, Henry and Malouda and you start to see the economic impact. This also sets up another possibility for Brazil to not win the tournament. For the past six World Cups, only France and Argentina have been able to knock off the "verdeamarela." France-Brazil in quarterfinals of Mexico '86 and Argentina-Brazil in the round of 16 in Italia '90 are some of my best memories.

Another economic success is Portugal's entry into the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo will be in the World Cup after all. After a poor showing at home versus Bosnia in a match that the Bosnians deserved to win (3 hits on the post), the Balkan team collapsed at home due to player suspensions and saw their chances of advancing come to an end on a sad night in Zenica. Portugal won without CR9 by the minimal score away from home.

Welcome back, Greece, Slovenia, Uruguay, Algeria. Greece, the unlikely Euro chanps in 2004, enter their second World Cup since their debut in 1994. This a stronger Greek team full of defensive potential. They are the new Italy of defensive football. Out is Shevchenko's Ukraine, which failed to win in Donetsk. Slovenia also managed to knock off another former Soviet republic--Russia. Guus Hiddink failed to qualify a young and promising Russian team that had raised a few eyebrows during the last three years.

Uruguay are back thanks to a playoff versus relatively weak Costa Rica. The team is loaded with attacking talent in Bueno and Forlan. Then there is Algeria, appearing in its first World Cup since 1986. They are a country rich in soccer history (Zidane's family is from Algeria). They battled against Egypt on neutral soil in Sudan after tying in every statistic in their respective African group. The match was a gut-wrenching 90+ minutes full of joy and sorrow. I caught the Egyptian-based signal and it was sad to hear the tones of voice emanating from the announcers even though I couldn't understand a word they said.

The next phase is Friday, December 4th in Cape Town (ESPN2 at noon), where the draw will take place that will decide the groups for the initial stage in next summer's tournament. Who will be in the "group of death"? Who will have an easy "group of life"? What group will the USA land in? It will be a fun couple of hours .

Henry gives France a hand

La main de Dieu. La mano de Dios. The hand of God. Not Maradona. Thierry Henry. Easily one of my favorite players, but even they can fall from grace. And so he did. Kind of. At least in Ireland and most places that don't fancy the French and/or their national team. He handled it, no doubt. He probably thought he would get called on it, yes. In the end it wasn't really his fault. It wasn't the referees'. It was the game.

For some time now, maybe 40 years, there have been calls for video playback to be included in the officiating of matches. FIFA was slow to act and simply never did it. It would be useful for handballs, dives, goal-line decisions and other important calls that might change the result of a game. True, it might hamper the flow of the game. True, it might lengthen the game. But how long are we going to watch travesties such as today's to continue when we have the technology to circumvent this problem?

I propose this: With NFL rules as a start, why not allow two "challenges" to each team that can be reviewed by the officiating crew? This way it will only be a limited amount of calls, adding potentially another 4 minutes to each game.

But now it's just the result that matters. France are back in the World Cup, and with it the millions of dollars in sponsorship deals and media contract. Out is Ireland. A country proud of its sport, whose warriors on the field were handed an unfair result. But that's football.