What a great goal by Robin Van Persie yesterday. Few goals deserve further analysis since few goals are as impressive as the one scored yesterday. So let's look at what happened
First, Spain was actually holding a fairly good line, trying to work the offsie by maintaining a pretty straight line. This is what makes it such a good goal since van Persie had to work for it.
Daley Blind takes part of the credit for his incredible center. He lobs the ball in nearly from the half line, as can be seen in the graphic below. It's a fairly blind center, hoping that an attacker can cradle the ball and create a chance.
The bulk of the credit goes to Van Persie. He looks up at the ball, runs diagonally with his eyes on the ball into the center of the 18 yard box, around 17 yards. He is not looking at Casillas, however, which makes the play that much more interesting. His header lobs the ball over Casillas with just enough curve to get it over the Real Madrid goalkeeper and below the cross bar. Pure class. The truth is few goals in past World Cups are better than this one.
At the start of the Barclay's Premier League in August 2013 one thing was clear: Mesut Ozil was making a difference and this might be the season Arsene Wenger's team won the league again. Fast forward to April 2014 and the team was fighting for the fourth place entrance to the Champions League.
This was meant to be Arsene Wenger's return. Instead it was Brendan Rodgers's breakout season with Liverpool. What happened? Will Wenger's finally leave? What is the next move for Arsenal?
These are serious questions that the ownership group must be asking, not to mention Wenger and the players themselves. Was it the loss of Aaron Ramsey? The lack of a partner for Grioud? Did Özil run out of gas?
It was sad to see the German national team fans boo one of their marquee players during a match earlier this year. Perhaps it was a symptom of where he was in his career and of Arsenal's tailspin. Clearly, the most pressing need for this team is a consistent second forward, the type of player that Robin Van Persie was for the club for so many years.
The defense will also need some mending. Mertesacker can only do so much and the wide players are losing their touch. In any case, it's a sad ending in a season where Arsenal could have continued to excel and run away with. Instead this position was ceded to Liverpool. Of course, the Merseyside team has Luis Suarez, the best striker in the world at the moment.
Arsenal made headlines this morning when they defeated the 100%-at-home record Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The score, a resounding 5-3 victory, is a testament to this year's downright inconsistency in the Barclay's Premier League. So now, in the same season, we have Manchester City 6 - Manchester United 1, Manchester United 8 - Arsenal 2, and today's 5-3 score.
What has changed this season? Defense. In my view, the top clubs have focused increasingly on bolstering their attacking front and in so have forgotten about another key aspect of soccer. Box-to-box players are caught too far upfield to contain the opposing attackers. Two of Arsenal's goals came out of horrible blunders from the Chelsea defense. For Santos' goal, six or seven players were on the far side of the pitch, leaving Santos with plenty of space and just one defender to evade. Van Persie's game-winner occurred due to an ill-timed back pass from Malouda to Terry. Petr Cech is also to blame for at least three of the goals today. You have to guard your near post. It's goalkeeping 101.
Another aspect that came out of today's game is the reaffirmation of Robin Van Persie as a world-class striker. As Ian Darke put it, much is made of Ronaldo and Messi while players like the Ducthman go unnoticed until they score a hat trick. Arsene Wenger is finally getting this team to click. He still needs solidification in the defensive third but a place in the top four is within reach.
For Villas-Boas it is also a time to look at his defense. Terry needs more help and he isn't getting enough from Ivanovic. Would David Luiz make a difference? And where does one pick up defenders these days? Italy? Spain? Germany? South America? Do the lines need to be pushed back downfield? Are wingers spending too much time up front?
Whatever happens, for the rest of us it's just fun. If you're not a fan of the big four then you are enjoying the games for what they are. High kicking, high scoring, and no ties.
For such a small country, the Netherlands sure packs a superb punch. Maybe this is why their nickname is the "Clockwork Orange" or "Naranja Mecanica." Twice runners up in the 1970s with losses to Gerd Muller's West Germany in Germany 1974 and to Mario Kempes' Argentina in Argentina 1978.
Indeed, the 1970s marked the start of "total football," first pioneered by Ajax's Johan Cruyff and head coach Rinus Michaels. Out of that came a fast-paced, box-to-box style that overwhelmed opposing sides when the entire team surged forward in attack. Out of this controlled madness came players like Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard, Denis Bergkamp, Patrick Kluivert, Edgar Davids and Clarence Seedorf.
Our story here begins with Italia 1990. Those were the days of Ruud Gullit, Van Basten and Ronald Koeman. Having won the 1988 Euros, Holland was riding high and ready to win its first World Cup. To my untrained eyes, Gullit was the Dutch sensation. "Did you know he scored a goal with his chest?" someone uttered once in a lunch break soccer scrimmage. We watched the team stumble into the round of 16 after tying three games (England, Ireland, Egypt), and without a single goal from maestro van Basten. There, they met eventual-champions West Germany. The game was gritty, dirty Euro-style football. Germany won thanks to Klinsmann and Brehme. Koeman would score a consolation penalty in the 89th. This match also had a bit of controversy with a spitting incident between Rijkaard and Voller.
In USA 1994, The Netherlands was considered a contender once more. They would have to do without Gullit (on strike) and van Basten (injury). Bergkamp would step up and deliver a masterful performance with 3 goals that took them all the way to the quarterfinals. They would first face an interesting group stage: Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Morocco. This was quite an interesting group. Belgium, Holland and Saudi Arabia all got 6 points (2 wins) and same goal differential. The Dutch would defeat both the Saudis and Morrocans but would fall short against Belgium. Bergkamp and Jonk would both score versus Ireland in the second round. Their final match in 1994 came against eventual-champions Brazil. It was probably the best match of the tournament. Twice Brazil scored through Romario and Bebeto, only to be followed by strikes from Bergkamp and Winter. A long-range free kick from Branco sealed he 3-2 scoreline in favor of the Amazonians.
France 1998 came around and Holland was again a contender. Now they had players like the De Boer brothers, Cocu and Overmars. They faced Belgium in the opening match (0-0 draw). Their second game was a scintillating performance against a limited South Korean team (5-0). Feisty Mexico put up a fight and "El Matador" Hernandez tied the game 2-2 in extra time. A match against Yugoslavia awaited them in the round of 16. It would take an injury time goal from Edgar Davids to defeat the Balkan squad. What followed was perhaps one of the best matches of '98: Netherlands - Argentina. Kluivert opened the score and the Argentineans would tie the game thanks to "El Piojo" Lopez. An ill-timed ejection of Ortega, coupled with a wonder goal from Bergkamp, sent the Dutch to the semifinals. A re-match of the '94 quarterfinal versus Brazil would follow. Scores by Ronaldo and Kluivert meant the game would go to penalties. Brazil would win it once again thanks to misses by Cocu and Ronald de Boer. Holland would settle for 4th place after a loss to Davor Suker's Croatia.
Much to the surprise of the entire footballing world, Netherlands failed to qualify for 2002. The Dutch were placed in the group of death in Germany '06: Argentina, Cote D'Ivoire and Serbia & Montenegro were the opponents. They defeated Serbia in the first game. The second game, against fellow orange-wearing Ivory Coast was a memorable experience for me. I happened to be in Amsterdam for the match and saw a sea of orange everywhere I walked. That evening, I got me a cheap knock-off van Nistelroy shirt and wore it to a packed restaurant to watch the match. Holland would prevail 2-1. They would subsequently tie Argentina 0-0. The Netherlands were eventually booted off the tournament by Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the round of 16.
What's next for the Netherlands? Familiar foes Denmark, dangerous Cameroon and tricky Japan. Expect them to breeze through the group stage. Some stars to watch include Heitinga (Everton), van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Sneijder (Inter), van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Kuyt (Liverpool), van Persie (Arsenal), Robben (Bayern Munich).
