Brazil 3 - USA 2: Confederations Cup Final Analysis

This was a great game, start to finish. As a Brazil fan, I have to say it wasn't the most glamorous victory-- the samba magic wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders tonight-- but you have to give credit to Dunga for rallying his troops at the half, and to the players who showed incredible resolve. After Luis Fabiano scored within 40 seconds of the restart, you just knew Brazil were going to win.

Luis Fabiano deserves a bit of credit as well. I've often criticized his place in the team, especially when competing with the likes of Ronaldo, Adriano and Pato, but he stepped up and scored a great goal to start the comeback. In a twisted way, I was sort of hoping for a Brazil loss, mostly because I believe it would open the door for a Ronaldo & Ronaldinho recall, but I'm happy with the result. And as a Canadian-- it's always great to see the USA fail.

I still believe there's a place for Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in the squad. Let me rephrase that-- I still believe Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are needed in the squad. Kaka had a good game, assisting on the Luis Fabiano goal and having a his own header goal wrongfully disallowed, but other than that I felt there was a lack of creativity in the game.

Maicon played well, putting in many good crosses and runs, but unfortunately it didn't lead to anything because it became too predictable. Brazil didn't have anything going in the middle of the park, and pushed the ball to the wings to try their luck on crosses. Now I don't have a problem with that strategy in and of itself, but you need to have aerial threats on the receiving end of these crosses. With all due respect to Luis Fabiano, Robinho and Kaka-- they're not that strong in the air.

I have to applaud Dunga for resisting the temptation to start Dani Alves in place of Maicon. It was absolutely the right decision. Now don't get me wrong, Alves is a great player. His runs are fantastic, his crosses are pinpoint accurate, and his free kicks are world class. But defensively he is a bit undisciplined, and can sometimes take selfish shots when he is on the attack. Maicon is steadier defensively, and was the right choice to start against a counterattacking team like the US. Brazil could've conceded more had Alves started at RB.

That being said, I liked Dunga's decision to sub Santos for Alves. Even though he's not a natural LB, Brazil were still trailing at the time, and it was important to have another attacking threat moving up field. He was also the only player in the final that could be considered a legitimate free kick threat (a reason to bring back Ronaldinho). Although he took a few stupid shots, the good generally outweighed the bad.

To completely change topics-- what was with the officiating? Pretty questionable calls for a cup final. The yellow cards to Felipe Melo and Lucio were very harsh, and Kaka's disallowed goal was a mistake, even though it was a tough call for the official. Just another missed call that could've been solved with video review. But then again, this is FIFA we're dealing with-- they're about as progressive as the Republican party. Thank god this call didn't affect the outcome.

Great game, great tournament. I think it's safe to say the best team won the tournament. Hopefully Brazil can build off this victory, and carry it through to the World Cup next year.

Update

Hey folks,

Just a quick update-- I switched over from a Wordpress blog to a Blogger blog, mostly because I liked the interface better. It's also pretty nice having everything link into Google. Very convenient.

Anyways, the first posts I made were written in early July 2009, so if they sound a little bit dated, that would be why. Other than that, keep reading!

-Luke

COMING SOON: Schuss' 08/09 Real Madrid Post-Mortem

Schuss’ 08/09 Real Madrid Post-Mortem – Part One

At this point, I’m going to try to go through the roster player by player and evaluate their performances. I might even give each player a rating out of 10, because I know how much people love ratings. For the record, I hate ratings. Here we go.

We’ll start at the back, with goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Incidently, this will be the first and the highest rating I give, at 8.5/10. This is where player ratings can get a bit tricky, because while Casillas played brilliantly all season, he didn’t pick up a trophy, and thus it’s hard to give him any higher than that. He did everything right, and stole points for his team on more than one occasion. But unfortunately his team’s shortcomings pull his rating down here. Had he have progressed further in the Champions League, or won the league, I would have probably bumped him up a bit. Nevertheless, he still had a great season, providing stability and leadership for a defence that sorely needed it. He is the best goalkeeper in the world.

Evaluating the defenders is going to be a little bit more difficult, because while I thought players like Sergio Ramos (7.5) and Pepe (6.5) had good seasons overall, the back line is only as strong as their weakest links, and the abysmal performances of Cannavaro (5.0) and Heinze (4.5) cannot be overlooked.

I’ll talk about the good first. Ramos got forward well, was a pretty good aerial threat, and provided a good offensive dynamic on the right side. He provides good crosses, and is one of the “golden boys” of Madrid. He can be a little suspect in his marking, but overall he’s fine. It’s worth noting that he is only 23, and has been a first-team regular in the SPL since the tender age of 18.

Pepe is an interesting case. Much like Sergio Ramos, I thought he had a good season overall and built off the strong showing he had at Euro 2008. But in big games he was suspect, and his buffoonery against Getafe is completely unacceptable. Never got in a groove with Cannavaro.

Moving on, we have Cannavaro, and boy, this is where things get ugly. Where to begin. He has been in decline since 2006, and to say he’s had a shaky term in the Spanish capital would be a huge understatement. To be blunt, he sucks. He has never performed anywhere near the level expected from a Real Madrid player, let alone a Ballon d’Or winner! Doesn’t have the pace to keep up with attacking players, and doesn’t seem to have the same level of motivation as before. He is one of the biggest reasons Madrid finished trophy-less this season. The other reason is up next…

Heinze is brutal. One of the worst Madrid signings in recent years. SAF laughed all the way to the bank after that one, and is probably still laughing. Though, if I were him, I’d be a little choked I didn’t send Heinze to arch-rivals Liverpool to sabotage their title hopes a little bit. All jokes aside, Heinze really does play as if he’s been paid off by the opposing team. If I had the time, I would go back and fully analyze each game, to see how many goals and points he gave away personally. The biggest disappointment of all came against Liverpool in the Champions League, where he was beyond atrocious in both legs. He doesn’t even get forward well. How he has lasted two seasons at Madrid is beyond me, but he will be gone next season without a doubt. I’ll even put money on it.

Schuss’ 08/09 Real Madrid Post-Mortem – Introduction

Being a Real Madrid fan is never an easy task. It’s been particularly difficult for those of us who started following the club at the end of the Zinidine Zidane era in 2005-06. The days when Barcelona were scoring goals at will with beautiful football, and Madrid were grinding out 1-0 victories. Well, it’s three years later, and not much has changed.

Yes, Madrid have won two league title during that time. But they have been ugly victories. They have never dominated their opponents during their championship seasons, and they have never been a threat in Europe. Contrast this to Barcelona, who won four major trophies during this time, all the while playing sexy, attractive football.

Fast forward to June 1st, the beginning of the Real Madrid (mini) Revolution. I put “mini” in parentheses because it is Florentino Perez taking the reigns again, and, in many ways, the Calderon-era Madrid squads were still largely assembled by Perez. You can view this as an indication of Perez’s influence (for better or for worse), or as a sign of Ramon Calderon’s ineptitude at putting his own stamp on the club. Personally, I’m somewhere in the middle.

Regardless, there’s a new president, a new coach, and (like every off-season) a new sense of hope among Madridistas. What I will be writing in the next few days is a two-part analysis of the current Real Madrid squad. First, I will analyze the performances of this year’s crop of players, and second I will put forth ideas and suggestions for what changes need to be made in order to improve this club. Stay tuned.

Introduction

Hello Internets,

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Schuss, and I have a passion for soccer and all things soccer related. For the purposes of this blog, I will be focusing primarily on European soccer, but I will touch on other leagues and topics from time to time.

COMING SOON: Schuss’ 08/09 Real Madrid Post-Mortem