I watched all of the second game, although I saw the first hour of it quite a few hours before seeing the last half hour.
It started out like a deadly-serious chess match between two teams that were both out to win the game one-nil. And for that time, Spain looked like the better team; they were possessing the ball more and doing more with it when they had it. But what was interesting was just how clogged the middle of the field was; both teams were heavily pressuring the ball to force turnovers.
They managed to get the ball behind all but one defender twice; the first of those resulted in a ball out of bounds as that one defender blocked the pass across. I think the other resulted in a goal kick when Spain missed the net. Between those two, they did manage to take the lead on a penalty kick following a pretty-bad call in the box. Knowing what both teams were playing for, I thought about tweeting, "Game over?" after that, but was glad I didn't.
And that's because, after that, the Dutch started to come back, slowly. They only really got close to the goal once, but started to hold the ball a lot more and work it down a bit.
That one time close, however, came when one of the midfields, near the sideline and just inside the attacking half, saw van Persie make a run toward the net and lofted it towards the box. van Persie had to wait for it to get there, but he had lots of time (I'm not sure what the goalie was doing, but I suspect he couldn't make up his mind whether to come out to challenge the pass or to wait for the shot) and calmly lofted it (from a hair inside the 17-yard line) over the goalie and into the net. That was in the forty-fifth minute, and that considered tweet was already looking ill-considered.
Things seemed to stay about the same with the start of the second half, with a lot of pressure, Spain mostly looking better, and not much really happening. But about ten minutes in, Robben was found making a run across the middle. The ball came down in front of him, as he was running, but he corralled it with one foot, and pulled it back toward the middle, giving himself a little space from the two defenders on him. He got half a step, and pounded it into the net, with a slight deflection from one of the defenders.
And from there, it was almost all the Netherlands. They had a couple more chances (including van Persie putting a hard shot across off the crossbar right at the sixty-minute mark) before they started finding the net again.
Four minutes later, van Persie got the goalie's attention on a cross into the box. The ball sailed over both, into de Vrij's head and then one of his feet, finally going into the net at de Vrij hit the post.
A minute or two after it became three-nil, Spain's last real chance came, and it ended with David Villa putting it into the net. Unfortunately, he was called off-sides, and that was the end of the game seeming competitive.
Seven minutes after de Vrij's goal, van Persie scored again, and Robben finished the scoring eight minutes later on a very long and impressive run, that ended with him running the goalie to ground and calmly slotting it into the net.
That might have been the end of the scoring, but the Dutch had several more chances before the end (including at least one where the goalie went down, but they couldn't put the shot on net).
It ended in utter annihilation of Spain, and made you wonder if it is the end of Spain's dominance on the international level. My suspicion is that it is, although I still see Spain as competitive for a while longer (perhaps until the next World Cup). I certainly don't see Iker Casillas getting much more (if any) chance in goal. We'll see, I guess.
And the Dutch, of course, are flying as high as they can. We'll see how that carries over into their play in the next game.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
20140614
20140527
Game of Skins
One thing that's funny about preorders is that you sometimes forget about ordering something until it arrives. I ordered Butcher's latest Dresden novel, Skin Game, about six months ago, and it arrived over the weekend. Thank goodness no one took it from the doorstep, because I'd've never known.
Anyway, I'm putting it off for a few more days, because I just started Riordan's latest Olympians (House of Hades). When that one arrived, I put it off to reread the first three books of the series, and the third one took quite a while to finish. Anyway, Skin Game arriving reminded me I was still in the middle of those, so I finished it yesterday and started on House of Hades. I imagine I'll finish both books by the end of the week (although my sleep schedule will not thank me for it).
One other thing that's been percolating for a while. I think the local football team, the Redskins, is probably going to change their name within a year or two. There's just too much pressure, and I think the financial incentives will finally outweigh the inertia on that one soon.
I did want to mention one thing about that, and I wonder how wide-spread that is. And that is the offensiveness of the word. I'm not going to argue about its usage that makes Native Americans upset; what happened certainly happened, and I respect that.
But it's hard for me to work up much outrage about it, for the simple reason that I've never heard the word used except to refer to the team or to potatos.
Regardless, it will be a good thing when it's gone, and the sooner the better.
Anyway, I'm putting it off for a few more days, because I just started Riordan's latest Olympians (House of Hades). When that one arrived, I put it off to reread the first three books of the series, and the third one took quite a while to finish. Anyway, Skin Game arriving reminded me I was still in the middle of those, so I finished it yesterday and started on House of Hades. I imagine I'll finish both books by the end of the week (although my sleep schedule will not thank me for it).
One other thing that's been percolating for a while. I think the local football team, the Redskins, is probably going to change their name within a year or two. There's just too much pressure, and I think the financial incentives will finally outweigh the inertia on that one soon.
I did want to mention one thing about that, and I wonder how wide-spread that is. And that is the offensiveness of the word. I'm not going to argue about its usage that makes Native Americans upset; what happened certainly happened, and I respect that.
But it's hard for me to work up much outrage about it, for the simple reason that I've never heard the word used except to refer to the team or to potatos.
Regardless, it will be a good thing when it's gone, and the sooner the better.
20131226
A few Premier notes
Yes, I'm over a week late posting this, but just wanted to mention that I'd watched the Man City/Arsenal game last week (well, it was played Saturday of the week before, but I watched it with my father-in-law last week), and found it very entertaining.
I found out that my father-in-law hates Arsenal, in the process, so he was very entertained as well. (Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch autobiography, which I read ten or so years ago, formed much of my early feelings for the Premiership, so I actually tend to like Arsenal, but I like watching City more. Especially since van Persie left Arsenal.)
I've been thinking a bit about it, and I think part of why I like City as much as I do is that they play a skilled, attacking game that's pretty fast-paced.
And I thought that Arsenal, with their recently-upgraded midfield, was ready for that, but they really weren't. The final was 6-3, but it was closer to being 10-3 than it was to 6-6. Arsenal's defense, particularly their spacing just outside of the goalie box, was exposed repeatedly and thoroughly, leading to several of those goals.
The only thing I can say in Arsenal's defense is that we also watched their match against Chelsea a few days ago, and Chelsea did not find that kind of space.
I'm pretty comfortable, at this point, in feeling that Arsenal is going to drop out of contention for the title, and that City has a very good shot at winning it all. The one that I can't figure out is Everton. We also watched their last match (v Swansea, IIRC), and that was a bloody boring game, especially in the first half. Lots of sloppy play, and very few scoring chances (I don't think there were any in the first half). Everton did win, and I did note that the commentators said that Everton has only lost one match all season, but I can't figure out how they're doing so well. Time will tell.
I found out that my father-in-law hates Arsenal, in the process, so he was very entertained as well. (Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch autobiography, which I read ten or so years ago, formed much of my early feelings for the Premiership, so I actually tend to like Arsenal, but I like watching City more. Especially since van Persie left Arsenal.)
I've been thinking a bit about it, and I think part of why I like City as much as I do is that they play a skilled, attacking game that's pretty fast-paced.
And I thought that Arsenal, with their recently-upgraded midfield, was ready for that, but they really weren't. The final was 6-3, but it was closer to being 10-3 than it was to 6-6. Arsenal's defense, particularly their spacing just outside of the goalie box, was exposed repeatedly and thoroughly, leading to several of those goals.
The only thing I can say in Arsenal's defense is that we also watched their match against Chelsea a few days ago, and Chelsea did not find that kind of space.
I'm pretty comfortable, at this point, in feeling that Arsenal is going to drop out of contention for the title, and that City has a very good shot at winning it all. The one that I can't figure out is Everton. We also watched their last match (v Swansea, IIRC), and that was a bloody boring game, especially in the first half. Lots of sloppy play, and very few scoring chances (I don't think there were any in the first half). Everton did win, and I did note that the commentators said that Everton has only lost one match all season, but I can't figure out how they're doing so well. Time will tell.
20130930
EPL Thoughts
I did finally get to watch some football over the weekend. I had the Man U/City tilt saved on the DVR (although I accidentally found out the final score on that one beforehand, and turned it off at 3-0), then watched the City/Villa matchup (then the last minute or two of Man U losing to... West Brom, I think?).
I thought City/U was kind of going to be a bellwether for the season, but with both teams following up with losses, probably not.
Just realized, didn't see van Persie. Have to look into whether he's injured. If he is, that's one hell of a big loss.
Might partially explain City outpossessing Man U to a degree commensurate with the final score. Of course, you never know, as Villa was similarly outpossessed by City, but still pulled off the upset.
It sure caught me off-guard. Terrible defense on the go-ahead goal. And the second goal, IIRC, was a pretty fluky one.
Certainly nothing for City to worry about long-term, although I haven't looked at the standings.
Wow, ok, just did look at them. City at 6th and Man U at 12th. Definitely didn't see that coming, although would certainly predict some drop-off from Man U with Fergie leaving. And City already has the best goal differential, so that certainly bodes well for their championship hopes.
Does look like I should be paying a bit more attention to Arsenal and Liverpool. We'll see, now that I've finally remembered to get the DVR set to autorecord.
I thought City/U was kind of going to be a bellwether for the season, but with both teams following up with losses, probably not.
Just realized, didn't see van Persie. Have to look into whether he's injured. If he is, that's one hell of a big loss.
Might partially explain City outpossessing Man U to a degree commensurate with the final score. Of course, you never know, as Villa was similarly outpossessed by City, but still pulled off the upset.
It sure caught me off-guard. Terrible defense on the go-ahead goal. And the second goal, IIRC, was a pretty fluky one.
Certainly nothing for City to worry about long-term, although I haven't looked at the standings.
Wow, ok, just did look at them. City at 6th and Man U at 12th. Definitely didn't see that coming, although would certainly predict some drop-off from Man U with Fergie leaving. And City already has the best goal differential, so that certainly bodes well for their championship hopes.
Does look like I should be paying a bit more attention to Arsenal and Liverpool. We'll see, now that I've finally remembered to get the DVR set to autorecord.
20130502
Heading to finals
Watched the Dortmund-Madrid Champions League game the other night (auto-record by DVR has to be about the best invention since the wheelbarrow).
And I've got to say that Real Madrid was back. The furious pressure on the ball, especially in the midfield, was back, and they looked very hungry.
Dortmund was playing a little more conservatively, since they needed to not lose by three (four if they managed to score a goal), but was still trying to score until about the 80-minute mark.
But, oddly, despite a number of prime chances by both sides (almost all of Dortmund's chances were in the second half; the first was almost clinical domination with some bad shooting and good goaltending to keep the game scoreless), there were no goals scored before that point.
Around the 80th minute, though, Dortmund basically stopped attacking, and just concentrated on packing in the box. When they got the ball, they basically just tried to clear it, rather than than possessing it. But Madrid finally broke through in the 83rd (Benzema, off a beautiful setup) and 88th minutes, leading a very tense final eight minutes (there were six minutes of stoppage time).
But that ended up being all the scoring; Madrid didn't even really get close after that.
This was a game that, if it were hockey, would have been called 'chippy'. No fights, but lots of disagreements and lots of calls. But there was still a lot of non-calls (some of which were vigorously protested), and I kept expecting the ref to utterly lose control. It was riding a fine line all night, on that, but never quite stepped over.
One other odd note. Dortmund's right back had a number of throw-ins, and every single one was illegal. He didn't use his hands equally, and every single one was spinning pretty hard. I wish they'd enforce that rule.
But the Spaniards will stay home, with the Germans going to Wembley for the final.
I then watched the Barca game the next night (in effect, I watched both games on 3-5 hours tape delay).
And Messi was again on the bench for this game. I did catch that the problem was a hamstring one. Those are tough; they get mostly better before too long, but that last bit can linger for a long time. And if you're not careful, come back just as bad as the initial problem.
I knew he had an absurd number of goals (I knew it was just short of 100 for last calendar year); turns out it was 58 for Barca. I didn't realize that they're pretty much an average team (in terms of finishing talent, anyway, they've certainly got plenty of top talent in the midfield) without him; second in goals in David Villa with 14. That's one heck of a drop-off.
Anyway, the big question was how Bayern would be approaching the game. And they came out very defensively aggressive. That is, Barca still had the lion's share of the possession, but Bayern was marking very close and putting a lot of pressure on the ball. So they weren't going to just sit back and let the game come to them.
Barcelona was not content to sit back either, but without Messi they just couldn't break down the defense. They could get it to the box without too much problem, but not without Munich having lots of people around the point of attack. As a result, they weren't really getting any good chances. At least, the chances they got weren't materially better than Bayern's counterattacking chances.
But despite a lot of effort by both teams, there was no score at halftime.
Things started about the same, with Barca dominating possession, and Bayern almost exclusively attacking on the counterattack.
But one of those counterattacks, only three minutes in, found Robben on the right side of the box. The defense gave him a chance to bring it a hair towards the middle (and, more importantly, set him up on his left foot), and he boomed it across the goal and into the net.
At that point, Barcelona was deeply in trouble, as they now needed six goals without allowing another. And really, they gave up shortly after. Xavi and Iniesta were both subbed out within about fifteen minutes of the goal.
They finally found the net two dozen minutes after the first goal. Unfortunately, it was Pique trying to break up a cross by Lahm, and it found his own net. It was very unfortunate, as he was making the only play he could (and it would have been an easy goal if he'd missed; the player behind him had an empty net because the goalie had to play Lahm to shoot).
That was pretty much it; Barca didn't even really threaten after that. Munich even played keep-away a few times, and weren't heavily challenged when doing so. Mueller managed to get another score a few minutes later, beating a couple of players (including the goalie) to a high cross right next to the goal and putting it into the goal.
Robben really impressed me in the game. I hadn't even noticed him in the first game (he might have been on the bench for all I know), but he had a number of good chances in this one, capping them with the goal mentioned above. His passing (and decision-making in passing) were not great, but he did a very good job of giving himself chances on goal.
Mueller wasn't nearly as noticeable this time. He did have the one goal, but that was about it for him, offensively (he was doing a good job of applying defensive pressure, however).
Lahm also had a very good game, with a number of very good runs up the wing. It was one of the better games I've ever seen him play, actually. Alaba also looked very good, especially on the defensive end.
Overall, you have to call the performance a dismantling of an incredibly good team. Kudos to Bayern Muenchen for playing so well.
So yes, we will have a pair of German teams playing for the Championship. I'm looking forward to it. I actually can't decide which team I'd prefer to see winning, so I'll just have to enjoy the spectacle.
And I've got to say that Real Madrid was back. The furious pressure on the ball, especially in the midfield, was back, and they looked very hungry.
Dortmund was playing a little more conservatively, since they needed to not lose by three (four if they managed to score a goal), but was still trying to score until about the 80-minute mark.
But, oddly, despite a number of prime chances by both sides (almost all of Dortmund's chances were in the second half; the first was almost clinical domination with some bad shooting and good goaltending to keep the game scoreless), there were no goals scored before that point.
Around the 80th minute, though, Dortmund basically stopped attacking, and just concentrated on packing in the box. When they got the ball, they basically just tried to clear it, rather than than possessing it. But Madrid finally broke through in the 83rd (Benzema, off a beautiful setup) and 88th minutes, leading a very tense final eight minutes (there were six minutes of stoppage time).
But that ended up being all the scoring; Madrid didn't even really get close after that.
This was a game that, if it were hockey, would have been called 'chippy'. No fights, but lots of disagreements and lots of calls. But there was still a lot of non-calls (some of which were vigorously protested), and I kept expecting the ref to utterly lose control. It was riding a fine line all night, on that, but never quite stepped over.
One other odd note. Dortmund's right back had a number of throw-ins, and every single one was illegal. He didn't use his hands equally, and every single one was spinning pretty hard. I wish they'd enforce that rule.
But the Spaniards will stay home, with the Germans going to Wembley for the final.
I then watched the Barca game the next night (in effect, I watched both games on 3-5 hours tape delay).
And Messi was again on the bench for this game. I did catch that the problem was a hamstring one. Those are tough; they get mostly better before too long, but that last bit can linger for a long time. And if you're not careful, come back just as bad as the initial problem.
I knew he had an absurd number of goals (I knew it was just short of 100 for last calendar year); turns out it was 58 for Barca. I didn't realize that they're pretty much an average team (in terms of finishing talent, anyway, they've certainly got plenty of top talent in the midfield) without him; second in goals in David Villa with 14. That's one heck of a drop-off.
Anyway, the big question was how Bayern would be approaching the game. And they came out very defensively aggressive. That is, Barca still had the lion's share of the possession, but Bayern was marking very close and putting a lot of pressure on the ball. So they weren't going to just sit back and let the game come to them.
Barcelona was not content to sit back either, but without Messi they just couldn't break down the defense. They could get it to the box without too much problem, but not without Munich having lots of people around the point of attack. As a result, they weren't really getting any good chances. At least, the chances they got weren't materially better than Bayern's counterattacking chances.
But despite a lot of effort by both teams, there was no score at halftime.
Things started about the same, with Barca dominating possession, and Bayern almost exclusively attacking on the counterattack.
But one of those counterattacks, only three minutes in, found Robben on the right side of the box. The defense gave him a chance to bring it a hair towards the middle (and, more importantly, set him up on his left foot), and he boomed it across the goal and into the net.
At that point, Barcelona was deeply in trouble, as they now needed six goals without allowing another. And really, they gave up shortly after. Xavi and Iniesta were both subbed out within about fifteen minutes of the goal.
They finally found the net two dozen minutes after the first goal. Unfortunately, it was Pique trying to break up a cross by Lahm, and it found his own net. It was very unfortunate, as he was making the only play he could (and it would have been an easy goal if he'd missed; the player behind him had an empty net because the goalie had to play Lahm to shoot).
That was pretty much it; Barca didn't even really threaten after that. Munich even played keep-away a few times, and weren't heavily challenged when doing so. Mueller managed to get another score a few minutes later, beating a couple of players (including the goalie) to a high cross right next to the goal and putting it into the goal.
Robben really impressed me in the game. I hadn't even noticed him in the first game (he might have been on the bench for all I know), but he had a number of good chances in this one, capping them with the goal mentioned above. His passing (and decision-making in passing) were not great, but he did a very good job of giving himself chances on goal.
Mueller wasn't nearly as noticeable this time. He did have the one goal, but that was about it for him, offensively (he was doing a good job of applying defensive pressure, however).
Lahm also had a very good game, with a number of very good runs up the wing. It was one of the better games I've ever seen him play, actually. Alaba also looked very good, especially on the defensive end.
Overall, you have to call the performance a dismantling of an incredibly good team. Kudos to Bayern Muenchen for playing so well.
So yes, we will have a pair of German teams playing for the Championship. I'm looking forward to it. I actually can't decide which team I'd prefer to see winning, so I'll just have to enjoy the spectacle.
20110911
Football all the time
It didn't feel like it as the weekend was passing, but I realized that I ended up watching quite a bit of football this weekend. I caught Manchester City 3-0 over Wigan and Arsenal 1-0 over Swansea City in the Premiership. I also caught a large piece of the Palermo 4-3 over Inter barnburner in Serie A. In addition, I caught small chunks of several NCAA football matches and of a couple of NFL games as well. I guess it just didn't feel like a lot until after the fact because the only one I was close to seeing all of was City and Wigan.
That game might have been even more strongly dominated than the score would indicate. Wigan had a few good chances, but not very many. City had several close misses, including a post and a crossbar, as well as the missed PK and another deflected shot that only missed by a foot or two. I was kind of hoping Wigan would find a way to win, since I usually cheer for the underdog, but this dog allowed way too many chances behind their defenders. Aguero will get most of the ink for his hat trick, but only one of the three was really a good finish. The other two were him against the goalie, and his midfielders deserve as much credit for those (and for the chances others got) as he does. Still, it was an impressive display across the board. I hadn't realized how good City is; they're for real.
Gunners over Swansea was much less interesting. The Gunners did dominate, but not with lots of pretty chances. They just didn't allow Swansea to do much of anything. van Persie looked extremely good. I can't really remember anyone else jumping out at me.
Palermo and Inter was quite a game. Inter dominated the play the whole time I was watching (I think I turned it on very shortly after Palermo scored to tie it at two), but was unable to break through. Palermo was basically just trying counter-attacks, and was unable to sustain any kind of possession. But, largely thanks to some nice set pieces, it was enough for them. I was really impressed by Miccoli. He had the pretty, set-piece third goal, but also had a couple of really close calls on earlier set pieces. I can't remember noticing him in the flow of play, but those were some pretty free kicks. "Bend it Like Miccoli" might not have the same ring to it, but might be even more accurate, as he showed several different bends to his.
One thing I wondered about; it's been a long time since I've watched Serie A. They seemed to rely far more on long passes than one generally sees in international play or in the premiership. I wonder if that was just those teams, or if that's typically the case.
Oh, and with those jersey colors, a City/Palermo game would be pretty damned funny to watch. And might even have interesting play, as well.
As for the American football, it wasn't very interesting, as all of the games I watched pieces of were pretty well decided when I turned them on. It certainly was surprising to see Indianapolis and Pittsburgh get blown out, though. Time will tell if we're seeing a bit of a changing of the guard (and I certainly wouldn't mind if that were the case).
That game might have been even more strongly dominated than the score would indicate. Wigan had a few good chances, but not very many. City had several close misses, including a post and a crossbar, as well as the missed PK and another deflected shot that only missed by a foot or two. I was kind of hoping Wigan would find a way to win, since I usually cheer for the underdog, but this dog allowed way too many chances behind their defenders. Aguero will get most of the ink for his hat trick, but only one of the three was really a good finish. The other two were him against the goalie, and his midfielders deserve as much credit for those (and for the chances others got) as he does. Still, it was an impressive display across the board. I hadn't realized how good City is; they're for real.
Gunners over Swansea was much less interesting. The Gunners did dominate, but not with lots of pretty chances. They just didn't allow Swansea to do much of anything. van Persie looked extremely good. I can't really remember anyone else jumping out at me.
Palermo and Inter was quite a game. Inter dominated the play the whole time I was watching (I think I turned it on very shortly after Palermo scored to tie it at two), but was unable to break through. Palermo was basically just trying counter-attacks, and was unable to sustain any kind of possession. But, largely thanks to some nice set pieces, it was enough for them. I was really impressed by Miccoli. He had the pretty, set-piece third goal, but also had a couple of really close calls on earlier set pieces. I can't remember noticing him in the flow of play, but those were some pretty free kicks. "Bend it Like Miccoli" might not have the same ring to it, but might be even more accurate, as he showed several different bends to his.
One thing I wondered about; it's been a long time since I've watched Serie A. They seemed to rely far more on long passes than one generally sees in international play or in the premiership. I wonder if that was just those teams, or if that's typically the case.
Oh, and with those jersey colors, a City/Palermo game would be pretty damned funny to watch. And might even have interesting play, as well.
As for the American football, it wasn't very interesting, as all of the games I watched pieces of were pretty well decided when I turned them on. It certainly was surprising to see Indianapolis and Pittsburgh get blown out, though. Time will tell if we're seeing a bit of a changing of the guard (and I certainly wouldn't mind if that were the case).
20110531
Barca Bash 2011
I recorded the Champions League final the other day, intending to watch it that night. But I didn't feel well, so between that and taking care of the kids, I didn't get around to watching it until tonight. Alas, I already knew who won, but I still watched it.
It was quite the impressive display of talent. At about the 80 minute mark, I noticed the announcers saying that someone (I think it was one of the players or coaches) saying that the top of the Champions League has more talent than in the World Cup. I'm not sure that that's true, but I must admit that I'm not sure it isn't, either.
Anyway, ManU started out playing very well, dictating play for the first ten minutes or so, but it was all downhill from there. They did manage a goal in the 34th minute off a broken play, but they were utterly dominated from about the tenth minute on. Measure it any way you want, and Barca had the better of it. It still took quite a while for them to get their second and third goals, but with the chances they were getting, you knew goals were coming.
ManU's goalkeeper, I thought, had a pretty good game, despite the final score. He didn't have any really spectacular saves, but he saved everything you'd realistically think he might stop.
What's left to say about Messi's play? He is just unbelievable with the ball in tight spaces. He was muscled off the ball a few times, but not often. And the one time they gave him space around the box, he scored. (And a pretty goal it was, too, into the upper corner from just outside the box.)
Rooney had a very nice play that led to his goal, and generally looked very good as well. I will say, though, that after scoring, when his teammates all crowded around him, he looked like he was thinking, "Damn, these guys are lucky to have me on their team". He didn't look at any of them, nor did he return any of the hugs or any of that. You'd think, at the least, he'd have a gesture of thanks for the guy with whom he did the give-and-go just before the shot.
But other than that, the story was just one of Barca dominating in the midfield, controlling the ball, and attacking whenever they felt like it.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be soccer without talking about the diving. I will say it was better than many World Cup teams. I wasn't keeping a careful count, but I only remember five or six dives (all but one of them from Barca, which didn't surprise me). So it wasn't as bad as I expected, at least.
In any event, congratulations to Barca and their fans for a very well-played game. I would have been a bit happier, I think, with a ManU win, but there was no question that the better team won.
It was quite the impressive display of talent. At about the 80 minute mark, I noticed the announcers saying that someone (I think it was one of the players or coaches) saying that the top of the Champions League has more talent than in the World Cup. I'm not sure that that's true, but I must admit that I'm not sure it isn't, either.
Anyway, ManU started out playing very well, dictating play for the first ten minutes or so, but it was all downhill from there. They did manage a goal in the 34th minute off a broken play, but they were utterly dominated from about the tenth minute on. Measure it any way you want, and Barca had the better of it. It still took quite a while for them to get their second and third goals, but with the chances they were getting, you knew goals were coming.
ManU's goalkeeper, I thought, had a pretty good game, despite the final score. He didn't have any really spectacular saves, but he saved everything you'd realistically think he might stop.
What's left to say about Messi's play? He is just unbelievable with the ball in tight spaces. He was muscled off the ball a few times, but not often. And the one time they gave him space around the box, he scored. (And a pretty goal it was, too, into the upper corner from just outside the box.)
Rooney had a very nice play that led to his goal, and generally looked very good as well. I will say, though, that after scoring, when his teammates all crowded around him, he looked like he was thinking, "Damn, these guys are lucky to have me on their team". He didn't look at any of them, nor did he return any of the hugs or any of that. You'd think, at the least, he'd have a gesture of thanks for the guy with whom he did the give-and-go just before the shot.
But other than that, the story was just one of Barca dominating in the midfield, controlling the ball, and attacking whenever they felt like it.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be soccer without talking about the diving. I will say it was better than many World Cup teams. I wasn't keeping a careful count, but I only remember five or six dives (all but one of them from Barca, which didn't surprise me). So it wasn't as bad as I expected, at least.
In any event, congratulations to Barca and their fans for a very well-played game. I would have been a bit happier, I think, with a ManU win, but there was no question that the better team won.
20110206
Cheesehead Champs
Watched the Superbowl this evening, mostly in realtime. The Packers sure brought it at the beginning of the game, but took almost the entire third period off before sealing the win at the end.
The Steelers really shot themselves in the foot, though, with three turnovers. Well, probably shouldn't blame those on the Steelers; they were both very nice plays by the Packers (the first by the lineman who hit Roethlisberger as he was releasing the ball, the second by the safety who picked it off).
I did like the option play that the Steelers ran for the two-point conversion to pull within a field goal late in the game. I was disappointed that the Packers didn't do more designed roll-outs. The one that they did run worked quite well, but they didn't come back to it, for some reason.
I must admit one thing was disappointing. The reason I watched most of the game in realtime was that I wanted to see the commercials, but I didn't really think any of them were especially good. By far, my favorite was this Volkswagen commercial that I had already seen last week.
There were lots of upcoming movies; Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and Fast and Furious 5. Non-sequels? Well, there were a few, though Rango is the only one that stuck in mind. It's too early to be too sure, but it's entirely possible that Panda is the only one of those I'll watch.
I thought the halftime show was reasonably good, although the bar there is so low that I'm not sure that's actually a compliment.
Anyway, congratulations to the Cheeseheads, you are the Champions again.
Side note: my dad called earlier today, and asked if the baby was trying to come out today. I was a little confused about that (he's due soon, but not today), until he reminded me that I was born on Superbowl Sunday, and said he was contemplating it being a generational thing. Thankfully, no.
The Steelers really shot themselves in the foot, though, with three turnovers. Well, probably shouldn't blame those on the Steelers; they were both very nice plays by the Packers (the first by the lineman who hit Roethlisberger as he was releasing the ball, the second by the safety who picked it off).
I did like the option play that the Steelers ran for the two-point conversion to pull within a field goal late in the game. I was disappointed that the Packers didn't do more designed roll-outs. The one that they did run worked quite well, but they didn't come back to it, for some reason.
I must admit one thing was disappointing. The reason I watched most of the game in realtime was that I wanted to see the commercials, but I didn't really think any of them were especially good. By far, my favorite was this Volkswagen commercial that I had already seen last week.
There were lots of upcoming movies; Kung Fu Panda 2, Transformers 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and Fast and Furious 5. Non-sequels? Well, there were a few, though Rango is the only one that stuck in mind. It's too early to be too sure, but it's entirely possible that Panda is the only one of those I'll watch.
I thought the halftime show was reasonably good, although the bar there is so low that I'm not sure that's actually a compliment.
Anyway, congratulations to the Cheeseheads, you are the Champions again.
Side note: my dad called earlier today, and asked if the baby was trying to come out today. I was a little confused about that (he's due soon, but not today), until he reminded me that I was born on Superbowl Sunday, and said he was contemplating it being a generational thing. Thankfully, no.
20110123
It's Packers and Steelers
As you can see, by the fact that I haven't blogged about football yet this season, I didn't watch a whole lot of football this year. Probably not a single game, from beginning to end. But I have watched the last two weeks.
Incidentally, a friend has been telling me for quite a while that watching football on the DVR is great. Hitting 30-second skip ahead right after one play usually gets right to the beginning of the next play. So if you wait until the game is nearly over to start, you can watch an entire game in about an hour (my friend tells me he can get through one in about forty minutes, but I haven't managed to be that efficient yet). But that's what I've done to watch the games, and it's awesome. It's really amazing how much dead time there is in the middle of a game.
Anyway, to get to the point, Rodgers did not look as good this week as he has in prior playoff games (well, not after the first couple of drives), but he was still good enough. I figured the Packers offense was better than that of the Bears, but I still thought it'd be closer. I guess the Packers defense, despite how good it looked last week, was even better than I thought it was.
In the late game, the Steelers really put the pedal to the metal in the first half, jumping out to a twenty-four point lead, and did just well enough in the second half to hold on for the victory.
The touchdown that provided the final margin, in particular, was a thing of beauty. Roethlisberger rolled out, and looked for a little flare out in the flat, but when the defender went out to cover that, he pulled it in and ran for the TD. I wonder if that was designed as an option play. Either way, it was nice.
So we've got two well-rounded teams in the Super Bowl, but we'll have to wait a couple of weeks to see who wins it. I'll need to see if there's some way I can get it in 3D, when the time comes.
As a side note, we had a number of friends over, and several of the people who were seeing the 3D for the first time were really blown away by it. I still think it's a bit overpriced, but I guess it's quite cool to see for the first time. Now I just need to get some more source material.
Getting back to the upcoming game, it should be a good one. No question that the Black and Gold, with their experience, will show up. Hopefully, the Green and Gold won't get distracted by all the hoopla, and will also show up. I don't really have a preference for either team, so I'm just going to hope for a good game.
Incidentally, a friend has been telling me for quite a while that watching football on the DVR is great. Hitting 30-second skip ahead right after one play usually gets right to the beginning of the next play. So if you wait until the game is nearly over to start, you can watch an entire game in about an hour (my friend tells me he can get through one in about forty minutes, but I haven't managed to be that efficient yet). But that's what I've done to watch the games, and it's awesome. It's really amazing how much dead time there is in the middle of a game.
Anyway, to get to the point, Rodgers did not look as good this week as he has in prior playoff games (well, not after the first couple of drives), but he was still good enough. I figured the Packers offense was better than that of the Bears, but I still thought it'd be closer. I guess the Packers defense, despite how good it looked last week, was even better than I thought it was.
In the late game, the Steelers really put the pedal to the metal in the first half, jumping out to a twenty-four point lead, and did just well enough in the second half to hold on for the victory.
The touchdown that provided the final margin, in particular, was a thing of beauty. Roethlisberger rolled out, and looked for a little flare out in the flat, but when the defender went out to cover that, he pulled it in and ran for the TD. I wonder if that was designed as an option play. Either way, it was nice.
So we've got two well-rounded teams in the Super Bowl, but we'll have to wait a couple of weeks to see who wins it. I'll need to see if there's some way I can get it in 3D, when the time comes.
As a side note, we had a number of friends over, and several of the people who were seeing the 3D for the first time were really blown away by it. I still think it's a bit overpriced, but I guess it's quite cool to see for the first time. Now I just need to get some more source material.
Getting back to the upcoming game, it should be a good one. No question that the Black and Gold, with their experience, will show up. Hopefully, the Green and Gold won't get distracted by all the hoopla, and will also show up. I don't really have a preference for either team, so I'm just going to hope for a good game.
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