Aquatic
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 25, 2013
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Ten things we learned from the 2014 World Cup
1.Jurgen Klinsmann apparently knows what he's doing, even if he has a blind spot regarding Landon Donovan.
The U.S. survived the Group of Death, despite looking like the third- or fourth-best team in the group. Meanwhile, the German team and coaching staff that Klinsmann birthed and nurtured won the whole thing.
2. Superstars don't necessarily assure titles.
The four biggest stars coming into this World Cup, based on club team performance, were Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Neymar. All but Messi were less than 100% healthy for this tournament
Suarez bit someone, Neymar suffered a fractured vertebra and Ronaldo was eliminated in the first stage Of the bunch, Messi performed the best, but even that wasn't good enough to defeat a more balanced, superstar-less German side.
3. FIFA must install an on-field protocol to deal with concussions.
As stupid as Blatter has looked in the past, he appeared infinitely dumber at this World Cup by allowing teams to return players onto the field just minutes after their heads were seriously banged.The ultimate outrage occurred in the final, when Christoph Kramer collapsed on the pitch after he was sent back into the match. It's obvious that trained doctors independent of the teams need to be along the sidelines to make these decisions.
4. It still pays to try to score.
Despite all the cautious organization we saw from teams like Argentina and Switzerland, an attacking side won the title. Germany scored 18 goals at this World Cup, the most since Brazil equaled that total in 2002. There is hope for watchable soccer, after all.
5. CONCACAF deserves more respect.
Three of the four federation's teams advanced to the second round, while Costa Rica very nearly made it to the semifinals. Still, the U.S. remains the highest-ranked CONCACAF team in the latest FIFA computer ratings at a relatively low No. 15, down from No. 13.
6. Soccer misses David Beckham.
Only three goals, one a beauty from Messi, were scored in the whole tournament on direct kicks. Few are bending them like Beckham anymore, which means defenders feel freer to foul outside the box. One possible cure that will never happen: Force the wall back another two yards, or at least enforce the rule that doesn't allow defenders to anticipate the kick and charge forward.
7. Diving still pays off, unfortunately.
Referees had been told to discourage such swan dives, yet only one player (Oscar) was carded for flopping in the entire tournament, and he was legitimately tripped. Arjen Robben made an art of the dive and got away with it. Which unfortunately leads to the conclusion that…
8. Referees still don't know what they're seeing, and there's nothing that can be done about it.
While the officials showed greater, smarter restraint in this tournament (only eight red cards were shown), calls were blown all over the field, often by some of the top-rated refs. In the third-place match alone, the referee Djamel Haimoudi called for a penalty on a foul outside the box shortly before an assistant ref failed to flag an offside that should have nullified a second goal.
9. Racism remains a real issue in the stands.
Even the ever-rosy Blatter had to admit on Monday, "I am not at all happy with the way we fought against racism." Mexican and other fans stubbornly hurled gay slurs at opponents without any repercussions. Blatter said he planned to make this a priority for the next World Cup, assuming he's re-elected as FIFA president next May - which he seems to think will happen.
10. Here comes Vladimir Putin… again. The choices of overlarge Russia in 2018
The sight of Putin hanging out with Blatter at the final was a bitter reminder that the next couple of World Cups figure to be relatively joyless affairs heavy on propaganda and light on sambas. The choices of overlarge Russia in 2018 and overheated Qatar in 2022 make for unappetizing possibilities - and for the early retirement of this particular columnist.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/bondy-ten-learned-world-cup-article-1.1866289
1.Jurgen Klinsmann apparently knows what he's doing, even if he has a blind spot regarding Landon Donovan.
The U.S. survived the Group of Death, despite looking like the third- or fourth-best team in the group. Meanwhile, the German team and coaching staff that Klinsmann birthed and nurtured won the whole thing.
2. Superstars don't necessarily assure titles.
The four biggest stars coming into this World Cup, based on club team performance, were Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suarez and Neymar. All but Messi were less than 100% healthy for this tournament
Suarez bit someone, Neymar suffered a fractured vertebra and Ronaldo was eliminated in the first stage Of the bunch, Messi performed the best, but even that wasn't good enough to defeat a more balanced, superstar-less German side.
3. FIFA must install an on-field protocol to deal with concussions.
As stupid as Blatter has looked in the past, he appeared infinitely dumber at this World Cup by allowing teams to return players onto the field just minutes after their heads were seriously banged.The ultimate outrage occurred in the final, when Christoph Kramer collapsed on the pitch after he was sent back into the match. It's obvious that trained doctors independent of the teams need to be along the sidelines to make these decisions.
4. It still pays to try to score.
Despite all the cautious organization we saw from teams like Argentina and Switzerland, an attacking side won the title. Germany scored 18 goals at this World Cup, the most since Brazil equaled that total in 2002. There is hope for watchable soccer, after all.
5. CONCACAF deserves more respect.
Three of the four federation's teams advanced to the second round, while Costa Rica very nearly made it to the semifinals. Still, the U.S. remains the highest-ranked CONCACAF team in the latest FIFA computer ratings at a relatively low No. 15, down from No. 13.
6. Soccer misses David Beckham.
Only three goals, one a beauty from Messi, were scored in the whole tournament on direct kicks. Few are bending them like Beckham anymore, which means defenders feel freer to foul outside the box. One possible cure that will never happen: Force the wall back another two yards, or at least enforce the rule that doesn't allow defenders to anticipate the kick and charge forward.
7. Diving still pays off, unfortunately.
Referees had been told to discourage such swan dives, yet only one player (Oscar) was carded for flopping in the entire tournament, and he was legitimately tripped. Arjen Robben made an art of the dive and got away with it. Which unfortunately leads to the conclusion that…
8. Referees still don't know what they're seeing, and there's nothing that can be done about it.
While the officials showed greater, smarter restraint in this tournament (only eight red cards were shown), calls were blown all over the field, often by some of the top-rated refs. In the third-place match alone, the referee Djamel Haimoudi called for a penalty on a foul outside the box shortly before an assistant ref failed to flag an offside that should have nullified a second goal.
9. Racism remains a real issue in the stands.
Even the ever-rosy Blatter had to admit on Monday, "I am not at all happy with the way we fought against racism." Mexican and other fans stubbornly hurled gay slurs at opponents without any repercussions. Blatter said he planned to make this a priority for the next World Cup, assuming he's re-elected as FIFA president next May - which he seems to think will happen.
10. Here comes Vladimir Putin… again. The choices of overlarge Russia in 2018
The sight of Putin hanging out with Blatter at the final was a bitter reminder that the next couple of World Cups figure to be relatively joyless affairs heavy on propaganda and light on sambas. The choices of overlarge Russia in 2018 and overheated Qatar in 2022 make for unappetizing possibilities - and for the early retirement of this particular columnist.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/soccer/bondy-ten-learned-world-cup-article-1.1866289