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Ref spoils show
Brazil's three 'Rs' wonderful, but Turkey pays penalty
Posted: Monday June 03, 2002 11:21 AM
Updated: Monday June 03, 2002 11:30 AM
CNNSI.com's World Cup analyst Gabriele Marcotti is covering every kick of the tournament, with a "91st Minute" column filed each matchday. Click here to submit a comment or question to Marcotti's mailbag.
Hats off to Brazil and Turkey, who put on a tremendous show as the green-and-gold won 2-1 in a match filled with incidents. To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of the death of Brazilian soccer are greatly exaggerated.
Scolari's men looked comfortable and accomplished against a solid Turkey side which, over the past five years, has quietly become a major force in Europe. The three "Rs" -- Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho -- were wonderful, but the Turkish defense, marshaled well by Umit Ozat and Alpay Ozalan, was up to the task.
Brazil deserved the three points, but all credit to Turkey. This is a well-organized bunch with some exceptionally talented individuals such as Yildiray Basturk and Emre Belozoglu. The only major blot was the way they seemed to lose the plot late in the game. True, the referee made some appalling decisions, but Hakan Unsal's red-card offense was one of the dumbest, most boneheaded gestures in recent World Cup history.
Turkey deserves better, and his suspension (coupled with that of Alpay) will no doubt hurt later on. Given how well Turkey played, it would be a shame if it paid to steep a price for a moment of madness.
Italy was its usual self, hitting Ecuador hard and early through two goals by Christian Vieri and then sitting back and controlling the game for a 2-0 victory. The Azzurri looked efficient at the back (indeed goalkeeper Gigi Buffon had only one save to make) and, furthermore, look to be threatening going forward thanks to the magic of Francesco Totti.
Mexico put recent controversy behind it by stunning Croatia's aging veterans. The only goal came courtesy of a penalty converted by Cuahtemoc Blanco (which also saw Borislav Zivkovic receive a red card), but Mexico looked sharp in controlling much of the game. Croatia is now in trouble and absolutely must get points against Italy.
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Chritian Vieri (Italy).
A one-man wrecking crew. His two goals against Ecuador were both typical. On the first, his intelligent late run into the box and subsequent first-time strike on Francesco Totti's tucked-back cross were brilliant. On the second, the way he latched on to a ball hit over the top, shrugged off a defender and blitzed the goalkeeper was a testament to his finishing and sheer strength.
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Kim Young Joo (referee).
The South Korean official had the luxury of handling an entertaining and relatively clean game by two talented sides, but he still managed to make a mess of things. Brazil deserved its victory, but the referee made two huge mistakes that will penalize Turkey in later matches (and it would be a true injustice if it costs Turkey passage to the second round).
First, neither he nor his assistant noticed that Alpay's foul on Luizao, which led to Brazil's game-winning penalty and the Turkish defender's sending off, was clearly outside the box.
The second incident occurred in injury time, when Rivaldo was preparing to take a corner kick and Hakan Unsal booted the ball at his opponent. It was an ugly gesture by Hakan Unsal, and Rivaldo's reaction was just as ugly. The Barcelona star fell over clutching his face (which was interesting, since he'd been hit in the thigh), grimacing as if he'd been machinegunned. Rivaldo conned the referee, plain and simple. Hakan Unsal should have been punished, but the Brazilian also deserved to be censured.
But the guys who deserve the greatest censure are Kim Young Joo and his assistants. They cost Turkey two players who will miss the next match. Refereeing has been relatively good on the whole so far, which is why I hope we don't see this guy taking charge of another game from here on out.
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Ronaldo (Brazil).
Anybody still want to argue that "The Phenom" is finished? Ronaldo's acrobatic strike off of Rivaldo's picture-perfect cross was not just a good goal, it also was a warning to all those who doubted his fitness. Ronaldo's performance was vintage, his usual blend of speed, power and skill. Now that he has his confidence back, stopping him promises to be a massive challenge.
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Mexico boss Javier Aguirre made a courageous decision in leaving out Francisco Palencia and Luis Hernandez, two players who are very popular back home. He opted instead for Jared Borgetti to partner with Cuahtemoc Blanco, largely because of Borgetti's height and workrate. The plan worked well against Croatia, but the question is: For how long can Mexico afford to deprive itself of Palencia's elegant skills?
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Both of the host nations take the pitch tomorrow. Japan has a tricky encounter with Belgium, a side brilliantly marshaled by coach Robert Waseige, one of the finest tacticians in the tournament.
South Korea takes on Poland, which qualified impressively for the World Cup. The hosts will want to hit the ground running and it will be interesting to watch Guus Hiddink's three-man strike force take on the prickly Polish defense and goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek.
China makes its World Cup debut against Costa Rica, a side which lost five of its last six matches but which boasts plenty of attacking potential. Leave it to China boss Bora Milutinovic, now at his fifth World Cup with five different tams, to attempt to nullify the Costa Rican 4-3-3.
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Hidetoshi Nakata (Japan).
Despite the emergence of Shinji Ono, Nakata is still the symbol of Japanese soccer and its most talented player. He will have to provide that little bit extra which sometimes has lacked in Philippe Troussier's team, and he will have plenty of motivation after a lackluster year at Parma.
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From Freddy Ogugua EsenwaF of Abuja, Nigeria:
England are a shadow of themselves. Although Nigeria fell, with Kanu back do you think that Nigeria has an outside chance of beating England and Sweden?
Marcotti: Actually, I don't think it's an outside chance with Nigeria -- I think it's a good chance. Both Sweden (in the first half) and England (in the second) showed weaknesses in their match, as, of course, did the Super Eagles. Nigeria has the talent to score against anybody, anytime; the trick will be keeping it tight at the back. Sweden is the kind of team that can capitalize on opponents' mistakes.
As for England, much will depend on what happens against Argentina. If Sven-Goran Eriksson's troops are beaten, they may take the foot of the gas against the Super Eagles.
Click here to read Marcotti's most recent mailbag, and here to submit a comment or question.
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