Evening everyone.
Sorry for such a long break, but the goddamn exams ensured there is little else I can do, apart from eating, sleeping and studying. Good news is they'll be over on Monday and yours truly will be here with you on a regular basis.
Though up to my neck in work, I still managed to watch quite a few games of this rather amazing World Cup, mostly because of the difference in time zones. Had the games unfolded in daytime, I would have been derived of that pleasure.
And this really is a pleasure. I cannot recall when was the last time I could enjoy football without getting all wound up about the result. It was probably two years ago, during the Euro 2012, though I only have vague recollections of that tournament.
This one will, I suspect, be ingrained in my memory for years to come. The first game I watched was Netherlands vs Spain and, as I had an exam early next morning, I had to put quite some effort into convincing myself it won't be a tedious tika-taka affair, and go to bed.
Who would have thought the reigning champions' fall from grace would be that hard? Robben and van Persie just took apart the spanish defence and a rather hapless Casillas and their goals weren't coincidental either. Holland thoroughly deserved the win and, a week later, they showed character to come from behind against a very good Australian side in the most entertaining game of the tournament thus far. Spain, meanwhile, went down to Chile 0-2 and again the opposition was too much for La Furia Roja to handle. When Cazorla, who came on for mere 20 minutes, is your most dangerous and productive player, questions need to be asked. I'm not, of course, trying to play down his importance, it's just that Spain has won three major tournaments in a row with Santi watching from the bench.
Another hugely enjoyable group is the group of death. Everyone thought Italy and England should go through, instead Costa-Rica stunned everyone by beating first Uruguay (didn't see that game) and then earning three points against a toothless Italy, who only had 2-3 clear-cut moments for the entire game. This leaves England out (Suarez sinking their ship almost single-handedly) and Italy's hopes hanging by a thread. Should they lose to a rampaging Uruguay side with Suarez in it, Cesare Prandelli's side will share a plane with England on their way home.
There's one more very interesting group I haven't mentioned, the one with Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA. I was only able to watch the thrashing of Ronaldo's team (I'll rectify that today. Not the thrashing, the watching thing) and, frankly, Portugal got what they deserved. An off-the-pace Ronaldo, combined with crazy Pepe and brilliant Muller all added up to a very harsh scoreline. The Germans were disciplined and quick, while Portugal was sluggish even before the sent-off. In the other game, USA came from behind to beat Ghana, so I think we are in for a very good game later today.
In other groups, bits and pieces were interesting. I really liked the way Colombia played, first beating Greece, than (deservedly so) overcoming rather weak resistance from the Ivory Coast (which included a surprisingly good Gervinho) and the Colombians will join Costa-Rica, Greece and Chile in the play-off round. Oh, and France.
Truth be told, I didn't know Didier Deschamps side was capable of what they've pulled off. While there's nothing tricky in beating a ten-man Honduras, Switzerland was another story altogether. And yet France swept them aside in a ruthless fashion. Giroud (who was only a late sub against Honduras) opened the scoring with a brilliant header and then assissted Mathieu Valbuena with an inch-perfect pass following a quick break on the counter. Olivier was taken off around the hour mark, but to me the substitution looked purely tactical. The Frenchman had a busy season with us, no need to overplay him if the situation allows it.
Talking about other teams, few were interesting. Belgium only just got the three points against a hard-working (in defence only) Algeria, Brazil is far from spectacular and has only won the first game because of that penalty, while Argentine, pfffff. Easily the most tedious group possible. Argentine is taking on Iran right now and guess what the scoreline is? 0-0.
From an Arsenal point of view, little is happening, as everyone is glued to this majestic World Cup. However, even with the the biggest international tournament on the cards, we're still being continuously linked with Balotelli. And I don't like the sound of it.
It may all be speculation (I sincerely hope it is), but bottom line is, I don't want this guy on the team. Pure and simple. I had my reservations about Suarez last summer (Wenger proved me wrong by going all-out to acquire Luis. Well, technically, it was 30+ goals from Suarez that did), but Balotelli is a different matter entirely.
Suarez may throw a tantrum or two, but it's the exception, with Mario it's the norm. He's just not right in the head, and I don't want to see him dismantle the team Arsene has put so much work into. He may be three times better than Suarez (which he's not) and I still wouldn't want him to put on an Arsenal shirt. Whenever someone tells me about Balotelli's antics, I keep coming back to that story Mourinho told about the red card. When Balotelli got booked during the first half, Mourinho spent the entire break convincing Mario not to do anything stupid as he had no one to substitute him with and guess what Balotelli did? He got that second yellow 60 seconds into the second half. If Mourinho failed to put that psycho in his place, I doubt Wenger, who uses different tactics entirely, will do that.
That's it. I'll be back on Monday with fresh news from this World Cup. Promise.
Until then, have yourselves a good weekend
Sorry for such a long break, but the goddamn exams ensured there is little else I can do, apart from eating, sleeping and studying. Good news is they'll be over on Monday and yours truly will be here with you on a regular basis.
Though up to my neck in work, I still managed to watch quite a few games of this rather amazing World Cup, mostly because of the difference in time zones. Had the games unfolded in daytime, I would have been derived of that pleasure.
And this really is a pleasure. I cannot recall when was the last time I could enjoy football without getting all wound up about the result. It was probably two years ago, during the Euro 2012, though I only have vague recollections of that tournament.
This one will, I suspect, be ingrained in my memory for years to come. The first game I watched was Netherlands vs Spain and, as I had an exam early next morning, I had to put quite some effort into convincing myself it won't be a tedious tika-taka affair, and go to bed.
Who would have thought the reigning champions' fall from grace would be that hard? Robben and van Persie just took apart the spanish defence and a rather hapless Casillas and their goals weren't coincidental either. Holland thoroughly deserved the win and, a week later, they showed character to come from behind against a very good Australian side in the most entertaining game of the tournament thus far. Spain, meanwhile, went down to Chile 0-2 and again the opposition was too much for La Furia Roja to handle. When Cazorla, who came on for mere 20 minutes, is your most dangerous and productive player, questions need to be asked. I'm not, of course, trying to play down his importance, it's just that Spain has won three major tournaments in a row with Santi watching from the bench.
Another hugely enjoyable group is the group of death. Everyone thought Italy and England should go through, instead Costa-Rica stunned everyone by beating first Uruguay (didn't see that game) and then earning three points against a toothless Italy, who only had 2-3 clear-cut moments for the entire game. This leaves England out (Suarez sinking their ship almost single-handedly) and Italy's hopes hanging by a thread. Should they lose to a rampaging Uruguay side with Suarez in it, Cesare Prandelli's side will share a plane with England on their way home.
There's one more very interesting group I haven't mentioned, the one with Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA. I was only able to watch the thrashing of Ronaldo's team (I'll rectify that today. Not the thrashing, the watching thing) and, frankly, Portugal got what they deserved. An off-the-pace Ronaldo, combined with crazy Pepe and brilliant Muller all added up to a very harsh scoreline. The Germans were disciplined and quick, while Portugal was sluggish even before the sent-off. In the other game, USA came from behind to beat Ghana, so I think we are in for a very good game later today.
In other groups, bits and pieces were interesting. I really liked the way Colombia played, first beating Greece, than (deservedly so) overcoming rather weak resistance from the Ivory Coast (which included a surprisingly good Gervinho) and the Colombians will join Costa-Rica, Greece and Chile in the play-off round. Oh, and France.
Truth be told, I didn't know Didier Deschamps side was capable of what they've pulled off. While there's nothing tricky in beating a ten-man Honduras, Switzerland was another story altogether. And yet France swept them aside in a ruthless fashion. Giroud (who was only a late sub against Honduras) opened the scoring with a brilliant header and then assissted Mathieu Valbuena with an inch-perfect pass following a quick break on the counter. Olivier was taken off around the hour mark, but to me the substitution looked purely tactical. The Frenchman had a busy season with us, no need to overplay him if the situation allows it.
Talking about other teams, few were interesting. Belgium only just got the three points against a hard-working (in defence only) Algeria, Brazil is far from spectacular and has only won the first game because of that penalty, while Argentine, pfffff. Easily the most tedious group possible. Argentine is taking on Iran right now and guess what the scoreline is? 0-0.
From an Arsenal point of view, little is happening, as everyone is glued to this majestic World Cup. However, even with the the biggest international tournament on the cards, we're still being continuously linked with Balotelli. And I don't like the sound of it.
It may all be speculation (I sincerely hope it is), but bottom line is, I don't want this guy on the team. Pure and simple. I had my reservations about Suarez last summer (Wenger proved me wrong by going all-out to acquire Luis. Well, technically, it was 30+ goals from Suarez that did), but Balotelli is a different matter entirely.
Suarez may throw a tantrum or two, but it's the exception, with Mario it's the norm. He's just not right in the head, and I don't want to see him dismantle the team Arsene has put so much work into. He may be three times better than Suarez (which he's not) and I still wouldn't want him to put on an Arsenal shirt. Whenever someone tells me about Balotelli's antics, I keep coming back to that story Mourinho told about the red card. When Balotelli got booked during the first half, Mourinho spent the entire break convincing Mario not to do anything stupid as he had no one to substitute him with and guess what Balotelli did? He got that second yellow 60 seconds into the second half. If Mourinho failed to put that psycho in his place, I doubt Wenger, who uses different tactics entirely, will do that.
That's it. I'll be back on Monday with fresh news from this World Cup. Promise.
Until then, have yourselves a good weekend