Any World Series the Yankees are not a part of I am always very quick to pronounce the Who Gives a Rat's Ass World Series. It's not very nice, and it clearly reflects my Yankee-centric - or at least AL-East'o'centric - baseball view. What gnaws at me every time the Yankees fail to make the World Series is that they are consistently in the top two, maybe three, in baseball at winning in the regular season. So every time the Detroit Tigers, winning 85-88 times in a 162-game calendar, makes it further than the Yankees, I take it as an illustration of the unfairness of the postseason format. Which it often is.
Now, I can only imagine what San Francisco fans must have felt like during the 90s. Or every year from 2003 through 2009. But I digress.
Last year the weakest participant in the Who Gives a Rat's Ass World Series wound up winning it. Because it was a team of winners, and their opponent, the Texas Rangers, turned out to be a team of losers.
This year, though, the team that won the most games during the regular season now has a 3-0 lead against the weaker team. In other words, a full house is beating three kings. And the San Francisco Giants are selling that full house as a straight flush now with their strong defense, hustle and general basic luck. But there is one other strong factor in the Giants' postseason run, and that factor is Tim Lincecum.
Lincecum was at the core of the Giants' championship of 2010 as a starter, and that is the role he has made his money in. There is historically way more prestige in starting compared to relieving, and for the few pitchers who have not been successful as starters and who have gone on to have great careers relieving, they have practically all been closers (Mariano Rivera on one level, Jonathan Papelbon on another). What is unique about the way Giants manager Bruce Bochy is using Lincecum this year is that he doesn't look at save opportunities at all - all he cares about is nailing down the game, or shutting down the opponents so as to give the Giants a chance to win.
Tim Lincecum is one of the best starting pitchers in the National League these past five years, and the Giants could not have won without him throwing big quality starts in 2010. But he has had a terrible year, so it seemed like the Giants would perish in the postseason, Lincecum seemingly buried in irrelevance (like A-Rod with the Yankees, I might add). But Bochy has found the perfect use for him in the middle of the games. Last night he threw 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball to get a two-run lead to the closer, who remains Sergio Romo (in Brian Wilson's absence; notice the Giants' bona fide closer is not even a factor in this postseason run!). I bet the Tigers felt like that game was shortened pretty effectively. I bet the Tigers were hoping they wouldn't see Lincecum until the ninth inning.
Similar recipes have been tried before. This was the way managers used relief aces back in the golden era of baseball. Back then there was no save statistic, closers didn't exist. The ace bullpen guy was the Fireman, and his job was to put out fires whenever there was smoke. Often, as it's the case now, this is not in the ninth inning.
It is clearly a factor in making Lincecum an effective reliever that he can go multiple innings without any problems, and that has been an important part of any relief legend's resume. Back in the days of Sutter and Gossage, the closer often worked more than two innings, like the old school firemen. And I will contend that Mariano Rivera, legendary cutter or not, would not have been nearly the factor he was in the Yankees' dominance if he hadn't been the closer who was able to get six outs to nail down a victory. Other relievers have tried that, and not been nearly as successful.
It is a joy to watch Lincecum work the middle relief, and it so clearly takes a lot of strain off the Giants' already pretty good rotation. That's why I'm wondering if it would not be worth the risk to try out this strategy for other teams as well. Have a very good pitcher, capable of starting, moved to middle relief, effectively shortening games and helping the rotation out. It has often been said that a good number three starter is worth more than a great closer - but how would an effective lock-down middle reliever stack up against the number three or four starter he would otherwise be?
See, I'm not saying the Yankees should yank Sabathia from the rotation and put him in the bullpen. The 200+ innings to the tune of a 3.00 ERA he can put up every year is simply worth more. But would it be worth it, for instance, for the Yankees to take a look at Ivan Nova out of the bullpen? Back in 1996, Joe Torre spoke of 'The Formula' as the scenario when the starter could go six innings, the lock-down middle reliever (Mariano Rivera) could go the seventh and eighth, setting up the closer (John Wetteland). Rivera would have been a number-four starter as well had he continued starting, so this setup could become a closer academy, too! Only instead of grooming short-relief pitchers like David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain into taking over the closing, the Yankees could actually find themselves developing a true fireman who could come in to nail down the final six or seven outs of a ball game. Now, that would be a revolution of the closer role - going back to basics, really.
Back in the 80s, the San Francisco 49ers revolutionized football with their West Coast Offense. This year, it appears baseball could learn a thing or two from Bruce Bochy and his West Coast bullpen strategy.
søndag den 28. oktober 2012
onsdag den 1. august 2012
Is Mark Cavendish the best sprinter ever?
It is generally the norm to begin analyzing the historical place of a given athlete at the moment of his first major defeat. Cruyff became a legend after his '74 loss against Beckenbauer. Mike Tyson's legend grew after his Buster Douglas defeat in '90. And it wasn't until Mariano Rivera blew Game Seven of the 2001 World Series that people began seeing him as the greatest closer of all time. Who would have known at the time that he'd go on to dominate for another decade?
But I digress. I'll go back to my roots and write a little about cycling. The not-until-you-lose kind of love has been shown in cycling, namely to Greg LeMond, who was suddenly much more revered when he'd been doing his Dance Macabre in '92. And dare I say most cycling fans missed Miguel Indurain badly during the Armstrong years, and - not least - what followed?
What's all this got to do with Mark Cavendish? For one, we just saw the first Tour de France in five years that the British sprinter didn't thoroughly dominate. And the guy's still only just turned 27! That isn't to say he hasn't shown anything; he did win three stages, but his team, the all-dominant Team Sky, clearly had bigger fish to fry in the race.
Cavendish was either isolated and up against a focused and fine-tuned machine leading out Andre Greipel. Or, and this is perhaps the more crucial factor, crashes.
Maybe another factor has been other riders' strength. Greipel looks like he's having a breakthrough Tour. Sagan looks like a guy capable of so many things. But mostly, and I believe Cavendish would agree, it's been the crashes.
But in the wake of an Olympic Road Race which was clearly the story of Cavendish (how he could win, how to beat him, how to adjust the strategy according to him), where the Manx Missile actually did lose, let's look a little further into his place in the road cycling sprinters' Pantheon. Where does he rank on a historical scale? And why is it important?
I'll take the first question really quick to begin with. Because that's one of the things I love to discuss - sports history - and among the categories or types of cyclists, I don't believe anybody in the current field would rank among the best climbers ever (the last one to do that was probably Pantani, or maybe Armstrong), nor the best time triallist (though I might do a similar piece about Cancellara compared to other TT specialists). And forget about stage race riders - there's barely enough talent in the current field to man the top two spots on the Tour podium. But Cavendish has been so dominant over the past five years that you have to consider where he ranks all-time against former sprint kings.
So, the second question: Where does Cavendish rank? Numerically, he's right there at the top. He's already the fourth-winningest Tour de France rider in terms of stage wins (23), and he's taken a combined 13 stages in the Giro and the Vuelta. Heck, he's only five stages away from tying Bernard Hinault as the second-winningest stage winner in Tour history (and it is 'only' five when speaking of Cavendish!), and Eddy Merckx's total of 34 might even be within reach. No sprinter has ever been this effective at the top level.
Now, let's look at the nature of his type of rider. The Super Sprinter Era in professional cycling didn't start until the late eighties, early nineties, when riders like Jean-Paul van Poppel, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov and especially Mario Cipollini (plus, to a lesser extent, Olaf Ludwig, the young Dimitri Konyshev and the young Johan Museeuw) started - in blunt terms - not giving a damn about other types of stages than the blanket finishes, blatantly sacrificing versatility for pure speed. So the type of rider that Cavendish is is fairly recent in the history of cycling. Back in the Goodefroot and Maertens days, a sprinter was merely a very fast finisher, who could generally do other things (like winning Paris-Roubaix and the Vuelta, respectively).
With all the numbers of stage wins, who could possibly be a better sprinter in the history of cycling? It clearly requires a sustained dominance over a considerable amount of time - so sprinters who in the notoriously volatile game of bunch sprinting have had few dominant seasons cannot get much consideration here. Tom Steels was arguably the fastest man in terms of pure speed in the 1998-2000 seasons, but a bout with the mono ended his peak years very suddenly. Nicola Minali was said to be unbeatable when in the right position in 1996-1997, but he was demanding when it came to the position and an extremely streaky rider. So was Jeroen Blijlevens, whose form came and went very unpredictably, and many sprinters have been able to come out of the shadows and beat the frontrunners once or twice in the big races. I count Jan Svorada as maybe the best of these 'vulture' sprinter of the 90's, Andre Greipel the best in the current field, and Robbie McEwen probably the best of all time. Robbie Mac rarely dominated, but he does have as many stage wins in the Tour as Mario Cipollini.
And of course, there's the second division of sprinters. The ones that are either very strong finishers, but more versatile riders (Hushovd, Boasson Hagen, Sagan, Guidi - there are a lot of those), or who can dominate a race against weaker competition (step right up, Marcel Wust). Maybe the most interesting ones are the explosive sprinters who can deliver one or two perfect sprints, and that might be it for their careers. But I can still remember Wilfried Nelissen in 1993, Ivan Quaranta making both a very on-form Blijlevens and a Cipollini in his prime look silly in the 1999 Giro, and this year, a young Andrea Guardini out-jumped Cavendish fair and square and simply beat him.
To be fair, Guardini is 23 years old. No one knows yet what he'll become. But that's another story.
Finally, there are the bullies - the ones who ride the sprints like there's no tomorrow. And sometimes there isn't. This category includes the young McEwen, Abdoujaparov, Frederic Moncassin, Andris Naudusz, and, in the current field, Roberto Ferrari. They sometimes win because they have the speed to back up their wild behavior on that last half-kilometer. But true greatness isn't achieved by riding like this.
To me, only three sprinters can possibly stack up against Cavendish. Let's have a look at them:
Alessandro Petacchi
Ale-Jet, as he was called, probably had the most dominating run of anybody in the history of bunch sprinting when he tore apart all competition in the 2003-2005 seasons. Over that three-year span, Petacchi won four stages at the Tour (all in 2003), 14 stages at the Vuelta, and a staggering 19 Giro stages! Think about that for a second - over three seasons, Petacchi almost won an entire Giro worth of stages. And in 2005, he added Milan-San Remo for good measure, not to be outdone by Cipollini's 2002 masterpiece of a season. And all that doesn't include what he won tearing apart Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adreatico and similar smaller races. Petacchi was a rare combination of someone who burst onto the scene (his 11 wins in a debut season is a record that only Cavendish has equalled) and somewhat of a late bloomer in the big races (he was 29 when his dominant run started). He has won the points jersey of all three major stage races, the last of which came in the 2010 Tour, which added to his longevity as a sprinter, and he is the third-winningest stage winner at the Grand Tours with 48 W's. Most of these, as I said, were picked up over that magical three-year run, and he hasn't aged as well as Cipollini, losing much of his pure speed these past couple of seasons.
Erik Zabel
Longevity above all, Zabel was the toughest of the sprinters in the early 00's. He won classics (Milan-San Remo several times, even though he lost one he should have won against Freire, plus Amstel God Race) and points jerseys (nine straight seasons with a points competition won from '96 to '04). But he often failed to dazzle. Several of his Tour de France points jerseys were won without a stage win - something that was shocking at first, but became the mark of the Zabel over the years - and only in his debut year, 1995, and perhaps in 1996-1997, could he have been counted among the fastest. The numbers are there, over a long career, so Zabel has to be in the sprinters' pantheon, though.
Mario Cipollini
We're not debating endurance here, nor the ability to finish Grand Tours. Cipollini rarely did, which is why he doesn't figure high at all on the all-time leaders in points competitions won. But we are debating sprinting ability, and Mario Cipollini not only was a pioneer in this domain, leading out his sprints with a ground-breaking 'train' strategy - i.e. he made his entire team prepare his own work in a meticulous and very precise manner. He was also a sprinting icon. For more than a decade, it was a point of reference for any sprinter if he had beaten Cipollini. Minali made his name like that. So did Quaranta. Tom Steels, too. And Petacchi at first. Cipollini's Tour record isn't impressive (12 stage wins), but his Giro record is an astonishing 42 stages, which is an all-time record, and when everyone thought the Lion King was over and done, he delivered his best season ever in 2002, when he took Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, six stage wins at the Giro - and the points jersey, and the World Championship. All at age 35. Nobody has ever had the relative versatility in a sprint that Cipollini had combined with his unique longevity. It's true Cipollini - in the years between 1998 and 2001 - had to rely a lot on his Saeco troops with strong leadoutmen such as Gian Matteo Fagnini to deliver him in the sprints, but over his career he could win sprints in many ways, and 2002 was a testiment to his ability to win races on his own. Especially Gent-Wevelgem.
Cipollini's personality deserves a chapter on its own, of course, with the glamour, the controversial statements, the larger-than-life presence which made him the most interesting sprinter even when there were faster men in the peloton. In many ways, this man, who's won more Grand Tour stages overall than anyone not named Eddy (at 57; Merckx has 64, and third-placed Petacchi has 48), is the definition of what a Super Sprinter should be like.
So compare these three guys to Cavendish. I count Zabel out from the get-go - he was never a point of reference for speed and ability the way the other guys were. Petacchi, too, as I believe his peak was too short for all-time superiority. Cavendish has been dominating for longer already, and he's much younger. Age comes into the picture when comparing Cavendish and Cipollini - where was Cipollini at 27? He had just started winning consistently in other races than the Giro, and his best years were clearly ahead of him. If the same holds true for Cavendish, all the other present sprinters are in big trouble. And so are all existing records of stages won. But who says it will?
Historically, it is really rare that a bike rider is a superstar at a very young age and keeps his performance level high for the duration of a long career. I believe Eddy Merckx is the latest rider to do that. Others who have kept a continued high performance level have either had more or less voluntary breaks in their careers (Armstrong, Pantani) or they have changed rider type altogether (the list is long, but counts legends like Jalabert and Museeuw). What I'm saying is that what's unique about Cipollini is that he has been a pure sprinter almost from day one of his career. Cavendish might very well do the same. But maintaining his performance level from the '09-'11 Tours for another decade - that seems not only unlikely, but downright ridiculous.
Technically, though, I like Cavendish's chances against Cipollini with both men at their peaks. A lot has been written about Cavendish's ability to avoid giving the guy behind him too much shelter, his fearlessness, and his extreme acceleration (something Cipollini lost right around his age 27 season....just saying). The way I see it, Cavendish in his prime is indeed the most dominant sprinter of all time. If you take away differences in lead-out conditions, it's not even close. Cavendish would annihilate Cipollini. Will he also go down as the most successful one? It is likely - though Cipollini probably still has the edge there.
I believe this is the only field in which cycling has been truly interesting in recent seasons. Considering Cavendish's status in the all-time Pantheon of sprinters. This, sadly, says even more about the sport of cycling than it does about Cavendish's tremendous performances.
But I digress. I'll go back to my roots and write a little about cycling. The not-until-you-lose kind of love has been shown in cycling, namely to Greg LeMond, who was suddenly much more revered when he'd been doing his Dance Macabre in '92. And dare I say most cycling fans missed Miguel Indurain badly during the Armstrong years, and - not least - what followed?
What's all this got to do with Mark Cavendish? For one, we just saw the first Tour de France in five years that the British sprinter didn't thoroughly dominate. And the guy's still only just turned 27! That isn't to say he hasn't shown anything; he did win three stages, but his team, the all-dominant Team Sky, clearly had bigger fish to fry in the race.
Cavendish was either isolated and up against a focused and fine-tuned machine leading out Andre Greipel. Or, and this is perhaps the more crucial factor, crashes.
Maybe another factor has been other riders' strength. Greipel looks like he's having a breakthrough Tour. Sagan looks like a guy capable of so many things. But mostly, and I believe Cavendish would agree, it's been the crashes.
But in the wake of an Olympic Road Race which was clearly the story of Cavendish (how he could win, how to beat him, how to adjust the strategy according to him), where the Manx Missile actually did lose, let's look a little further into his place in the road cycling sprinters' Pantheon. Where does he rank on a historical scale? And why is it important?
I'll take the first question really quick to begin with. Because that's one of the things I love to discuss - sports history - and among the categories or types of cyclists, I don't believe anybody in the current field would rank among the best climbers ever (the last one to do that was probably Pantani, or maybe Armstrong), nor the best time triallist (though I might do a similar piece about Cancellara compared to other TT specialists). And forget about stage race riders - there's barely enough talent in the current field to man the top two spots on the Tour podium. But Cavendish has been so dominant over the past five years that you have to consider where he ranks all-time against former sprint kings.
So, the second question: Where does Cavendish rank? Numerically, he's right there at the top. He's already the fourth-winningest Tour de France rider in terms of stage wins (23), and he's taken a combined 13 stages in the Giro and the Vuelta. Heck, he's only five stages away from tying Bernard Hinault as the second-winningest stage winner in Tour history (and it is 'only' five when speaking of Cavendish!), and Eddy Merckx's total of 34 might even be within reach. No sprinter has ever been this effective at the top level.
Now, let's look at the nature of his type of rider. The Super Sprinter Era in professional cycling didn't start until the late eighties, early nineties, when riders like Jean-Paul van Poppel, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov and especially Mario Cipollini (plus, to a lesser extent, Olaf Ludwig, the young Dimitri Konyshev and the young Johan Museeuw) started - in blunt terms - not giving a damn about other types of stages than the blanket finishes, blatantly sacrificing versatility for pure speed. So the type of rider that Cavendish is is fairly recent in the history of cycling. Back in the Goodefroot and Maertens days, a sprinter was merely a very fast finisher, who could generally do other things (like winning Paris-Roubaix and the Vuelta, respectively).
With all the numbers of stage wins, who could possibly be a better sprinter in the history of cycling? It clearly requires a sustained dominance over a considerable amount of time - so sprinters who in the notoriously volatile game of bunch sprinting have had few dominant seasons cannot get much consideration here. Tom Steels was arguably the fastest man in terms of pure speed in the 1998-2000 seasons, but a bout with the mono ended his peak years very suddenly. Nicola Minali was said to be unbeatable when in the right position in 1996-1997, but he was demanding when it came to the position and an extremely streaky rider. So was Jeroen Blijlevens, whose form came and went very unpredictably, and many sprinters have been able to come out of the shadows and beat the frontrunners once or twice in the big races. I count Jan Svorada as maybe the best of these 'vulture' sprinter of the 90's, Andre Greipel the best in the current field, and Robbie McEwen probably the best of all time. Robbie Mac rarely dominated, but he does have as many stage wins in the Tour as Mario Cipollini.
And of course, there's the second division of sprinters. The ones that are either very strong finishers, but more versatile riders (Hushovd, Boasson Hagen, Sagan, Guidi - there are a lot of those), or who can dominate a race against weaker competition (step right up, Marcel Wust). Maybe the most interesting ones are the explosive sprinters who can deliver one or two perfect sprints, and that might be it for their careers. But I can still remember Wilfried Nelissen in 1993, Ivan Quaranta making both a very on-form Blijlevens and a Cipollini in his prime look silly in the 1999 Giro, and this year, a young Andrea Guardini out-jumped Cavendish fair and square and simply beat him.
To be fair, Guardini is 23 years old. No one knows yet what he'll become. But that's another story.
Finally, there are the bullies - the ones who ride the sprints like there's no tomorrow. And sometimes there isn't. This category includes the young McEwen, Abdoujaparov, Frederic Moncassin, Andris Naudusz, and, in the current field, Roberto Ferrari. They sometimes win because they have the speed to back up their wild behavior on that last half-kilometer. But true greatness isn't achieved by riding like this.
To me, only three sprinters can possibly stack up against Cavendish. Let's have a look at them:
Alessandro Petacchi
Ale-Jet, as he was called, probably had the most dominating run of anybody in the history of bunch sprinting when he tore apart all competition in the 2003-2005 seasons. Over that three-year span, Petacchi won four stages at the Tour (all in 2003), 14 stages at the Vuelta, and a staggering 19 Giro stages! Think about that for a second - over three seasons, Petacchi almost won an entire Giro worth of stages. And in 2005, he added Milan-San Remo for good measure, not to be outdone by Cipollini's 2002 masterpiece of a season. And all that doesn't include what he won tearing apart Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adreatico and similar smaller races. Petacchi was a rare combination of someone who burst onto the scene (his 11 wins in a debut season is a record that only Cavendish has equalled) and somewhat of a late bloomer in the big races (he was 29 when his dominant run started). He has won the points jersey of all three major stage races, the last of which came in the 2010 Tour, which added to his longevity as a sprinter, and he is the third-winningest stage winner at the Grand Tours with 48 W's. Most of these, as I said, were picked up over that magical three-year run, and he hasn't aged as well as Cipollini, losing much of his pure speed these past couple of seasons.
Erik Zabel
Longevity above all, Zabel was the toughest of the sprinters in the early 00's. He won classics (Milan-San Remo several times, even though he lost one he should have won against Freire, plus Amstel God Race) and points jerseys (nine straight seasons with a points competition won from '96 to '04). But he often failed to dazzle. Several of his Tour de France points jerseys were won without a stage win - something that was shocking at first, but became the mark of the Zabel over the years - and only in his debut year, 1995, and perhaps in 1996-1997, could he have been counted among the fastest. The numbers are there, over a long career, so Zabel has to be in the sprinters' pantheon, though.
Mario Cipollini
We're not debating endurance here, nor the ability to finish Grand Tours. Cipollini rarely did, which is why he doesn't figure high at all on the all-time leaders in points competitions won. But we are debating sprinting ability, and Mario Cipollini not only was a pioneer in this domain, leading out his sprints with a ground-breaking 'train' strategy - i.e. he made his entire team prepare his own work in a meticulous and very precise manner. He was also a sprinting icon. For more than a decade, it was a point of reference for any sprinter if he had beaten Cipollini. Minali made his name like that. So did Quaranta. Tom Steels, too. And Petacchi at first. Cipollini's Tour record isn't impressive (12 stage wins), but his Giro record is an astonishing 42 stages, which is an all-time record, and when everyone thought the Lion King was over and done, he delivered his best season ever in 2002, when he took Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem, six stage wins at the Giro - and the points jersey, and the World Championship. All at age 35. Nobody has ever had the relative versatility in a sprint that Cipollini had combined with his unique longevity. It's true Cipollini - in the years between 1998 and 2001 - had to rely a lot on his Saeco troops with strong leadoutmen such as Gian Matteo Fagnini to deliver him in the sprints, but over his career he could win sprints in many ways, and 2002 was a testiment to his ability to win races on his own. Especially Gent-Wevelgem.
Cipollini's personality deserves a chapter on its own, of course, with the glamour, the controversial statements, the larger-than-life presence which made him the most interesting sprinter even when there were faster men in the peloton. In many ways, this man, who's won more Grand Tour stages overall than anyone not named Eddy (at 57; Merckx has 64, and third-placed Petacchi has 48), is the definition of what a Super Sprinter should be like.
So compare these three guys to Cavendish. I count Zabel out from the get-go - he was never a point of reference for speed and ability the way the other guys were. Petacchi, too, as I believe his peak was too short for all-time superiority. Cavendish has been dominating for longer already, and he's much younger. Age comes into the picture when comparing Cavendish and Cipollini - where was Cipollini at 27? He had just started winning consistently in other races than the Giro, and his best years were clearly ahead of him. If the same holds true for Cavendish, all the other present sprinters are in big trouble. And so are all existing records of stages won. But who says it will?
Historically, it is really rare that a bike rider is a superstar at a very young age and keeps his performance level high for the duration of a long career. I believe Eddy Merckx is the latest rider to do that. Others who have kept a continued high performance level have either had more or less voluntary breaks in their careers (Armstrong, Pantani) or they have changed rider type altogether (the list is long, but counts legends like Jalabert and Museeuw). What I'm saying is that what's unique about Cipollini is that he has been a pure sprinter almost from day one of his career. Cavendish might very well do the same. But maintaining his performance level from the '09-'11 Tours for another decade - that seems not only unlikely, but downright ridiculous.
Technically, though, I like Cavendish's chances against Cipollini with both men at their peaks. A lot has been written about Cavendish's ability to avoid giving the guy behind him too much shelter, his fearlessness, and his extreme acceleration (something Cipollini lost right around his age 27 season....just saying). The way I see it, Cavendish in his prime is indeed the most dominant sprinter of all time. If you take away differences in lead-out conditions, it's not even close. Cavendish would annihilate Cipollini. Will he also go down as the most successful one? It is likely - though Cipollini probably still has the edge there.
I believe this is the only field in which cycling has been truly interesting in recent seasons. Considering Cavendish's status in the all-time Pantheon of sprinters. This, sadly, says even more about the sport of cycling than it does about Cavendish's tremendous performances.
fredag den 6. juli 2012
Didn't We Almost Have It All?
After doing a piece about the greatest national soccer teams of all time, I thought I needed to do another list. As you know, I'm fond of those. This one covers the great national teams that didn't make it, but either came really close or should have. I give you the ten greatest national teams to not win anything:
10: Portugal's Golden Generation, 1996-2004
The Portuguese were completely out of international soccer from 1984 through 1994, but then gradually began building up a credible challenge for the big competitions. They were in the construction phase with a young Luis Figo and Rui Costa for the '96 Euro, but came into their own at the 2000 Euro, where they were arguably the tournament's second- or third-best team. This was Figo's team, and that's why I put the end to it at the 2004 Euro final in Lisbon. Cristiano Ronaldo had begun his emergence as a world-class player, but crucially, compared to the current Cristiano and the Ronaldettes Portugal team, this was an actual team with plenty of strength, from goalkeeper Vitor Baía all the way up to strikers like Conceicao and Nuno Gomes, all linked together by a balanced and creative midfield. As a team, not a backing group, there can be no doubt that this was the best team Portugal has fielded for several decades.
9: Czech Mates. 1996-2004
This team emerged and ended roughly at the same time as the Portuguese Golden Generation. Only they had perhaps even more potential, an even more balanced and talented team, and a more attractive playing style. Nobody expected the Czechs to do anything at Euro '96, yet they played all the way till the first-ever Golden Goal in the final. It brought stardom to youngsters Nedved and Poborsky, and as more experienced guys like Pavel Kuka were on their way out, more talent found its way to this team. Euro 2004 was theirs to lose, which they did when they ran into the boring-as-Hell Greeks in the semi-final. By then, it was practically Nedved's team, and he was one of Europe's best players at the time. They showed off a physically dominant attack with Jan Koller and Milan Baros, but in the end it wasn't enough, and the team flamed out shortly thereafter.
8: The Impossible Dream. Bulgaria 1994
The 1994 World Cup was mostly a bore, and most of the good games were played between teams you'd expect to deliver a good performance. And then there were a few unexpected nuggets. I remember Romania vs. Colombia as a great game. But none of those teams was going to win the World Cup. Bulgaria was a team that played some inspired soccer, and which, thanks to Yordan Letchkov's header, suddenly found themselves in the semi-final. They did the impossible and eliminated Germany. Hristo Stoichkov was one of Europe's best strikers, and this was just before he went back to just being a poser with a bad temper. But Bulgaria lost in the semi-final, and practically conceded third-place honors to Sweden. Of all the countries on this list, this might be the country least likely to ever field a team this good again.
7: Yugoslavia. 1990-1991 and onwards
Okay, 'Yugoslavia' isn't likely to ever field any team again. But remember how much talent they had? Davor Suker couldn't make this team before Croatia became its own country. Then he became World Cup top scorer. The striker position in Yugoslavia's team was occupied by one Darko Pancev. The Yugoslavs eliminated Denmark in the Euro '92 qualifiers before being disqualified. Denmark went on to win. The mere names of this team - Prosinecki, Savicevic, Jugovic, Mihajlovic, etc., etc. This team certainly could have gone as far as Denmark did in Euro '92, and could have been a powerhouse in world soccer for years to come. How can we know that? Because the former Yugoslav countries all fielded very good teams afterwards. Best of them, of course, was Croatia, which could have won Euro '96 with Boban and Suker spearheading the campaign. But also Slovenia, with the brilliant Zahovic, and the Yugoslav team of Euro 2000 had amazing talent. Politics and sports do mix sometimes. This was a team on which that had a very profound effect.
6: Samba Sadness. Brazil 1982-1986
Losing at the '82 World Cup to an inspired Italian team led by hat-trick hero Paolo Rossi created a trauma in Brazilian soccer that took a most uninspired 1994 title run to get over. That had the Brazilians changing style enough to no longer be the samba ballers of the past. But they did make one more attempt with the same recipe, in 1986, where their coach took criticism for sticking with the same players as in '82. But this team was good. And it played attractive, old-scool soccer. Its names are legendary to this date - Socrates, Eder, Careca, Zico. It's really too bad it never took home the big prize. Its final stand was an absolutely magnificent game against France which went to penalty shootout. That game remains a classic, and so does this team.
5: The Magic Nights of Toto Schillaci. Italy, 1988-1990
The nickname refers to Italy's World Cup run on home turf in 1990, but in fact this team had been building up since Euro '88, where it made an impressive performance with some young and energetic players. It was an exquisitely versatile team, which mastered both shut-down defense, with goalkeeper Zenga and stoppers Vierchovod, Bergomi, Baresi and Maldini, control of the midfield with Fuser, Giannini, Donadoni and Ancelotti. Up front it had such world-class strikers as Gianluca Vialli and Aldo Serena. And then, of course, that very strange man, Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, who came out of nowhere to score most of Italy's goals in the '90 World Cup. Six of them, anyway, to take the Golden Boot. Plus, when he felt like playing well, Roberto Baggio, at one position or another. This team conceded no goals in regular playing time during that World Cup, which remains a record for a team playing the maximum number of games. It took third place in a tournament it should have won, and probably would have, if not for one particularly unfortunate penalty shootout.
4: Danish Dynamite. 1983-1986
I must admit to being partisan to this team, of course, so I've taken great care not to place it too high. The Dynamite team was born at Wembley, 1983, when it took a sensational win, and it met its de facto Waterloo in Querétaro against Spain. Denmark, or any other Scandinavian country, will never field a team this talented and experienced again. Most of the players had prominent roles with significant European clubs, notably FC Bayern, Anderlecht and PSV, and its only real weakness was its goalkeepers (Peter Schmeichel didn't emerge until 1988). Stacked with world-class defenders (Morten Olsen, Busk, Ivan Nielsen), midfielders (Lerby, Arnesen, Bertelsen, Jesper Olsen) and strikers (Laudrup and Elkjær), this team gave the soccer world some fantastic experiences during the 80's, and should have gone much further in the '86 World Cup. That game is one I love to discuss, but it's for a future blog post. And a previous one, of course.
Euro '88 should have been the final hurrah for this team, but it wasn't. It just wasn't. It got sent home after the group stage with zero points, and that was the end of the Dynamite era. That era should have brought at least one title, but Denmark didn't win until it had a completely new, and significantly less exciting, team in '92.
3: In the End, the Germans Lose. 2006-2012
I really love watching this team too, and it of course sets itself apart by not being dismantled yet. It could still win something. Yet this is an odd mirror-image version of the In the End, the Germans Win team of the 80's and 90's. The Germans played inspired soccer on their home turf in the '06 World Cup, went all the way to the final of Euro '08 and was absolutely brilliant at the 2010 World Cup. That particular team might have been the best ever at a finals tournament to not even reach the final game. The core of FC Bayern players are fantastic ballplayers (Schweinsteiger, Müller) and deadly strikers (Klose, Gomez), and the defense isn't bad either. But this team just hasn't had the ability to close the deal as yet. There's always an extra time that goes wrong ('06 World Cup), meeting a cynical yet effective and strong opponent ('10 World Cup), or having the worst game of the tournament when it matters the most - and running into an opposing star's career day ('12 Euro). To top that off, most of the German players have lost two Champions League-finals against the Mourinhoball Inter (2010) and in a penalty shootout against the - oh yes - Mourinhoball Chelsea!
Whereas the 80's and 90's German team was somewhat conservative and boke creative teams' hearts - this certainly appears to be a creative German team that's gotten used to getting its heart broken.
2: The Mighty Magyars, 1954
Soccer was volatile back then. I've said it a bunch of times. But his Hungarian team was - according to its Wikipedia page - the founding of the modern soccer team. Several ideas were born with this team: tactical formations, systems of attacking, and the idea, which would later develop into Total Football, that any player could play any position on the field. Ferenc Puskas was the star, but this really was a group effort that took the Hungarians all the way to the 1954 World Cup final - the Battle of Berne. Back then, their opponents, the West Germans, were the underdogs, so when they beat the Mighty Magyars, it was dubbed 'Das Wunder von Bern' in West Germany. Puskas kept on dominating Spanish soccer, but Hungary as a team never made it this far again. Like Bulgaria, it's doubtful we'll once again see Hungary on the big stage, but the legacy of this team lives on.
1: Total Football, 1974-1978
Two World Cup finals, one national trauma which lasted all the way until Euro '88. The master mind behind the Dutch's dynamic style of play was as much the star, Johan Cruyff, as it was the coach Rinus Michels - who was also responsible for ending the trauma as the Netherlands' coach in '88.
To this day, not many people actually know what Total Football, the style introduced by the '74 Holland team, means as a strategy. It might have been more of a way to organize a team. It might have had more to do with pace and skill than strategy. An attractive way to play the game. What Ruud Gullit, in 1988, called 'sexy football'. Cruyff himself hasn't clarified matters much with his many tautologies and clichés. Everybody wants to say they play Total Football. The Spanish tiki-taka is said to be derived from Total Football via Cruyff's influence on Spanish soccer. Maybe Louis van Gaal's peculiar style, displayed by Ajax and FC Bayern, is Total Football. Maybe it isn't. But no matter what, there's no denying that this team revolutionized modern soccer, and that it certainly is the best team to never win anything.
10: Portugal's Golden Generation, 1996-2004
The Portuguese were completely out of international soccer from 1984 through 1994, but then gradually began building up a credible challenge for the big competitions. They were in the construction phase with a young Luis Figo and Rui Costa for the '96 Euro, but came into their own at the 2000 Euro, where they were arguably the tournament's second- or third-best team. This was Figo's team, and that's why I put the end to it at the 2004 Euro final in Lisbon. Cristiano Ronaldo had begun his emergence as a world-class player, but crucially, compared to the current Cristiano and the Ronaldettes Portugal team, this was an actual team with plenty of strength, from goalkeeper Vitor Baía all the way up to strikers like Conceicao and Nuno Gomes, all linked together by a balanced and creative midfield. As a team, not a backing group, there can be no doubt that this was the best team Portugal has fielded for several decades.
9: Czech Mates. 1996-2004
This team emerged and ended roughly at the same time as the Portuguese Golden Generation. Only they had perhaps even more potential, an even more balanced and talented team, and a more attractive playing style. Nobody expected the Czechs to do anything at Euro '96, yet they played all the way till the first-ever Golden Goal in the final. It brought stardom to youngsters Nedved and Poborsky, and as more experienced guys like Pavel Kuka were on their way out, more talent found its way to this team. Euro 2004 was theirs to lose, which they did when they ran into the boring-as-Hell Greeks in the semi-final. By then, it was practically Nedved's team, and he was one of Europe's best players at the time. They showed off a physically dominant attack with Jan Koller and Milan Baros, but in the end it wasn't enough, and the team flamed out shortly thereafter.
8: The Impossible Dream. Bulgaria 1994
The 1994 World Cup was mostly a bore, and most of the good games were played between teams you'd expect to deliver a good performance. And then there were a few unexpected nuggets. I remember Romania vs. Colombia as a great game. But none of those teams was going to win the World Cup. Bulgaria was a team that played some inspired soccer, and which, thanks to Yordan Letchkov's header, suddenly found themselves in the semi-final. They did the impossible and eliminated Germany. Hristo Stoichkov was one of Europe's best strikers, and this was just before he went back to just being a poser with a bad temper. But Bulgaria lost in the semi-final, and practically conceded third-place honors to Sweden. Of all the countries on this list, this might be the country least likely to ever field a team this good again.
7: Yugoslavia. 1990-1991 and onwards
Okay, 'Yugoslavia' isn't likely to ever field any team again. But remember how much talent they had? Davor Suker couldn't make this team before Croatia became its own country. Then he became World Cup top scorer. The striker position in Yugoslavia's team was occupied by one Darko Pancev. The Yugoslavs eliminated Denmark in the Euro '92 qualifiers before being disqualified. Denmark went on to win. The mere names of this team - Prosinecki, Savicevic, Jugovic, Mihajlovic, etc., etc. This team certainly could have gone as far as Denmark did in Euro '92, and could have been a powerhouse in world soccer for years to come. How can we know that? Because the former Yugoslav countries all fielded very good teams afterwards. Best of them, of course, was Croatia, which could have won Euro '96 with Boban and Suker spearheading the campaign. But also Slovenia, with the brilliant Zahovic, and the Yugoslav team of Euro 2000 had amazing talent. Politics and sports do mix sometimes. This was a team on which that had a very profound effect.
6: Samba Sadness. Brazil 1982-1986
Losing at the '82 World Cup to an inspired Italian team led by hat-trick hero Paolo Rossi created a trauma in Brazilian soccer that took a most uninspired 1994 title run to get over. That had the Brazilians changing style enough to no longer be the samba ballers of the past. But they did make one more attempt with the same recipe, in 1986, where their coach took criticism for sticking with the same players as in '82. But this team was good. And it played attractive, old-scool soccer. Its names are legendary to this date - Socrates, Eder, Careca, Zico. It's really too bad it never took home the big prize. Its final stand was an absolutely magnificent game against France which went to penalty shootout. That game remains a classic, and so does this team.
5: The Magic Nights of Toto Schillaci. Italy, 1988-1990
The nickname refers to Italy's World Cup run on home turf in 1990, but in fact this team had been building up since Euro '88, where it made an impressive performance with some young and energetic players. It was an exquisitely versatile team, which mastered both shut-down defense, with goalkeeper Zenga and stoppers Vierchovod, Bergomi, Baresi and Maldini, control of the midfield with Fuser, Giannini, Donadoni and Ancelotti. Up front it had such world-class strikers as Gianluca Vialli and Aldo Serena. And then, of course, that very strange man, Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, who came out of nowhere to score most of Italy's goals in the '90 World Cup. Six of them, anyway, to take the Golden Boot. Plus, when he felt like playing well, Roberto Baggio, at one position or another. This team conceded no goals in regular playing time during that World Cup, which remains a record for a team playing the maximum number of games. It took third place in a tournament it should have won, and probably would have, if not for one particularly unfortunate penalty shootout.
4: Danish Dynamite. 1983-1986
I must admit to being partisan to this team, of course, so I've taken great care not to place it too high. The Dynamite team was born at Wembley, 1983, when it took a sensational win, and it met its de facto Waterloo in Querétaro against Spain. Denmark, or any other Scandinavian country, will never field a team this talented and experienced again. Most of the players had prominent roles with significant European clubs, notably FC Bayern, Anderlecht and PSV, and its only real weakness was its goalkeepers (Peter Schmeichel didn't emerge until 1988). Stacked with world-class defenders (Morten Olsen, Busk, Ivan Nielsen), midfielders (Lerby, Arnesen, Bertelsen, Jesper Olsen) and strikers (Laudrup and Elkjær), this team gave the soccer world some fantastic experiences during the 80's, and should have gone much further in the '86 World Cup. That game is one I love to discuss, but it's for a future blog post. And a previous one, of course.
Euro '88 should have been the final hurrah for this team, but it wasn't. It just wasn't. It got sent home after the group stage with zero points, and that was the end of the Dynamite era. That era should have brought at least one title, but Denmark didn't win until it had a completely new, and significantly less exciting, team in '92.
3: In the End, the Germans Lose. 2006-2012
I really love watching this team too, and it of course sets itself apart by not being dismantled yet. It could still win something. Yet this is an odd mirror-image version of the In the End, the Germans Win team of the 80's and 90's. The Germans played inspired soccer on their home turf in the '06 World Cup, went all the way to the final of Euro '08 and was absolutely brilliant at the 2010 World Cup. That particular team might have been the best ever at a finals tournament to not even reach the final game. The core of FC Bayern players are fantastic ballplayers (Schweinsteiger, Müller) and deadly strikers (Klose, Gomez), and the defense isn't bad either. But this team just hasn't had the ability to close the deal as yet. There's always an extra time that goes wrong ('06 World Cup), meeting a cynical yet effective and strong opponent ('10 World Cup), or having the worst game of the tournament when it matters the most - and running into an opposing star's career day ('12 Euro). To top that off, most of the German players have lost two Champions League-finals against the Mourinhoball Inter (2010) and in a penalty shootout against the - oh yes - Mourinhoball Chelsea!
Whereas the 80's and 90's German team was somewhat conservative and boke creative teams' hearts - this certainly appears to be a creative German team that's gotten used to getting its heart broken.
2: The Mighty Magyars, 1954
Soccer was volatile back then. I've said it a bunch of times. But his Hungarian team was - according to its Wikipedia page - the founding of the modern soccer team. Several ideas were born with this team: tactical formations, systems of attacking, and the idea, which would later develop into Total Football, that any player could play any position on the field. Ferenc Puskas was the star, but this really was a group effort that took the Hungarians all the way to the 1954 World Cup final - the Battle of Berne. Back then, their opponents, the West Germans, were the underdogs, so when they beat the Mighty Magyars, it was dubbed 'Das Wunder von Bern' in West Germany. Puskas kept on dominating Spanish soccer, but Hungary as a team never made it this far again. Like Bulgaria, it's doubtful we'll once again see Hungary on the big stage, but the legacy of this team lives on.
1: Total Football, 1974-1978
Two World Cup finals, one national trauma which lasted all the way until Euro '88. The master mind behind the Dutch's dynamic style of play was as much the star, Johan Cruyff, as it was the coach Rinus Michels - who was also responsible for ending the trauma as the Netherlands' coach in '88.
To this day, not many people actually know what Total Football, the style introduced by the '74 Holland team, means as a strategy. It might have been more of a way to organize a team. It might have had more to do with pace and skill than strategy. An attractive way to play the game. What Ruud Gullit, in 1988, called 'sexy football'. Cruyff himself hasn't clarified matters much with his many tautologies and clichés. Everybody wants to say they play Total Football. The Spanish tiki-taka is said to be derived from Total Football via Cruyff's influence on Spanish soccer. Maybe Louis van Gaal's peculiar style, displayed by Ajax and FC Bayern, is Total Football. Maybe it isn't. But no matter what, there's no denying that this team revolutionized modern soccer, and that it certainly is the best team to never win anything.
mandag den 2. juli 2012
After the Euro: Spain the greatest ever?
The final's over, and Spain won a no-doubter. I'm not a big fan of Spain's brand of soccer, but you have to recognize a special performance. By a historic team. In fact, I'll use this moment to make another list - you might have noticed I like them a lot. This time I'll treat you to a list of the ten greatest national teams of all time.
Some of these teams I've defined over an extended period of time. Like this Spain team. Even though they've changed some players - though not a lot - and their coach, it's still basically the same team as the one that won the Euro four years ago. Other teams I might just take from one single tournament. Here goes:
10: The Carré Magique. France 1982-1986
Maybe the most entertaining team on the list right here. The French were energetic and sparkling in '82 when they fell short, just perfect when they won the '84 Euro, and might actually have been even better in Mexico '86. They got beaten by the cynical 'In the End...' team of West Germany and their set pieces and counter attacks, but captured the hearts of everybody with their Euro-Brazilianism and magic square midfield of Tigana, Giresse, Fernandez and - the team's master mind - Michel Platini. This was arguably the logical team to battle Maradona and his Argentinian ball movers for World Cup honors in Mexico, but they couldn't make it that far. And France's national team flamed out for the next ten years when the young ones from the '86 team couldn't pick up where Platini had left.
9: Bomber and Beckenbauer. West Germany 1966-1974
One of the two teams that made soccer's modern breakthrough in 1974, and the only one of those two that won anything. The Gerd Müller-Franz Beckenbauer alliance took its baby steps in the ultimately lost final of the 1966 World Cup, but got to win a European Championship and a World Championship later on. Unfortunately, they did so by killing off Total Football as a winning concept for more than a decade, and Beckenbauer got vilified for it. That wasn't fair. Beckenbauer was a great player, and Müller was a great striker. Still might be the greatest defense-offense combo ever.
8: Brazil's Double Champions. 1958-1962
Whenever a team wins consecutive World Championships, it's a big deal, and Brazil dominated the competitions in '58 and '62. Led, of course, by a young Pelé, it was the prototypical all-out attacking team with Garrincha, Vavá, and a whole lot of other charismatic and quirky stars. Back then, success at the World Cup did not equal million-dollar contracts with European clubs, but the happy Brazilians came to the tournaments once every four years back then and showed the whole world who was boss. This was when the Legend of Samba Soccer was created, and this period explains why every European club is so eager to sign Brazilians to this day.
7: Oranje Kampioen. Netherlands 1988-1992
A short run, but an impressive lineup. Eight or nine of the starters from the succesful '88 campaign were still starters during Euro '92, but the results would elude this star-studded team, and Euro '88 wound up being the only thing this (or any) Dutch team would win. This team is not on my list for what it achieved, but rather for the amount of talent it had. It was certainly unrivaled in Europe at the time. A great goalkeeper (Van Breukelen), a defense that counted Van Tiggelen, Van Aerle and freekick sniper Ronald Koeman. The midfield had Frank Rijkaard on the defensive end and Ruud Gullit on offense, plus guys like Aron Winter and Rob Witschge on the wings. Up in front, Marco van Basten produced some of the best offensive game ever, and the Euro '92 team featured a very young Dennis Bergkamp.
So many stars, so many opportunities. But in the end, Holland flamed out at the '90 World Cup, and only came close in '92.
6: In the End, the Germans Win. (West)Germany, 1986-1996
Consider this: The West German team, which took second at the 1982 World Cup, had one practice round at Euro '84 with a bunch of young players (Völler, Brehme, Matthäus, etc.). And two years later, that bunch of players took the team to the World Cup final. After a narrow defeat in the Euro '88 semifinal to the Dutch team of destiny, that same group of players took West Germany all the way in the 1990 World Cup. And for good measure, they were in another final, this time at Euro '92, before getting eliminated in the quarter-finals of the '94 World Cup. Some changes were made to the group, an experienced team led by Jürgen Klinsmann then took the victory at Euro '96. It was as impressive a ten-year run as modern soccer had seen at the time. Only two titles, but so many semifinals and finals that one had the impression that the Germans would always win when it counted.
5: Boring Brazil. 1994-2002
It isn't a word you normally hear when speaking of the Brazilian soccer team, but this Brazil team was boring. Well, apart from a few sparkling moments from its stars, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Only Rivaldo was a classic Brazilian créateur à là Zico, Sócrates or Pelé. A reason why this team was boring to watch was that it - unlike every other Brazilian team - had the opportunity of relying on good defense and a true deadly striker up front (Romario in 1994, Bebeto in '98 and Ronaldo in '02). Especially the '94 team under captain Dunga was dull to watch. To be fair, the '02 team might have had the potential to dazzle, but 2002 was just a boring tournament overall, apart from a few games. So not a Brazilian strategy anyone should miss - and we should all be happy Dunga's Brazil didn't win the World Cup in South Africa. That would have just been an endorsement to his hold-your-horses style of soccer.
Then why is this team on my list? Three World Cup finals in three World Cups - and two titles! Even if the '94 one shouldn't count, that is something. No denying that.
4: Giuseppe Meazza's Italy. 1934-1938
Not much to say about this team, except it won the second and third World Cups ever organized, and the first two Italy participated in. Its most legendary player was Meazza, and this was Italy's real heyday. The Italian victory of 1982 was probably more beautiful, and the 2006 one was probably harder. But winning consecutive World Cups is no mean feat, especially back then, when soccer was so relatively volatile.
3: The Zidane Crew. France, 1996-2006
Tremendous amount of talent in this team, all the way from the defense, with the likes of Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram, to the strikers, Thierry Henry, Davide Trezeguet and - occasionally - Nicolas Anelka. The midfield, though, was what made this team great. Patrick Vierira, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly controlled the defensive end of it, and on the wings this team had great players like Yuri Djorkaeff and Robert Pirès. Christophe Dugarry, Sylvain Wiltord and Christian Karembeu couldn't even start consistently with this team! And, of course, the genious behind the operations was also the guy who came to symbolize the end of its era: Zinedine Zidane. The tormented artist who sometimes did stupid things, but more often great things. This team won a World Championship (1998) and a European championship (2000) and took second at the '06 World Cup, and it will remain one of the all-time great teams built around an undisputed all-time great player.
Unfortunately, this team also had its dark spots. Like forgetting how to score at the '02 World Cup, or forgetting to concentrate at the '04 Euro. It should arguably have won at least one more title, but it was a great run while it lasted, and it brought together some difficult personalities to form a solid nucleus for almost ten years.
2: Brazil's 1970 team
As I said, soccer was pretty volatile before its modern breakthrough in 1974, and this Brazil team was probably the pinnacle of what soccer could be in its middle age. Lots of offensive firepower, the right attitude (attack-attack!), and a Pelé at the height of his powers. Plus, this team was much more televised than former Brazil teams, which made it even more legendary. And legendary it is. That's why its status might be more due to reputation than sustained performance, but by all accounts, this team's 1970 title run was dominance defined in the game of soccer.
1: Spain's Tiki-Taka team. 2006-present
As I said, I'm not fond of their brand of soccer, and I truly believe it would have been better for soccer's entertainment value if Germany had won the Euro. But facts are stubborn things, like Ronald Reagan said. And they all say Spain's current national team is the most successful ever. A World Championship against some historically tough competition in South Africa? Check. Unprecedented back-to-back European Championships? Check. Undefeated AND unscoredupon in knock-out games since 2006? Check. It is monotonous. It is the same every time they take the field. It IS boring if you - like me - want to watch great strikers like a Gomez, a Van Basten or an Henry turn trivial possessions into goals. And yeah, there is a historical antagonism between Spain and Denmark in international soccer. So I don't like it, but credit is due: This highly effective team is the best national team ever.
Some of these teams I've defined over an extended period of time. Like this Spain team. Even though they've changed some players - though not a lot - and their coach, it's still basically the same team as the one that won the Euro four years ago. Other teams I might just take from one single tournament. Here goes:
10: The Carré Magique. France 1982-1986
Maybe the most entertaining team on the list right here. The French were energetic and sparkling in '82 when they fell short, just perfect when they won the '84 Euro, and might actually have been even better in Mexico '86. They got beaten by the cynical 'In the End...' team of West Germany and their set pieces and counter attacks, but captured the hearts of everybody with their Euro-Brazilianism and magic square midfield of Tigana, Giresse, Fernandez and - the team's master mind - Michel Platini. This was arguably the logical team to battle Maradona and his Argentinian ball movers for World Cup honors in Mexico, but they couldn't make it that far. And France's national team flamed out for the next ten years when the young ones from the '86 team couldn't pick up where Platini had left.
9: Bomber and Beckenbauer. West Germany 1966-1974
One of the two teams that made soccer's modern breakthrough in 1974, and the only one of those two that won anything. The Gerd Müller-Franz Beckenbauer alliance took its baby steps in the ultimately lost final of the 1966 World Cup, but got to win a European Championship and a World Championship later on. Unfortunately, they did so by killing off Total Football as a winning concept for more than a decade, and Beckenbauer got vilified for it. That wasn't fair. Beckenbauer was a great player, and Müller was a great striker. Still might be the greatest defense-offense combo ever.
8: Brazil's Double Champions. 1958-1962
Whenever a team wins consecutive World Championships, it's a big deal, and Brazil dominated the competitions in '58 and '62. Led, of course, by a young Pelé, it was the prototypical all-out attacking team with Garrincha, Vavá, and a whole lot of other charismatic and quirky stars. Back then, success at the World Cup did not equal million-dollar contracts with European clubs, but the happy Brazilians came to the tournaments once every four years back then and showed the whole world who was boss. This was when the Legend of Samba Soccer was created, and this period explains why every European club is so eager to sign Brazilians to this day.
7: Oranje Kampioen. Netherlands 1988-1992
A short run, but an impressive lineup. Eight or nine of the starters from the succesful '88 campaign were still starters during Euro '92, but the results would elude this star-studded team, and Euro '88 wound up being the only thing this (or any) Dutch team would win. This team is not on my list for what it achieved, but rather for the amount of talent it had. It was certainly unrivaled in Europe at the time. A great goalkeeper (Van Breukelen), a defense that counted Van Tiggelen, Van Aerle and freekick sniper Ronald Koeman. The midfield had Frank Rijkaard on the defensive end and Ruud Gullit on offense, plus guys like Aron Winter and Rob Witschge on the wings. Up in front, Marco van Basten produced some of the best offensive game ever, and the Euro '92 team featured a very young Dennis Bergkamp.
So many stars, so many opportunities. But in the end, Holland flamed out at the '90 World Cup, and only came close in '92.
6: In the End, the Germans Win. (West)Germany, 1986-1996
Consider this: The West German team, which took second at the 1982 World Cup, had one practice round at Euro '84 with a bunch of young players (Völler, Brehme, Matthäus, etc.). And two years later, that bunch of players took the team to the World Cup final. After a narrow defeat in the Euro '88 semifinal to the Dutch team of destiny, that same group of players took West Germany all the way in the 1990 World Cup. And for good measure, they were in another final, this time at Euro '92, before getting eliminated in the quarter-finals of the '94 World Cup. Some changes were made to the group, an experienced team led by Jürgen Klinsmann then took the victory at Euro '96. It was as impressive a ten-year run as modern soccer had seen at the time. Only two titles, but so many semifinals and finals that one had the impression that the Germans would always win when it counted.
5: Boring Brazil. 1994-2002
It isn't a word you normally hear when speaking of the Brazilian soccer team, but this Brazil team was boring. Well, apart from a few sparkling moments from its stars, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and Ronaldo. Only Rivaldo was a classic Brazilian créateur à là Zico, Sócrates or Pelé. A reason why this team was boring to watch was that it - unlike every other Brazilian team - had the opportunity of relying on good defense and a true deadly striker up front (Romario in 1994, Bebeto in '98 and Ronaldo in '02). Especially the '94 team under captain Dunga was dull to watch. To be fair, the '02 team might have had the potential to dazzle, but 2002 was just a boring tournament overall, apart from a few games. So not a Brazilian strategy anyone should miss - and we should all be happy Dunga's Brazil didn't win the World Cup in South Africa. That would have just been an endorsement to his hold-your-horses style of soccer.
Then why is this team on my list? Three World Cup finals in three World Cups - and two titles! Even if the '94 one shouldn't count, that is something. No denying that.
4: Giuseppe Meazza's Italy. 1934-1938
Not much to say about this team, except it won the second and third World Cups ever organized, and the first two Italy participated in. Its most legendary player was Meazza, and this was Italy's real heyday. The Italian victory of 1982 was probably more beautiful, and the 2006 one was probably harder. But winning consecutive World Cups is no mean feat, especially back then, when soccer was so relatively volatile.
3: The Zidane Crew. France, 1996-2006
Tremendous amount of talent in this team, all the way from the defense, with the likes of Laurent Blanc, Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram, to the strikers, Thierry Henry, Davide Trezeguet and - occasionally - Nicolas Anelka. The midfield, though, was what made this team great. Patrick Vierira, Didier Deschamps and Marcel Desailly controlled the defensive end of it, and on the wings this team had great players like Yuri Djorkaeff and Robert Pirès. Christophe Dugarry, Sylvain Wiltord and Christian Karembeu couldn't even start consistently with this team! And, of course, the genious behind the operations was also the guy who came to symbolize the end of its era: Zinedine Zidane. The tormented artist who sometimes did stupid things, but more often great things. This team won a World Championship (1998) and a European championship (2000) and took second at the '06 World Cup, and it will remain one of the all-time great teams built around an undisputed all-time great player.
Unfortunately, this team also had its dark spots. Like forgetting how to score at the '02 World Cup, or forgetting to concentrate at the '04 Euro. It should arguably have won at least one more title, but it was a great run while it lasted, and it brought together some difficult personalities to form a solid nucleus for almost ten years.
2: Brazil's 1970 team
As I said, soccer was pretty volatile before its modern breakthrough in 1974, and this Brazil team was probably the pinnacle of what soccer could be in its middle age. Lots of offensive firepower, the right attitude (attack-attack!), and a Pelé at the height of his powers. Plus, this team was much more televised than former Brazil teams, which made it even more legendary. And legendary it is. That's why its status might be more due to reputation than sustained performance, but by all accounts, this team's 1970 title run was dominance defined in the game of soccer.
1: Spain's Tiki-Taka team. 2006-present
As I said, I'm not fond of their brand of soccer, and I truly believe it would have been better for soccer's entertainment value if Germany had won the Euro. But facts are stubborn things, like Ronald Reagan said. And they all say Spain's current national team is the most successful ever. A World Championship against some historically tough competition in South Africa? Check. Unprecedented back-to-back European Championships? Check. Undefeated AND unscoredupon in knock-out games since 2006? Check. It is monotonous. It is the same every time they take the field. It IS boring if you - like me - want to watch great strikers like a Gomez, a Van Basten or an Henry turn trivial possessions into goals. And yeah, there is a historical antagonism between Spain and Denmark in international soccer. So I don't like it, but credit is due: This highly effective team is the best national team ever.
torsdag den 21. juni 2012
Quarter-finals Picks
The European soccer championships are still underway, and we've now reached the round of eight. I give you my thoughts on the upcoming games, along with a crazy bet for each game that I would recommend just for the fun of it.
Portugal vs. Czech Republic
Cristiano and the Ronaldettes against possibly the weakest team in this round. It's clear the Portuguese found their rythm against Holland, and they should be everybody's bet to reach the semi-finals.
The verdict: Portugal by two. 3-1 or 2-0. But it's going to be a frustrating game with a lot of Portuguese touches, a lot of Cristiano Ronaldo making faces at the refs or his teammates, and not many quality shots on goal.
Crazy bet: Czech Republic go through on a Cristiano Ronaldo own goal.
Germany vs. Greece
Good vs. Evil here as the Germans, who play some of the best soccer the world has seen in years, go up against the Greeks, whose bank of ideas is as... well, you know. Too mean? Nevermind. I hope Greece is in for a thrasing, but with their compact defense, I doubt it. Heart says 4-0 Germany.
The verdict: Brain says 1-0 Germany. And we can safely assume Mario Gomez has something to do with the goal.
Crazy bet: All the German bench players wear Joachim Löw's trademark white shirts.
The verdict: Brain says 1-0 Germany. And we can safely assume Mario Gomez has something to do with the goal.
Crazy bet: All the German bench players wear Joachim Löw's trademark white shirts.
Spain vs. France
An exciting, evenly-matched game of hopeful young teams beaming with diverse offensive talent and creativity - when they played this game at Euro 2000. France hasn't really found its legs since the Zidane Incident in the 2006 World Cup final. In fact, you could argue even that team was a pale shadow of the 2000 team. Spain has won it all now. They have seemed tired, and looked like a parody of themselves in that ten-midfielder lineup against Ireland. Still hard to beat them, though.
The verdict: Spain will find a way to win. And it's probably going to be the way they always do it - 1-0 on a goal scored between the 70th and 80th minute.
Crazy bet: Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas joins the tiki-taka game and becomes the de facto eleventh midfielder.
An exciting, evenly-matched game of hopeful young teams beaming with diverse offensive talent and creativity - when they played this game at Euro 2000. France hasn't really found its legs since the Zidane Incident in the 2006 World Cup final. In fact, you could argue even that team was a pale shadow of the 2000 team. Spain has won it all now. They have seemed tired, and looked like a parody of themselves in that ten-midfielder lineup against Ireland. Still hard to beat them, though.
The verdict: Spain will find a way to win. And it's probably going to be the way they always do it - 1-0 on a goal scored between the 70th and 80th minute.
Crazy bet: Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas joins the tiki-taka game and becomes the de facto eleventh midfielder.
Italy vs. England
Two former super powers in soccer. Well, they might be on the way back to that status now. Italy have played somewhat un-Italian, and England have avoided messing up their group stage. Might actually be the most interesting matchup, and the best game, of all the quarter-finals.
The verdict: I think it'll go to penalties. In which case I suppose Italy would have the psychological upper hand.
Crazy bet: Goals galore - wouldn't that be something in an Italy game? Like ten total goals in this one. Even crazier if you bet on a 7-3 win for England.
Fifteen minutes to kickoff in the Portugal-Czech game. Now the real games begin!
Two former super powers in soccer. Well, they might be on the way back to that status now. Italy have played somewhat un-Italian, and England have avoided messing up their group stage. Might actually be the most interesting matchup, and the best game, of all the quarter-finals.
The verdict: I think it'll go to penalties. In which case I suppose Italy would have the psychological upper hand.
Crazy bet: Goals galore - wouldn't that be something in an Italy game? Like ten total goals in this one. Even crazier if you bet on a 7-3 win for England.
Fifteen minutes to kickoff in the Portugal-Czech game. Now the real games begin!
søndag den 17. juni 2012
The best of times, the worst of times
I enjoy the inherent nostalgia of the Danish national soccer team. That goes with the territory of having been a kid in the eighties, when the team was at its best, and a real national pride - and of being a twelve-year-old Danish soccer fanatic when they beat Europe's (and, admittedly, my own) favorites to take a European championship in 1992.
Apart from a few games, it has all been down hill from there. No matter which internationally renowned players the team fielded, it has never had the aura of that legendary 'Danish Dynamite' team from the eighties. And given the trail blazer-like nature of that team, it probably never will.
So what's really fun about the Danish soccer team, other than watching the important games with other soccer-crazed Danes, is the endless pining for those old times. Discussions about the team's past. And what, if you think about it, goes better with the nostalgic nature of this blog?
A really interesting subject to discuss concerning our national team is what I've labeled the best of times, and the worst of times. I give you a list of the Danish soccer team's greatest victories - and one of its most heartbreaking defeats.
A few words on my selection criteria: of course a game needs to be important in order to be a euphoric or heartbreaking experience. So exceptionally good or bad performances in friendlies don't count (which means no 4-0 win over Brazil in 1989 on my list). Second, it helps when expectations are exceeded or not lived up to, respectively. That is why the team's lacklustre performance in the 2000 Euro's Group of Death (0-3, 0-3 and 0-2 vs. France, Holland and the Czechs) is also left out. The team was simply not good at the time. The first-round playoff exits at the 2002 World Cup (0-3 vs. England) and Euro '04 (0-3 vs. Czech Republic) are not included either, because Denmark was overmatched against a better opponent and never had a chance. Or the 2010 World Cup, which included a loss against the lowly Japanese team. That was an implosion, not a heartbreak, caused, at least in part, by the poor quality and motivation of some of the core players.
The entries on my lists are weighed according to significance, performance and result to give a total impression of their meaning to a Danish soccer fan. So there. Without further ado, here are the lists:
A few words on my selection criteria: of course a game needs to be important in order to be a euphoric or heartbreaking experience. So exceptionally good or bad performances in friendlies don't count (which means no 4-0 win over Brazil in 1989 on my list). Second, it helps when expectations are exceeded or not lived up to, respectively. That is why the team's lacklustre performance in the 2000 Euro's Group of Death (0-3, 0-3 and 0-2 vs. France, Holland and the Czechs) is also left out. The team was simply not good at the time. The first-round playoff exits at the 2002 World Cup (0-3 vs. England) and Euro '04 (0-3 vs. Czech Republic) are not included either, because Denmark was overmatched against a better opponent and never had a chance. Or the 2010 World Cup, which included a loss against the lowly Japanese team. That was an implosion, not a heartbreak, caused, at least in part, by the poor quality and motivation of some of the core players.
The entries on my lists are weighed according to significance, performance and result to give a total impression of their meaning to a Danish soccer fan. So there. Without further ado, here are the lists:
The Joy of Victory
10: 3-2 over Italy in Naples. Euro 2000 qualifier. September of 1999.
Because we were behind, 0-2 on the road, against a stronger opponent. Because we fought back. Backs against the wall, a defeat here would have meant doom for the Euro 2000 qualification campaign. But then the team delivered one of the coolest, clutchest performances I've ever seen from them. Italy, it should be said, went all the way to the Euro 2000 final, where they took a lead into the 94th minute. That's how strong this opponent was.
Because we were behind, 0-2 on the road, against a stronger opponent. Because we fought back. Backs against the wall, a defeat here would have meant doom for the Euro 2000 qualification campaign. But then the team delivered one of the coolest, clutchest performances I've ever seen from them. Italy, it should be said, went all the way to the Euro 2000 final, where they took a lead into the 94th minute. That's how strong this opponent was.
9: 3-2 over Portugal in Lisbon. FIFA World Cup '10 qualifier, September of 2008.
Denmark again trailed most of the way, but came back at the very end to score a clutch win on the road. What's remarkable about this one is the renaissance it brought upon the team - the Danish public had given up on the national team, members of the press labeled it 'the worst Danish team of the past 30 years'. And then they went and pulled a stunt like this. It made the entire qualification campaign, and to a certain extent, our national team is still riding the momentum from this night in Lisbon.
Denmark again trailed most of the way, but came back at the very end to score a clutch win on the road. What's remarkable about this one is the renaissance it brought upon the team - the Danish public had given up on the national team, members of the press labeled it 'the worst Danish team of the past 30 years'. And then they went and pulled a stunt like this. It made the entire qualification campaign, and to a certain extent, our national team is still riding the momentum from this night in Lisbon.
8: 3-2 over Belgium. Last group-stage game of Euro '84, in Strasbourg.
The quality of this game has been the subject of some discussion, as it was more a physical fight than anything else, but falling behind 0-2 against a strong opponent and scoring three unanswered goals, the last of which was an instant classic from Preben Elkjær - that's world class. Doesn't rank higher because Denmark would have made the semi-finals with a draw.
The quality of this game has been the subject of some discussion, as it was more a physical fight than anything else, but falling behind 0-2 against a strong opponent and scoring three unanswered goals, the last of which was an instant classic from Preben Elkjær - that's world class. Doesn't rank higher because Denmark would have made the semi-finals with a draw.
7: 2-1 over France. Last group-stage game of Euro '92.
You'll notice a certain and very understandable 1992 bias on this list, and in this final group-stage game, Denmark wouldn't have made anything but vacation plans with a draw. After Papin's equalizer for France, it all looked very bleak for a long time, but then Lars Elstrup came out of nowhere (a place to which he would later return spectacularly) to put Denmark into the semi-finals. This game didn't keep the dream alive. It was where the dream was born.
You'll notice a certain and very understandable 1992 bias on this list, and in this final group-stage game, Denmark wouldn't have made anything but vacation plans with a draw. After Papin's equalizer for France, it all looked very bleak for a long time, but then Lars Elstrup came out of nowhere (a place to which he would later return spectacularly) to put Denmark into the semi-finals. This game didn't keep the dream alive. It was where the dream was born.
6: 4-1 over Nigeria. Round of 16 at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, in Paris.
Nigeria was favoured to win with their strong group of technically sound players, but Denmark opened the game strong and never looked back. The third goal was one of the finest ever scored by a Danish international when Ebbe Sand took a no-look pass from Michael Laudrup under control and slid it past the goalie some fifteen seconds after he'd been subbed on. Also gains points for being the only time Denmark has ever won a knockout-stage game at the World Cup.
Nigeria was favoured to win with their strong group of technically sound players, but Denmark opened the game strong and never looked back. The third goal was one of the finest ever scored by a Danish international when Ebbe Sand took a no-look pass from Michael Laudrup under control and slid it past the goalie some fifteen seconds after he'd been subbed on. Also gains points for being the only time Denmark has ever won a knockout-stage game at the World Cup.
5: 1-0 over England. Euro '84 qualifier at Wembley Stadium, 1983.
I've watched this game plenty of times, and it's boring. Uneventful. Only one goal, and it was on a penalty (by Denmark's superstar at the time, Allan Simonsen). Other than that, the main event was a brilliant - and somewhat fluky - save by the Danish goalkeeper in stoppage time. Boring. But it was Danish soccer's international breakthrough, and at that time, a Danish team taking a Wembley game under command was exceptional. And the de facto clincher of qualification for Euro '84, which was a first for Denmark.
I've watched this game plenty of times, and it's boring. Uneventful. Only one goal, and it was on a penalty (by Denmark's superstar at the time, Allan Simonsen). Other than that, the main event was a brilliant - and somewhat fluky - save by the Danish goalkeeper in stoppage time. Boring. But it was Danish soccer's international breakthrough, and at that time, a Danish team taking a Wembley game under command was exceptional. And the de facto clincher of qualification for Euro '84, which was a first for Denmark.
4: 6-1 over Uruguay. FIFA World Cup in Mexico, 1986.
Maybe the best performance ever from a Danish team. This was as Total Football an experience as you can deliver against a ruthless and compact defense, one of the best games at a brilliant tournament, and it had both a legendary, Maradona-esque goal by a young Michael Laudrup and a hat-trick by Preben Elkjær. This was about as Dynamite-y that the Danish Dynamite team would ever be. Then why doesn't it rank higher? It was only the clincher of a knock-out stage berth, and games higher up this list clinched more important things than that. Except...
Maybe the best performance ever from a Danish team. This was as Total Football an experience as you can deliver against a ruthless and compact defense, one of the best games at a brilliant tournament, and it had both a legendary, Maradona-esque goal by a young Michael Laudrup and a hat-trick by Preben Elkjær. This was about as Dynamite-y that the Danish Dynamite team would ever be. Then why doesn't it rank higher? It was only the clincher of a knock-out stage berth, and games higher up this list clinched more important things than that. Except...
3: 4-2 over the Soviet Union. Constitution Day, 1985 - World Cup qualifier.
A game midway through the qualification campaign, this game didn't decide anything. But it is one of the best soccer games I have ever seen, with a high-paced play all ninety minutes - and a physically strong opponent who never gave up. When you watch the final 20 minutes of the game, the Russians - down by two goals - still hang on very tough and believe in their chances to still get at least one point. Ad to it that the game took place on the Danish Constitution Day under a perfect June sky, and it is maybe the most legendary game a Danish national team has ever played. Quality-wise, this certainly is a point of reference for any Danish soccer fan.
A game midway through the qualification campaign, this game didn't decide anything. But it is one of the best soccer games I have ever seen, with a high-paced play all ninety minutes - and a physically strong opponent who never gave up. When you watch the final 20 minutes of the game, the Russians - down by two goals - still hang on very tough and believe in their chances to still get at least one point. Ad to it that the game took place on the Danish Constitution Day under a perfect June sky, and it is maybe the most legendary game a Danish national team has ever played. Quality-wise, this certainly is a point of reference for any Danish soccer fan.
2: 2-2 vs. The Netherlands. Won on penalty shoot-out. Euro '92 Semi-final.
Quality-wise, this game might not be, but it was an important one. And the 1992 Dutch team is perhaps the strongest opponent Denmark has ever beaten. Heck, it might be one of the strongest national teams ever assembled! The Dutch had a good goalie (Van Breukelen), a strong defense anchored by Ronald Koeman, and the Frank Rijkaard-Ruud Gullit axis controlled the midfield and fed forwards Dennis Bergkamp and Marco van Basten. Practically all were near the height of their respective careers. But for the first 85 minutes, the Orange troops played uninspired, and Denmark took advantage, scoring on their counter attacks and taking a 2-1 lead into the 85th minute. Rijkaard equalized, and from that point, it was a bombardment of the Danish goal - but nothing went in, and in the penalty shoot-out, Van Basten, maybe the best player in the world at the time, was the only one who missed. Denmark was in its first-ever final after a tense but hard-fought win.
Quality-wise, this game might not be, but it was an important one. And the 1992 Dutch team is perhaps the strongest opponent Denmark has ever beaten. Heck, it might be one of the strongest national teams ever assembled! The Dutch had a good goalie (Van Breukelen), a strong defense anchored by Ronald Koeman, and the Frank Rijkaard-Ruud Gullit axis controlled the midfield and fed forwards Dennis Bergkamp and Marco van Basten. Practically all were near the height of their respective careers. But for the first 85 minutes, the Orange troops played uninspired, and Denmark took advantage, scoring on their counter attacks and taking a 2-1 lead into the 85th minute. Rijkaard equalized, and from that point, it was a bombardment of the Danish goal - but nothing went in, and in the penalty shoot-out, Van Basten, maybe the best player in the world at the time, was the only one who missed. Denmark was in its first-ever final after a tense but hard-fought win.
1: 2-0 over Germany. Euro '92 Final in Gothenburg.
You were expecting anything else? It was Denmark's first, and so far only, title, and it was clinched in a tough, gritty performance where goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel delivered perhaps his career's best, and certainly most iconic, moments. Some luck was needed, such as the decidedly mediocre midfielder John Jensen scoring on a difficult shot, but mostly it was brilliant goalkeeping and good ballhandling that won this final for Denmark. Schmeichel's goal was under attack for most of the game from world-class strikers Klinsmann and Riedle, but this was a team of destiny, and it prevailed.
You were expecting anything else? It was Denmark's first, and so far only, title, and it was clinched in a tough, gritty performance where goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel delivered perhaps his career's best, and certainly most iconic, moments. Some luck was needed, such as the decidedly mediocre midfielder John Jensen scoring on a difficult shot, but mostly it was brilliant goalkeeping and good ballhandling that won this final for Denmark. Schmeichel's goal was under attack for most of the game from world-class strikers Klinsmann and Riedle, but this was a team of destiny, and it prevailed.
The Agony of Defeat
10: 2-3 vs. Brazil. Quarter-final at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
A magnificent game, which started out with an early Danish lead. But in the end, though Brian Laudrup fired home an equalizer, the Danes couldn't handle Rivaldo. It was one of the best games at the '98 World Cup, and no shame to lose to an opponent this strong. So why was it heartbreaking? For two reasons: one, we had come so close to creating a true sensation and reach the final four. After Brian Laudrup's equalizer, there was a '92 kind of feeling to the game, but it was not to be. Two, this was the Laudrups' final game for the national team. An era was ending, and the transition to the next one, where the team had to cope with less-than-stellar players, would not be kind.
A magnificent game, which started out with an early Danish lead. But in the end, though Brian Laudrup fired home an equalizer, the Danes couldn't handle Rivaldo. It was one of the best games at the '98 World Cup, and no shame to lose to an opponent this strong. So why was it heartbreaking? For two reasons: one, we had come so close to creating a true sensation and reach the final four. After Brian Laudrup's equalizer, there was a '92 kind of feeling to the game, but it was not to be. Two, this was the Laudrups' final game for the national team. An era was ending, and the transition to the next one, where the team had to cope with less-than-stellar players, would not be kind.
9: 0-3 vs. Croatia. Group-stage game at Euro '96, at Hillsborough, Sheffield.
Close to being a game where Denmark was truly overmatched, this game was tough to take because we didn't know before the game how hard it would be. But this was the Davor Suker show - he scored two of the Croatian goals - and after this game, the Danish title defense lay in ruins. And it seemed Denmark was no longer a force to be reckoned with in international soccer. The hopelessness of this defeat in the midst of a 'we can do it again' craze was what made it tough.
Close to being a game where Denmark was truly overmatched, this game was tough to take because we didn't know before the game how hard it would be. But this was the Davor Suker show - he scored two of the Croatian goals - and after this game, the Danish title defense lay in ruins. And it seemed Denmark was no longer a force to be reckoned with in international soccer. The hopelessness of this defeat in the midst of a 'we can do it again' craze was what made it tough.
8: 0-2 vs. Yugoslavia, Euro '92 qualifier. November 1990 in Copenhagen.
After the jubilant Dynamite years under coach Piontek in the eighties, this game represented rock bottom under coach Nielsen who was in charge of the Euro '92 qualification. This defeat was an important reason why the Yougoslavs were ahead of the Danes in the group, and this was a Denmark team falling apart. This loss gets bonus points for having the historical repercussions of (if only slightly) tainting the European Championship that Denmark would win after Yougoslavia couldn't go to the finals.
After the jubilant Dynamite years under coach Piontek in the eighties, this game represented rock bottom under coach Nielsen who was in charge of the Euro '92 qualification. This defeat was an important reason why the Yougoslavs were ahead of the Danes in the group, and this was a Denmark team falling apart. This loss gets bonus points for having the historical repercussions of (if only slightly) tainting the European Championship that Denmark would win after Yougoslavia couldn't go to the finals.
7: 0-3 vs. Sweden (interrupted). Euro 2008 qualifier in Copenhagen, June 2007.
The Fan Attack game. The feeling after this game unfolded (going down 0-3, coming all the way back to tie it) left everybody thinking "What the Hell?". This game sucked all the momentum out of an already difficult qualification, Denmark would not make the Euro 2008 cut, and it had repercussions all the way through the Danish soccer federation.
The Fan Attack game. The feeling after this game unfolded (going down 0-3, coming all the way back to tie it) left everybody thinking "What the Hell?". This game sucked all the momentum out of an already difficult qualification, Denmark would not make the Euro 2008 cut, and it had repercussions all the way through the Danish soccer federation.
6: 2-3 vs. Portugal. Group stage game at Euro 2012.
The current Danish team might be one of the more difficult to analyze in terms of performance ceiling. You simply never know what they will give you. And after a brilliant-if-lucky 1-0 win over Holland in the opening game, I think everyone had high expectations for this game against an opponent we have handled before (see above). It turned out to be a classic letdown - after coming back strong from an 0-2 hole, Portugal scored the winning goal in the 85th minute. This drama had it all - good play, five goals, and a classic scapegoat in Simon Poulsen, who must be used to that role by now (sloppy defense on the winning goal in this game, own goal vs. Holland in 2010 World Cup).
Of course, I'm writing this on the day it is to be decided what the consequence of this loss will be. It doesn't rank higher because Denmark still could move on to the knock-out stage. But both the Danish players and their coaches really looked disappointed after the game. No question this was about as tough as any loss they've experienced in their careers. And unfortunately, the Danes did not look like a team that is ready to move on from this heartbreaking loss and focus on what lies ahead in the tournament.
The current Danish team might be one of the more difficult to analyze in terms of performance ceiling. You simply never know what they will give you. And after a brilliant-if-lucky 1-0 win over Holland in the opening game, I think everyone had high expectations for this game against an opponent we have handled before (see above). It turned out to be a classic letdown - after coming back strong from an 0-2 hole, Portugal scored the winning goal in the 85th minute. This drama had it all - good play, five goals, and a classic scapegoat in Simon Poulsen, who must be used to that role by now (sloppy defense on the winning goal in this game, own goal vs. Holland in 2010 World Cup).
Of course, I'm writing this on the day it is to be decided what the consequence of this loss will be. It doesn't rank higher because Denmark still could move on to the knock-out stage. But both the Danish players and their coaches really looked disappointed after the game. No question this was about as tough as any loss they've experienced in their careers. And unfortunately, the Danes did not look like a team that is ready to move on from this heartbreaking loss and focus on what lies ahead in the tournament.
5: 1-3 vs. Romania. Final qualifier for 1990 World Cup. Bucharest, November '89.
The final whistle on the Piontek era. I remember schools ending early to allow children to get home and watch this game on TV, and if I remember correctly, a draw would have suffised. Letdown. Danish TV was with the players all along, even after they arrived very disappointed in Copenhagen Airport later the same evening. After having qualified for three consecutive finals rounds, this was the moment when it became clear that that would not be automatic for Denmark in years to come.
The final whistle on the Piontek era. I remember schools ending early to allow children to get home and watch this game on TV, and if I remember correctly, a draw would have suffised. Letdown. Danish TV was with the players all along, even after they arrived very disappointed in Copenhagen Airport later the same evening. After having qualified for three consecutive finals rounds, this was the moment when it became clear that that would not be automatic for Denmark in years to come.
4: All three games at Euro '88 (2-3 vs. Spain, 0-2 vs. both Italy and West Germany)
The awkward moment when... you realize the party is over. This was the final tournament of the Dynamite team, but they disappointed (again) versus Spain, played uninspired against West Germany, and fielded an unexperienced team for the garbage time game versus Italy. Many of the Dynamite boys actually weren't that old, but the '88 team was a tired, injury-ridden group in desperate need of a touch of inspiration and some new leaders to take over.
3: 0-1 vs. Spain. Final qualifier for the 1994 World Cup, in Seville. November '93.
The Crime Pays game. That was coach Richard Møller Nielsen's reaction when interviewed after this game where José María Bakero of Spain blatantly pushed goalkeeper Schmeichel to allow Fernando Hierro to score the only goal. This was a tough one to take - Denmark had been so close to breaking the Spain curse, beating the Spaniards in a 1-0 game in Copenhagen (the first significant win over Spain since Euro '84). Again, a draw would have been enough, but they just couldn't get it done.
The awkward moment when... you realize the party is over. This was the final tournament of the Dynamite team, but they disappointed (again) versus Spain, played uninspired against West Germany, and fielded an unexperienced team for the garbage time game versus Italy. Many of the Dynamite boys actually weren't that old, but the '88 team was a tired, injury-ridden group in desperate need of a touch of inspiration and some new leaders to take over.
3: 0-1 vs. Spain. Final qualifier for the 1994 World Cup, in Seville. November '93.
The Crime Pays game. That was coach Richard Møller Nielsen's reaction when interviewed after this game where José María Bakero of Spain blatantly pushed goalkeeper Schmeichel to allow Fernando Hierro to score the only goal. This was a tough one to take - Denmark had been so close to breaking the Spain curse, beating the Spaniards in a 1-0 game in Copenhagen (the first significant win over Spain since Euro '84). Again, a draw would have been enough, but they just couldn't get it done.
2: 1-1 vs. Spain. Semi final of Euro '84 in Lyon (lost on penalties).
Sensing a pattern here? The origin of the Spain curse was a close and hard-fought semi-final of the first ever finals the Danes had seen. And as it is so often the case, our best player of the tournament, strike Preben Elkjær, was the one who missed the decisive penalty kick. Preben was a legend nevertheless, and to this day he maintains a great selv-deprecating humor about it, but the truth is Denmark has kept running into Spain in important situations (knock-out games, crucial qualifiers) ever since, but has not yet been able to avenge this loss.
Sensing a pattern here? The origin of the Spain curse was a close and hard-fought semi-final of the first ever finals the Danes had seen. And as it is so often the case, our best player of the tournament, strike Preben Elkjær, was the one who missed the decisive penalty kick. Preben was a legend nevertheless, and to this day he maintains a great selv-deprecating humor about it, but the truth is Denmark has kept running into Spain in important situations (knock-out games, crucial qualifiers) ever since, but has not yet been able to avenge this loss.
1: 1-5 vs. Spain. Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup 1986. Queretaro, Mexico.
The one that stings the most. The one that must not be mentioned. Denmark's Spain complex was put on full display in this thrashing at the hands of an inferior team with an exceptional counter striker named Emilio Butragueño. That Guy scored four of Spain's goals, and the penalty which led to the fifth was committed against him. So no doubt about Man of the Match honors here, and Butragueño and Spain were known as Denmark's 'Malevolent Spirit' for years to come.
This was where the inability to beat Spain became a trauma. There was so much quality, and so much hope in this team. Denmark will never again have a team so poised to mount a real challenge for a World Championship. After beating Scotland, South American champs Uruguay and eventual finalists West Germany in the group stage, they had become the crowd favorites of Mexico '86. But it all turned and burned out in one moment.
A Jesper Olsen became a notion in Denmark after the left-winger made a historically horrible back pass that led to Butragueño's first goal, an equalizer just before the break. That goal broke the Danes' spirit. Their physical strength, many have observed since, had been strained to the point of breaking while training for this tournament, and it all came crumbling down in the second half of this game. Jesper Olsen, who had scored Denmark's goal, and was generally a technically great player, was never the same player. Never the same person. He fled the country, never to return. He stated in an interview two years ago that he's actually never talked to his own children about his legacy in Danish soccer. He came to personify the Spain complex, which - in spite of the Euro '84 defeat two years earlier - could fittingly be labelled The Curse of the Jesper Olsen, as this was the moment the Spain thing became a big deal. Two years ago, when Olsen was on the cover of the Danish Railways' passenger magazine, Spain went on to win its first World Championship. Go figure.
The legacy of that 1986 team was the Uruguay win. The fact that we beat West Germany for the first time in a significant game. Captured the crowds. Played great. But this was the game that made the ultimate fate of the Dynamite team an Impossible Dream.
The one that stings the most. The one that must not be mentioned. Denmark's Spain complex was put on full display in this thrashing at the hands of an inferior team with an exceptional counter striker named Emilio Butragueño. That Guy scored four of Spain's goals, and the penalty which led to the fifth was committed against him. So no doubt about Man of the Match honors here, and Butragueño and Spain were known as Denmark's 'Malevolent Spirit' for years to come.
This was where the inability to beat Spain became a trauma. There was so much quality, and so much hope in this team. Denmark will never again have a team so poised to mount a real challenge for a World Championship. After beating Scotland, South American champs Uruguay and eventual finalists West Germany in the group stage, they had become the crowd favorites of Mexico '86. But it all turned and burned out in one moment.
A Jesper Olsen became a notion in Denmark after the left-winger made a historically horrible back pass that led to Butragueño's first goal, an equalizer just before the break. That goal broke the Danes' spirit. Their physical strength, many have observed since, had been strained to the point of breaking while training for this tournament, and it all came crumbling down in the second half of this game. Jesper Olsen, who had scored Denmark's goal, and was generally a technically great player, was never the same player. Never the same person. He fled the country, never to return. He stated in an interview two years ago that he's actually never talked to his own children about his legacy in Danish soccer. He came to personify the Spain complex, which - in spite of the Euro '84 defeat two years earlier - could fittingly be labelled The Curse of the Jesper Olsen, as this was the moment the Spain thing became a big deal. Two years ago, when Olsen was on the cover of the Danish Railways' passenger magazine, Spain went on to win its first World Championship. Go figure.
The legacy of that 1986 team was the Uruguay win. The fact that we beat West Germany for the first time in a significant game. Captured the crowds. Played great. But this was the game that made the ultimate fate of the Dynamite team an Impossible Dream.
lørdag den 16. juni 2012
State of the Danish Soccer Team
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| Denmark running after Brazil in Hamburg |
Okay, my expectations were down before this European Championship, and the Danish team has really surprised me so far. I was at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion for the penultimate tuneup before the Euro, and the guys looked awful against a bunch of Brazilian teenagers on their way to the beach. Either a step too slow, not good enough, or just plain unlucky. Denmark didn't look like a team destined for anything but a quick trip home.
A terrible first half left us all wondering how this team could accomplish anything. The second half was somewhat more encouraging, but it was a friendly game where the Danes surely had more reasons to concentrate - and they failed pretty spectacularly.
Of course, we did get bombed against Holland, but somehow withstood the attacks and took three points. And then that horrible Portugal game. We usually play well against Portugal, and it seemed like the Danes had Cristiano Ronaldo under control for the most part. Bendtner scored the equalizer. All was well. But then the 3-2 goal happened, and the Danish team was left with one of the most disappointing defeats to an opponent other than Spain for the past 25 years. It was about as anticlimactic as anything you will ever see in international soccer.
And what now? Germany is probably the best team not only in the group, but the best overall team of the tournament. Yes, I know Spain played well against Ireland, but one, it was against one of the weakest teams of the Euro, and two, it took a bit of sloppy defense from the Irishmen and an angry Cesc Fabregas to actually get the ball into the back of the net more than once. Germany is an exciting team - Spain is not, unless you like their one-goalie-ten-midfielders way of playing. Which I don't.
But can Denmark beat Germany? Probably not. Can we draw against them? Stranger things have happened with the Danish soccer team. Like twenty years ago.
Oh, and by the way Dennis Rommedahl doesn't belong on the field. I've repeated that many times over, but he really doesn't. He probably could do well in a forty-yard dash, or in track and field, but as a soccer player he is simply not talented enough as a ballplayer to be on the field for a team that likes to play the passing style of soccer.
I'll be hoping for the best for our team, and in any event looking forward to a heck of a game on Sunday.
Coming up: A brief history of the Danish national soccer team's ten greatest victories and their ten worst defeats. A hint: at least one of their games from this Euro tournament is on one of the lists.
But can Denmark beat Germany? Probably not. Can we draw against them? Stranger things have happened with the Danish soccer team. Like twenty years ago.
Oh, and by the way Dennis Rommedahl doesn't belong on the field. I've repeated that many times over, but he really doesn't. He probably could do well in a forty-yard dash, or in track and field, but as a soccer player he is simply not talented enough as a ballplayer to be on the field for a team that likes to play the passing style of soccer.
I'll be hoping for the best for our team, and in any event looking forward to a heck of a game on Sunday.
Coming up: A brief history of the Danish national soccer team's ten greatest victories and their ten worst defeats. A hint: at least one of their games from this Euro tournament is on one of the lists.
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