Talking point #1 for this match has to be the absolutely horrible treatment that the fans at the Mandela Stadium gave Luis Suarez. It amazes me to absolutely no end that an act of instinctive (and intelligent play) could be worthy of pre-meditated classless behavior. Maybe Africa can schedule a one hour ESPN special on whether or not they have forgiven Luis Suarez and then announce that they have not. The shamefulness of booing Suarez every time he touched the ball was seen and raised by the sound of cheering every time Suarez got kicked or tackled. Let me get this right, the fans in the crowd doing this are saying that you love mediocre national teams, hate the laws of the game, and endorse violence towards those who put them out of the tournament?
As hosts, I had hoped that Uruguay would get the send off that their efforts in this tournament deserved. Instead, the host continent seemed unable to get beyond their petulant feelings of having both South Africa and Ghana fall to La Celeste. Poor. Poor indeed.
On to happier things.
Diego Forlan’s goal was an absolute thing of beauty. His near miss on the last kick of the game was perhaps the most heart-breaking moment in the history of third place games. I am sure that no one needed to see any more of this game, but Diego Forlan has had not just a tournament, but a whole year in football that is more than worthy of allowing him to prominently display the Golden Boot in his home for the rest of his days.
On the other side of the coin, my oh my did Muslera have an absolute shocker in goal for Uruguay. Putting aside his rather unsteady hands, I think that the whole world shares in the combination of happiness for Thomas Muller to pick up a fifth goal after having to miss the semifinals under incredibly cruel circumstances. This joy had to be mixed with a bit of sadness though, as it left us wondering exactly what might have been if not for FIFA’s ridiculous suspension laws combined with an outrageously harsh decision on the field.
While it was a pin-balling effort that the defenders should have cleared, and Muslera should have been positioned… well… somewhere… Sami Khedira has quietly been the midfield anchor for Germany that has allowed Schweinsteiger to have the freedom on the pitch that he put to such devastating effect. Khedira’s header was well-taken, and it was one more nice moment in the World Cup that he can tell his grandchildren – how he scored the match winner in the third place game of the World Cup finals.
It was disappointing that Miro Klose did not get a chance to be the all time World Cup goal scorer, but he was apparently carrying a knock, and to be fair, playing him ahead of other players who had not seen the field violates the German team concept. Klose has flourished in that team concept, and there is something honorable that it was not bent simply to get the record.
The other exit that I enjoyed was the massive round of applause that hard-working Uruguayan hero Diego Perez received when he was substituted. He made an outstanding play to set up the first goal for Uruguay. He slid in and dispossessed Bastian Schweinsteiger, sprung to his feet and fed a streaking Luis Suarez who then played in Edison Cavani for the goal before the ingrates in the stands could boo him much less before the German defense could react.
So, it was 3-2 at the Mandela stadium. A fine send-off for two teams who gave us exciting moments and yeoman’s work for the world’s delight and approval (even if the hosts wish to deny one of those teams that appreciation in sheer insolence). Germany goes home with Bronze medals, Uruguay goes home to a parade in Montevideo. Both sides deserve their honors. Thank you both for a wonderful tournament.
Written By Steven
Maloney
(63 Posts) |
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Its one thing to cheat in a game, but to be proud of it, and claim its the hand of god is an absolute disgrace. I’m glad Uruguay didn’t get a send off, they didn’t deserve to be where they were in the first place. After all their diving in the world cup, I’m glad they will not be remembered for their 4th place, but rather for their cheating.
Suarez did his country no favours with his actions. He cost a side their place in the semi’s and he was proud of his cheating. He deserved to be booed and if I was there, I would have booed him at every opportunity.
To have the respect of the crowd you have to gain the respect of the crowd. He did not do that.
Of course he should be proud of what he did, he got his team into the World Cup semifinals. He committed a professional foul, no different then stopping a breakaway with a foul in midfield. He took his card, he took his suspension. That’s where the law ends. No one calls someone who pulls down a man on the break, takes his yellow, and gets on with the game a cheater. The only difference in the two incidents has to do with the fact that Asamoah Gyan choked. While we’re on the point, why is it not worse that Ghana’s best player was born in Berlin, and played on three different German youth national sides? Is that not more discreditable to the spirit of the World Cup? The rules say that Boateng isn’t cheating, but the rules say that Suarez isn’t cheating either. Why is one better than another?
Law is applied equally to everyone. The stench of sanctimonious airs is always applied unevenly. I’ll stick with the former and condemn the latter, thanks.
Wow, thats great logic. Does that mean if you get caught for murder, and get punished, you’re no longer a murderer? Give me a break. The law does not end there as can be seen by the crowds reaction to him. Henry had the same treatment which clearly shows that the crowd in that case has more self respect than these highly paid “do anything to win” players.
A professional foul is a really nice way of saying cheating, because that is all it is at the end of the day. Its the same as punching below the belt in boxing which today we call a professional foul, and previously resulted in disqualification under the banner of cheating Do we really want our kids growing up thinking its okay to forego sportsmanship for the end result? Soccer is one of the few sports this attitude is accepted. In cricket, if a player claims a catch he didn’t take and its shown to be so on TV, the player is vilified and seen as an embarrassment, but in soccer he’s raised as a hero. That should tell you something about the quality of the majority of soccer supporters. No wonder the world see’s soccer supporters as hooligans, their morals are so low they qualify for the title.
On the issue of Boateng, what he did is still legal. Many players switch countries, there are a number of reasons for doing so, but at the end of the day, its a choice they make and its LEGAL! Until they legalise playing the ball with your hand in the goal mouth, its still wrong and its still cheating. What Suarez did wasn’t legal and he was proud of it. If he’s so proud of it, he should be proud of the label “Cheat” and should be proud to be booed on the field.
Where you’re failing in your analysis, MissionMan, is on the topic of Suarez’s supposed foregoing of sportsmanship.
Suarez did nothing unsporting in the least. Unsporting is kicking a man who is down, or booting the ball into Row Z in frustration, or having a profanity-laced spat at the official or another player.
Conversely, Luis Suarez sportingly allowed his teammates a chance to survive and advance, sacrificing his own appearance in any potential tournament progression in favor of the best interests of the country.
Gyan has failed his nation at the crucial moment, and Suarez has lifted his. There is no sportsmanship to be discussed other than that of the selfless act Suarez took to preserve hope for his teammates and his nation, which is good sportsmanship of the highest order in my book.
At the end of the tournament, Uruguay was not remembered as a great nation for being there, they will be remembered like France, as the nation that should never have been there to start with, and everyone will remember Suarez as a cheat. What has it really done for the great nation of Uruguay? Nothing! people hate them more than ever and Suarez will be hated like Henry was. Justice is a strange thing.
P.s. We obviously have a different set of morals. As someone who played state level sport, I can tell you that intentionally breaking the rules is nothing about sacrifice, anyone can do it. Its about winning with integrity and thats something that Uruguay clearly haven’t learnt but based on their diving the entire tournament (and some of the other nations), there are a lot of teams where winning is more important than integrity and self respect.
At the end of the day for me, the two are nothing alike. Henry attempted to get away with something outside the rules, hiding the act as best as possible to avoid being whistled for an infraction. Suarez made no attempt to get away with any action, he simply did it and gave himself willingly for the team.
HUGE gap in those facts, it’s almost literally night and day.
When you have the elite pundits,those closest to the match such as, the match commentators like Derek Rae and Martin Tyler and Ian Darke, noting that all game laws were upheld and all coming out saying it is wrong to label Suarez a cheat, there’s really no reason to disagree.
Ghana were justly awarded the PK, which was an equal if not better chance to score than the play itself, and the chance was missed.
The fact remains that we would not even discuss Suarez’s act and “cheating” in the same sentence if Gyan had converted, and deep down I think everyone knows that. Sooner, rather than later, Uruguay’s great achievements of this World Cup will be fully and duly recognized by the global football community.
Good post MissionMan… as a neutral I’m confounded by the reactions to Suarez’s “cheating”. That is exactly what it was. And contrary to Mike D’s claim, he DID try to get away with it. Watch him try to slink away from the penalty area until the referee calls him back to card him. As well Mike D’s comparison to Henry’s handball is interesting, an act that moreso appeared to be a reaction only to keep a ball in-bounds (it was only through good fortune that a goal was scored immediately after). This, as opposed to handballing a goal or to prevent a game-winning goal. I’ll note that the Uraguayan player just in front of Suarez also attempted to handball the incoming goal but missed it. This has hardly been mentioned. In either case BOTH should have been dealt with by officials.
It is up to the official to make the calls, NOT THE PLAYERS. Intentional, not intentional or reactionary, the players’ action/intent is what is in question here. If Henry is a cheat for keeping a ball inbounds then Suarez is most surely the worst kind of cheat for denying a winning goal with his decision to be an unlawful 2nd goalkeeper. His gloating only added insult to injury. The boos should’ve been expected, and it would’ve been the same at any WC with strong home support for the country that suffered as a result. I shudder to think what would have happened had it been England instead of Ghana.
The fact that both players attempted handling on the line just shows that players understand that it is within the laws of the game for them to give their team a final chance at their continued participation’s peril.
Suarez fully knew he was getting a red card. If he was trying to get away with it, he would have pulled the Arjen Robben style incensed arguing with the official tactic protesting his innocence. He had no complaints and walked down the tunnel after being shown the red.
The fact remains that there is no sport w/ relevantly similar style of play that awards a goal when a penalty is committed by a player illegally stopping one. The only other comparable situations are hockey (a Penalty Shot is awarded, same thing as football), and rugby (a penalty goal is awarded, and I believe they have a lower points value though don’t quote me on that). So why should football be any different as to hand a team the goal instead of just giving them the free opportunity?
Additionally, it wasn’t just booing from the Africans, there was true malice behind the crowd response. If you watched the 3rd-place match, you’d know the biggest cheers were on the most dangerous tackles against the man. So much for the fair play and respect that FIFA desires being shown by the fans.
The notion that professional fouls are simply “legalized cheating” is utter nonsense, even the least knowledgeable follower of the game would understand that with a simple explanation. It is called a professional foul because it is doing what is needed to be done for the good of the team, given that the goal of sport is to win. No one is trying to deceive a referee when they tug down a man who is through on goal (a professional foul to deny an obvious goal scoring opportunity), they are simply preventing a goal the only way they have left when they have been beaten by skill, knowing full well the consequence is a red card, but hoping that the team can see out the match without giving up a goal later. By extension you are claiming that any foul is cheating essentially as it breaks up play, thus making football a non-contact sport, which is absolutely not the truth.
Basketball awards an automatic basket for goaltending. Higher scoring game but very much the same scenario… deliberately keeping out a goal/basket by unlawful means.
I’ll argue with neither the current handball rules or the punishment… only the hypocrisy of your Henry comparison and the issue of booing. Not that it matters but it’s a bit of a leap to presume to know what is in the hearts and minds of little more than dots of color on a television screen. I noted no coins, seats, vuvuzelas, etc being thrown from the stands at Uraguayan forward. That was a rare and dastardly bit of gamesmanship. Knowing a nation was out of the world cup as a result, gloating after the fact was ill-advised. He should expect the booing.
MissionMan – you say that it is legal for Boateng to switch countries under the laws of the game. It is also legal to exchange a denial of a goal scoring opportunity for a red card and a penalty kick. That’s what the laws say. Anything else is a question of what respect is due.
Players do not measure their respect for one another as opponents based on their Immanuel Kant like commitment to willful adherence to the laws of the game… because they are football players and not a bunch of poindexters.
Mike, I have to disagree slightly about the deception of the referee. Let’s face it, referees are not historically reliable decision makers. The one time in Arjen Robben’s life he didn’t pretend to be killed by contact and did the “honorable thing,” Howard Webb didn’t give the penalty he deserved. In fact, when he didn’t go down, Sid Lowe remarked that he didn’t see a foul even on replay (watch Puyol’s hands).
Exaggeration, deception, bending of the rules, these aspects of the game are not how players measure honor. I don’t think Henry deserves abuse for his handball either. It is terrible that it was not called. But there are a million little bends in the law in every match.
The unspeakable subversion of the law for players is intentionally injuring someone or feigning a serious injury to get a player sent off – because both put the health of human beings at risk. The former as the means to injure, the latter as a complication in regulating truly injurious acts. That’s the difference between the decency and football. Football is a game. Murdering someone does not violate the arbitrary rules people made up for the purposes of amusement it is much more serious- that’s why murder has little in common with touching a ball with a human hand.