Our US based writer, Kevin DeVries will be keeping a World Cup diary exclusively for TEB.
The presenter of the EPL Roundtable podcast is an avid Spurs fan and will of course be following the fortunes of the USA with more than a passing interest in the progress of the Netherlands.
The World Cup episodes of the EPL Roundtable podcast will be available to download from all the usual sources so make sure you subscribe and listen.
The format will simply be updates of this one article at regular intervals in build up to and throughout the tournament.
Wednesday 16th July 2014
And with a blink of an eye, the World Cup is over.
My first entry to this diary was well over a month ago now, before the competition kicked off. It seems like a long time ago and we now have a void to fill. Or at least we do until the football season is off and running again. Pre-season games give us a fix but it is not the competitive edge that we crave.
Many will look back fondly at this World Cup, arguably the best ever. The holders losing so convincingly, great goalkeeping, Suarez misbehaving (again), great goals, poor refereeing, pitch spray, goal-line technology. I sign off from this diary with so many memories to take away from the competition and for me, a Dutch fan living in the USA. I had the best of both Worlds.
Until the next time, I’ve been your host (of this diary), Kevin De Vries.
Friday 11th July 2014
After a very disappointing performance against Argentina, the Netherlands will now face hosts Brazil in the third place match.
Louis van Gaal is clearly not a fan of this development going as far as to say ‘I think that this match should never be played’. I realise that it may not be ideal for van Gaal who likely wants to head to Manchester, or for the players who may need a rest, but it is ideal for the fans.
I was devastated after losing on penalties to Argentina. A man sitting next to me at the bar did not understand why I was so upset about this loss and kept telling me that ‘great teams lose all the time‘. The sadness has not come from this team losing, but rather from losing this team.
Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Dirk Kuyt. This was supposed to be the newest ‘Golden Generation‘ of Dutch football. There was no doubt that these world class players would bring home a trophy, but that is the reality with which we are now faced.
After brilliant runs in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup Finals, the dream has ended for them. There is one more match though. One more match for the supporters of the Oranje to thank these players for all the great moments and memories that they have given us. One more match to see them all together at the World Cup.
Monday 7th July 2014
“No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness” – Aristotle
Funnily enough when Aristotle wrote that quote he was specifically talking about Louis Van Gaal’s decision to swap keepers right before their penalty shoot-out against Costa Rica!
Okay, maybe the quote just happens to apply but how else could you explain replacing the current Ajax and Netherlands number one Jasper Cillessen with Tim Krul?
Perhaps Van Gaal was impressed by Krul who has saved twice as many penalties in club football as Cillessen. The gamble paid off with Krul saving two of Costa Rica’s five penalties, but one has to wonder if this will have a negative effect on Cillessen going forward. I personally have faith that Van Gaal knows what he is doing given the fact that every decision that he has made thus far has been the right one.
In the run up to the World Cup Finals, Louis Van Gaal implemented the 5-3-2 formation that saw the Netherlands pass through the qualifiers without a single loss and an impressive goal difference. Despite its success, I fully expected to see a more traditional formation come the World Cup, but Van Gaal in his infinite wisdom stuck to it. His tenacity was promptly rewarded with a thrashing of defending European and World Cup champion Spain. Despite making quick work of Group B, the Netherlands found themselves well and truly tested against Mexico in the second round.
The loss of destroyer Nigel de Jong to injury in the opening ten minutes against Mexico proved a massive one both emotionally and tactically. Van Gaal’s radical 5-3-2 relied heavily on De Jong being able to step backinto the defence with wing backs Daryl Janmaat and Daley Blind bombing forward. Without De Jong, the Dutch went a goal down and it looked as though they would be heading home early.
With one substitution left, what did Van Gaal do to revitalize the attack for the latter stages? He took off Manchester United talisman Robin van Persie. I will admit that at the time I was screaming to see Jeremain Lens, thinking he could inject some much needed pace.
Instead, Van Gaal turned to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who hadn’t played a single minute in the World Cup up until that point and was rewarded when the Schalke man assisted Sneijder’s late equaliser. Then at the absolute death, who was there to tuck away the match-winning penalty? Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.
The point of this, and I promise there is one, is that Louis Van Gaal has made very difficult and controversial decisions with personnel, tactics and formations and struck gold with all of them. Argentina will be a massive test but I have faith in this Dutch side and any choice Van Gaal decides to make.
I do hope he uses up all his luck and tactics in this World Cup though. As I tweeted after the win over Costa Rica:
“Today I’m incredibly proud, tomorrow I’ll be terrified that Van Gaal will be the Manchester United manager.”
Friday 4th July 2014
The World Cup is all about moments, and the Brasil versus Colombia match was a perfect example of both the positive and negative aspects of the sport.
Negative
Unfortunately, Spanish Referee Carlos Verasco Carballo was incapable of ever truly getting the match under control.
Despite a certain writer’s club affiliation, Paulinho frequently put in late, crunching challenges yet was allowed to leave the match without ever seeing so much as a yellow card. This injustice was dwarfed, however, by the thuggish stylings of Napoli’s Juan Zuniga. Not only was Zuniga responsible for a rash challenge that saw him go studs up into Hulk’s knee, but for Neymar’s back injury that will keep him from playing in the rest of the World Cup.
I know we often question referees for missing big calls, but when player safety is legitimately in question there can be no excuse. Despite being well respected in La Liga, Carballo should simply not be allowed to referee for the rest of this World Cup.
Positive
With Falcao not being healthy enough to make it to the World Cup, James Rodriguez helped establish Colombia as a true standout side in this tournament.
In fact, they were the only side to win their first four matches all in regular time due in large part to some truly world-class performances from Rodriguez. While the Brazil match was not his best work, there can be no doubting his commitment, effort, or talent.
When the final whistle blew James Rodriguez started openly weeping on the pitch only to be comforted by Dani Alves and David Luiz. Despite this being one of the most physical and arguably violent matches, at the end of the day these are human beings with raw emotion and compassion. This is why I love football so much, and can’t wait to watch the rest of this World Cup.
Saturday 28th June 2014
There have been countless articles and quotes over the past few days about how Paulinho needed to be dropped from the Brazil line-up. Despite some admittedly poor performances, Paulinho is just one of the many players underperforming for Luis Felipe Scolari. The second round match against Chile revealed a harsh truth about the Brazil attack. It is not very good.
Despite sitting Paulinho for the first time this tournament, there was little cohesion throughout and lots of aimless possession. This is most evident in final third where Fred and Jo have been both poorly positioned and incredibly wasteful, offering no true point to the attack. Despite flattering scorelines against Croatia and Cameroon, it is becoming evident that this team can likely only go as far as Neymar can carry them.
As you may know from my previous diary entires and articles, I don’t just present the problems, but possible solutions! If Scolari were to take a page out of Vincente del Bosque’s playbook and implement a ‘false 9‘, it would allow Bernard or Willian to get the start over their current crop of misfiring strikers.
Here is how I would manage Brazil:
GK: Cesar
RB: Alves – CB: Silva – CB: Dante – LB: Marcelo
RCM: Paulinho – CDM: Fernandinho* – LCM: Oscar
RW: Willian – FALSE 9!: Hulk – LW: Neymar
*Gustavo when he returns from suspension
Wednesday 25th June 2014
Much has been made of the high profile departures from the World Cup such as Spain, Italy, England, et al. So, instead of focusing on the failures, let’s look at the teams that have impressed the most thus far!
Netherlands
Behind frontmen Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie the Dutch attack is the most threatening we have seen at this World Cup. Louis Van Gaal’s 5-3-2 formation is perfect, allowing strength from the back while allowing his attacking players to bomb forward. With Wesley Sneijder orchestrating the midfield and left back Daley Blind spraying inch-perfect long balls, can anyone stop the Flying Dutchmen?
France
Going into the tournament without Franck Ribery or Samir Nasri, I thought France would struggle for a second consecutive World Cup. This has obviously not been the case with a thrashing of Switzerland easily putting them through the group stage. Valbuena has admirably filled Ribery’s role of stretching the defence and playing the ball to lead-man Karim Benzema. They have a very tough road to the Final, but there’s no reason to believe they can’t make it.
Colombia
Despite many people thinking they’re hopes were dashed with the injury to star striker Falcao, Colombia have proven that they deserve a spot among the world’s elite. James Rodriguez is arguably the break-out player of the tournament going from a promising player at AS Monaco to a fully bona fide star. If they are to make it far in the tournament they will have to defeat their South American rivals Uruguay and Brazil.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica have been the shock of the tournament having laid waste to the ‘Group of Champions.’ Keylor Navas has performed exceptionally behind what has been one of the most organised defences we have seen at this World Cup. Add the constant attacking threat of Arsenal youngster Joel Campbell and PSV’s Bryan Ruiz, and you have a side that no team will look forward to playing.
Mexico
Despite barely making it into the World Cup, Mexico have greatly impressed by holding Brazil to a draw and soundly beating Croatia to claim their place in the second round. Giovani dos Santos has had a couple of good performances, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez has been brilliant off the bench and Guillermo Ochoa has arguably been the best keeper in the tournament thus far. Under the passionate Miguel Herrera, they will have every belief that they can beat the Netherlands and advance to the Quarterfinals.
Tuesday 17th June 2014
I intended to do a full statistical analysis of the United States match for this entry, but then John Brooks scored in the 86th minute and leaving the bar at a reasonable hour would have been terribly unpatriotic!
As far as the match went, after Clint Dempsey’s early goal it was fairly uninteresting for about eighty minutes until Andre Ayew scored for Ghana in the with eight minutes to go. Just as it seemed we would have to settle for a draw Brooks’ headed home off a great Graham Zusi corner, adding another great moment to the ever growing catalogue of great American World Cup moments.
The one true negative coming out of the win was the injury to lead striker Jozy Altidore who, on a free run, came up clutching his hamstring and will likely be out for the tournament.
As I mentioned in my Group G preview, Aaron Johannsson, coming off a great debut season for AZ Alkmaar, must settle into the starting role quickly if the US are to have a chance of advancing. Next up for Klinsmann’s side is a physically and emotionally wounded Portugal who will not be an easy opponent by any means but as the USMNT chant goes… “I believe that we will win!”
Monday 16th June 2014
We have already seen an influx of technology in use at the World Cup Finals.
Not only is this the first World Cup to feature goal-line technology, but also the free kick foam which is equally effective and amusing.
These are definitely steps in the right direction but it is difficult watching how successful the goal-line technology has been, while simultaneously seeing such poor officiating. Just as difficult was hearing people use the Brazil v Croatia match as an example of why they don’t follow football, citing the prevalence of simulation, especially in the penalty area.
I know it would be met with great resistance, but I’m finding it harder and harder to defend the lack of a penalty review system being introduced.
Thursday 12th June 2014
On the day the biggest sports tournament in the World kicks off, here are my predictions and hopes with a bit of a difference.
Ten Most Exciting Matches
- Spain v Netherlands
- Italy v England
- Germany v Portugal
- Ghana v USA
- Uruguay v England
- Belgium v Russia
- Colombia v Ivory Coast
- Croatia v Mexico
- Netherlands v Chile
- Nigeria v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Ten Most Exciting Partnerships
- Neymar and Hulk
- Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero
- Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Moutinho
- Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sanchez
- Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben
- Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku
- Mario Balotelli and Andrea Pirlo
- Daniel Sturridge and Wayne Rooney
- Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic
- Jackson Martinez and James Rodriguez
Ten Crazy Predictions
- Hosts Brazil crash out in the round of 16 to the Netherlands
- Partly due to Neymar being suspended for card accumulation
- Portugal fail to advance past the group stage because
- Ghana make it out of Group G …
- … and make it to the quarterfinals
- African nations advance as Nigeria and Ivory Coast join Ghana in the round of 16
- Belgium finish second in Group H …
- … and are promptly dispatched by Germany
- The United States don’t earn a single point
- Argentina don’t concede a goal until the semi-finals
Ten Actual Predictions
- The semi-finalists are Argentina, Netherlands, Germany, and Spain
- Argentina win the World Cup
- Sergio Aguero wins the Golden Boot
- England qualify from Group D as winners
- Manuel Neuer keeps the most clean sheets
- Germany don’t win group G
- Uruguay are the team that falls short in Group D
- Russia make it to the quarter-finals
- No team from CONCACAF advances
- One of my crazy predictions actually happen!!
Wednesday 4th June 2014
Every four years thirty two nations gather on the world’s greatest stage at the World Cup Finals.
The amount of talent in these sides is often staggering but, unfortunately, many players don’t make the cut. All too often great players don not make their nations final twenty three man squad due to injuries, lack of performance, managerial feuds or a combination of the three (looking at you Landon!).
These are the eleven players I’ll be missing most during the World Cup Finals in Brazil;
Valdes, Walker, Lescott, Badstuber, Criscito, Montolivo, Gundogen, Walcott, Van Der Vaart, Nasri, Falcao
Have a different XI? Thinking ‘this guy’s an idiot!‘?, ‘he didn’t even include so and so!’? Let us know who you will miss the most this summer.
Monday 2nd June 2014
The World Cup is a tournament that holds special meaning for millions of people around the world.
For me, World Cup 2010 was the first time I started to show an interest in football. A friends father offered to take me to a pub and teach me the game and I lapped up all the knowledge and beer I could.
I found myself growing more and more invested in the results culminating in me screaming myself hoarse when Landon Donovan tapped in the 91st minute winner against Algeria to win the group! It’s moments like these that create lifelong memories and ensnare the attention of the the entire planet.
I will be following these moments and sharing my opinions on them as the tournament progresses. This is my World Cup Diary.
