World Cup 2006 Report
Posted on August 24th, 2006
By Gary M. Messing
Zenidine Zidane’s loss of control threatened to ruin my entire World Cup experience in 2006. Nothing that the Italian defender Materazzi said could justify Zidane’s outrageous head butt into Materazzi’s chest with ten minutes to play in overtime of the final game. Nor, can anything that Materazzi said to provoke that attack be justified either. However, this incident could not wipe out the wonderful level of play and the camaraderie between nations that existed for one month in Germany.
The playing field was fairly level for all nations playing in Germany, leading to many great and tight contests between the minnows and the big fish of soccer. The dynamics created by the newly engineered soccer ball generated some incredible goals. But most of all, the atmosphere at the world’s greatest event was the high point . There wasn’t a single ticket unspoken for, as all 2.6 million tickets to the games had been immediately sold out. Every restaurant and pub in Germany had flat screen TVs both inside and outside their restaurants and the rest of the world turned their eyes to the German venues.
On June 13, Karen and I headed out for our first game -- Brazil-Croatia. Of course, it is always a premium event when Brazil plays. We walked to the “S” Bahn (overhead subway) near our hotel in Berlin . We caught an elevator and ended up on a platform with fidgeting Brazilian and Croatian fans all dressed in the jerseys of their nation. When the train arrived, the fans packed onto the train and there was an immediate commotion – whistles, air horns, trumpets, singing, chanting as Brazilians in bright yellow bonded with their compatriots in song and chants as did the Croatians dressed in bright red. We were packed onto the train like sardines which created a fairly uncomfortable situation since it is hot and humid. Most of the fans had painted their faces and other parts of their anatomy and the paint began to drip.
We arrived at the next station and a howl went up among the passengers begging the waiting fans on the platform not to board the train. Strangely, they obliged. We were not so lucky at the next platform as another 50 Brazilian and Croatian fans packed into the subway car. Again, the noise level elevated as Brazilian and Croatian confirmed their respective identities through songs and chants, as though their uniforms were not sufficient. We were packed so tightly that it became difficult to breathe.
We arrived at the station for the Olympiastadion, and thousands of relieved fans poured out onto the platform. It was a sea of yellow and red jerseys, and the noise was deafening - whistles, air horns, long trumpets, drums, chanting, singing, shouting and the like. We hear in the open air, and it was so loud that the left side of my head began to vibrate. I have been at Sacramento Kings play-off games where it was so loud you had to shout into your neighbor’s ear to be heard, but the noise level on the platform was multiple levels above that. During the trip from the platform to the stadium, our progress was impeded by numerous efforts of Brazilians to capture the event on film and particularly to photograph the Croatian contingents. The Croatians likewise filmed the Brazilians. The most outrageously painted Brazilians, many with elaborate plumages, mugged for photos with the most colorfully painted Croatians. Incredibly, the noise level increased. The time was 6pm. Kick-off was at 9pm, three hours later.
The noise level never subsided until game time when it elevated yet again and remained a constant din through the course of the game. Organized cheers joined by 30 to 40 thousand fans were frequent during the game with the opposing team’s fans competing to attempt to drown out their opposition. The same went for songs with one group of fans trying to drown out the other. There were two exceptions to this battle of the voices – the National Anthem of each team was honored by the opposing fans. Also, strangely, there were times at which the fans of both teams simultaneously chant the same soccer song. The smattering of Germans and other international fans joined and there was unison of 72 thousand spectators.
The game was excellent, although Brazil’s two forwards, Ronaldo and Adriano were lackluster performers. Brazil eked out a 1 to 0 win.
I noticed that at the other games that we were fortunate to see, including Spain v. the Ukraine, Spain v. Paraguay and the Czech Republic v. Ghana, when the National Anthem was sung by the fans of one nation, the opposing fans cheered the efforts of the opposing fans. It was clear that this was not simply a gesture of courtesy, but the fans were showing enthusiastic appreciation for their counterparts. At one point in the game between Spain v. Ukraine, the Ukraine was trailing 3 to zero. (They eventually lost 4 to zero). The Ukrainians were undaunted in their support for their side loudly chanting oo-kra-ina. The Spaniards organized a complicated cheer joined by tens of thousands of Spaniards. Tens of thousands Ukrainians then leapt to their feet to applaud the chant of the Spaniards.
After every game, elated and dejected fans filed out of the stadium in a civilized fashion. Those on the losing end, however, were still looking for photo opportunities with the opposition. Croatian musicians and would-be musicians joined in song and dance with the Brazilian drummers and attempted to execute Brazilian dancing maneuvers around the stadium. The same went for the Czechs and Ghanaians when they played. Unfortunately, the Paraguaians were vastly outnumbered by the Swedes (there were probably 50 to 60 thousand Swedes in the stadium and only perhaps 10 to 15 thousand Paraguanians). The 50 to 60 thousand Swedes within were matched by a like number of Swedes outside the stadium who were unable to obtain tickets.
Zenidine Zidane’s loss of control threatened to ruin my entire World Cup experience in 2006. Nothing that the Italian defender Materazzi said could justify Zidane’s outrageous head butt into Materazzi’s chest with ten minutes to play in overtime of the final game. Nor, can anything that Materazzi said to provoke that attack be justified either. However, this incident could not wipe out the wonderful level of play and the camaraderie between nations that existed for one month in Germany.
The playing field was fairly level for all nations playing in Germany, leading to many great and tight contests between the minnows and the big fish of soccer. The dynamics created by the newly engineered soccer ball generated some incredible goals. But most of all, the atmosphere at the world’s greatest event was the high point . There wasn’t a single ticket unspoken for, as all 2.6 million tickets to the games had been immediately sold out. Every restaurant and pub in Germany had flat screen TVs both inside and outside their restaurants and the rest of the world turned their eyes to the German venues.
Brazil v. Croatia
On June 13, Karen and I headed out for our first game -- Brazil-Croatia. Of course, it is always a premium event when Brazil plays. We walked to the “S” Bahn (overhead subway) near our hotel in Berlin . We caught an elevator and ended up on a platform with fidgeting Brazilian and Croatian fans all dressed in the jerseys of their nation. When the train arrived, the fans packed onto the train and there was an immediate commotion – whistles, air horns, trumpets, singing, chanting as Brazilians in bright yellow bonded with their compatriots in song and chants as did the Croatians dressed in bright red. We were packed onto the train like sardines which created a fairly uncomfortable situation since it is hot and humid. Most of the fans had painted their faces and other parts of their anatomy and the paint began to drip.
We arrived at the next station and a howl went up among the passengers begging the waiting fans on the platform not to board the train. Strangely, they obliged. We were not so lucky at the next platform as another 50 Brazilian and Croatian fans packed into the subway car. Again, the noise level elevated as Brazilian and Croatian confirmed their respective identities through songs and chants, as though their uniforms were not sufficient. We were packed so tightly that it became difficult to breathe.
We arrived at the station for the Olympiastadion, and thousands of relieved fans poured out onto the platform. It was a sea of yellow and red jerseys, and the noise was deafening - whistles, air horns, long trumpets, drums, chanting, singing, shouting and the like. We hear in the open air, and it was so loud that the left side of my head began to vibrate. I have been at Sacramento Kings play-off games where it was so loud you had to shout into your neighbor’s ear to be heard, but the noise level on the platform was multiple levels above that. During the trip from the platform to the stadium, our progress was impeded by numerous efforts of Brazilians to capture the event on film and particularly to photograph the Croatian contingents. The Croatians likewise filmed the Brazilians. The most outrageously painted Brazilians, many with elaborate plumages, mugged for photos with the most colorfully painted Croatians. Incredibly, the noise level increased. The time was 6pm. Kick-off was at 9pm, three hours later.
The noise level never subsided until game time when it elevated yet again and remained a constant din through the course of the game. Organized cheers joined by 30 to 40 thousand fans were frequent during the game with the opposing team’s fans competing to attempt to drown out their opposition. The same went for songs with one group of fans trying to drown out the other. There were two exceptions to this battle of the voices – the National Anthem of each team was honored by the opposing fans. Also, strangely, there were times at which the fans of both teams simultaneously chant the same soccer song. The smattering of Germans and other international fans joined and there was unison of 72 thousand spectators.
The game was excellent, although Brazil’s two forwards, Ronaldo and Adriano were lackluster performers. Brazil eked out a 1 to 0 win.
The Spirit of the Games
I noticed that at the other games that we were fortunate to see, including Spain v. the Ukraine, Spain v. Paraguay and the Czech Republic v. Ghana, when the National Anthem was sung by the fans of one nation, the opposing fans cheered the efforts of the opposing fans. It was clear that this was not simply a gesture of courtesy, but the fans were showing enthusiastic appreciation for their counterparts. At one point in the game between Spain v. Ukraine, the Ukraine was trailing 3 to zero. (They eventually lost 4 to zero). The Ukrainians were undaunted in their support for their side loudly chanting oo-kra-ina. The Spaniards organized a complicated cheer joined by tens of thousands of Spaniards. Tens of thousands Ukrainians then leapt to their feet to applaud the chant of the Spaniards.
After every game, elated and dejected fans filed out of the stadium in a civilized fashion. Those on the losing end, however, were still looking for photo opportunities with the opposition. Croatian musicians and would-be musicians joined in song and dance with the Brazilian drummers and attempted to execute Brazilian dancing maneuvers around the stadium. The same went for the Czechs and Ghanaians when they played. Unfortunately, the Paraguaians were vastly outnumbered by the Swedes (there were probably 50 to 60 thousand Swedes in the stadium and only perhaps 10 to 15 thousand Paraguanians). The 50 to 60 thousand Swedes within were matched by a like number of Swedes outside the stadium who were unable to obtain tickets.
Technical Points
- All the teams played with a flat-back system (no Sweepers). The predominant system of play was the 4-4-2 followed thereafter in popularity by the 4-5-1. Sometimes it was difficult to distinguish between the two systems, as teams purportedly playing with a 4-4-2 would play with a withdrawn forward so the system looked like a 4-5-1.
- Most of the games were balanced with the smaller nation underdogs contending and creating scoring opportunities. The predominant factor that seemed to separate the successful teams from those who did not advance was the quality of the entry pass into the penalty area. The United States particularly suffered from this deficit in the game against the Czech Republic.
- Strangely, very few long throw-ins were utilized, although I noticed several goals scored off of long throws. The vast majority of throw-ins were short balls played back to the thrower or to a third player in the vicinity of the throw, who looked to switch or center the ball.
- It seems that very few goals were created by players breaking down the opposing backline on a dribble. It appeared that most goals were created by combination play into the area, long centers or long shots generated from outside of the area.
- Substitutes seemed to score a disproportionately high number of goals in relation to their minutes played. Was this because of their advantage over fatigued players or because of the tactical adjustments made by the coaches as to how they fit into a changed formation or how a particular match up was created?
- Warms-ups for all the teams observed alternated between static and dynamic warm-ups. In the last World Cup, it appeared that there was one segment for the dynamic warm-up and another segment for static warm-up and not the alternating as it occurred this time.
- Goalkeepers tended to distribute the ball predominately with long punts. Hand distributions to defenders to work the ball from the back seemed to be the exception.
- Many of the big name players seemed to struggle, particularly in the early rounds.
- Simple errors were apparent i.e. sending one defender against a short corner. This may be due to some teams having a short time to prepare.
