Riquelme was nothing short of inspirational in Argentina's opening game of the 2006 World Cup against The Ivory Coast. Out of 25 completed passes, 24 found their target. I predict him to be one of the stars of the tournament if Argentina progress.
So far the tournament has been packed with quality football and entertainment. For me it is a very poignant World Cup as it is my first one with English commentary since 1994, after spending the 2002 affair island hopping and rubbing shoulders with just about every nationality in the heat of the bars of Bangkok. In 1998 I was in Corsica for the majority of it. Yesterday, after politely declining Richard's request to watch the England vs Paraguay game in Savannah's bar in Winchester, I had the great pleasure of being seated in a friend's armchair with a can of Stella watching Gary Lineker, Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer. Sheer bliss I can tell you. The game itself was a let down. Although England got the result, it was not a convincing display in the second half and Ericsson's tactics were dubious to say the least. I could not see the sense of taking Owen off and placing Joe Cole in the hole behind Crouch. Long ball after long ball resulted in Crouch winning the ball in the air time after time and being able to head to...nobody. However, Lampard played an encouraging game, the back four were fairly solid and Beckham's delivery was near perfect at times. The situation improved even more after the following fixture as Trinidad & Tobago pulled off one of the all time World Cup shocks by holding Sweden to a 0-0 draw with ten men! It was an enthralling game. Shaka Hislop (who was not even selected to play in the starting eleven) played the game of his life, pulling off several close range saves. As it stands, England will automatically qualify with a win over Trindad on Wednesday.
Unfortuntely, I was stuck at Seville Airport and flying back to Stansted so I missed the two opening games. As I understand, the German press have been scathing about their national team's first performance despite a more than convincing 4-2 win.
Today, Holland put in a gritty display to beat Serbia & Montenegro by a goal to nil and as I write, Mexico have just beaten Iran 3-1.
Overall, it's great to be watching the games back in the UK. The level of support for the national team is incredible compared to previous tournaments I've seen. You can see St George's flags draped over housing blocks in Southampton whilst even the million pound mortgage brigade here in Winchester are displaying their flags in their bay windows. The new craze seems to be flags at the front of your car. Giant erected TV's are to found down the length and breadth of the country and despite a massive brawl at a public screening at Canary Wharf in London, there has been little trouble. I can remember watching my first World Cup back in 1982, the level of interest was restricted to men interested in football to be quite honest. In fact back then, not every game was even televised. I guess you can attribute this current euphoria to the England performances at Italia 90 and Euro 96 and the way that football coverage has been remodelled to suit family audiences and women. The dark days of Hilsborough, Heysel, and the misery of not qualifying for 1994, 1978 and 1974 are now but a distant memory. All we need now is Wayne.
Nice site.
I can't tell though if your description of sheer bliss refers to your mate's armchair, the can of Stella or watching Lineker, Hansen and Shearer. Your mate's armchair I hope. England were dire on Saturday, watched it in Hollywood in Itaewon, the place was packed.
Enjoying the games here too. I'm nearly burnt out already and it's only 3 days old. They're gearing up for the first Korean game tomorrow night - big screens everywhere around Seoul, should be some atmosphere. There's plenty of World Cup hysteria here, makes you wonder what it was like 4 years ago.