Indians 3, Red Sox 2: Tribe climbs out of last place with Masterson’s great start
June 3, 2014Photo: Under construction- scale model of Jacob’s Field
June 3, 2014Group C has been deemed by some as “The Group of Opportunity” and represents the most evenly matched teams from top to bottom in the tournament. Colombia’s star, Radamel Falcao was just yesterday ruled out of the World Cup and though Colombia still might be group favorites, it is a huge blow to their World Cup hopes. This leaves the door wide open for the rest of the group featuring what I believe to be the best team from Asia, Japan, and the best team from Africa, the Ivory Coast, along with the always stingy and well organized Greeks.
Predicting this one isn’t going to be easy.
Colombia – Los Cafeteros (The Coffee Growers)
How they got to Brazil
They finished second behind Argentina in CONMBEBOL qualifying while conceding the least amount of goals in the ten team group. Despite the strong defensive display their backline is somewhat suspect due to its employment of a pair of aging center backs, 38 year old Mario Yepes and 35 year old Luis Perea. The defense heavily relies on goalkeeper David Ospina whose contract has just expired with his former club Nice. Brazil will be a good place to display his skills to a wide audience and hopefully find himself a pay raise as a free agent.
The Manager – José Pékerman
Pékerman is an Argentine who managed his country of origin during the 2006 World Cup where they bowed out of the tournament to the host nation, Germany, in the quarterfinals on penalties. He was the third manager to take control of Colombia during their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, grabbing the reigns of the team in January 2012. He is not afraid to switch up his tactics depending on the opposition and often picks who he feels is the best team rather than the best players. Coaches who switch up their tactics rather than play in a similar fashion from game to game are more often criticized due to the fact that when something goes wrong it is easy to point to the managerial decisions as the cause of failure. This hasn’t dissuaded Pékerman from changing his style, but with a seemingly favorable group in terms of advancing it will certainly be him in the crosshairs if Colombia disappoints in Brazil.
The Star – Radamel Falcao
I originally wrote this section before news broke of Falcao not being fit enough to attend the World Cup hit the news cycle. It seemed like an inevitability due to the nature of ACL injuries and the fact that he sustained it only in January, but the talk leading up was that he was going to give it a go which seemed insane. Hell, Minnesota Viking’s running back Adrian Peterson’s eight month return from injury is spoken of with some sort of mystical (or suspicious) reverence and this would have been even shorter. I leave Falcao’s name here because it will haunt Colombia throughout the tournament because they will be short a goalscorer who is on the level of Ronaldo, Messi, and Suarez. He scored a remarkable 41 goals in 51 matches for FC Porto before earning a move to Atlético Madrid in 2011 where he continued his goal scoring tear registering 52 goals in 68 matches. After his second season in Madrid he was sold to AS Monaco in France to begin the 2013-2014 campaign where his season was cut short by the ACL tear in January. Were Falcao healthy you’d see one of the best finishers in the sport on display. His ability to score all types of goals with either foot make him a load for defenders to mark in the box as they can’t just force him onto his weaker foot and declare the job done. Like Australia’s Tim Cahill, he possesses heading ability that is greater than his 5’10 height would indicate making him a threat to score in any situation. It would be great to see him leading the Colombian line in Brazil as the World Cup is about displaying the world’s greatest talents and he is one of them, but fans will be robbed of the honor. Injuries are a huge factor in any sport, but they loom even larger over the World Cup as the tournament is begun and concluded so rapidly that injured players have no time to contribute at all. Other major injuries broke this week and there will assuredly be some during the tournament itself. Squads that possess depth are often at the advantage and luckily striker is a spot where the Colombian’s have depth.
(Falcao finding the back of the net against Barcelona with a silky chip with his “weak” foot)
Biggest Strength – Attacking Depth
Though few players in the world can match Falcao’s talent as a striker, Colombia does still have some quality options to replace him in attack and it will be interesting to see who Pékerman opts for in his stead. Falcao partnered Teófilo Gutiérrez throughout qualifying and they seemed to have built a decent partnership, but with Falcao’s absence now a certainty, Gutiérrez might find himself replaced as Pékerman could instead field a pair of from the following options: Porto’s Jackson Martínez, Sevilla’s Carlos Bacca, Dortmund’s Adrián Ramos. All three are playing at a higher club level than Gutiérrez and that combined with the subtraction of the chemistry advantage that he had with Falcao, he might find himself no longer deserving of a spot. Still for a manager like Pékerman who likes to switch things up, it is more likely that all will see playing time either as substitutes or starters depending on the opposition and the style Pékerman elects to employ on a match to match basis.
(Likely Falcao replacement, Jackson Martínez scoring a ,what can only be described as “cheeky”, goal)
Measurement of Success
Colombia will expect to not only get out of this group, but hopefully win it despite that being no guarantee due to the quality of the other teams involved. By winning the group Colombia would have earned a matchup against the second place finisher out of the rather loaded Group D. A quarter-final appearance would seem to be the bar to set for Colombia, but it will not be easy clearing it.
Greece – Piratiko (The Pirate Ship)
How they got to Brazil
Greece finished second in their UEFA qualifying group despite being tied on points with Bosnia and Herzevgovina at 25 due to goal differential. They then defeated Romania 4-2 on aggregate in a playoff to reach Brazil. Throughout the campaign, Greece showed off their trademark defending, only allowing four goals in ten matches during the group stage. Three of the four goals conceded came amidst a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Bosnians which was also their only loss. The lack of reliable goal scoring will surely be their biggest question mark come their opening match, but Greece showed in 2004, when they won the European Championship in Portugual against the home nation, that a well-organized defense can be a key ingredient for an unexpected tournament run.
The Manager – Fernando Santos
Santos has been at the helm of Piratiko since 2010 after a successful spell as manager of the Greek club PAOK where he led the club to the Champions League qualification in his final season. His first major tournament with the Greeks was the 2012 European Championship where the team managed to advance to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Germany. Despite being Portuguese, he’s carried on the tradition of Euro 2004 by relying on his defense to get him results.
The Star – Kostas Mitroglou
It’s hard to pick a star from a team that relies so much on its cohesiveness rather than its talent, but Mirtoglou’s twenty million dollar move to Fulham of the English Premier League during this past season’s January transfer window certainly drew a little spotlight though not necessarily for the right reasons. Fulham was entrenched in a relegation battle for much of the season and purchased Mitroglou for their second highest fee ever paid for a player by the club in hopes of avoiding the drop. Mitroglou had been highly successful during his time in the Greek Super League. On October 2nd, 2013 he registered the first ever hat trick by a Greek player in the Champions League, leading Olympicaos to a 3-0 victory against Anderlecht in the group stages. This was remarkably his third hat trick of the young season. At Fulham he never fulfilled the promise that his early season form seemed to portend as he played just three matches due to a nagging knee injury for the now relegated Fulham. His form for Greece on the other hand has been majestic, as he nabbed three of Greece’s four goals during their two-legged playoff with Romania. Stingy defense can possibly see Greece through to the Knockout Round, but goals will be needed there and Mitroglou has shown he can score them in bunches.
(Greek star, Kostas Mitroglou scoring a long range effort against Anderlecht in the Champions League)
Biggest Strength – Defense/Organization
This current edition of Greece is not quite as compact and cynical as the squad that won Euro 2004 as they seek to get forward a little more, but its strength still lies in its ability to frustrate opponent’s attacks for the entire 90 minutes of play. The back four are not often invited to join in on counters thus allowing them to hold their positions throughout the match leaving fewer cracks for opposing teams to exploit. The system also relies on the entire eleven working as a team in defense, not just the back four. The most renowned defender among the squad is Borussia Dortmund center back Sokratis Papastathopoulo who is currently suffering from a bicep injury, but is hoping to make it back for Greece’s last friendly before the World Cup.
Measurement of Success
Greece has not had much success at the World Cup, but will be hoping to make it to the Knockout Round for the first time in the country’s history as though their group is quite good there are no giants for them to face.
The Ivory Coast – Les Éléphants (The Elephants)
How they got to Brazil
The Elephants possess the most talented roster of all the African squads, but have failed to live up to the hype in both the African Cup of Nations and the World Cup in recent years. They faced little trouble qualifying for the World Cup as they went for four wins, two draws, and zero losses to top their CAF(Confederation of African Football) second round qualifying group and then went on to win 4-2 on aggregate against Senegal in the final stage of CAF qualifying to secure their plane ticket to Brazil.
The Manager – Sabri Lamouchi
Lamouchi was hired to manage the Ivory Coast back in 2012 despite having no managerial experience. Though the Elephants possess the talent to be quarterfinal contenders, Lamouchi’s lack of experience and inability to find the right formation/selections to make best use of his squad could ultimately be what holds them back from achieving that goal. One impending question that Lamouchi will have to deal with is whether or not to start talismanic striker Didier Drogba who despite being one of the best strikers in the world over the past ten years is now 36 years old and no longer a source of endless problems for opposing defenses. Making the decision tougher is that there are a few worthy candidates to replace the former Chelsea star up front in Wilfred Bony, who scored 20 Premier League goals this season in his debut year with Swansea, and also Seydou Doumbia, who has bagged a prolific 54 goals in 82 matches for CSKA Moscow while leading them two consecutive Russian Premier League titles. If Lamouchi elects to play Drogba and the Ivory Coast wind up struggling to find goals, he will be making himself an easy scapegoat for the team’s failure.
The Star – Yaya Touré
Toure has long been considered one of the world’s better midfielders from his time at Barcelona and Manchester City, but he’s never been considered a great goalscorer. This past season though he netted twenty goals in the Premier League joining Chelsea legend Frank Lampard as only the second ever midfielder do achieve that tally in the EPL. Manchester City would go on to win their second title in the past three seasons and Touré was named PFA Player of the Year in England. His successful season was followed by a bizarre interview from his agent, Dimitri Seluk, on BBC sports where the agent exclaimed that his client was “very upset” and also complained that no one from Manchester City wished Touré a happy birthday. Touré stated he would explain the rumors of his possible departure from City after the World Cup. The Elephants best hope this circus doesn’t prove to be a distraction for their star man in Brazil as they will need him to continue his form from this past season if they hope to have a successful World Cup. On the field Touré is known for his physical runs on the ball that remind me of a younger Steve Gerrard. He will often maraud forward and due to his massive strength and speed is often impossible to knock off the ball once he gets a head of steam.
(Yaya runs half the pitch to score against Aston Villa)
Biggest Strength – Physicality
With Cheick Tioté set to partner Yaya Touré in the midfield the Ivory Coast will be fielding perhaps the most physical midfield duo in the entire tournament. Tioté is known for his aggressive tackling and racked up fourteen yellow cards in his debut season with Newcastle in the Premier League back in 2010. He’s continued to average around ten a season since. Drogba has long been known for his ability to battle opposing center backs and use his frame/strength to hold up the ball allowing the midfield time to join the attack. Combined with the directness and pace of players like Gervinho and Salomon Kalou on the wings, opposing defenses will have their own athleticism constantly put to the test. Gervinho helped lead a resurgence of Roma this season where he was a catalyst in propelling them back to the Champions League a season after being hailed a flop at Arsenal. Meanwhile in France, Kalou also was a key player in guiding his own club, Lile, to third place in Ligue 1 and into Champions League qualification.
(Starting XI hopeful, Seydou Doumbia, beats a defender to score a nice little goal)
Measurement of Success
The Ivory Coast will hope to make it to the Knockout Round for the first time in their countries history. That goal is readily obtainable considering the talent in the squad and their opposition in the group stage, but it is far from a foregone conclusion.
Japan – Samurai Blue
How they got to Brazil
Despite finishing only second in their third round qualifying group behind Uzbekistan, long time AFC giant Japan managed to top their fourth round group by beating out fellow World Cup qualifier Australia and advance to Brazil. Their advancement was never all that much in question as they’ve qualified for every World Cup dating back to 1998 and the AFC is generally the weakest qualifying region with Japan being a class above the rest.
Manager – Alberto Zaccheroni
Zaccheroni has managed all over his native country of Italy with stints with AC Milan, Lazio, Inter Milan, and Juventus. He took over the Samurai Blue after the 2010 World Cup and in the subsequent year led Japan to its record fourth Asian Cup beating out Australia in the finals. Since the 2010 World Cup more and more Japanese players have made it to European Leagues which has presented Zaccheroni with a more experienced squad to choose from than his predcessors. He’s molded a very attack minded Japanese side that much like Chile will rely on outscoring opposition rather than containing them. They play a similar high line and depend on their wealth of skillful attacking midfielders to create scoring chances. In the 2013 Confederations Cup the strengths and flaws of this system were highlighted in a defeat to the Italians where despite scoring three goals they gave up four the other way.
The Star – Keisuke Honda
Honda was Japan’s breakout star of the 2010 World Cup where he earned two Man of the Match performances on route to guiding Japan to the Knockout Round. He is generally employed as an attacking midfielder for his club, but plays more of a “false 9” role for the striker starved Japanese side. A “false 9” is a player who occupies the position as striker, but instead of staying up front and making runs in behind the defense, instead drops deep back into the center of the pitch leaving space for the midfielders to run into. Honda is particularly adept at this role due to his boundless energy which makes him a chore for opposing teams to mark as he rarely sits still though his lack of playing time during the club season might affect his fitness in Brazil. He also enjoys bringing others into play which is a role most players employed as “false 9s” must thrive at. The position seems to suit him better than playing as part of the midfield as he has had mixed results there during his recent tenure at AC Milan. Mainz 05 striker Shinji Okzaki has thrived for his club team after being moved in from the wing to striker, but Honda’s success as a second striker for Japan has kept the Okzaki pushed out to the wing for his country.
(Keisuke Honda becoming the first Japanese player ever to score for Italian Club AC Milan)
Biggest Strength – Attacking Midfielders
Honda isn’t Japan’s only star attacking midfielder as Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa will be making his first World Cup appearance for the Samurai Blue. Kagawa has also seen a lack of playing time for his club which raises concerns of his form and fitness headed into the World Cup but his talent is clearly deserving of a starting spot. Kagawa is the most goal oriented of Japan’s attacking midfielders and the most agile. He uses the agility to slide around defenses with his deft dribbling and create space for shots or incisive passes. Kagawa prefers to play through the middle of the pitch where he exceled at in his time with Borussia Dortmund earning a spot in the Bundesliga’s team of the season in both his years there, but will be pushed out to either the left or right flank for Japan due to Honda’s presence in the team. Japanese footballing legend Yasuhito Endō who shares a similar position as Kagawa and Honda will be in the squad as well. Endō has earned 141 caps for Japan and despite the wealth of talent at the position Zaccheroni still plays the aging attacking midfielder. If Honda is the drive and aggression and Kagawa the silky dribbler then Endō is the passing savant capable of unlocking defenses with a swing of either foot. This will be his fourth and likely final World Cup and he is unlikely to start for Zaccheroni’s side, but don’t be surprised to see him conjure up some magic for Japan as a substitute.
(Shinji Kagawa scores off a nice one-two for Japan in a friendly yesterday against Costa Rica)
Measurement of Success
Japan has advanced to the Knockout Round in the past two World Cups, but has failed to go beyond that. On paper this seems to be Japan’s most experienced and talented squad yet and thus they will hope to take that next step into the quarterfinals.
6 Comments
The last team Pekerman managed at a World Cup did this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR3Om0WfErA
Colombia is going to be fun to watch.
I’m taking Japan and Greece to get out of the group. I think losing Falcao (who was arguably already lost because I don’t think he would have contributed much given his ACL injury) is going to doom Colombia.
Yeah, I show every soccer team I coach this goal.
Also, I don’t have audio at work, but if this is Martin Tyler calling the game it’s absolutely great. I love that he is understated instead of constantly jabbering on.
This one is actually commentary free – it’s the crowd noise plus a “ping” for each completed pass.
Ivory Coast is going to win this group. Drogba will be this tournament’s Roger Milla.