The resurrection of Les Bleus is fast becoming *the* story of the tournament. They looked good against Spain, but tonight’s performance against Brazil looked even tighter and more organised. Zidane, who looked forlorn and frustrated against Switzerland, is on cracking form, firing passes to every corner of the pitch and setting off on those impossible twisting runs of his own. Ribery still has a tendency to look clumsy at times, but he’s twice the player he was in the group games. The ageing defence is looking solid and organised and Thierry Henry is starting to prove that he can do it in the big games.
On the other hand, Brazil went out with a whimper. Ronaldinho has never looked comfortable in this tournament, despite a few moments of brilliance. He seemed to be playing further forward today, more like his Barcelona role, but still lacked the ability to command the game. Ronaldo looked dangerous on a couple of occasions; the rest of the time he was just in everyone else’s way. The defence looked like they were playing together for the first time and left Dida exposed several times.
What’s more, I hate to say I told you so, but I’m due some gloating after the England defeat. A few days ago, I suggested that maybe Brazil weren’t simply coasting on half-power, that maybe we’d seen all we were going to get.
The parallels with England are impossible to ignore. Both have managers who pick (or fail to substitute) far too many players on the basis of reputation… Lampard, Roberto Carlos and Cafu should never have started, Ronaldo, Beckham and Rooney should have gone off at half time. Both teams flattered to deceive in the earlier rounds, but were supposedly waiting to switch to a higher gear, to pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat. Where were those rabbits? I can only guess that Ronaldo ate one of them, while Rooney stamped on the other.
Where were those rabbits? I can only guess that Ronaldo ate one of them, while Rooney stamped on the other.
LOL! What a way to finish a post!