Brazil Outplayed by Ghana But Do Enough to Win 3 – Nil

(written on my flight from Atlanta to Frankfurt)

With Chelsea star Michael Essien out due to accumulated red cards, Ghana’s starting XI would have to rise to the occasion against their heroes from Brazil. In the middle of this one in Dortmund was experienced Slovakian referee Lubos Michel. While he put in a respectable days’ work in this compelling encounter, I would argue that one of his assistants committed an error rarely seen at this World Cup – he allowed Adriano’s goal right before halftime, Brazil’s second, to stand even though it really seemed that the powerful striker was in an offside position when the ball was played to him.

But let’s start from the beginning as usual.

In only the first minute of the match that very same assistant made the correct call in raising his flag when Ronaldo was clearly offside. Two minutes later Muntari checked Ze Roberto off the ball and Michel raced over to the spot of the foul to let his presence be known.

And then in only the game’s fifth minute, Kaka sent forward a perfectly-timed through-ball to an onside Ronaldo who had nobody left to beat other than Kingson – Ghana’s keeper. At the top of the penalty area, Ronaldo faked right then darted left before passing the ball into the empty net. The goal – the ‘overweight’, buck-toothed Brazilian’s 15th in World Cup history – now places him all alone at the top of that list, surpassing German legend Gerd Muller.

Shortly after that, Ghana would receive the first of their six yellow cards when Appiah was a little late to the ball as he fouled Kaka from behind. Three minutes later, in the 10th, Michel merely warned rather than cautioning one of the Ghanaians for a handball. But only a minute after that it was Muntari’s turn to see yellow with a reckless swing of the leg from behind that found Lucio’s thigh. The record-setting parade of cards would continue with this, the 300th caution of the tournament…in addition to the twenty-four reds previously issued as well.

Keeping Brazil honest in the 13th, the referee booked Adriano – who actually looked slightly offside as he too beat Ghana’s seemingly ineffective trap – for a dive after he was in on goal alone and should’ve done better. The Inter Milan striker bumbled the ball a bit as he entered the penalty area, eventually choosing to take a fall when he was challenged rather than pass the ball square to his right to Ronaldo. Dives are always a little tough to catch, but Michel did well on this occasion to show the players that he would be watchful of their games of deception.

In the 15th Michel warned another Ghanaian after committing a foul. I applaud him for speaking to the players when the opportunity seemed right.

Draman’s forty-yard blast forced Dida to tip it over for a corner in the 19th minute. But the Ghana attack would end with a very close offside call as the striker was leaning beyond the plane of all the Brazilian defenders.

Amoah was unmarked and a couple feet wide of the target in the 24th and a minute later Ghana would win the ball back with a beautiful open field tackle on Kaka.

In the 29th Amoah shot the ball through a defender’s legs, but the effort was directly at Dida. Moments later going the other way Kaka was once again tripped from behind and the guilty party – Paintsil – was entered into the referee’s book.

A minute after that the ball was cleared off the Ghana goal-line and the counter-attack ended with a shot way over the bar.

Appiah was called for dangerous play in the 34th when he showed his studs with a high boot that made no contact. No card was issued and in the next minute it was Brazil’s Juan who I thought might have gotten away with a foul after losing the ball. In the 38th the Ghanaian Addo would receive his team’s fourth booking of the game when he tackled Adriano from behind as the large Brazilian lumbered towards goal up the middle of the park.

Ghana were terribly unfortunate not tie things up in the 42nd as Mensah managed a close-range free header from a corner. But the ball was knocked right at Dida’s foot and he reacted well to preserve Brazil’s narrow advantage.

A minute later the ref did a great job. Juan committed a rash challenge, but Michel played the advantage for Ghana; and when it didn’t develop he called the original foul and booked the Brazilian for his actions.

In stoppage time Michel played another excellent advantage in the Brazilian defense and the counter-attack was swift. Lucio wisely played it out to the right to an onside Cafu rather than to the left where Adriano was in an offside position. The venerable defender sprinted down the flank before returning the ball back to the middle where the ball found Adriano’s left thigh just a few yards in front of the goal at the far post to score his country’s 200th goal in World Cup history. And with that, Brazil managed to take a two-goal lead into the dressing room, despite, as most observers would probably agree, being outplayed by the debutant Ghanaians.

And it was really a shame too because although the angle of the replay wasn’t right in-line with last defender, it really did appear that Adriano was beyond everyone except for the goalie when the pass was made to him by Cafu. But despite protests from the Black Star players and their coaching staff, the goal would stand. Brazil 2 – Ghana nil.

I’ve often argued that you rarely see incorrect offside decisions go the way of the offense, but I believe this was one such incident. Again, providing further evidence for the argument that perhaps the offside rule should be cast off into the garbage heap of history.

In the 48th minute Asamoah was called for a slight bump on Cafu. The Ghanaian didn’t like the call and showed as much by kicking the ball into the stands. For this, the player was rightfully booked.

A graphic shortly thereafter showed that the game had been relatively clean up to that point – only twenty-one fouls in the 49th minute. One foul every three minutes or so is the mark of a pretty clean game at this level, or so it seems.

Ghana wasn’t letting off one bit as they continued to play brilliantly in the early stages of the second half. They are a great team and should’ve gotten more respect from the American press and others. It’s no wonder that they managed to win against Bruce Arena’s squad.

In the 53rd Amoah got a good talking-to by Michel after he took down Roberto Carlos from behind. Soon thereafter Adriano was rightfully called for a foul. And again it was only a short speech from the ref after Draman clipped Lucio from behind.

In the 57th Roberto Carlos beat the trap once again on a through-ball, but he should’ve done better than ripping it right at Kingson for the save. Later that same minute Draman was fortunate to stay out of the referee’s book when he came in late with an off-the-ball shoulder charge. And soon thereafter we’d learn that Ghana’s coach had been told to leave the bench before halftime after his vehement disagreement with Adriano’s seemingly offside goal in stoppage time. Dissent would have only earned him a caution so we can only assume that his language must have been more of the foul and abusive variety.

In the 60th, Ghana’s header off a corner was wide of the post. And five minutes later Ronaldo was offside by about a yard on a poorly timed run.

Shilla was called for showing his studs on a 50/50 ball. Marcelo Balboa didn’t think the foul was justified since no contact was actually made. Had that been the case though, Shilla probably would’ve been issued a yellow card as well.

In the 69th Dida made a great save then pounced on the loose ball to preserve his shutout. Five minutes later it was Ghana’s goalie who did well when he came out beyond the box to head the ball away from danger after a Brazilian player once again beat the offside trap.

In the 76th Balboa dissed on Ronaldinho, arguing that his play with Brazil at the tournament so far isn’t up to World Footballer of the Year standards. And while he might have a bit of a point, this is a team of superstars and perhaps it’s not really Ronaldinho’s job to have the same kind of role and impact that he does at Barcelona. I’ll reserve judgment on his performance at the World Cup once Brazil’s tournament is over.

Ironically, in the 79th minute, Ronaldinho’s giveaway in midfield resulted in Asamoah’s shot directly at Dida from the top the of the penalty area. And a minute later Paintsil forced his keeper to make a tough ‘save’ to prevent an own goal.

And in the 81st the match was effectively over when Asamoah’s blatant attempt to deceive the referee with a dive was met with his second caution of the match and Ghana were reduced to ten men. And on this I’ll agree with Balboa – that the referee was consistent on this issue, booking Adriano early in the match and then again with this against the Ghanaian near the end.

A minute later Ze Roberto was fouled late and it could’ve been yellow, but perhaps Michel decided to show some mercy at this point. Shortly thereafter, it was the German-based midfielder to once again beat Ghana’s offside trap, tipping it past the hard-charging Kingson, then touching it softly over the goal line for Brazil’s third and final goal of the match.

Each team would manage a few more scoring opportunities as the action would go from end to end. Brazil probably should’ve done better on a couple of their chances, but an unwillingness to share the ball with the outcome already determined, it didn’t really matter anyway.

In the end, Brazil did what they needed to do against a very game side from Ghana. Despite losing 3 – nil against the reigning world champions, they should be very proud of their effort on this day and in this tournament. They have proven that they are a force to be reckoned with in the future.

And as for Michel, it’s hard to argue against his capabilities in a match with such gravity. But if he and his crew make it to the next round and beyond, I hope they don’t allow goals that should’ve been called offside…and vice versa. It’s a virtually impossible task, but then again, we do expect nothing less than absolute perfection from the men officiating these matches.

Until next time…

peace,
ac