I’ll Be Seeing Germany vs. Argentina in Berlin!

I guess there’s always gonna be some controversy in every match. But maybe that’s how fans like it. Unless they’re on the losing end of things, of course.

Today’s matches, by most accounts, were very well officiated. However, there were some notable blunders as well as high points and I’m prepared to share my opinions with you as usual.

It was Brazil’s Carlos Simon in the middle as the Germans squared off against the Swedes in Munich. In only the 1st minute Simon was encouraging the players to relax after an early foul. Maybe the Scandinavian squad relaxed a little too much as just three minutes later it was Lukas Podolski picking up the pieces after Miroslav Klose did all the work to force a tough save by Isaksson (sp?).

Each team would have some missed opportunities before the Germans struck again in the 12th after Klose drew three defenders before dishing it off to Podolski who smashed home his second from just beyond the penalty spot.

Two minutes later Simon warns the players about grabbing just before a Swedish free kick into the penalty box. Another warning came just two minutes later.

In the 17th Balboa had no idea why a foul had been called on Edman; this even after he had the opportunity to view the replay showing the Swede kneeing Friedrich in the back.

Four minutes later Ljungberg was well defended, but he showed his disgust when the referee didn’t give him a call.

Nice play by Simon in the 26th/27th. After allowing the Swedish advantage in which Torsten Frings slapped the ball out of the air (but directly to an opponent), the referee later came back to caution the German midfielder for his unsporting behavior. Balboa liked this too.

But a minute later he didn’t like the caution for Lucic when his late tackle stopped a German attack. What Balboa still hasn’t quite figured out is that the caution is sometimes not because of the actual severity of the foul, but because of the reason the foul was committed - to halt the quick counter. It’s unsporting behavior…plain and simple.

Incredibly, Lucic committed almost the same exact type of foul seven minutes later and was flagged by the AR. Simon quickly arrived to show another yellow and then the red. Balboa was aghast, but Lucic seemed to understand. And how could he not after receiving a card for the same thing only a few minutes earlier. The referees have been pretty consistent on this at the World Cup, but Lucic never quite figured it out. Say what you want about Simon being trigger-happy, but when you’ve been cautioned, your play ought to reflect that. Testing the referee’s limits is a foolish strategy and Lucic’s actions cost Sweden big-time in this game.

And as for Simon’s smile. Well, he was probaby grinning and saying something like, “Hey man, I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve given me no choice.” Plus, doesn’t it really beat Markus Merk’s angry demeanor?

And my last point about the first half is that the handball by Podolski in the 45th minute was not an offside as the announcers would have us believe. Sometimes I really wonder if they’re watching the same game as the rest of us.

In the 48th a no-brainer yellow-card was issued to Jonson when he hammered Ballack from behind after the German midfielder distributed the ball. And then four minutes later and with his back to the goal, a German defender bumped into Henrik Larsson as we was about to collect a pass. Balboa tried to argue that it was a bad call, but I would say that it was irresponsible defending inside the penalty area. After all, what threat did Larsson really pose with his back to the goal. There was no reason for any contact at all. It was a foul…contact was made before the ball arrived and the defender never made any attempt to play the ball. Again, a no-brainer…unless of course you have no brain like Marcelo Balboa.

Larsson sent the penalty kick into orbit, anyway, thus proving that Balboa’s assessment was correct, or so he’d like to think.

In the 57th there was a good no-call as Ljungberg was well defended in the penalty area. Six minutes later Podolski really should’ve played the ball out of touch rather than shooting on goal when a Swedish player was on the ground injured virtually at the young German’s feet.

Good advantage for Germany in the 64th following a Swedish obstruction in the corner. A minute later an offside was called wrongly against Sweden as Wilhelmsson ran onto the pass from an onside position while one or two of his teammates would’ve been off had the pass found them and not their tattooed teammate.

In the 73rd Simon called a foul throw against Germany for moving too far up the line. And then a couple minutes later Borowski was briefly injured on a clean 50/50 challenge in the box.

Allback plowed into Friedrich in the 78th and rightfully was shown a card. Perhaps advantage could’ve been played, but I guess Simon wanted to deal with the foul immediately. Nobody seemed to mind this decision.

Ballack, Schneider, Neuville, and Klose would all have a number of opportunities, but none would score. In the 90th the AR and Simon disagreed when the ball went over the end line. I, too, thought it was a corner, but a goal kick was the restart.

It was all academic at that point anyway and in the game’s dying moments Simon told Borowski to cool it after some words with Linderoth and a foul by the Swede.

In all, a very good outing for the Brazilian. He’s never gonna please Marcelo Balboa, but then again, no referee ever will. However, as the available pool of top-tier officials slowly dwindles at this year’s World Cup, it appears that Carlos Simon might be amongst those who are left standing.

Now on to Leipzig where Swiss referee Massimo Busacca took charge of the much anticipated Argentina - Mexico match. This guy may have had a questionable opening performance (to some of you…not me), but he’s been pretty solid ever since.

Surprisingly, it was all Mexico from the beginning in this one as Busacca seemed intent to let the game flow. In the 5th minute, however, a foul was called on Mascherano for taking down Castro in Argentina’s defensive third. The ensuing free kick was whipped about twenty yards where it was flicked with a head to the far post where defender and team captain Rafa Marquez was all by himself and one-timed it into the roof of the net from close range to give his team the early lead.

In the 8th minute Cambiasso was fouled about twenty-eight yards from goal and the free kick that followed would go out for a corner…and then another…and on that kick by Riquelme (on this his 28th birthday), Crespo was at the near post, but Mexican striker Jared Borgetti got more of the ball and headed it into his own net. Crespo celebrated wildly claiming the goal as his own.

In the 16th Busacca waited to see if the Mexicans would gain the advantage, and when they didn’t, he called the original foul against their opponents. Three minutes later the referee wisely chose not to blow his whistle when a Mexican player seemed to hit the ground a little too easily.

In the 23rd Crespo was onside and should’ve done better, but Sanchez’s rush from the goal forced the prolific striker to lob it wide of the goal. Four minutes later Busacca chose to keep his card in his pocket when Salcido’s foul seemed potentially cautionable.

Everything was cruising along quite swimmingly as play settled down towards the end of the half. But in the 42nd and again a minute later Busacca had a few words for a player on each team about holding. However, it was during stoppage time that we saw the game’s first card…and it could’ve been red. Heinze was lucky for Argentina; after slipping and losing the ball about thirty yards from goal he fouled the attacking Mexican player. It was a tactical move, and fortunately for Heinze, there was another defender in the vicinity…but off to the other side of the pitch. Had he been any further upfield or off to his right it would’ve been hard for to Busacca to sell the yellow and not the red. Argentina dodged a bullet on that one…but it was the right decision in the end.

There were some garden variety fouls to start the second half as players began to show a little frustration, but Busacca remained very calm throughout. The AR called a foul on Torrado in the 56th and then Argentina would have a number of opportunities go awry.

Ayala pleaded his case in the 61st. Marquez gesticulated in the 66th and a minute later Busacca had to tell him to give it a rest. Just a few minutes later and probably still somewhat agitated, Rafa whacked Crespo from behind. It wasn’t difficult to decide to caution Marquez for this unnecessary act.

Borgetti was allowed to vent in the 71st after catching a bit of an elbow that Busacca either didn’t see or didn’t think was much of a foul. Fonseca was correctly called for a handball in the 76th, something he seems to do as frequently as Drogba.

In the 78th, the AR made a terrible call against Tevez for being offside. This one wasn’t even close as he was on by at least a yard or two. Now, if you’ll remember the Spain - Ukraine match, this is the same guy who called six offsides against Ukraine in the first half…four of which I thought were wrong. This one guy, unfortunately, brings down the entire crew. He mustn’t be allowed to work any more games, even if that means leaving Busacca out of the mix.

In the 82nd, Castro was cautioned for kicking the ball away after Torrado committed a foul. Harkes and Dellacamera - the announcers that I have the least to complain about by far - took longer than they should have to figure out that the card wasn’t for the foul, but rather for what Castro did after the whistle had blown.

A minute later Argentine right-back Scaloni probably deserved a caution for clattering into a Mexican player, but Busacca was being quite liberal on this occasion. Both teams would have a number of late chances and there was another late foul by an Argentine player that could’ve resulted in a booking, but there would end up being only three for the ninety minutes.

However, deep into stoppage time it looked like Messi had pulled a rabbit out of his hat as he latched onto a through-ball before slotting it into the middle for Tevez(?) to finish. But as the ball would enter the net the play would be whistled for offside. It was a travesty, though, as the replay showed that Messi was on. There was a defender at the top of the screen who he was even with. And although I’m sure the replay angle wasn’t 100% spot on, that’s my opinion. And assuming I’m correct, it’s just one more example of why we need to eliminate this rule. I say, let attackers attack and make the defenders defend them. Let’s see more goals and fewer controversial decisions. Maybe then we’d see a 5 - 4 result in the World Cup final.

But maybe that unjust decision was God’s way of giving Maxi Rodriguez the opportunity to score his game-winning golaso in the 98th minute of the match. It could be the goal of the tournament as he received a cross-field pass from Sorin on his chest then volleyed the ball from the top right corner of the penalty area into the top corner at the far post. It was a thing of beauty.

But there were still another twenty-two minutes of overtime to play. And I thought that Messi was fortunate not to be booked in the 104th minute when he clipped Marquez. Overall, I thought that Busaccas was doing an excellent job keeping the game moving and allowing a bit of physical play.

But in the 112th a caution was the right call when Sorin took down Osorio near the corner after the Mexican had beaten him. They wouldn’t score on this or any of their other remaining opportunities as two cautions were in the game’s final few minutes - one finally for Torrado who ran Messi down from behind and another for Fonseca who kicked the ball away after he was correctly called for another handball.

I’d love to see Busacca continue working matches if his AR could stay at home, but that’s an impossibility, so I think the tournament might be better off without the Swiss crew due to its one very weak link. I know it’s harsh, but then again, this is the World Cup after all.

And speaking of which, that’s exactly where I’m headed on Tuesday. I’ll be staying with the creators of this website at their apartment in Berlin. And while I’m there I’ll see what could be THE match of the entire tournament: Germany vs. Argentina. It should be a great one!

Until next time…

peace,
ac