Sean and Chris (the two guys who run this website), Mika (Sean’s friend from Portland), and I headed out to grab a late breakfast at the Hakescher Markt on the morning before the two remaining quarterfinal matches. We grabbed one of the many outdoor tables set up on the cobblestones in the plaza there.
Sean seems to know all the girls who work there, having now spent more than a month living just a few blocks from this popular gathering place with its abundance of eateries. Most of the waitresses seem to have boyfriends, but Sean was able to identify one young beauty – Ulli – who does not. She says she has five different jobs, though, and her English wasn’t the best.
But Sean was undeterred, hopeful that our server Vicky, whose boyfriend works back in the kitchen, would be a willing accomplice in his efforts to connect with Ulli. At one point he joked to Vicky that Ulli was going to be his girlfriend. “But, does she even know your name?”, she replied with a laugh.
A short while later, after we’d decided to stick around and have a post-meal cocktail, I decided to get up and hit the head. Along the way, I stopped for a brief chat with Vicky and Ulli to let ‘em know that we were gonna stick around…and that oh, by the way, “his name is Sean”, I informed them. “He’s a really nice guy”, I added.
Well, I don’t know how much of a role I played, but later when Vicky brought the check, she also had a little something for Sean – a piece of paper with Ulli’s phone number on it. So if anything ever comes of this nascent blossoming affair, I’ll know that I had a hand in things from the very beginning back in Berlin on July 1st, 2006.
But on to more important things – a compelling quarterfinal tilt in Gelsenkirchen between England and Portugal with Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo in the middle. And of note to those of you who are fans of Coffi Codija – the very capable referee from the tiny African nation of Benin – he was working as the match’s fourth official, something that brought great delight to several of my cohorts down at HQ.
It was also good to see that Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo had recovered from his injury at the hands (or studs actually) of Dutch defender Boulahrouz. I always like match-ups that pit a player against the country in which he makes a living.
And as I had noted the day before at the Olympiastadion, the team captains – David Beckham and Luis Figo (also former teammates at Real Madrid) – gave brief pre-match speeches against racism.
As the match was about to commence, I noted on my pad that Elizondo was the referee in charge of the controversial Switzerland – Korea match; the one in which his assistant threw up a flag for offside against the Swiss and then brought it back down once he realized the ball had been inadvertently played backwards by a Korean defender. I defended Elizondo and his assistant for ultimately making the right decision to allow Frei’s goal in that instance, and I’m sorry if any of you still don’t agree.
But anyway, on to this match, which I predicted on a whim would end up in a 3 – 1 victory for the Portuguese. Little did I know at the time how accurate this portent would be despite losing faith with the game scoreless at the half.
How’d we get there though?
In the opening minute Rooney had an early opportunity blocked by a defender. Two minutes later Ronaldo was fouled by Neville…and then Cole seemed to get away with one on Figo.
Only five minutes into the match, Elizondo said “NO!” to Portuguese gamesmanship when they held onto the ball even though it was a throw-in for England. A minute later I thought Cole was fortunate to win a foul by Petit. Before the ensuing free kick the referee warned the players about holding.
In the 9th and 10th mintues Rooney and Ronaldo would each fire twenty-five yard efforts directly at the opposing keepers. And then Canadian-born Owen Hargreaves was called for a tight foul at midfield. A minute later I thought he was fortunate to escape a yellow card when he whacked Ronaldo in the leg from behind.
Lampard was whistled for a foul on Miguel in the 12th and Robinson misplayed the free kick, almost allowing Tiago to beat him to the ball. On the next play, Beckham committed a little foul on Nuno Valente. And then Hargreaves committed his third foul in the past ten minutes when he knocked down Figo. “Big Phil” didn’t like what he saw and helet the referee know it, but Elizondo told the Portuguese coach to have a seat and shut his yap.
England would have possession for most of the next five minutes, but that would eventually end when Joe Cole was called for climbing on Miguel’s back. They would soon regain the momentum, working the ball well on offense and defending confidently in back.
Rooney felt aggrieved that he didn’t win a call for a high boot in the 25th, but it was he who came out of nowhere and put his head where it probably didn’t belong.
A short while later Elizondo made a good decision when Ronaldo went to ground too easily when he was challenged for the ball. Perhaps it was even a dive, and if so, the crafty midfielder might’ve been fortunate to escape without a card.
The first card of the match came in the 29th and was a bit of a surprise, although on replay it seemed like Elizondo made the right decision. Both John Terry and Tiago ended up on the ground after challenging for an aerial ball and clanging heads. Once Terry was back on his feet, he was shown the yellow, much to his consternation. But the ball really was Tiago’s all the way as the only way for Terry to get to it was to go through the Portuguese player, which is what he had tried to do.
Tiago was called for a push on Joe Cole in the 34th…a Hargreaves dangerous play a minute later…and Rooney was called for tripping Carvalho, I believe it was, in the 38th.
Figo was only about a yard wide on a far post effort in the 39th and the advantage was played to continue and English attack in the 40th.
Paul Robinson palmed away a header on the next Portuguese move in his end. And then in the 42nd Gary Neville let the ref know how he felt about a call against him. But back the other way it went as Hargreaves did well to win a corner.
Petit was booked in the 44th for coming in late on Joe Cole and Beckham’s effort from twenty-four yards out was miserable as he hit the wall. And the half would end with a decent, but futile effort by Frank Lampard.
In the 47th Beckham was unfortunate not to win a free kick when Nuno Valente made some contact with the English captain. And two minutes later Ronaldo would not win a call either after HE nicked the defender’s foot.
Down in the Portuguese penalty area in the 51st, Beckham kicked the ball into a defender’s hand about two yards away from him. Did he really think it was worthy of a penalty kick or was he just hoping that Elizondo was clueless? In any event, the referee ignored Posh’s husband’s remonstrations. Moments later he’d be subbed out for Aaron Lennon – a wise decision, everyone in the room concurred.
The speedy, crafty midfielder made an immediate impact, helping his team to win a corner. And on this, Frank Lampard really should’ve done better as he was all alone at the far post. Instead of side-volleying it into the back of the net, he hit it straight down into the ground where it bounded high into the air and over the bar. Terry protested that he’d been obstructed, but it was an argument he definitely would not win.
Moments later the screen showed a pathetic image of David Beckham sobbing with his head in his hands. He lifted his head for a moment and looked like a small child whose mommy had just yelled at him.
But back to the action on the pitch. Ronaldo seemed justifiably aggrieved when the ball was only about 80 – 90% out of bounds and the Assistant Ref had signaled otherwise with his flag.
In the 57th, Maniche was completely full of shit when he won a call for a dive. I’d really like FIFA to review these kinds of things and sanction players after the match. It might eliminate this kind of gamesmanship that only serves to hurt our game.
England had their best chance only a couple minutes later when Lennon beat his defender then passed the ball to Rooney – who whiffed, swinging way too hard – and then Cole sent it over the crossbar from ten after the ball bounded his way.
But it was the 62nd minute that will live forever in Wayne Rooney’s mind. He was getting hassled by a couple of Portuguese players near midfield and Elizondo eventually called the foul once it was clear that Rooney wasn’t going to wriggle free.
Rooney was clearly heated after the referee blew his whistle and his Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo came rushing to the scene to have a few words with his temperamental opponent. Elizondo was right there when he saw Rooney shove Ronaldo in the chest. And moments later the red card was shown to the high-strung striker.
The replay showed Rooney stepping on the “groin” of one of the defenders who’d been hassling him – Carvalho perhaps. But Elizondo hadn’t seem too disturbed by that action, or perhaps he had already made up his mind that Rooney had put his boot there intentionally. It was hard to tell.
In the end, I’m not sure why Elizondo sent Rooney off. If it was for the shove, that surely only warranted a caution. And if it was for the boot, that didn’t seem deliberate as he was tangled up with Carvalho and seemed to be trying to break free from him.
But Elizondo WAS right there. So perhaps from his perspective it was much more clear what Rooney’s intent was; which might’ve been to castrate his opponent. So while the sending off might have seemed harsh to the viewing audience and to English supporters in particular, I can only assume that Elizondo was certain that Rooney’s intent was to injure his opponent. Otherwise, I don’t think he would’ve made such a profound decision to impact this match.
So now with England reduced to ten men, the match resumed. Cole was fouled by Meira in the 65th. Simao then came in for an ineffective Pauleta and Crouch came in for Joe Cole – one of the more useful English players on the pitch.
Hargreaves committed his fourth foul of the match, but first in quite a while, then grabbed the ball from his opponents. For this I thought he should’ve been booked.
Portugal had a chance in the 68th and then Ronaldo won a foul, although he did embellish things quite a bit. Shortly thereafter Hargreaves made a nice run around the left side of the defense, but his final touch defied him.
In the 73rd, Gerrard really should’ve done better with a cross to Crouch. Two minutes later Hugo Viana came in for Tiago. And then I noted that in the 77th minute that there had only been a total of about seventeen fouls – an astonishingly low, one foul for every four-and-a-half minutes of play.
Robinson came up big on a chipped shot in the 78th and then Viana was slightly injured (eye) when he ran into one of Crouch’s pointy elbows. He recovered quickly though, driving a real smoker right at Robinson.
England had a good opportunity from thirty yards out on a free kick in the 82nd…Lampard’s shot was saved, but Lennon couldn’t knock in the rebound.
Near the end of the match Helder Postiga came in for Luis Figo. Portugal had a positive attack thwarted. Then in the 90th Ashley Cole gave up the ball to Maniche who should’ve done better, but apparently he doesn’t like to use his left foot.
An English corner in stoppage time amounted to nothing. Hargreaves had a nice run to win another corner…it was punched out…Ronaldo went the other way…but he too was unable to beat Robinson.
So without a goal and England down a man since the 62nd minute, the game would labor on for another thirty minutes.
For the first couple minutes it was all Portugal as they showed some patience, but Petit would eventually send it over under some heavy pressure. Crouch would then win a free kick after walking into Carvalho and crumpling over. That would result in a corner that was quickly cleared.
In the 95th, Simao was wide at the far post. Neville would then commit a foul at midfield. Two minutes later Crouch collapsed in a heap after being fairly challenged for the ball, but the Portugal attack failed.
Gerrard won a good decision in the 97th and it was Crouch over the back in the box in the 99th. There was only the slightest of contact, but the Portuguese player did well to make it look worse than it was.
The English had a chance in the 101st. Robinson would make a save following an advantage played for Portugal the following minute. And then Crouch won a foul soon thereafter.
Ronaldo sent a blistering shot over the goal from thrity yards. The restart was a goal kick although Robinson appeared to barely touch it on its way past him; but it was very difficult to tell in real time I’m sure.
And incredibly, THE VERY FIRST OFFSIDE CALL OF THE MATCH WAS MADE IN THE 106TH MINUTE; a testament to the virtually complete lack of attacking play by the teams involved.
A minute later, the ref made a good decision not to award a penalty to England when Lennon was well-defended, but ended up going down in the box. Hargreaves was mightily aggrieved and was finally booked…for dissent.
Another call for offside in the 108th as Postiga scored a goal with his head. But there was no mistaking, he mistimed his run.
Viana was called for a foul throw in the 110th and then a minute later Carvalho was booked for sticking out his ass to knock over Gary Neville as he ran behind the Portuguese defender.
Lennon made a nice run to the end line, but he went too far and let the ball go out of play. Crouchy got all tangled up in his own legs in the 112th. And then Lennon was called for handling in the 113th. Petit was on target a minute later, but right at Robinson as usual.
Crouch was then called for an arm to the back of Carvalho’s head. And in the 118th, a move obviously designed to prepare for the upcoming penalty shootout, Carragher came in for Lennon.
Portugal would have a couple more opportunities, but despite being up a man for nearly sixty minutes of action, were unable to come up with anything positive. To penalty kicks it would go, just like two years earlier when Portugal knocked England out of the European Championships.
First, Simao was perfect as he went left.
Then, Lampard was blocked by Ricardo, who appeared to have been off his line a yard or two at the time of the kick.
Viana clattered the post as Robinson took a cue from Ricardo and came off his line as well.
Hargreaves then went left and off Ricardo’s fingertips to tie things up at one apiece.
Petit was wide left as Robinson was again off his line.
Gerrard was stoned by Ricardo as England were hapless.
Postiga was perfect to the left post.
Carragher turned and shot before the referee’s whistle, so despite knocking his in he’d have to go again. And like everyone but Hargreaves before him, it too was saved.
Up came Ronaldo – the Manchester United midfielder – whose little stutter-step was cute but not against the rules. He found the top netting to make it 3 – 1 with only one left for England.
It was all over, England were out and Big Phil was now undefeated in twelve straight matches. And my earlier prediction of 3 – 1 had come to fruition, but not quite the way I’d expected. Elizondo did a good job keeping control of this one, but the question will always remain as to why he sent off Wayne Rooney. Perhaps only he and the hotheaded young English bloke will ever really know.
Until next time…
peace,
ac
sven implied that he was told it was for the stamp. it could also have been for foul and abusive language: a red card that rooney probably qualifies for 50 times a match!
Posted by: Mark | July 02, 2006 at 04:42 PM