Glad to see the Dutch out. Most annoying team by far, especially Robben. Good riddance. The final should be a dandy.
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LVG's first sub was definitely necessary. Martens Indi was getting torched on that side all half, and was on thin ice with the ref. Odds were pretty high that he would either be carded again or be responsible for a goal against. I'm not sure the second sub was a great decision. I think that's the one that hurt the most.
That was a lot of fun watching the game at the Dutch Canadian Club. Predictable ending, but that's alright.
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Thank god the Dutch are finished....I will relish tomorrow with my co-workers a great deal. I think about 50% of the office is Dutch at my work. Even the Brazillian guy down the street from me, now I can ask him which one he prefers the team who just beat their ass....or the Argentines.
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LVG's first sub was definitely necessary. Martens Indi was getting torched on that side all half, and was on thin ice with the ref. Odds were pretty high that he would either be carded again or be responsible for a goal against. I'm not sure the second sub was a great decision. I think that's the one that hurt the most.
You mean the De Jong sub? I wondered if he still wasn't 100%, and they didn't want to push too hard, keeping him in reserve for the weekend.
LVG's first sub was definitely necessary. Martens Indi was getting torched on that side all half, and was on thin ice with the ref. Odds were pretty high that he would either be carded again or be responsible for a goal against. I'm not sure the second sub was a great decision. I think that's the one that hurt the most.
I agree on Martens. In retrospect the ref stopped handing out cards, but at that point in the game it seemed like a good move, and did calm down that side a bit.
Subbing De Jong was probably because he wasn't truly fit to play the whole game, so again it was necessary. It also seemed to create some energy in the midfield, and after that point Netherlands had some 15-20 minutes of control over the game.
Then again starting De Jong in the first place was a risk that ultimately did not turn out to be worth taking. He didn't bring much, and "wasted" a substitution.
Van Gaal had also pretty much painted himself into a corner with the goalie situation. After last game he really should have saved that third sub for Krul.
To a guy that is not much of a soccer fan, the fact that a team is in the finals coming off a 0-0 tie and win in penalty kicks is very unsatisfying. Even somwhat of a joke.
I spent pretty much my entire life supporting the Dutch at the WC and European Championships.
But this team has been unsupportable.
Dutch and Brazilian fans feel the same about their teams. All of a sudden likeable teams that are now unlikable. Both countries need to have futbol summits.
These teams a shadow of those 94 and 98 showdowns.
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To a guy that is not much of a soccer fan, the fact that a team is in the finals coming off a 0-0 tie and win in penalty kicks is very unsatisfying. Even somwhat of a joke.
It is but it has to be settled at some point. Sort of like an overtime goal going off someones behind in Game 7.
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I don't hate the Dutch team really. I just hate Robben. I hate his antics, I hate his face (lol) I hate that he's so incredibly talented but will throw away any opportunity to try and dive his way to a foul call. In my mind he personifies the worst of soccer.
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To a guy that is not much of a soccer fan, the fact that a team is in the finals coming off a 0-0 tie and win in penalty kicks is very unsatisfying. Even somwhat of a joke.
Sort of. Luckily we don't get these very often.
But it's somewhat cool in contrast to Germanys annihilation of Brazil. The semifinals could not have been much more different.
Happy to see Argentina come out of this game as from a German perspective Argentina just seem less impressive. They came out of a really weak draw and after Messi aren't that scary as compared to the Dutch who could hurt you with 3 or 4 very good players and were dangerous on the counter, a strategy that doesn't suit Germany well.
Germany shut down Ronaldo and will surely gameplan to do the same to Messi. Hopefully Hummels plays on Sunday and Germany don't get frustrated by an Argentina side that are sure to bunker and try to play for penalties again.
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Then again starting De Jong in the first place was a risk that ultimately did not turn out to be worth taking. He didn't bring much, and "wasted" a substitution.
What? I honestly think Itse that you simply look for anything to rant and rave against De Gaal for.
I'll put it simply like this. You do NOT leave someone like De Jong on the bench for a game like this even if you can only get a half of football out of him. Is that what you are suggesting? Because the options were this:
(a) Start him knowing you aren't going to get a full game out of him and accepting that he is going to cost a substitution.
(b) Bring him on as a sub when you are unsure of his fitness level and how much you will get out of him and risk "wasting" TWO substitutions.
(c) Don't put him on the pitch at all?
And what exactly do you mean he didn't bring much? Was it because he didn't kick someone?
What? I honestly think Itse that you simply look for anything to rant and rave against De Gaal for.
I'll put it simply like this. You do NOT leave someone like De Jong on the bench for a game like this even if you can only get a half of football out of him.
Why not? Getting half a game from him is not great, when that half a game is also at 80% performance. Is it a coincidence that the best periods of play from Netherlands came after de Jong was subbed? Maybe. But Argentina controlled the play more when de Jong was on the field and Netherlands looked about the same or slightly better without him.
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And what exactly do you mean he didn't bring much?
He was invisible offensively and while he was on the field Argentina had more control of the game than when he was not.
Nigel de Jong was SO good that he neutralized Messi for 120 minutes even though he was on the field for 60 minutes? (I also love that part about Martins Indi, who needed to be subbed after 45 minutes for getting burned so many times he looked like a red card risk.) Sure
Look, I'm not saying that Van Gaal is a BAD coach, but he's also no genius. The Argentinian team this year is a low-scoring team. Nullifying their offense is well done, but not really something that should get a coach on this level special accolades, especially if your side gets equally nullified by the opposition.
Van Gaals basic strategy was solid, but again he had nothing up his sleeve against a team that played a defensive style, and ultimately he set up his team to fail in the shootout by managing his substitutions somewhat poorly.
That's not disastrous coaching by any stretch of the imagination, but hardly anything special either.
(Btw; not putting in Krul makes the Costa Rica substitution look rather questionable as a "brilliant tactical decision" instead of a gamble that just happened to work. Actual tactical decisions are something you would do again should a similar situation arise.)
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Btw, since we are again talking about Van Gaal, does he have a track record that in any way supports the idea that he's some wonder coach? No. His first stint as Netherlands national coach was a disaster, the worst performance by Netherlands in decades. He was fired from Barcelona twice in four seasons and lasted about a season and a half in Bayern. After that he had to return back to the Dutch league to repair his reputation. Which he did succesfully, good for him. This is all pretty standard stuff, coaches get fired all the time and most coaches do better in some circumstances than in others.
But does he deserve the accolades showered on him in this tournament? No, I think that's nonsense.
The coaching performances that stand out to me from this tournament are by Costa Rica, Mexico, USA, Argentina (biggest improvements from one game to another), Switzerland... And yeah, Netherlands. But only one of those guys gets constantly touted as some kind of a genius.
He's no genius. Just a good coach with a tendency for occasional unconventional coaching decisions. When they work they make him look smart, when they don't they lose games and get him fired. That part of his game largely evens out, and if he wasn't otherwise a solid (if unremarkable) tactical coach his track record would be even worse.
He's the kind of coach that can get an underdog team far, but I don't think he's best suited to coach a strong team to consistently good performances. Which in my books makes him better suited to coach smaller countries and less prominent teams than, say, Manchester United. (Although he's going into a good situation, as that organization seems mentally desperate for a superstar manager, and will be quick to label him as such and give him free reigns to do his thing. I will be however be somewhat surprised if he survives his whole three-year contract.)
Whether Netherlands is a "small" country is a matter of taste. He got this team in the range I expected them to go before the tournament (playoffs but not the final), so I think he did good but great.
I do think it should raise some eyebrows that Netherlands best game was the first game of the tournament and they were left scoreless in their last two games.
Btw rich and Bagor, if there ever was a pointless 3rd place playoff game, this year is it.
The Brazilian team just wants to hide underground. Van Gaal is already raging in the media about how it has "nothing to do with sports" and the Netherlands official facebook group already declared yesterday that the tournament is over.
One of the downsides of not having a real underdog in the semifinals I guess.
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Was it because he didn't kick someone?
