04/26/24
June 21, 2004
Croatia out to get Rooney.: "If we can provoke him in the right way, he'll definitely lash out," promised the goalkeeper Joey Didulica. "He's a fanatic and, trust me, when you play off emotion like that a red card is inevitable ... The manager has told us to prey on Rooney's weaknesses ... Our defenders are under orders to slide in and try to take him a few times. Then, just you see, we will get the reaction we want. No problems." The game starts in two hours. England can probably qualify for the quarter-finals with a draw. Croatia must win. Mind games? Or will Croatia back it up? Will it work? Or will it backfire? If Croatia are going to be this cynical, I only hope England will thump'em 5-0 by half-time so we can laugh the bastards off the pitch.
posted by worldcup2002 to soccer at 12:04 PM - 26 comments
I'll never forget being ceaselessly annoyed by the Croats and their ridiculous diving in their semifinal run at France98. I hope we'll see less of that nonsense today. Go England!
posted by psmealey at 12:22 PM on June 21, 2004
Go England!!!!! It looks like their fans play dirty too. European football authorities are studying claims that some Croatian fans flew white supremacist flags and made racist chants during their match against France last Thursday.
posted by usfbull at 12:26 PM on June 21, 2004
And I don't think this warrants its own post, but what is the deal with all the spitting in the Euro matches? Now Alexander Frei will be suspended after Totti was too.
posted by usfbull at 12:38 PM on June 21, 2004
It was as plain as the nose on your face that Rooney, full of spite and uncontrolled aggression would be a target for hairy arsed defenders, well schooled in the dark arts. It is a perfectly sound tactic and one which any English defender will carry out. The trick will be if Rooney has the wit and intelligence to ignore the provocation, somehow I doubt it. The talk is that Beckham and Gerrard will act as his minders tonight and try and keep him calm. You would have hoped that an international would not have needed such looking after. You would have hoped that the so far unremarkable Beckham and Gerrad would be free to concentrate on their own games.
posted by Fat Buddha at 01:08 PM on June 21, 2004
Wow, that was quick.
posted by Ufez Jones at 01:53 PM on June 21, 2004
Yeah, Ufez, I hear ya. So much for England trashing the Croats: Guardian live text commentary: 4 mins: England 0 - 1 Croatia England concede a goal from a set piece. Igor Tudor put in a free-kick from the left wing, Zivkovic brought a brilliant save out of David James, who could only parry to Niko Covac, who poked the rebound home. England's calamitous defending at set-pieces proves their undoing again. C'mon, England!
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:03 PM on June 21, 2004
Oh! Thanks for the link to the minute-by-minute report!
posted by grum@work at 02:12 PM on June 21, 2004
It's on! 1-1 thanks to Scholes. And it looks like Rooney is playing like a champion.
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:28 PM on June 21, 2004
I'm furiously toggling between this and the France-Switzerland game (I don't know why I am, the updates are so slow anyway). It's 1-1 there, too, and if both scores stay like this, England are through to the quarter-finals. But, I'd much rather see an emphatic clobbering of the Croats. Go England!
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:31 PM on June 21, 2004
YES! Scholes repays Rooney ... 45 mins: England 2 - 1 Croatia Wayne Rooney scores a peach of a goal. An England counter-attack: Scholes centred the ball for Rooney who took it slightly right and shot into the bottom left-hand corner from about 20 yards. A fine strike. Way to end the half!
posted by worldcup2002 at 02:35 PM on June 21, 2004
The France Switzerland game is nicely poised at 1-1, which means that as it stands England top the group. Rooney is no longer the youngest player to have scored in the competition, the Swiss scorer, Vonlanthen, is 4 months younger.
posted by Fat Buddha at 02:53 PM on June 21, 2004
Dammit, i KNEW i should have whipped out 20 bucks for this game!
posted by StarFucker at 03:59 PM on June 21, 2004
4-2. Fucking hell, I didn't expect that. I thought it'd be a tense nightmare of a game. Sometimes, surprises really are fucking great.
posted by dng at 04:07 PM on June 21, 2004
Not quite 5-0 but close enough for government work. See ya, Croatia! I'm pleased to see Sven didn't tank the whole thing by substituting Heskey for Rooney. Phew. 17-yrs-old and top scorer at the Euro 2004. I'm thinking David Moyes will be getting his GBP50million for Rooney if the Roonster keeps this up.
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:32 PM on June 21, 2004
great match to watch. rooney is in fantastic form after a season that didn't live up to his promise of last year. so, after puttering around on underpowered everton i am now convinced that he needs to play on a better team. start the bidding. and hey wc2002, rooney is 18. turns 19 in october. and fwiw, our new "youngest scorer at euro" is the swiss goal scorer Johann Vonlathen.
posted by gspm at 04:56 PM on June 21, 2004
Sorry gspm, old chap, you were 4 posts too late with that news. The time has come for me to shut my trap about Rooney, his all round play tonight was superb. I reckon Sven and Tord deserve enormous credit for this; they have clearly worked on his head and persuaded him that rage and spite are not as productive as controlled aggression. Roll on Thursday.
posted by Fat Buddha at 05:03 PM on June 21, 2004
17, 18, who cares? Rooney has been awesome. Point is, Michael Owen, 24, does not match Rooney's all-round play, and he hasn't been putting them away either (and I'm a Liverpool fan). Damn.
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:34 PM on June 21, 2004
So, sell Owen and Gerrard and ship the GBP50M across town to match Rooney and Cisse, put Cheyrou on as the playmaker, perhaps ship $1.5-2M to MLS for Damarcus Beasley to play the other wing from Kewell?
posted by billsaysthis at 05:39 PM on June 21, 2004
You're talking crazy, bill, but I like your thinking ...
posted by worldcup2002 at 06:24 PM on June 21, 2004
I like it too bill, screw Two Footed Gerrard...if he's not happy...see ya!
posted by StarFucker at 06:41 PM on June 21, 2004
That was a fine match. Only a few dives that pissed me off, the late one by Croatia's keeper was the most blatant. When Croatia scored to make it 3-2 I thought we might have an exciting last few minutes but England wasted little time putting it out of reach. So is Rooney the future of England's World Cup hopes, then?
posted by vito90 at 12:00 AM on June 22, 2004
FB: oops, my reading comprehension isn't what it could be after a game and a few pints. The 17 vs 18 thing is something to note since the "ohmy he's only 17" thing is, like, so one year ago. But sheesh, even at 18 he seems to be one of the most effective players on the England side. Every time he gets the ball in a bit of space you can sense the potential for something to happen. And especially playing with a yellow card and his playing style there is always something to watch with him.
posted by gspm at 01:11 AM on June 22, 2004
And now back to the substance of this thread. Did the Croatians try to provoke Rooney? Not as far as I could see. They spent most of the game kicking bits out of Beckham. Probably because they couldn't get anywhere near Rooney. I must admit, when we went into this tournament I wasn't a fan, but young Shrek has won me over. We'll go out to the Portuguese.
posted by squealy at 07:09 AM on June 22, 2004
Okay, i REALLY need a copy of this game...anyone?
posted by StarFucker at 11:53 AM on June 22, 2004
Magic sponge jockey speaking to Didulica: You make me make a phoney phonecall to Wayne Rooney? The man could squash my nuts into oblivion! And then you deliberately hurt feelings. /ferris bueller's day off
posted by lilnemo at 05:16 PM on June 22, 2004
Of course, I won't be able to watch the game. So, I'll be laughing into my computer screen at the Guardian commentary. *Sob* I'm just mad that the Croats can't keep their dirty plan to themselves, but are rather so smug about it and publicizing it in the press. Maybe it's just talk, but it just leaves me with a the bitter taste of cynicism in the game. Well, fair warning to the ref, Collina. Let's get the cards waving at the proper culprits, shall we? Go England!