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So many folks, particularly my younger respondents, seem to have a hard time understanding what I mean by 'more entertaining' soccer. For the best example of what I mean, feast your eyes on the following goal by goal review of the most enjoyable soccer match of the new millennia, the Arsenal v. Middlesbrough match of August 2004. I was not only lucky enough to watch this spectacle, but I also taped the Fox Sports World presentation, which allowed me to provide very rough 'snap shots' of the goals. So let's review the action, shall we.
Early into the match, I felt that referee Steve Dunn was mishandling things badly by withholding the yellow cards on some Middlesbrough fouls. Due to the shear size of the files involved, I've chosen to discuss these at the bottom of this page. So let's get on with the good stuff...offense!
On the run, Henry chips Middlesbrough's goalkeeper for the game's first goal, putting Arsenal up 1-0, but only after Middlesbrough defender Cooper just misses running the shot down and chipping the ball around the goal prior to sliding into the back of the net...what an incredible effort...
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...then Middlesbrough's Job brought the score even with a great near post shot, so it's 1-1 at halftime...
...then Hasselbaink starts the second half with another Herculean near-post strike, so now it's Middlesbrough up 2-1...
...then Queudrue catches the Arsenal keeper moving away for the inevitable cross,
so it's 3-1 with Middlesbrough now in the 'comfort zone'...
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...but mere seconds later, Bergkamp nails a fine low rocket which left bodies strewn all over the turf, bringing Arsenal back to 2-3...
...then
Pires taps in Henry's perfect feed, so it's tied at 3-3...
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...then Rayas scores the game winner via one of the sweetest moves I've ever seen...
...and then the progression 'Bergkamp to Pires to Henry' yields the game's 8th
goal...
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...making for a 5-3 final score. Sweet!
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Above Image Credits: Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Network
Now let's review what this game produced:
Now let's talk about what this match did not have:
Now we've come to the point of this entire page. Once the game of American professional soccer has been adjusted from it's present defensive orientation to a more fan friendly offensive orientation, we will see a decrease in the number of fouls committed. The reason for this is that players in defensive mode will no longer be laboring under the pressure of knowing that the next goal will likely be either the game winning goal or the goal that surrenders the lead for the rest of the game. Today, each goal in 90% of soccer matches is pretty much that important. So the pressure is ever present to stop each and every attack, as there are very few chances for a defender to redeem himself.
Besides, in an 8 goal per game environment it will be easy to realize that just about any of the goals listed above has more entertainment value than any 'corner kick to header' goal ever scored. This is particularly true for the spectators in attendance at the stadium. Things happen so fast on most corner kicks that the spectator quite often doesn't have a clue as to what they just saw. Hey, it could have been an own goal, for all they know for sure is that the ball is or is not in the back of the net. As with most of the goals listed above, goals scored from field play unfold before the spectator in a slower fashion, making for more entertaining goals. And while I do appreciate the skill which it takes to bend a free kick into an upper 90, such an unlikely occurrence comes with a terrible cost in the form of an interruption in the game's 'continuity'. And I'm often informed that this precious continuity is the key element which distinguishes soccer from sports like American football, baseball, and volleyball. Anyway, as I've said many times before, all goals are not created equal.
Before professional soccer will explode in America, the huge number of 1-0, 1-1, and 2-1 final scores must become a thing of the past. Once the 'go ahead' goal is scored, no spectator should ever feel that they will be lucky to see another goal that day.
If you weren't fortunate enough to see this Arsenal v. Middlesbrough match, keep checking Gol TV's broadcast of "Arsenal TV" each Monday afternoon for a rebroadcast of this incredible match.
Not that this was the highest scoring game of the fall season for the Arsenal Gunners, as the "North London Derby of 2004" against the Tottenham Hotspurs about a week later finished with a 5-4 score in favor of The Gunners. Before I close, let's look at a few of the incredibly interesting goals from that match, as these two matches are indeed case studies in offensive oriented soccer.
Let's begin with a supremely interesting goal by then Arsenal's Captain Patrick Vieira. Be careful chastising Henry for his off-sides position, as he was most likely positioning himself to capitalize on (or to simply remove the option of) one of soccer's biggest cop-outs...a defender's 'no look' pass back to the keeper:
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Or the following 'little goal' by Arsenal's Ljungberg courtesy of some center-mid magic by the 17 year old Fabregas:
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Or the following goal by Robert Pires off of Henry's perfectly threaded pass:
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Video Credit: Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Channel.
Make no mistake, this is the kind of soccer that I live for.
Mike 'Eager to be Entertained' Kimbro
Go to: Visualize Higher Scoring Soccer Kimbro's Home Page e-mail: KimbroCon1@aol.com
Oh yeah, I hate to mess with your groove, but now it's time to discuss a couple of this match's obvious officiating blunders. But that's just how I saw it, as both of the commentators praised referee Steve Dunn for keeping the yellow and red cards in his pocket on the following pair of seriously aggressive fouls. Click here to hear audio featuring their thoughts on the subject.
On the first incident, Middlesbrough defender Colin Cooper misses the ball entirely and takes out the legs of the attacking Arsenal player.
The key in my mind is the timing of the drop into the slide tackle.
A few years ago, I watched in amazement as a defender on the mighty North Carolina Lady Tarheels soccer team could repeatedly approach an attacking opponent at full speed and stay fully upright until almost close enough to reach out and touch the forward's shoulder. Then, just as the forward was steeling herself for the immanent upper body contact, the back would drop into the slide tackle at the very last instant, clipping the ball out of bounds and sending the forward cart-wheeling down the field in pain. And never was a card thrown, as the ball was solidly redirected out of bounds each time. And, even in the women's game, I was totally cool with that type of physical soccer. As the father of two goalkeepers, I appreciate great defense.
In a typical slide tackle, the player drops into the slide earlier in an effort to redirect the ball, and hopefully take the opponent a bit off his stride as he has to leap over the tackle to avoid the collision. But when a defender delays committing to the slide until the last instant it is to:
It's a calculated gamble, with the risk being a sure yellow card if the ball is missed, and the reward being the sight of a limping opponent for the remainder of the half.
Check out the video by passing your mouse over the following image.
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Video Credit: Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Channel
You'll note that Cooper's still completely upright just a step from the ball, then attempts to drop down under the directly oncoming player at the moment of contact. And he clearly missed the ball and took out the man.
Click here and see if you detect the subtle jocularity that commentators Alan Parry and Andy Townsend employed as they advised the audience that the free kick was quite a penalty when you're playing a team as good as Arsenal, which I felt was an indirect justification of the ref's decision to hold the card. I certainly don't agree with that, as it not only encourages but justifies the dives and extended displays of pain and suffering which are such an important part of soccer today. Just because a player is resilient enough to immediately hop up and stroll away should not mean that a card is not justified. The old "no blood, no card" philosophy may be fine internationally, but it will only hold back soccer's growth here in America.
To fully appreciate what I'm attempting to communicate here you need to look at American Football. Consider the situation where a 210 pound running back is sandwich tackled between a 350 pound lineman and a rabid 240 pound linebacker, and then another 235 pound linebacker - running full out - rams into the front of the pile to assure that the running back doesn't attempt to stretch his arms out to gain a few extra inches. After the defenders are pulled off the running back, we Americans don't expect the running back to lay on the ground and contemplate the steam rolling which he'd just been subjected to. Instead, the correct response is to immediately hop up and (as one of the defenders is expressively trash talking, no doubt reflecting 'environmental' elements in his upbringing), strolls back the huddle, with a glance at the tacklers which says "Is that all you've got?" along the way. With that in mind, I hope that you can see why it's "just so wrong" in the eyes of the casual American sports fan (such as myself) to require that a player exhibit significant amounts of pain and anguish before a yellow card is justified. And while I can almost understand why players prefer to play the game where the officiating enjoys such subjective rationalizations, such a reality is simply far too frustrating to sell here in America on a large scale...particularly with a measly 2.67 goals per game average score.
Moving on, just a few minutes later, while the score was still 0-0, Arsenal's Ashley Cole crosses the mid-line and is hammered twice in a matter of 3 strides. The first foul is from BEHIND by Middlesbrough's #14, who almost succeeds in kicking Coles legs out from under him.
I may be showing my ignorance here, but I thought that aggressive tackling from directly behind was severe enough to be considered a red card offense.
Then, as Cole was trying valiantly to regain his balance, Middlesbrough's Michael Reiziger seizes the opportunity to hammer Cole's lower body. And Reiziger clearly misses the ball entirely. Now that's two men hammering an attacking player's legs, one clearly from behind, and no yellow card. Again, check out the video by passing your mouse over the following image.
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Video Credit: Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Channel
If Reiziger didn't earn the yellow for the tackle, I can't imagine standing by as Reiziger loudly made his case that the cheap shot was somehow justified since the ball was going out of bounds. Hey Referee Steve Dunn, show some guts and pull the cards.
If you don't agree with my appraisal of the above situations, you surely don't want to go over to the "red card" page where I examine Paul Gardner's ideas on softening the red card rules.
I'm a big fan of good defense, but not carding these fouls was wrong. And you can save your e-mails stating:
"...and while these same fouls may have been card worthy later in the match, the ref was indeed wise to withhold the yellow card early on, particularly if the score was 0-0 at the time."
That logic isn't going to work here in America. Call us unsophisticated, but we Yanks expect consistant officiating throughout the entire match. We get it in baseball, basketball, tennis, hockey, and American Football, and we expect it in soccer as well. I guess you could say that we're kind of spoiled that way.
Image Credit: Champions Magazine, Feb/March 2004 issue, page 56, photo by Empics, Offside/L'equipe, Getty Images
*** The following video presents a perfect example of a player who telegraphs his slide tackle, and probably regretted it:
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Here we have Arsenal's Toure leaving his feet so early that Liverpool's Warnock had the time to carry on the following conversation with himself:
"Now here's something you don't see everyday! The match is young, the Gooners are up a goal and this guy Toure is flying through the air like The Hulk. He's either stupid or he wants to hurt me, and my money's on door # 2. Well mate, two can play that game."
Seems like a perfect time to quote the venerable millerthescouser:
"i love slide tackling, it gets u the ball as well as clearing the fag that just hacked ya. any special techniques? i run in mad then wen about 4 meters away i jump, n try and get the ball as well as the opponent. so"
Above Image Credits: Fox Sports World, America's Soccer Network