Comments on: Our Starting XI, Round 2

By: Ian Rose

Ian Rose — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 03:41:36 +0000

I knew this one was going to be a lot more controversial than the first. We had a problem just within the four of ourselves coming up with this one. Shazback – great argument, and thanks for it. I guess our logic was that his performance was that of a perfect attacking mid, not a striker. Since we had unanimously put Deco as our attacking midfielder, he just didn’t fit perfectly anywhere. Still, I see your point.

As for Van der Sar, we picked Boruc and Lobont because of the constant pressure they repelled. VDS is maybe the best keeper in this tournament, but thanks to the Dutch attack and (surprisingly) good defense, he just wasn’t tested nearly as much as the other two.

I stick by the eleven, but there’s always going to be more than eleven guys that deserve it. Thanks for the comments, everybody.

By: Shazback

Shazback — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:42:58 +0000

I don’t have -that- much qualms about the choices… Except for one player. Where is Ruud Van Nistelrooy? Yes, he didn’t score. But he was the cornerstone of the Dutch’s win against France. Every ball that was punted/passed towards him, he managed to keep possession and play it to the feet of Sneijder/Van Persie/Robben/Engelaar/Kuyt… He was simply monstrous. His constant activity meant that the Dutch could play off him to feed their formidable five-man midfield, and he was always man-marked by at least one player… Not that it was enough to stop him.

And then, of course… “that” pass to Robben. Compare it to Zidane, Ronaldinho, Maradona, whoever… That pass takes out three defenders, opens half the pitch for Robben (it’s almost perfectly in his run), and turns a one-on-four by the half-way line to a three-on-two on the edge of the box.

It wasn’t his only trick, though, since he’d pulled one like that before to get away from Makélélé and Toulalan’s close marking, and pass to… You guessed it, Sneijder. And his lobbed header wasn’t bad either.

Did Olic and Ibrahimovic have better games than him? Sure, they scored. But Van Nistelrooy played in a role that allowed his team to shine as a whole, running a massive 10.6 km (5th most run, behind Makélélé, Toulalan, De Jong and Bronckhorst) and 33 passes (85% overall, but 11/11 for “short passes” according to UEFA)… He was all over the French half, fighting to keep Dutch posession, and he was an invaluable asset.

I didn’t watch Olic or Ibrahimovic’s whole game so I guess I could be accused of not judging them fairly, but I really am mystified at how such a performance doesn’t fit in the best 11…

By: john

john — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:04:40 +0000

I completely disagree with Modric. Not only because the hype didn’t match the performance, but because both Xavi (despite not playing a full 90′) and Senna had far greater impacts on their respective game than the croate did. And I agree that Van der Sar should be on the bench, at the very least. But hey, I like what you folks do; keep it up.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:00:28 +0000

Jan, our sleep-deprived brains also came up with Yakin, and then we remembered two of those goals came in Round 3. Look for his name on Thursday.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:27:21 +0000

How about Yakin? Three goals isn’t bad for a 31-yr old “not real” striker.

By: Warouw

Warouw — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:00:29 +0000

Should be Van Der Sar & Robben in.

By: leon

leon — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:44:54 +0000

agreed with 8 of the 11 picks. deco didn’t do amazing and ronaldo’s performance was good but not great except for his goal which was a solid goal. and melberg was at fault for the villa goal i think because villa put a very good move on hannsen(i believe it was him that was back with melberg). melberg needed to go right at him and didn’t until it was too late. been good on both round 1 and 2 for the most part though.

By: Tommy Wong

Tommy Wong — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:14:12 +0000

Panucci is SO clutch, you might as well call him ‘Clutch Master’.

loll, ive been drinking again, but not as mcuh as last time.

By: sexy merilyn sekova

sexy merilyn sekova — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:00:59 +0000

Zhirkov is not from ‘Portugal’ and Russia won 1-0 not 2-0 over Greece (nothing seemed to go in, for either team, except that crazy goal)

and Ronaldo is an over rated prick. greatest my arse…

By: justin

justin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:46:48 +0000

Buffon over Boruc