By Alex

Why keep up the suspense? The results come from fantasycheatersleague.com.

Of course, this is not an exact science but it more or less falls in line with my own personal score keeping on the matter.

One aspect of “fair play” that gets overlooked is the honesty factor. For example, Thierry Henry against Ireland and yesterday when the German keeper chose to not admit the ball crossed the line against England. Fair play is a bit of a myth and not restricted to any one country. It’s a soccer-wide problem/issue – whatever you want to call it.

I recognize there are perceptions about who are the kings of cheating but perceptions are just that, perceptions. They’re unreliable. Sometimes reality and perception collide, more often than not it doesn’t. Until we take that subjective component and try and turn it into something tangible.

This is what FCL did here. To be honest, I’m not surprised with the results. Germany, England and Brazil get off the hook way too easily in the court of public opinion whereas Italy (the Israel/USA of world soccer) accepts the unfair majority of the criticism.

One thing I learned as an amateur soccer historian and former player is be wary of those who scream for “fair play.” They’re the ones most likely to break the fair play covenant.

Here’s the list for the group stages.

Let’s start with the top 10 players and move onto to countries.

1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Por) led all players with 73 cheating points. Hey, if you’re gonna do it, do it right, right? Right.

2) Luis Suarez (Uru) is next with 57. Keeping the art of theatrics alive and well for South America.

3) Luis Fabiano (Bra) 57 points. Apparently his handball was a “great” goal.

4) Clint Dempsey (USA). 56 points. I dedicate the song “Roll Over, Beethoven” to Clit, erm, Clint Dempsey. He did some mighty fine rolling around on the ground.

5) Alex Sanchez (Chi) – 57 points. I love my soccer spiced up with chili! Get it?

Daniele de Rossi (Ita), Arturo Vidal (Chi), Lucio (Bra), Sami Khedira (Ger), Wesley Sneijder (Hol) round up the top 10. For the full list go here.

These are my unofficial figures based on the FCL model for nations:

BY PLAYERS represented on top 300:

1) Serbia 16
2) Portugal 14
3) Germany 13
4) Greece 12
5) South Africa 12
6) Netherlands 11
7) Italy 11
Argentina 11
9) Ghana 11
10) England 10
11) Chile 10
12) Slovenia 10
13) France 10
14) Denmark 10
15) Brazil 9
16) Slovakia 9
17) Uruguay 9
18) Ivory Coast 9
19) Korea 9
20) Switzerland 9
21) USA 8
22) Paraguay 8
23) Spain 8
24) Japan 8
25) Honduras 8
26) New Zealand 7
27) Algeria 6
28) Mexico 6
29) Nigeria 6
30) North Korea 6
31) Australia 5
32) Cameroon 4

BY TOTAL POINTS:

1) Brazil 222
2) Chile 214
3) Portugal 209
4) England 194
5) Serbia 186
6) Netherands 185
7) Greece 171
Germany 163
9) Slovakia 164
10) USA 163
11) Italy 161
12) Ivory Coast 160
13) Slovenia 156
14) Argentina 154
15) Uruguay 134
16) Paraguay 133
17) South Africa 128
18) Algeria 126
19) Spain 124
20) Ghana 114
21) France 112
22) Switzerland 96
23) Denmark 95
24) Korea 93
25) Mexico 84
26) Japan 82
27) Honduras 69
28) New Zealand 64
29) Nigeria 50
30) Australia 47
31) Cameroon 38
32) North Korea 30

BY POINTS PER PLAYER:

1) Brazil 22
2) Chile 20
3) Algeria 19
4) England 19
5) USA 18
6) Slovakia 17
7) Netherlands 16
Paraguay 15
9) Slovenia 15
10) Greece 14
11) Italy 14
12) Mexico 14
13) Portugal 14
14) Spain 14
15) Uruguay 14
16) Ivory Coast 13
17) Germany 13
18) South Africa 13
19) Argentina 12
20) Serbia 12
21) Switzerland 11
22) Korea 10
23) France 10
24) Japan 10
25) Ghana 10
26) Denmark 10
27) Cameroon 10
28) Australia 9
29) New Zealand 9
30) Honduras 9
31) Nigeria 8
32) North Korea 6

To any astute observer of the game, none of this is surprising.

Couple of notes, Spain and Argentina scored relatively “low”, however, in the past, these countries were among the leaders….As for Honduras, for those who follow CONCACAF (as I do), you’d know the figures flatter them. Central America is a hot bed for excessive theatrics….USA coach Bob Bradley called for a crack down on diving. Absolutely. However, he should start with his own team who were far from angelic…Can we once and for all put a rest to this “fair play” crap only applies to certain countries?

Hey, props to, gosh, North Korea? Holy shit, how can these people want the bomb?

Update:

OFFICIAL LIST FROM FCL.

And the #1 dirtiest team is….?

Brazil!

There is a massive debate sure to engulf Italy in the upcoming months about what happened in South Africa. While many theories will be posited one stands above all for most fans and observers: The perplexing reluctance of giant Italian clubs to start domestic talent.

Marcello Lippis’s assertion that he didn’t leave behind any special players rings hollow among observers. There were an abundance of players to choose from. One would have to prove quite the mighty case Italy had nothing to offer other than Iaquinta, Camoranesi, Zambrotta, Gattuso and Cannavaro. All players well past their primes who played like it this past season. Five players out of form over kids like De Silvestri, Bonucci, Candreva, Motta, Sirigu, Ranocchia, Cassano, Aquilani, Antonini, d’Agostini, Santon, Rossi, Matri, Giovinco, Balotelli and so on. I’m not suggesting these guys, and there are others, should have all made the team but a good case can be made that some should have been there.

Lippi was right to seek a balance, that’s why he brought Marchisio, Palombo Maggio, Pazzini, Marchetti, Montolivo and Criscito, but it wasn’t enough and he confused matters with his poor tactics.

One could understand where there’s a dearth of domestic talent in Serie A, importation of foreign players can fill the void. It’s not the case in Italy where talent does exist. Whether it’s a case of over rating talent or not, it’s not like the players coming in from other countries are substantially better.

To see how this problem is being played out look no further than Sebastian Giovinco.  The diminutive phenom possesses Messi-like qualities not seen since the days of Roberto Baggio. As well as the tempermental, but potentially devastating striker Mario Balotelli.

I don’t know why Giovinco is not getting playing time. It’s not like Italy has a track record with over looking talent. If we look at the U-21 of the past, a tournament Italy does very well in, past top players like Fabio Cannavaro, Andrea Pirlo and Alberto Gilardino all ended up featuring on the senior national team early in their careers. Gilardino was 23, Pirlo 23, Cannavaro 23. For the record, Roberto Baggio was 21 when he played in his first World Cup in 1990.

Giovinco, it can be argued, is even more of a special talent and that’s saying a lot given the aforementioned trio are World Cup champions. It makes little sense that the next time the World Cup rolls around Giovinco will be 27! Wouldn’t it have been wiser to bring and allow him to gain experience? Or do decision makers not feel he’s capable of assuming national duties? If that’s the case it’s rubbish as he’s already represented the Azzurrini. Back in 2009, he and Balotelli single handidly toyed with Germany only to lose unfortunately 1-0.  While some Germans feature in South Africa, Giovinco and Balotelli are absent barely getting playing time at Juventus and Inter Milan.

The vicious circle goes like this: We can’t bring them because they lack experience. But if the big clubs don’t use them they can’t gain it. Meanwhile, as this nonsensical approach plays itself out, talent gets wasted away.

It’s unfortunate to watch this unfold. While there’s still time for Balotelli to grow and mature (he’s 20), Giovinco is already entering what should be his prime years and fans want to see him be treated in line with all great talents.

One can only hope incoming manager Cesare Prandelli sets the course back on track moving forward.

By Beaker

For the first time I’ve actually lost my patience with soccer. The sport I’ve played and watched all my life is simply stuck in another dimension. It’s failing to progress with the times.

We saw what happened in the USA-Slovenia match. We’ve seen some questionable off-side calls. And what happened in today’s England-Germany match was something that should not be tolerated. Down 2-1 in the 38th minute, Frank Lampard scored to level the game. The ball hit the crossbar and crossed over the line by what looks like at least a full foot yet was called off. The linesman was to far ahead to make any call and he didn’t. 2-1 it stayed.

Forget how the game turned out for a second, that changed the entire direction and complexion of the game. I don’t care what anyone says, in a game where it’s difficult to score goals, this sort of stuff should not be tolerated anymore.

People will argue it’s “part” of the game. No it isn’t. Not when you have the available technology like the Hawk Eye to avoid insipid situations like this. For crying out loud, it’s 2010! There is not rational reason to continue to ignore technology. FIFA is looking at adding a goal-line judge. Whatever. What is it with these dinosaurs that makes them act like Luddites?

So for me, coupled with the shabby officiating, out of control diving (from all nations and I will talk about this in a next post), and missed goals, my patience with this fine sport insisting on acting like a third-rate entity, is wearing very thin.

In international hockey this shit was erased years ago and it made the sport better. So spare me the “tradition” crap. Resistance to change for its own sake is not preserving tradition but mocking it.

As for England itself, no doubt they’ll look to scapegoat Fabio Capello, but the truth is if they couldn’t beat an inexperienced and pedestrian German side with their so-called “Golden Generation” with one of the best coaches around, what does that say then about the quality of players they have? Looks like Sven- Goren Ericsson squeezed as much he could from the talent level of England.

Truth is England is a second-tier power. They don’t have the quality of managers and development academies like those found on continental Europe. They are not Germany, Spain, Italy, Holland, France or even Portugal. They play right in line with their abilities and that’s a top 16 club. Unrealistic expectations from a hyped up media machine only adds to the “shock” and misery.

The quicker they realize this the quicker they can face the problem dead on once and for all.

Sepp Blatter and Bud Selig: A match made in denial heaven.

Italy is easily one of the most baffling soccer nation on the planet. There’s never a dull moment when it comes to the Azzurri.

The 2010 edition was no different. Sometimes, I swear, when I think about and watch Italy, I’m transported  back to what it must have been like during those chaotic times in the Renaissance when war, beauty and capitalism all operated in the same vacuum. Or, when they’re really on their game, the Baroque period suits me fine as if listening to opera or classical music.

However, the way their campaign went down it was like the fall of Rome in 476 A.D.

It could have, perhaps, all been avoided had Marcello Lippi not slowly descended into Dante’s circles of hell. His selections were baffling, his tactics irrational and ideas stale. A man who nailed down his tactical moves in 2006, was off his rocker in 2010. Those who challenged him faced the satirical cynicism of Juvenal.

Since the Confederations Cup it became apparent to all observers of the team it was a spent force and the time had come to pass the torch over to the young studs marshalling the pitches of Serie A – too numerous to name here.  There was an abundance of talent from all ages to choose from yet he proved unwilling to take them  siding with an ultra-conservative approach leaning on experience.  He argued he brought the best. Fans and observers beg to differ. He hardly gave them a chance and acted as if Italy lacked in quality. If Maradona experimented with over 100 players, Lippi did the opposite and finally settled on players past their prime and/or out of form.

Personally, I find experience is sometimes over rated and youth under rated. The more logical approach, especially in the aftermath of the Confederations debacle, would have been to choose a couple of players from the 2006 to form a leadership core and have them start off the bench. If Confederations wasn’t enough, Italy was uninspired during qualification and Euro 2008 as well.

From the onset Lippi’s tactics made little sense despite having four years to settle them. Several players played out of their comfort positions and never found their rhythm. The final nail in the coffin came when Buffon, a keeper without peer, went down to a back injury.

Here’s a stat: Italy allowed five goals on six shots that hit the target. In your lifetime when was the last time you saw this from a team that made defense into a sophisticated art form?

Against Paraguay, all things considered, it wasn’t their worst match. In the last two games against New Zealand and Slovakia,  they hurled 40 shots hitting the target 14 times. Against Slovakia, Quagliarella alone was faced bad luck as one screaming shot was incredibly  blocked by a defender on the goal line and a goal he scored that would have tied the game at 2-2 was over turned. A keeper’s save here and an offside call their way and their through to the next round. If the stars aligned in 2006, they were wickedly malaligned in 2010.

It’s easy to criticize. True. But in the case of Lippi, pinning blame on him is fully justified. The World Cup is a place to showcase your talent. I don’t blame people for thinking “this is the best Italy has to offer?” In reality, Lippi presented a skewed view of Italian soccer.  There were options. He chose to not go with it.  

What further upsets Azzurri fans is that from the 75th minute on in the third game they suddenly played with urgency as if they were bi-polar. The discovered their ground game, thanks to Pirlo, and actually scored two excellent goals – a third was over turned by an offside by the slimmest of insignificant margins. Quagliarella was on the cusp of having his Schilacci if not Rossi moment. 

It was too little too late of course but it was the typical Italian tease of what could have been had they just been directed well. What took them so long? They relinquished their title barely putting up a fight. They whimpered for 2 1/2 games turned up the fever pitch for 15 minutes. For this, the players should shoulder blame as well. This group should have been able to get of the group. Alas, they deserved the fate they were prepared to accept.

After the game Lippi stormed off the field without shaking hands with the manager of Slovakia Weiss. It was a classless move on his part. Later, he said something that still upset fans more. He didn’t think he could win but wanted to go deep in the tournament.

That line lends insights into his mindset. If he literally felt he couldn’t win, then why didn’t he do the right thing and resign? How could he let his ego get the better of him? Did he actually truly think that players so off form were going to rise like a Phoenix to play sparkling and inspired soccer? How? He put his 2006 champions in an impossible position. Everyone stayed one cycle too long andthe result was Italy’s image lies in tatters.

 And so ends an Italian experiment that never was. A journey with no spirit and empty promises. Slaves to ego and politics, the national team wallowed in nothingness for four years. One of the all-time great soccer nations, decorated with trophies and legendary players, fell into the soil (and turf) of South Africa forever to be forgotten.

Italy are out. Some cry. Some rejoice. One thing is for sure, they’ll be back.