Oh, Wegerle!

Jon DeNunzio's blog about soccer, which started as Italo-centric ramblings on the 2010 World Cup.

[ohroy]

Greece vs. Poland in Euro 2012 on your DVR -- no spoilers

Let's say you couldn't watch the opening match of the Euro 2012 soccer tournament on Friday but wanted to view it as if it were live later. And let's say you were pressed for time. This blog post is for you.

It's an idea that's been bouncing around in my head for a while. Every two years, American soccer fans with 9-to-5 jobs either take loads of vacation or miss out on key World Cup and Euro matches when they're live because of work (not a current problem of mine). 

Many in this situation will avoid the score during the day and watch it as if it's live when they get home (Chuck Klosterman says this sort of thing robs sports of its drama; I disagree). I'm thinking a media outlet that gave these folks a no-spoilers guide to the best parts might garner a few extra clicks. So I guess maybe this is a proof-of-concept.

I've highlighted 12 segments of the game below. Readers who wanted to use this would simply cue up the game on the DVR and jump to the segments I've listed below.

If you watch all of the segments, you'll see about 46 minutes of the game. Four segments are marked as "optional" -- if you're really time-pressed, skip those, and your game will last just 34:25. 

This sort of "no-spoiler, watch later" game post could be more detailed -- perhaps with links after each entry below you could click to reveal analysis, tweets, etc. about the segment you just watched. It seems like Storify or something similar might help with that. I may just try it later in the tournament. 

Your feedback is welcome. Especially if you try to watch the game this way. 

Poland vs. Greece

Friday, June 8 - Warsaw, Poland

Watch this:

- 2:00 - 5:00

- 10:00-14:15

- 15:20 - 18:30

- 24:30 - 29:30

- 32:30 - 36:50 (optional)

- 38:30 - 41:30 (optional)

- 43:15 - Halftime

- 47:00 - 51:15

- 61:15 - 63:00 (optional)

- 67:30 - 74:10

- 82:00 - 84:30 (optional)

- 89:40 - End

[ohroy]

How I Learned to Like the Germans

We're 45 minutes into the third-place game (it's tied, 1-1), and I am disturbed by just how fond I have become of this German World Cup team.

(I am pretty sure that before today, I have never used the words "fond" and "German" together in a sentence that did not also contain "beer," btw.)

One of my all-time best soccer memories was being in the stadium in Lyon in 1998 and watching Croatia dismantle Germany, 3-0, in a World Cup quarterfinal. The German fans surrounding us just kept shouting the players' names angrily ("Didi!" "Thomas!" "Lothar!"). I admit it -- I really enjoyed the German frustration and pain (quietly, of course).

Apparently that loss helped spark a comprehensive rethink of youth player development in Germany. This year's mannschaft, with an average age of 24.7, is a result of that effort (and maybe a glimpse of what American soccer could be?). 

Personally, this young Germany team has provided a large share of the most enjoyable soccer I have watched in the last month. The fast breaks against England. The dismantling of Argentina. Even the 1-0 loss to Serbia, in which a 10-man Germany just kept hammering away.

So this onetime Germany-hater is enjoying the chance to watch Schweinsteiger and Mueller one more time. I am sad that Klose, Podolski, Lahm and the 16-year-old goalie aren't playing. I am considering watching Bundesliga games this fall. 

Disorienting. But I guess that's not the first time this World Cup has produced that feeling. 

[ohroy]

Slovakia 3, Italy 2: How I'm Responding

I am already getting a few "I'm sorry" and "What happened?" comments. All very nice, mind you.

My response: Italy did me a favor -- now I don't have to watch this team the rest of the summer. 

Also: At least the last 10 minutes were entertaining, in an absurd way. 

[ohroy]

Italy-Slovakia at the Half: Thoughts

It's 1-0 Slovakia, and they deserve at least that much. The worst 45 minutes of thr tournament so far for Italy. 

I have little confidence this team can turn it around -- even if Italy figures out how to get the ball back to the attacking third, who's going to score? -- but I'd think these are some steps to take:

- Get Gattuso out. Why did Lippi think he was the answer? 

- Get Camoranesi and Pirlo in. Camoranesi may have been the best Italian player in the first two games -- I had to check Google news to see if he was hurt when I saw he was not out there. Pirlo, who knows if he is healthy? But can it hurt?

- I'd say get Iaquinta out, too -- that shot he took from the left side of the box was awful -- but I'm not sure that's as important as the steps listed above.

I'm gonna go somewhere quiet and watch the second half by myself now. I think by the end, I might just be glad not to have to watch another Italy game this summer.

[ohroy]

It's time for the Italians to start showing their quality and class [editor's note: wait for it] if they have it at this FIFA World Cup.

ESPN play-by-play man Ian Darke in the 17th minute of today's impending disaster vs. Slovakia.

[ohroy]

No caption required -- thanks to Dan Levy for the video.

[ohroy]

The World Cup is occasion for a dwindling number of doofus luddites — the collective vestigial tail of the American media — to proudly trumpet their dislike, or ignorance, of the game.

Stefan Fatsis in his Slate piece on "How the 2010 World Cup could push the United States into the international soccer elite." He starts off with a line that's appealing to me: "The quadrennial story of whether soccer will ever 'make it' in the United States is, as far as I'm concerned, dead. "

[ohroy]

No group in the World Cup is easy. But if Group G, which we'll tackle next week, is the Group of Death, Group F might be as well be the Group of Life. Indeed, as far as [ESPN's Soccer Power Index] is concerned, this is about the weakest possible permutation of teams that might have been drawn into competition together.

Pre-tournament analysis of Group F by ESPN.com. Sigh.

[ohroy]

Italy 1, New Zealand 1: One-Sentence Summaries

Since all Italy apparently can do in recent World Cup matches is score one goal and earn one point, here are several different thoughts today's game, all in one sentence (or less). 

1. At least Italy is not France.

2. My final tally of balls played into the penalty area (from the 23rd minute on, when I started counting) was Italy 47, New Zealand 9. 

3. I said in my earlier post that balls played into the box is just a crude measuring stick, and Italy Coach Marcelo Lippi explained why afterward:

It wasn't wise to continue putting in crosses when the New Zealand defenders were 2m tall.  

4. Fluke, or really bad sign: Italy has barely had to defend over 180 minutes so far, yet has allowed two goals.

5. Sports Illustrated's kick-butt Grant Wahl said "Wood torched Cannavaro" when he just missed wide right near the end, but I say Cannavaro gifted that chance to Wood on another frightening error.

6. Sad that Simone Pepe did not turn into a star as I hoped after the opener vs. Paraguay; instead he was pulled after 45 minutes. 

7. Here's backing for my previously stated view that the (inexcusable) deflection off Cannavaro was not enough to cancel out the offsides on goal-scorer Shane Smeltz: Ask a Referee.

8. Yeah, you could also say Italy barely deserved the penalty earned later in the first half.

9. Advice, though: Don't grab an opponent's jersey in the penalty area if you don't want to concede a penalty.

10. Italy has to hope that Andrea Pirlo returns Thursday vs. sleep-inducing Slovakia and infuses the team with a bit more creativity.

11. This may not fit the format, but here's a Twitter exchange (edited for clarity) from Scott "Mr." Butterworth and me after the match:

Scott: Ruh-roh, Jon. @fivethirtyeight says "If Italy go on, they'll almost certainly face the Netherlands. We have them at 90:1 against winning the Cup."

Jon: Already plotted all that out. Have moved on to worrying about qualifying for Euro 2012.

This was fun ... Next, I'm going to try to post one-sentence thoughts on the tournament so far.

[ohroy]

Italy-New Zealand: Halftime Thoughts

1. I'm going to have to check, but I think a deflection off a defender does *not* negate offsides. If I'm right, that New Zealand goal should not have counted. 

2. What I said in 1 above does not excuse whatever Cannavaro was trying to do there.

3. In the 22nd minute, I decided to keep track of every time each team played the ball into the opposing penalty area. The count in 23 or so minutes? Italy 18, New Zealand 0. That stat is a crude measure, but wow. Italy needs to convert on this advantage  -- the Azzurri could win 4-1 if this keeps up in the second half (somehow, I don't expect that).

[ohroy]

I plan a return to actual World Cup blogging today, but first, this ... 

[ohroy]

How to help the people who watch later on DVR

Here's a World Cup coverage idea I have toyed with for a while: Someone should write daily viewing guides for people who are avoiding World Cup games during the day with the intention of watching them at night -- but don't have time to watch two or three full games once they get home.

The guides would provide simple instructions: To get the sense of this game, go to the 23rd minute and watch the next 3 minutes. Then go to the 36th and watch for 30 seconds. Then the 55th through 60th minutes. Etc etc etc.

If the guide-writer got really ambitious, he could provide two or three different guides: How to watch the New Zealand-Slovakia game in 10 minutes, how to watch it in 20 minutes, or how to watch it in 30 minutes.

I'm hoping to watch a weekday game at some point in the tournament and try it. I will certainly post the guide here if I do.

What do you think? And do any of you have interest in trying to write a guide like this for one of the games? I would love help with this experiment.

[ohroy]

I don't plan many in-game posts here -- the pros will provide more than enough of that. But I have to say the World Cup is off to a great start.

As my colleague Cam said, an early Mexican goal would have deflated the World Cup opener. Instead, we got an amazing South African goal. And a great celebration (see above -- thanks to Andy Hutchins for tweeting/retweeting it). 

Let's hope for four more weeks of this. And hope that South Africa hold this lead ... 

[ohroy]

So--are you in South Africa? Or South Alexandria?

Alexandria, sadly. If only ...

[ohroy]

When will soccer ... Oh, come on -- please stop

Here's a blog excerpt today from USA Today's Christine Brennan, a former Washington Post colleague who, I should note, was always incredibly nice to me (and is from Toledo, Ohio, which is cool):

The World Cup soccer tournament, the sports event that rivets the world and confounds much of the USA, begins Friday. That means our quadrennial conversation about when men's soccer will become as interesting to us as it is to the rest of the world commences now, too. 

What can I do to keep us from having "our quadrennial conversation" any more? Just as I have tired of reading blog posts about the death of newspapers, I am really sick of debating the merits of soccer in the U.S. every four years. 

I like soccer. You are reading this, so you probably do, too. But if you -- or others -- don't, fine. If soccer never surpasses hockey* as a major sport in the States, fine. If it becomes the nation's top sporting passion, fine.

I'm really excited to discuss and debate what happens over the next four weeks in South Africa. That other stuff? No thanks. A dead horse.

* - You say soccer already has surpassed hockey in popularity here? Okay, fine. Whatever. 

[ohroy]

Help me refine my Twitter list

Here's the 81-person Twitter list I compiled one day last week.:

http://twitter.com/jondenunzio/wc2010

One of my ideas for a series of posts here is a daily update on a Twitter feed I need to cut and a Twitter feed I need to add, in an effort to get the perfectly blended lista mondiale for the next month.

So ... suggestions welcome. Or just follow my list and tell me what you think.

[ohroy]

The New Republic's blog, The Goal Post, just launched and at first glance, it looks like one to keep an eye on. They are promising twice-daily link posts like the one linked out of the headline above, and I like it. If I had more time, those would be the kind of aggregation posts I'd strive for. If you're going to click on one link in there, btw, try Marca's Very Cool Calendar.

Anyone else see top-notch aggregation out there?