恶人谷

If one is even slightly interested in watching football, he must love Brazil. He just must. There is no way out of the trap of being a fan of the Brazilian style, unless you don't really care about the sport. Year after year, decade after decade, players come and go, the team is flushed again and again, the generation is turned many times over, yet the unduplicable style persists. It doesn't always win you games and championships, but it's still breath-taking.

Strange. What's so unique about it?

As I'm watching the Brazil--Australia game and observing the many dangerous maneuvers in front of and inside the "box" by both teams (Australia is playing very very well, I'm so impressed), a realization struck me. Look how slow Brazil is when they are close to the goal. They are lightening fast passing through the midfield, but when they get to the box, it is as if time and motion are suspended in mid-air. They pause and pass and ponder, as if strolling alone in the woods and unaware of the massive number of defenders around them.

And often they get away with the slowness.

The slowness is almost demonstrated in their individual skills as 1 player passes several opponents, one after another. There was an instance today when Kaka maneuvered past about 4 defenders; he seemed slow, never losing his balance, his every shift and touch ofthe boall clear and delicate. But the defenders seemed to be stuck in a thick gel as well, simply unable to keep up with him.

Anyway, this team's defense is scary, enough to give me a heart attack. The communication between the goalie and the defenders seems very problematic.

澳大利亚和美国一样，急需球星。就是那种临门一脚解决问题的球星。他们总是在对手门前好一通热闹，然后咣一脚，不知道踢哪里去了。

同意jun, 巴西总是飞快攻过中场，尤其是卡卡，他的速度好惊人啊。到了门前9非常耐心， 尤其今天和澳大利亚对比起来看特别明显。第一个球，罗纳尔多在门前控球的时候， 没有看脚下的球，而是往左看找谁上来了，可以传球。

今天的球还是很好看的。 虽然好多critics 说巴西打得场面难看，我还是很心满意足的。不过巴西的门将， Dida? , 让我很不放心。

还有，今天看他们进了第一球以后，又作摇摇篮的样子庆祝，我竟然鼻子有点酸。

wah, did you guys read one article in National Geographic, it was a special issue or something on soccer, anyway, there was this one article about brazil soccer team, the author said brazil soccer team is the most beloved overdog, and everybody has 2 favourites, one is, well, the favourite, the other is brazile.

I guess u gotta love them, cannot help urself, even me, a non soccer fan.

tiffany wrote:everybody has 2 favourites, one is, well, the favourite, the other is brazile

this is sooooooo true. the other one usually is an underdog, or a bad-luck (at least we think so) 悲情英雄 one ....

The other day I was trying to explain to someone who is totally ignorant of football. I said I had not followed the sport at all since I immigrated here, but every 4 years the fever still catches me. You can't help it. One thing that sort of dawned on me as I was blabbering was this -- even with the player turnovers, even with the passage of time, the rule changes, the evolution of the sport, even with the great mobility of players in various countries and clubs today (for example, Ronaldinho is really more a member of Barcelona FC than he is a member of the Brazilian national team), there is a strange persistence of NATIONAL CHARACTERISTIC in each team that transcends time and change.

You would think that most high level players, regardless of nationality, are playing alongside each other in professional leagues in England, Italy, and Spain, and the result should be a great harmonization of skills and strategies. There should no longer be the distinction between Italy and Croatia, Portugal and Argintina, Brazil and England. But NO, when these players who had spent most of their working life in another country get back together, many of whom have never played with each other, somehow, magically, the style and attitude that emerge from a patched-together national team carries a whiff of the same style of play as their predecessors. The Germans are still efficient and no nonsense, even if their individual skills have improved much. The Dutch are still powerful attackers. And the US still lack a lethal forward. And England is still BORING! (OK, that is my bias.) And of course, Brazil is still delicate, mesmorizing, breath-taking, unreal, magical, regardless of whether they win, even when most of the players have adapted to the games in Europe. Somehow, they remember this collective physical memory that is Brazilian football.

Isn't this totally strange?

hey, I like them brits! they are so straightforward and down-to-earth, so simple, and at times, quite elegant.

可是他们去别的联盟踢球之前，已经被深深烙上本国的印迹了呀。

jun, 你除了巴西以外还喜欢哪个队？

作为一个伪球迷，我看出来这么一条：足球成熟国家的战术一般比较耐心，自己在别人禁区里时，不怕对方的防守死死纠缠，仍然寻找合适的时机，不急着打门；别人攻到自己门前，也有耐心步步为营地防守，门卫很少冲出来一大脚给踢到对方球门那里去，那样自己这边的进攻机会也基本丢失了。

那天看了场韩国对谁谁，俩队都是光光光猛冲猛打到了对方半场，不几个回合就射门，碰到防守之墙给弹回来，大家又冲啊往那半场去。热闹倒是热闹了，让人担心这样跑法能支持90分钟吗？

Hmm... I don't know anything about any of the teams and therefore don't feel comfortable picking a favorite.

但是我发掘了新一代巴西足球涮锅Kaka

General, I heard on NPR a reporter's complaint, "The commentary on ESPN and ABC (ie Disney) is so bad that a lot of fans would rather watch Spanish broadcast even if they don't understand Spanish." I had to LOL. Apparently the ratings in Telemundo are higher than ABC!

我现在就这么看的，美国的解说员有时候连进球都看不出来，整天就跟那说八卦，还经说得是八杆子打不着的美国队八卦。

同学们同学们好像群情激愤之后解说换了人了这个周末这两个没有这么irritating了

但是论起激情，还是西班牙台比较有激情。
我没有cable劳苦大众的说。
卡卡真是个漂亮孩子！

上次墨西哥队赢了老子刚好在家附近的国际食物超市买牛油果做沙拉，一堆牛油果前面人家一个墨西哥小伙哇啦哇啦在讲手机，挑出来了五六个牛油果划在自己面前，老子就在对面的他没挑中里面挑，小伙心情好啊或着也许老子挑得烂阿，他呼喝一声从他前面划了两个给我

那个激情的进球能叫两三分钟的西班牙台解说员可是独此一家别无分号，不能指望美国台一口吃个胖子晋升这种级别。

I'm very hesitant to "root for" a particular team to win. It's probably not good for the sport if Brazil wins yet again, but everyone will be a little sad if they don't. I have not seen either Argentina or Spain. The Netherlands ... they're OK, but I'm a little worried about their defense.

What I like is the fact that the best teams have a distinctive approach to the game, a style, a concept, an instinct, a habit, an inimitable personality. It's not necessarily the most effective or successful, but they can't help but be themselves. And that's great. That makes me emotionally invested.

我还是非常怀念04年欧洲杯BBC的解说员，又帅又内行。（废话，莱因克尔和Alan Hansen怎么可能不内行？）啊呀啊呀，他俩真是太帅啦！而且我也很喜欢看Alan Hansen在BBC上的专栏，尤其是谈到他们也是我亲爱的Liverpool的那些文章。

我担心荷兰的不是防守，后卫也许整体实力不如葡萄牙但是并没烂到无法信赖的程度，荷兰的中场则是我眼中最大的隐患，控不住球而且分球方面比较被动，缺少天才工兵致使拦截能力有所下降。再也见不到狂放的荷兰潮水，失落。

小白还希望阿根廷的后方线受到考验，我可怕着呢。世上有两件事情千万不要期待它能承受得住考验：婚姻和防守。上届世界杯小组赛阿根廷先被英格兰闷死，参考埃里克森瓮中捉鳖的战术傻瓜也明白该如何对付阿根廷，当然瑞典不是傻瓜，阿根廷重蹈94年的覆辙，睁大眼睛踏进泥沼，拼命挣扎只求了断。如果考验不可避免，但愿阿根廷能够狡猾一点，投机一点，最重要的是沉稳一点。

周六捷克踢成那个挫样之后我忍不住小哭了一把，德哥和小波唯一一次的世界杯就这么完蛋啦！疯狂的激情不能持久，耐性和理智都是必要的致胜因素。也许捷克给我的只有刹那间的热血沸腾，可那才是我不顾一切爱上足球的冲动，忘记所有的约束，享受最快意的呐喊。

map, 捷克还活着哪， 那个组谁都不死不活着哪。 别急别急。

map wrote:我还是非常怀念04年欧洲杯BBC的解说员，又帅又内行。（废话，莱因克尔和Alan Hansen怎么可能不内行？）啊呀啊呀，他俩真是太帅啦！而且我也很喜欢看Alan Hansen在BBC上的专栏，尤其是谈到他们也是我亲爱的Liverpool的那些文章。

呵呵，我记得当时你说莱因克尔一抬头，你的心就狂跳是不？ 听说今年BBC的足球解说受到大众批评了，什么种族歧视的调子，又是BBC的足球专家把更多时间花在一起打GOLF上（明指Linekar和Hansen嘛），已经脱节了云云。某人看了TIMES来传达，我抵死不信他俩会讲种族歧视的话。一定是别人嫉妒他们又帅GOLF又打得好。

对啊，而且我立马想起来当年我妈头一次看到莱因克尔的评语“这么文雅的一个人居然是踢球的。” 我还是更偏爱我刚刚开始看球的时候（90年代初期）的帅哥球星，现在的这些不够份量。不行，我要克制，小组赛结束之后才可以花痴。

看了最后二十分钟英格兰对瑞典。 1968年以来英格兰从来没有赢过瑞典，今天依然没有。真是魔障。瑞典下一场就要对东主国德国了，凶多吉少啊，不过看他们扳平了乐得P颠颠的样子，往前进一步就进一步八，总比小组不出线，但拼了老命干掉特里尼达的巴拉圭好命。

明天荷兰对阿根廷。看这一届的表现，仿佛是阿根廷更有戏一点。 希望他两能好好掐一掐，别跟不求上进的英格兰似的。弄个平局就歇着了。

Germany seems to be very confident.

Between Arg and Ned, I have not seen Arg but I doubt Ned is any less of a favorite.