Double Header. Only One Matters?
Argentina Vs. Brazil
Starting Lineups
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day:
then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Wiki article about the Argentina - Brazil rivalry.
On such a glorious day, we shall let go of our prejudice; put aside our hate; allow ourselves fall victim to propagandas; and open our arms to welcome the Brazilians onto the pitch. Then we
KICK THEIR ASSES!
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U-20 Argentina Vs. Mexico
After the Copa America final tomorrow. Argentina U-20 will take on Mexico led by Giovanni dos Santos at 19:45 EDT.
Two unsurprising results today (Austria came back from the 15th minute Altidore goal to win against USA 2-1, and Spain losing to Czech Republic in PSO following 0-0 regulation periods and a 1-1 draw at the end of ET) meant the winner of tomorrow's battle between El Tri and Albicelestes will become the favorite to win this youth World Cup.
Why unsurprising?
USA ran out of gas and couldn't keep up with Austria. For teams lacking depth, tournament becomes increasingly difficult as it progresses due to fatigue and injuries. Honestly, this is probably as far as USA could go...
The other game, Czech was CLEARLY UNDERATED by media! Their defense is physical and solid, and their goalie Radek Petr is just unbelievable.
Mini Argentino couldn't get a break in our group meeting, it really didn't surprise me that spain couldn't pound one in after such intensive bombardment today. They were really lucky to get the equalizer at the beginning of second extra period, and Czech deserved the PSO win.
Those that aren't fortunate enough to have TV broadcast of today's U-20 matches could catch them via online stream from LiveFooty.
To watch the games this way, one must use MSIE and download the necessary program(s).
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More thoughts on U-20 Czech Republic vs. Spain
Negative football is simply too effective to be discarded by 'weaker' teams in international competitions
However, the worst isn't these weaker teams determined to play defensively football from the get go (Such as Czech in this U-20, or paraguay NT in WC06 and current Copa),
The worse are the strong teams that choose to play negatively against competitive opponents, that really disgusts me. Teams like England and Italy had clearly demonstrated how dangerous the style is and how willing they are to excise the option. They are the real reason why negative football is a force to be reckoned with today. Remember, it was Helenio Herrera's Inter that brought fame to Catenaccio, not the rest of Italian trenches.
FSC analyst Bobby Mcmahon noted that Spainish fullbacks in the U-20 match didn't push for width. In Argentina's past 3 copa america matches, our fullbacks didn't actively push for width either (especially after we scored). The holding midfielders were going up to add strength to the attack instead (Mascherano).
This is probably a precautionary measure to minimize damage from counter attacks. It from another perspective showed us how dangerous the negative styles are.
Due to the elimination of wildcards, the 24 to 32 team change in World Cup had reduced the number of teams that built their entire strategy around negative doctrines. Defensive football teams got hit hard in 98'WC (the first 32 team tournament). And in 2002 we saw more balanced formations. Finally in 2006, Paraguay almost looked like an odd bird... Perhaps U-20 WC can go to 32 team format as well?
The strong teams will continue excerising negative options unless some fundemental rule change had taken place. It's the yingyang of things. Where there's a villain, there's a hero...
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