by Some thoughts on Korea-Italy:
First off, I didn't think the refereeing was all that bad. The
Koreans deserved to win. Italy's whole strategy was to score the
first goal and then settle in, relying on their vaunted "defense" to
put the game away. This strategy almost backfired from the outset
when the Koreans got a penalty kick and Anh wasted it with a very
predictable and feeble effort. Vieri's goal came soon after and Italy
settled into their entirely expected defensive game. What followed
was nearly 75 minutes of dull, uninteresting soccer -- the kind of
thing that drives the uninitiated from the game. The Italians, as
usual, packed it in and tried to take the Korean fitness factor out of
the game by forcing them to attack understrength. Whenever a Korean
mounted any kind of a run at all, Italy's defense grabbed a shirt or
took a man down. If you like the "beautiful game", as I do, you were
maddened by what the Italians were doing. But, as with almost every
team that has tried to coast through their game with only a one goal
margin, it backfired. Italy got a tad bit sloppy and the Koreans
managed to squib something in.
It was only then that things began to get interesting. Vieri missed a
couple of clear opportunities. Buffon made a couple of very nice
saves. Best of all, both teams had accumulated so many yellow card
from tripping, diving, and shirt-grabbing that the defenders had to
start playing honest soccer. Totti, in my opinion, got a bad break in
that I didn't see a foul or a clear flop. However, that's the way
things go sometimes. I didn't find the ref to be particularly partial
at all. Indeed, several times when at first blush I thought he had
blown calls, the replays showed him to be correct. He was decisive,
steady, and for the most part correct.
Italy's loss, coming the way it did, is largely attributable to the
way they chose to play. Their players, for the most part, showed far
better foot skills and passing accuracy than the Koreans. But they
chose to play their usual boring game and were burned for it. By the
way, if Buffon had stayed on his line I think he would have handled
Anh's winning header -- which didn't have that much on it. Can't
fault him too much here though.
So, to close, I wish that a ref rewared every shirt grab with a yellow
card. It would improve the game. The totally exasperate me and take
the beauty out of soccer. I play in a local league and that's how
they are treated. For some reason, in World Cup play, they are
tolerated unless they are egregious. I don't get it.
Joe Murphy