WORLD CUP 2014: AS USUALLY, THE SEMIFINALS ARE FOR THE TEAMS WITH PEDIGREE

Football is a game played by 22 players, and the Germans always win in the end. I am using again this old Gary Lineker phrase to summarize the quarterfinals of World Cup 2014.  Out of my four favorites, three made it to the semifinals, except for Colombia, which was abused and brutalized by the aggressive Brazilian team (which had to pay the price - injured Neymar - for its own brutality, when Colombians started to retort, after noticing that referee was unwilling to penalize the Brazilian perpetrators with red or yellow cards).  I have written about Brazil v. Colombia match in my previous article. There is not much to say about the France-Germany quarterfinal match, played at the famous Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Friday and won by the Germans, thanks to early headed goal of Mats Hummels. The Germans, although unspectacular this time, except for Hummels' headed goal, controlled the game to the end, notwithstanding enterprising counterattacks by the French and glorious opportunities of Valbuena and Benzema. Unfortunately for the French, German goalkeeper Neuer is indeed the best goalkeeper in the world. In the first quarterfinal played on Saturday in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, Argentina edged Belgium 1:0, also thanks to an early goal. That goal, spectacularly struck by Higuain, was made by Leo Messi, who did not allow swarming around him Belgian players to take the ball away from his feet, then dribbled through couple of them and passed the ball to Di Maria, who immediately passed it further to Higuain, and he, with his back to Belgian goal when receiving the ball, turned and beautifully volleyed home, leaving the hugely talented Courtois frozen on the goal line. Till the end of the match, Argentina showed that they can defend after all, no matter what the English funny pundits say. The Argentina's midfield, directed by Leo Messi, and supported well by Mascherano and Biglia (who was preferred this time over Gago) as the holding players, controlled the match wisely till its end. The Belgians were threatening at times, mostly thanks to De Bruyne, Mertens and Verthongen, but Eden Hazard was ineffective, and then he disappeared until Marc Wilmots, his coach, finally substituted him with Chadli. Well done, Argentina. Unfortunately, they lost Di Maria to injury and will miss him sorely in the match against Holland in the semifinals. Holland v. Costa Rica, the last of the quarterfinals, played in the hot Salvador, had to be decided on penalties, even though the Dutch enjoyed overwhelming superiority in the match, having 75% of ball possession and outshooting the modest Costa Ricans 18 to 3, with 12 Dutch shots on target comparing with only 1 by Costa Rica! Notwithstanding the advantage of the enterprising Dutch, the Costa Ricans defended wisely by playing high defense and causing the Dutch to be caught 16 times  offside. It is obvious to anyone seeing the game, that this Dutch team is not that great when they have to attack. Except for Robben, the Dutch do not have any player who could unlock teams defending with a "parked bus". Sneijder was a bit unlucky with his free kicks and shots from outside the penalty area, twice hitting the woodwork, whereas Van Persie obviously cannot play against tight defenses. However, in the semifinal against Argentina, the Dutch would not have to play offense - they will park the bus themselves and will look with hope to swift counterattacks on the break.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal as well as other community important topics. You can reach him by telephone (212) 634-4250 or by e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

WORLD CUP 2014: NETHERLANDS TO STOP VALIANT COSTA RICA

The last of the quarterfinals, between Netherlands and Costa Rica, seems to be a no-brainer: the Dutch should advance and should do it fully controlling the match. Even though this Dutch team, except for Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder, and Huntelaar, does not have any major stars, all Dutch players present high level of highly utilitarian technical skills, and all are astute tactically. Luis Van Gaal did what no Dutch coach in 40 last years attempted to do: he gave up on typical Dutch total football (which is characterized by offensive style of play, executed by all players no matter whether they are forwards, midfielders or defenders). Instead, Van Gaal relies on tight defense, executed by block of seven defending players and on counterattacks, executed by his two offensive forwards (usually Robben and Van Persie) and by Wesley Sneijder, who is supposed to link the defense with the two loosely roaming forwards. Obviously, Van Gaal is heavily criticized, particularly by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, who besides being the biggest star epitomizing total football of 1970-s, fathered by Rinus Michels, is also known for total football's development, as the coach of FC Barcelona in early 1990-s. Van Gaal, however replied to his critics that he does not have much time to execute his offensive kind of football within the confines of time allotted to the national team, so he instead concentrated on quickest way of achieving the results with the material he has at his disposal. And since he has Arjen Robben, the perfect counterattacking type of a football player (quick and very effective dribbler, with a good shot), the way of play for this Dutch team was born. There is not much one can say about Costa Rica. Majority of their players plough their football in solid European clubs (Danish, Swedish, Dutch, German, English, Spanish or Italian) yet none of them play for the giants of European football. They are tall, great runners, who are wisely led by their best player Bryan Ruiz, and beautifully utilize empty spaces in their counterattacks. However, with this Dutch team, which uses so many defensive players, and closes spaces so well, I do not give the COsta Rican team much of a chance, unless the weather in Salvador would give them a helping hand: hot and humid day would raise their chances considerably. 

Janusz Andrzejewski is an attorney based in New York City, writing on legal and other important community topics. You can contact him by telephone (212) 634-4250) or through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com