WORLD CUP 2014: GERMANY DESERVEDLY BASKS IN CHAMPIONS GLORY, AGAIN

Germany won the world cup in football (or soccer, if you prefer the American English terminology) again, after having taken the twenty-four year sabbatical from the duties of reigning world champion. I still remember Euro 2000, at which Germany was unable to win even one single match in the group stage. But the Germans are not about falling into despair or counting just for heavens' help while dealing with any crisis. The German Football Association immediately came up with a program of reform, which consequently was followed and brought consecutive semifinals (or more) at major football tournaments (world cups and European Championships) starting with World Cup 2006 (2002 World Cup final was rather an accident than a product of the reform). And now, after fourteen years of hard and methodical work, they reached the pinnacle, thanks to creative thinking of people responsible for coming up with the visionary program of developing young players, stemming from various ethnic groups of nowadays Germany. It is no longer the Die Mannschaft of old, as built by Sepp Herberger and Helmut Schoen, with boring and methodical football allowing to grind the wins out thanks to the Teutonic "never die" attitude. It is no longer the brilliant technically and tactically new Germany of early years under Jogi Loew (and Jurgen Klinsmann in 2006), going eventually soft, and being beaten by Italy (like in semifinals of World Cup 2006 and Euro 2012) or by Spain (final of Euro 2008 and semifinal of World Cup 2010). This Germany, at World Cup 2014, was able to finally bridge the quick passing game (called here and there "quickie-taka"), characterized by high level of technical and tactical skills, with the old "never die" attitude, recovered in the matches against Ghana, USA, Algeria and France. And then, they put it all together against the weak Brazil, and we had to witness the "Mineirazo" (from the name of the stadium in Bello Horizonte which will be known as the place of the biggest collapse in the history of football) pushing away the Maracanazo into the ancient history annals, and itself entering the folklore of the modern world football. Argentina played very smart football in the final, attempting to liquidate all pockets of space between the lines of midfield and defense, yet eventually they were worn out in the overtime, and unable to hold tight spaces any longer, having in addition one day less for recovery than the Germans. Without having Di Maria, who could accelerate and create holes in German defense, it was only up to Messi to try to make the runs at German defense. And Messi did try to do so on his tired legs, and scared Hummels immensely on occasions by decelerating and accelerating, yet it was not to be. Germany had too many assets at their disposal, their bench was full of players who were not only equal to those who started the match, but even better in certain aspects (like Andre Schurrle or Mario Goetze). Argentina, did not have such riches at their disposal, and their coach Alejandro Sabella brought on not fully fit Aguero for tiring Lavezzi - otherwise having a good game - and colorless Palacios, for unlucky Higuain, the man who let Argentina down with his infamous miss. It seems, Messi has not surpassed Maradona yet in the pantheon of the greats, and the time is running out for him. But Messi, if he plays economically, might have another two world cups in him, although, Argentina (responsible for providing Messi's supporting cast) seems to have entered now the barren years, after the five world titles they collected in under 20 tournaments (from 1995 to 2007), thanks to program instituted in the 1990-s by Jose Pekerman. But Pekerman is gone, now coaching the brilliant Colombia, and Argentina stopped producing the great players they were known for between 1995 and 2008 (when they won under 23 Olympic final in Beijing). This Argentina was the oldest team in World Cup 2014, and unless there is a new wave of players coming in, they might have to wait for another generation to lead them to a world cup final.

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

WORLD CUP: SHOULD ARGENTINA BEAT GERMANY, MESSI WOULD SURPASS MARADONA AND PELE

We cannot measure the talent, level of technical skills and individual accolades achieved by the footballers such as Maradona, Pele and Messi. We can try instead to compare the achievements of the teams in which they played, the strengths of the teams against whom they were competing and the quality of the supporting players in their own teams, as well as our stars' impact on their own teams, through decisive plays and goals, through creative vision exhibited. The highest amount of trophies with national team won Pele with Brazil. Yet Pele played in such strong national team of Brazil that one cannot say that he was indispensable to Brazil to win the championship. During the 1958 tournament, when Brazil won the first title, 17 year old Pele wasn't even the Brazil's best player. He had around the best player of the World Cup 1958: Didi, as well as such greats as Vava, Garrincha, Altafini, Zagallo, Nilton Santos and Djalma Santos. In World Cup 1962 Pele was injured, in a second group match against Czechoslovakia, and didn't play further, instead he had to watch Garrincha, the best player of World Cup 1962, to lead Brazil to their second world title. Again, in World Cup 1970 played in Mexico, Brazil was so full of talented players, that one cannot say that it was Pele whose impact was indispensable to the Brazilian third world title. Having around such players as Jairzinho, Tostao, Rivelino, Gerson, Clodoaldo, Carlos Alberto, Brito, Piazza, or Everaldo did not put much pressure on Pele. His task was easy and he did not have to deal with major stress accompanying for example Maradona, or Messi and Neymar in their world cup campaigns. The proof is in that famous Carlos Alberto's goal (after a series of moves and passes between seven Brazilian players) of the final match of World Cup 1970, stamping the Brazil's win over Italy. Pele did not have to dribble through whole defenses of opponents like Maradona did in World Cup 1986 in Mexico (against England, then Belgium). Otherwise, Pele's Brazil did not have as strong opponents as Argentina did in World Cup 1986, which they won, and World Cup 1990, which they lost to Germany on a hugely controversial penalty. Also, Maradona did not have such support as Pele always had. With their clubs, Pele won Libertadores Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, yet again he had stars in his Santos team. Maradona was not so successful with his clubs, yet he had more competition as he left for Europe, after playing in Argentina for a weak club Argentinos Juniors and then for a year at Boca Juniors. Maradona's two years at Barcelona, Spain were not successful either as he only won Copa del Rey, but one has to say that he was injured for long spells of time. Only with Napoli in Serie A he was relatively successful by winning Serie A in 1987 and 1990 and being twice Serie A runner up, and adding to collection UEFA Cup. He managed to do it all in the time when Serie A was at its peak and was the strongest league in the world, and AC Milan was the best team in the world, and Inter and Juventus were not far behind. Maradona on a weekly basis had to play against Van Basten, Gullit, Rijkard, Baresi, Maldini, Donadoni, Matthaus, Klinsmann, Bhreme, Zico, Platini, Cabrini, Rush, Laudrup, Roberto Baggio, Schillaci, It seems that Maradona played in a much tougher environment than Pele, who never was brave enough to take on a challenge of playing in European best leagues, against better defenses of European teams, more sophisticated tactically, and better athletically than those in Pele's native Brazil. Consequently, Maradona until now was the greatest player, with Pele behind, followed by Johan Cruyff , Garrincha and Zinedine Zidane. And here comes Lionel Messi, the player with the ball glued to his feet while running at highest speeds (Pele and Maradona were slow in comparison to Messi and in their dribbling they relied mostly on control of the ball and body moves ) , shattering goal-scoring records, who achieved in club football everything - neither Maradona, Pele nor Zidane can compare to his achievements with their clubs. Only Alfredo di Stefano, Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer achieved so much (or perhaps more) with their club teams. Of course, Messi is not finished yet. In World Cup 2006 Argentina was so rich in talent (that it should have won the title except for that tactical mistake of Pekerman who took his playmaker Juan Ramon Riquelme  off the pitch while leading 2:0, allowing Germany to make a comeback and to advance to semifinals) that there was no place for 19-year-old Messi, in World Cup 2010, Messi was quite good, but Argentina was handicapped by the worst coach in history, Diego Maradona himself, and Argentina again was knocked out in quarterfinals by Germany. Now, after club season when Messi was trapped by recurring injuries, he does not run so much with the ball, he is much more economical in his game, plays deeper as the real playmaker of the old times, yet when he is needed, he delivers. He led Argentina unbeaten in qualifications to this world cup. Now, in Brazil, his goals against Bosnia and Iran were decisive, his two goals against Nigeria had a calming effect on the team. The tough game against Switzerland, was iturned around by the Swiss, who strongly knocked at Argentina's goal, yet little Messi made decisive play and assisting pass to Di Maria, who managed to kill the game. In the match against Belgium, the plays around Messi became more and more physical, yet Messi was brilliant in tight spaces, holding the ball, liberating himself at times from swarming around him Belgians, and playing precise 40 yard passes. Decisive was his play, after which Argentinians scored the winning goal: Messi, in Belgian half, in the the middle of the pitch, was swarmed by several Belgians, when he spun away from two defenders and clipped a pass to Di Maria, who quickly passed further to Higuain, and the latter turned and volleyed beautifully home. One of the several passes of brilliance. In the semifinal match against Holland, the team playing with seven defensive players, Messi seemed to be contained (his father said after the match that his legs were stiff and he cannot run anymore). Yet he made a brilliant play in tight space in the right corner area, when he spun away from the Dutch defenders and send beautiful pass across the penalty area to free Maxi Rodriguez who should have converted, yet he ended up with a tame shot, which bounced from the ground, allowing Cillessen to calmly stop it. It was the moment when the decisive goal, resulting from Messi's flash of brilliance, should have been scored. Instead, the game went to penalties, where Messi calmly gave the lead to Argentina, after the first Dutch penalty was saved by Romero. Little Messi delivered again, on dead legs this time. If the Argentinian physiotherapists can somehow prepare those legs for one more match, if those legs can give Argentina another decisive play against the toughest opponent any team in history had to play in a world cup final, little Messi would surpass Diego Maradona as the greatest player in the history of this sport. But make no mistake, their opponent is the favorite of the final, no matter how much sentimental and sympathetic I am to Argentina's and Messi's campaign, nobody in the history of the World Cup had ever had to play such a formidable opponent as Argentina has in Germany, in such a great for Germany time, when they enjoy mental as well as physical advantage coupled with a better schedule of matches, giving them an additional day for recovery before the final. This German team is brilliant tactically, full of players with high individual skills, majority with great physical parameters. These German young men, who before played together for Germany teams under the age of 21, 19 and 17, are guided for a long period of time by the same coach, Joachim Low. In addition, this Mannschaft seemed to have recovered the old German "never die attitude" and the ability to win when it goes tough. If Argentina can somehow turn around the tables, and beat the Germans, Messi indeed would become the greatest of them all. Not that he is not the greatest in my eyes already. Good luck, little genius.

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City attorney, writing on legal and other important community topics, as well as on the subject of sport. You may contact him by telephone (212) 634-4250 or through e-mail: janusz@januszandrzejewski.com

WORLD CUP 2014: FOOTBALL ROLLERCOASTER IN ENGLISH MEDIAS

The English media, as well as English football fans, had a rollercoaster kind of a summer this year. Prior to each of the last several World Cups, to which they qualified (1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010), English media and fans loudly and widely claimed there was nobody in the world their golden boys could not beat, so they were proclaiming themselves the world champions (in waiting) and waited impatiently for the start of each of the upcoming tournaments. In 1998 their was no "hand of God" around but the English were "cheated out" again by those canny Argentinians who dared to dismiss their golden boy of the pitch, in 2002 it was that "lucky goal" by Ronaldinho and Seaman taking a momentary nap, in 2006, that winking man from Canary Islands "they taught how to play" got their "great" Rooney off , and title was gone, and in 2010 lack of goal line technology in the 1:4 loss to Germany (I wonder how loudly they complained about the lack of same technology in 1966, when, at the score standing at 1:1, Soviet referee decided to give the proud and fair sons of Albion a helping hand, and created a goal which wasn't, as the ball never crossed the goal line).
Having learned from their previous humiliations, this time around during the 2013/2014 Premier League season nobody dared to repeat any of the "glorious predictions" of the recent world cups. But, as soon as the season was wrapped up, the hope for glory was back. Why not, Liverpool had such young, bright and already "accomplished" players as Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson, Southampton showed off Lallana and Luke Shaw, Manchester United Jones, Smalling, Cleverly, Arsenal Ox-Chameberlain and perennial great hope, Theo Walcott. Just add to this "galaxy of interstellar talent" the "best goalkeeper" in the world in form of young and tall Joe Hart, and "all-time great" Wayne Rooney, known in various places of a certain island as "White Pele". The camp and friendlies started and English "pundits" started to ponder aloud "Sturridge" great chances for sneaking the World Cup 2014 golden boot. Soon, the multiple voices were heard supporting the unheralded young starlets to spring a nice surprise, then, after Sturridge came up with a decent goal in a friendly, the concept of "bright young talent commandeered from the back by the old master Steven Gerrard, taking the world by surprise", was circulated quickly in the headlines. Then, the show took another turn, and everybody pondered Rooney and the position on the pitch he should be gracing the world around with. Eventually, it was the time to play ball, and the English team performances we can cover with silence, accept to note the following: Italy v. England, the first fall down, but soon the train was on the way up, as Urugway was to play the unfit Luis Suarez, who happens to be the most hated man in England, for daring to be the best player in the Premier League, in addition to several cultural and anthropological deficiencies. But, oh my God, Suarez scored twice, and it was a major down - not only he humiliated his detractors, but also kicked out England from the World Cup and finished their glory dreams, the football coming home mantra, etc. Came the third round of group stage matches and very good things for England started to occur, England drew with Costa Rica, a real accomplishment, but the best news came from the Urugway v. Italy match: Luis Suarez has struck again! No, strike it from the record, he has BITTEN again! O thank you God, thank you God, thank you Almighty! The old Eng(er)land was merry again! Oh, how joyous can life be? English media, pundits, fans and population at large was together again (forget the bleak Scots and their independence murmurs). Punish him! Ban Him! Eject him! Remove him from football! Guilty of all accusations, including of the fall (or demise) of British Empire! Be done with the savage! Hospitalize him! Institutionalize him! So much venom coming from quite a merry England. At this juncture nobody remembered about another humiliation of English football. Nobody was willing to finally admit that the English were in the league of Montenegrans, Swedes, the Poles, Norwegians, Hungarians rather than Germans, Dutch, Spaniards, French, or Belgians. So, the World Cup 2014 went on and the English spirits were much higher now, but soon somber moods prevailed, the black clouds were seen again over the horizon, the great armada of harbingers of oncoming evil were brought by the mixed winds from south-west, across the ocean: Germany and Argentina were still around... Oh, why do we have to be punished so heavily? The two most hated in Eng(er)land teams with a chance for glory? But there were still traces of hope left in the pundits voice...Perhaps Brazil would improve, perhaps Van Gaal - in couple of weeks to be OUR MAGICIAN - will vanquish the Argentines and their claims to glory? Glory to Argentina? But it might enhance their claims to Malvinas (what? what did you call it?). Unfortunately, it was time for another turn down on the rollercoaster as Brazil collapsed in front of methodical Germany, and Van Gaal misplaced somewhere his magic wand, and despite help received from the brothers behind the Canal La Manche (again, what did you call it?) he couldn't find it back. Ah well, so we have to watch in the World Cup final the two most hated teams? But, there is good news in it, at least one of them will lose! And let's pray for Messi disappearing from the match, so we wouldn't have to swallow and digest another great from Argentina, not after the Maradona's miracles, hands of God, etc. After all, we do not want to raise on pedestal short footballers... In merry ol' England we prefer the big lads, like Cristiano. That he has no vision and cannot dribble? Who cares, he is big, and he is ours, we schooled him properly in the solid ways of English football. He can jump to all our high and long balls. That he "winked" us out of the glory at the World Cup 2006? We are a forgiving and civilized nation. Bygone is bygone. Messi can't jump to our high balls... Besides, we refuse to put the dwarfs on the pedestal of our sport! Never! That we are politically incorrect? No, not true, we always are! Except, when it pertains to our football. After all, we have invented it, we made the rules and we decide who can be great or not. Yes, Brazilians stole the football from us, but look at them, they were punished severely just recently. It's a lesson to the whole world, hands away of our football. And this World Cup was a success -  we did not have to be humiliated by Germany again, we can come back to our island with the heads held high this time. In several weeks we will be best in the world again, thank you Almighty for the Premier League! And we don't have to suffer Luis Suarez's skills again... We will press FIFA and UEFA to ban him from all matches to be played by Barcelona on English pitches. After all, we invented football and deserve some lenience.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: WHY DID I DISMISS BRAZIL FROM THE LIST OF LEGITIMATE CONTENDERS?

Now, after the new calamity entered Brazilian football folklore, after the collapse which befell the Brazilians at Bello Horizonte, it's time to explain why from the first moments of this World Cup I dismissed Brazilian chances, using expression "disjointed team". It all started before the final of the Club World Cup match between FC Barcelona and Santos, won by Barcelona comfortably 4:0. Prior to that game, Brazilian press, pundits, and many more, were expecting Santos victory and Neymar's first big win on the world stage. What followed was the total humiliation of Neymar and Santos, who reminded me of boys playing against intelligent, professional team, guided by brilliant coach. I saw football as played by the great technically and tactically Barcelona against gifted technically individual players of Santos, totally falling apart in midfield and in defense. Messi scored twice and look like a wise man in comparison to Neymar. From the first match of this tournament I could see how a team like Croatia was able to start taking apart the Brazilians, yet soon the referee and the linesman interjected themselves into the game, Neymar scored twice, and Brazilians were able to win 3:1. Out of four defensive players, only one Thiago Silva could defend, whereas Dani Alves, David Luiz and Marcelo, cared about nothing but about glory awaiting them at the opponents goal, so they roam forward most of the times, whereas nobody from the midfield tries to secure their vacant defensive positions. One can understand one, sometimes even two defenders joining the attack, but three of them? The midfield usually consisted of two or three defensive holding players. However, when those holding players were taking care of defensive duties in midfield, there were only Neymar and Hulk on the flanks, left responsible for creating the game. In most of the other disciplined teams that would have been fine but not in this Brazilian team. Both Neymar and Hulk, are players on a mission for personal glory. Also, Neymar is young and doesn't know better, even though he spent one seaon in La Liga. Instead of trying to do some playmaking and create occasions from flanks for the poor centre-forward, Fred, they most of the time cut in from the flanks toward the middle and attempted to score themselves. Because of this egotistical play, playmaking did not exist in this Brazilian team, whereas the centre-forward has been left most of the time isolated among the opposing defenders. Neymar from time to time was successful, thanks to his unpredictability, yet it was not enough. More good would have been done by him, or by Hulk, if they created spaces with dribbling on flanks and then by passing the ball to Fred, or Oscar, playing a bit behind him. Also, Scolari seeing that Neymar and Hulk play immature egotistical football, should have instead played a proper playmaker, like Hernanes, or Willian more often, yet he did not. I blame Scolari for not being able to force Neymar and Hulk to play for the team, and for not stepping in and introducing creative and team-minding Hernanes and Willian. The only good tactically match the Brazilians played against Colombia, when they used three holding players, who constantly abused James Rodriguez. But again, none of the three looked good in playmaking department, however, Brazilians were lucky as they were able to convert two dead ball plays; the first was the Thiago Silva goal after a corner kick, and the second goal, directly from the free kick by David Luiz. Had the second Colombian goal stood, Brazil would have gotten beaten by the Colombians because their luck on the dead ball plays ran out. How they could dream about beating the brilliant technically, astute tactically but also methodical (as in the old times) German team was beyond my comprehension. I knew and predicted Brazil losing, particularly without Thiago Silva to organize the last four line. I thought Brazilian loss even by two or three goals was possible, but 1:7? After 0:3, it wasn't funny any longer, the whole world had to participate in ritual slaughtering of sacrificial lambs. Brazilian footballing philosophy needs some fresh ideas. Brazil has to wake up and comprehend the fact that all the classy European teams dream to have Brazil on their way in any World Cup, for two reasons: first, because playing against Brazil for footballers all over world is like being touched by God and his glory; second, because it is so easy to beat the Brazilians as they are like children in the fog - they follow their instincts and inner fears instead the tactical templates of their coach. When the players don't have any template of responsive behavior coded into their brain, they immediately are about to fall apart when the fear strikes ... like Brazilian national team in Bello Horizonte did. And that is how Maracanazo was replaced in football folklore with Mineirazo.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: HOLLAND WITHOUT WEAPONS TO PENETRATE ARGENTINIAN DEFENSE

Now that disjointed Brazil (which had no right to make it out of the group, without help of the referees), is out of the way, we can enjoy proper football. And indeed, the Argentina v. Netherlands semifinal, even though without fireworks, was a proper match of football. Cagey, but full of tension. One could see that these were teams with pedigree, and that any error could be costly. Luis Van Gaal, played again with seven defensive players (De Vrij, Vlaar and Martins Indi as last three defenders and Kuyt, Wijnaldum, de Jong and Blind in front of them), and with two forwards in Robben and Van Persie, linked by Sneijder. The Dutch succeeded in stifling Argentina's midfield, particularly Messi, who was not given any space to roam freely, although he tried for an hour at least, and in flashes, as if trying to conserve his energy. Yet the Dutch were incapable of exerting any damage to Argentina, as Robben had no support whatsoever from Van Persie, who appeared to be out, of sort. Robben did what he could, but Argentina's defense, consisting of Zabaleta, DeMichelis, Garay and Rojo, with two holding players in midfield (Mascherano and Biglia) was up to the task and the Dutch ultimately failed to penetrate it. Argentina played well organized defense, with the best of the defensive players being Mascherano, yet they were unable to break the defensive set up of Van Gaal. After the half-time break, when Martins Indi had to be taken of the pitch, mostly due to his yellow card, Janmat was let on the pitch. However, he took the spot on the right whereas Kuyt moved to left, and Blind was moved to the back three line to take Martins Indi place. in 62nd minutes, Van Gaal was forced to withdraw not fit De Jong and Jordy Clasie took his place. The Dutch dominated the second half, with enterprising Kuyt and Janmaat, but Robben had to attempt to break the Argentinians on his own, seeing that Van Persie was not up to the task, yet the Argentinians were quick in blocking Dutch passes or shots. I believe in the whole match the Dutch had three shots on target whereas Argentina five. Eventually, Huntelaar substituted in 96th minute ineffective and perhaps not fully fit Van Persie. That substitution was important as it was the third and last one allowed for the Dutch and they could not use Tim Krul later on during the penalties. In the overtime, Argentina evened the match out in terms of possession and Palacios found himself one on one with Cillessen yet the Dutch goalkeeper easily stopped the Argentinian's header. Unfortunately for the Dutch, Cillessen is not Tim Krul. This time around it was the Argentinian goalkeeper, Sergio Romero (Luis Van Gaal himself taught him how to defend penalties during their time together at AZ Akmaar), who became the hero, stopping Vlaar and Sneijder from scoring, whereas the Argentinians, starting with Messi, were perfect from the spot. Luis Van Gaal lost his touch, and Argentina made it for the 5th time to the final, in which the German Manschaft awaits them for the third time. They are even, having won one a piece. Even though Messi this time did not do anything brilliant except for that run through Dutch players near the area of right corner, when he passed to not covered by anybody Rodriguez, whose shot was stopped by Cillessen, he still was the obvious leader of this Argentinian team; offensively, he didn't get much support, but in defense this Argentina was yesterday solid, with Mascherano, the holding player, playing almost a perfect game. I have a feeling, the final will not be such a cagey affair, although the Germans would have much more respect for this Argentina than they had for the Brazil. My sentimental favorite Argentina (for the reasons elaborated on in my previous articles), made it to the final after all! Notwithstanding all those bad things said by the English pundits, media and fans about supposedly weak Argentinian defense and Leo Messi being inferior to Cristiano Ronaldo. I'm having my modest laugh at their expense, again...

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

WORLD CUP 2014: THE TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT - PRIOR TO SEMIFINALS

I might still make corrections to the selected eleven after the semifinals and final are concluded. Also, since James Rodriguez and Leo Messi until now appear to be the best two players of this world cup, and they both are playmakers, I took a liberty of moving Rodriguez to centre-forward position, particularly that in nowadays football teams often play without nominal centre-forward. It is not a big stretch as Rodriguez, until now, has scored the highest amount of goals in the tournament. This way, I did not have to put Rodriguez as a reserve player in his natural position of a playmaker.  For now, here they are:


                                         Neuer - Ger. (reserve: Howard - USA)

Zabaleta - Arg.               Gonzalez - Costa R.     Hummels - Ger        Blind - Hol
(res. Gamboa-Costa R.) (res. Kompany-Bel.) (res. T. Silva-Bra) (res. Verthongen-Bel.)


                                      Lahm - Ger.         Schweinsteiger - Ger.
                                     (res. Fernandinho-Bra) (res. Mascherano-Arg.)

                                                           Messi - Arg.
                                                    (res. de Bruyne-Bel.)

Robben - Hol.                              J. Rodriguez (Col.)                            Neymar (Bra)                             
(Valbuena-Fra.)                          (res. T. Muller-Ger.)                          (res. Bolanos - Costa R.)
                                            

WORLD CUP 2014: BRAZIL V. ARGENTINA POSSIBLE, BUT GERMANY V. HOLLAND - REPEAT OF 1974 FINAL - MORE PROBABLE

The Argentinians will surely treat the Argentina v. Holland semifinal as an opportunity to take revenge for the 1998 quarterfinal loss (remembered for the Bergkamp's exquisite ball control, exhibited on his famous goal scored from Frank de Boer's long pass). After all, they are blessed with the great Messi's presence in their team, and the Dutch team this time around does not abound with great talent, except for the unpredictable Robben, and good scorer Van Persie, who isn't so mobile any longer. Wesley Sneijder is still blessed with good shot on his free kicks, yet he also is a bit under par. After all, he has been diagnosed to have anemia not so long ago. Who else? Perhaps Jan Klaas Huntelar, a great shooter, but nothing more than that. Indeed, this Dutch team, except for Robben, appears to be so short on creativity. So short, that the Dutch were unable to get the ball into Costa Rica's goal, defended by inspired but nothing more than solid Costa Rican defense and Navas, second string goalkeeper. And the Dutch have to meet now Argentina of no one else but Leo Messi on a mission to mark the Rimet Cup with his fingertips. What a task! As I already have written here, I really want Leo Messi to win his World Cup, but I am afraid that this Dutch team might be a very inconvenient obstacle. It seems as the most logical solution for Luis Van Gaal to play again seven defensive players (as against Spain) and two forwards (Robben and Van Persie) roaming in counterattacks, linked to the rest of the team by perpendicular passes of Wesley Sneijder. The defense probably would consist of 3 central defenders (Vlaar, De Vrij, Martins Indi), whereas midfield would be composed of two holding players (Wijnaldum and De Jong, if the latter one is back to full fitness) and of two full-backs (Janmat or Kuyt and Blind). Argentina would play Zabaleta, Garay, De Michelis (or Fernandez) and Rojo in their defense, whereas Biglia will probably again take Gago's spot, as the second holding player at Mascherano's side. I believe, that with Di Maria's absent, on the flanks, beside Lawezzi, it would be the turn of Aguero, if he fully recovered from injury. If not, then the veteran, Maxi Rodriguez, seems to be the best choice. Messi will play in the hole, right behind Higuain. As much as I would love Messi to get to the final, and consequently as much as I want Argentina to win, for reasons explained in one of my first articles on the subject of World Cup 2014, I believe that this defensive Dutch team, so detested for their play by their own experts of total football, will get to the final. The repeat of the World Cup 1974 final between Germany and Holland is much more probable than South American final of dreams: Brazil v. Argentina. That is unless Leo Messi show that he is the greatest of them all. And that he is, I strongly believe.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: GERMANY TO ENCOUNTER IN THE SEMIFINALS "NEYMARLESS", YET STRONGER BRAZIL

Judging by the German displays at this world cup, the descendants of the Teutonic tribes have recovered the old traits, which Joachim Low's offensively brilliant team was missing in all post-2002 tournaments. Except for the first two spectacular matches at this world cup (Germany v. Portugal, won be the Germans 4:0 and Germany v. Ghana, spectacular yet full of anarchy match, ended by a draw 2:2), the Germans had to grind their wins out against USA, Algeria and France in less than a spectacular fashion. However, they seemed to have recovered their old boring yet winning ways, for which Germany has been known since their first world title won in World Cup 1954 in Switzerland (after beating the spectacular Magyars 3:2) until their third world title won at World Cup 1990 in Italy (when they edged Diego Maradona's Argentina 1:0 on a penalty goal, converted by Brehme). No more spectacular were the Germans when they won their third and last Euro title, in Euro 1996, played on the pitches of old and merry England. The recovery of the old German grit does not bode well for Neymar-less Brazil. However, I am of the opinion that Brazil has better chances of beating Germany without Neymar than with him. The Brazilian team playing with Neymar was unexpectedly week, and incoherent most of the times. As a result of having two egotistical players in the team, such as Neymar on the left wing, and Hulk on the right flank, Brazilian centre-forward Fred has been the most ineffective Brazilian no. 9 since the times of infamous Serginho. Both Neymar and Hulk, instead of feeding Fred with precise passes, preferred to cut in to the middle from the flanks and shoot themselves. This caused the loss of unpredictability for which the Brazilian teams of old were known and feared for, as well as isolation of Fred from the whole Brazilian team. I believe that in the match against Germany we will see more passes to Fred, who thanks to his physique might be able to hold the ball and create spaces for other players coming either from flanks (such as Hulk, Willian or Bernard) or for Oscar, Fernandinho and Paulinho following Fred from the middle. Loss of Thiago Silva in defense will be much more painful for the Brazilians, as he is their most solid defensive player. In fact, the other three defenders (Dani Alves, David Luiz and Marcelo) are great assets in offense, but often liabilities in defensive assignments. Dante, the centre-half of Bayern Munich, who surely will take place of Thiago Silva, is known for his great passes from deep defense on forward and he is a threat on Brazil's corner kicks but he is not as good as Thiago Silva on the defensive end. I believe the Germans, with their methodical offensive plays, will want to explore the frailties of the Brazilian defense. However, the Germans have not such a great defense themselves. If they play Boateng, Mertesacker, Hummels and Howedes, it appears that Brazil will not have much to say on the high ball passes, but they can try to exploit the not so mobile German tall defenders, such as Boateng, Mertesacker and Howedes, with simple one-two plays. To avoid too much exposure, Jogi Low should play Lahm, Mertesacker, Hummels and Howedes, a line of defense much more mobile. In midfield, Schweinsteiger should be paired with Kroos and Khedira, whereas the attack should be led by Muller, with Ozil and Gotze (or explosive Podolski) on the flanks. Miroslav Klose should be kept for the last 20 minutes of the game, in case there is a need to "throw a kitchen sink" at the Brazilians. The Brazilians will probably play Luiz Gustavo (or Paulinho) and Fernandinho, who brutalized so effectively James Rodriguez, as their two holding players, whereas Oscar should be playing the false no. 9, behind lone striker, Fred. On the wings, it should be Hulk and Willian or Bernard. I believe it is highly possible that Scolari might play even three holding players, in attempt to stifle German midfield. Another option is to play two holding players, with Willian instead of Oscar as the false no. 9, and to have Hulk and explosive Bernard on the wings. Whichever way Scolari choses to play, and notwithstanding another expected help from the referee and his assistants, I strongly believe that Germans will prevail and will reach the final. My prediction regarding the other semfinal, Argentina v. Holland, will be published soon.

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

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: BRAZIL EMBRACED AGGRESSION AND REAPED THE REWARD, BUT NOT WITHOUT PAYING THE PRICE

I favored Colombia to beat Brazil, yet they have been eliminated in quarterfinals of World Cup 2014 by the hosts, who came out on to the pitch to make war. The match in Fortaleza was marked by humongous doses of energy, adrenaline and aggression boiling out from the Brazilians, subjected to so much criticism for their poor displays in the prior matches. Their intent was clear: destroy physically Colombia's poster boy, playmaker and executor in one person, James Rodriguez. It appeared that Rodriguez would not finish the match without broken leg or arm, such was the physical abuse he had to suffer from Fernandinho and Co. At one occasion Colombians had to swarm in around Rodriguez, to protect the youngster from Brazilian players, who isolated him during one of plays in the middle of the pitch and manhandled him, almost grotesquely. Thanks to this accumulation of Brazilian aggression and Spanish referee Carlos Carballo's leniency, by allowing the hosts to commit foul after foul, without penalizing them with yellow cards (incidentally, the referee has shown first yellow card only in 64th minute), the Brazilians, at the end, had to pay the price themselves. Thanks to the aggressive posture, Brazilians took the lead early, when after a corner kick Thiago Silva bundled the ball into Colombian goal. After, Brazilians continued with their brutal play, attempting to eliminate Rodriguez. Bewildered by the referee's appeasement of Brazilian aggression, Colombians lost their patience eventually and decided to retort. As a result, Neymar, who himself should have been shown at least a yellow card for almost breaking a leg of a Colombian player, was attacked by Armero who pushed his knee against Neymar's back, causing the young Brazilian to suffer a fractured vertebrae, and to end on a sad not his involvement in World Cup 2014. That Neymar's colleague, Fernandinho, was not expelled from the pitch, or moreover, wasn't even shown a yellow card, for his brutal and constant abuse of James Rodriguez, is mind boggling. The referee whistled 31 Brazilian and 22 Colombian fouls, the highest amount in this World Cup, yet in addition to four yellow cards, he should have shown at least several more yellow and possibly two red cards. Perhaps, if he did so, Brazil still would have fit Neymar to play in this world cup. When Colombia shook off Brazilian aggression and started to get more of the ball's possession and create, suddenly, against run of play, Brazilians were granted a foul 30 yards from Colombia's goal and David Luiz, with his great and emphatic free kick, struck by the inside of his right foot, increased the hosts' lead to 2:0. Colombians threw what they had at the Brazilians but except for the Rodriguez's goal, his six in the tournament, scored from penalty, they were unable to equalize, despite the fact that they scored another goal, ruled out by the referee's assistant who spotted an offside, which wasn't that obvious as too many players were involved in the melee and it was not clear who touched the ball first. Colombia out of this World Cup, but watch out for their youngsters in four years from now. Brazil will play the Germans, without Neymar and Thiago Silva. I do think, that they should be better as a team without Neymar, and we might see more use being made of Fred. Up to now, neither Neymar nor Hulk were interested in creating opportunities for Fred, their no. 9, as they were taking their chances themselves. Perhaps now Brazil will acquire some cohesion and team spirit in their play?

Janusz Andrzejewski is a New York City based attorney, writing on legal and other important community topics. You may contact him by telephone: (212) 634-4250 or through 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

WORLD CUP 2014: WILL LEO MESSI BE ENOUGH TO DEFEAT CREATIVE AND WELL-BALANCED BELGIUM?

Argentina is my sentimental favorite in this tournament. Not because of the football (soccer) they play, but because I am of the opinion that Leo Messi like no other player deserves to win his World Cup. Belgium, before the start of World Cup 2014, were and are my dark horse. If they beat Argentina, I believe they would make it to the final as they have more depth than Holland this year (Holland have one of the weakest squads in their recent history, yet their coach, Luis Van Gaal wisely gave up the offensive football the Dutch are known for and stuck to tight defense with rapid counterattacking bursts) and they have Eden Hazard who can unlock all defenses, that is if he does not disappear from the game. For Argentina to win, Leo Messi has to get more support from Gago in centre of midfield, and from Di Maria on the left flank, to open spaces for the little genius. Up to now, Messi had to both create and score, and he can't do it all single-handedly, even though until now he did, except for some Di Maria's help offered in the match against Switzerland.
Belgium have a better keeper in Thibaut Courtois, who despite being only 22 year old, is right now no. 2 keeper in the world, right behind Neuer of Germany, whereas Argentian keeper, Sergio Romero, currently on loan to Monaco from Sampdoria Genoa, has been erratic in his performances despite the fact that while playing earlier for AZ Alkmaar he posted many clean sheets. Defensive four of Belgium appear to be stronger than Argentina's. Yet, both teams have week links in defense, Belgium in Van Buyten, who isn't very mobile, and Argentina in De Michelis who although a good passer, has been prone to mistakes while aggressively pushed by powerful forwards in English Premier League. Apparently Argentina will field in defense Zabaleta, Garay, De Michelis (instead of Fernandez) and Rojo, whereas Belgium will stick with Alderweireld, Kompany, Van Buyten and Verthongen.
Argentina will play probably in 4-3-3 system whereas Belgians will continue with 4-5-1. In midfield Argentina will have Mascherano, Gago and Di Maria roaming the flanks, whereas Messi, Lavezzi and Higuain should form the attack, with a possibility that Higuain might lose his spot to Aguero if he is fit. Belgians in midfield should have Witsel and Fellaini as two holding players, with Mertens and Hazard on the flanks, and Kevin de Bruyne playing behind the lone striker. This lone striker should be Origi, yet one cannot exclude that Mark Wilmots would not start Lukaku as Belgium coach has a penchant for starting substitutes who did well in a preceding match. In conclusion, Belgium has a better team yet Argentina has Leo Messi. If the latter would get some support from Gago and DiMaria, and I believe this time around the support will come, I would have put my money on Argentina.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: COLOMBIA ON A MISSION, BRAZIL ITS VICTIM?

The second quarterfinal to be played on Friday, between hosts Brazil and Colombia, is equally intriguing as the one between France and Germany, even though it does not have the same mystic aura and pedigree. It is intriguing because Colombia will take on the hosts, the five-time world champions, known for their "jogo bonito" or beautiful game. I mean, in the past, that is the sad and whole truth. This Brazilian team play as poorly as I can remember Brazil ever played in the past, perhaps in 1990 World Cup in Italy. It is disjointed, it lacks in creativity, even though it boasts having Neymar, Brazilian answer to Leo Messi. Up to now, he was quite good, but answer to Messi he is not, not yet at least. No surprise he shed the boyish tears of relief after the match against Chile. He gets no help whatsoever from other Brazilian offensive minded players. Unless Brazil switches to a higher gear, the match against Colombia will be one bridge too far. I knew about the way Colombia play, and had them prior to the World Cup as one of my favorites to get to the quarterfinals, as I was familiar with exploits of Falcao, and I had watched Cuadrado in Fiorentina, Rodriguez in Monaco, and in Porto before, as well as Jackson Martinez in Porto, Bacca in Sevilla, Zapata and Yepes in AC Milan, before he left for Atalanta. Also, in the second phase of South America's qualification Colombia played even better than Argentina Now, that I have seen how poorly and disjointed the Brazilian team plays, I have to stick with Colombia. Particularly after having seen how deadly the Colombians are in their counterattacks. Brazil will certainly play 4-5-1 system. They have the advantage in defense. Their goalkeeper is more experienced and centre-halfs Thiago Silva and David Luiz, the latter underappreciated in English Premier League, are at their peak. The offensive minded full backs Dani Alves and Marcelo are huge threat offensively but they can be a liability in defensive assignments. In midfield Scolari will play, I reckon, two holding players: Luiz Gustavo and Ramires, or, instead of Ramires, Paulinho, if he is fit and managed to recover the trust of the coach. Hulk and Neymar will play both on the flanks, from which they will cut in to the middle. Fred will play again as the only forward, whereas Oscar will by positioned behind Fred, as a false no. 9. Colombia's goalkeeper Ospina is solid enough, even though he cannot measure up to his Brazilian counterpart, Julio Cesar. Colombian defensive four is composed of experienced defenders playing in Italian Serie A: Zuniga, 38-year-old Yepes, Zapata and Armero, all bursting with experience and cunning acquired in teams such as AC Milan (Zapata, Yepes - tha latter now at Atlanta) or Napoli (Zuniga, Armero). The midfield usually starts with Aguilar, Sanchez, physically strong yet a brilliant dribbler Cuadrado and the playmaker and the biggest star of Colombia at this World Cup, James Rodriguez. However, now when the world suddenly noticed James Rodriguez as the next best player in the world, everybody seem to forget about certain 21-year player of FC Porto, Juan Fernando Quintero, possibly the biggest Colombian talent, having penchant for back heels, nutmegs and defense splitting passes as well as effective free kicks. Another very good midfielder available to coach Jose Pekerman is Freddy Guarin. I believe this midfield will dominate Brazil not only with technical skills but also with power and speed, and will give Colombia the victory. In front, with the biggest until now star, Radamel Falcao being absent with injury, Colombia relies on unheralded Gutierrez and Martinez, while they have also on the bench Adrian Ramos, now of Borussia Dortmund, and returning to fitness Carlos Bacca of FC Sevilla. Riches, riches, riches...I predict Colombia knocking off Brazil from their own World Cup. Brazil, the way they play now, can advance only with another bit of help from the referee and his assistants, as in their first match against Croatia.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: FRANCE V. GERMANY IN REPEAT OF THE CLASSICS OF THE PAST

This World Cup has been so exciting that I did not even notice that only 8 matches separate us from its conclusion. Tomorrow two quarterfinals are to be played, the first one between  France and Germany, and in the second the hosts Brazil are taking on Colombia. On Saturday Argentina led by the great Leo Messi will meet Belgium and the Netherlands will attempt to finish off the modest Costa Rica in the last of the quarterfinals. Here is my prediction for France v. Germany:
Who does not remember the 1982 and 1986 semifinals between these teams, so deeply embedded in the World Cup mystic? Incidentally, the Germans were eventually victorious in both of them, notwithstanding the great French midfield quartet led by Michel Platini. Nowadays, the characteristics of these two teams are quite altered: while Germany have now more creative players who seem to have lost some of that German never die attitude, the French, who in the past relied on gallic flair, now have acquired more power and solidity in defense and midfield. Although Germany seem to have riches of talent, experienced in big tournaments coach and the pedigree, France, as coached astutely by Didier Deschamps, who won the World Cup as a player in 1998, are a well balanced team. The defense, as I mentioned already, seems to be quite solid this time around. Goalkeeper Lloris is good on the line, however, he is more awkward when he comes out to high balls, notwithstanding some improvement in this area. Deschamps until now played three of his centre-halfs: Varance, Sakho and Koscielny. It appears that Varane and Koscielny will be paired against the Germans. Both are quite mobile and position themselves quite well, even though Varane is very young for a defender and relatively inexperienced, despite for playing for Real Madrid. Debuchy and Evra, playing as full-backs, are both experienced and solid enough notwithstanding Patrice Evra's decrease in mobility and erratic performance in the last season of English Premier League. In midfield France are so well balanced that I believe no team in this tournament can claim to be better. In two holding positions in midfield Deschamps utilizes Pogba and Matuidi, both powerful players, striking the ball very fiercely, yet at the same time able to creatively pass the ball into spaces in opponents penalty area. In front of them operate Cabaye, technical playmaker, employing sublime passes as well as long balls, and able to shoot from outside of the penalty area. On flanks Deschamps has technical wizard Valbuena and young Griezmann who usually cuts in from the left wing to score often. Griezman plays only when Deschamps utilizes one forward (Benzema), when the coach decides to employ two forwards, Benzema takes Griezman position on the left, whereas Giroud roams in the penalty area as the main forward.
The Germans in Neuer have the best goalkeeper in the world, however, he too often likes to leave the goal line, even the penalty area... The defense is a bit less solid than the French one, particularly if Hummels is absent. Should Hummels be fit, Joachim Low will play Mertesacker and Hummels in the middle, and Boateng and Howedes as full-backs. Both full-backs play usually as centre-hals in Bundesliga, and are quite awkward in going forward. If Hummels is unfit, Mustafi should play as right full-back whereas Boateng would join Mertesacker in the middle of defense. In midfield, it must be again Lahm with Schweinsteiger and Kroos. Each of them is capable of holding the ball as well as playmaking. As the offensive players, it probably will be again Ozil and Goetze on flanks, with Muller roaming in between the way he sees fit. There would be a lot of interchange of positions between theses three. Both teams appear to be quite even but Germans have better and larger bench, with Podolski, Schurle and old fox Klose ready to pounce on the French. The Germans should advance, but in no way I would be surprised if the French did.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: TEAM USA IN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) DID MORE FOR THE IMAGE OF THEIR COUNTRY THAN ALL U.S. FOREIGN POLICY WIZZARDS IN THIS CENTURY

Yesterday at Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil, the national team of the United States in football (sport known in the US under strange name of soccer) has been eliminated from the World Cup 2014 by national team of Belgium, who edged the Americans 2:1 in overtime. It was rather an amazing match of football. Better technically Belgians, studded with such stars of major European leagues in football as Hazard, Company, Mertens, de Bruyne, Lukaku, Witsel, Mirallas, Fellaini, or Courtois, dominated the 90 minutes of the match as well as the first half of the overtime. In the whole match Belgians outshot team USA 37 to 15 out of which Belgians had 24 shots on target whereas the Americans 8. Tim Howard, the U.S. goalkeeper and its only major international star, pulled out incredible amount of 16 saves, some of them astounding, and kept the American team in the game until the final whistle. That the Americans were able to keep the clean sheet throughout 90 minutes of regular time, boggles the mind of many experts. Their defense was out of this Earth, Alamo-like, if one may use the war terminology, considering the total onslaught conducted by the Belgians in regular 90 minutes of the match. However, the Belgians domination tells also the story of battle lost in midfield, controlled totally by creative and more advanced technically Belgians. It was a matter of rules of probability that American defense at some point had to give in to constant attacks of the unwavering Belgians. Eventually, in 93rd minute, the first half of the overtime, substitute Lukaku found with his pass de Bruyne, who with quick move beat American defender and found an opening, which he immediately took advantage of by beating finally Tim Howard with a low shot. Then, in 105th minute, when American team had to live dangerously and left open spaces while attempting to even the score, De Bruyne repaid Lukaku's earlier service by feeding him on the break; the latter outsmarted Howard with first touch shot under the roof. Everybody thought the game was over at this time, Marc Wilmots, the Belgian coach, even took of the pitch his biggest star, Eden Hazard. Jurgen Klinsmann, the German coach of team USA had other ideas though. He comes from the old style German national football team which often trailing was always able to find a way to win. In those times Gary Lineker uttered the famous line: football is a sport played by 22 players, and at the end, the Germans win. Klinsmann inserted into his squad Julian Green, the young Bayern Munich reserves player, who is earning his living and skills by playing in the lower German league. Now, in the second half of overtime, the game took a different turn. Wave upon wave of valiant American attacks brought a quick result in 107th minute, Julian Green was served nicely with a high ball which he struck with a volley into the Belgian net. 2:1!The American now were unrelenting and uncompromised in their desire to even the score, they threw at the Belgian players everything they had, including the kitchen sink. Perhaps they were not that stylish, the experts might say their technic was a bit crude, but no one can refuse their zest and desire to win, the valiant and open effort, bravery, team spirit and never die attitude. Not denying the glorious performance by Tim Howard, Belgian goalkeeper Courtois had to make a save of the day by denying Clint Dempsey who found himself one on one with the Belgian goalkeeper, after creative free kick executed by the Americans. The Belgians held out and team USA were defeated and eliminated, but they won plaudits from all over the world. I have to say that it was the best USA team's display in a world cup, even if they did not repeat the 2002 accomplishment when they advanced to quarterfinals. This team, under the guidance of Jurgen Klinsmann, who wisely enhanced its cohesion by leaving out Landon Donovan, finally caught the spirit and imagination of the whole world, and did much more for the good image of USA in the world than the foreign policy of the United States under several last presidents. Good job, Mr. Klinsmann, and great spirit and attitude, team USA! Thank you.

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

ENGLISH MEDIA AND FANS HAD A GOOD WORLD CUP 2014 - LUIS SUAREZ HAS BEEN EXCESSIVELY PUNISHED FOR THE GLORY TAKEN AWAY FROM THE FALLEN EMPIRE

The whirlwinds blowing around Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan football player (or soccer player, if you are an American), do not seem to decrease in power. English football commentators, journalists, pundits and fans at large are satisfied with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee's ruling which imposed on the 27-year-old a ban of nine international matches as well as the four-month ban from all football and, in addition, a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs. One might imagine that Luis Suarez will lose much more in advertising deals which would be either terminated or not renewed. Yet, there are present many voices protesting, if not the idea of punishment levied against the player, than its severity. Even the victim of Suarez's latest biting attack, Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, has been offended by the severity of the punishment and making the player a celebrity pariah. As an attorney, I do not have a problem with disciplining Luis Suarez, although I have major problems with the severity of the punishment which would be unconstitutional, in my opinion, in the American legal system for it appears that various properties and/or rights were taken speedily away from Luis Suarez, without providing him with sufficient opportunity to be heard. The biting incident has brought a lot of sadness around the world, yet it seems that in England it resulted only with joy and satisfaction, judging by review of English press, comments to digital newspapers articles and blogs. Even though English national team has been eliminated from the World Cup in the first round (the group stage), without being able to win any match for the first time in history, the English football journalists, commentators and pundits, as well as the football fans, are quite happy and satisfied: Luis Suarez, a brilliant footballer and England national team's tormentor on the football pitch, has been punished not only for biting an Italian football player but, in English national psyche, for all their miseries including for daring to eliminate England from the World Cup, for ending another dream of World Cup glory for the Anglo-Saxon football empire, for 48 years of barren football years and mediocrity of England's national team, for having the temerity of being the best player in English Premier League, for being the top scorer in the Premier League, for his long known desire to abandon the riches of English Premier league for the Spanish football giants FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, for speaking Spanish, the language of hated former Spanish Empire and hated nowadays Argentines, crouching around, in English psyche, and awaiting for the best moment to pounce on the Falklands, which, oh my, they dare to call Malvinas, for the thorn of Scottish independence movement and the referendum, for Jean-Claude Juncker's presidency of the European Commission and for the European Union's existence, daring to silence, with cacophony of its everyday bureaucracy, the not so roaring lions of yesteryear British Empire.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: WILL USA V. GERMANY MATCH IN RECIFE BECOME A REPEAT OF NON-AGGRESSION PACT FROM GIJON 1982?

Today, the United States national team in football (or soccer, if you are North American) will meet Germany in match deciding who will advance from group G to the next round of the World Cup 2014. At the same time, in Brasilia, Portugal will meet Ghana. Before the last round to be played today, Germany tops the group with 4 points, USA is second, also with 4 points but with a worse goal difference, whereas Ghana and Portugal have each 1 point. If Germany and USA draw their match today, they would both advance further. If, on the other hand, either one of them wins, either Ghana or Portugal still can dream about the qualification to the next round, although Portugal would have to win by 3 goals margin, at least.
Since USA coach Jurgen Klinsman is German, and he and Joachim Low, the coach of Germany were coaching together Germany in 2006 World Cup, there is a lot of speculation that USA and Germany have a non-aggression pact, similar to the infamous Pact of Non-Aggression between West Germany and Austria at 1982 World Cup in Spain, where after West Germany in their last group match beat Austria 1:0 (W. Germany's Horst Hrubesch scored the winning goal in 10th minute, and then both teams pretended to play football to the end of the match because this score was giving qualification to Austria and West Germany, and Algeria who in other match beat Chile, and earlier W. Germany, was eliminated). That infamous match is known in Germany as Nichtangriffspakt von Gijon (Non-Aggression Pact of Gijon) or Schande von Gijon (Disgrace of Gijon). German ARD television commentator Eberhard Stanjek at some point refused to continue with commenting whereas Austrian commentator Robert Seeger requested that the viewers should switch off their television sets.
Will we have to watch today the replay of the infamous non-aggression pact of Gijon? Jurgen Klinsman indicated USA will beat Germany, whereas to all the experts all over the world the Germans are the favorites and should beat the Americans at ease, with the pool of talent they have at their disposal to which USA can respond only with team spirit, great conditioning and iron will to win. Let's hope that sport and forces of good will claim the win, as they should.

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

WORLD CUP 2014: LEO MESSI AND THE LAST MISSING TROPHY

In yesterday's matches at World Cup 2014 Argentina and Nigeria qualified to next round from group F, and France and Switzerland from group E. Already eliminated Bosnia prevented Iran from qualification by beating them by the score of 3:1 whereas in the other match of this group Argentina edged Nigeria 3:2. This match has been a showcase for Leo Messi who gave Argentina early lead by pouncing on a rebound and directing his fierce shot under the roof of Nigerian goal. Argentina did not enjoy the lead for too long as young Nigerian Musa has scored from left side of the penalty area even a more beautiful goal then Leo Messi. Eventually, Leo Messi responded in second half with a beautiful free kick which found Nigerian goalkeeper Enyama frozen on the goal line. Young Musa once again equalized the score with another well taken goal, to which Argentina responded with the winning goal headed from a corner by left-back Rojo. After that goal Messi has been taken off the pitch and Argentina comfortably preserved their lead to the end. As I have been saying all along since January of this year, Leo Messi has sacrificed the Barcelona club season in La Liga and UEFA Champions League just to be ready for the World Cup. He already has won everything with FC Barcelona and was voted four times the best player in the world, yet he had to deal with accusations of not giving it all to the home country, Argentina. When at the end of last year he was sided by injuries, I have predicted that the break in the season will serve him well during the upcoming World Cup. Even though Messi came back from injury in January, 2014, he was playing until the end of the season for Barcelona not like Leo Messi we knew from the past. I voiced an opinion on various forums at football blogs in England (newspaper Guardian, etc.) that Messi sacrificed everything to win the World Cup, or at least to get to the final. Even though he is the greatest footballer in the history of the sport, various detractors did not want to recognize his greatness and were bringing in discussions Diego Maradona casus, claiming that he was able single-handedly to win one World Cup in 1986 with a weak Argentina team, and then to get back to the final in 1990 with even a weaker team. I repeated at football discussing forums on many occasions my theory that Leo Messi sacrificed everything with Barcelona this season just to lead Argentina to the final at the World Cup, yet my opponents in discussions were claiming that Messi is finished, that perhaps he wasn't that good, that Ronaldo is better, what of course made me respond with laughter for Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be put on the same level with Messi. Whereas Ronaldo is a an athletic type of footballer, runner and powerful shooter, though limited dribbler with a lot of unnecessary step overs, who achieved everything with hard-work, Leo Messi is a brilliant technical player who can dribble with ease and lightning speed, with a ball glued to his feet, through whole defenses and shoot unexpectedly or supply other players with brilliant passes or assists. Whereas Ronaldo is petulant and has big ego, and makes his teams weaker (look at Portugal national team or Real Madrid studded with best players for many seasons yet without success except for this season's Champions League) Leo Messi is a player with a vision, who constantly creates for the team and makes it better. When Ronaldo disappears in big games like Champions League final or major international tournaments (except for Portugal v. Sweden playoffs, however, because of his big ego Portugal didn't qualify directly and had to go through back door to the World Cup) Leo Messi scores huge goals for either Barcelona (all Champions League and La Liga successes) or Argentina (qualification to World Cup 2014 and the World Cup 2014 itself, where his goals decided each of the matches played by Argentina so far). When Ronaldo is a child who showcases his muscles and sulks when his teammates score big goals, Leo Messi is still a humble man who doesn't stop the world around when kicked or otherwise fouled (like Ronaldo does) but calmly walks away. Argentina is a long shot for the World Cup which is blessed with teams huge on talent like Germany, Netherlands, Colombia, France, or even Brazil (even if so far it did play poorly), but with Messi everything is possible. In next round Argentina will meet Switzerland, who beat yesterday Honduras 3:0 with the hat-trick hero Shaqiri from Bayern Munchen playing like on fire, whereas France, who drew Equador yesterday 0:0 and topped group E, will meet Nigeria, team playing better and better with each next game. Notwithstanding the valiant opponents, Argentina and France should advance.

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


 

WORLD CUP 2014: WHAT TO DO ABOUT LUIS SUAREZ?

The third round of group stage matches at the World Cup turned out to be quite eventful. On Monday Brazil disposed of Cameroon by the score of 4-1 and advanced from Group A as its winner. Brazilians played their best match so far at this World Cup, however, their opponent was the weakest team, in fact one cannot call Cameroonian players a team, so devoid of any tactical discipline they were at this World Cup. The score was quite flattering to the Brazilians who still did not convince me, and unless they come up with the goods in the next game, they might be eliminated. Their young star, Neymar, bagged two additional goals and he is the current leader in the golden boot ranking with 4 goals in three matches. In the second match in group A, Mexico continued their good and spirited display by beating Croatia 3:1, but they will have to play in the next round the formidable Dutch team. In group B matches, Netherlands had to play without Robin Van Persie against dangerous Chile, yet they were able to prevail 2:0 over the South Americans, thanks to two goals created by Arjen Robben and scored respectively by Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay, both Dutch substitute players. Thus, Netherlands as the winners of group B will meet in next round Mexico whereas Chileans will play the hosts of the tournament: Brazil. My favorites are Netherlands, even though Mexicans will be very tough opponents, and, yes, I think that Chile can and will beat Brazil, based on the current display of form by both teams. Of course, Brazil have the advantage of being the host and the expected help of the referees, like in their first match against Croatia.
Today, in group C, Colombia crushed Japan 3:1 and won the group with maximum of 9 points whereas Greece advanced also, thanks to shock win over full of flair Ivory Coast 2:1, with the controversial penalty converted by Samaras in the injury time. Colombia before the tournaments was one of my 8 favorites to reach the quarterfinals, and even though they do not have Falcao at their disposal at this World Cup, they play impressive blend of physical and technical football and are unstoppable in their counterattacks. If they can continue like this, I see them reaching at least semifinals. In Group D, England was able only to draw with Costa Rica 0:0, who before the game already qualified as the winner of group D. The "English Lions" left the World Cup for the first time without winning any match. In the other match in Group D, Uruguay prevailed over Italy 1:0 thanks to Diego Godin's header, and controversial red card to Italian midfielder Claudio Marchisio. This match will be part of the World Cup folklore thanks to scandalous attack of Luis Suarez on Italian defender Chielini, just minutes before Godin's winning goal Suarez appeared to bite Chielini on his left shoulder, and then pretended that he was elbowed by Chielini. The referee, who it appears did not notice the bite,  did not react to the attack and failed to eject Suarez from the pitch. Costa Rica, the winner of group D will play in the next round Greece (I stick with the unglamorous Greek veterans) whereas Uruguay will be doubly unlucky to play Colombia, surely without Luis Suarez, who in all probability will be suspended by FIFA for the biting incident, third one in his career. Even though the tv recordings might not be enough to find Suarez guilty in the court of law for his criminal assault, apparently they are sufficient to FIFA Disciplinary Committee to  ban Suarez after the game, provided the referee did not witness the incident.  What a shame! Uruguay is as good as gone from this World Cup without Suarez in their encounter with Colombia in the next round. He is actually much better and more explosive a player than Cristiano Ronaldo or Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and I rate Suarez currently as no. 2 player in the world, only behind Leo Messi. It appeared that he was about to put his career in the highest gear as Barcelona are interested in acquiring him from Liverpool. Will they be interested in acquiring the genius forward who happens to be a serial biter? What to do about Luis?

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

WORLD CUP 2014: HIGH MARKS FOR GHANA, ALGERIA, COSTA RICA AND USA IN THE SECOND ROUND OF GROUP MATCHES

The second round of group matches has shown how exciting World Cup 2014 has become. It is time to talk now about the perennial lightweights consisting either of poor countries such as Costa Rica, Honduras, Iran, Algeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria or of the rich newcomers, relatively speaking, to the football table such as the United States, Australia, South Corea or Japan. I kind of predicted that CONCACAF countries might have much more to say in this World Cup due to their tropical climate (Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, even U.S.A.) and time zone location, not demanding any acclimatization from their players or any time adjustment, even if they play during majority of the year in Europe). But never I would have predicted that Costa Rica would be able to beat Uruguay and Italy in two consecutive matches! I could have smelled an accidental win, but two in a row? Over the giants of world football? I knew that Costa Rica best players play in solid European clubs, even if not in those from the top shelf, and that they are exposed to high standards of European football on a daily basis. FIFA, the regulatory body of world football (or soccer, if your language is American English) apparently smelled something fishy about Costa Rica wins for they selected seven players from Costa Rica, after the match against Italy, for anti-doping tests. Usually, two players from each team are selected for the routine anti-doping post match tests. FIFA claims that selection for the doping test of so many players from Costa Rica was caused by unavailability of many Costa Rica players for anti-doping tests prior to the tournament. Those who follow doping affairs know that it is common to those using doping during training prior to the competition to disappear so not to be caught by unannounced random anti-doping inspectors (i.e. Jamaican or U.S. track and field athletes). We will see what happens but we all hope that Costa Rica is for real. Regarding African teams, prior to the tournament I hoped that at least Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria would make it to the post-group round of 16. In fact, I hoped that Ghana (or Belgium) might be the surprise team of the tournament. Even though Ghana outplayed USA, and their better footballing skills were clearly visible; they were beaten in the first round of group matches as USA played a smarter brand of football.  But, in the second match against Germany, incidentally so far the best match of the tournament, Ghana showed that they are capable not only of football full of power, but also of flowing, positional play, marked by high technical individual skills of the players. Unless Germany and USA will come to a quiet understanding and draw their final game, I predict that Germany and Ghana would advance from the so called group of death. I have to give high praise to USA team for their second game against Portugal which they drew 2:2. Although they won the first game against Ghana (2:1), Ghana was the more enterprising team, notwithstanding USA great team spirit and killing instinct displayed by the goals of veteran of English Premier League Clint Dempsey and the newcomer John Brooks. However, in the game against Portugal, USA were visibly the better team, creating better occasions and playing consistently, notwithstanding the higher technical skills of Portuguese players. Portugal, on the other hand is a funny team, boasting the talents of Ronaldo, Nani, Moutinho, Veloso or Carvalho, yet unable to play as a cohesive team, overwhelmed by the egos of their players. And Ronaldo does not make them better but worse (except for the occasions such as the pass to Valera which gave Portugal the drawing goal in the injury time). In my comments to articles in English Guardian before the World Cup, I had predicted that Portugal will not make it out of their group. Returning to USA team, it seams that Jurgen Klinsman has gotten it right, by getting rid of Landon Donovan and putting his money on  Dempsey and Bradley (and the only world class US player: goalkeeper Tim Howard)  as the leaders of the American team. The team is cohesive, exhibits killing instinct and never die attitude, even though it lacks still in technical skills department. They should get better. What happened to the national team of Cameroon, only God knows. The indomitable lions of 1982 or 1990 World Cups are just a distant memory, although I would not bet against them in match against unconvincing Brasil (incidentally, I do not rate this Brazilian team highly and do not consider them as capable of getting to the final, notwithstanding the referees help and the best schedule of the matches). Nigeria, now without big names except for Odemwingie and Emmenike, in the game against Bosnia showed that they can be successful with their passing game as long as they are consistent in defense. Against Bosnia, their defense was focused and solid, and it could rely on the goalkeeper. I believe they should advance together with Argentina to the play-off rounds. The complete surprise were Algeria, usually a defensively minded team from North Africa, as they were in the game against Belgium. This time, they changed their tactics and played offensive football, surprising South Korea with the simple directness of their game. South Korea and Japan appear to have regressed since the last World Cup, although they might still pull out a surprise in third game. Australia, relying on good Cahill and Jedinak, clearly the weakest team in the tournament, continuing to play typical British football. I do not see much happening for them in the near future. Iran, on the other hand made visible progress under the tutelage of Carlos Queiroz, relying on good defensive game and dangerous counterattacks conducted by skillful and mobile players. They were particularly dangerous against offensively minded Argentina, and had they won, it wouldn't have been undeserved, notwithstanding that it is easy to park a bus and rely on counterattacks against offensively playing teams. Summarizing, great World Cup for the minnows, if minnows still exist in the world football.

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