How happy the BBC and ITV pundits must have been
yesterday when Luis Suarez decided to chomp in to Giorgio Chiellini's shoulder.
With the imminent threat of having to fill a further 30 minutes of air time
with disinterested chat about England, their draw with Costa Rica and their
abject, bland performances throughout the group stage, the daft Uruguayan's
decision to sink his gnashers in to an opponent once more, was the ideal
distraction to save the nation from Adrian Chiles' petted lip and more chat of
how it all went wrong.
With Italy v Uruguay obviously relegated to ITV 4 in
favour of the England v Costa Rica match, it was perhaps fitting that a channel
known for its tea-time crime capers broadcast the dastardly doings of dentist
dodger Suarez. You don't need to be the non dead guy in Morse or Bergerac in Midsomer to see that it's a bite. At first glance it could be
a head butt, but the angle, the reaction from Chiellini and his
"scar", plus the view of Suarez visibly tending to his sore teeth
proves without doubt that there is something loose inside Luis. More gnawed
genius than flawed genius, perhaps?
The fact that it's not an isolated event and that he has
previous with this kind of behaviour should have been warning enough for Suarez
to make sure he kept his teeth to himself, on the grandest stage of them all.
We all know that high profile players have their vices and bad points; Rooney
and the whores, Gascoigne with the drinking and wife beating, Mutu, Maradona
and, er, Bosnich with the ching, Twaddle with the gambling etc, but whatever
makes Suarez bite may be a harder nut to crack.
Therapy for the above afflictions has worked as a cure of
sorts, but no one (to my knowledge anyway) has ever been booked in to The
Priory for repeatedly trying to bite chunks out of work colleagues. In the
"real world" that behaviour would get you sacked, and jailed if charges
were made. However, at time of writing, they are still deciding what his
punishment should be on Planet FIFA.
SORE TEETH FOR SUAREZ
This didn't happen in some back water under 19s game that
has likely been fixed, like on that Channel 4 match fixing programme the other night.
This was prime time viewing (anywhere but England that is), so whether it was
pre-meditated or a heat of the moment thing, Suarez was bound to know he'd not
get away with it, with the eyes of the world watching. Knowing the consequences
of doing so in club football, having missed the start of last season for his
gnaw on Branislav Ivanovic the previous campaign, and having been banned for
doing it while playing with Ajax, you'd think he would reign this type of thing
in.
Alas, he has shocked the footballing world and the wider,
impartial to the World Cup, world with his actions, and in doing so has taken
away much of the headlines that his side deserved for advancing to the round of
16. Uruguay's 1-0 victory over ten man Italy saw them progress to the next set
of games as Group D runners up, thanks to Diego Godin's 81st minute header/
backer. With Italy only needing a draw to progress, they didn't look too
bothered about upping the ante or the tempo in this game, and after Claudio
Marchisio was sent off for an over the top and on to the knee challenge, they still seemed
reluctant to find a goal that would guarantee their passage through.
SHOULDER GOAL FOR GODIN
Instead, it was the Uruguayan's who capitalised on having
the man advantage, but they really should have been a man down as well as their
opponents. The winner came shortly after "the bite felt across the
world" , where Atletico Madrid's star centre back leapt highest to beat
Buffon with a firmly placed shoulder blade connection, from a Gaston Ramirez
corner. Not the prettiest goal, in far from the prettiest game, but it sends
Uruguay through to a second round tie with Colombia.
For the Italians, it was a second successive World Cup
where they have exited at the group stages, and with Cesare Prandelli's
resignation imminent, the Azzurri could be set for quite the homecoming in
their national press. Perhaps their failure to progress was a little more
shocking than England's, but no doubt the papers will tear them to shreds just
as much. With it likely being Andrea Pirlo's final WC, it's a shame that we
won't see anymore of his nonchalant talent in this tournament, as he looked to
be the only Italian capable of lighting up the later stages for them. A seat
with Lineker and co at the next World Cup surely beckons.
SOMETHING TO PONDER FOR PIRLO
Costa Rica were the other side to progress from Group D,
as group winners nonetheless! Their bore fest of a draw with England saw them
go unbeaten in their section, and secures them a second round tie with Greece,
who dramatically clinched second place ahead of the Ivory Coast in Group C.
With the game headed for a 1-1 draw, a trip on Giorgios Samaras in injury time
gave the former Celtic man the chance to score his first international goal
since Euro 2012 and send his side through for the first time in their WC
history. He did both to set up a tie with Costa Rica, that both Italy and
England will look at as a huge opportunity missed.
Having been a torrid week for Côte D'Ivoire, with three
members of their squad returning home to funerals instead of festivals after
last night's defeat, the nature of their loss was visibly hard to take as they
trooped off the park. Goalkeeper Boubakar Barry didn't even want to sit up
after failing to save the penalty, while, quite rightly, Kolo and Yaya Toure
made a hasty exit for the confines of their emotionally drained dressing room.
Japan's exit was not as dramatic though, taking an
absolute scudding from Colombia, as Jackson Martinez and James
"Hamez" Rodriguez put on a master class in their 4-1 win to take top
spot and set up an all South American match up with Uruguay. The final goal, a
delightful lob over the keeper by James, after some great footwork to flummox
the Japanese defence, is one of the goals of the tournament so far, and could
be the making of him on a more worldwide scale.
Overall, the final games in groups C and D provided the
goals and the drama that we have expected of this World Cup, (except England v
Costa Rica) but they will be overshadowed by the Suarez incident. The coming
days will see what punishment is meted out to the Liverpool striker and what
effect that will have on Uruguay's progression in the tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment