Yes, that is sort of a misleading headline. Ireland were jobbed. Thierry Henry got away with maybe the most blatant handball you will ever see anyone get away with. Even at full speed, it’s pretty clear.
So why the vid from the 2006 World Cup on this post?
I’ve got Aussie friends who, the instant the word ‘soccer’ comes up in conversation, will start bitching about how they were screwed out of the World Cup quarters by ‘f**king Totti’ (I believe that’s his full name Down Under). You can’t even get the second syllable of the word ‘soccer’ out of your mouth before the whinging starts.
Two things. First, Totti just took the penalty. It was Grosso who went down over minimal contact to earn a dubious PK.
Second, and more to the point, the penno didn’t cost Australia a trip to the quarters.
See that score in the upper left hand corner of the video? Until the 95th minute or so, it reads 0-0. That’s right, the match was tied when the Italians were award the spot kick. It’s not like Australia were leading 1-0 and were seconds away from advancing when the ref gave the Italians a super happy fun special secret penalty kick that was worth 2 goals.
Hell, the Italians had even been down to 10 men for almost the entirety of the second half and the Aussies still couldn’t solve their defense. The only thing the PK cost the Australians was a chance to continue playing for another 30 minutes; and, failing a winner there, the possibility of a shootout. And it’s not like the Eye-tals can’t defend. They take endless amounts of poo from the rest of the world for their ability to suck the offensive life out of a match. What makes the Aussies think they were certain to score in the added 30 minutes (again they had already failed to take advantage of being a man up for almost 45 minutes). If they had bothered to mount any kind of sustained attack when they had the man advantage, the Grosso collapse is probably a non-issue.
What’s this got to do with Ireland?
It’s pretty much the exact same scenario. Ireland weren’t leading. The match was level on aggregate. And the Irish had squandered a number of silver-platter chances to bury the French.
It was a horrendous miss by the ref but, seeing how the match was already in extra time, the only thing it likely cost Ireland was a chance at a shootout. Who wins that?
I don’t have access to the alternate quantum universe where the ref waved off Gallas’ goal, so I have no idea. Although, having a side littered with talent that could convert from the spot is the one thing that Domenech couldn’t screw up (we think). So, you’d have to think France a slight favorite if it came down to a shoot out, if only just barely given all of the random variables involved.
So, yeah, the world will never run out of the Irish whine, which is just starting to flow. And justified they may be in complaining about the goal itself, they weren’t on their way to South Africa. Credit Trapattoni for being realistic and recognizing the truth of the situation: There were 15 more minutes of open play and penalties failing a goal in that time.
Just like you can’t theoretically claim Ireland would have won the shootout automatically, it’s impossible to claim that they wouldn’t have. They were the better team in the first 90 minutes, with more chances and more interest in scoring. They probably have a better keeper. Technique and skill would all favor France, but Ireland deserved to get that far and, if knocked out, so be it.
It’s not the not qualifying; it’s the feeling of being knocked out on a completely bulls**t call. I think every sports fan and every athlete hates when that happens, and the bigger the stakes the bigger the outrage.
Logically, of course, you’re right. But this isn’t a logical situation; that was thrown out the door when Henry handled the ball. So now people deal with it emotionally, and everything – from the bulls**t of a seeded draw right up to the handball – gets brought back into focus. Remember, Ireland was already (somewhat rightly) pissed about having to play France in the first place, claiming that UEFA/FIFA changed the rules at the last minute. So now the wound’s reopened and they’re going to raise hell about it.
While I agree with most of that, I would contend that at this level the shootout depends more on the keeper’s reads than the ability of the players. Now, that’s not taking into account the mental state of the kick takers (*cough* England), but their abilities should be about the same.
/have no idea which keeper is better at PKs
Also, it’s ridiculous that the ref in 2006 was perfectly positioned, maybe
610 feet away and unobscured, and still made that call. There’s your villain Australia.I tend to think Given’s the better keeper on penalties just based on his age. This is without looking his age or Lloris’s age up.
Does handling the ball (twice) like that count as “serious foul play” punishable by straight Red? No Henry changes the last 17 minutes and shootout immensely.
As much as the Irish bitch about the seeding and the draw for the playoffs, they had a relatively easy draw for the groups: doormats Cyrus, Montenegro, and Georgia, with a Bulgarian team trending down and about the weakest Italian team for the last 20 years.
Yet with that draw, Ireland managed to collect all of 4 wins during group play. Point being: they could have avoided even being in this situation entirely by simply playing at the level of a team that thinks it belongs in South Africa.
And all four wins were against Cyprus and Georgia. Still, they were in second place (behind Italy, who should be in front of them) and qualified for the playoffs. As lackluster as their qualification was, they probably would’ve been in second regardless.
The least FIFA/UEFA could do is grant a replay, but they would have only done that if a minnow had beaten a giant in that fashion.
The loser in all this: Billy Gauloise. What a header! And yet, it’s all about ‘Le Main d’Henry’ and Keane’s s**tty s**tty finishing.
Shay Given is 33.
Hugo Lloris is 23 (next month).
They are both fantastic GKs, so it’s difficult to identify any advantage between them, although Given obviously has far more experience.
That said, we’ll never know. Who would think that Baggio, or Trezeguet, or even EBJT would miss a PK?
EBJT? He’s English, right (that’s the ‘E’)? That pretty much solves one of the three.
I’d like to think Thierry himself would miss the final PK
Only in a world in which karma were real and not some made up notion to temporarily assuage your anger and frustration when when things don’t go your way.
True; we all know it’d be Patrice Evra slipping and failing
There has to be a headline somewhere that reads “Henry’s Hand Job” or “The French Hand Job.” I’d search for it, but um, I’m not going to google “hand job” at work.
So, how about that FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup?
The difference is being beaten and being robbed. If you lose in penalties, fine, but at least it’s your own “fault.” If you get jobbed by the refs you have no control over it and you might as well not even bothered showing up in the first place.
Well said PR.
In all fairness, i would be reacting very angrily if i was irish. but i’m french so all i’m gonna do is say “eh whadayagonna do”
And Hugo is an amazing keeper and I expect him to be frances’ keeper for the next 10-15 years and will possibly be one of the better ones out there in due time
Lucius… but what were you robbed of? Fifteen minutes of extra time and likely PKs. That’s it. The point is Ireland can’t assume they were going to win, which seems to be the unspoken supposition here.
PR: They were robbed of the opportunity of PKs, most likely. Perhaps France would have scored in the 2nd period of ET. Who knows?
They were robbed of the game as it ought to have been, whatever that ultimately would have looked like.
Goals change games, They Say.
Well said, Anonsters. But PR has a point – the arguments I’m hearing imply that Ireland would have won; nothing suggests they would have. Of course, this whole conversation is purely academic.