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What To Watch This Weekend (Feb 3-6)

February 3, 2012 — by Suman

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A whole gaggle of interesting matches to watch this weekend.  We’ve chosen a handful each on Saturday and Sunday, including the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations, a couple each from the big leagues (Premier League, including Chelsea-ManUtd; Serie A, highlighted by AC Milan-Napoli; La Liga–the one we’re most interested in is Atletico Madrid-Valencia), plus a few wild cards (e.g., a Futsal Euro match Saturday night and East Bengal-Mohun Bagun, live from Kolkata). And there’s also the small matter of a Northeast (US) derby of sorts Sunday night in Indianapolis.

Check back in over the weekend for additional preview notes on these matches.  But since our first selection kicks off shortly…

(Note: As usual, all times are ET (=UTC-5) and the given USA TV info was obtained via http://wapo.st/A56mR4.  Consult livesoccertv.com for your local listings.)

Friday Feb 3

Germany, Nürnberg-Borussia Dortmund  (2:30pmET GolTV): Just for something to watch today, and for a Bundesliga match.  Plus Dortmund is one of the teams we like to watch–and they’re doing very well again this season in the league: joint top of Bundesliga with Bayern and Schalke.

These are Happy Times at Dortmund for Jürgen Klopp & Shinji Kagawa

Unfortunately their young rising superstar is out 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture of his pubic bone (ouch).  But they’ve got additional young and exciting players from across the globe on their squad: strikers Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Lucas Barrios (Paraguay); Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa; Serbian(-American) Neven Subotić, who teams up with German Mats Hummels in central defense.  FC Bayern blogger & “Bundesliga wannabe expert” @RedRobbery kindly replied to our question about who to watch in this match, and directed us to also watch midfielders Sven Bender and Jakub “Kuba” Błaszczykowski. (The latter is captain of the Polish national team, and described by Polish great Zbigniew Boniek as a “litte Figo” when Dortmund signed him from Wisla Krakow in the summer of 2007).

On the other side of the ball, RedRobbery picked out young German center back Philipp Wollscheid, the experienced Belgian holding midfielder Timmy Simons, and young Czech striker Tomáš Pekhart as players to watch on the Nürnberg squad.

(Contrary to the conventional wisdom that the German national team is pretty much Bayern Munich, note that Bender, fellow midfielder Kevin Großkreutz, Hummels and of course Mario Götze have all made appearances for the German national team–as has Marco Reus, who will be coming over to Dortmund this summer after a breakout season at the other Borussia.)

Saturday Feb 4

India, East Bengal-Mohun Bagan, 3:30amET: The Great Kolkata Derby!  What FIFA called “India’s All-Consuming Rivalry.”

England, Arsenal-Blackburn 8 a.m. ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com: Gunners achieved 1 point from their 4 January league fixtures–and that a scoreless draw against lowly Bolton.  This weekend they play even lower Blackburn.  But let’s not forget Arsenal lost at Blackburn back in September, and that Arsene has maybe lost the stadium.  Groundhog Day for Arsenal?

African Cup quarterfinal, Zambia-Sudan (11amET, Al Jazeera Sports USA – DISH Network 601): The first AfCON2012 quarterfinal match features two teams that weren’t widely expected to reach the knockout stage.

They're celebrating Sudan's quarterfinal spot in Khartoum--but what about in the south?

For some background, read Gary Al-Smith’s new blog post on Sudan: “To which half of the country will the Cup go if Sudan win?” and a BBC article about “South Sudan’s divided support for norther neighbours.”

Al-Smith’s blog post opens with the line: “A common stat you may have heard in the past few days: the last time Sudan won the African Cup was 42 years ago, 1970” and a story about Sudanese club Al Hilal playing Canon Yaounde in the Cameroon capital in a 1987 African Champions Cup semifinal, after which

a six-year old got his wish and shook hands with the legendary Sudanese forward Ali Gagarin. Gagarin was shocked when he met the little boy, not because he was not aware of his fame, but at the sheer awe in the boy’s eyes.

Gagarin, in a recent interview, recalls the incident: “I was told that a young man came to the stadium and asked for the jersey of Gagarin and said ‘I want the number 9 jersey of Gagarin.’ Do you know who is that young man today?”

The boy would later become Africa’s greatest footballer. The boy was Samuel Eto’o.

The other quarterfinal scheduled for today features one of the co-favorites versus one of the co-hosts: Ivory Coast-Equatorial Guinea (2pmET, also Al Jazeera Sports USA).  For some pre-game reading on this one, see see Jonathan Wilson’s column in the Guardian: “Kily keen to upset the odds for Equatorial Guinea against Ivory Coast: The co-hosts’ right-back usually plays in the Spanish fourth division but on Saturday he will face the much-fancied Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals”

Spain, Athletic Bilbao-Espanyol (12pmET, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): We have been trying to look beyond the big two in Spain.  This is an interesting match not only because it’s Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao, but because it’s an important match for the league standings.  Espanayol is in 5th place with 31 points, Athletic hot on their heels in 6th place with 29 points.  Here’s the top half of the table (columns: played, won, lost, draws, goals for, goals against, goal differential, points):

1 Real Madrid CF 20 17 1 2 70 19 51 52
2 FC Barcelona 20 13 6 1 59 12 47 45
3 Valencia CF 20 10 6 4 31 22 9 36
4 Levante UD 20 9 4 7 26 24 2 31
5 RCD Espanyol 20 9 4 7 22 21 1 31
6 Athletic Bilbao 20 7 8 5 30 25 5 29
7 Atlético de Madrid 20 8 5 7 31 27 4 29
8 Málaga CF 20 8 4 8 24 29 -5 28
9 Getafe CF 20 7 6 7 22 26 -4 27
10 CA Osasuna 20 6 9 5 22 32 -10 27

 

Futsal Euro, Ukraine-Spain (6pmET GolTV): The 2012 Futsal European championships are taking place in Croatia. Who knew? The group stage is ending this weekend, with the quarterfinals Monday and Tuesday, the semifinals Thursday, and the final next Saturday.

 

Sunday Feb 5

Italy, Roma-Inter Milan or AC Milan-Napoli (both 9amET, both on ESPN3.com; Milan-Napoli also on Fox Soccer Plus): Two big-club clashes in Serie A. Roma, Inter and Napoli are all likely out of contention for the Scudetto, but are aiming for a spot in Europe. Milan is in 2nd, just a point behind still-undefeated Juventus–but they’ve been struggling lately, including a loss to Lazio mid-week.  The table:

1 Juventus 20 12 8 0 33 13 20 44
2 AC Milan 21 13 4 4 43 19 24 43
3 Udinese 21 12 5 4 31 17 14 41
4 Lazio 21 11 6 4 32 19 13 39
5 Inter Milan 21 11 3 7 34 25 9 36
6 Roma 20 9 4 7 31 25 6 31
7 SSC Napoli 21 7 9 5 36 24 12 30
8 Palermo 21 8 4 9 30 31 -1 28
9 Genoa 20 8 3 9 28 36 -8 27
10 Chievo Verona 21 7 6 8 18 26 -8 2

 

England, Chelsea-Manchester United (11amET, Fox main network): The big one this weekend in England. ManUtd are trying to keep pace with City at the top of the table, while Chelsea are seeking to hold on 4th (and that crucial Champions League spot).  See here for squad sheets, as well as John Ashdown’s quick match preview:

This is second against fourth in the Premier League, a clash between two sides who have carved up the last seven titles between them, but somehow it does not feel like it. United have won eight of their last 10 fixtures in the league but are grinding out results in their pursuit of Manchester City. Chelsea, meanwhile, stumble and stutter in their attempt to hold on to the final Champions League spot. Neutrals must hope that at least one of these big beasts can rediscover their mojo come Sunday tea-time.

Indeed, Chelsea have often seemed on the verge of crisis throughout the season–whether due to grumbling about new manager Andre Vilas-Boas’s tactics or squad selection, speculation about whether Fernando Torres will ever score again, or controversy about captain John Terry.  Here was our Chelsea observer The Cunning Linguist with some observations he offered up back on Boxing Day:

I think part of the problem with Torres is the obvious pace he’s lost but the other part is the way he’s being utilized and the infrequency. When at the kop he looked to be picking the ball up further up field from long balls and such but now he’s coming back further to build play given the tight band of barca’s that is being employed; obviously Chelsea’s personnel doesn’t warrant the barca style. The odd part is that drogba seems to be getting faster and a bit more creative as he gets older; hat’s off to the old boy. let’s see what drogba’s absence for the African cup in jan means; can’t believe Torres is done. Saw some decent stuff from him in the game; movement, control, etc. There was a great chest ball and shot that didn’t do much but it was a damn neat piece of skill.
Until avb figures out what the new Chelsea style is, it’ll be mourinho against good teams and experiments against lesser quality teams. For me the real story is mikel’s loss of favor; romeu’s the future. Lampard’s done; feel bad it has go go down this way but that’s that.

African Cup of Nations quarterfinals, Gabon-Mali 11amET and Ghana-Tunisia 2pmET: Take a look at The Hard Tackle’s match previews.  Looking ahead at the schedule, both semifinals will be Wednesday, with the final next Sunday in Libreville.

Spain, Atletico Madrid-Valencia (3:30pmET ESPN3.com): As we wrote last weekend, Atletico salvaged their season after turning to Diego Simeone in December.  They’re up to 7th in the table, and challenging for a spot in Europe is not out of the question.  Valencia is trying to solidify its hold on yet another #3 finish–but they’ve also got a big Copa del Rey clash coming up mid-week–the 2nd leg of their semifinal against Barcelona, following the 1-1 draw at the Mestalla last Wednesday.

USA (NFL), Super Bowl – NY Giants-New England Patriots (6:30pmET): See Political Footballs’ match preview here.

 

Monday Feb 6

England, Liverpool-Spurs 3 p.m. ESPN2, ESPN3.com

AfricaPreviewScheduleSpain

What To Watch Today: Côte D’Ivoire vs Angola, Osasuna vs Atlético Madrid

January 30, 2012 — by Suman

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We’ve got to post a quick recap of what we watched this past weekend–but first, very briefly, here are two games today that you could tune in for, in case you’re looking for something to watch this afternoon/evening (depending on your timezone):

African Cup of Nations, Côte d’Ivoire vs Angola (1pmET, Al-Jazeera Sports / Eurosport International): The group stage of AfCON2012 wraps up over the next couple days. These are the top two teams in Group B, and will most likely advance to the knockout stage (Sudan, who are simultaneously playing Burkina Faso, can advance only according to a very convoluted–but not impossible–scenario:

Sudan will advance to the quarterfinals as the second-placed team in the group if they defeat Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire defeat Angola and

  • the combined margin of the two wins is at least 3 goals, or
  • Sudan score at least 3 more goals than Angola do, or
  • the combined margin of the two wins is exactly 2 goals and Sudan score exactly 2 more goals than Angola do and prevail over Angola by tie-breaking criteria No. 6 and 7.

Côte d’Ivoire’s squad of course has the most big-name big-club players in the tournament: Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou (both Chelsea), the Touré brothers (both Man City), impressive holding midfielder Cheick Tioté (Newcastle), former Arsenal man Emmanuel Eboué (now Galatasaray), current Arsenal attacker Gervinho. Another Ivorian striker we’ll keep an eye (given that we’re trying to watch more Eredivisie): Wilfried Bony, who just joined Vitesse Arnhem last summer, after a few years in with Sparta Prague.

Like much of the Euro-centric football-watching world, we’re not sure who to watch on Angola.  A look at their current squad shows (not surprisingly) a number of players playing club ball in Portugal–we’re guessing that forwards Djalma is a player to watch, given that he plays for Portuguese powerhouse Porto.

Spain (La Liga), Osasuna vs Atlético Madrid (3pmET, GolTV): Atlético has been experiencing a resurrection since they fired Gregorio Manzano and hired El Cholo–former Atlético star Diego Pablo Simeone.  As usual, we rely on Sid Lowe’s Guardian writing for our knowledge of La Liga.  Read his blog post from mid-January in full: “Atlético’s favourite son Diego Simeone returns to light up the Calderón: Atlético’s fans finally welcomed home ‘El Cholo’ on Sunday, and their new coach gave them hope for a more stable future” (and/or see below for an excerpt).

After selling off their big name players last summer (Kun Aguero to Man City, Diego Forlan to Inter), Atletico Madrid lost a lot of star appeal.  The player on their current squad that we’ve been hearing the most about is Colombian striker Falcao, who’s been banging in the goals, as he did previously at Porto under Andre Villas-Boas.  Indeed, AVB wanted to bring Falcao along to Chelsea over the summer, but somehow Atlético got him instead–and now there there are rumors AVB will ask Abrahamovich to open up his moneybags yet again to do the deal this summer. Falcao as a replacement for Drogba–or maybe even Torres? Maybe a swap that send El Niño back to his boyhood club?

Beyond Falcao, we recall from a previous viewing of Atlético that we were impressed with Brazilian midfielder Diego, who’s on loan from the Bundesliga’s Wolfsburg. Also keep an eye on Spanish youngster Adrián López, who just joined the club last summer after five years with Deportivo La Coruña.  Further back on the field, Uruguayan international Diego Godín and captain Antonio López (a product of Atlético’s youth system) anchor the defense, and in front of them experienced Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes (30yo, has stints at Chelsea and Juve on his resume, plus 58 caps for Portugal, including two World Cups and a Euro championship).

Now for those excerpts from Sid Lowe’s column about Diego Simeone returning to “the banks of the Manzanares“:

Madrid awoke to the front-page news that “El Cholo” had filled the Vicente Calderón on his return, 55,000 faithful atléticos acclaiming the third coming. The headline came as bit of a surprise: not so much because he hadn’t filled the Calderón as because he hadn’t even returned to it yet. Still, there’s nothing quite like selling successes that haven’t happened and still might not, especially round here, and it was only a few hours away. Noon on Sunday 15 January and Diego Pablo Simeone was at last back on the banks of the Manzanares, a saviour.

At last? In truth, he hadn’t taken all that long. It had been just six and a half years. Yet it felt longer. It often feels like Atlético Madrid work in dog years: everything happens so fast, so much goes on, that each year at Atlético is worth seven anywhere else.

[…]

Simeone always knew this day would come. Twice he had played for Atlético Madrid, between 1994 and 1997 and again between 2003 and 2005. The first time he had been at the heart of the side that won the double in 1996. When he left Atlético, he did so in tears to a huge, emotional ovation. A hardnut and a football nut who stood sadly under the shower the day he finally retired at Racing de Avellaneda, half an hour thinking silently, he went into coaching immediately. He had, team-mates said, been a coach as a player. There were six managerial stints in five years at five different clubs, some successes too, but none were Atlético. And the promise was always there, hanging in the air: maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day …

Sunday, at last, was the day. “The day of the Cholo,” as El Mundo Deportivo put it. Brought in at Christmas, Simeone had returned to action the week before, with a 0-0 draw at Málaga. Now, he was making his debut as coach at the Vicente Calderón and against another hero from the double – José Molina, Atlético’s goalkeeper in 1996, the unexpected debutant manager at Villarreal and back at the Calderón for his second game in charge. Team-mates but never actual mates – the photo of the pair “together” that the media used most last week shows the quiet, occasionally distant Molina posing with the trophy while Cholo Simeone stands saluting the fans as he waits his turn, a little too close to get out of the shot – here they were again, 15 years later.

 

AfricaCommentary

The Ivory Coast’s Year, This Year?

January 22, 2012 — by Rob Kirby

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The Ivory Coast won their first match of the 2012 African Cup of Nations today, a 1-0 defeat of Sudan with Didier Drogba scoring the lone goal. Shockingly, Gervinho rocketed a few over the crossbar. And he’s usually so clinical…

Curious as to their current FIFA ranking and who else might likely put up a fight against the Elephants, I looked it up. Learning that they rank 18th internationally didn’t surprise, but the fact that only 5 other African countries make up the top 50 did.

Current FIFA rankings:

18 Côte d’Ivoire   
26 Ghana   
32 Algeria  
36 Egypt   
43 Senegal   
45 Nigeria

Then I looked up the past few winners of the cup. 2010, Egypt. 2008, Egypt. 2006, Egypt. 2004, Tunisia.

Egypt? For three tournaments running?

More current Ivory Coast players have played for Arsenal in the past two years than I could even name on the Egypt national team. Actually, anyone I named on the Egypt national team would be a guess–I don’t know any player for certain who is Egyptian.

(I just looked up the current team roster–I recognize nary a name. I somewhat remember Zaki for Hull City, but he’s been dropped from the most recent squad.)

Compare with the Ivory Coast: Kolo Toure (Manchester City), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Gervinho (Arsenal), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Cheik Tiote (Newcastle United), Arthur Boka (Stuttgart), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray).

The Ivory Coast didn’t light the world on fire in either the 2006 or 2010 World Cups. They failed to make it out of the group stages of either one, incidentally the only two for which they’ve ever qualified.

Do Les Éléphants choke when it really comes down to it, or will this year finally be the year? Egypt didn’t even qualify for this year’s Cup–the top spot is wide open!

(The Ivory Coast did win in 1992, to be fair.)

Cup Winners:

2010 Egypt 1-0 Ghana
2008 Egypt 1-0 Cameroon
2006 Egypt 0-0 Ivory Coast (4-2 Pens)
2004 Tunisia 2-1 Morocco
2002 Cameroon 0-0 Senegal (3-2 Pens)
2000 Cameroon 2-2 Nigeria (4-3 Pens)
1998 Egypt 2-0 South Africa
1996 South Africa 2-0 Tunisia
1994 Nigeria 2-1 Zambia
1992 Ivory Coast 0-0 Ghana (11-10 Pens)
1990 Algeria 1-0 Nigeria
1988 Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
1986 Egypt 0-0 Cameroon (5-4 Pens)
1984 Cameroon 3-1 Nigeria
1982 Ghana 1-1 Libya (7-6 Pens)
1980 Nigeria 3-0 Algeria
1978 Ghana 2-0 Uganda
1976 Morocco (League Format)
1974 Zaire 2-0 Zambia (After Replay)
1972 Congo 3-2 Mali
1970 Sudan 1-0 Ghana
1968 RD Congo 1-0 Ghana
1965 Ghana 3-2 Tunisia
1963 Ghana 3-0 Sudan
1961 Ethiopia 4-2 Egypt
1959 Egypt 2-1 Sudan
1957 Egypt 4-0 Ethiopia

CommentaryEngland

Less Is More For Arsenal (A.K.A. Grasping at Straws)

August 7, 2011 — by Rob Kirby

Gervinho, one name and a five-head.

I am an Arsenal fan. (It sounds like one’s first words at the first address of a self-help meeting.) I check the Web every day to see if finally the drip-drip waterboard torture is finally over and we’ve either signed someone (I quadruple finger-crossed on the Juan Mata deal; I’m still doing so) or resolved anything with regard to Fabregas and/or Nasri. But sometimes, you just have to let go. And on that note, time for something different.

By the standards of soccer allegiances and soccer fandom, I’m a newbie. And American, to boot. In 2006, an NYC friend who supported Arsenal wove a magical tale of a manager who could conjure success on a shoestring budget. He spotted the diamonds in the rough time and time again. He built a team that fought the good fight, sidestepped the slide tackles and nutmegged the thug teams with flowing, attractive play. Perhaps the team did not note-for-note emulate the total football of the 1970s Dutch national teams, but then, who did? Furthermore, we had Henry, the best player in the world, or so the song went. [Editor’s note: he was. Okay, that wasn’t the editor noting, it’s still me. But look at Henry’s goals on YouTube sometime. Cagey, cheeky Frenchman.]

Anyway, it occurred to me moments ago that for the first time in my tenure (obsession) with Arsenal that we now finally have a player who goes by one name. And he’s not even Brazilian. Just a good ol’ boy from the Ivory Coast named Gervais Yao Kouassi. I mean, Gervinho.

OK, caveat number one, we have/had Denilson, but I’m choosing to ignore him. He’s on loan, he’s disappointed greatly as a player, he causes nightmares in soccer dreams…so the assertion stands.

Caveat two, we had Eduardo, and Eduardo ruled until some Cro Magnon from Birmingham mistook Eduardo’s leg and ankle for a brick wall and mistook himself for the brick-busting Kool-Aid Man/ Pitcher. Nothing about it is funny, and it still pains me to have lost Eduardo, but I can’t help myself: “Oh yeah!” (I really do love the Kool Aid Pitcher guy.)

I should have chosen a different metaphor.

But my love for Eduardo’s fox-in-the-box style means that I have wholly blocked out this memory. He scored against us last year with Shakhtar Donetsk? What? Is that even a real team? Who are we talking about again? Ed-what? Crozillian? Doesn’t ring a bell.

Onward and upward. It can’t be denied that sometimes less is more. And please do me the favor of not reading this as some tired rationalization I’ve trotted out through the years re: endowment, or lack thereof. Get your minds out of the gutter and stick with me here: one namers bring success.

AfricaCommentaryNewsVideo

Weekend Highlight Reel: Arsenal Blow a 4-Goal Lead; Joey Barton Still a Thug

February 8, 2011 — by Suman

Cheik Tioté: From the Ivory Coast to Belgium to Holland...to Newcastle Hero

The much-hyped Chelsea-Liverpool game Sunday of course didn’t live up to the hype (a surprising but desultory 1-0 victory for Liverpool)–but there was a bunch of exciting action over the weekend. Let’s start with Arsenal visiting Newcastle.

The Gunners scored 3 goals in the first ten minutes against Newcastle (Walcott 1′, Djourou 3′, van Persie 10′), added a 4th in the 26th minute (RVP again), and held that 4-0 lead until the 68th minute–and subsequently collapsed to end the game 4-4. Newcastle was sparked by not one but two penalties in their favor, both converted by Joey Barton–who also helped Newcastle gain a man-advantage for nearly the entire second half.

Sean called it back in August: Joey Barton is a cheap thug.  Barton’s vicious tackle on Abou Diaby early in the 2nd half led the Ivorian Frenchman to retaliate with a throwdown, which of course got Diaby a straight red (Diaby was filling in for an injured Alex Song).

That said, Newcastle’s 4th goal was especially impressive–a volley by 24-year-old Ivorian midfielder Cheik Tioté in the 87th minute.  Tioté arrived in Newcastle this summer after winning the Eredivisie title with FC Twente and playing for the Ivory Coast in the World Cup (see the Guardian’s Saturday interview from last October: “I miss Africa but Newcastle is perfect for me“.

Here is a game report, and here is video (always lucky when we get a BBC MoTD clip on footytube–watch the match highlights followed by some in-studio match analysis by Gary Lineker et al):

As usual, we solicited the thoughts of our favorite Gunners fans in the Rockies:

The Newcastle game might be a classic for the neutrals. Apparently no EPL team has ever surrendured a 4-0 lead. It was a lesson in sports-psychology. (I’ve been there, my own emotions led to the St. Xavier brawl! HA!)

Gunners: still young, emotional, and needing leadership. But they’re hardening their skin, and taking less and less shit from opponents. I hope for great things in the next 2-5 years…

I wasn’t that upset, I chuckled a few times as Arsenal folded. But they gained a point on Man Utd, and Abou Diaby did his best to put Joey Barton in his place. Pushing Barton’s head toward the pitch is worth a red and a point, eh?

Commentary

Digging Europe’s Dark Vision of Futbol: The Unsettling Language of UK Futbol Announcers

June 22, 2010 — by Ryan1

It's really not all that bad.

One of the best side benefits of World Cup soccer has been the chance to listen to non-American announcers cover the games. It’s not so much that the U.S. seems to have few legitimate broadcasters who can competently, unpretentiously offer their opinion, which is basically a true statement, no it’s more about the subtle nuances like terminology. Take the following examples:

1) “the smash and grab” – in the overwhelming cluster$#%k that was Switzerland’s goal against Spain the UK announcer repeatedly described it as a “smash and grab” goal. Likewise, Paraguay’s set play success against Italy received the same moniker. I swear no American announcer would ever imply both theft and violence in the purest of all things a world cup goal. No, our man would say the Swiss were “gritty”, “dogged” or “had a nose for the goal”. I’d say the “smash and grab” is all those things and more.