Tuesday, April 03, 2007
having a ball
Fiona had sent Andrew one of those super bouncy balls a while back. On one side it had the black and white pattern of a soccer ball while the other side was clear. Suspended in the middle is a little plastic soccer player and set in the background is a photo from a real soccer match.
Of course I was curious about what players those are in the photo. So I got in touch with my network of soccer nerds and in very short order I learned that the guy in White is David Platt (captain of the English national team at the time of the photo), the guy grabbing him is Ronald Koeman from Holland and the guy who you can see behind them both is Jan Wouters.
In fact, this specific play is quite famous. Would you like to hear more about it? Really!? Alright then.
Rotterdam, Holland, October 13, 1993
England have struggled for results in a difficult qualifying group and at least a tie is needed against the Dutch to have a chance to book a ticket to the USA for World Cup 1994. The first half is an even affair with neither side taking control and the score is 0-0 at halftime.
Early in the second-half, David Platt finally breaks free and looks to be in on goal alone. In a last gasp effort, Dutch defender Ronald Koeman cynically pulls down the English captain. The rules are clear on the punishment required for such a foul: red card. However, the Dutchman is only shown a yellow. To add further insult, the German referee appears ready to award the penalty kick, only to decide at the last moment that the ball should be placed outside the box.
"It was worth a red card," admitted Koeman, while maintaining that the offense was committed outside of the penalty area. "I tore at Platt and unbalanced him and was clever enough to stand up outside the area."
And then it was Koeman, the man who should have been in the dressing-room, who popped up at the other end of the pitch not ten minutes later, to chip in a free-kick which gave Holland the lead. Six minutes later Dennis Bergkamp beat David Seaman with a low shot from outside the penalty area to wrap up the game and virtually end England's World Cup life.
So if you were curious why England didn't appear in the 1994 World Cup, that's a big part of the story. Thanks Fiona, for this great lesson in soccer history!
Fiona had sent Andrew one of those super bouncy balls a while back. On one side it had the black and white pattern of a soccer ball while the other side was clear. Suspended in the middle is a little plastic soccer player and set in the background is a photo from a real soccer match.
Of course I was curious about what players those are in the photo. So I got in touch with my network of soccer nerds and in very short order I learned that the guy in White is David Platt (captain of the English national team at the time of the photo), the guy grabbing him is Ronald Koeman from Holland and the guy who you can see behind them both is Jan Wouters.
In fact, this specific play is quite famous. Would you like to hear more about it? Really!? Alright then.
Rotterdam, Holland, October 13, 1993
England have struggled for results in a difficult qualifying group and at least a tie is needed against the Dutch to have a chance to book a ticket to the USA for World Cup 1994. The first half is an even affair with neither side taking control and the score is 0-0 at halftime.
Early in the second-half, David Platt finally breaks free and looks to be in on goal alone. In a last gasp effort, Dutch defender Ronald Koeman cynically pulls down the English captain. The rules are clear on the punishment required for such a foul: red card. However, the Dutchman is only shown a yellow. To add further insult, the German referee appears ready to award the penalty kick, only to decide at the last moment that the ball should be placed outside the box.
"It was worth a red card," admitted Koeman, while maintaining that the offense was committed outside of the penalty area. "I tore at Platt and unbalanced him and was clever enough to stand up outside the area."
And then it was Koeman, the man who should have been in the dressing-room, who popped up at the other end of the pitch not ten minutes later, to chip in a free-kick which gave Holland the lead. Six minutes later Dennis Bergkamp beat David Seaman with a low shot from outside the penalty area to wrap up the game and virtually end England's World Cup life.
So if you were curious why England didn't appear in the 1994 World Cup, that's a big part of the story. Thanks Fiona, for this great lesson in soccer history!
