A few sites are reporting that Ajax has offered Palmeiras of Brazil 8 million Euros for their 21 year old defender Zagueiro Henrique. He doesn't seem to have much experience, but has made enough of an impression in the few games that he has played to attract interest from both Ajax and Barca.
I may or may not eventually post something about the Russia match, but honestly I don't really feel up to it. Its just way to depressing to have to think about it again, I'd rather just forget it and move on.
Unbelievable. Beautiful. Dominant. Those would be the 3 words I'd use to describe Orjange's ascension from Euro 2008 'favorites' (along with 5 or six other nations), to actual FAVORITES. I'd love to hear if anyone can ever remember a display like this from a Dutch team, and I'm not only talking about goals and wins, but the absolute beauty that they are injecting into this tournament. Seriously, what the hell is going on with these guys. What has happened? Why are they playing SO much better than they were in qualifying? Is the formation change from the good ol' 4-3-3 to this magical new 4-2-3-1 the main reason? I think that has to be the answer, they LOOK like a completely different team out there. I think v.Nistelrooy's recent comments sum it up pretty well: "There's more movement, it's less predictable for our opponents and we are less position-bound. We've got our duties, but have more liberty to make moves up front and that's more difficult to defend against." It sure does Ruud, nobody seems to be able to defend against the new and improved Oranje offensive onslaught. And the best part is that the entire team seems to be getting in on it. Everyone is playing well and seven different players have scored goals at this point.
But I am worried. I'm worried that we will be shocked by either Sweden or Russia in the knockout stages, or my worst fear, that we will end up losing to Italy in a semi-final rematch (damn you Mutu!). Its almost like things are going TOO good at this point...like its just a set up for a colossal failure.
Anywho, its was good to see Klaas get a goal yesterday, and all 3 Ajacied (well, recent Ajacied) played reasonably well. Steks only had to make one save, but looked solid back there, and Heits had some deer in the headlights moments but overall played well.
I'm hoping for Russia.
WOW. What a game! What a result! What a performance! HAHA!!!! YES! Greatest football match I've ever seen! Who could have imagined a 3-0 Oranje victory over the Italians!?! Who would have thought that the Dutch supporters would be chanting "Always look on the bright side of life" to the departing Azzuri fans in the dying minutes of the game?!? After 5 completely listless and boring matches leading up to this one, and with a 0-0 result from the France/Romania game, I was truly expecting both of these teams to play very conservatively, with neither wanting to risk ending up at the bottom of the table. Within 10 minutes of the start, it was obvious that the Dutch had something else in mind. Never in my life have I seen midfield play like the masterpiece that van der Vaart and Sneijder delivered, and the much maligned back line looked awesome.
The first goal? UEFA has come out this morning and stated that the officials interpreted the rules correctly and made the right call, so what else can you say about it? Would it have mattered if Ruud was called off? I doubt it. Holland was well organized, motivated, and clinical in every aspect of the game. This honestly reminded me of the US/England game a few weeks ago. Much like the US in that game, yesterday the Italians seemed confused and couldnt come up with the touch needed to string together more than 1 or 2 passes. Maybe Cannavaro's absence impacted their play, maybe they just underestimated the Dutch, maybe they just aren't that good.
The second goal was just perfectly sublime. What can you say about it, it will go down with van Basten's '88 volley as one of the best ever. What makes it a better goal to me is that it was the result of an absolutely perfect counter attack. You could just see van Bronkhorst after he cleared that shot off the line, he was screaming for the ball...he had so much space in front of him...and the pass to him was perfectly laid out for him to run on to. When he sent his cross over in Kuyt's direction I really didn't think Dirk would be able to do anything with it, but his soft header to Sneijder was right where it needed to be, and the man of the match's finish made my jaw drop. A great goal, but a 2-0 lead still just didn't seem like enough. I was happy, but still worried. The second half saw the Dutch back on their heels for long periods of time, but the surprise back line of van Bronkhorst, Mathijsen, Ooijer and Boulahrouz (no Heits?) stood strong with help from Engelaar and De Jong. I thought Engelaar in particular played excellent, as did the one guy that I was worried about the most, Mathijsen, who had the pleasure of marking Toni for most of the night. The second half did see some chances for Toni and the Azzuri, but Gio's goal off another perfect counter attack with about 10 minutes left put the game away and ensured Italian embarrassment.
This may be a beginning of an the end for the old dinosaurs of European soccer. The decade long domination by the Italians and French may have finally come to an end, and we are all going to benefit from it. The Dutch reminded the world what exciting football can look like. Hopefully the days of plodding along, playing boring defensive football, and scoring one goal and then sitting on it are over. The Azzuri are naturally getting absolutely killed in the Italian press today. They have some major problems to deal with, as does France, who looked totally worthless yesterday against a pesky Romanian team. Things are looking good for Holland, and a +3 goal differential doesn't hurt. Its only the first round of games, but the Dutch look to be the class of the tournament at this point. But can they keep it up?...that's what I'm going to keep wondering until the match against the French on Friday....the 13th.
As much as I hate to see Eredivisie talent leave for other leagues, I must admit to feeling a twinge of happiness when I read the following article....
http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=724651
It seems that the Eindhovians may be losing another player that has played an integral part in their success over the past few years. With Gomes pretty much gone (although stories have been going around recently about new PSV boss Hubb Stevens trying to convince him to stay), the loss of Farfan would definitely be a blow to their attempt at a 5 - peat. Granted, he only had 8 goals last season, but his pace and free-kick abilities have always impressed me and I will not be sad to see him leave.
Ok, slow news time...but some of these are fucking hilarious!
There is a bit of news actually, Ajax has told Luque, Leonardo, Edgar Manucharyan, Nicole Mitea and Robert Schilder that they are free to leave the club. The one name on here that surprises me is Leonardo, and you have to feel for him. He was a great player at NAC before coming to Ajax and started off well in Amsterdam as well, but that awful ACL injury that he suffered last year seems has proven too much to come back from. Hopefully he'll find some playing time elsewhere, he's only 25. As for Luque...probably some of the worst money Ajax has ever spent. Good riddance.
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