Soccer & surprise

AP

Some years ago, when Phil Scolari was managing the leading Brazilian club, Gremio, his known policy was to encourage his players to commit minor foul in midfield to break up the rhythm of the opposition.

One of the charms, and the perennial mysteries, of soccer is its endless capacity for surprise. You just never can tell what may be around the corner. Who in their senses you might ask could have forecast the abysmal way in which Chelsea committed a kind of suicide in Rome? Fresh from a 5-0 thrashing of Sunderland at Stamford Bridge, which caused the opposing manager, the hardy Roy Keane, to admit abject surrender to superior forces, off went the Blues to the Olympic Stadi um to face in the European Cup a Roma team which had been shipping water not to mention goals for weeks.

And what happened? Why Chelsea threw the game away with defending which would surely have shamed any schoolboy team. The first goal conceded simply beggared belief. After a free-kick, when the Brazilian full-back Cicinho crossed from the right, it was as though the usually formidable skipper and stopper John Terry and the huge Brazilian Alex simply and courteously stood aside, to allow Panucci, the full-back who once briefly played for Chelsea, to stroll through and give Roma the lead.

More confusion was to follow. Having allowed the Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic to elude them in his own-half, pursued him uselessly all the way into their (Chelsea’s) own-half, failed in a half-hearted attempt to tackle him, enabling Mirko to run on at ease — why was nobody covering? — and knock the ball home at the left-hand post.

All very well for Big Phil Scolari, the much eulogised Brazilian coach of the Londoners, to assert boldly that Chelsea would continue to play attacking football. What about defensive football which, if I am not much mistaken, remains an essential part of the game? Besides, is Big Phil the man to trumpet the merits of attacking football?

Some years ago, when he was managing the leading Brazilian club, Gremio, his known policy was to encourage his players to commit minor foul in midfield to break up the rhythm of the opposition. And when in Japan he did win the 2002 World Cup as manager of Brazil, the word was that it took the insistence of such attacking stars as Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho to force Big Phil to allow them to express themselves.

Chelsea’s collapse in Rome was surely a far more serious affair than the brief three-match run which found Arsenal restricted to a defeat at Stoke and a couple of draws at the Emirates, bringing down a monsoon of criticism of the team and of its manager, Arsene Wenger.

True, Arsene didn’t really help himself with his pronouncement after the 2-1 loss at Stoke, two goals conceded after those formidable torpedo throws in from the Irishman, Rory Delap. He accused the Stoke team of rough tactics and he probably had a point, since it was a couple of reckless tackles from behind which put Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor off their field. But when Arsene went on to claim Arsenal’s merits as a team devoted to fair play, you had to detect an element of irony.

For it was only a few years ago that Arsenal’s disciplinary record was abysmal. A collection of 72 red cards stood testimony to its enormity; and Wenger hardly helped matters by perpetually failing to “see” controversial incidents. To the extent that it became a standing joke among journalists. Indeed, I once suggested that Wenger’s favourite half-back line must surely be The Three Wise Monkeys, see no evil, hear no evil, do no evil.

But the criticism of his team was comprehensive. It lacked the physical power in midfield it once had with the likes of Patrick Vieira a frequent collector of red cards. It lacked height at the back. It lacked a true leader. Conveniently forgetting the dazzling 5-2 thrashing of Fenerbahce in the European Cup in Istanbul, critics homed in on the Stoke defeat, the bizarre 4-4 home draw in the North London Derby against Spurs, the infinitely tedious and sterile goalless draw, in the home return against the Turks.

The Spurs match was surprising to the infinite degree. 4-2 up with just a few minutes remaining, infinitely the superior team, Arsenal in those last frantic stages conceded two goals and were thus forced to concede a 4-4 draw. Wenger spoke afterwards of a lack of maturity in the team then mysteriously added that this had nothing to do with the youth of his team. It arguably had much to do with his own mistaken decision to pull off two lively attackers in Walcott and Robin van Persie, thus easing the pressure on a Spurs team which came to belated life.

Then came the deadly draw with Fenerbahce. I saw both those games, and took into account that when the Gunners drew with Fenerbahce, key players were missing, so they still were when Manchester United, in all their supposed glory, came to the Emirates. No Adebayor, still injured, after that foul at Stoke. No Van Persie, suspended after being sent off there. It did look a good thing for Manchester United, but with Samir Nasri, the elusive little French attacker signed in the summer, in gloriously effective form, scoring two goals, with William Gallas dominant and influential in defence, the Gunners built a 2-0 lead and even a splendid, late, left-footed goal from the 18-year-old United defender, Rafael, couldn’t rob them of their dramatic and crucial victory.

Meanwhile, what of Liverpool, so very lucky to escape against Atletico Madrid in the European Cup at Anfield? Maxi Rodrigues, the Argentine right-winger famed for his spectacular goals, shocked them, by scoring one with superb speed and opportunism. When Steven Gerrard at last converted a penalty, it was after he was quite superfluously fouled when actually moving away from the goal. A penalty? Perhaps. Liverpool actually had claims earlier on for one, after a blatant handling offence. But with the injured Fernando Torres, their key striker, looking on from the stands, they gave a dismally pedestrian display.

In Italy, the surprise has been the form of Juventus, twice conquerors of Real Madrid in the European Cup with the veteran Alex del Piero, previously disregarded by his manager, “The Tinkerman”, Ranieri, getting both goals in Madrid and scoring regularly.