MONDAY, JULY 7, 2014

FAN FERVOR Krul saves place Dutch into semis

SALVADOR: Substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul saved two penalties in a dramatic shoot-out on Saturday as the Netherlands edged Costa Rica 4-3 to reach the World Cup semi-finals. After a goalless 120 minutes, the towering Newcastle United custodian came on at the end of extra time and he saved from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umana to win the quarter-final for the Dutch. It was another masterstroke from Manchester United-bound coach Louis van Gaal, who despite his ingenuity was unable to engineer a break- through in normal and extra time. Costa Rica rarely threatened and appeared content to play for penalties, their strong suit after goalkeeper Keylor Navas kept out Greece in a shoot-out in the last 16. But their bluff was called and after Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt all buried their kicks, the outstretched Krul denied Umana to seal the win. Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto was proud at his team’s contribution to the World Cup. “We feel happy. There’s no sadness,” he said. “My players were admirable. We’ve proved that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with major nations.” The thrilling shoot-out came after a match in which goalkeep- ing also featured strongly when the Dutch hit the wood- work three times and were repeatedly denied by Navas. Their first chance came when Kuyt squared it to Memphis Depay, who found Van Persie in the area but had his close- range shot well blocked by Navas. The goalkeeper then spared Ruiz’s blushes, after his captain gave the ball away on the halfway line, when he stopped smartly from Depay. SALVADOR: Netherlands’ goalkeeper Tim Krul saves a penalty by Costa Rica’s defender Michael Umana Robben’s frank admission to diving dominated the (not pictured) during the penalty shoot out of a quarter-final football match during the 2014 FIFA build-up but Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmanov had no delay World Cup. — AFP in awarding free-kicks when he went down twice in quick er Cristian Gamboa was stretchered off and replaced by Ron Vlaar’s header before needing treatment after a clash succession. Dave Myrie. Dutch coach Van Gaal threw on Jeremain Lens with Kuyt. After they changed ends for the final time, And Sneijder nearly buried the second when he curled for Depay in a bid to avoid extra time, and Sneijder nearly Robben painfully clashed heads with Johnny Acosta and it past the wall, only for his goal-bound shot to be denied broke the deadlock when he hammered a free-kick against substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was booked for colliding by Navas’s fabulous flying, one-handed save. The Levante the near post. with Navas. ‘keeper was again on his toes when he came out quickly to Navas again denied Van Persie from close range, and With penalties looming, Urena threatened to snatch it dive on Robben’s through-ball just ahead of the on-rush- with two minutes remaining the sharpshooter appeared to for Costa Rica when he broke clear, but he was denied by ing Van Persie. have it won when Sneijder floated a ball over the defence. goalkeeper Jan Cillessen. And almost immediately at the The Netherlands were starting to carve Costa Rica open But Van Persie, scorer of a magnificent diving header in the other end, Sneijder hit the woodwork for the second time but despite 63 percent of possession in the opening half, Dutch win against Spain, embarrassingly swung and when he smashed a curling shot off the crossbar. they went into the break goalless. missed with his favoured left foot with the goal at his mer- Van Gaal withdrew Cillessen for the 1.93m (six feet Costa Rica hadn’t had a shot on target but they had a cy. In injury time, the Dutch appeared cursed as Daley three inches) Krul exactly on 120 minutes for the penalties. chance on the hour when Junior Diaz surged and found Blind’s ball ran across the face, missing a forest of out- And his judgement looked impeccable when Krul saved Campbell, who went sprawling but had his penalty claim stretched legs, and Van Persie’s shot was deflected onto Costa Rica’s second kick, struck by Ruiz, and then palmed denied. Costa Rica withdrew Campbell for Marcos Urena, the bar. Extra-time began for the sixth time this World Cup away Umana’s low and one-handed before racing away in and they were forced into another change when midfield- and Navas rescued Costa Rica again when he turned away triumph. — AFP Argentina show they are Brazil stretch laws to the limit about more than Messi BRAZIL: Colombia were kicked out of the World in Brazil for the methods used by his teams. Cup by a bruising Brazil team who committed 31 BRASILIA: With 82 minutes of brilliant game management, fouls and stretched the laws of the game to the lim- MORE FOULS Argentina dispelled the notion they are a one man team depend- its on their way to a 2-1 quarter-final win on Friday. During a stint with Cruzeiro, he noted that his ent wholly on captain Lionel Messi to win the World Cup. Spanish referee Carlos Velasco stood by and team gave away an average of 25 fouls per match The South Americans united in a canny display to outfox a tal- watched as Colombia, who have delighted the but said that was one of the lowest numbers in the ented but inexperienced Belgium side 1-0 on Saturday, with their world with flowing, attacking football were drawn Brazilian championship at the time. gifted playmaker, the difference in all four previous wins in Brazil, into a kicking match by the hosts who were clearly When he was at Palmeiras, there was uproar a mere cog in the team wheel. intent on stopping their opponents playing by any after a television crew outside the changing room Once Gonzalo Higuain put Argentina in front in the eighth means. Velasco waited for 41 fouls to be committed recorded a private team talk in which he urged his minute of the quarter-final, the South Americans and their feared before pulling out his first yellow card, well into the players to kick a member of the opposing team. forward line surprisingly opted to shut up shop. second half, and his leniency allowed Brazil carte The man known as “Big Phil” also used other They held the ball, steered away from attacks, ensured a blanche to freely use tactical fouling in midfield. tactics such as throwing spare balls on to the field defensive platform was always in place and employed the odd bit Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, arguably to disrupt an opposing team’s attacks. of infuriating time wasting to throw the Belgians out of sink. the top player in the tournament, took a fearful Scolari was certainly not alone and there was a Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero only made one save, a battering as Brazil adopted a rotation system in period in Brazilian football around 10 years ago parry from a Kevin De Bruyne effort from distance midway which players took it in turns to foul him. where some coaches believed that committing through the first half. It was a paltry return from a Belgium side To add insult to injury, Rodriguez was one of more fouls than the opposition was the key to win- packed full of creative talents and which forced United States four players booked in the 54-foul match. Brazil ning the game. Many of Scolari’s contemporaries goalkeeper Tim Howard to make a record 16 saves in their last 16 goalkeeper Julio Cesar was lucky to escape a red came to regard fouls as a tactical resource rather win played at high intensity and swinging from end to end. card for a legs-first foul on Carlos Bacca which led than an infringement of the laws of the game. Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella clearly did not want a repeat of that performance. He made three changes, one to the penalty that Rodriguez converted for Since returning for a second stint as Brazil coach enforced, bringing into the midfield Lucas Biglia, who screened Colombia’s 80th minute goal. in November 2012, Scolari has once again got his the backline brilliantly alongside Javier Mascherano in a match At times, the match looked like a bad day in the team playing to the limits of the law. that rarely got out of second gear. Libertadores Cup, the South American equivalent When his side thrashed Spain 3-0 in the The sharp passing of the two able ball players nullified the of the Champions League which has a turbulent Confederations Cup final last year, they managed Belgians on the rare occasion when the European side attempted history of violence and skullduggery. to commit 26 fouls without receiving a single yel- to close the ball down quickly. Higuain led the attack but few Although Brazil were the main perpetrators, low card. FIFA’s refereeing head Massimo Busacca were willing to join him. Minutes before the halftime break, Messi Colombia also got involved, more out of necessity told Reuters in an interview in November that ref- was waving at his reluctant team mates to make a run forward as than choice, and it was Neymar who came off erees should nip the problem in the bud if they he attempted to launch a break. None bothered. worse, suffering a fractured vertebrae that the sensed a team were using tactical fouls. team doctor said had ruled him out of the World “If you realise in the first 10 minutes that the GUARDED APPROACH Cup. The Brazil forward was carried off on a stretch- coach has prepared the game (plan) in that way, Despite Argentina’s guarded approach, the cautious Belgians er near the end and taken to hospital, crying in you have to understand what is happening and... persisted with a back four, and Axel Witsel protecting them, clear- pain after receiving a knee in the back from you have to do something,” he said. ly worried about the carnage Messi could wreak given the Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga who, in a “This is what we expect from top referees... to chance, a prospect discussed exhaustively prior to the game. sadly familiar routine, escaped without a booking. understand how the coach prepared the game, A swift trio of attacks at the start of the second period by Brazil’s performance, which has set up a semi- respect the other team and say now we have to Argentina almost resulted in a second goal before they returned final against Germany, bore the hallmarks of their stop this type of play.” to time-killing ways more akin to Italian sides of old. coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who was criticised in the But the message clearly did not get through to No chances were taken. Throw in almost always went long and down the line, while left back Jose Maria Basanta rarely ventured run-up to the match after his players exposed their Velasco and raised questions as to why FIFA picked past halfway and right back Pablo Zabaleta reached the byline nerves during the second round win over Chile. a European referee to officiate at a game between only twice. The frustrated Belgians could do nothing. —Reuters Scolari has mellowed over the years but won a two South American teams in conditions he did certain amount of notoriety during his club career not seem to be familiar with. — Reuters Dutch happy motoring under Van Gaal

SALVADOR: Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal has drawn Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt have taken charge attention for his tactical surprises but a rare unity among and been his voice in what is otherwise a youthful group. his players has forged a sense the World Cup could finally Despite the coach’s hard-man demeanour, a relaxed atmos- be theirs. phere has been clear with players lingering after training While in-fighting has marked previous campaigns, team for kick-abouts with their team-mates’ children. “Compared spirit is clear in the current squad-and is testament to the with the atmosphere at Euro 2012, it’s night and day,” said man-management of the Manchester United-bound boss. Sneijder. “I had my doubts before the tournament but they After knocking out Costa Rica on penalties to reach the disappeared very quickly,” he added. “This group gets along semi-finals, van Gaal said he had never seen such a sense of extremely well. The atmosphere is super.” Kuyt said: “Having responsibility among players during his long career. our wives around plays an important role. It’s very refresh- “Portugal was a fantastic training camp and that really ing to be able to have family time with our wives and chil- helped merge the group. This was the first time we actually dren the day after matches.” spent time together as a group so I don’t have to check up The current harmony contrasts with Euro 1996, when on them,” he told journalists in Salvador. “I haven’t checked Edgar Davids clashed with coach Guus Hiddink, and the up on them once. And that doesn’t happen very often 1994 World Cup which Ruud Gullit skipped over a row with according to you guys (reporters) but truly that’s the case. Dick Advocaat. “They know exactly when they have to take their The golden generation of Patrick Kluivert, Dennis responsibility and that is the gist of the matter. “It’s not Bergkamp and Clarence Seedorf was not able to win any about me, it’s not about the staff, it’s about the players tak- titles, and in 2004 Davids was also in conflict with ing responsibility. When I compare that to the other teams I Advocaat. And at Euro 2012, Rafael van der Vaart and Klaas- have worked with, it’s incredibly strong.” Jan Huntelaar both spoke openly of the divisions within Such collectivism could make the difference as the the squad. Dutch aim to finally take the last step and lift the World Cup Fast-forward to the present day, and van Gaal-dubbed after being runners-up in 1974, 1978 and 2010. “Van G(eni)aal” by the de Boer twins Frank and Ronald for European championships in 1996, 2004 and 2012 have his tactical switches-is able to play Kuyt at left-back and still been low-points for Dutch harmony, with managers repeat- win praise from the veteran forward. The aftermath of his edly failing to unite richly talented but ego-dominated masterstroke against Costa Rica was telling. At the end of squads. extra-time, van Gaal substituted goalkeeper Jasper But in Brazil, players have lined up to sing the praises of Cillessen for penalties specialist Tim Krul. When Krul saved van Gaal, and each other, after their five consecutive wins two spot-kicks to put the Netherlands into the semi-finals, over Spain, Australia, Chile, Mexico and Costa Rica. the first player to race across the pitch and offer his con- Van Gaal says senior players Robin van Persie, Arjen gratulations was, of course, Cillessen. — AFP Netherlands’ coach Louis van Gaal