Rakhmetov
06-21-2010, 05:30 AM
It was a beautiful match. Jong's tears during the Korean national hymn was the most touching moment of the tournament. They played with remarkable sportsmanship, unlike like the bullshit diving, grabbing, and pushing seen in other matches.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/fifa2010/fifa_inside.asp?xfile=/data/fifa2010features/2010/June/fifa2010features_June45.xml§ion=fifa2010features
If the World Cup was a sleeping beauty, she has finally woken up now. Yes, she has indeed woken up to show her inner beauty that we didn’t care to see.
No, Brazil didn’t wake her up.
Of course, the five-time champions played their part. The creators of the beautiful game were challenged by a bunch of unglamorous footballers from North Korea.
The Asians showed a beautiful courage to fight and suffocate the world’s finest team. Their tenacity and organisation reflected their belief – that playing defensive football is not a felony. They cared about that aspect of the game which is often neglected by the romantics. And yet their industrious performance appealed to everyone.
“I’m a Brazil fan but I found myself rooting for North Korea to get a draw,” a goal.com reader wrote.
“The sportsmanship they showed was amazing. Whenever any of them fouled a Brazilian, they quickly went and apologised. They played against one of the best teams and played their hearts out. I really want them to advance along with Brazil.”
Can there ever be anything as profound as this?
The Koreans were so good that the Brazilians needed a moment of inspiration. They were pushed to the limit. And after the magnificent Maicon had scored a wonder goal from the narrowest of angles (the Koreans rarely gave them space), the giant Inter defender found himself in a monumental struggle to hold back the tears. He sank to his knees and as his team-mates embraced him, you knew they were not just celebrating; they were showing respect to their rivals.
Maicon too was desperate. Sometimes your rival brings the best out of you, but nobody expected North Korea to become that rival. Even that goal failed to break the Korean hearts and again Brazil needed some magic. The Korean wall was finally breached by a sumptuous Robinho pass and a crisp finish from Elano.
And yet it failed to kill the spirit of the Korean fighters who eventually scored an unforgettable goal through Jim Yun-Nam. After the final whistle, the Brazilians showed the grace to applaud the Koreans who simply raised their hands to say thanks to their adoring countrymen in the stands.
Never has a football match touched the heart the way it did on Tuesday night.
The sleeping beauty has finally woken up to make us feel something we had never felt before.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/fifa2010/fifa_inside.asp?xfile=/data/fifa2010features/2010/June/fifa2010features_June45.xml§ion=fifa2010features
If the World Cup was a sleeping beauty, she has finally woken up now. Yes, she has indeed woken up to show her inner beauty that we didn’t care to see.
No, Brazil didn’t wake her up.
Of course, the five-time champions played their part. The creators of the beautiful game were challenged by a bunch of unglamorous footballers from North Korea.
The Asians showed a beautiful courage to fight and suffocate the world’s finest team. Their tenacity and organisation reflected their belief – that playing defensive football is not a felony. They cared about that aspect of the game which is often neglected by the romantics. And yet their industrious performance appealed to everyone.
“I’m a Brazil fan but I found myself rooting for North Korea to get a draw,” a goal.com reader wrote.
“The sportsmanship they showed was amazing. Whenever any of them fouled a Brazilian, they quickly went and apologised. They played against one of the best teams and played their hearts out. I really want them to advance along with Brazil.”
Can there ever be anything as profound as this?
The Koreans were so good that the Brazilians needed a moment of inspiration. They were pushed to the limit. And after the magnificent Maicon had scored a wonder goal from the narrowest of angles (the Koreans rarely gave them space), the giant Inter defender found himself in a monumental struggle to hold back the tears. He sank to his knees and as his team-mates embraced him, you knew they were not just celebrating; they were showing respect to their rivals.
Maicon too was desperate. Sometimes your rival brings the best out of you, but nobody expected North Korea to become that rival. Even that goal failed to break the Korean hearts and again Brazil needed some magic. The Korean wall was finally breached by a sumptuous Robinho pass and a crisp finish from Elano.
And yet it failed to kill the spirit of the Korean fighters who eventually scored an unforgettable goal through Jim Yun-Nam. After the final whistle, the Brazilians showed the grace to applaud the Koreans who simply raised their hands to say thanks to their adoring countrymen in the stands.
Never has a football match touched the heart the way it did on Tuesday night.
The sleeping beauty has finally woken up to make us feel something we had never felt before.