by Soccer Coach Albert M. Luongo
Espanyol beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on December 24, 2007. In my opinion the game was played like a hockey match—playing the player, not the ball. This type of dirty playing took place during the first half and partly into the second half. The contest started out with two fouls in the first minute: Normally, experience tells me not to watch a soccer game when it starts out this way; but I decided to do something that I never do. I decided to watch the match and count fouls and balls sent over the touchline. The ball went out of the touch line 6 times in the first 12 minutes and went over the two touchlines a total of 29 times during the match--not as frequently as I had predicted, but still not good. The first half was brutal, as there were 31 takedowns (kicking out the legs) that I counted. The referee did not call several of the fouls or issue several yellow cards that I believe were warranted. Finally on minute 21 a red card was given to Atletico’s Aquero who either slapped or punched an opponent—it was difficult to determine which it was. Even the announcer mentioned that the referee was losing control of the game. Furthermore, on the 28th minute a handball in the penalty area was not called. On the 30th minute there should have been given another red card.
The fouls continued in the second half but the rate was less as I only counted 14 takedowns; however, Athletico’s Penia was given the 2nd red card of the game in the 54th minute of play. This ejection, of course, meant that they would only field 9 players for the rest of the game.
Aside from the violence taking place, there were some good events to point out. Starting with the goals, Atletico’s Simao curved a free kick (awarded for a penalty or course) just to the inside of the right post. Espanyol’s goalkeeper Kameni had no chance to stop this first goal of the game at about minute 36. On the 53rd minute, Espanyol’s Tamudo headed in a quick ball with no chance for the defense or Atletico’s goalkeeper Abbiati to prevent the goal. At minute 85, De la Pena (pronounced Day-la Penya) sent a fast ball to teammate Luis Garcia to once again beat the Atletico goal keeper Abbiati—he had no chance to stop this one either. Some of the best ball shielding came from the Atletico Madrid’s team and they played their hearts out after being down by 2 players. They played a defensive game, especially after being down by losing their first player and most of the team helped out in defense, making penetration difficult. After losing their 2nd player, they could not launch many attacks on goal as the team had to run the whole field to attack their opponent’s goal. But their defense was commendable as Espanyol had many attacks on goal in the latter part of the 2nd half, but with out success until the goal by De la Pena/Garcia: Statistically it was bound to come.
Discussion on Referees.
First of all, I wish to note that I do not mention referees’ names in order to protect them. I do not wish to expose them to any harm. Furthermore, I believe that their names should always be withheld from the public for the same reason. However, soccer (or football) leagues should insist on only using the referees that are firm with offending players. When I refereed soccer (football) matches, I sized up violent players and teams right at the start of the match. In order to be correct and keep each match a clean one, I made sure that I clearly understood and enforced the FIFA Laws of the Game--(Note: at this web site it is necessary to scroll down to see the laws). Thus I exercised my authority immediately when violent fouls (and other fouls) took place, knowing what was coming if I did not do so. That way, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who was in charge. That is the way it is supposed to be! To overlook serious fouls in the beginning sets up a precedent and thus the violent players or teams immediately size up the referee. But when the players realize that the referee stands for no nonsense, they normally back away from playing the player and play the ball. After all, the Laws of the Game have been developed to protect the players and there should be no excuse for those referees that lenient on offenders.
Discussion on Skill vs. Dirty Tactics.
Soccer players should take note of this. Skillful players and teams go on to climb higher in their league. Dirty playing will never be a substitute the proper skills necessary to be recognized by coaches of higher level teams. Proper skills take time and devotion to learn them. Atletico Madrid have the skills to have held Espanyol at bay by keeping them from scoring the winning goal until the last few minutes of the match. If they would have been able to play with 11 players for the duration of the match, the results could have been different. But, due to receiving red cards, the 9 remaining players were enervated (lost their energy) and could no longer sustain good passing attacks. Yet they almost held their opponents to tie game by a super defense. Had they had all 11 players, playing as hard as they played in the latter part of the game, they may have even won the contest.
All of the above information is the author's opinion. This article in no way is meant to degrade, discredit or defame any team or person. Its sole purpose is to improve the skills of young soccer players, coaches and the game itself.
Espanyol beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 on December 24, 2007. In my opinion the game was played like a hockey match—playing the player, not the ball. This type of dirty playing took place during the first half and partly into the second half. The contest started out with two fouls in the first minute: Normally, experience tells me not to watch a soccer game when it starts out this way; but I decided to do something that I never do. I decided to watch the match and count fouls and balls sent over the touchline. The ball went out of the touch line 6 times in the first 12 minutes and went over the two touchlines a total of 29 times during the match--not as frequently as I had predicted, but still not good. The first half was brutal, as there were 31 takedowns (kicking out the legs) that I counted. The referee did not call several of the fouls or issue several yellow cards that I believe were warranted. Finally on minute 21 a red card was given to Atletico’s Aquero who either slapped or punched an opponent—it was difficult to determine which it was. Even the announcer mentioned that the referee was losing control of the game. Furthermore, on the 28th minute a handball in the penalty area was not called. On the 30th minute there should have been given another red card.
The fouls continued in the second half but the rate was less as I only counted 14 takedowns; however, Athletico’s Penia was given the 2nd red card of the game in the 54th minute of play. This ejection, of course, meant that they would only field 9 players for the rest of the game.
Aside from the violence taking place, there were some good events to point out. Starting with the goals, Atletico’s Simao curved a free kick (awarded for a penalty or course) just to the inside of the right post. Espanyol’s goalkeeper Kameni had no chance to stop this first goal of the game at about minute 36. On the 53rd minute, Espanyol’s Tamudo headed in a quick ball with no chance for the defense or Atletico’s goalkeeper Abbiati to prevent the goal. At minute 85, De la Pena (pronounced Day-la Penya) sent a fast ball to teammate Luis Garcia to once again beat the Atletico goal keeper Abbiati—he had no chance to stop this one either. Some of the best ball shielding came from the Atletico Madrid’s team and they played their hearts out after being down by 2 players. They played a defensive game, especially after being down by losing their first player and most of the team helped out in defense, making penetration difficult. After losing their 2nd player, they could not launch many attacks on goal as the team had to run the whole field to attack their opponent’s goal. But their defense was commendable as Espanyol had many attacks on goal in the latter part of the 2nd half, but with out success until the goal by De la Pena/Garcia: Statistically it was bound to come.
Discussion on Referees.
First of all, I wish to note that I do not mention referees’ names in order to protect them. I do not wish to expose them to any harm. Furthermore, I believe that their names should always be withheld from the public for the same reason. However, soccer (or football) leagues should insist on only using the referees that are firm with offending players. When I refereed soccer (football) matches, I sized up violent players and teams right at the start of the match. In order to be correct and keep each match a clean one, I made sure that I clearly understood and enforced the FIFA Laws of the Game--(Note: at this web site it is necessary to scroll down to see the laws). Thus I exercised my authority immediately when violent fouls (and other fouls) took place, knowing what was coming if I did not do so. That way, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind as to who was in charge. That is the way it is supposed to be! To overlook serious fouls in the beginning sets up a precedent and thus the violent players or teams immediately size up the referee. But when the players realize that the referee stands for no nonsense, they normally back away from playing the player and play the ball. After all, the Laws of the Game have been developed to protect the players and there should be no excuse for those referees that lenient on offenders.
Discussion on Skill vs. Dirty Tactics.
Soccer players should take note of this. Skillful players and teams go on to climb higher in their league. Dirty playing will never be a substitute the proper skills necessary to be recognized by coaches of higher level teams. Proper skills take time and devotion to learn them. Atletico Madrid have the skills to have held Espanyol at bay by keeping them from scoring the winning goal until the last few minutes of the match. If they would have been able to play with 11 players for the duration of the match, the results could have been different. But, due to receiving red cards, the 9 remaining players were enervated (lost their energy) and could no longer sustain good passing attacks. Yet they almost held their opponents to tie game by a super defense. Had they had all 11 players, playing as hard as they played in the latter part of the game, they may have even won the contest.
All of the above information is the author's opinion. This article in no way is meant to degrade, discredit or defame any team or person. Its sole purpose is to improve the skills of young soccer players, coaches and the game itself.
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