Quote:
Originally Posted by moonmonkey
mexico did it to themselves ... they stopped playing.. whether the last call was a penalty or not mexico gave that opportunity to holland by staying on their side not wanting to play in fear of giving up a goal and what happened they still lost ... you simply cannot ride out the game by just defending and not attacking and expect to win ..
robben was looking for that penalty the whole game and it was bound to happen by mexico giving holland one opportunity after another by not counter attacking
mexico just doesnt have what it takes to win when it matters against tougher/better teams... germany brazil argentina columbia holland usa and any other team with common sense will never just stop attacking and just focus on defending just because their up 1-0
it was a good game and too bad for mexico but players make plays and they also create instances where the ref has to make a call .. thats sports in general
whether the ref makes a good or bad call thats another story and thats how the cards were dealt
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I agree with you to a certain extend. I personally believe that Mexico has what I takes to win, but the inexperience of "piojo" Herrera as a World Cup coach was the decisive factor for their loss.
After the first goal, Van Gaal change the formation of the team from 4-4-2 to 3-4-3, making the team more aggressive to the attack. Even Van Persie was sent to the bench. The Dutch needed the result before the extra times because they knew that the heat and humidity would be factors that would play against them (Mexicans are more accostumed to the conditions). Herrera kept the same formation (maybe because he was forced to substitute the injured midfielder), and even took out Do Santos (the author of the goal) to bring a stronger but more defensive player. Also, Salsido was covering for Vasquez ( out due to accumulation of yellow cards) in the game. Vasquez was an excellent midfielder in the first elimination round, creating the plays that allowed Mexico to control the ball and to score against their rivals. Salsido is a very experience player, but more defensive on the midfield. The lack of offensive technical decisions at the end, cost my beloved national team to advance to the next round.
Regardless of the misfortune, I believe that Herrera is a great manager with a great future. But the truth is that Van Gaal was brilliant and more experienced for the situation. That is why he is a living legend of Dutch soccer, and the brand new coach of the Manchester United.