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عاشق الحب
مشرف عام
عدد المساهمات : 386
نقاط : 1692
السٌّمعَة : 0
|  موضوع: رد: اخر اخبار الكورة الإثنين يونيو 21, 2010 5:18 am | |
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Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss cut a somewhat forlorn figure
shortly after his team was roundly beaten by Paraguay 2-0 in Bloemfontein on
Sunday.
Stressing that his side had succumbed to a "quality opponent,"
Weiss concluded his post-match press conference with remarks that sounded as
though he and his team were ready to board the plane taking them back
home.
Slovakia's first-ever appearance in the World Cup as an independent
nation had been a "a good learning opportunity," he said.
"We are happy
we qualified for the World Cup. We played with our soul, he said, adding, "But
the mirror always shows what you can do."
He was referring to the loss
against Paraguay and, and even more regretfully, to Slovakia's shock 1-1 draw
against Group F minnows New Zealand in their opening match.
At the time,
Weiss' words, heavy with resignation, appeared well justified.
Slovakia
were going into their last first-round match, against reigning world champions
Italy on June 24, with just one point and hardly any chance of qualifying for
the knock-out phase.
However, football often springs surprises.
It
is safe to assume that a few hours later Weiss' mood was decidedly more
upbeat.
In one of the biggest shocks of the tournament, New Zealand drew
1-1 against Italy after taking a seventh-minute lead against the
Azzurri.
Suddenly, Slovakia's World Cup performance could be seen from a
different perspective.
Paraguay remained Group F leader with four points
after two games, followed by Italy and the All Whites on two points and Slovakia
on one.
Qualification to the second round is still wide
open.
Still, on June 24 against Italy in such a crucial match, Slovakia
will have to improve their game.
"We were not bold enough up front,"
Weiss said, referring to the match against Paraguay.
His words sounded
like a wry understatement considering that Slovakia never really threatened over
the 90 minutes.
Paraguay's keeper Justo Villar was virtually a spectator
until he made a solitary save from a long-range effort by Robert Vittekin in the
86th minute. By then the Latin Americans were up 2-0.
Against Paraguay's
well-organised team, Slovakia seemed mired in their inability to exploit the
playmaking skills of their Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik, relying instead on
long-range balls that often went astray.
So paradoxically they will have
to look for inspiration from their earlier draw against New Zealand, one that
drew derision from commentators back home.
Slovakia led most of that
match until a defensive lapse allowed the Kiwis to score an equalizer three
minutes into injury time.
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