World Cup saints and sinners

Tom Williams

Saints and sinners from the World Cup in South Africa, which concluded on Sunday with Spain’s 1-0 extra-time victory over the Netherlands in the final in Johannesburg.

SAINTS

Jong Tae-se (North Korea)

North Korea’s participation at the World Cup for the first time since 1966 prompted plenty of unkind speculation about their closeted lives in the secretive communist state and the likely punishments awaiting them back home if they failed to perform. South Korean-born Jong gave the team a human face, his tears during the national anthem reminding everyone watching quite how much the tournament meant to the country. His performance in the narrow 2-1 loss to Brazil in North Korea’s opening game proved that the minnows were capable of competing with anyone.

Steven Gerrard (England)

One of several high-profile England players who failed to perform, Gerrard nonetheless showed commendable humility following his team’s last-16 humiliation at the hands of Germany. With English fans and media crying foul over the Frank Lampard shot that crossed the line but wasn’t given, Gerrard insisted the better team had won anyway. “For me to just stand here and say that one moment is the reason why we got beaten today would be a lie,” said the England captain.

Marcelo Bielsa (Chile)

The enigmatic Argentine coach bucked the general trend by urging his Chile side to play the same expansive, attacking football that had brought them to the World Cup in the first place. His unorthodox 3-3-1-3 formation charmed the neutrals, yielded wins over Honduras and Switzerland and subsequently secured a place in the last 16, before Chile were undone by Brazil.

Thomas Mueller (Germany)

Crowned Best Young Player and also winner of the Golden Boot, Mueller lit up Germany’s progress with a brace against England in the last 16 and the opening goal in the 4-0 thrashing of Argentina in the quarter-finals. A harsh booking for handball against Diego Maradona’s men meant that he would miss the semi-final through suspension, but he still made a point of shaking the referee’s hand as he made his way off the pitch.

SINNERS

Nicolas Anelka (France)

No player’s reputation took as much of a battering at the World Cup as Anelka’s. Ineffective in France’s warm-up matches and the opening 0-0 draw with Uruguay, the Chelsea striker appeared incapable of heeding coach Raymond Domenech’s instructions to lead the line as a conventional centre-forward.

Domenech’s patience finally snapped at half-time in the 2-0 defeat by Mexico and when Anelka responded with a foul-mouthed tirade, his World Cup was over. Details of the incident were splashed over the front page of French sport daily L’Equipe, forcing the French Football Federation to send Anelka home and prompting the France squad to boycott an open training session in protest at his treatment. For all he has achieved in his career, Anelka will never escape the shadow of France’s 2010 World Cup meltdown.

Kader Keita (Ivory Coast) Keita had been involved in a running battle with Brazil playmaker Kaka throughout the second half of their group-stage encounter. With Brazil 3-1 ahead and on course for the knockout round, Keita seized his opportunity to exact a petty measure of revenge by running into Kaka and then throwing himself to the ground, clutching his face as if he had been elbowed. Unfortunately for Kaka the referee bought Keita’s shameful play-acting and sent the Real Madrid star off, forcing him to miss the final group game with Portugal.

Luis Suarez (Uruguay)

Broke the hearts of a continent by punching a goalbound header from Dominic Adiyiah off the line in the dying moments of extra time in Uruguay’s quarter-final with Ghana. The goal would have made the Black Stars the first African side ever to reach the World Cup semi-finals, but Asamoah Gyan slammed the subsequent penalty against the crossbar and Uruguay prevailed on penalties. Suarez was sent off for his intervention but stoked the tension further by exuberantly celebrating Gyan’s misfortune and then claiming he had been blessed by the ‘Hand of God’.

Mark van Bommel (Netherlands)

The hard-working Bayern Munich man is a fundamental component of the Dutch side but his aggressive style frequently brings him into painful contact with opposition players, particularly in the shin and ankle areas. Picked up a booking after 22 minutes of the final for a crude tackle from behind on Andres Iniesta and was fortunate not to see red after another untidy foul on Xavi moments later. The final whistle found him aggressively confronting referee Howard Webb.

PARIS, Monday (AFP)