Nike's "Write the Future" advertisement was a brilliant campaign, a continuation of the long history of great spots Nike has created for the World Cup. However, this year it seems they may want to re-consider their casting agency.
Let's see:
-Didier Drogba broke his arm before the games even started and Côte d'Ivoire never looked like going through their difficult group.
-Fabio Cannavaro looked like he was already in retirement and hitting up the talk show circuit, a step to slow for every attacker that came his way. Still, Italy probably should have had enough quality to qualify but were completely uninspiring.
-Wayne Rooney barely bothered to even show up. Was he still injured? Probably. At the least he was worn down from carrying Man U on his back all season. Not even Atlas probably beared such a burden. England were less inspiring than Italy, only they managed to get one round further before being humiliated by the Germans (controversial goal or no goal).
-Franck Ribéry... well, the less said about the French the better. Who is that player in the background of the play marking Theo Walcott (who didn't make England's roster)... that's right, Patrice Evra!
-Ronaldinho, as everyone knows and regrets didn't even get a plane ticket to South Africa. At least the Brazilians are still playing though.
-Cristiano Ronaldo was mostly anonymous save for his preening and grimacing after either diving or being fouled but not getting a call in either case, and now Portugal is out thanks to their superior Iberian neighbors. By the way, why does Portugal play such a horrible, defensive system? They actually have good defenders, so they should play creative, attacking football knowing the defense is solid behind them. I blame Carlos Queiroz (who proves that anyone looks like a great coach while assisting Alex Ferguson, but doing it yourself is a different matter... maybe it's leftover stink from his stint with the New York MetroStars).
On the other hand, three teams getting only minor cameos had better fortunes. OK, so the USA lost, but Landon Donovan was the only player of the entire commercial who truly "wrote the future" by scoring the goal against Algeria that so far is still probably the moment of the tournament. But maybe the US disappointment (I'd say failure) in losing still tied to this commercial?
The Spanish players also get a brief cameo (even though the Spanish team itself is sponsored by Adidas, which is why you only see Iniesta, Fàbregas, and Piqué wearing blank warm-ups with no logos) and they are still on course for a potential dream semifinal with Argentina/Germany and final against Brazil. Brazil, as mentioned before, are still in it, and looking pretty much locks to advance to the final, with only one threat in their half of the bracket, the Netherlands... who also happen to have a cameo in the Nike ad! That's them fouling Ronaldo.
The Dutch are impressing most people but honestly, do you think their D will hold up against the Brazilians? And of course they're up to their old tricks again, the Dutch, what with Robin van Persie acting like the spoiled arrogant brat (I'd also call him a certain name that rhymes with witch) that he is -- shocker considering he's coached by Arsène Wenger -- and showing hints of the internal dissension that has derailed so many better Dutch squads in the past. No matter what the Dutch camp says about unity and harmony within the team, don't buy it.
Adidas doesn't have any ad remotely as good right now, but at least they can tout Leo Messi and David Villa, who just keeps on scoring (god, how scary will Barcelona be next season).
It's not quite the Madden Curse or SI Jinx, but funny nonetheless.
Showing posts with label Robin Van Persie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robin Van Persie. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, September 14, 2009
Adebayor Ugliness Mars Man City Victory Over Arsenal
Manchester City's title hopes are up in stock this week, thanks to their 4-2 home win over Arsenal. They played some wonderful flowing football, dominating play toward the end of the match. After coming over from Arsenal during the summer, Emmanuel Adebayor particularly showed his ability on the pitch. He prevented a goal while manning the post during a corner. His beautiful flowing move left Bendtner, then Eboue, then Gallas in the dust before he slotted the ball in front to Shaun Wright-Phillips, who sadly struck the ball wide to prevent a highlight goal for the ages. He then scored soon after on a delightful header. Obviously the post-match focus was on Adebayor's wonderful play and how he let talent be the best revenge against his former club.
Or, maybe not.
Two ugly incidents have instead dominated the headlines: 1) Adebayor's stomp on Robin Van Persie's face 2) Adebayor running to the complete other side of the pitch to the Arsenal fans to celebrate his goal, prompting a near riot. In the aftermath of the match, Mark Hughes said that he hoped "that the game itself will be the shining light rather than any one incident." Not likely, Mark. In post-game remarks, Adebayor did apologize for the run across the field. So let's deal with that first. The FA Chief Executive said he was "unimpressed" with Adebayor's actions and that he would look at them. The Manchester police then had a go at Adebayor as well, saying he intentionally aggravated the crowd, leading to a steward being knocked unconscious. Perhaps if it were just the celebration the striker might get off the hook. However, the boot to his former teammate's face was an even more appalling act. Van Persie has attacked his former teammate, saying in a statement, "I am sad and disappointed by my former team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor's mindless and malicious stamp on me. He set out to hurt me and I feel lucky that I have not suffered a greater injury. The contact was only centimeters from my eye." Adebayor says it was not intentional. Mark Hughes defended Adebayor, because what else is he going to do.
The replay doesn't do the Togo striker any favors. While it is impossible to know exactly what was going on in his mind, the stomp certainly looks deliberate. The speculation is that he will be suspended for at least three games, and possibly longer than that. Frankly, three games isn't near enough. Mark Hughes has to defend his player, but none of his claims for leniency pass the laugh test. He said that other player's have celebrated similarly (and gotten suspended), that Van Persie did the same earlier after his goal (not even close), that Adebayor should be cut slack because he is an emotional player (what?), the referee had a great view and didn't issue a card for the play on Van Persie (clearly he did not), that Arsenal fans subjected their former player to a great deal of abuse (shocking), and that Adebayor was actually celebrating with the small group of City fans near the giant group of Arsenal fans (utterly preposterous). Even if those things were true, Adebayor stomped on another player's face, and appeared to do it on purpose. That's really the end of the discussion. He couldn't face a long enough suspension as far as I'm concerned.
Back to things dealing with football and not acts of thuggery, it's possible Hughes won't have Adebayor, Robinho, Tevez or Roque Santa Cruz for next week. That sounds like a good time for...a derby against Manchester United.
Speak of the Red Devils, they again showed their mettle with a 3-1 victory against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, despite the sending off of Paul Scholes in the second half. Sir Alex complained after the game and appeared to have a case, as Scholes went to ground but appeared to be trying to pull away from the challenge. United also survived a brilliant strike from Jermain Defoe to open the scoring in the first minute, with Ryan Giggs spectacularly equalizing from a free kick. Both teams had good chances, but Anderson and Rooney converted. That's why they're the champions.
A brief roundup elsewhere: Liverpool dominated Burnley, but Chelsea needed an extra time strike from Malouda to rally from behind against Stoke and remain perfect. Aston Villa continued their rally in form with a win in the Second City derby against Birmingham City, and now sit with nine points from four matches. Everton continued their dismal start with an away loss to Fulham and currently sit in the relegation zone. Not the expected start for a side that finished fifth last year.
After European play mid-week, next week's fixtures are highlighted by Liverpool on the road at West Ham, Chelsea hosting Tottenham, and of course the Manchester derby. So as you can imagine, the game ESPN is showing is Burnley-Sunderland (??). Ugh. Also this will be the third ESPN match in a row featuring Burnley. Does someone in Bristol have a cousin on that team or something? Although on the upside, I'll be a lot less annoyed during the seemingly inevitable technical difficulties during the Burnley-Sunderland match.
Or, maybe not.
Two ugly incidents have instead dominated the headlines: 1) Adebayor's stomp on Robin Van Persie's face 2) Adebayor running to the complete other side of the pitch to the Arsenal fans to celebrate his goal, prompting a near riot. In the aftermath of the match, Mark Hughes said that he hoped "that the game itself will be the shining light rather than any one incident." Not likely, Mark. In post-game remarks, Adebayor did apologize for the run across the field. So let's deal with that first. The FA Chief Executive said he was "unimpressed" with Adebayor's actions and that he would look at them. The Manchester police then had a go at Adebayor as well, saying he intentionally aggravated the crowd, leading to a steward being knocked unconscious. Perhaps if it were just the celebration the striker might get off the hook. However, the boot to his former teammate's face was an even more appalling act. Van Persie has attacked his former teammate, saying in a statement, "I am sad and disappointed by my former team-mate Emmanuel Adebayor's mindless and malicious stamp on me. He set out to hurt me and I feel lucky that I have not suffered a greater injury. The contact was only centimeters from my eye." Adebayor says it was not intentional. Mark Hughes defended Adebayor, because what else is he going to do.
The replay doesn't do the Togo striker any favors. While it is impossible to know exactly what was going on in his mind, the stomp certainly looks deliberate. The speculation is that he will be suspended for at least three games, and possibly longer than that. Frankly, three games isn't near enough. Mark Hughes has to defend his player, but none of his claims for leniency pass the laugh test. He said that other player's have celebrated similarly (and gotten suspended), that Van Persie did the same earlier after his goal (not even close), that Adebayor should be cut slack because he is an emotional player (what?), the referee had a great view and didn't issue a card for the play on Van Persie (clearly he did not), that Arsenal fans subjected their former player to a great deal of abuse (shocking), and that Adebayor was actually celebrating with the small group of City fans near the giant group of Arsenal fans (utterly preposterous). Even if those things were true, Adebayor stomped on another player's face, and appeared to do it on purpose. That's really the end of the discussion. He couldn't face a long enough suspension as far as I'm concerned.
Back to things dealing with football and not acts of thuggery, it's possible Hughes won't have Adebayor, Robinho, Tevez or Roque Santa Cruz for next week. That sounds like a good time for...a derby against Manchester United.
Speak of the Red Devils, they again showed their mettle with a 3-1 victory against Tottenham at White Hart Lane, despite the sending off of Paul Scholes in the second half. Sir Alex complained after the game and appeared to have a case, as Scholes went to ground but appeared to be trying to pull away from the challenge. United also survived a brilliant strike from Jermain Defoe to open the scoring in the first minute, with Ryan Giggs spectacularly equalizing from a free kick. Both teams had good chances, but Anderson and Rooney converted. That's why they're the champions.
A brief roundup elsewhere: Liverpool dominated Burnley, but Chelsea needed an extra time strike from Malouda to rally from behind against Stoke and remain perfect. Aston Villa continued their rally in form with a win in the Second City derby against Birmingham City, and now sit with nine points from four matches. Everton continued their dismal start with an away loss to Fulham and currently sit in the relegation zone. Not the expected start for a side that finished fifth last year.
After European play mid-week, next week's fixtures are highlighted by Liverpool on the road at West Ham, Chelsea hosting Tottenham, and of course the Manchester derby. So as you can imagine, the game ESPN is showing is Burnley-Sunderland (??). Ugh. Also this will be the third ESPN match in a row featuring Burnley. Does someone in Bristol have a cousin on that team or something? Although on the upside, I'll be a lot less annoyed during the seemingly inevitable technical difficulties during the Burnley-Sunderland match.
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