Group G News

johan neeskens · Feb 27, 2010

I didn't really know where else to post this but last week Hiddink told the Dutch media that he's considering an Ivory Coast offer to coach them at the world cup and today the Ivory Coast coach got fired, paving the way for Hiddink. I think this rather improves the Ivory Coast's chances.

Maruti · Feb 27, 2010

Johan: Hiddink has already been confirmed as the new coach. Look here:
http://www.eurosport.fr/football/coupe-du-monde/2010/hiddink-remplace-vahid_sto2237378/story.shtml

It's official. Hiddink teams up with Drogba again.

I agree with you. It should increase CI chances. I can actually see them topping the group.

DRB300 · Mar 1, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

I think the set up is great. Another scenario where Hiddink's team is the underdog, where he can play with the pressure and putting it completly on the other side. I can see Hiddink win from Dunga, who is a tactical midget compared with Hiddink. If he wins from Brazil, he can become first in the Group, securing a weak nation in the 1/8 th final. From that who knows what happens.

Point is he can stunt again. He already has the hart from Drogba so the others will follow. We will see.

lpporto · Mar 8, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

If Hiddink is coaching Ivory Coast, I'll bet on them

Maruti · Mar 8, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

It looked a done deal, but now we have Ericksson in the piocture...

leonidas · Mar 8, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

i dont know if this really improves their chances that much. it's just gonna mean that guus or sven will have to do double the work. they'll have to look at even more game film to figure out which players to select. theyre unfamiliar with the language and culture (i mean, it's less time to adapt and familiarize, than if you had been coaching for a year or two).

i think if a guy like guus had been the coach from the beginning, than yes. but as it is, i dont think so. and honestly, sven?!?! england fans know him too well lol.

lpporto · Mar 9, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

Hiddink is so much better than Ericksson, I don't even know what are they thinking about it.

DRB300 · Mar 9, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

leonidas said: ↑

i dont know if this really improves their chances that much. it's just gonna mean that guus or sven will have to do double the work. they'll have to look at even more game film to figure out which players to select. theyre unfamiliar with the language and culture (i mean, it's less time to adapt and familiarize, than if you had been coaching for a year or two).

i think if a guy like guus had been the coach from the beginning, than yes. but as it is, i dont think so. and honestly, sven?!?! england fans know him too well lol.
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Not true. Guus can work on very short notice. He can chance a team in weeks. Look at what he did with Chelsea in a short time. In his reign of a few months he got more points than Ferguson or Benitez in that same time span. I even think it is best he starts so late with this team. The shock effect is biggets just before the WC.

DRB300 · Mar 9, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

lpporto said: ↑

Hiddink is so much better than Ericksson, I don't even know what are they thinking about it.
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couldn't agree more.

leonidas · Mar 9, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

DRB300 said: ↑

Not true. Guus can work on very short notice. He can chance a team in weeks. Look at what he did with Chelsea in a short time. In his reign of a few months he got more points than Ferguson or Benitez in that same time span. I even think it is best he starts so late with this team. The shock effect is biggets just before the WC.
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Yeah but you're dealing with different things here. A league is entirely different than a knock-out tournament. I don't really think they're comparable. You have to be able to get EVERYTHING from your team in a cup right from the start. There are no second chances. In a league, even in the first month that you're a coach, you can afford to lose a game or two and draw. But in the cup that's not the case. So whether it's Guus or not, you're at a huge disadvantage. I mean, you have to get your coaching staff. They have to have done all the scouting and you only have 2-3 months to do it -- not to mention that when you will actually be coaching is in late May and early June. I mean, we'll really only be able to judge this when he actually puts the team together...and how they perform in their pre-WC friendlies.

leonidas · Mar 9, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

Apparently the latest rumor is that Troussier will be appointed as coach of Ivory Coast. Japanese sources are already confirming this. Not sure if this appointment was because he has previously coached other African nations like Morocco and Nigeria.

I'm not sure if Hiddink's hands were tied because he had already committed to coaching Turkey. It's possible that the Turkish FA pressured him to turn down this job and already start focusing on getting Turkey back on track.

Maruti · Mar 10, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

The latest rumour now is that Guus Hiddink IS THE COACH... It's all over the net.

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/67/w...010-report-guus-hiddink-named-new-ivory-coast

DRB300 · Mar 10, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

It's official. Well smart deal by IC. I can see big upset right now. If I were Brazil or Portugal I would watch out. Expect an over energized IC, 4-3-3, and much more. Have to see this group by myself now.

GolDeLetra · Mar 10, 2010

Real Madrid is out of the Champions League. This may be good news for Brazil and Portugal because their best players, Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, will not have to play in two different competitions in the months leading to the world cup. Dunga and Carlos Queiroz must be pretty happy with this.

GolDeLetra · Mar 10, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

DRB300 said: ↑

It's official. Well smart deal by IC. I can see big upset right now. If I were Brazil or Portugal I would watch out. Expect an over energized IC, 4-3-3, and much more. Have to see this group by myself now.
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I can see a big upset too. Ivory Coast failing to qualify for the second round. Did you watch Ivory Coast X South Korea? Boy, Ivory Coast was a mess. No tactical discipline, no organization, no concentration. Guus Hiddink is an excellent coach, but I don't think he will be able to turn this team around in three months. It really is very unfortunate that they have to start from scratch because this team has some incredibly talented players. They will have to play their hearts out in order to beat Portugal for the second-place spot in their group.

Maruti · Mar 11, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

GolDeLetra: Its not like these players come out of the blue. They are mostly first team players for top European clubs. They know the tactics. All they need is direction. Plus Hiddink needs to find an CM/AM (Ya Konan comes to mind). Of course it would be best if he was coach for longer to prepare properly, but the reality is that national teams meet for 3-7 days several times per year and its not like you work with the team on a daily basis. If the players know their tactics from club football it just a question of molding the varying players into a team.

emmex · Mar 11, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

GolDeLetra said: ↑

I can see a big upset too. Ivory Coast failing to qualify for the second round. Did you watch Ivory Coast X South Korea? Boy, Ivory Coast was a mess. No tactical discipline, no organization, no concentration. Guus Hiddink is an excellent coach, but I don't think he will be able to turn this team around in three months. It really is very unfortunate that they have to start from scratch because this team has some incredibly talented players. They will have to play their hearts out in order to beat Portugal for the second-place spot in their group.
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Generally i agree...i feel for the previous coach...someone taking over his work and glory....

Hiddink is a good coach and Ivory Coast must have paid bigtime to get him. Even though i like Carlos Alberto Pareira for South Africa as coach, i wouldn't have minded a coach like Hiddink either....

How does people rate Pareira btw?

leonidas · Mar 11, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

well the details are still being ironed out. so i dont know. he doesnt seem to be the coach yet, but a contract has been offered. apparently hiddink needs to be released from his job by the russian FA.

as for parreira, i think he's a decent, yet stubborn coach. also, south africa just arent very good -- and they have been playing much worse than ivory coast -- at lesat in the past year or two. they did play very well at the confederations cup, but their group is just tough.

leonidas · Mar 11, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

Maruti said: ↑

GolDeLetra: Its not like these players come out of the blue. They are mostly first team players for top European clubs. They know the tactics. All they need is direction. Plus Hiddink needs to find an CM/AM (Ya Konan comes to mind). Of course it would be best if he was coach for longer to prepare properly, but the reality is that national teams meet for 3-7 days several times per year and its not like you work with the team on a daily basis. If the players know their tactics from club football it just a question of molding the varying players into a team.
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while this is true, it's a bit different with african teams because you have the qualifying and the african nations cup, which is every 2 years (not to mention friendlies). so he is at a disadvantage -- more so than if he were to have coached another team.

Maruti · Mar 11, 2010

Re: Who will advance? December 2009 Poll

leonidas: Agreed. Albeit I am one of those who think that organizing ACN in World Cup years actually hampers the results of African teams at the World Cup.

vancity eagle · Mar 11, 2010

If Hiddink is the coach, he needs to sort out the CIV defence, it has been dreadfull for a while now. He needs to drop Soulemaine Bamba and find a better CB partner for Toure. Bamba has been a disaster. He also needs to drop the goalie Barry who is just terrible. The olympic keeper needs to be given a chance. He looked decent in Beijing, much better than Barry.

Maruti · Mar 11, 2010

The Olympic GK? Sorry, but no. His mistakes cost the team any chances of progressing.
Cote d'Ivoire won't find a better keeper than Barry, who - may I remind you - is the best keeper in the Belgian league three years running. I used to be a Barry foe, but he has convinced me. People always bad-mouth him but I rarely find him at fault.

Bamba - I agree. Maybe Djakpa? To tell the truth I don't really know who to suggest.

One thing I am sure of - Ya Konan needs to be a first team player.

leonidas · Mar 13, 2010

as expected, hiddink won't be the ivory coast coach due to his commitment with turkey. so the hunt goes on.

Maruti · Mar 13, 2010

the hiddink fiasco is hilarious... i wonder who is to blame? i have the feeling Hiddink is the main culprit - he should have clarified his issues with Turkey and Russia LONG AGO.

apparently Troussier is backup.

Right now the best Cote d'Ivoire can do is set up a good line-up. My opinion this is what should be tested:

-------------------Barry---------------------
---------Kolo Toure-------Yaya Toure--------
-Eboue--------------------------------Tiene-
---------------------------------------------
--------------------Zokora-------------------
---------------------------------------------
-Kader Keita-------Ya Konan---------Gervinho-
----------------------------------------------
-------------Drogba-------Doumbia-----------

Other options:
Boka for Tiene
Fae, Romaric for Zokora and Ya Konan
Yaya Toure for Zokora and Constant Djakpa/Marc Zoro for Yaya Toure
Demel for Eboue (and Eboue as winger)
Any of the many Ivorian strikers for Doumbia

Key player: Ya Konan (Ivory Coast's best solution for an AM at the moment... watch him at Hannover... he is the bomb).

Unfortunately chances for such a line-up are next to nil...

GolDeLetra · Mar 14, 2010

The Brazilian press just released an interview with the former soccer coach of North Korea, Yoon Myong-Chan. He requested and was granted political asylum in South Korea. He mentioned that North Korea is under constant political pressure to get good results, especially when the opponents are South Korea and Japan. He also mentioned that when a North Korean team lost to a South Korean, the responsible individuals (players and coaches) were severely disciplined by the local government. After returning to North Korea these individuals were arrested and forced to work in the local coal mines as a form of punishment.

In 1966, the players were originally treated as heroes, but later on they were interviewed and punished (North Korea blew up a 3 X 0 lead and lost 5 X 3 to a Portugal team lead by Eusebio). In his opinion, today's team is much weaker than the one in 1966, and surprises like the 1 X 0 against Italy are highly improbable. In his point-of-view, advancing out of group stage will be virtually impossible.