He does. As he outcoaches manies. The only problem I've got with the guy is that he is a true liar. he wins or compete as a true "realist", "cynical" coach, which I like but depict himself as a kind of messiah of football, which i dislike, as there is not such thing as a messiah. Great tactician. The Australian catenaccio one man up in wc 2006 ( 1 shot in 35 minutes of one man advantage against 4-5 great chances at goal ) was a great proof of no non-sense football. As was korean match in 2002 when they just ran, ran, ran and waited for things to happen, helped by some somewhat friendly refereeings. When he had a good ( not formidable ) dutch team he was able to play an attacking football. Simply a great coach, a pity his ego is somewhat oversized.
One point being missed in this discussion - the ball never appeared to be out of play, and there was a foul committed (though it did not deserve a yellow). The ref didn't 'correct' the situation by calling the ball out and rescinding the card, he took a scoring opportunity away from the Dutch. And Russia were poor throughout the game defending set pieces. While I agree that the fould in no way deserved a card, I have to wonder how could the AR see that the ball was over the line from way over there? Bizarre call and actions by an otherwise good ref. (Though I question not giving a penalty against the Dutch later on - that dope Tommy Smith couldn't even see on replay that Heitinga stepped on the Russian's foot and tripped him)
Sorry for late post, but I'm just now reading the thread. Anyway, I was agreeing with pretty much every post from you. Michel is a great ref, but that was a clear penalty, and the fact that he didn't call it, will cost him a place in finale. Final result of 3-1 will "stop" the fans of questioning much that non call, but refs commission or whatever is it called will go over it, no doubt about it. He's still great, one of the best refs at the moment.
What an excellent team performance from the Russians. They looked in control even when they were getting tired near the end of the match. And that guy Arshavin was a nightmare for the Netherlands. I've seen very little of him but he can definitely make a team play. At one point, I thought Russia would pay dearly for their missed chances, but fortunately the best team won and it will be interesting to see how they fare against Italy/Spain.
What about the red card he withdrew? The ball clearly didnt cross the line so the russian guy should have been send of. That was at 1-1, so extra time would surely have been a lot different with 10 russians against 11 dutchman. I cant have any complains about the russian win, because they deserved it fully, but this was a very costly error in my opinion.
The error was carding him in the first place. It was really weird how the whole thing went down, though.
Michel there should be only at fault for initially calling the faul for second yellow -- which appears to me, and many others that there was no faul, especially for a yellow -- not for listening for assistant. He should be commended for listening actually. As for ball being out or not, that really isn't Michel's fault, but assistants. Michel was pretty good yesterday, but with that one big blunder, uncalled penalty, which will soon be forgotten by many thanks to favorable result Russians got.
Maybe so, but he clearly withdrew the card because his linesman said the ball crossed the line, not because the linesman said it wasn't a foul. In his mind it was still a foul and he withdrew the card because he tought the ball crossed the line, and there's the error he made. Defenitly weird, but as i said: costly. I dont believe the russians would still have attacked so much if they were a man down and we should have at least gone to penalty's then. Not that we deserved it, but that doesnt matter when the referee makes such a mistake.
wouldn't have changed a thing...the Dutch got dominated and that's it. The way the Russians played, they would have beat the Dutch with 7 or 8 men...they had speed, attack, counterattack, creativity, a decent defence and an incredible will to overcome. This whole debate about the card situation is ridiculous...there was NO foul..watch the replay and be honest...there should have been no call...let alone a card for the play. Russia deserved it and congratulations to them. Holland showed how overrated they are and how the media blew them way out of proportion.
Something seems to have been missed by many on the red card incident. It was obvious the ball didn't go out and imo may or may not have been a foul but was definitely not a yellow. However the ball fell to a completely unmarked Dutch player in a very, very dangerous position and the ref stopped the attack with his whistle and then turned around and gave the Russians a free kick! Pathetic job by the ref and a moment that possibly changed the entire tournament. That being said the Russians were very strong all night and it made for a very exciting match. They moved the ball quickly and their dribbling and 1v1 skills continually broke the Dutch open for many opportunities. It was a great performance.
Are you 12 years old? They would have won with 7 or 8 men? Get real. Also, I agree there probably shouldn't have been a foul which would have meant the Dutch had the ball on the edge of the box unmarked. Take your own advice and watch the replay. Unfortunately he did blow his whistle and unbelievably gave Russia a free kick. It's impossible to say whether that ridiculous moment of incompetence by the ref made a difference or not.
If you read my post you would realize the obvious exaggeration in my comments and my tone. Of course they wouldn't have won with 7 or 8 players...what are you, some kind of idiot? My point was Russia were the better team in all aspects and it seemed that they played with such vigor and courage that had they had been reduced to 7 or 8 men, they could have still won. If you want, we can discuss several other calls during this tournament that have shown officiating at its worst...some times to the benefit of Holland and where it made a definite difference. You win some calls, you lose some calls...its the game, right? Russia won because they were the "much" better team...
I completely agree that Russia were the better team on the night but that is one hell of an exaggeration saying a team that took extra time to win would have done so with 7 or 8 men. Beyond exaggeration. I never said anything about Holland not getting calls, etc. There was one call being discussed and I was pointing out part of the incident that people seem to be leaving out.
I think the other poster has a point. The AR was 2-3 yards away from the corner flag when the ball was skirting the goal line, he waits for 2 seconds after the ball is off the line to raise his flag. His decision effectively stops play and gives Russia an undeserved goal kick. The referee pulls a caution faster than Jesse James and then when perhaps realizing the Russian player already has a caution goes and consults with his AR. Like I posted earlier the AR is in no position to make the call on the ball ebing over the goal line. He is also in no position from 60-65 yards away to judge if Kolodin even makes contact with Sneijder. Completely made up calls. And total bullshit. I am not happy with those decisions. What should have happened? He should have let play continue. It would have meant no free kick to Holland, no goal kick to Russian and several players disputing Sneijder's kick back towards midfield.
Please tell me what is wrong with what I pointed out. PLEASE! Are you saying Russia didn't get a free kick? Are you saying they deserved a free kick?
The replay really showed that the foul (if you consider there was one) is clearly not big enough to give a yellow card
For the first time The Netherlands was beaten by a Dutch The Russian victory against The Netherlands at European Championship was the first time ever when a Dutch, coaching the opponent beat The Netherlands in a football game. The Netherlands vs Russia in quarter finals at EURO 2008 was the game nr 7 where The Netherlands team play against an opponent coached by a Dutch. Until now, there were 5 victories and a draw. For Guus Hiddink this was the 3rd game against The Netherlands. First time was in 2006 while he coach Australia when the game end with a draw, and a lost while he coach the same Russia in a friendly game.