The field tilted in the Germans' favor just one minute into their
last World Cup meeting with the United States.
The Americans opened up against Germany at France '98. Right away,
Bavarian tough guy Jens Jeremies put a well-delivered knee in Claudio
Reyna's back. The Germans were well aware that the important U.S.
playmaker sometimes shrank in overly physical matches.
Reyna crumpled to the ground. No whistle blew. Reyna was hardly a factor
and the United States never really had a chance in the eventual 2-0 loss.
Elsewhere at France '98, such rogue acts drew a caution or even an
ejection. Luck just worked against the Americans that day when FIFA's
assigned referee lacked the courage to make an early stand.
Luck – or in more soccer-passionate lands, they may call it providence –
plays a role in any sport. The selection of officials lies among the
domain of lady luck in soccer.
The United States is up against a physically powerful opponent that will
use every inch of rope permitted by the man in the middle. Simply put,
Team USA has a better chance if the strong-willed German players aren't
allowed to dictate the limits of enforcement.
In baseball, how the plate umpire enforces the strike zone can influence
a game. In basketball, certain crews call contests tighter than others.
Teams must adjust on the fly.
Same for soccer. It is a contact sport. Collisions are inevitable.
Shoulder to shoulder charges in loose ball battles are perfectly legal.
A certain amount of muscle is tolerated.
It's the grabbing, clutching and dangerous tackles that muddy up a
match. And since the Germans are more savvy, they are going to be better
at the tactical fouling and endeavors of intimidation. Since they are
bigger, they are more effective at it.
Spindly U.S. youngsters DaMarcus Beasley and Landon Donovan may trouble
German defenders – unless the bigger opponents are allowed to impede the
speedsters' progress with impunity.
The faster South Koreans benefited from firm officiating Tuesday,
although Byron Moreno did appear to make the wrong call when he ejected
Francesco Totti. By then the unflappable Moreno had the match going the
right way – and definitely not the preferred, Italian defend-to-the-end
way.
Moreno was dogged in his enforcement against tackles that were too
early, tackles that were too late, shirt holding, too much body contact,
etc. He handed out yellow cards where needed.
One hour into the match, the Italians recognized that they were about to
get a player or two ejected if they persisted in "playing the man,"
instead of "playing the ball." That opened up enough room for two South
Korean goals.
Make no mistake, the Germans will hold and push U.S. forward Brian
McBride as he maneuvers on restarts Friday. It will take a confident
figure to make a big call (a penalty kick) if McBride is denied a clear
scoring opportunity.
It takes conviction to make game-changing calls, even when the
infraction is so obvious.
Swedish referee Anders Frisk did just that Sunday with Spain's Fernando
Hierro. As the well-respected Hierro blatantly grabbed Ireland's Niall
Quinn inside the penalty area, he was basically saying, "I dare you to
make this important call, so late in this match."
Hierro played the odds that Frisk would lack the nerve. Frisk blew his
whistle, Ireland tied the score and it nearly cost Spain a quarterfinal
spot.
Will the man in the middle own similar verve Friday?
Obviously, it goes both ways. U.S. defender Gregg Berhalter is the most
likely candidate to assault Germany's dangerous Miroslav Klose inside
the U.S. penalty area.
