Complaining Spain should get over the grass
Pampered players should be more grateful
14 June ~ I can wholeheartedly identify with Cesc Fabregas, who said after Spain's Euro 2012 draw with Italy: "It's shameful that we still have to play on pitches like that." The day before, my team had gone 2-0 down inside ten minutes when our centre-back slipped and sprained his ankle on a treacherous bog of a field that degenerated into a swamp in one corner. Our brave fightback was thwarted by an incompetent loon of a referee who barely spoke English, and we lost 3-2 in a spiteful affair.
Afterwards there was a good deal of beer-fuelled grumbling about the ref and how the pitch had, to borrow the words of Xavi Hernandez, "hampered our dynamic and fluid play". Just as Andres Iniesta said, it was "a disaster for football as a spectacle".
Actually, it wasn't – or at least no more of a disaster for football as a spectacle than our matches always are. Dynamic and fluid play is a rare visitor to division five of the suburban over-35s league. And it's logical that the best players should expect the best pitches, just as they expect the best referees, the best playing equipment, stadiums, gymnasiums, swimming pools, hotels and aircraft seating arrangements. Isn't it? Well, perhaps. It would certainly look odd if the pitches for Euro 2012 were deliberately prepared to look like mudheaps from the 1970s.
But on the other hand, shouldn't the best players in the world be more able to adapt to a slightly untrustworthy surface than some of the worst? Shouldn't they be able to adapt to all kinds of pitches, like a top-class batsman? Maybe even play in the rain occasionally? If Spain need bowling-green conditions to show off their passing to its best advantage, it is clearly a more limited approach than some would have you believe.
Fabregas prefaced his pitch complaints by saying: "I can't complain, but we deserved more." Clearly his inability to complain did not extend even to the end of the sentence. Constant whinging is not an endearing habit, even at my team's level. But from players and managers possessing every possible advantage, it's embarrassing to reduce yourself to moaning about pitches, referees, the weather, the swerviness of each competition's ball, the lack of goalline video technology, the intrusion of the African Nations Cup into the Premier League season or any other relatively predictable factor that is roughly the same for everyone.
Players who withdraw from international tournaments unless they are guaranteed a place in the starting line-up fall into the same category. If they are too precious to show up, there are millions of us who would happily take their place. We might not be very good, but at least we wouldn't be rushing to blame mild imperfections underfoot. Mike Ticher
Cesc Fabregas does like a moan, doesn't he. Nobody likes a moaner. My thoughts go out to the chef at Spain's hotel.
I thought the Spanish had a point here, and I noticed it as soon as the game started. The grass looked a lot longer than on other pitches we've seen at the tournament and the Italians refused to let it be watered because they didn't want Spain zipping the ball about. Obviously it was a better surface than the mudbaths of yesteryear but that's not really the point, is it?
I was not aware of that, Ray. One wonders what lengths the Italians went to stopping the pitch from being hosed. How do you stop the pitch from being watered? Is there some form of application, or do you just bung the groundsman?
Watering the pitch requires the agreement of both teams. The Spanish said they did, the Italians said they didn't.
I agree with RaydeChaussee, the length of the grass was obvious as soon as I switched on.
Thank-you, Etienne - I did not know that. How will Spain cope this evening when Ireland refuse them hosing privileges? Beat them by at least two clear goals if their performance against Croatia is anything to go by; but, hope springs eternal.
No need for the hoses today, Gerry, as rain is forecast in Gdansk.
Well, Ray, if that's the case then Ireland are in a real pickle. I'll watch with interest this evening - the game, the weather, the grass, and any gestures from Fabregas.
The Spanish complaints about the pitch in Gdansk are legit. Now we'll see how the groundskeeper authorities in Gdansk respond to issues of grass length, as they not only host the Spanish team in that Polish city for this second match, all three group matches are in this Hansea League port city for the Iberians.
More attention needs to be paid to this. Four years ago I watched in great dismay as the crews ripped up the pitch in Basel's Euro 2008 St. Jakob Park to ready it for the semifinal match less than 30 hours later. I'm serious. It was dismally cool and raining and they hadn't yet removed the old turf although it was all mostly in large rolls waiting to be hauled off. I asked to see the new turf (it was not anywhere visible) and was relatively politely rebuffed.
Two days later watching the semifinal in Basel I watched several keep slips as players of both sides lost their footing on this newly laid grass field. It looked like several corners came up.
If I was a player, I'd sure hate to tear my ACL and lose 7 - 9 months to rehab just because this sort of thing is not well planned and executed at this highest level tournament.
It all seemed rather odd to me. Rather dicey, rather expensive, and rather unnecessary. The focus in Basel seemed to be solely on a nice, pristine color of green for the TV and photojournalists versus a truly playable pitch -- no matter what the hues. To my knowledge the pitch was removed twice and replaced twice during Euro 2008 in Basel. All in less than a fortnight.
This, in short, was lunacy. it certainly did not lead to better ball play.
Perhaps Stoke should start errecting screens that block out the wind to help their air ball game and then complain when the same screens aren't errected. Or they could accept they are not playing at home so tough. Deal with it.
Did the pitch meet the official Fifa regulations?
From what I can tell about previous reactions from Spain, Barcelona and Arsenal (specifically Fabregas in a game against Birmingham with Arsenal, the friendly last year against England and for Barca away against Osasuna as I recall), unless they are afforded a carpet-like, pre-watered, lush green surface against a team who will allow them to knock a thousand passes around them by actually coming forward in an attacking formation, then by god, it's just not sporting! Anti-football, bus-parking cheats by any other name!
Perhaps a distinction needs to be made between manipulating the playing conditions to facilitate your style of play and doing so to deliberately nobble your opponent. The latter seems like gamesmanship to me, and I would rather not see it in football.
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