“It was a penalty,” Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari surprised at the PK after opening win with this realization. Well, that has not heard his colleague Niko Kovac. Croatia coach rages against the referee.
When it comes to football, Luiz Felipe Scolari makes no of something. Since 1982 he works as a trainer, almost half his life. He has coached the Portuguese national team five years, he was employed at Chelsea and 2002, during his first term in Brazil, he became world champion. Incredulous why many journalists shook their heads as Scolari announced at the press conference after the World Cup opening match against Brazil Croatia (3:1) without visible doubts: “I have now seen the scene ten times, and I’m sure it was a penalty. the referee saw it that way, and he has the last word. “It was hard to believe a number of those present that Scolari was serious.
Because in order to understand and evaluate the key moment of the game can, it took less than ten repetitions of the video: Brazil’s Fred had fallen in the penalty box, the Croatian defender Dejan Lovren had not fouled him, he touched him most slightly. The Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura but decided on penalty kick, Neymar could kick him: 2:1.
It was her both lucky that Scolari and his Croatian colleague Niko Kovac did not have to take place at the same time on the press podium – a dispute between the two coaches would not have been preventable. For so defiantly Scolari on the accuracy of Nishimura insisted decision so angry Kovac was about it.
Brazil 3 Croatia 1 World Cup 2014:Niko Kovac said in a calm voice
The 42-year-old struggled to breathe and to choose the right words. They were nevertheless clear: “It was ridiculous today, if it continues, we will see here at the World Cup circus..” He was not mad at Fred, each player trying to time on such a trick, “that part of the game”. The fault rests with the referee, who had to answer for the decision: “.. He was good, he had a clear view He could see that there was no foul and he decided nevertheless different,” Kovac said.
He did not scold, but spoke in a quiet voice; and so he managed to draw the attention away from his personal frustration towards a higher-level problem: the inviolability of the referee’s decisions on such an important tournament like the World Cup.
“I was at the workshop on which the arbitrators were trained specially for such a case. They were aware of exactly that,” Kovac said. He made it clear that the decision Nishimura’s not just incompetence, but possibly on arbitrariness based his opinion was. “It has something to do with the fact that we play in Brazil, the favorites,” mused Kovac, and defender Lovren added: “., When something like this happens, we can actually equal to the trophy hand over Brazil”
Brazil 3 Croatia 1 World Cup 2014:”All the work did not pay off”
But as long as the factual decision of the arbitrator is above all, it will always be, justified or not suspicions. “If we ignore or even tolerate, we will look at this World Cup a hundred penalty,” Kovac said, “and then we might as well stop playing football. On the Fifa logo is ‘respect’, and respect goes for both teams., we have not experienced a day. ”
He and his players have toiled in the past two years hard for the goal World Cup and now saw themselves faced with this injustice. “All the work has not paid off, even though we have played so great,” lamented the former Schalke Rakitic.
Scolari would not hear of it all. Critical questions he let bounce itself. Before graduation? “Brazil is not five times become world champion by being favored.” Circus? “You should tell our great players of the past once, Pele, Garrincha, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho or.” Instead Scolari insisted prefer and over again how much both teams were and how much we should congratulate each of them for his performance. It was a dignified, been a furious opening match of this World Cup.
Entertaining it was because the “Great Felipe” was quite right. A pattern picture for the upcoming games of this tournament? I’d rather not.
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