As the first weekend of World Cup action draws to a close, the tournament has proven itself to be thoroughly captivating. While the South African, USA and Ghana teams may have created the most unforeseen results with the ball at their feet, there have been some tremendously positive surprises apart from the players and teams. Chief among them are-
A simply fabulous job by ESPN and ABC. Four years ago there was visible anger among the US soccer community at the way ESPN and ABC produced their World Cup coverage – poor announcers, lousy in-studio talent and a purely amateurish approach to covering the world’s greatest sporting event. This year’s coverage is a sea-change. The in-studio talent has been made up of some of the most famous and insightful commentators on the soccer scene. Among the best have been Ruud Gullit, Jurgen Klinsman, the eminently likable Steve McManaman and the surprisingly insightful Roberto Martinez. Combined with Alexi Lalas and Bob Ley, they have been outstanding. Furthermore, the play-by-play teams have been terrifically engaging, and in the US-England game the Martin Tyler and John Harkes partnership went surprisingly well. The camera angles and graphic analysis has been great, and the entire production has walked that fine line of explaining the game to novices and giving great insights to aficionados. Any fans expecting more from ABC/ESPN are just looking for reasons to take offense.
The referees have been spot-on. Soccer is the toughest sport to referee in real time and the easiest to referee in slow motion. In real time, the pitch is gigantic, the action is end-to-end, and the difference between fair and foul is made up of inches and fractions of a second. Nevertheless, the referees have gotten everything exactly right so far. From the disallowed Mexican goal for offside despite the defender on the goal line to the Serbian handball to the two red cards that have been handed out so far, everything has been on the money. In the US-England game in particular, the Brazilian referee who had a reputation for sending players off waived just enough yellow to not interfere in the flow of the game but to make sure nothing got out of hand. At some point in this tournament, the law of averages dictates that there will be a horrible, impactful mistake by a referee, but so far there can be no complaints.
FIFA and the South African organizers have done a special job. When the World Cup was awarded to South Africa, many people raised an alarm. They thought this was a politically correct decision and that South Africa had neither the stadia nor the resources to put on a tournament of this magnitude. Now that the games are here, the entire affair has been virtually flawless. The stadia are beautiful and Johannesburg’s Soccer City is simply a marvel. The pitches have been perfect (how can you have perfect pitches in South Africa in winter and yet Wembley still looks like a motocross track?), and the fans have been as joyous and positive as you could ever hope. Even the World Cup concert was great. The entire scene looks glorious, and credit has to go where it is deserved – the excellent South African organizing committee and the team at FIFA who advised, guided, and effectively cajoled them towards success.
I am sure that there will be events worthy of complaint at some point during this World Cup. However, so far the entire operation has been as smooth and enjoyable as one could ever hope.
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13 comments… read them below or add one
i’ve been annoyed with the english commentators. They’re quite surprised that foreign referees at the World Cup are good. Most English referees are terrible!
The ESPN/ABC commentary has been first rate. I confess I found John Harkes a little annoying because he was cheering for the USA, but that’s fair enough. Credit to ABC/ESPN for ditching most of the dreadful USA commentators from last time and employing some of the best talent in the world!
Hey I think you mean Steve McManaman. Not me, I’m Steve McMahon.
– Steve McMahon
thanks and corrected.
I am not a big football fan but I love to watch the World Cup , but I have to say to me it is unwatchable and has been thoroughly spoiled by the constant buzzing from the crowds. If they are true fans how can they possibly watch the match whilst blowing their horns. Sorry SA I don’t think you are doing a good job. Self indulgent annoyance. There are better ways to show your appreciation without annoying the whole world.
I absolutely agree Eric, except the praise of John Harkes. But I think the best part of what you mentioned is the referees. That’s the most important as it directly affects the actual game, and they have been great. As I recall in 2006, the refs were very quick to pull out cards. They have been fantastic as you said, the offsides call in the Mexico game was great. The yellow card on Özil for simulation was perfect, as it directly affected play as he later had a chance to dive in the box with a surging Mark Schwarzer, but didn’t. Hopefully, this resumes for the rest of the tournament.
Lalas has got to go and I have doubts about Steve Mcmanaman but he’s better than both Lalas and Harkes.
Well, the refs were great until the Cahill sending off. On no planet is that a straight red. And that’s one of the worst mistakes a ref can make. An undeserved red means Cahill’s Cup is over. That’s not right.
“I confess I found John Harkes a little annoying because he was cheering for the USA, but that’s fair enough.”
He wore the uniform though, so he should be forgiven. Ally McCoist is difficult to understand but I don’t have much complaints about the commentators or the studio. Alexi Lalas is much improved on television from previous stints on TV.
>>Ally McCoist is difficult to understand…
His is a wonderful accent which brings real colour to the games…
I can’t stand Lalas, he adds nothing to the program. I think the pairing of Harkes with these British commentators will help him grow as the US lead analyst. You can bitch about him or hope he improves, I’ll go with the later.
I am happy that the coverage and the studio reporters are doing a great job. But I still feel J.P. Dellacamera should be doing the games on ESPN TV not ESPN Radio. He always does a fantastic job and he should be seen & heard.
John Harkes has to be one of the worst commentators I have heard so far. He adds nothing and states the obvious. His drone, lack of commentating imagination and lack of spirit, is matched only by that of the vuvuvzelas. He single-handedly has the ability to kill the spirit of the game. He is absolutely awful. I actually had to change channels to non-english commentary. While I cannot understand the language, I know and feel what they are talking about, and can feel their zest for the game.