rone | o jogo bonito

I just came back from watching the Greece-Czechia Euro 2004 semifinal at Rudy's with Todd. It was one of the best games i've ever seen (easily the best 0-0 game i've ever seen); both sides played extremely well, with the Czechs showing great vision and speed on the ball, and the Greeks playing like a machine in defense and displaying remarkable precision in their long passes upfield, as well as juking a few defenders into a heap. The Czechs got a bad break when their captain and best player, Pavel Nedved, had to leave close to the end of the first half after injuring his knee (he volleyed the ball and the follow-through led him to kick a Greek's behind — buns of steel!).

Pierluigi Collina did a very good job officiating (with only a few miscues here and there, but hey, he's only human). It was his last major international game; everyone will miss him. Traianos Dellas scored the game winner in the final minute of the game, and he deserved it; he was a rock in back and kept popping up front unexpectedly to cause trouble. I was amazed by the Greeks' ability to often win balls in the air even though they never seemed to have the height advantage. I was also impressed by the Czechs' ability to immediately take advantage of each rare mistake the Greek defense committed.