CC 2017--Day Seven Recap

Your “Syndicate Hangover” is proudly presented by “Renegade: Hammer & Sickle Imperial Stout”

 

Meh. It’s still probably better than your local “Hipster IPA”

Day 7: Recap

Record—

Spread: 3-9

Straight up: 5-3-4

Hot Girl Standings

Country	Tally	Games Played
Russia	28	3 (finished)
Mexico	21	3
Cameroon	15	3 (finished)
Chile	15	3
Germany	13	3
Portugal	4	3
Australia	4	3 (finished)
New Zealand	1	3 (finished)

It is accomplished. Unsere “Nationalelf” has attained the Semi-Finals. That constitutes the sole expectation of a populace simply grateful to have an excuse to show some semblance of patriotism a few times over the course of a Calendar Year. Any further progress counts as a pleasant bonus. Löw can stay in the job indefinitely provided he continues to deliver “Maximum

Matches”.

Your friendly bookie uses slightly different words to state the same case every Summer. He put it thusly a little over a week ago:

From CC 2017—“Syndicate Barbarossa”:

“Your friendly bookie confidently asserts that this roster of players most of you have likely never heard of possess enough talent to take the tournament. You certainly won’t find a single Krauts sinking into a deep depression should they not. We nevertheless expect a solid effort, some promising signs, and—of course-- the Semi-Finals.”

When Mario Götze netted the goal against Argentina in the 2014 Final that would clinch the World Championship, it certainly brought a smile to German faces. Relief was nevertheless the predominant emotion. It was, after all late on a Sunday Night, and we all had a long workweek ahead of us. The National Mood reached its Zenith when we defeated France in the Quarterfinals. Following that victory, we all began to settle back into our normal lives and routine. The 7-1 defeat of the hosts in the Semi-Finals was indeed amazing, but our thoughts had already began to turn away from football and back to work. On the Monday morning following the Final Match, we all greeted our colleagues with a special salutation:

“Guten Morgen, Weltmeister!”

That was it. Practically everyone then stumbled weary-eyed back to their work-stations and got back to our teutonic tasks. What did you expect? A “National Vacation Day”? Not in Germany.

Your friendly bookie’s “World Championship” Celebration was one the most forgettable events in his life. I watched the Final all alone in a rather quiet Biergarten around the corner from the house. No family or friends were available for the final viewing. All had had already had their fill of Summer Fun. The dozen or so patrons slowly nursing beers also seemed fatigued. We all sat with quiet and reserved curiosity as the final result unfolded. More than a few eyes rolled as the match remained entered added extra time. It was truly getting late. We had to see it through to its conclusion, even if the outcome didn’t really matter.

You friendly bookie had attended some of the Mannschaft’s previous matches at that very same Biergarten. Outright insane jubilation had once reigned in the very spot where a few weary watchers now took ridiculously short sips of beer in between frequent glances at their watches. Your exhausted bookie surveyed “The Szene”. Thoroughly exhausted after eight high-octane weeks involving over a thousand pages of globally coordinated writing and correspondence, all he could truly focus on was the 5 a.m. alarm clock and ensuing commute that awaited him the next morning. “The Szene” seemed to agree. Tired faces yearned to know who would win, but somehow knew that their Daily Lives wouldn’t be significantly affected either way.

The Final Whistle blew. Hugs were exchanged. High-Fives all around. Exits were rushed I took a quick spin around the block on a bicycle in order to witness the spectacle of the few brave souls who opted to “take her out for a spin”. To be fair, there were a fair amount of cars circling that night. Plenty of flags and plenty of horns. It was still nowhere near as many as one might expect in any other European Country. The Italians, French, or Spanish would have jammed the street until dawn. Most any African or Latin American country would have declared a “Day of Mayhem”. I saw far more Germans on their balconies then on the street that night. Bathrobe-clad, they emerged from behind their iron shutters to snap a few pictures of the historic event, then went back to bed.

Come to the incorrect conclusion that Germans are a boring lot if you must. This bookie maintains that the Semi-Finals are the true prize. Maximum matches for a country with a minimal allowance for patriotism. Let us have that and we’ll go about our business. The 2014 Quarterfinal Victory over France served as this bookie’s most ecstatic moment on Home Soil. Nothing topped it, not even the 7-1 against Brazil. That was MY Final.

From WM 2014—Day Twenty Recap   

Ju-Chu Syndicate Members!

DEUTSCHLAND IST INS HALBFINALE!!

That’s all that matters. Anything that comes after this is just icing on the cake.

WIR HABEN’S GESCHAFFT!!

WE did it! We’re now guaranteed seven matches. All is forgiven for Löw. He’s more than welcome to stay. I’d like to share some of yesterday evening’s i-phone photos with you. We “to took her out for the MOTHER OF ALL MOTHERFUKCING spins”. I’ve no clue how my car horn is still functional. A beautiful evening. I’ve got photos of Sri Lankan immigrants forming an impromptu drum circle. I’ve got photos of four flags sticking out of a smart car. I’ve got photos of German flags on steroids!!

The only problem is that a picture is worth a thousand words and I’m already averaging more than 5,000 per day. Hence, we’ll reprint my falsely pessimistic assessment of the German team’s prospects from the Preview Section, beset by the photos. After that, we’ll get to the more technical talk.

ENJOY!!

From WM 2014—Group G Preview:

Deutschland—“The Glorious Fatherland”

Heart palpitation time. How are we meant to do this without one single natural striker? Where will the goals come from? I need some Rolaids…STAT!! This team is going to put me in the Intensive Care Ward ; ( ; ( Never trust the Germans in a year in which their flag is displayed prominently on their uniform. It’s bad luck…or so I’ve just decided to say. The 1990 World Cup kind of torpedoes that theory, but I’m still haunted by Euro 2004.

If anyone’s wondering where Mario Gomez is, he never fully recovered from his ankle surgery back in July 2012. He staged a brilliant comeback some nine months after undergoing the procedure, but by that time had been supplanted by Bayern’s new signing Mario Mandzukic. He transferred to Serie A Side Fiorentina the following Summer, only to re-aggravate his injury early in the season. After he once again staged an improbable comeback, he tore through most of the ligaments in his left knee this Spring. He was thus never a serious contender to make this team.

Löw had other options in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Max Kruse and 1899 Hoffenheim’s Kevin Volland, but he ultimately decided that neither one was ready to occupy a valuable roster spot. In a very surprising move, Kruse wasn’t even called up to the Provisional Squad. That leaves us with….35-year-old Miroslav Klose. Yes, he’s back. He obstinately refuses to go away. He’s the little Polish Engine that could. He defied everyone’s predictions by resurrecting his career with Italian Club Lazio Roma three years ago. The man just won’t go gentle into that good night.

Klose himself has struggled with injury this season and looked well past his prime when gifted a start in Euro 2012. This bookie considers it highly unlikely that he’ll be part of the starting eleven when the Mannschaft kicks off against Portugal on June 16^th. That means that Löw will be forced to trot out at least one midfielder who occasionally plays as a forward. At first glance that doesn’t appear to be a problem. Thomas Müller, Lukas Podolski, Marco Reus, and Andreas Schürrle can all play striker if need be. Götze’s been deployed as a Center Forward as well.

 

I’m still nervous. Reus does better as a winger. So does Schürrle. Podolski’s move back to central midfield is the primary reason he got his career up and running again. Götze and Müller serve better further down the pitch for the same reason: The can see more of the play develop and unleash vicious long-range efforts when the mood strikes. We’ve got this kid Julian Draxler, who’s improvisational attacking style will likely earn him a new contract/club before the summer is over. He’ll probably mature into a top tier striker at his new club. For the moment he’s nowhere near ready.

Projecting Löw’s lineup is an exceedingly difficult task, but we’ll give it the old “college try” anyway. I’ll predict that he places Müller and Reus up front. The former has the height while the latter has the speed. Götze gets the nod in central midfield, backed up by Podolski. Meshut Özil has just had too bad of a year at the Emirates, plagued by injury and some genuinely stupid play. He regained his form late on, but Podolski remains the safer bet. Another one of our exalted foreign-born heroes currently struggling with adversity is Sami Khedira. Injury and inconsistent form have sidelined him for most of the season over at Real. It doesn’t look like he’ll start.

The defensive midfield will be anchored by Schweine and Toni Kroos. For once I’m not too worried about Schweine. His never-ending saga with injury continues, but he’s had another fantastic year as Bayern’s “Flight Director”. He couldn’t possibly hope to emulate the 2013 Campaign, but he still looked good nonetheless. Kroos is another story. Again he appears not to be utilizing his talent. With respect to international competition, his soft performance had an awful lot to do with the loss to Italy in Euro 2012’s semifinals. Man, do I ever wish Kehdira could get it together. ; (

In terms of the back four, Jerome “Bringschuld Baby” Boateng retains his place at left back. Per Mertesacker has made the final squad, but it looks like Matt Hummels still has his center-back position. Holger Badstuber is hurt as is “sometimes” defender Ilkay Gündogan. Marcell Schmelzer and Marcel Jansen didn’t make the final cut. With Großkreutz still untested, I pick Benedict Höwedes as the most likely candidate to inherit Badstuber’s CB Spot.

That leaves us with our captain, the miracle-working Leprechaun known as Phillip Lahm. Hard to believe, but weeks ago many were speculating that he’d start as a midfielder. Bah-ha! We’ve got plenty of those! Besides that, to start Lahm in midfield would be like given detailed scene notes to a porn-star. Lahm does all the work of a midfielder from his fullback position. He needs no further direction.

Of course it’s a very good team! I’ve still got my bed in the Krankenhaus reserved. German elimination has never stopped the Syndicate before. Your friendly bookie will keep writing regardless. Just don’t act surprised if he files some very drunken dispatches after the Group Phase. Far too many of you falsely assume I file ALL dispatches tipsy. Not so. Not even close to true. If my Mannschaft get’s eliminated early…well…that's a different matter entirely. 

The fate of my liver is riding on Lahm’s ingenuity.  

Let’s get back to the present.

 LINEUP—Deutschland—Match One (4-5-1) 

Sandro Wagner

Julian Draxler             Julian Brandt

Lars Stindl

Leon Goretzka       Sebastian Rudy

J. Hector  S. Mustafi  A. Rüdiger J. Kimmich

Bernd Leno

 LINEUP—Deutschland—Match Two (3-4-2-1) 

Lars Stindl

Julian Draxler               Leon Goretzka

Jonas Hector                          Joshua Kimmich

Emré Can        Sebastian Rudy

Niklas Süle   S. Mustafi   M. Ginter

Marc André ter Stegen

 LINEUP—Deutschland—Match Three (3-4-2-1) 

Timo Werner

Julian Draxler          Kerem Demirbay

Marvin Plattenhardt  Joshua Kimmich

Emré Can      Sebastian Rudy

Niklas Süle Antonio Rüdiger Mattias Ginter

Marc André ter Stegen

To hell with a “soft-experimental-lineup”, Löw went straight for the jugular. The need to keep the team in Sochi for the Semi-Finals took precedence. Ter Stegen started in place of Trapp. Draxler didn’t get the day off that we all anticipated. Emré Can and Sebastian Rudy got unexpected starts. Timo Werner was called into action sooner than we thought.

That doesn’t mean there wasn’t room for new faces like Demirbay and Plattenhardt. Without reservation, I’d say both of them crushed it. The new Turkish Youth Sensation not only scored an amazing goal, he also FINALLY got this new crew to get some lateral use out of the pitch. The Rookie Herta BSC Left Back tore through his positional assignment with the vim of a veteran. Younes and Henrichs looked great in relief too.

Strong teamwork. Ambitious passing. Brave mobility. Budding potential all around. The future looks bright indeed.  

 GRADES—Deutschland (Match One) 

Joshua Kimmich	A+
Timo Werner	A+
Julian Draxler	A
Leon Goretzka	A
Sebastian Rudy	A
Lars Stindl	A
Julian Brandt	A-
Antonio Rüdiger	B+
Niklas Süle	B
Jonas Hector	B
Bernd Leno	B
Sandro Wagner	B-
Shkodran Mustafi	C
Emre Can	D

 GRADES—Deutschland (Match Two) 

Marc Andre ter Stegen	A+
Joshua Kimmich	A
Emré Can	A
Sebastian Rudy	A
Leon Goretzka	A
Lars Stindl	A-
Matthias Ginter	B+
Emre Can	B+
Julian Draxler	B
Jonas Hector	B
Niklas Süle	C+
Shkodran Mustafi	F

 GRADES—Deutschland (Match Three) 

Benjamin Henrichs	A+
Amin Younes	A+
Kerem Demirbay	A+
Timo Werner	A+
Marvin Plattenhardt	A
Emré Can	A
Julian Draxler	A
Joshua Kimmich	A
Matthias Ginter	A
Marc Andre ter Stegen	B+
Julian Brandt	B
Niklas Süle	B
Sebastian Rudy	B-
Antonio Rüdiger	B-

Good God, Timo Werner is a beastly presence in front of goal. Your friendly bookie did his utmost to warn the world.

From CC 2017—Syndicate Barbarossa:

“Timo Werner exploded onto the scene with a 21-goal-campaign for RB Leipzig. Can’t wait to see him in action!”

From CC 2017—Day Three Recap

An absolute stud! Timo Werner….good GOD! He’s the one we’ve been waiting for. He can shake off three defenders and a time and still get precise efforts in. Explosive talent. He’s on the verge of a breaking through and breaking out. In all likelihood we’ll witness him do so in this tournament. An absolute “Über-stud”!

Stay out of his way. He’s here to shake things up. If there’s anything negative to report on, it’s Rüdiger’s uncertainty when faced with defensive challenges. Still have faith in the kid. He’ll do us proud.

 LINEUP—Cameroon—Match One (4-3-3) 

Vincent Aboubakar

Benjamin Moukandjo    Christian Bassogog

Arnaud Djoum        Sebastian Siani

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

C. Fai  A. Teikeu  M. Ngadeu-Ngadjui  E. Mabouka

Fabrice Ondoa

 LINEUP—Cameroon—Match Two (4-3-3) 

Vincent Aboubakar

Benjamin Moukandjo    Christian Bassogog

Arnaud Djoum        Sebastian Siani

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

C. Fai  A. Teikeu  M. Ngadeu-Ngadjui  E. Mabouka

Fabrice Ondoa

 LINEUP—Cameroon—Match Three (4-3-3) 

Vincent Aboubakar

Benjamin Moukandjo    Christian Bassogog

Arnaud Djoum        Sebastian Siani

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa

C. Fai  A. Teikeu  M. Ngadeu-Ngadjui  E. Mabouka

Fabrice Ondoa

Aaaaach! We were supposed to at least have ONE change to talk about, but Mandjeck pulled a muscle during the pre-game warmups. Hugo Broos spent half of the tournament half asleep. Why couldn’t we get a look at some new players?!? Ngamelu and Ekambi were hungry! They showed as much.

Ah hell. At least Bassogog never gave up!

Off to write another “African Obituary” ; (

 LINEUP—Australia—Match One (3-4-3) 

Tom Rogic  Tommy Juric Massimo Luongo

Aziz Behich                                   Matthew Leckie

Aaron Mooy  Mark Milligan

Milos Degenek            Bailey Wright

Trent Sainsbury

Matthew Ryan

 LINEUP—Australia—Match Two (3-4-3) 

Tom Rogic  Tommy Juric Robbie Kruse

Alex Gersbach                            Matthew Leckie

Mark Milligan Aaron Mooy

Milos Degenek            Bailey Wright

Trent Sainsbury

Matthew Ryan

 LINEUP—Australia—Match Three (3-4-3) 

James Troisi  Tommy Juric Timmy Cahill

Aziz Behich                            Robbie Kruse

Massimo Luongo Jackson Irvine

Mark Milligan    Ryan McGowan

Trent Sainsbury

Matthew Ryan

Surely Timmy Cahill is done now. Troisi can inherit the armband…and get a contract while he’s at it ; )

 LINEUP—Chile—Match One (4-1-2-3) 

Eduardo Vargas

Edson Puch                     Jose Fuenzalida

Charles Aranguiz  Arturo Vidal

Marcelo Diaz

J. Beausejour G. Jara  G. Medel M. Isla

Johnny Herrera

 LINEUP—Chile—Match Two (4-1-3-2) 

Eduardo Vargas  Alexis Sanchez

Arturo Vidal

Pablo Hernandez    Charles Aranguiz

Marcelo Diaz

J. Beausejour G. Jara  G. Medel M. Isla

Johnny Herrera

 LINEUP—Chile—Match Three (4-3-3) 

Eduardo Vargas

Alexis Sanchez       Jose Fuenzalida

C. Aranguiz       Francisco Silva    A. Vidal

Eugenio Mena                                Mauricio Isla

Gonzalo Jara   Paulo Diaz

Claudio Bravo

Pizzi reverted back to a slightly modified version of his initial lineup. I still maintain that the one deployed against Germany is the one he wants.

 GRADES—Cameroon (Match One) 

Benjamin Moukandjo	A+
Vincent Aboubakar	A
Christian Bassogog	A
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui	A
Fabrice Ondoa	A
Sebastien Siani	B+
Ernest Mabouka	B
Adolphe Teikeu	B
Collins Fai	B-
A.F. Zambo Anguissa	C+
Arnaud Djoum	D

 GRADES—Cameroon (Match Two) 

Christian Bassogog	A+
Karl Toko Ekampi	A+
A.F. Zambo Anguissa	A
Vincent Aboubakar	A
Adolphe Teikeu	A
Fabrice Ondoa	A-
Collins Fai	A-
Arnaud Djoum	B
Benjamin Moukandjo	B-
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui	C+
Ernest Mabouka	C
Sebastien Siani	C-

 GRADES—Cameroon (Match Three) 

Christian Bassogog	A+
Fabrice Ondoa	A+
Ngouli Ngamaleu	A+
Arnaud Djoum	A
Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui	A
Vincent Aboubakar	A-
Collins Fai	B+
Sebastien Siani	B-
Adolphe Teikeu	C+
Bejamin Moukandjo	C
A.F. Zambo Anguissa	C
Ernest Mabouka	D
Jerome Guihoata	D-

 GRADES—Australia (Match One) 

Tom Rogic	A
Trent Sainsbury	A
Matthew Ryan	A
Tomi Juric	A
Timmy Cahill	A
Matthew Leckie	A-
Aziz Behich	A-
Aaron Mooy	B+
Robbie Kruse	B
Massimo Luongo	B-
Milos Degenek	B-
Robbie Kruse	B-
Bailey Wright	C+
James Troisi	D

 GRADES—Australia (Match Two) 

Mark Milligan	A
Matthew Leckie	A
Trent Sainsbury	A
Alex Gersbach	A
Bailey Wright	A-
Milos Degenek	B+
Aaron Mooy	B
Jackson Irvine	B
Tom Rogic	B-
Robbie Kruse	B-
Tomi Juric	C+
Timmy Cahill	C-
Mathew Ryan	C-
James Troisi	D

 GRADES—Australia (Match Three) 

James Troisi	A+
Aziz Behich	A
Ryan McGowan	A
Jackson Irvine	A
Mark Milligan	A
Matthew Leckie	A-
Mathew Ryan	B+
Massimo Luongo	B
Robbie Kruse	B
Tom Juric	B-
Trent Sainsbury	C+
Jaime McClaren	C
Tomi Juric	C
Timmy Cahill	D+

 GRADES—Chile (Match One) 

Arturo Vidal	A+
Alexis Sanchez	A+
Eduardo Vargas	A+
Edson Puch	A
Marcelo Diaz	A
Johnny Herrera	A
Charles Aranguiz	A
Gonzalo Jara	A
Jose Pedro Fuenzalida	B+
Gary Medel	B
Mauricio Isla	B-
Jean Beausejour	B-
Leonardo Valencia	C
Francisco Silva	C

 GRADES—Chile (Match Two) 

Johnny Herrera	A
Mauricio Isla	A
Charles Aranguiz	A
Arturo Vidal	A
Jean Beausejour	A
Alexis Sanchez	A
Johnny Herrera	A
Gonzala Jara	B+
Eduardo Vargas	B
Pablo Hernandez	B
Eduardo Vargas	B
Marcelo Diaz	B
Gary Medel	B-
Paulo Diaz	C+
Martin Rodriguez	C

 GRADES—Chile (Match Three) 

Alexis Sanchez	A+
Martin Rodriguez	A
Eduardo Vargas	A
Arturo Vidal	A
Claudio Bravo	A
Eugenio Mena	A
Mauricio Isla	A-
Gonzalo Jara	B+
Paulo Diaz	B
Francisco Silva	B
Pablo Hernandez	B
Charles Aranguiz	B-
Jose Pedro Fuenzalida	C+

“Riffs of the Day”—Day Seven

 

Reader: I know you’ll win against Mexico. They’re uncoordinated defensively. Their back line clusters to the ball like moths to a flame. Hector Moreno and Diego Reyes are injured. My team ALWAYS gives up the first goal!!

Vicey: You need to calm down, 132-M. Would you like a hug? It’s only a game and we both made the semi-finals. It’s all good, brother. Enjoy some photos ; )