I’m Dustin “El Jefe” Christmann, and I am an FC Dallas fanatic from Day One of the Dallas Burn. I’m also a hater. I used to yell mean, hateful things from the stands at the Cotton Bowl and Toyota Stadium, but now I’m sharing my id with you to help guide you, my fellow FCD fans, in your enjoyment of Major League Soccer the World Cup on TV.
FCD in Game 1:
- Deedson – He was bright, he was active, he was doing things, he was causing all sorts of trouble in for Scotland in the first half. Did he score? No, but neither did any of his teammates, and Haiti lost 1-0 in the first match in the World Cup since 1974. Still, it was a Deedson that we have not seen in Frisco thus far, probably due to the fact that he’s actually playing his natural position of right wing. Fotmob rated him a creditable 6.5, which isn’t outstanding, but not bad for a guy that has a hard time seeing the field for FCD.
- Johansson – Did not play in Sweden’s 5-1 win over Tunisia. C’mon, Graham Potter. You’re training in Frisco. You’ve got five subs. Throw us a bone here.
- Musa – Let’s just say that his debut in the World Cup was a success. His sweet finish of an Ivan Perišić flick-on header right at the end of the first half took leveled the match against England at 2-2 and turned a lot of heads in the right way. Not only did he score, he didn’t look out of place in one of the best matchups of the first round of group play, surrounded by players who ply their trade in England and Germany and Spain and Italy.
Ignorant Take of the Week
Thank you, Stephen A. Now I know why ESPN pays you a gorillion dollars a year.
Game of the Round
Netherlands vs. Sweden at Houston Stadium (Fox and Telemundo, noon on June 20)
No finger quotes this week because NRG Stadium Houston Stadium, home of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (and an NFL team) is actually in Houston, not in the hinterlands of Tarrant County.
And while we complained at Sweden manager Graham Potter up top about his personnel selection, he can point to a 5-1 win over Tunisia, which has gotten them to the top of Group F. So we’ll pipe down for the moment.
You know who ISN’T top of Group F? The Netherlands. Their 1-1 draw with Japan in the first game has them tied with the Japanese for second place in the group. If you read this column, you likely know enough about the game that that was a bit of a surprising result.
Japan is good, but not great. Japan, like the USA, didn’t really get serious about the game until the ’90s, has been steadily improving, and has developed into a power in Asian competitions. Still, what are they getting known for? Tidy fans:
The Dutch, on the other hand, have pedigree. They’ve made the final a few times, their roster is made up of players playing for the best teams in the best leagues in the world, and have had their players playing for the best teams in the best leagues in the world for decades. I am currently wearing a Johann Cruyff t-shirt that I picked up at the FC Barcelona team store next to the Camp Nou:
They also have Ronald Koeman as their manager. Why? I don’t know. The man has been a manager since 2000. He has managed clubs that are among the biggest clubs in their leagues: Ajax, Benfica, PSV, Feyenoord, Barcelona. And in all those years managing big clubs, he’s managed three championships, all of them in the Eredivisie, in 2002 and 2004 with Ajax and in 2007 with PSV.
He did manage the Netherlands once before, and he did guide them to qualifying for the 2020 European Championship after his predecessors missed out on the 2016 Euros and the 2018 World Cup, but he left for Barcelona before the tournament.
Still, he might be the perfect manager for the Netherlands, the best national team to never win the World Cup. (And if it weren’t for 1988, they’d also be the best national team to never win the European Championship either.) He’s a good manager. He keeps getting gigs with big clubs, and he does well enough with those big clubs. They finish high in their leagues, they win national cups, but a league title? Not in almost 20 years. But he is managing these big clubs, who have higher expectations, and when those expectations aren’t met, we get to see those press releases announcing his departure “by mutual consent.”
So enjoy watching the Netherlands at this tournament. We know their history. We know their manager’s history. They’re here for a good time, not a long time. And even though it seems like we have nothing in common with professional players at the highest level, we can take comfort in the fact that we have one thing in common with all these Dutch players who make huge amounts of money to play for the biggest clubs in the world: We’ll all be watching the World Cup Final on TV next month.