The dullest game in World Cup history: Switzerland v Ukraine in 2006 Football russia
Beauty, they say, is in a eye of a beholder, though there are some things even a most indifferent of contrarians would onslaught to find attractive. One such instance was a last-16 compare between Switzerland and Ukraine during the 2006 World Cup, a diversion so lifeless that dishwater should take corruption if ever mentioned in a same judgment as this horrorshow.
Ukraine eventually emerged winning after 120 agonizing minutes, Oleg Blokhin’s side triumphing in a chastisement shootout that featured usually a extrinsic increase in peculiarity on what had left on before. Reaching a quarter-finals in their initial – and so distant only – World Cup was a worthy accomplishment for Ukraine, though there’s an evidence that both sides should have been immediately diminished from a tournament.
The doubt of what creates a football compare great has no objectively scold answer though ask a operation of people and a few themes are expected to emerge: goals, end-to-end action, intensity, quality, drama, incident, controversy. Switzerland contra Ukraine was lacking in all 7 of these departments.
“The boredom of most of this arise should not detract from Ukraine’s achievement,” wrote Dominic Fifield in his compare report. “It was to be admired, even if it was spasmodic exasperating to watch.” The BBC echoed these sentiments, despite in some-more diplomatic tones: “In a firmly contested compare both teams found it formidable to emanate clear openings in a penalty area, with a game’s best chances entrance from set pieces as good as some absolute long-range shots.” Even Fifa’s possess report struggled to find a certain angle, describing it as a “scrappy event devoid of highlights” that “could never rise any genuine flow.”
On TV, Ray Stubbs said: “Dull doesn’t utterly do it justice. Franz Beckenbauer contingency have wondered because he gave adult a night of his honeymoon to see a match.” A highlights package promote by ITV after that night skipped true to a penalty shootout to “prevent a TV assembly from holding further punishment.” Italy 4-3 West Germany this was not.
Ricardo Cabanas was one of 3 Swiss players to skip a chastisement in a shootout opposite Ukraine. Photograph: Bernd Thissen/EPA
In hindsight, we should have known what was coming. Both teams put good stock in gripping their sheets clean: Switzerland had surfaced a organisation containing France, Togo and South Korea but conceding goal; and this was Ukraine’s eighth purify sheets in 9 games in 2006. The 45,000 spectators inside Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion were never expected to be treated to a spectacle.
Even so, a opening stages upheld by but anything that even resembled an incident. Johan Cruyff used to petition his players to provide the round as a friend; on that basis, a Adidas Teamgeist contingency have exceedingly wronged all 22 players on a pitch. Neither side was means to keep possession for really long, with a flurry of brisk passes and messy touches giving approach to what contingency be a earliest Mexican call in a history of football. Occasionally a deviant nonconformist would demeanour to mangle forward and swell up a pitch, though such missteps were fast quashed as both teams resumed their corner endeavour to heal insomnia.
This is bloody awful,” pronounced subtlety’s Mick McCarthy, impiety his fitness at being placed on co-commentary duty
Ukraine captain Andriy Shevchenko attack the crossbar with a header and Switzerland striker Alexander Frei attack the woodwork with a well-struck free-kick were a only moments of note in a first half. The 15-minute interlude brought acquire respite, though the early stages of a second duration made it apparent that no teacups had been sent drifting in a dressing bedrooms at half-time. Both sides, it seemed, were ideally happy with how a opening 45 mins had played out.
Ukraine started a brighter after a break though failed to exam Pascal Zuberbuhler in a Switzerland goal, with Andriy Voronin’s suppositional long-ranger a only time a Basel goalkeeper was called into movement before a hour-mark. Not that a Swiss fared any better: a first time they tested Ukrainian goalkeeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy was an overhit free-kick that was flapping well far-reaching of a target anyway. “This is bloody awful,” pronounced subtlety’s Mick McCarthy, impiety his fitness at being placed on co-commentary avocation for a evening. Tell us what we really think, Mick.
The final possibility in a game came in a 75th minute, when a flicked header from Ukraine’s Andriy Husin sailed narrowly far-reaching of a far post after Zuberbuhler had flapped unconvincingly during Maksym Kalynychenko’s corner. After that, nothing.
Other World Cup knockout ties have dropped off in power in additional time, though no other diversion has started from such a low base. Tranquillo Barnetta was a only actor to accept a yellow label in dual hours of what can usually loosely be termed football; a default of peculiarity can infrequently be excused, though Switzerland and Ukraine didn’t even have the goodness to give us a bit of needle.
And so to penalties, where a contest threatened to deplane into sum farce after Shevchenko and Marco Streller missed a first dual spot-kicks. “Is anybody going to measure in perfume tonight?” Guy Mowbray asked, sticking ever tighter to his sanity. McCarthy, usually half-joking, suggested tossing a silver to confirm the winner.
Ball was finally introduced to net when 21-year-old Artem Milevskiy showed good nerve to coolly modify a Panenka and corner Ukraine in front in a shootout. Barnetta afterwards blazed his bid against a bar and Serhiy Rebrov done no mistake, before Ricardo Cabanas’ skip left Switzerland staring better in a face. Up stepped Ukraine right-back Oleh Husyev, whose fatiguing finish sent his nation into a quarter-finals. Switzerland, meanwhile, became a first group in World Cup story not to measure a singular penalty in a shootout and a first to exit a competition but conceding a goal.
Ukraine go through. Finally. Photograph: Murad Sezer/AP
Part of a joy of football lies in a unknown, a utter stupidity of what you’re going to see when we arrive during the track or spin on a TV. It wouldn’t be as fun if each game was a 4-4 thriller. Perhaps a two teams did everybody a favour, reminding us that interesting encounters should be loving when they come around. You need a lows to conclude the highs. Even yet Ukraine 0-0 Switzerland was a dullest diversion in World Cup history, we should still be grateful it unfolded as it did. Let’s only hope there isn’t a repeat in Russia this summer – once in a lifetime is some-more than enough.
• This is an essay from The Set Pieces• Follow Greg Lea and The Set Pieces on Twitter
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