By Myles Palmer
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Brazil 2 Turkey 1
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Sas 45, Ronaldo 50,Rivaldo pen 87
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A few observations, since it’s 11.25 pm and it would take too long to describe such an eventful match.
TURKEY were creative and organised in a fabulous first game for both sides.
GILBERTO SILVA, tall and greyhound-quick in centrefield, may be a star in the making.
BASTURK could be the new Balakov.The Bulgarian wizard who played in Portugal and Germany.
ON A DAY OF FANTASTIC ASSISTS, there were two in this game to add to Totti’s cutback for Vieri’s first in Italy’s 2-0 against Ecuador.
The first was by Basturk,his diagonal ball finding the weak point in Big Phil’s three centrebacks, behind Cafu.
The ball bounced once and HASAN SAS smashed a perfect half-volley past Marcos.
RIVALDO provided the assist for the equaliser. He missed a simple header, although Rustu made a very good save.
He’s not fit, not super-sharp, or he would have scored.
The goal is eight yards wide and Rivaldo had a free header from six yards with Rustu going the wrong way.
Then RIVALDO makes the equaliser with a pinpoint cross, allowing RONALDO to lunge in for a volley that bounced into the corner after 50 minutes.
JUNINHO is as fit as a flea and in his 1997 form. A tiny man but becoming bigger in the pecking order with every day that passes.
GLIMPSES of Brazilliance throughout the game. More to come.
RONALDO will never be the same player but if he stays fit for the next year he might get 85% of it back. A big if. But he is still a two-footed striker of quality.
ROBERTO CARLOS is a warrior but there is not much end product.
Too many dodgy crosses, too many wasted free kicks, too many bad passes.
At times here I was wondering whether Roberto Carlos is the world’s most over-rated footballer.
DENILSON then came on for RONALDINHO after 67 minutes.
Denilson is the best 20-minute player in the world.
But he only gets 20 minutes so he doesn’t pass to Roberto Carlos when he can avoid it.
Like me, he has watched RC for 70 minutes and decided he can do better.
Four times Roberto Carlos wanted the ball but Denilson ignored him and did something else, and did it neatly.
He can go both ways and is maturing into a productive sub.
I love the way he dribbled infield, evading tackles, and got his passes in, even if they were square passes.
ALPAY tugged sub Luizao five yards outside the box and the ref gave a red and a penalty.
The bionic eye of the TV camera closed in on Rivaldo’s face. He was calm. He was very calm. He knew he would score and so did I.
He knew he would hit it hard to the keeper’s left and so did I and so did Rustu. But he couldn’t reach it.
A great penalty in a game which had already produced two great goals.
So two fantastic assists for 1-0 and 1-1 were followed by a soft penalty,converted by a master.
Horrible gamesmanship by Rivaldo, pretending the ball had hit his face when it hit his thigh.That got Hakan Unsal sent off at the death
GOD HELP CHINA ON SATURDAY at 12.30.
June 3rd 2002
PS :Thought I’d NEVER get upstairs to my office tonight.
Jan’s ex-flatmate Penny drops in.They chat and watch Pop at the Palace or whatever the Jubilee concert is called. But Jan shouts up the stairs,”It’s Eric.Come and see this!”
So to keep them happy I have to go downstairs and see the oldies show and my whole life passes before my eyes in half an hour.
Good Vibrations, I was backstage with the Beach Boys and publicist Derek Taylor at the Manchester Odeon the week it was No.1.
Eric Clapton, seen him a dozen times and met him twice.
Rod Stewart, gave him the cover of Time Out four weeks before Maggie May came out.
Joe Cocker,went to Lincoln Festival in one of his limos.
Elton John, interviewed him at the Munich Hilton for the cover of Radio Times.
Steve Winwood, saw ten gigs on Traffic’s last tour including the Deutches Museum in Munich, which I reviewed for The Times.
Ray Davies, did a phoner for Radio Times and saw him on Cricklewood Broadway last year as I was coming home from the gym one morning.Ray was wearing a smart grey sportsjacket.
Paul McCartney, met him and Linda at a Rainbow party for Ten Years After.
This is middle age, I guess. Watching your youth replayed on TV as light entertainment.
But enough nostalgia.
I hate nostalgia.
David Hockney says we should never talk about anything that happened more than three years ago.