Goalies enjoy contrasting fortunes
Print Edition
MEXICO goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa produced a heroic performance in a 0-0 draw with Brazil and his Russian counterpart Igor Akinfeev was the villain in a 1-1 draw with South Korea as the World Cup produced more drama on Tuesday.
While Ochoa kept Brazil at bay, the hapless Akinfeev was left to bury his head in his hands after he allowed Lee Keun-ho’s straightforward shot from 25 meters to slip through his grasp.
Ochoa produced four top class saves to deny Paulinho, Neymar (twice) and Thiago Silva when they seemed certain to score in an intense, end-to-end match in tropical Fortaleza which left both teams with four points from two games in Group A.
Silva thought he had won the game in the closing minutes with a powerful header only to see his effort parried at point blank range by the ‘keeper.
Despite the scoreline, the match was anything but dull and the Mexicans enjoyed long periods of possession, bravely taking the game to the hosts in the second half.
The 28-year-old Ochoa, who has no club as his contract with French club AC Ajaccio has ended, did a lap of honor around the Fortaleza Castelao Stadium after one of the great World Cup goalkeeping performances.
Basketball hero Kobe Bryant hailed “OCHOA!! Incredible” in a Tweet within minutes of the game ending.
Ochoa’s Wikipedia page was swiftly hacked to hail him as “the Mexican Jesus after his performance against Brazil.”
“Is that the greatest match of my career? Without a doubt,” a delighted Ochoa said. “It’s the highlight. Playing in a World Cup, against Brazil, in Brazil, and not conceding a goal? It’s definitely the best highlight.”
Ochoa, nicknamed ‘Memo’, went to each of the last two World Cups as a back-up and his place in the Mexico side this year was far from assured heading into the tournament.
However, El Tri coach Miguel Herrera has been justified in choosing the former Club America star ahead of both Jose Corona and Alfredo Talavera.
“I don’t know whether I can think of another goalkeeper in memory ... someone who has done what Memo did today,” Herrera told a news conference.
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also praised Ochoa, describing his performance as spectacular, and could not resist pointing out that this time, unlike the controversial 3-1 win over Croatia, his side had a late penalty appeal turned down.
“There was no penalty in favor of Brazil,” said ‘Big Phil’, shrugging his shoulders.
Cameroon and Croatia, the other teams in the group, who are yet to get off the mark.
In the Group H clash in Cuiaba, Akinfeev’s blushes on 68 minutes were spared when Alexander Kerzhakov pounced to equalize for Russia after more scrappy goalkeeping by Jung Sung-ryong six minutes later.
Akinfeev appeared to have dealt with Lee’s rasping shot but the ball spilled from his grasp and into the net.
Russia coach Fabio Capello refused to point the finger at Akinfeev after the draw.
“Just like some players can miss penalties it can happen that a keeper makes a mistake as well,” Capello said.
“You can accept a mistake from a great keeper like Akinfeev. Today it turned out fine.”
Before Tuesday, the first 14 matches saw an average of more than 3 goals per game — bettering the rate of all World Cups since Brazil’s first victory in 1958. But that dipped to 2.9 goals per game following Tuesday’s three matches.
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