[ad_1]
By Joe Callaghan
The onion domes of the Savior Church on spilled blood were just the only things bringing color to Monday morning in St Petersburg.
Melee of topaz and crystal of jasper and mountain, the five bulbous tops contrasted with the gray and watery heavens.
After a good part of the weekend's tragedy The spectators of the second and last stage of the World Cup were surprised by the early morning cover of 13 degrees which welcomed the arrivals in the second Russian city yesterday.
French and Belgian fans came here for tonight's semifinal. was left to those who might not even want to be there to stop merchants from haggling.
Brazilians were the easiest to identify apart from St. Petersburg's biggest tourist attraction – a revivalist Russian masterpiece in tribute to Emperor Alexander II on the site of his murder . Their team is already back at home. But a group of friends from Sao Paulo via Miami simply explained that they had match tickets and train tickets and that they were loyal to the plan.
It's the stuff of the World Cups and this World Cup more than ever before. Plan a lot, but something will bother you. They had traveled to Samara in the meantime. But they could not have predicted that Thiago Silva would find the post rather than the two-yard net.
They could not have expected Fernandinho to pass the ball in front of Alison shortly thereafter. They could not have planned for the VAR team to be unable to spot what appeared to be a penalty as the return of the second Brazilian period picked up speed. They could not have foreseen 16 shots to Thibaut Courtois by scoring only one goal.
There was another thing that they could not predict.
"Marouane fucking Fellaini," says one of the Brazilians, his friends nodding solemnly agreed.
Three words that have often met in recent years in the speech of the partisans, usually delivered in this order as if they form a line of punch. This time they were delivered with a Miami twang rather than Mancunian – and in a very different tone. There was exasperation in words but above all respect.
There was a little bit of wonder for good measure.
Marouane fucking Fellaini. The spoiler Brazil and the best plans left in its wake
Of all the unlikely events of this most unlikely World Cup, the Manchester United midfielder fell into the heat of the quarterfinal match and transformed A man of the match performance against favorites may be the most unlikely of all.
Fellaini was huge in Samara, ubiquitous and sometimes omnipotent, closing Neymar on the left flank and doing his job almost as well on Philippe Coutinho a little further. Kevin De Bruyne had been named the match man of Fifa and even though he was stellar, Fellaini had even surpassed him.
The 30-year-old has won twice as many aerial duels as anyone on the field. But we expect that. Even on days when he has been hugely frustrating the masses at Old Trafford, Fellaini has at least dominated the airspace. It was in so many other places that he excelled against Brazil.
He had the most blocks in the game and the most clearances outside of the two central defenders of Belgium. But he not only sprayed the clearances, he was precise to help Belgium out, with a better passing rate than the leader Eden Hazard.
He had won his place after dragging Belgium to the edge of the abyss. 16 last, sprung from the bench by Roberto Martinez to trigger something, no matter what. Fellaini did this and more, terrorizing Japan in the air and seizing equalization. For good measure, he had undoubtedly been the most effective player on the field in the last group match against England too.
What to do with this turn of events? For some, they are surprising, but for many, they are surprisingly surprising. Fellaini has always been a coaching player, a teammate player, but not as a fan favorite or expert. Jose Mourinho was delighted to sign him for a new contract at Old Trafford last month. "I think he's the player with whom you have to work to appreciate what he's really bringing," Martinez said of him.
"I think he's underestimated in his technical abilities.This is a footballer who has a much higher level of technical scrutiny than people think."
In Martinez Fellaini finds a soulmate, a man more often perverted than rented. Here in Russia, a clear definition and direction have been rewarded by a brilliant execution by Fellaini. Martinez entrusted him with specific but very different tasks in consecutive games and watched his player deliver to the shovel.
Tonight in St. Petersburg, he will probably have a job similar to last time: protect and spoil. Kylian Mbappe could be his memory, keeping a close watch on the Paul Pogba club too. What is clear is that Martinez trusts him deeply. He needs him too. Although they purred in attack, Belgium had been too porous, leaving two goals to Tunisia before dug this hole against Japan. As the stakes increased, it was time to tighten up.
"They played a fantastic match against Brazil with a very specific plan," Deschamps said yesterday. "The biggest difference until the Belgian team is oriented forward." But against Brazil, they stepped up the midfield to block central and wide access [access] .It was deliberate. "
Fellaini, who turned 30 in November, matures in over a century.He continues to mount the list of appearances of all time Belgium, distributing icons for each match, and today he will win the cap 87 and climb to sixth place on the table, at this World Cup he passed Enzo Scifo, Frankie Van Der Elst and Eric Gerets: With greater experience, a more sensitive approach has flourished
Last season was Fellaini 10th in English football In the last nine years, he has accumulated 80 yellow and five red cards for the club and the country through 347 appearances, an average of one booking every four games. In the year he was injured, he played 29 times for United and Belgium but he only made one reservation.
More sensitive at the time and a little more subtle. One of his most revealing interventions in Samara was striking in his delicacy. While Coutinho sided in the second half, Fellaini imagined and, with a phone call rather than a thunderclap, he was removing the ball from the man's toes. Barcelona. Fellaini argued that he was chosen for severe arbitration and tougher court verdicts because a false reputation precedes him
. has even suggested that his hairstyle, by making it so identifiable, brings him to undue trouble. In an interview with GQ Style earlier this year when he started a series of new backs, he once again tackled this.
"He thinks it's easy for them to portray me as an aggressive player but I am not," he insisted.
"I try to play my game, I do my best to get the ball back quickly: it's my job. Try to be better all the time."
At this most opportune moment, Marouane fucking Fellaini recedes these words – and expletism too.
While Belgium and France have not played competitive games since the third … He played in the World Cup qualifiers in Mexico in 1986, the two teams clashed in Paris he less than three years ago.
In an action-packed match, it was the visitors who triumphed 4-3 with two goals. a help from Marouane Fellaini. The midfielder has climbed above Raphael Varane for a head of play that should be timely for Didier Deschamps and his team tonight.
Source link
