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View Full Version : W?reldbeker, World Cup, Weltmeistershaft; its coming, yet we debate colons?



vogonpoet
06-09-2010, 08:40 AM
For Sssracht's sake people, the world cup is in two days time, and all the forums seem to care about is whether the semi colon can be used as a super comma as well as to connect related independent clauses?

I mean really?

Who will bow out pathetically in the groups stages? Who will make the last 4? Who will ultimately triumph and be crowned champions of the world? Who will troll this thread with complaints about football being a stupid pointless game where teams play for hours only to draw 0-0?

I can haz some football excitement?

I suspect the winners to be Spain, Brazil, Argentia, or maybe Germany, who knows? I will be hoping for fine performances from Serbia and England, but am not expecting either team to get as far as last 4.

êdit: Dammit, I can't have an ê with a hat on in my thrêad titlê apparêntly. Shamê.
/ê

moomoo
06-09-2010, 09:22 AM
I might watch a game or two: football is such a nice game to sit and watch with friends and beverages.

I really have no favourite winner and I usually side with the underdogs. But if I'd have to name a winner I'd guess Argentina; cos Maradona owns and deserves: it somehow.

Too bad Finland is not playing this tournament: we'll make it into the next!

Silfir
06-09-2010, 10:24 AM
You bet I am quite aware of what's going down in the near future!

With the expected result of Germany winning its group and England finishing second, that means we can throw them out on penalties as early as the quarter final. Should be easy as cake.

meh
06-09-2010, 10:28 AM
I'd say England has a good chance of reaching the semis. Brazil, Spain and Netherlands (IMO the top three teams at the moment) are all on the other side of the bracket, so England won't have to play them before the semi finals.

I'll be watching most matches, but don't really have any favourite team.

gut
06-09-2010, 11:00 AM
I'm for whichever team can stay sober the longest, which is
unfortunately none of them.

Dudley
06-09-2010, 12:34 PM
The only interest i have in the world cup is that i've got as much chances to win my end of year exams as france has of losing the world cup.

Silfir
06-09-2010, 01:56 PM
What do our resident Irish people think of France's prospects?

grobblewobble
06-09-2010, 04:32 PM
Who will troll this thread with complaints about football being a stupid pointless game where teams play for hours only to draw 0-0?

I agree, football is a stupid pointless game where teams play for hours only to draw 0-0.

But there's an upside. During the previous world cup I went to the movies with my girlfriend while our country was playing a match. We had the whole theater for ourselves. :cool:

fazisi
06-09-2010, 07:03 PM
No Ecuador this year so I am forced to cheer for Slovakia on behalf of my friend.

Grey
06-09-2010, 07:49 PM
What do our resident Irish people think of France's prospects?

I don't care who wins the World Cup, as long as France loses horribly... This is actually the first time in Ireland city that we're willing to support England against another team - if England ever play France we will actually support the bloody Brits.

I personally think Spain will win, but I don't support any specific team. Would be nice to see the Socceroos do well, I guess.

vogonpoet
06-11-2010, 07:56 AM
Surely Grey is a non-resident Irish person?

Its funny, I actually miss Manchester sometimes - lived near it for ages, and in it for 6 months.
Watching the England game on Saturday here in Novi Sad just isn't the same as some random pub in Manchester... is the Big Screen on Exchange Square still there? That would be an awesome place to watch the game tomorrow, if the weather is nice??? I guess its not 34 degrees in the UK though :)

Silfir
06-11-2010, 01:02 PM
Resident as in residing in the ADOM forum. Isn't that what it means?

moomoo
06-11-2010, 03:59 PM
Ok, I can't watch that with sound on. The backround noice is just too goddamn awful. Nicely ruined the opening match.

Apparently its some kind of plastic horn (vuvuzela?) the south africans like play in games.

Horrible, I hope they ban it! Ban it!

Grey
06-11-2010, 05:33 PM
Its funny, I actually miss Manchester sometimes - lived near it for ages, and in it for 6 months.
Watching the England game on Saturday here in Novi Sad just isn't the same as some random pub in Manchester... is the Big Screen on Exchange Square still there? That would be an awesome place to watch the game tomorrow, if the weather is nice??? I guess its not 34 degrees in the UK though :)

There's a few big screens around town these days. I'm expecting everywhere to be crammed like mad tomorrow... Weather is predicted to be sunny and around 20 degress - quite excellent by Manchester standards :)

vogonpoet
06-11-2010, 05:50 PM
Resident as in residing in the ADOM forum. Isn't that what it means?

yeah, just pulling your chain dude :D




Apparently its some kind of plastic horn (vuvuzela?) the south africans like play in games.
Horrible, I hope they ban it! Ban it!

Ha ha, ban it? Not a chance in hell. Besides, you are mistaken - its cool.


Weather is predicted to be sunny and around 20 degress - quite excellent by Manchester standards :)

Well that sounds perfect. I can't really enjoy much more than 25 anyway (I am so living in the wrong country these days).

fazisi
06-11-2010, 11:16 PM
Ha ha, ban it? Not a chance in hell. Besides, you are mistaken - its cool.
Incorrect. It is lame. It would be cool if they blew it for a reason, like when someone gets a goal. But all the time? Annoying.

Adom
06-12-2010, 12:42 AM
...
The world cup is boring in the U.S.A. In Europe it rocks. Unfortunately, I will not be in Europe this summer. So I'm not gonna care about it.

dallonj
06-12-2010, 01:04 AM
argentina will probably do well but it has nothing to do with maradona. one of the best to ever play, no doubt, but he has no idea how to coach. they have a great team right now though. will they win? i hope so but i'd like to see paraguay do well, maybe if cabanhas hadn't gotten shot theyd have a better chance.

SOCCER RULES!:D

Silfir
06-12-2010, 09:27 PM
If I were that English goalkeeper, I'd find myself a nice secluded rock to hide under until the next match :)

Go USA!

The Metro Gnome
06-12-2010, 09:49 PM
I'm not watching it but I'm gonna root for my home team.

GO U.S.A!!!!

(btw it's soccer, football is a totally different sport that other countries just have not seen the potential in)

Soirana
06-12-2010, 10:20 PM
(btw it's soccer, football is a totally different sport that other countries just have not seen the potential in)

Why you gringos call local version of handball football is beyound me.

Silfir
06-12-2010, 10:31 PM
(Can you really root for your team if you're not even watching?)

Now, let's say the rest of the world decided "baseball, that's a stupid name, we're going to call it boccer instead" - if the USA came sweeping down saying "We're the goddamn bigwigs of this sport and if we're calling it baseball by the gods the rest of the world is going to call it baseball" - I'd totally get that. It would be stupid to go past the US on this since they have played the world's very finest baseball for over a century.

Only, you see, the US are not the bigwigs of football. US (men's) football has been second class at best for ages. So no, you don't get to go out into the world and tell other people to call football soccer. If you were to win the Championship, that would be another story entirely. As long as that hasn't happened, there's not really any reason for the rest of the world to listen to you, right? (Except nuclear weapons, of course.)

I mean - American Football is a nice enough sport, but most of it isn't even played with the foot, for crissakes. You could call it "Throwball" or "Carryball" and be much closer to the actual game. Whereas association football is actually (almost) completely about using your feet, be it on the ball or against other players.

gut
06-12-2010, 10:41 PM
i think there was some discussion a while back about removing
the kicking part of football alltogether. kinda made sense to me.
do you really want dozens of players to battle for about an hour,
only to have the game decided by 1 guy and the wind?

anyhoo, foot-ball bores me. yet I'll still be mildly entertained
for as long as it takes me to post snarks on these forums should
the US manage to win whatever tourney you Euro's find so
fascinating. honestly, I don't know why we haven't taken the US
approach to this situation long ago. Just buy the world's best
talent.

vogonpoet
06-13-2010, 08:49 AM
@Silfir: Yeah, Green might well be looking for nice rocks right now, but the rest of the england team are just as much to blame for the result as he is - it was a terrible performance.

Heres hoping the Serbia game is better...

moomoo
06-13-2010, 08:58 AM
I'm not watching it but I'm gonna root for my home team.

GO U.S.A!!!!

(btw it's soccer, football is a totally different sport that other countries just have not seen the potential in)

Yeah, yanks can call any sport what they want despite the whole world otherwise calling it football.

E: oh yeah, we lamers here call your football american football :)

Silfir
06-13-2010, 10:39 AM
I dunno, I like an element of wild luck in a game. It allows for crazy comeback stories! And once you take out the last element of actual football out of the sport you're done claiming the name "football" for it for good if you ask me.

Interestingly enough, the US do have a history of getting the greatest talent of football to play in their league - once they're over 30 and looking for a good gig to retire. Franz Beckenbauer, David Beckham...

gut
06-13-2010, 10:53 AM
> you're done claiming the name "football"

I was done claiming any of the big 3 American sports by
any name a couple of years ago. Baseball, foolsball, and
basketball are all rather rigged in my opinion. They want
MOAR FANZ at any cost, so they allow their stars to get by
with any nonsense they please. They figure people won't
notice, and they are sadly correct.

vogonpoet
06-14-2010, 07:27 AM
Well Serbia once more proved they are a force to be reckoned with in the "shooting themselves in the foot" stakes, whereas Germany did well in the more traditional "shooting the ball with the foot" stakes... The bad news for Serbia is they now have to hope that Ghana can't beat the Ozzies, and the Ozzies were frankly crap last night, defending like schoolboys rather than professionals... tesko situacija for sure.

pblack
06-15-2010, 03:50 AM
Im brazilian and I have faith in this years team. But after seeing Germany playing i have to admit that those guys are playing an incredibly well adjusted game and they are going to be the toughest yet to beat.

vogonpoet
06-15-2010, 07:42 AM
Yeah the Germans do look good, but it's early days, and they are a very young team without Ballack to keep them cool - they will have to concentrate and work well together to keep on top of their game. Sadly for the other teams, concentrating and working well together are hallmarks of German football, but still - its definitely too early to start worrying about meeting Germany in the later stages - it was after all the socceroos they were playing.

gut
06-15-2010, 08:53 AM
just so I know who I'm cheering for, what team is closest to USA,
yet still has a snowball's chance?

vogonpoet
06-15-2010, 09:39 AM
Closest as in geographically?
Err, the favourites in no particular order are Spain, Germany, Brazil and Argentina. So I guess you should be cheering for those Kentucky locals Brazil, although Brazil must be about 3000 miles away from Kentucky I should think...

moomoo
06-15-2010, 01:04 PM
just so I know who I'm cheering for, what team is closest to USA,
yet still has a snowball's chance?

There's Mexico! Its close to USA (if you mean't that, hehe) and has no chance in hell :)

vogonpoet
06-15-2010, 01:28 PM
Will we need to define some sort of probability scale?

If USA's chances of winning are similar to a whelk's chance in a supernova, then yeah, perhaps Mexico's chances of winning are snowballs in hell-esque...

By which I mean, Mexico are marginally more likely to win than USA are, but not very likely...

Silfir
06-15-2010, 01:38 PM
What's with that defeatist talk - at least cheer for your boys as long as they're still in! After that we can tell you which teams you're supposed to hate, and work from there.

For starters, there's France, which entered the championship by tricking the referee with an illegal goal. They started promisingly by scoring a dreadful goalless tie against mediocre Uruguay - if everything goes well we'll see them taken out in the group stage.

gut
06-15-2010, 02:13 PM
Of course I meant Geographically.

gO bRAziLLiarDS!

Adom
06-15-2010, 09:44 PM
Yeah the Germans do look good, but it's early days, and they are a very young team without Ballack to keep them cool - they will have to concentrate and work well together to keep on top of their game. Sadly for the other teams, concentrating and working well together are hallmarks of German football, but still - its definitely too early to start worrying about meeting Germany in the later stages - it was after all the socceroos they were playing.
I remember watching the Europe cup in Germany, and Ballack was playing on Germany's team. And he sucked. I believe he was the worst player on the team, but everyone seemed to like him. But seriously, Ballack sucks.

gut
06-15-2010, 11:08 PM
Yeah, bullocks suck.

In unrelated news, this gal will be singing the US's team
intro for the rest of our gamez.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhD9kKb3hSM&feature=related

All opposing teams may as well forfeit.

vogonpoet
06-16-2010, 08:04 AM
I remember watching the Europe cup in Germany, and Ballack was playing on Germany's team. And he sucked. I believe he was the worst player on the team, but everyone seemed to like him. But seriously, Ballack sucks.

Ignoring the fact that Ballack is an awesome playmaker and regular goal scorer for his county (42 goals from 98 appearances - that is a record many world class strikers would be proud of, let alone midfielders):
A player like Ballack contributes a lot more to a teams performance than just kicking the ball. For teams to consistently play better than the sum of their parts, they need a commanding, well respected captain who everyone trusts.

It is too early to say whether the loss of Ballack will make a difference to Germany in this tournament - Germany have many regular goal scorers in Klose, Podolski, Schwiensteiger, who all scored a plurality of goals in Euro2008 (as did Ballack of course), but as the tournament progresses, experience and leadership become more significant, and the german squad is one of the younger sides in this tournament, certainly the youngest of the pre-tournament top 5 favourites. We shall see.

/Good luck Lahm
//Lived in Germany once, guess they are my third team in the competition :)

Silfir
06-16-2010, 11:46 AM
I remember watching the Europe cup in Germany, and Ballack was playing on Germany's team. And he sucked. I believe he was the worst player on the team, but everyone seemed to like him. But seriously, Ballack sucks.

Ballack is awesome and you're dumb.

I definitely agree that we'll sorely miss his great experience, though it should be kept in mind that both Podolski and Schweinsteiger have well over 70 caps (149 together) despite being aged only 25 and have played several big tournaments, so it's not like our term is filled with nothing but greenhorns. Still, it's a very young team - once the KO stage rolls around, I wonder how ?zil, M?ller, Khedira will deal with the pressure.

warheart
06-16-2010, 07:53 PM
Ballack sucks.

Silfir
06-16-2010, 09:22 PM
Well, I guess considering that the Spanish team is commonly accepted to be the best of the world and would never end up losing to a B-class European side you must clearly know what you're talking about OH WAIT

Adom
06-17-2010, 07:54 PM
What are people on? Either you guys are on some drug or I am, because I watched most of the games and only remember seeing Ballack score about once. The other players beat him. He didn't help with the ball or do anything which seemed to contribute to the team.

Silfir
06-17-2010, 09:28 PM
Then maybe you didn't look hard enough ;)

Ballack has been filling the defensive midfielder position for a while now - the modern playmaker position. He used to be a more offensive player, which naturally results in more scoring and flashy attacking, because there was no one else, period, who could really do that in those days. I am quite sure that his participation was integral to Germany reaching the finals, even if he "only" scored once. Strikers live and die by how many goals they score, good offensive midfielders will and should often score, but it's entirely optional for defensive midfielders.

moomoo
06-18-2010, 10:06 AM
Atleast someone got their way of France losing horribly.

Is it just me or does it seem that many teams that seem to dominate the game still end up losing - mostly becouse they can't finish a goal and get messed up by counter attacks. Many teams seem to play defensive football which relies on special situations and swift counters.

And go go Argentina!

vogonpoet
06-18-2010, 10:40 AM
France didn't dominate and loose. They were totally unable to pass the ball in the final third of the pitch. The mexico defence and midfield deserve some credit for this, but in general, the french were just crap.

Now I have to go into anti-germany mode.

Deutschland unter alles, Serbien fur den Sieg!

Silfir
06-18-2010, 10:46 AM
You might be talking about Switzerland there, right?

The way I see it you have to score for your offensive play to count for anything (Fail on the Spanish there, though god knows they tried!). There is a lot of luck related to that defensive strategy. I remember before the Germany - Australia match Australia was described as just that kind of defensive team - doing everything to keep a clean sheet. If you score a lead against that kind of team, they have to do what they weren't planning to do, and that's when they often collapse.

I remember times when Germany used to win their games just like Switzerland did - I hope they can still do that if it becomes necessary! The first requirement for that kind of thing is having an excellent, solid and reliable keeper. (That's why, for instance, England couldn't play that way if they wanted to.) Brazil sort of has that philosophy going right now, coming from their coach Dunga (most of Brazil resents him for it), but at least you can be sure Brazil won't collapse if it turns out they need to play offensively and score.

As for France, they were just incredibly poor. Mostly, you could see the players had skills, but there was nothing to make them work together. Domenech needs to be sacked first thing once they get back. There's still a chance - Both Mexico and Uruguay will do everything they can to avoid having to play Argentine - but I want them out.

Anyway, I'm off to see Germany play Serbia soon. Here's hoping being awesome wasn't a one time thing.

moomoo
06-18-2010, 11:43 AM
You might be talking about Switzerland there, right?

Yeah, mostly. Tho I had some other games in my mind too when i wrote that.


Anyway, I'm off to see Germany play Serbia soon. Here's hoping being awesome wasn't a one time thing.

Gonna watch myself some of that too. Expecting some goals to be had.

vogonpoet
06-18-2010, 02:32 PM
bwa ha haha ha .... Germany are going down. How many yellow cards can one tesm get???? ha ha

Silfir
06-18-2010, 03:14 PM
Yeah... Now I wish we still had Ballack. He'd scored that penalty for sure, and maybe he would have been able to keep the team together after that idiotic Klose sendoff enough for that goal not to happen. As it was, the young German team had the fighting spirit and the breath, but not the experience to get that draw.

nathrakh
06-18-2010, 04:08 PM
I didn't know of the world cup until few days ago when they had already played the first games.. I find soccer to be boring; I'd rather watch Tennis. That being said I also find football hooligans annoying with their mindless shouting and OT speculation ALL OVER THE FUCKING INTERNET. Really, get together to some forum and discuss there.

Silfir
06-18-2010, 04:14 PM
Holy crap it's a forum thread I don't take a particular interest in! WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO

warheart
06-18-2010, 05:09 PM
Well, I guess considering that the Spanish team is commonly accepted to be the best of the world and would never end up losing to a B-class European side you must clearly know what you're talking about OH WAIT

Oh, true, I have no idea what I was talking about because my country lost, that makes a lot of sense. So now you have no idea either, right?

vogonpoet
06-18-2010, 05:49 PM
I didn't know of the world cup until few days ago when they had already played the first games.. I find soccer to be boring; I'd rather watch Tennis. That being said I also find football hooligans annoying with their mindless shouting and OT speculation ALL OVER THE FUCKING INTERNET. Really, get together to some forum and discuss there.

THIS THREAD IS CLEARLY LABELED AS A WORLD CUP THREAD, AND IS ORGANISED UNDER GENERAL DISCUSSION, WHY DO I HAVE TO READ ABOUT THE WORLD CUP HERE, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c30/dickysixx/this-is-an-outrage.jpg

http://www.intternetti.net/~jiri/motivation/capslock3.jpg

/hotlinked

The Germans were unlucky to be down to ten men - I have never seen so many yellow cards, and in the second half, dominated possession, and created several good chances - tomorrows match will be very interesting indeed.

Meanwhile, USA and Slovenia failed to take maximum points - well done USA for another hard fought draw, so a win for England will put them firmly in the driving seat. Well actually, they will share the driving with Slovenia if they win, and will thus find the journey to the second round much easier, as everyone knows long trips are easier with two drivers... Well that analogy didn't work very well, never mind.

Come on England.
Srbija, Srbija, Srbija!

pblack
06-18-2010, 06:29 PM
I didn't watch the game but I really didn't expect Germany to lose this one... that's very sad. I was hoping for incredible german matches all through the WC.

Silfir
06-18-2010, 06:33 PM
Oh, true, I have no idea what I was talking about because my country lost, that makes a lot of sense. So now you have no idea either, right?

It's called "responding in kind". Adom only explicitly said Ballack played very poorly at EURO 2008 and posted the reasons for his view (even though Ballack is awesome - for the record, I don't really think Adom is dumb, sorry Adom). You just said "Ballack sucks". What am I supposed to do with "Ballack sucks"? It sounded as if you expected us (me, I guess, being the resident German) to just accept that he sucks because you said so, otherwise, what's the point of posting? The only thing I could work with was that you're Spanish, and possibly you believe because you're Spanish and your national team rocks that gives you some sort of authority on the topic of German defensive midfielders suckage. And since I had recent evidence to support that the Spanish national team does not, in fact, rock, I posted on that. My reply, in this case, was intended to be meant as seriously as your original post.

I detect a hint of actual offendedness in that post - if I actually offended you or anyone else in this thread with my crazy talk, I deeply apologize. I post without thinking way more often than I should. You're perfectly justified in heaping some scorn of your own on the German national team, in either case. We sure earned it.

vogonpoet
06-18-2010, 06:42 PM
. You're perfectly justified in heaping some scorn of your own on the German national team, in either case. We sure earned it.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha, the Germans are losers na quadrat - they couldn't even beat a quality Serbian side with one more player. Pathetic.

/somehow this was lacking

fazisi
06-18-2010, 08:10 PM
I am just patiently waiting for October when the hockey season will start.

gut
06-18-2010, 08:30 PM
> I actually offended you or anyone else in this thread with my crazy talk

You offended me with your crazy talk.
Wait, am I to understand this so-called sport did just match
up a team of 10 players vs 11? If that is true, you should
all just admit it is a multi-nation farce more than sport.

vogonpoet
06-18-2010, 09:56 PM
Well I have seen some piss poor performances from the England team in the past, but this might just have been the worst I have ever seen them play. Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard, players quite well known in the premiership for you know, not being totally shit, were useless. Hell, England's best player before he was subbed off was Emile bloody Heskey - he might not score any goals, but at least he actually got involved.

England, you suck donkey balls.

Silfir
06-18-2010, 10:50 PM
Didn't watch that game due to being pissed at football. But yeah, that would probably have been terrible to watch.

Grey
06-19-2010, 01:15 AM
Sad thing was they got near the net enough times, but just could never seal the deal. Shameful performance.

However, being Irish, I don't mind too much :) I'm more upset about Germany's loss quite frankly - they performed so well with just 10 men! What a crazy bloody ref... Mind you, missing that penalty was just stupid. I thought the Germans were supposed to be good on the goal spot?

warheart
06-19-2010, 02:28 AM
I detect a hint of actual offendedness in that post

Oh, not at all, I apologize as well if I sounded offended or I offended anyone :P

I just can't stand him. Nothing to do with being spanish.

vogonpoet
06-19-2010, 07:28 AM
I'm more upset about Germany's loss quite frankly - they performed so well with just 10 men! What a crazy bloody ref... Mind you, missing that penalty was just stupid. I thought the Germans were supposed to be good on the goal spot?

Yeah, all bullshitting aside, the Germans played brilliantly once they went a man down... Will be interesting to see what happens in today's Ghana match - hoping for Germany and Serbia to progress, so I guess I want a Soceroo victory to nicely balance the group :)

Anyway, sorry if I failed to offend someone in this thread, off to Paris, catch you all later.

Silfir
06-19-2010, 02:20 PM
That would work. A draw would work too, if Serbia and Germany win their last matches. Though it's not all over for the Germany - Serbia combination if Ghana wins, Serbia just has to beat Australia by enough goals to overtake Ghana once they lose to Germany (who should be fine in any case thanks to the 4-0 against Australia, if they win the last match), leaving them on spot 3 with 6 points. Somehow I doubt the Australians will prove to be quite the punching balls they were against Germany though; they should have some fight left in them.

meh
06-19-2010, 11:06 PM
The England team visited an orphanage in Cape Town today. "It's heartbreaking to see their sad little faces with no hope" said Jamal aged 6. (shamelessly stolen from another forum of course).

Grey
06-21-2010, 12:46 AM
Hmm, South American teams are topping every group they're in. The top European teams have all been fairly unconvincing - only the Dutch have a good record, and they've had to struggle somewhat. All the dismal goings on in the French camp have made me happier and happier - it really couldn't go any worse for them.

pblack
06-23-2010, 02:07 AM
Well the french are done with the most horrible campaign ever... The irish probably feel like they've won the WC by now.

Silfir
06-23-2010, 02:26 AM
"Hah! By the pot of gold of the leprechaun St. Patrick, it was worth not playing to see the frog-eaters going up in flames and humiliating themselves in the eyes of the world! Now hand me another Guinness, I shall endeavour to get drunk and watch the English lose"

(I have no idea what Irish people are like)

Jack the Ripper
06-23-2010, 01:41 PM
. Mind you, missing that penalty was just stupid. I thought the Germans were supposed to be good on the goal spot?

Neah. They're just better than the English, which isn't really saying too much, given how England have exited most major tournaments they've recently been a part of :).

I for one think England is overrated, mainly by their own press. What makes that championship so good isn't the English players themselves, but the mixture between a quick game and the good technique and tactical awareness that pretty much arrived as the same time as the wave of foreign football players and coaches (Wenger, Houlier, Mouriinho and Benitez spring to mind, in that particular order)

Silfir
06-23-2010, 02:27 PM
Even the best penalty scoring team can and will eventually miss. It's not the most unusual thing to happen for a young player in such a critical situation.

England should console themselves with the fact that regardless of what happens, they won't self-immolate quite as badly as the French. (This is not a challenge.) That said, I'm rooting for Slovenia and the USA to make it.

gut
06-23-2010, 04:27 PM
you like underdogs then :)

I will be so embarrassed if the USA team beats my Braziliards.

Silfir
06-23-2010, 04:50 PM
You better prepare, since it looks like the USA will make it after all! In overtime no less.

I don't want to be Slovenian right now.

EDIT: It's done! The English finally returned to play worthy of their reputation, at least for most of the match, and the US gets their just reward after full three matches of sheer, unrelenting fighting spirit and having the win in the second match (against Slovenia) stolen by the referee.

Grey
06-23-2010, 06:50 PM
"Hah! By the pot of gold of the leprechaun St. Patrick, it was worth not playing to see the frog-eaters going up in flames and humiliating themselves in the eyes of the world! Now hand me another Guinness, I shall endeavour to get drunk and watch the English lose"

(I have no idea what Irish people are like)

A very admirable impression, I must admit...

I'm personally happy England managed to get through today. Now I get the pleasure of seeing them go against Germany on penalties :D

Silfir
06-23-2010, 10:41 PM
And the Germany - England match is now a reality!

In other news, apparently there is a Wimbledon match with two players tied 59-all in the fifth set, now going into its third day. What the fuck.

pblack
06-24-2010, 04:45 AM
And the Germany - England match is now a reality!

In other news, apparently there is a Wimbledon match with two players tied 59-all in the fifth set, now going into its third day. What the fuck.

yes... i was watching that. It's insane!

And Germany and England should be an incredibly interesting game to watch. Also, it's very likely that Brazil and Spain face each other as they are probably gonna be the the top classified teams in their respective groups. Another exciting match. I think Julio Cesar (Brazil's goal keeper) will be put to the test on this match since spain's strikers are among the very best in the world today.

but hey... BRASIL PORRAAAA!!! (that's br portuguese for HELL YEAH! BRAZIL! WOOOAAHH!!!!!)

Silfir
06-24-2010, 09:21 AM
For Brazil - Spain to happen, one of them needs to finish second in their respective group. That could happen (likeliness notwithstanding) to either of them; Brazil losing to Portugal, or Spain losing to Switzerland in goal difference (would require Switzerland to win against Honduras with enough goals to overtake Spain even if they beat Chile. Funnily enough, Switzerland - Honduras 2-0 and Spain - Chile 1-0 would result in Switzerland winning the group on equal goal difference, equal goals scored, because Switzerland beat Spain! Provided I understand the tiebreak rules correctly.)

If Switzerland beats Honduras 1-0 only while Spain beats Chile 1-0, they end up third because they lost to Chile - so to guarantee advancement they have to win at least 2-0. (Chile losing by more than one goal would also guarantee Switzerland's advancement.) 2-1 would be enough to provided Chile doesn't lose 1-2, 3-2 would be enough provided Chile doesn't lose 2-3 too. This group has some crazy maths!

This is what the teams must do:

The most important thing for Switzerland is to win, and the second most important is to score a lot of goals doing it to prevent a chance of losing to either Spain or Chile in goal difference and goals scored (as illustrated); winning by two goals guarantees it. Switzerland advances with a draw only if Chile beats Spain. Switzerland can advance with a loss, provided Chile beats Spain hard enough and they lose by only one goal; if they get beat by two goals Honduras sneaks past them. Also, the loss must contain at least one goal by Switzerland unless Spain loses by more than two goals: If Spain loses 0-2, Switzerland must lose 1-2, not 0-1 to advance (same goal difference, same goals scored, but Switzerland beat Spain).

Spain must beat Chile to ensure advancement. Spain can advance on a draw if Honduras beats or draws Switzerland. Spain can advance on a loss only if Honduras beats Switzerland. If Spain loses by three goals either Switzerland or Honduras will overtake them; if they lose by two goals Switzerland might overtake them by losing by only one goal against Honduras and scoring at least enough to achieve equality in goals scored, putting them in front thanks to them winning the duel. Even if Spain loses by only one goal, Honduras might totally beat the snot out of Switzerland and end up with enough goals to beat Spain in goal difference and/or goals scored.

Chile must draw Spain to guarantee advancement; of course winning is enough too. Chile will advance on a loss if Switzerland can't beat Honduras, or if they do beat Honduras but can't overtake Chile in goal difference and goals scored (as illustrated above). Spain will always overtake Chile if they win, so losing to Spain also means losing the first group spot, possibly facing Brazil.

Honduras has one chance to advance, and this is beating Switzerland by at least two goals. Spain also has to lose to Chile, and this hard enough for Honduras to overtake them in goal difference somehow; Honduras can improve their chances of this happening by winning even higher. It's guaranteed if they win by four goals; in that case they'll end up at a goal difference of +1, with Spain at least at 0 if they lose.

Silfir
06-24-2010, 09:50 AM
Group E, by comparison, is extremely simple, even though it appears so similar considering the points are also divided 6-3-3-0! The deciding difference, of course, is that here the 3-teams play each other.

Netherlands are through. They must draw Cameroon to ensure that they win the group; if they do lose, Japan or Denmark must somehow make up the goal difference to topple them from the first spot, in a combination, possibly, of winning hard enough and Netherlands losing hard enough.

Japan must draw or beat Denmark to advance. If they win high enough, they might take first spot. If they lose hard enough, they might drop to last place.

Denmark must beat Japan to advance. If they win high enough, they might take first spot. If they lose, they will drop to last place provided Cameroon beats Netherlands.

Cameroon is done. They can reach third place by beating Netherlands; they will only stay on fourth place even then if they don't manage to win by more than one goal, Denmark beats Japan by only one goal, and Japan manages to score at least as many goals as Cameroon in the process (Cameroon wins 1-0, Japan loses 1-2 -> Japan has third place).



Group F is mightily crazy thanks to the awesomeness that is New Zealand! Everything can happen here.

Paraguay advances if they beat or draw New Zealand. They may advance on a loss if Italy draws Slovakia, or if Slovakia wins against Italy but can't make up the goal difference; if Paraguay loses 0-1 they have to win 3-0, if Paraguay loses 1-2 they have to win 4-0 or 4-1 since Paraguay beat Slovakia.

New Zealand advances if they beat Paraguay. New Zealand may also advance on a draw, only if Italy also draws, provided New Zealand's draw has more goals than Italy's! This means that if Italy only manages a scoreless draw against Slovakia, New Zealand can advance with a third 1-1! This would be extremely hilarious and also knock out Italy, so that is by far my most favorite outcome. If Italy and New Zealand draw with equal goals scored, second place is decided by drawing lots. New Zealand cannot advance on a loss.

Italy advances if they beat Slovakia (they will overtake either New Zealand or Paraguay in this case), or if they draw Slovakia while New Zealand loses. Italy may also, just like New Zealand, advance on a draw; either their draw has more goals than New Zealand's, or it's equal and Italy wins the drawing of lots. Italy cannot advance on a loss either.

Slovakia advances if they beat Italy, provided New Zealand doesn't beat Paraguay, or if they do, beat them hard enough to help Slovakia make up the goal difference. They cannot advance on either a draw or loss.

Least favorite outcome of this group: Italy scores a third draw and advances on a New Zealand loss. It's funny if the plucky underdog advances without winning a single game, it's bloody shameful if the defender of the title does it.

I said everything can happen: Well, the only thing that can't happen is both Italy and Slovakia advancing. Everything else is possible.

Grey
06-24-2010, 10:24 AM
Yeah, I'm also hoping Italy drop out and the Kiwis advance. I'd hate to see Italy win the World Cup through horrible defensive play and diving again.

Silfir
06-24-2010, 10:40 AM
Quick Group G analysis:

Brazil is through. They win the group if the beat or draw Portugal. They finish second if they lose to Portugal.

Portugal must draw Brazil to guarantee advancement, but even if they lose, Côte d'Ivoire must inflict a thrashing similar to their 7-0 on North Korea. They are apart by 9 points goal difference, so if Portugal loses by one goal, Côte d'Ivoire must win by eight - and if Portugal loses, for instance, 2-3, even an 8-0 would only grant Côte d'Ivoire the chance to win by drawing of lots! If Portugal loses 3-4 an 8-0 would not be enough, it would have to be 9-0 (or 9-1, for drawing of lots). In other words, Portugal advancing on a loss is very, very likely.

Côte d'Ivoire must completely annihilate North Korea to have even the remotest chance to advance. And even something as mundane as Portugal holding the dispassionate and defensive Brazil side to a draw will render all their efforts for naught.

North Korea cannot achieve more than third place in the group for which they'd have to beat Côte d'Ivoire. What will happen to this team now that they have angered their Dictator, no one knows. They might play their greatest football yet for fear of the salt mines (maybe one last win for propaganga at home will save their asses), or they might collapse completely. In the latter case, who knows what will happen? Maybe that 7-0 ends up too low after all...

I'm a bit torn now. Do I watch the tennis epic that is Isner - Mahut? Yes, of course, it starts at 15:30 my time and I already missed far too much. But if it doesn't end before 16:00, do I switch to Group F to cheer on New Zealand, or watch the two heroes to the end, whenever that may be?

I'm really afraid that the organizing body of Wimbledon (whoever that is) gets crazy ideas for next year. "Matches like this disrupt our tournament schedule, we must prevent that from happening by introducing tiebreaks to the last set". DON'T! Completely crazy, off-the-chart stuff like this is part of what makes sports so awesome!

Silfir
06-24-2010, 05:05 PM
And that was one of the most exciting finishes yet! The way Italy played after the 2-0 you could only ask yourself "Why did it take two matches and sixty minutes to start playing football?" Playing like that they could have easily beaten everyone in their group! (Boo points for assaulting the Slovakian keeper in his own goal. The referee's decision was fair; the Slovakian keeper did punch that Italian player but the way they heckled him that was closing in on self defense.)

A thrilling fight to the end, with the luckier finish for a thrilling Slovakia, who contrary to Serbia did not take the 1-0 lead as an excuse to stop attacking.

New Zealand manages to finish the World Championship without conceding a single loss and placed ahead of future former World Champion Italy, yet sadly it wasn't enough to see them to the second round.

nathrakh
06-25-2010, 08:39 AM
I'm rooting for Japan! They played very well yesterday. Amazing team play and they all run and work like maniacs. Their skill level may not be as high as other teams but I wish them great success.. getting to top 16 already is.. anyway.

grobblewobble
06-25-2010, 11:59 AM
North Korea cannot achieve more than third place in the group for which they'd have to beat C?te d'Ivoire. What will happen to this team now that they have angered their Dictator, no one knows.

Converted to dog food?

Angelus
06-27-2010, 02:56 PM
Torres almost ruined the goal by diving just before it. Can't coaches tell players not to dive? Is winning so important that you need to do shit like that to win?

pblack
06-28-2010, 02:59 AM
cmon! Germany and England!!! What a game!


Cmon Silfir and Grey... fight!

gut
06-29-2010, 05:46 PM
so is this thing over, or is everybody finaly too drunk
to play more?

The Metro Gnome
06-29-2010, 07:03 PM
I'd say too drunk. But isn't England and Germany like, rivals or something?

vogonpoet
06-29-2010, 08:35 PM
It continues. Sadly, on the day I returned from paris I got a pretty horrible cold/flu type thingy, and as soon as I get home from a miserable day at work, I am falling instantly asleep... will now hope to catch second half of Portugal-Spain before crashing again.

Bleueargh.

Before the restart, I will say, Germany clearly deserved their win, even though the game may very well have been different in the second half with the scores at 2-2 - Englands defense, apart from being moloch-slow, were incredibly naive over and over again, and the teams failure to score in the second half of a football match for 10 games now or whatever the number is, just highlights how poor they are on the attack.

/reaches for tissues
/not shedding tears :)

Silfir
06-29-2010, 09:03 PM
I had some serious fun watching that game, but I didn't want to post in here just to gloat.

I don't think England were as bad as the British tabloids are starting to make them. Okay, they were harmless right up until the second German goal. Then they equalized, with decent effort and attacking skill, against a German team which wasn't that good at defense either, Manuel Neuer or not. They were back in the game - they should have been back in the game at half time. And it's not like they just stopped playing. They kept attacking, they almost scored a couple of times. From the second English goal that didn't count up until the 3-1 by Mueller, I was really afraid it would be close in the end. Had they shown that level of play during the group stages I don't think the complaining would've been quite as bad - more importantly, they would have played Ghana instead.

But after that 3-1 and especially that 4-1, it was over. What fight there was in England - and there was some! - was broken at that point.

Neither team had a particularly great defense, but England's was worse, and less able to deal with German offensive play (a joy to watch!) by a fair bit than the German defense was able to deal with England's offense (not particularly well; defense is the weak point of our team). I think we would still have won even without that denied goal, but we cannot know, just like we cannot know whether England would still have won the World Cup without the Wembley Goal (although, to be fair, that one wasn't nearly as egregious. How could our referees have actually become worse throughout all this time? The tournament so far has been a disgrace). The game would've definitely been much more epic than it turned out to be!

_Ln_
06-29-2010, 09:43 PM
*sheds some tears for Portugal and Japan*

Heck, 4 teams I was counting to win in 1/8s lost. I'm starting to feel responsible for something.

Grey
06-30-2010, 12:24 AM
Well Portugal rather deserved to go out. After their amazing string of goals against North Korea I had started counting them as one of the attacking sides. Today they were just pathetic. Go Spain!

I've got the feeling though that Germany vs Argentina will be the most exciting match of the competition. Both teams have amazing strikers and midfielders, lots of speed and skill, but somewhat mediocre defense. It could easily go 4-4 :)

vogonpoet
06-30-2010, 01:45 PM
Yeah should be a very good game... my predictions for the QFs:

* NED 1 - 2 BRA
* URU 1 - 0 GHA
* ARG 2 - 4 GER
* PAR 0 - 2 ESP

Brazil looked pretty sharp against Chile, and its about time the Dutch cracked... probably be a close game.
I can't see Ghana scoring against Uruguay, and if Spain play as patiently and well as they did against Portugal, they should beat Paraguay without too much difficulty. The Argentina - Germany game is kinda impossible to predict, but I reckon for all of Messi's brilliance, Germany will prove more robust than Argentina on the night - anything less than 5 goals in total will be a disappointment for this game.

pblack
07-02-2010, 05:07 PM
what a weird and sad game for brazil today.

Amazing first half and then a mistake from the so called "best goal keeper in the world" took the game into a whole new direction. The dutch deserved to win this one and i'm rooting for them now, it's about time they win a WC.

grobblewobble
07-02-2010, 05:14 PM
I had never expected my country to defeat Brasil. I hate to admit it, but I'm actually starting to get interested in the cup. :o

gut
07-02-2010, 06:06 PM
wait, my brazilliards lost?
Grrr. I now cheer for whoever defeats the dutchies.

Grey
07-02-2010, 06:28 PM
The Netherlands have a very clear run to the final now. They've not been 100% convincing in any match though - I think they'll be this years runners up (likely to Spain).

Damn I love the World Cup. This year especially is much more exciting than the last one :)

Silfir
07-02-2010, 08:20 PM
I can't see Ghana scoring against Uruguay

Isn't it great that no one can ever predict what happens in a football match?

Grey
07-02-2010, 10:56 PM
That was so tense - I feel really bad for Ghana. They played better overall, and absolutely deserved the goal that was blocked. Bah... Oh well, at least the Netherlands should knock out Uruguay with some ease (well, so I say - kinda hard to predict with any degree of accuracy).

pblack
07-02-2010, 11:14 PM
absolutely fantastic match between uruguay and ghana. Most exciting game so far and I doubt that even the final will be this intense...

Silfir
07-02-2010, 11:39 PM
The way it ended was just cruel for Ghana, but that one hand penalty is what you get - you miss it, it's gone! I'm sympathetic towards Uruguay too (such a tiny nation with such rich football history!), but an African team reaching the semifinals for the first time in history would've fit so well. Now the entire continent is left rooting for whoever plays against Uruguay.

grobblewobble
07-03-2010, 04:50 PM
I've got the feeling though that Germany vs Argentina will be the most exciting match of the competition. [..] It could easily go 4-4 :)

Hehe. Not exactly. The German team is awesome this year. I think they're going to win.

pblack
07-03-2010, 05:20 PM
and Germany did it again. Just beautiful.

As a brazilian i have to be happy that argentina lost. and by 4x0. =P

Maradona sucks, yey germany. I think the final will be netherlands x germany. Spain is going to beat paraguay but they are not a match for the precise machine that is the german team this year.

I think this German team plays the best soccer i've ever seen in my lifetime. I wasn't alive when Pele played but I still don't think that even the magical 1970 brazil had this much precision and teamwork.

Grey
07-03-2010, 05:55 PM
Hehe. Not exactly. The German team is awesome this year. I think they're going to win.

Well, I was 50% right ;)

Germany look utterly unbeatable now. They are so incredibly well-organised, with such strength in defense and amazing speed and skill in offense. I don't see how either Spain or the Netherlands can hope to challenge them.

But, of course, predictions are only worth so much. We'll have to see which team truly is... The Weakest Link... (oh, wait, wrong tournament...)

Silfir
07-03-2010, 08:03 PM
When I think back to our last World Cup Final in 2002, in which we barely beat illustrious forces of football such as the US, South Korea or Paraguay to get our asses handed to us by a superior Brazil, based mostly on a brilliant Kahn to keep the clean slate and a superb Ballack to hit the one free kick during most of the KO round... We've come such a long way. I thought Germany was great in 2006, and I thought they were even a little better in 2008 - but this? It looks like orders of magnitude compared to even two years before. It was the best German team I have ever seen. In 2008, I didn't believe in Germany winning during the entire final against Spain, despite only one goal down, since Spain was so clearly superior and our attacking efforts so feeble, but this time I honestly think there is no team we can't beat, if we play like we did today.

We could even actually, like for reals really, win the World Cup. And for my generation, which hasn't really witnessed the 1996 Euro championship, but instead seen all too well the 1998 exit 3-0 versus Croatia and the dreadful group stage exits in both Euro 2000 and 2004, which has vivid memories of 1-5 beatdowns against both England and Romania, and at one time having to struggle for a last minute 2-1 victory over the friggin'Faroe Islands, this is so much sweeter. This must have been how people felt in the 70s, when players the level of Beckenbauer, Mueller, Netzer dominated. And lookie - we've got a new Mueller too!

Now whether we face Spain or Paraguay, I'm confident we can reach the finals. Exacting revenge over Spain for the Euro 2008 defeat would be great in any case. We don't have Mueller this time, but we've got a team, and in this WC that seems to make all the difference.

EDIT: I should add that I am much more afraid of Spain than I really was of Argentina or Brazil: Spain has actually went behind, even lost once in this WC. This means they should be better able to deal with it happening than Argentina or Brazil.

zasvid
07-03-2010, 10:10 PM
Noooo! Germany have had enough world cup victories, time for someone new, fresh and non-German (I am Polish, so I might be a bit prejudiced in that regard ;) ). I think that it is entirely possible that the German machine will be stopped - they have to get past Spain without Mueller and even if they do, they have already shown that they are beatable, while Netherlands is unbeatable so far and has shown against Brazil that even knocked down they will get up and knock the opposing team out.

However, if Germany were to win the competition, it would be a well-deserved victory after beating England, Argentina, Australia (which dominated Asian WC qualifications), Ghana, Spain and possibly Netherlands.

pblack
07-03-2010, 10:41 PM
I gotta say that Paraguay showed incredible passion today. I actually believed that the game was over on the first penalty and Paraguay was going to beat spain. But the game didn't end there and it became one incredible battle until the end. Congratulations are due to Paraguay.... the hardest match for spain so far.

Right now, i think i would only be disappointed if spain won the title. I just... well.. i just don't like their football.

Silfir
07-04-2010, 12:00 AM
Oh and this!

Not only do I get a real kick out of watching our games, now there are people all over the world who are actually saying they enjoy watching us play

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN

grobblewobble
07-05-2010, 12:28 AM
*bump*

The world cup is much more fun than global warming.

Some predictions (all utterly unfounded of course)

Ger - Spa 3 - 1
Net - Ur 1 - 0 (I know my national team, they will rarely score more goals than strictly necessary to win :p)
Ger - Net 4 - 2

vogonpoet
07-05-2010, 07:14 AM
*returns late to thread*

Well, first things first - Gyan's second penalty in the Uruguay Ghana match was perhaps the bravest thing I have ever seen on or in a sporting arena, and very well taken it was too, but damn - should have scored the first one... especially seeing as it turns out the rest of his team mates suck at penalties... truly incredible game, Ghana didn't really deserve what happened, Suarez is now a massive hero or villain, crazy shit :)

Second - the Germany game - missed it, at a wedding, had to settle for reading the live feed on the bbc site on my phone - torture, and subsequent replays... I think this cup is Germany's to loose quite frankly. Both Spain and het Nederlands are clearly capable of beating Germany, but I don't see it happening... a Germany Netherlands final would be awesome though :)

Bring on the semi's (prediction - the Dutch and the Germans to go through, no extra time required).

gut
07-05-2010, 10:31 PM
you went to a wedding instead of watching the game?
And you call yourself a fan. I hope it was your wedding,
that's the only acceptable excuse, and even then, just
barely.

vogonpoet
07-06-2010, 09:38 PM
Someone else's I am afraid.

So, good game from the Dutch - I would like them a bit more if they cut out some of the diving, but fair play to them, some nice goals scored... could they actually win themselves a World Cup?

Silfir
07-06-2010, 10:06 PM
That was a good game from them? The Uruguayos ran nearly twice as much. There was a good case for offside on that second goal too.

I'm not particularly impressed. Whoever reaches the final, it will be far from impossible to beat this Dutch team.

(And now that I've posted this, Germany will beat Spain to qualify for the final only to get utterly smashed. What have I done?!)

Grey
07-06-2010, 10:41 PM
Only the first Dutch goal was impressive (what a strike!) and Paraguay had a tasty response from Forlan later on (even if it was half the keeper's fault it went in). I could easily see Spain or Germany winning this final with ease. Still, it's shown once again that by hook or by crook Holland win matches. When was the last time they even drew a game...?

grobblewobble
07-06-2010, 11:30 PM
(I know my national team, they will rarely score more goals than strictly necessary to win :p)

:D

However, after seeing Germany crush Argentina, I am not expecting the Dutch to win the cup. Then again, it is hard to make predictions, especially about the future.

vogonpoet
07-07-2010, 07:21 AM
Yeah, good. They won a world cup semifinal with three goals from open play. How is that not good? You all note that good is not fantastic, brilliant, fear inspiring, intimidating, dare I say it, awesome.

So a good game for the Dutch.

Luckily for neutrals, if the Dutch play like that again in the final, they should be soundly beaten by Spain, or hopefully Germany.

/good is almost as lame as nice

grobblewobble
07-07-2010, 09:28 AM
Sorry, Silfir. An octopus has predicted that Spain will win. Germany is doomed.

http://www.football.co.uk/blogs/5015/931107.shtml

Silfir
07-07-2010, 11:13 AM
You know our opponent the one time Paul was wrong?

Euro 2008 Final: Spain.

Maybe he just confused the two? Oracles can make mistakes, after all, even if they can see the future.

Silfir
07-07-2010, 08:30 PM
HALFTIME VERDICT:

Spain does what Spain does best and you can't help but admire their play. Germany gets to show off some pretty decent defending overall and has created some dangerous chances.

This could go either way. Either the German defense cracks, or they manage to plow through the Spain defense just once (which hasn't yet had a chance to really shine at their job). And after that, the game has the potential to get even more heart-rending. I can definitely see extra time happening too.

Silfir
07-07-2010, 09:20 PM
Screw you Paul.

Oh well. It wasn't a shame to lose to such a brilliant team. Would definitely rather have Spain take the cup now.

Grey
07-07-2010, 09:44 PM
I can't see how the Netherlands could possibly face up to the Spanish team after that display. They can only hope for a noble loss... I'll enjoy seeing them get slaughtered :)

Nice that we'll have a completely new World Cup winner this year. And the fact that neither team have ever faced each other in a professional tournament should add some interest to the final.

vogonpoet
07-07-2010, 09:49 PM
Nice that we'll have a completely new World Cup winner this year.

Indeed, very cool.

None the less, damnit Germany, grrr.

Spain look like they should demolish the rather fragile Dutch...

pblack
07-07-2010, 11:55 PM
It will be two teams fighting to the last minute. Should be an outstanding game.

gut
07-11-2010, 01:20 PM
So, is it over?

moomoo
07-11-2010, 01:35 PM
So, is it over?

No, not yet. Today is the finals.

Spain vs Netherlands.

gut
07-12-2010, 01:37 AM
I'll be for Spain then. I'm still mourning the loss of my
beloved Brazilliards, but they shall be avenged!

vogonpoet
07-12-2010, 07:17 AM
It's done.

Good atmosphere during the game, watched at the EXIT reggae stage along with a huge number of Dutch guys, and a smaller but vocal Spanish crowd, as well as the usual contingent of Brits and Serbs.

For me, the best team of the tournament won - which is actually pretty rare, so its all good.

Albahan
07-12-2010, 07:36 AM
Yeah I watched it at some pizza/wings place.. Funny to hear all the OHHHH or NOOO's. Both teams had more than their fair share of fouls/yellow cards. Would have liked to have seen the underdog win it or even a shoot out but meh, Spain deserved it for sure.

vogonpoet
07-12-2010, 08:28 AM
Yeah, I am not sure I have ever seen so many yellow cards in a match... lots of very poor tackling, and one karate kick Cantona would have been proud of - hard to tell who was luckier, De Jong for not getting sent off, or Alonso for not apparently breaking any ribs.

Silfir
07-12-2010, 09:34 AM
And you couldn't accuse the ref of trigger-happiness either. If anything, he was lenient. Iniesta for instance didn't get carded at all for a revenge foul, a red card offence (he later got booked for taking off his shirt after the goal). I guess he figured the way the teams were already beating up on each other the Netherlands shouldn't complain about getting one little revenge foul (looking at you, de Jong).

I find it utterly hilarious that some Dutch players after the match had the gall to be pissed at the referee because one goal kick should have been a corner kick. You should have had 8 guys on the field by the end of the match and Spain should have been one up after a penalty. I was really disappointed, at times, with the sportsmanship the Dutch displayed, so I was definitely rooting for Spain (the fact that it allows us to claim "second best team of the tournament", after a fashion, figured in that too, of course).

vogonpoet
07-12-2010, 11:30 AM
Yeah, any Dutch dudes complaining about the refereeing should be thankful their team were not down to 9 men before half time. No one really wants to see the World Cup final decided because one team go a man down, but van Bommel and de Jong could easily been sent off by Webb, who did a pretty good job considering the Dutch hack and slash approach.

And much as he is brilliant footballer, Robben is a whiny bitch.

I wanted to like Holland this year, but their attitude had already turned me off in the semis, and the final was worse.

Sure, Spain did some diving as well, but most of the time they hit the deck it was a cos of horrendous fouls, so yeah complaining Dutch dudes, shut up :)

Grey
07-12-2010, 04:40 PM
Was painful to watch really. Not an enjoyable final, though at least the best team won. Such a contrast to the Germany game which had zero cards... And such a shameful performance by the Dutch, who have some players of great talent. I checked at the end of the match - only 2 of the Holland side made it through the whole game without a card, and one of those was the keeper.

Oh, and Torres is still a twat. He should never have been brought on. Good job for the rest of the Spain squad though.