Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Nuclear1 on June 11, 2010, 08:46:00 am
-
Alright, it starts.
First few games:
South Africa v Mexico 1-1
Uruguay v France 0-0
South Korea v Greece 2-0
Argentina v Nigeria 1-0
England v USA 1-1
Algeria v Slovenia 0-1
Serbia v Ghana 0-1
Germany v Australia 4-0
That's just for this weekend.
-
Eh, I'm obliged to support Australia. :cool:
-
I will support anyone who kicks the ****e out of France, those cheating bastards shouldnt be there.
Also whoever beats England, gets my vote :)
Im up for Spain!! :) ;)
-
Go, Brazil, go!
Eh, I'm obliged to support Australia. :cool:
I don't know this feeling. My country has never qualified for any international tournament since 1986. :P
-
Argentina will take this one home :nod: ... first on the list: Nigeria.
-
First match: South Africa vs. Mexico 1-1
-
I will support anyone who kicks the ****e out of France, those cheating bastards shouldnt be there.
Also whoever beats England, gets my vote :)
Im up for Spain!! :) ;)
I'm drunk. You insulted England. And you should have been banned for your Karahater stunt. **** you, take the month off, see you after the world cup is over you stupid wanker.
Call it a retroactive banning. I gave you a chance to prove yourself to not be an idiot and you failed. :p
-
What the? :lol:
-
I'm making a special exception to my usual leniency for Tesla. I let him get away with
1) Registering an Alt Nick
2) Using it to flame a board member (i.e me)
3) Being stupid enough to forget that I am an admin
4) Being stupid enough to forget that I live in China and that it's not hard to figure out who an alt-nick belongs to when you're in a country that doesn't give a **** about hacking.
The rest of you can insult England all you like. I'm not intending to pick on you for that.
Well not until we lose and I'm pissed off at least. :p
-
Yeah Algeria!
also, Yeah Greece!
too bad i don't care about soccer(football)
If they end up playing each other (unlikely) It will at least be amusing since my mom and dad will probably both be yelling at whichever TV they are watching on.
-
First match: South Africa vs. Mexico 1-1
Yeah, I spent ages wondering why the **** that goal was declared offside until I pulled up the BBC site on my phone and it made it clear. Bloody Chinese commentators, I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss John Motson.
-
The rest of you can insult England all you like. I'm not intending to pick on you for that.
Well not until we lose and I'm pissed off at least. :p
So when I'm drunk tomorrow and screaming USA USA at the tv...I'll just remember how much you're not gonna like it :p
-
USA! USA!
-
USA! USA!
(Not that I really give a flying **** about "football", but since everyone else's nationalism comes out during the World Cup...)
-
First match: South Africa vs. Mexico 1-1
Yeah, I spent ages wondering why the **** that goal was declared offside until I pulled up the BBC site on my phone and it made it clear. Bloody Chinese commentators, I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss John Motson.
Why? What did the Chinese commentator say? There weren't two players ahead of the striker, only one defender. The goalkeeper was behind him.
-
We have a soccer team and there in the world cup? Lean something new everyday.
-
@Topace. My Chinese nowhere near good enough to understand football commentary. So we were just mystified as to why the goal was disallowed.
Once we'd heard the reason in English it was pretty obvious.
-
Damn Mexico, you need to turn it on if you wanna get out of this round. Props to Uruguay and their valiant 10-man stand for guay rights.
USA!
Straight outa suburbia!
Throwin that house money down! :D
-
i vote algeria b/c they grow watermelons right out of SAND
-
You don't stand a chance in the world cup.
(http://www.anbg.gov.au/images/flags/st-georges-cross.gif)
Good luck on our England VS USA game which starts ANY MINUTE though :nod:
-
:yes:
-
Bah. :p Time for some revenge for you limeys spilling oil all over our coast :D
(http://intize.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/dbi_flag_usa.gif)
USA!
-
1-0 to
US(us could be misconstrued) England after <4 mins?
:wakka:
Remove your stars and stripes :p
-
It's early :p
And I'll keep my stars and stripes thankyouverymuch. :p
-
You're welcome:p
And.... it is a bit early for G O A L S! :D
-
Engluuuuund
(http://1.2.3.12/bmi/www.anbg.gov.au/images/flags/st-georges-cross.gif)
-
Ball possession at 30 mins: ENG 41 - US 59
So much for statistics. :D
-
1-1 now. :D
-
CNN just had a shot of a live report and USA scored to tie it up.
-
NOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
We must kill our goalie.
(http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/tonyblog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/teamamerica_1024.jpg)
Team america score :)
-
Turn on either ABC or ESPN. They're broadcasting live.
-
I'm watching ITV on one telly and the queens Jubilee on bbc on another.
/me salutes
-
I don't think I'll ever understand this game. I couldn't even keep my attention fixed on it beyond the first 25 minutes. :p Guess it's good that it's tied, though.
-
yall might want to do something about Green :lol:
-
/me loves Tim Howard
-
What happened to Johnson? Was he kicked somewhere?
-
He had a brush with Dempsey a while back.
-
You can keep your stars and stripes. :D
-
1-1...great game on both ends though. :yes:
-
Well, as you can tell by the other thread...USA vs England is a draw...1-1.
-
:p
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
:hopping: :mad: :hopping: :mad: :no:
Well played tyhough..........
Karajormas also Drunk :lol:
-
1-1...great game on both ends though. :yes:
I can't really agree with that. England was playing kinda sloppy, waving their arms around over their head when trying to header, kicking just for the sake of kicking the ball and getting it taken away, and of course the incredible balls-up by the goalie. The American team wasn't quite as good (I admit it's an incremental difference, but you didn't see the English getting their passes intercepted), but they played a tighter game.
-
Oh yeah well
REDACTED
-
USA USA USA!
**** you Rooney
**** you Beckham and your stank face
**** you Lampard, Gerrard, Crouch
Thank you Greene you arrogant cock :D
-
Tim Tim tim Timeny, tim Tim tim timeny, Tim tim Teroo... we have Tim howard and he says **** YOU :D
-
VZZZZTTTTBBRRRRBBRRBBBZZZZZZZZBZBZZZZZBBZZZZ x 90min
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2aiqzys.gif)
Discuss.
-
who's that getting pwnd by Goonswarm?
-
i still miss brad friedel, but i'm sold on howard.
.... i could do better though. :p ;7
-
I love it.
-
it would be the funniest thing in the world if we won the world cup.
-
I think Spain can win this.
-
I'm still hoping for a match between North and South Korea. :p
-
One of them would pull a gun, then lie about it.
-
Maybe we should let NK win so none of their players are executed.
-
They knew the risks when they signed up, just like the contractors on the second Death Star.
-
Maybe we should let NK win so none of their players are executed.
Or invent a team sport with several hundred thousand players and make them wipe out their own army. :p
-
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:01GVy0qR8Bj9EM:http://tizona.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/australian-flag.jpg)
Only time I care about Soccer :D
Here we go!
EDIT - Well we won the anthems anyway.
-
Pretty ordinary 1st half, aussies haven't looked dangerous in front of goal more than once or twice. Nice and physical though (by soccer standards), really stick it to some euro pretty boys. :)
-
That physicality must be because of all that rugby you guys play.
-
South Korea - Greece was a good physical match with minimal diving/whining. And yeah, the aussies definitely won the anthems :D
-
The referee is with the Germans, too.
-
Well, that wasn't worth waiting up for...
-
the only thing the ref got wrong was the red card.
-
Several facebook posts in quick succession tell me that Germany beat Australia 4-0. Confirmation?
-
Just google World Cup.
-
Too lazy. And TvTropes.
-
Ouch, it's confirmed. Didn't have a chance to see the match, what happened out there? I've never heard of Australia getting schooled like that.
-
Germany were just plain better, and were lucky in getting a goal fairly early. If they hadn't, I think Australia might've done a lot better, but the goal seemed to pretty much ruin their game plan. And then there was the red card to a Australia after Germany had made it 2-0, and that was pretty much that for any chance the Aussies might've had.
-
Ouch, it's confirmed. Didn't have a chance to see the match, what happened out there? I've never heard of Australia getting schooled like that.
Argh, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
-
the aussie keeper wasn't doing too hot. none can really be faulted to him directly, but he couldv'e done more. he really wasn't taking charge and standing tall, looked rather uncomfortable. i think that first goal he knew he could have stopped and that shook him loose.
-
What were some of our best players doing on the bench the whole 90 minutes? Failed experiment, if you ask me.
-
I figure they knew they weren't going to who with the traditional line up, so they took a punt on something unconventional and chose not to risk Kewell and Bresciano, keep them fresh for the games we could win. Big risk though, a single draw a
nd we're certain to be out on goal difference, and now we have on Tim Cahil for Ghana. Gonna be a tough ask.
-
First own goal on Netherlands-Denmark.
-
So, are the African horns deafening them yet?
-
YEAH ! 4:0 against Australia !!!!
I am german, enjoyed this really much.
In the morning a local radio station said someone from down under sent them a mail, said we would have "public loosing" in the evening, not "public viewing".
Well..... ;7 :p :p :p :p :p
Actually I though the rather young german team would have difficulties to find into the game against a solid aussie-defense, but apparently coach Yoachim Löw prepared them very well.
Surprisingly good german team, the red card was exaggerated ( yellow would have been OK ), maybe the referee was still under the impression of the very harsh australian play preceding this incident. ( when they started to loose, they went against the german players, no longer the ball )
Klose ( who made the second goal ) STILL sucks, he failed at another 100% chance and gave away a few more. ( This guy just doesnt have what it takes, not any longer ) He is good with his head but doesnt know ho to use his feet.
And we dont want to see GOMEZ. Always seems to ruin whatever he does.
We are anxious for the Game against Ghana.
Eventually two brothers will meet on the field. PRINCE BOATENG plays for ghana, ( the one who injured MICHAEL BALLACK so he couldn't participate in the world cup ) while his brother plays for germany. And the two don't like each other anyway. :)
-
Brazil is winning narrowly against North Korea. I don't know whether I should be disappointed with Brazil or commend the North Korean defensive line.
-
You got two now from Brazil, don't be dissapointed... football is like that.
-
It's hopeless.
And here I thought DPRK was in with a chance. :(
-
The match is over, and something funny:
The 8 from North Korea scored at 86mins or so, they had a chance to at least even the scores but instead of grabbing the ball and returning to the midfield the guy just went running like halfway the field to greet some guy on the bench :p
-
We lost. :(
-
The match is over, and something funny:
The 8 from North Korea scored at 86mins or so, they had a chance to at least even the scores but instead of grabbing the ball and returning to the midfield the guy just went running like halfway the field to greet some guy on the bench :p
disrespecting superiors probably gets you killed faster than loosing football matches :p
-
To be fair, a 2-1 defeat against Brazil isn't that bad a score for NK. Maybe we should threaten to execute the England team if they don't qualify. :p
-
Of course it's a good score for North Korea. That's why I feel disappointed with Brazil. It's as much as Brazil's defeat as much it's Korea's merit. I admit that their defense was rock-solid, but that goal they scored to Brazil came somewhat suddenly. I'm not sure that this Brazilian defense will be sufficient against a more offense-oriented team.
-
Of course it's a good score for North Korea. That's why I feel disappointed with Brazil. It's as much as Brazil's defeat as much it's Korea's merit. I admit that their defense was rock-solid, but that goal they scored to Brazil came somewhat suddenly. I'm not sure that this Brazilian defense will be sufficient against a more offense-oriented team.
Don't forget that a more offense-oriented team will be in greater trouble against the Brazilian attackers.
Note: Spain-Switzerland 12. min, 0-0.
-
Seen the Swiss surprise?
-
Seen the Swiss surprise?
Indeed I did, it screwed up my bet that Spain scores 9 points in the group stage. :mad:
-
Korea - Argentina is now finished, next on the line: Greece :nod:
-
Bro' says Nigeria will win 2-0.
-
Bro' says Nigeria will win 2-0.
Bro was a bit off there :P Round 3 will definitely be interesting. What are your tips for the night game? I'll go with the "surprising" Mexican victory.
-
Poor France...
-
Yeah, they were pretty poor in that match.
-
The U.S. has already been offed a long time ago, right?
-
Yeah, they were pretty poor in that match.
And in the one before, and before against China and before against Tunisia... Domenech essentially ruined this team, people.
-
The U.S. has already been offed a long time ago, right?
They'll play tomorrow (according to GMT +2, SA standard time).
-
We're not dead?
*Cue "Bring out your dead/I'm not dead!" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail*
-
No, we tied England 1-1 in our only match so far. If we don't advance out of group I'll be surprised.
-
We're not dead?
*Cue "Bring out your dead/I'm not dead!" scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail*
Given that you drew 1-1 with the UK not only are you still in it, depending on how the other two games go you have a fair chance of winning the group.
-
I'm shocked, since soccer is not our thing at all, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be knocked out after our second game.
On the other hand, if the world were to play football with us (yes, football :P), we'd demolish everyone with all our 300 pound linebackers from Alabama and Louisiana.
-
¡Mexico!
Too bad Mexi & Uruguay no longer have much incentive to take risks in their final game...
-
I'm shocked, since soccer is not our thing at all, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be knocked out after our second game.
On the other hand, if the world were to play football with us (yes, football :P), we'd demolish everyone with all our 300 pound linebackers from Alabama and Louisiana.
you haven't been keeping up. the US hasn't been a pushover in soccer in a long time. and of course we'd destroy in AMERICAN football, it's not an international sport.
-
And our overseas bretheren (the Aussies and the Brits) would totally own us at such bizzarre and peculiar sports such as Cricket...
-
You're really missing out, you know. Beach Cricket is quite fun. :cool:
-
I'm not knocking it, I've just never had the sport properly explained.
-
i don't think there IS a proper explaination for cricket. someone tried once with me.
-
Well I'm of Sri Lankan descent and I don't *fully* understand the game... Though I can play. :pimp:
-
I'm shocked, since soccer is not our thing at all, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be knocked out after our second game.
Given that we're in the heats and they drew their last game, USA can't actually be knocked out in this game no matter how badly they do. No matter what happens it will be the 3rd game that decides the outcome for the USA. (unless there's some really weird set of circumstances I haven't considered).
-
And our overseas bretheren (the Aussies and the Brits) would totally own us at such bizzarre and peculiar sports such as Cricket...
I was always under the impression that baseball was just a ripoff of cricket.
-
baseball certainly has its roots in cricket, but from as much as i understand, quite different. more different than say, rugby and american football.
-
¡Mexico!
Too bad Mexi & Uruguay no longer have much incentive to take risks in their final game...
Sure? They might want to avoid Argentina.
-
I'm shocked, since soccer is not our thing at all, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be knocked out after our second game.
Given that we're in the heats and they drew their last game, USA can't actually be knocked out in this game no matter how badly they do. No matter what happens it will be the 3rd game that decides the outcome for the USA. (unless there's some really weird set of circumstances I haven't considered).
Have you considered Serbia beating them? That's the case now.
-
Howard what the ****?!?
And will someone up front SHOOT the goddamn ball?
-
Urgh. ****ing Serbia. I think we now have to win both of our next two games to move on, or draw one and absolutely smash the other one, to advance on goal difference. I reckon the Socceroos might becoming home early. :(
-
US 2 - 2 Slovenia, and it's not over yet.
-
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand draw.
-
So do you think the ref was paid off or he's just really really **** at his job? That was absolutely horrible. Bad calls all day but not game-changers, but then the disallowed goal. We need video review in soccer.
-
Man Germany lost.....
-
Referees were quite card-happy today, it seems.
-
Wow, bad calls all around today. Hopefully at least England-Algeria will be well officiated.
¡Mexico!
Too bad Mexi & Uruguay no longer have much incentive to take risks in their final game...
Sure? They might want to avoid Argentina.
Well no doubt they will both still try to win, but at this point for both teams it seems much more important simply not to lose, not to have players sent off or injured, etc. Granted I'm not exactly steeped in soccer knowledge here :)
-
I cannot believe we got robbed of that goal. A US win would have made my week.
-
¡Mexico!
Too bad Mexi & Uruguay no longer have much incentive to take risks in their final game...
Sure? They might want to avoid Argentina.
Yes... avoid us please.
I would like Arg to face Uruguay rather than Mexico, those Mexicans hate us a lot (don't ask me why, I don't know).
-
What's wrong with England?
England 0 - 0 Algeria
-
"I am very disappointed and one thing I do not like is to be disappointed!"
(http://robotballoon.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/fifthelement149.jpg)
I am very disappointed with that result! :no:
Capello needs to put a Capellan Sun underneath their backsides!!!!!!!! :mad:
-
I cannot believe we got robbed of that goal. A US win would have made my week.
Same thing happened against Italy in 2006.
-
I'm not much into Football, but it seems the WC is not only decided by how the teams play, but also how the referees decide.
To give Klose a yellow and a red card for something that even the other involved player didn't saw as a foul ( he said that he stumbled before Klose touched him ) is quite tough.
I was surprised by most of the Teams performances, and not in a positive way.
What is a positive surprise was the performance of the US team.
-
¡Mexico!
Too bad Mexi & Uruguay no longer have much incentive to take risks in their final game...
Sure? They might want to avoid Argentina.
Yes... avoid us please.
I would like Arg to face Uruguay rather than Mexico, those Mexicans hate us a lot (don't ask me why, I don't know).
They hate you :p . I have many Mexican friends. All the Mexicans I've dealt with so far are generally very cultured and educated persons, with an amazing sense of humour.
Now, they don't like us in soccer because of the following historical precedents:
| | Won | Draw | Lost |
| Argentina | 8 | 9 | 4 |
| México | 4 | 9 | 8 |
Source: http://www.senorgol.nu/mexantecedentes/mexvsarg.htm (http://www.senorgol.nu/mexantecedentes/mexvsarg.htm)
And because we left them out of the Cup the last time and now they seek revenge.
But I'd rather play against Mexico. I want to laugh at my friends again. :lol:
-
I cannot believe we got robbed of that goal. A US win would have made my week.
You really shouldn't have had a free kick in the first place though. So really it's a wash.
I'm shocked, since soccer is not our thing at all, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be knocked out after our second game.
Given that we're in the heats and they drew their last game, USA can't actually be knocked out in this game no matter how badly they do. No matter what happens it will be the 3rd game that decides the outcome for the USA. (unless there's some really weird set of circumstances I haven't considered).
Have you considered Serbia beating them? That's the case now.
Strangely enough I didn't consider Serbia deciding to play a match against a team in another group and beating them. But if it were to happen I don't see how it would affect the results for the USA. :p
-
**** yeah. Suck on that Ghana goalie. All his **** up, but a goal at ast :D
[EDIT]**** that right in the nuts. No way that was a deserved penalty. **** of an umpire.
[EDIT2]Half time status - Schwartzer's a legend, the unpires are useless.
-
Thought the penalty was deserved, but the red card was harsh. Didn't look like he intentionally blocked the ball with his arm (so no red in my book), but it did hit his arm and prevent a goal and so a penalty + a yellow card would be quite deserved. What you should really be complaining about is how two defenders managed to let one Ghana player make fools of them to cause that situation in the first place.
Still hoping Australia can pull through though. Thought they had it in the bag too after they made 1-nil, but obviously it will be hard as hell now :blah:
-
Yep, Australia has lost the initiative....
-
ARGH. C*NT! Stupid ****ing referee!
-
As an outsider I am rooting for Australia so we can see all the four teams with 3 points after two matches, leading to a bloodwash in the third round. :p
-
Well, good effort by the Aussies despite the red card. Deserved to win, in fact, and sure as hell got closer to it than Ghana.
-
****. Ref's lost us that game as much as anything - if we'd had 11 men, we'd have won. Outplayed Ghana pretty well IMO in that second half.
Oh well, we can still mathematically qualify... we need a solid win over Serbia and either a very solid win by German over Ghana or a big upset Ghana victory. That 4-0 defeat is an absolute goal difference millstone.
-
Well to be fair Australia had plenty of missed shots as well.
-
Wow. Denmark is playing just about the worst I've ever seen from them, giving away chances left and right. 1-0 for Cameroun after 10 minutes and I don't see this getting better :( This could well be the end of the line for us.
-
All tied up now, there's hope yet.
-
i've seen some brilliant and some REALLY poor play from both sides. this one is fun.
-
Cameroon v. Denmark is a pretty entertaining game.
-
Yeah, very entertaining first half. As a Dane I could've done without those horrible first 15 minutes though. But at least we're in with a chance for the win now if we can keep it up in the second half :)
-
You know, even if this game ends up a tie it would have been worth it to stay up so late. :)
-
2-1 win. Muahaha. Still alive :D Need to beat Japan to advance but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
-
2-1 win. Muahaha. Still alive :D Need to beat Japan to advance but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Poor Cameroon
-
Cameroon had a lot of good shot opportunities, but they kept going way over the goal.
-
Italy - NZ 1:1
Of course, I liked it better when NZ was leading 0:1, but I'll take what I can get.
-
Portugal - North Korea on the way.
What do you guys know about the missing NK players? Hungarian experts say that we have to wait until the end of the tournament to find out. We've got unconfirmed rumors as of yet.
-
Portugal - North Korea on the way.
What do you guys know about the missing NK players? Hungarian experts say that we have to wait until the end of the tournament to find out. We've got unconfirmed rumors as of yet.
:eek2: I've always thought that I am the only hungarian here!
Anyway, wasn't this whole thing a fake? As far as I've read, they were already found. (http://itn.co.uk/ad53905038feefa783c35230c9243be1.html, South African police said that all the team members have been accounted for.[/i) ]Anyway, 7-0 for Portugal is crushing.
Any tips for Chile-Switzerland? I was betting for a 0:0. Quite unprobable, gives a 7,25 odds but we have two strong defenses and not so strong attackers. Opinions?
-
Foreseeable French failure.
-
At the moment, France-South Africa is 0:2, Mexico-Uruguay 0:1. Meaning RSA has to score 4 goals or more to continue in the tourney....
-
Foreseeable French failure.
And well-deserved.
-
Foreseeable French failure.
I can't think of a single word in that phrase that isn't redundant in some way. French is a synonym with failure, and French failures (this phrase right here is redundant) are always foreseeable.
-
Foreseeable French failure.
I can't think of a single word in that phrase that isn't redundant in some way. French is a synonym with failure, and French failures (this phrase right here is redundant) are always foreseeable.
Yes, their help during the American Revolution and their gift of the statue of liberty were REAL big failures. :rolleyes:
-
Foreseeable French failure.
I can't think of a single word in that phrase that isn't redundant in some way. French is a synonym with failure, and French failures (this phrase right here is redundant) are always foreseeable.
Good thing thats not always true else my country would still be British colony. Not to mention they beat the tar out of the rest of Europe for the first quarter of the 1800s.
oops ninja'd
-
Wasn't Napoleon technically an Italian though?
-
Wasn't Napoleon technically an Italian though?
He's a Corsican which is an island in the Med. Plus I don't quite recall the Napoleonic Wars consisting of him personally beating up all the armies of Europe with his bare hands, ergo the "he wasn't really French so they still suck" is a useless argument. Despite the silly uniforms the Grand Army was a fearsome thing.
-
I think Napoleon was born "Napoleono Buonoparte" or something like that, and Corsica happened to be Italian before France got it soon after Napoleon was born.
So yeah, Napoleon was Italian (although that's not much better), and France was the only nation at the time that used total civilian mobilization and a mass-draft army similar to how the later European armies would work, so they were a bit ahead of the curve, but they did lose in the end.
And they did end up losing twice, even with Britain occupied with their uppity former colonies.
Oh, and there's this:
(http://miniaturewargaming.com/images/uploads/french_googleresults.jpg)
:P
-
Italy didn't exist until 1861 :P
Corsica was Genoese
-
Oh, and there's this:
BS. I just plugged that exact same terms into Google and got 100,000+ results. Can anyone say "photoshop"?
-
It's genuine. It's an 'Easter Egg' that was added to the 'I'm feeling Lucky' option. It still works.
-
And they did end up losing twice, even with Britain occupied with their uppity former colonies.
The only reason Britain didn't pull a full scale invasion of America in 1812 was because France kept them plenty occupied in Europe.
It's genuine. It's an 'Easter Egg' that was added to the 'I'm feeling Lucky' option. It still works.
Well how about that. I stand corrected.
-
Okay. thanks for the history lesson.
Now let's talk about football.
-
Un momento, por favor.
It's genuine. It's an 'Easter Egg' that was added to the 'I'm feeling Lucky' option. It still works.
There's another one for "Chuck Norris."
Now talk of football may resume.
-
Algeria vs USA!
AL GE RIE
AL GE RIE
-
Can the anglophone nations play up to expectation or is it ch-ch-choke time?!
Watch out Aljazeera and Serbevlokinia, our vocabulary is vast!
-
And they did end up losing twice, even with Britain occupied with their uppity former colonies.
The only reason Britain didn't pull a full scale invasion of America in 1812 was because France kept them plenty occupied in Europe.
It's genuine. It's an 'Easter Egg' that was added to the 'I'm feeling Lucky' option. It still works.
Well how about that. I stand corrected.
It's not an easter egg. It just happens that the first result is the Albino Black Sheep site that mimics Google results. It's not actually a google easter egg at all, although I'm sure they could fix it so it wasn't the first result if they wanted to. I think it got there through a google bomb a long time ago.
-
goddamnit USA let's FINISH some balls.
(and i REALLY hate refs. at least this one was understandable call, if not correct)
-
AL GE RIE
-
England and the US are both moving on, it seems.
-
christ that was close. man of the match goes to algeria's keeper for me. that was a beautiful read on the goal, if he hung on USA was out.
-
Y'know, whatever that FIFA jackass said the other day, the officiating in this thing is flat-out broken. That's the second legitimate goal the US has had disallowed, and combined they almost cost us moving on. Thankfully, Howard and Donovan are awesome and managed to put together an awesome play. But seriously, FIFA, get your refs some goddamn LASIK surgery.
Hell, I don't even particularly care about this sport, and I'm still pissed off. :p
-
Things that happen in football... if they added those tv review's the NBA uses then it wouldn't be the same game at all.
Good for USA and England :yes: , I'm just sorry for Ivory Coast not making it to the next round.
-
(http://graphjam.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/129209328504419918.png)
-
i don't get all the complaining about the horns. it's nothing new to football.
-
Vuvuzelas are far louder than the ones players are used to.
-
And it's _constant_. They just keep blowing those stupid horns...
-
Germany won't drop out :(
-
And it's _constant_. They just keep blowing those stupid horns...
They sound like a massive horde of mosquitoes which is odd considering Malaria is such a big issue in Africa.
-
Germany won't drop out :(
Germany didn't drop out :p
-
Things that happen in football... if they added those tv review's the NBA uses then it wouldn't be the same game at all.
Yeah, it might actually have some integrity then. Add replay and eliminate that asinine "stoppage time" concept and we could have a real sport here. :p
And the thing about the vuvuzelas is that, like chief1983 said, it's just a constant incessant buzz, no matter what's going on in the game. At least with cheers, or chants, or songs, there's a natural ebb and flow, and some variety to the sound itself. This is just ridiculous, and I don't know how the people doing it can even stand the very sound they're making. I stumbled across a website with someone selling a 45-minute MP3 of an inverse waveform of the sound, so that you can blast it while you're watching and cancel out the noise. Pretty ingenious. :D
-
that's kinda funny, but i don't imagine it works terribly well.
i don't know what you're on about with the stoppage time, but that is how all sports should work. what is assinine is taking 3 hours to play a 1 hour game.
-
yes ******* vuvuzelas, dammit they just don't stop blowing that piece of plastic.-
-
i don't know what you're on about with the stoppage time, but that is how all sports should work. what is assinine is taking 3 hours to play a 1 hour game.
So all sports should arbitrarily determine about how much time elapsed during stoppages in play, and then smack an approximate number of minutes onto the end, instead of using a lovely little invention called the start/stop button on a stopwatch? Seriously, I think stoppage time is the one mechanical issue about the sport of soccer that bugs me above anything else. Every other sport I've seen that's time-based pauses its clock during stoppages in play and restarts it when play resumes, so that the moment the clock hits zero, the quarter/half/game is over. American football, ice hockey, basketball, lacrosse--hell, even water polo--they all operate like this, because it's a simple and logical system. There isn't any human judgment involved in determining when the game's over, just the pure progression of time. In contrast, stoppage time is a wholly-illogical system, obfuscating to the point where one isn't even sure when a game's about to end. (Literally, the announcers of a match I was watching the other day weren't quite sure the half was over at first.) There simply isn't any legitimate justification one can make for it.
(Also, that graph iamzack posted really is true. :p)
-
You will notice, however, that there's a clearly defined system for communicating the amount of stoppage time to everyone. If your commentator misses it, it says more about the quality of the commentator than about the flaws of the system.
-
You will notice, however, that there's a clearly defined system for communicating the amount of stoppage time to everyone. If your commentator misses it, it says more about the quality of the commentator than about the flaws of the system.
No, the commentator saw how much time had been added, but at the end of it, he wasn't quite sure if the referee was blowing a whistle for a call or because the game was over. And that's what gets me...there doesn't need to be that ambiguity there in the first place. When the clock hits 90, the game should be over, period.
-
According to some studies, there is an average of ~36 minutes of active play during a half. As such, the usual stoppage times (especially if you subtract the time wasted DURING the stoppage time) rarely manages to make the active play 45 minutes... not even close.
I'd agree with stopping the clock every time the play stops.
Germany won't drop out :(
Germany didn't drop out :p
Don't worry TopAce, the awesome English team will annihilate the Nationalelf with Ronny's Rooney's hat-trick. ;)
-
Wait, so Rooney's going to miss the goal even more menacingly?
-
Wait, so Rooney's going to miss the goal even more menacingly?
:nod: Even Yakubu will be astonished.
-
According to some studies, there is an average of ~36 minutes of active play during a half. As such, the usual stoppage times (especially if you subtract the time wasted DURING the stoppage time) rarely manages to make the active play 45 minutes... not even close.
I'd agree with stopping the clock every time the play stops.
That's sort of the thing that gets me...implementing a clock-stopping system wouldn't even have to affect the pace of the game in any way. You wouldn't need to have unnatural pauses for TV timeouts (I'll agree that our commercial breaks for professional sports can get absolutely brutal, especially for nationally-broadcast games), and there wouldn't be any functional difference for the players on the field. The clock would simply start for the ten seconds it takes to set up a throw-in, then just start again when the throw is made. Since I don't really follow the soccer world, has anyone out there suggested doing things that way?
-
that's not the point of stoppage time. the break for a throw-in or similar is part of the 45 minutes. stoppage used to be called injury time, and is only for stoppage that isn't usual or part of the standard game.
-
Well that would make the change even less disruptive, then. Just pause the clock during those unusual stoppages like injuries, and have everything else remains as it is. You take the needless judgment call out of the equation, and everyone goes home happy.
-
that's really the whole idea behind it, so the ref CAN make a judgement call. the game is not supposed to be stopped in the middle of a scoring chance. there is a "spirit of the law" style of reffing in soccer that really isn't seen as much in most other sports.
-
Hmm, maybe that's why it irritates me so much. :p
-
Italy - 8
Ethiopia - didn't
:nervous:
-
The bottom line for me is that no other sport is so clearly focused on the refs as soccer, as opposed to what actually happens on the field. All you need is a couple guys up in a replay booth quickly reviewing critical calls where a point is at stake (either the ball has ended up in the back of the net or someone has gone down in the box) or a yellow/red card has been issued. This would discourage diving, prevent horrible injustices like the Ireland-France handball, and shut up the disgraceful practice of faking serious injuries. The technology is there to seamlessly integrate near-100% accurate officiating into the game, and I think it's kinda sad that FIFA chooses not to use it.
Everyone always complains about losing the human element in sports when you suggest removing even the most blatantly subjective elements, but honestly I think getting the calls right just makes sports better.
-
i wouldn't mind seeing a video replay system in some kind of limited capacity, but it can't be used as a crutch. it has the potential to completely destroy the flow of the game, which is what the current system is centered around. do the best job possible, but don't disrupt the match. handballs and offside are really the only calls i can see benefitting from video. fouls ARE subjective calls. the best way to use video for taming cards and diving is to have post-game review and dole out fines/suspensions without messing with the game in progress.
-
FIFA is a very conservative organization if it comes to game regulations. All the arguments presented here have been discussed numerous times before. Unless there's a radical change in leadership or very convincing counterarguments are raised, there'll be no change in the field.
I would implement a video referee, but limit his duties to repairing serious on-field referee mistakes. No overturning offsides and faults that require no cards issued, though. I would like to see Hand-of-God-style goals canceled, but that's about it. Human fallibility has always been part of this sport, from the part of the players and from the part of the three referees.
-
God says to freddie mercury
'im giving you another chance on earth what
do you want 2 go bk as? he replys the
england goalkeeper,why asks god? freddie
replys because i will hav 10 arseholes in front
of me and i wont be able 2 catch anything!
:wtf:
-
For once, I wish I had a television, then I could watch this. Gah.
EDIT: I found a place to watch it live I think, and oh my dear ****ing God, I can't watch this! http://webcric.com/fifa-world-cup-live-streaming.htm
I guess Hitler was right about the vuvuzelas - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Ln_rqPpPk
-
Italy-Slovakia
What a match! It's been the best one yet.
-
All I was able to see of it was stoppage time :(
Does ESPN website show replays?
-
Bye bye to Italy. Last in group, too, with 0 wins, 2 draws and a loss. Or in other words, considering that they are the world champions? Humiliation.
-
Yeah, that was pretty humiliating. Especially for the man sobbing like a little girl on international telly :lol:
Although it was kinda messed up to keep the camera following him around.
-
It was predictable: different team, many good players like Cassano, Totti and Balotelli at home, Buffon having problems, Pirlo joining the match when it was too late, etc. etc.
Slovakia played very well and their continuous pressure was effective. They didn't perform very well at the end, but it was too late for us to change the results. What a shame.
Lippi's choices can be hardly justified, I heard this year's was the worst Italian team to partecipate to a Wold Cup in at least three decades. Wow. :ick:
-
Well, the senior Italian team is packing just as I speak. Wait, what?
-
Germany won't drop out :(
Germany didn't drop out :p
:yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:
-
Through to the last 16. People around me actually believe we have a chance. I admire the uncrushable fire of hope that defines Eng Land.
-
Against Germany? :p
-
ENG LAND
-
Whoever wins will likely play with Argentina in the quarterfinals.
-
Against Germany? :p
You still in touch with PeterC10? The Maidstone guy?
-
Yeah... why? Do you have a message for him?
BTW:
(http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs324.snc3/28796_1399395197999_1625853559_910829_7485530_s.jpg)
-
[img] fail?
-
I'm not sure about you but I would really love to see a France-Italy friendly match. :D
-
At the airport, before leaving. :)
-
Too late. The French are already at home.
-
Ouch. Japan beat Denmark 3-1. Very deserved, even if I'm not at all happy about the result, so best of luck to them in the rest of the tournament. And our team sucked big time, at times to the point of being embarrassing. Ah well. At least I can watch the rest of the cup without worrying about who wins heh.
-
Whoever wins will likely play with Argentina in the quarterfinals.
It's the GRUDGE MATCH world cup for England then. First we have to settle scores with Germany and then Argentina. If we can then beat Portugal in the Semi's or final it would be really funny. :D
-
Well that was boring. A riveting 0-0 draw for Brazil - Portugal
-
Is it just me, or are we getting a whole crapload of draws this time around?
-
indeed. maybe that will translate to a ****load of shootouts in the knockout rounds :D
-
And the US are OUT.
But holy crap, what a game that was. Entertaining to the last minute.
-
Ouch...
-
Well, at least I don't have to care about this so-called "beautiful game" for another four years, so I guess that's a plus. :p
-
I'm officially rooting for Ghana now. I think an African nation deserves to win even though there's a slim chance of that happening. :sigh:
-
everyone seems to think the world of tim howard, but based on those 4 games i just don't see it. i saw ONE save that i would call non-routine (i might have missed something, i missed some minutes here and there). none of the goals are his fault, but more could have been done on some of them. first one today, take a step into the dive. that's fundamentals. goal two, either come out or don't. he got caught in no man's land. if your defender looks to be recovering after you've already started coming out, oh well. take him out too. as for the actual shot, stand tall and attack it, not fall back and swing your arm at it. i've seen that from tons of keepers though.
-
England is out.
-
Oh, come on, they're one goal behind with 70 minutes of playtime left. It's not cut-and-dried yet.
-
England is out.
NUH-UH!!!
-
Even the referees are with the Germans. I hope the first noteworthy opponent will humiliate them.
-
YOU BLOOODY ****ING BASTARD THAT WAS A GOAL UP YOURS FIFA
-
England - Germany
What a game people!!!
Look how they pull their teeth out for a spot in the next round, now that's some high tension football :yes:
-
Indeed.
But the Referees desperately need better eyes. THAT WAS A GOAL, DAMMIT!
-
They need to be neutral. They already decided that the Germans will win. If it requires invalidating goals or sending off the entire English team for minor faults, then so be it.
-
the referee's aren't "with Germany". The just failed to see that the ball was behind the line.
Me thinks, there is a real chance that the English Team will, watch the rest of the WC on TV, if Germany can keep up the pace and find their strength back.
GO Germany!!! :yes:
They need to be neutral. They already decided that the Germans will win. If it requires invalidating goals or sending off the entire English team for minor faults, then so be it.
:wtf:
And you know that because...?
-
...because it's so blindingly obvious.
-
...because it's so blindingly obvious.
obvious fail.
-
Indeed, that was a goal, I can't believe they didn't realized at first glance, but what can you do about it? this stuff happens sometimes.
-
problem is that in this day in age it shouldn't happen, goal line tech dont solve all of the problems but it would have solved this easily
-
It's a rule, apparently. In any given match between english and german teams, the Ref will always be against the team you're rooting for.
-
Guys, there are sports which make use of advanced technology (like Formula One) and sports which see a very limited use of available technologies (like football).
I believe football needs a lot of improvement because referees make mistakes very often. Wheter or not they support a team is not that relevant: try to take their place and monitor a match for 90 minutes (or more) from the very same perspective of footballers... it isn't easy. At all.
I've watched two matches (Italy's last and another one, USA Vs. Uruguay) and I could clearly see two valid goals (one for Italy, the other for the USA) being invalidated because of the referees. Is it so hard to form a team of, let's say, 5 referees and let them monitor matches from secret rooms full of cameras? I know this can't be done in most football championships but heh, this is the World Cup!
-
balls we've lost
-
Bye bye to England, then...
-
Well then...if we win, we've got to face that white monster.
Can't wait for the next match with Mexico.
-
I've always been a fan of just sticking a chip in the ball so we can tell when it's crossed the line.
Today has not made me change my opinion in the slightest.
I may however donate money to Uruguayan charities for the blind. They obviously have quite a few people suffering from that affliction if the ref was the best they had. :p
-
We were robbed of that Lampard goal, if that had been allowed, our boys would have had more heart for the game! :mad:
-
If we had F1 level tech in Football almost all of the central Europeans, and South Americans would never win a cup ever again.
Think about it.
No dives, no getting away with fouls or sneaky handballs.
No dodgey line calls.
No way to 'play to the ref'.
Personally I'd love it, that's everything I hate about football gone.
-
Don't talk to me about F1 either, a german won there today too! I thought it was an omen!!! :nervous:
-
Yeah, Win!
It is quite a weekend for Germany, the F1 Victory and the Football Victory. :yes:
Nice match, though i doubt that the English team could have done anything to change the outcome, even if the referee would have seen that the ball was over the line and thus a goal was scored.
-
Mexico - Argentina 0:1 so far
Now it's another referee case on screen. If you aren't watching it, please do.
No doubt it'll be YouTubed and discussed in the future.
Earlier in the thread, I summarized my arguments for video refereeing. Now I'm leaning towards implementing a video refereeing system more so than earlier. I don't watch football very often, but I'm sure that there aren't so many and decisive mistakes normally. South Africa must have a debilitating aura or something. We've had big goalkeeper mistakes earlier, and now the referees.
-
Not that I'm a general fan of the sport, but the matches I've seen have been as convincing an argument for some sort of replay/review system as I can think of. I mean, maybe not for your normal leagues or whatever...but this is the most popular sporting event in the world, and FIFA is willing to let blatant mistakes decide it? The NFL, NBA, and NHL all use replay to some extent, and tennis has implemented what's proven to be a very effective challenge system. Hell, even baseball, by far the most tradition-bound and human-element-oriented of our sports, finally implemented replay for boundary calls a year ago, and with the blown first-base call costing a pitcher a perfect game last month, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see it expanded to base calls in the near future. The technology exists to eliminate some of the ambiguity of the game...if there can be sensors in curling stones during the Olympics, surely the World Cup should be able to get its act together too. :p
-
I think we're going to see some of those changes after this World Cup.
-
Indeed.
But the Referees desperately need better eyes. THAT WAS A GOAL, DAMMIT!
A devestating loss like this can't simply be explained away with bad calls. England just didn't play that well. For example in the first 20 minutes England allowed Germany to take 4 shots, one of these resulting in a goal, compared with England taking no shots. The bad calls doesn't explain why the English defence allowed so many shots in the first place, and why the English offence wasn't able to effectively coordinate (bad passes mostly).
-
(For the record, I'm german)
And while the german team was better than the english one, that goal could have been something of a turning point in the match.
At the end of the day, I want a match to be decided by player skill, not referee fiat.
-
Yeah, but the fact remains England just didn't play as well, and frankly deserved to lose. I'm still watching the rebroadcast online, but so far that's my assessment.
EDIT: And that second goal at 30 minutes is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. A very well executed play.
EDIT2: that disallowed second england goal at 38' was a really bad call, but even if it was allowed then England still would have lost 4-2, only slightly less embarrasing.
-
The assumption that the game would have proceeded the same if the goal had been counted is false.
-
And so we'll be playing with Germany for the next round, hope we get it this time instead of what happened in the last World Cup.
-
...and North America is wiped out in the 2nd round :(
Would have been a much better match without the offside goal, but all credit to Argentina--their quarterfinal with Germany should be great.
-
The assumption that the game would have proceeded the same if the goal had been counted is false.
Given the way England was playing defence it probably would have. Even in the second half they were still giving lots of open looks.
-
Goals make the difference, most of the DT's play safe on this games because is "win or go home", so when a team makes a goal, the other team moves in to even that, leaving a LOT of space to use for the other team playing counteroffensive tactics.
What killed England is the fact that Germany scored first and then their evening goal was nullified, making the team uneasy about it and wanting to revert the situation as fast as they could, this made them leave a lot of space for Germany to use.
Aside from that, you got to give all the credit to Germany's offensive line, they made almost every move against the UK goalkeep effective, and that scares the **** out of me, they just don't seem to miss.
-
I call it '66 Karma' ;) Because Jeff Hursts goal in 66 was widely regarded not to have crossed the line :)
-
There is a difference between maybe didn't cross the line and two feet behind it though. :p
-
Hopefully this day seals Sepp Blatter's coffin as a FIFA leader. There is no talk yet about the ARG-MEX match but the first Argentine goal was a huge offside and the referee did not see it - but after that, the projectors showed the replay and that is was an incredible mistake. Now, this - on its own - is against the FIFA's regulations so somebody in the control room must have decided to spill the beans. Poor referee has seen the replay as well but it is not allowed to change his decision based on the video footage so despite all the protest, he had to let it go. In the end, it was a simple 3-1 for Argentina.
Even though two matches out of two (with two more to go) went right on my bet that promises a 377x winning and the teams that I rooted for progressed, I am not satisfied.
Go to hell, Mr. Blatter. Monsieur Platini shall accompany you as well.
-
Maybe they should have instant replay like american football.
-
Goals make the difference, most of the DT's play safe on this games because is "win or go home", so when a team makes a goal, the other team moves in to even that, leaving a LOT of space to use for the other team playing counteroffensive tactics.
Just realized I forgot about this. So, basically you're saying that if the second goal was allowed England would have played better defence?
-
I think the main point is that that equalizing goal would have affected the morale of both teams. Who knows what would have happened, had the game suddenly become open again?
-
With England continueing to play such crappy defence it wouldn't have. being down by one before half-time is manageable and their offence did get better. What sealed the game was Mueller's 2 goals within a couple minutes of eachother. That is squarely the fault of their defence.
-
Yes, but that is quite literally beside the point. It was a goal. It should have counted. So instead of winning just by being the better team, the german team won by referee blindness and by being the better team. Quite frankly, the very last thing I want is a debate about how the Refs are always on Germany's side.
-
Kinda thought the ref was a bit england biased during the second half tbh ;p
-
Kinda thought the ref was a bit england biased during the second half tbh ;p
That's common, when a Referee makes a mistake, he tends to "help" the other team, like calling a penalty kick he wouldn't under different circumstances.
-
No great surprises in today's games. Brazil has a 2-0 lead over Chile in half-time, and Holland's victory over Slovakia was as much predictable.
-
Apparently, FIFA's stance on the referee calls is that the worst mistake was to replay the Argentinian off-side goal on the big screen on the stadium (http://football.uk.reuters.com/leagues/worldcup2010/news/2010/06/28/LDE65R0QM.php). They seem to think that everything was fine aside from that lapsus.
Oh well. Referee giveth, referee taketh. One goal given, one goal denied... not to same team, or in the same match, but it all comes to even in the end, yes?
-
just goes to show how fallible human officials are and the need for technology to cover these short comings at the very least in international competition
-
Apparently, FIFA's stance on the referee calls is that the worst mistake was to replay the Argentinian off-side goal on the big screen on the stadium (http://football.uk.reuters.com/leagues/worldcup2010/news/2010/06/28/LDE65R0QM.php). They seem to think that everything was fine aside from that lapsus.
A friend of mine who's a big soccer fan referred to FIFA as "absolutely bat**** insane." That's certainly evidence enough.
-
Apparently, FIFA's stance on the referee calls is that the worst mistake was to replay the Argentinian off-side goal on the big screen on the stadium (http://football.uk.reuters.com/leagues/worldcup2010/news/2010/06/28/LDE65R0QM.php). They seem to think that everything was fine aside from that lapsus.
Oh well. Referee giveth, referee taketh. One goal given, one goal denied... not to same team, or in the same match, but it all comes to even in the end, yes?
A video referee would make it harder to cheat. :P
Holland's victory over Slovakia was as much predictable.
Ahem, if they would have scored a bunch of goals, I would've won 700 bucks. But no, they have to sit back and masturbate all the while after 1-0. Kufc them.
-
just goes to show how fallible human officials are and the need for technology to cover these short comings at the very least in international competition
What I said before, but... tradition is tradition, you know...
-
No great surprises in today's games. Brazil has a 2-0 lead over Chile in half-time, and Holland's victory over Slovakia was as much predictable.
Although Slovakia getting a penalty at the 94'th minute because a player tripped over the keeper's hands was a bit of an anticlimax for the victory.
-
And Brazil is out. :(
-
Many things can happen in 10 minutes, you know.
EDIT: Well, not this time. Brazil is out for real. :(
-
Okay, it's a wonder they didn't receive a third or a fourth one. Or a fifth, a sixth, a seventh...
That's the only merit for the Brazilian defenses I can think of.
-
Uruguay-Ghana :O *gasps* Awesome match!
-
Uruguay-Ghana :O *gasps* Awesome match!
:(
Ghana should've won...
-
The last African team is gone, then... :(
-
The last African team is gone, then... :(
Yeah. Huge pity. It's an African world cup, an African team should've at least gotten through.
-
The last African team is gone, then... :(
Yeah. Huge pity. It's an African world cup, an African team should've at least gotten through.
So true, it's sad for Ghana.
Germany 1 : 0 Argentina, after the first half. Looks VERY good so far. :yes: :)
-
Interesting match, indeed. :)
-
WIN!!!!!!!!! :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:
Germany 4 : 0 Argentina
Perfect!
-
Great match, and a very deserved win for Germany :)
-
Man they got ****ed UP.
German Chancellor was doing the boogie by the end too. Poor Argentina. :(
-
So we're out, nice match by Germany.. they won fare and square.
-
excellent game!
-
The last African team is gone, then... :(
Yeah. Huge pity. It's an African world cup, an African team should've at least gotten through.
If they played well enought they would have.
-
The last African team is gone, then... :(
Yeah. Huge pity. It's an African world cup, an African team should've at least gotten through.
If they played well enought they would have.
They did play well enough. In fact Ghana played better than Uruguay. Uruguay only got through by cheating. Yes, cheating.
-
No, they went through by Ghana being crap at penalties. Yes, there was a deliberate handball at the end, but it was punished with a red card and Ghana were handed a penalty. Which was exactly as it should be. That they failed to convert is besides the point, they had the chance and they blew it.
England was cheated, as a goal was incorrectly disallowed. Mexico was cheated, as a goal was incorrectly allowed. But the call in the case of Ghana's penalty was 100% correct, and they have only themselves to blame for not ending the match right there.
-
...I guess you're right, but this sort of thing still encourages cheating. If you can cheat and get results, then cheating is a good tactic.
-
...I guess you're right, but this sort of thing still encourages cheating. If you can cheat and get results, then cheating is a good tactic.
In this case preventing the goal, even by handball, was exactly the correct decision. It prevented an otherwise obvious goal, and it was penalized by the rules. It offered a fighting chance to their team, as the overtime was about to end and a goal at that point would have otherwise been a certainty, while penalties are an uncertainty. Sounds like a good trade-off to me.
And I would like to remind that vast majority of penalties on this level translate to a goal. Ghana just screwed up on the penalties. I don't blame them, they're a young team and penalty kicks are the most nerve-wracking part in football. I agree with you that Ghana played better football and were better in the game, but they failed to score, and on penalty kicks their nerves didn't hold - the two last penalties by Ghana players were sort of pathetic to be honest.
Such is the game, and Ghana can only blame themselves for not winning the game they should have. I'd also attribute their fluctuating performance to their inexperience as well - they weren't consistent in the match.
-
"good penalties" is bull****. deliberatly cheating to give yourself a "fighting chance" when you were outplayed and about to be beaten shows a complete lack of class and respect, and has absolutely NO place in sports. i realise you can't simply award the goal, and agree with that, but there ought to be some WAY more severe penalty for **** like that.
-
Whatever way you pitch it, the fact that cheating has become a valid tactic is a sad thing.
-
"good penalties" is bull****. deliberatly cheating to give yourself a "fighting chance" when you were outplayed and about to be beaten shows a complete lack of class and respect, and has absolutely NO place in sports.
Well, the rules have terms as to what constitutes as unsportsmanlike conduct, and hand balls aren't that. When you're left with a bad option and worse option, taking the worse option would just be silly. You're playing for the keeps in these games. If you have to sacrifice some of your personal integrity for your team to proceed in the games, it's an understandable decision.
i realise you can't simply award the goal, and agree with that, but there ought to be some WAY more severe penalty for **** like that.
Well, the direct red card means the player will miss next match. He's also one of key players in the Uruguay team, so that will somewhat hurt their performance in the next match.
Aside from that I'd also like to point out that due to shortness of reaction times in that sort of situation I wouldn't really say it was a conscious choice of the player to play the ball with hands, but to prevent the goal, and that happened and was correctly penalized according to the rules of the game.
In this case, it paid off. Would you be as eager to call for harsher penalties if Ghana had scored that penalty and won the game on overtime with no further penalties? You cannot know, because that didn't happen, but I would guess that then that hand ball wouldn't have spiked half as much controversy as it did now.
What puzzles me is that you are referring to the handball as "cheating". It's not cheating, it's simply disallowed. Cheating would be using doping to increase performance, or putting laxatives on the refreshments of the opposing team. Cheating would be fishing for penalties or bookings by diving or pretending injury. There's nothing dishonest with a hand ball, so I don't think it's cheating as such - it's a very open infraction to rules. The biggest issue I have with hand balls are those that stay undetected by lack of cameras to help referees.
-
In this case, it paid off. Would you be as eager to call for harsher penalties if Ghana had scored that penalty and won the game on overtime with no further penalties? You cannot know, because that didn't happen, but I would guess that then that hand ball wouldn't have spiked half as much controversy as it did now.
Probably not, since that would have been a harsh enough punishment in and of itself. :cool:
-
my definition of the term "cheating" is perhaps broader than yours. anything done intending to gain an unfair advantage, whether you intend to get away with it or not, is cheating to me. denying a shot that WAS going to score in favor of one that has a relatively high percentage but is not guaranteed fits the bill. this mentality of intentionally breaking rules of the game as a "tactical" decision is frankly unacceptable and is a HUGE reason why the sport is heading south.
as for if they HAD scored on the PK, yes, i still would have been as disgusted with the handball itself, just not as infurated with the outcome. in this case i would still support harsher penalties. just because what you did didn't pay off doesn't mean the sentence should be commuted.
-
If they had scored my thoughts would probably be more like "Serves you right cheating bastud"
-
I don't really see what the problem is with someone going for a handball in that situation. If you don't touch the ball, you lose. If you do touch the ball, there's still a massive chance that you lose, but at least there's a slight chance that you don't...and in this case, it worked. It's like the common sentiment in American football: there's technically-illegal offensive holding happening on every play, but only the egregious examples get called. It's simply part of the game, as is a baseball player sliding hard into a shortstop in an attempt to break up a double-play, or a hockey defenseman tripping up a forward on a clear breakaway. The goal in any sport is to stop your opponent from scoring by any means necessary...and if you push things too far, you yourself get penalized. That's what happened here, so I'm not really sure where the issue lies.
But on another note, that Ghana miss aside, penalty kicks seem incredibly biased toward the kicker in terms of balance, at least from my inexperienced viewpoint. They're positioned so close to the goal, and the goal itself is so big, that the only chance the goalie has is either to randomly guess the direction of the kick (which still won't help if it's out of his reach) or hope that the kicker horribly screws up (as happened to Ghana). At least in hockey, when a player is awarded a penalty shot, they have to skate down half of the ice with the puck, and the goalie still has a decent chance of stopping the shot if he's reasonably skilled. Maybe if soccer moved penalty shots back out to the second box, goalies would stand a fighting chance, and they wouldn't essentially be gimmes.
-
Like the ITV team concluded on the subject;
There's no one that wouldn't do the same thing in the same circumstances.
-
It's a valid tactic, you can think it's not loyal or whatever you want, but that's how the game is.
If you have played it sometime then you can beggin to understand what it is to loose all your efforts because of just one bad game, one bad move...that is all it takes to bring you down your knees, also.. that's what makes this game so beautiful, so exciting.
-
i have played it. i have played it for 17 years. and that's why it disgusts me that the sport is sinking to this level.
-
this still isn't over? ugh
-
i have played it. i have played it for 17 years. and that's why it disgusts me that the sport is sinking to this level.
Oh come on, are you seriously thinking that handball was premeditated in any manner? Like that player did that consciously? In a situation like that it's rather instinctive to prevent the goal with any means. You don't get time to think whether what you need to do is against the rules or not. Besides, there are some pretty interesting results considering decision making and conscious thought. A lot of the time we act first and justify it as a conscious decision afterwards. Ask Battuta more about this, he should know more. Considering the reaction times involved, I very much doubt that any conscious desire to break the rules was present or that the player made a decision to do it. Does it justify what he did? No, it was against the rules - but the act was penalized according to the rules. Football isn't sinking to any level. Problem is that other sports have advanced in methods of detecting rule breaking. Football, not so much. The hand of god wasn't any lesser infraction. This sort of things have always happened, so the argument that th sport's "level" is sinking is invalid.
-
i have played it. i have played it for 17 years. and that's why it disgusts me that the sport is sinking to this level.
17 years?
what level? 5aside? sunday pub?
lol.
Ever been competitive in anything?
-
yes, i've played in national competition and club level in university. all throughout middle and high school. i don't know if there's a way to say this without sounding arrogant and full of ****, but i was good enough to play varsity in uni, but didn't have the support of my parents leading up to uni to get recruited, and now i don't have the time to try to walk on. i've played pickup with many of the varsity players and can match them. maybe i'm alone in wanting some integrity rather than win at all costs, but if so, so be it.
-
But on another note, that Ghana miss aside, penalty kicks seem incredibly biased toward the kicker in terms of balance, at least from my inexperienced viewpoint. They're positioned so close to the goal, and the goal itself is so big, that the only chance the goalie has is either to randomly guess the direction of the kick (which still won't help if it's out of his reach) or hope that the kicker horribly screws up (as happened to Ghana). At least in hockey, when a player is awarded a penalty shot, they have to skate down half of the ice with the puck, and the goalie still has a decent chance of stopping the shot if he's reasonably skilled. Maybe if soccer moved penalty shots back out to the second box, goalies would stand a fighting chance, and they wouldn't essentially be gimmes.
They're meant to be fairly easy to score actually.
Penalties are given in situations that more probably than not would have been a goal. They're often given in cases similar to the one in the Uruguay game where it should have been a goal except for a fairly obvious foul.
Making them easier to defend would make players even more likely to foul in the penalty box because they knew they had a reasonable chance of preventing a goal that way.
-
my only gripe about the ease of PKs is that ANY penal foul in the box results in a PK and almost an assured goal. i think it would be nice if refs were allowed to award ordinary direct kicks in the box and have a little judgment room on giving out PKs.
-
Cause, you know, the reffing has been spectacular so far this cup.
-
Oh come on, are you seriously thinking that handball was premeditated in any manner? Like that player did that consciously?
Yes, he did it consciously, the only way you can actually touch the ball with your hands (a pro player) is if it's going really fast straight to the hand, he obviously moved the hand towards the direction the ball had, so he interfered willingly.
It was not right, but they got punished because of it, so there's nothing more to say about it really.
-
I'm unconvinced on the level of university football play in america.
Comparing it to the pressure and emotion, and the drive that takes someone to a world cup though, especially from non-**** football countries if that had been an English defender they'd have done that in tears.
-
Maybe we can give Maradona this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/latin_america/10500390.stm) world cup as consolation for Argentina going out. :p
-
I'm unconvinced on the level of university football play in america.
Comparing it to the pressure and emotion, and the drive that takes someone to a world cup though, especially from non-**** football countries if that had been an English defender they'd have done that in tears.
Kinda funny example considering the US did objectively better this cup than England.
-
Actually in terms of results England did better based on the ranking system going into the tournament, though grossly, grossly, underperformed considering what they should have done.
Other than Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and a singular display from Portugal, all of the teams have performed at what I would approximate to the championship division in England's domestic league (the league below the Prem), if not lower.
I'm hardly inspired by this WC performance wise :P
-
leagues hardly define a country anymore, with players going all over the world to play instead of staying in their home country.
-
The remaining matches are:
Tuesday: Uruguay vs. Holland
Wednesday: Germany vs. Spain
Saturday: 3rd place
Sunday: Final
All at 20:30, local time
-
Wednesday's match seems promising. :)
-
Wednesday's match seems promising. :)
Indeed. Wanna bet that Spain will get their asses handed to them?
-
I see a total lack of comments regarding yesterday's match... :wtf:
Holland may have deserved to win, true, but judging from that match Uruguay seemed a hell lot better. Afterall, they won thanks to Lady Luck.
-
Pfft.
That ref was full of ****.
I wonder how much Uruguay paid him.
-
I wonder how much Holland paid him, to be honest. Remember that one of Uruguay's valid goals has been nullified by the referee.
Holland was lucky, that's it. They didn't play very well and seemed even tired near the end, but still managed to win thanks to a mix of negligence (yet another reference to the referee) and luck.
-
when the ref blows and the fat lady sings, at the end of the day
the one that wins, is the one with the largest score, doesn't matter who played "better", what good are a bunch of pretty plays if they don't score more? NOTHING, that's what it's worth
-
when the ref blows and the fat lady sings, at the end of the day
the one that wins, is the one with the largest score, doesn't matter who played "better", what good are a bunch of pretty plays if they don't score more? NOTHING, that's what it's worth
Speaking of, why the heck did that injury time thingy go way past the three minutes apparently prescribed to it? It was something like 94:30, and they were still letting Uruguay get another chance in there.
-
I can't believe this.
Germany is OUT :D
More precisely, they're staying in SA for one more match.
-
OMG. The octopus SPEAKS THE TRUTH :shaking:
-
I can't believe this.
Germany is OUT :D
More precisely, they're staying in SA for one more match.
Yeah, too bad.
I wish they had played the same way they did vs. England and Argentina. ;)
Excuse me now, i had to write a hate letter to Löw, and to crush my neighbours party. :D
-
All glory to the octo-Paul
-
Bye Bye Germany.
Spain nor the Netherlands have ever won the World Cup.
There will be an 8th world champion this year.
As for you mobius, can I have some of what you are smoking please?
I don't agree. At all.
A few dodgey calls in Uruguay's favour and stopping play on the ET second half end during the middle of an in-possession non-loose ball, non-deadball Dutch attack where they were 2 on 1 (which, is against FIFA rules by the way), and then leaving play to go on for a further 2 minutes with over a dozen loose balls and three or four DEAD balls and lots of challenges.
Also, valid offside goal, uhm, what game are you on about?
Uruguay had so two major decisions go in their favour that wasn't actually in their favour the first half (Holland had none), and one minor (throw in)
In the second half Holland had one lucky free kick decision at 53~ minutes at about the 40 yard mark.
Uruguay had one at 55~ minutes in about the same spot.
Uruguay had another one at 56~ minutes, getting a corner instead of conceding a foul.
Uruguay didn't get an offside for the obvious offside at 57~ minutes.
Uruguay get another questionable freekick at 58~ minutes, and the player that was 'fouled' questions the ref as to why it wasn't a booking (a bookable offence in itself).
Uruguay foul again at 60 minutes 38 seconds, not penalised.
Uruguay get a free kick for a non-foul (in fact in terms of the rules laid out by FIFA Holland should have had a free kick for this offence if anyone, but realistically it was a non-incident), at 65~ minutes.
Forlan spends 2 minutes piss assing around with the ball like a fairy then asks the ref to move the wall back (the wall is far enough back(10yards) first time in my estimation but it's kinda hard to call) the ref happily obliges and moves the wall back another yard or two.
Boulahrouz gets a yellowcard at 77:40 for a tackle that took the ball, free kick at the most here.
Uruguay foul again at 81 minutes but actually get a throw in in their favour, for it.
Watching the replay really highlights how holland were the better team for much of the 97 minutes of play.
The ball went out of play(dead) at 93 minutes (stoppage time).
It was being held defencively/dead at 93:10 by the Uruguayan keeper.
Play was loose at 93:20.
Play was loose at 93:30.
Play was stopped at 93:33 in Hollands favour for a free kick (hand ball).
Van Bommel gets RANDOMLY booked at 93:42 for an "offence" no one sees and still hasn't been explained in the English coverage of the World Cup, while play is stopped I might add.
Play stopped at 94:24.
Play was loose at 94:43.
Play was loose at 94:51 where it was finally called.
Any single one of those lines the RULES state that the game should have ended.
Next time you wanna spew your bluebull****, don't do it in my presence.
-
My opinion is based on my perception of the match. Holland started the match quite well and almost overwhelmed Uruguay: the first goal, in fact, was amazing. But what happened after the first goal?
Before the 2nd goal that team looked tired. Many of them didn't even run unless it was necessary and allowed Uruguay to take the initiative more than once. Judging from what I've seen during that part of the match, Uruguay would have won. It didn't happen because Holland was lucky, and turned the only good move they could come out in 30 minutes into a goal.
And yes, I'm pretty sure that was a valid goal which got nullified, ergo the real outcome of that match at min. 90 would have been 3-3.
EDIT: Just checked, it was one of Snejder's goals to be invalid. Nevertheless, that would have changed the final result.
-
My opinion is based on my perception of the match. Holland started the match quite well and almost overwhelmed Uruguay: the first goal, in fact, was amazing. But what happened after the first goal?
Before the 2nd goal that team looked tired. Many of them didn't even run unless it was necessary and allowed Uruguay to take the initiative more than once. Judging from what I've seen during that part of the match, Uruguay would have won. It didn't happen because Holland was lucky, and turned the only good move they could come out in 30 minutes into a goal.
And yes, I'm pretty sure that was a valid goal which got nullified, ergo the real outcome of that match at min. 90 would have been 3-3.
EDIT: Just checked, it was one of Snejder's goals to be invalid. Nevertheless, that would have changed the final result.
While I tend to agree letter of the law Sneijder's goal should have been invalid, it was one of only three decisions the entire night that actually 'went unfairly' in Holland's way, compared to Uruguay, who's play mostly came from mistakes due to Holland being the more aggressive team and their MASSIVE number of ref-decision advantages allowing advanced play that they had simply not earned.
You live in some cloud cuckoo land, I know, that's fine, but don't subject me to your tosh.
Considering you couldn't even remember who's goal you were talking about I have to seriously doubt your grasp on the match.
Considering my list above your initial statement is invalid too.
The only part of the match where Uruguay were in any way dominant was the last 5 minutes (of 3 minutes) of play, and that was dragged on by the ref much to Uruguay's favour.
Sneijder's goal was allowed because Van Persie didn't interfere with play, though I personally feel that kicking at (even if missing) the ball, made him active.
Regardless of this for the entire second half bar two moments (read; 45-90 minutes) Holland were a class above, and then they were struggling after about the 30 minute mark in the first half, so Uruguay 'dominated' (not really), 16 minutes of the first half and 5 minutes (that should have been 3) of the second.
I ask again for your supply of whatever it is you smoke, it HAS to be good stuff.
-
Sorry but no, Holland got tired after a while and started the match with arrogance. The result may have been easily predictable but I would never say that Uruguay didn't play well and deserved its defeat. It was the last South American team left, and I would have loved to see them in the last match against Spain.
Next time you wanna spew your bluebull****, don't do it in my presence.
I ask again for your supply of whatever it is you smoke, it HAS to be good stuff.
Very kind of you.
-
Uruguay isn't a team, it's results are almost entirely based on one persons performance.
And even if Holland had been arrogant (which, in comparison to failan they weren't), they had every right to be, they hardly played their true potential and still schooled Uruguay for a huge percentage of the game.
They have twenty-eight percent more possession than Uruguay for crying out loud, how blind ARE you?
-
Mobius, you are Class A amusement :lol:
-
Uruguay isn't a team, it's results are almost entirely based on one persons performance.
And even if Holland had been arrogant (which, in comparison to failan they weren't), they had every right to be, they hardly played their true potential and still schooled Uruguay for a huge percentage of the game.
Sorry but numbers aren't enough. Possession does not represent the quality or effectiveness of a team; it's just a statistics thing which almost certainly has little importance over the outcome of a match.
Numbers or not, you can't deny the fact that Holland had poor stamina near the end of the match. They were waiting for Uruguay to make mistakes rather than take the initiative themselves and it also became pretty obvious at some point. Had not been for the second goal, Holland would have remained a bunch of zombies until the end of the match.
They have twenty-eight percent more possession than Uruguay for crying out loud, how blind ARE you?
I see you have a particular habit. Ending each post of yours with an annoying phrase.
-
I think Spain can win this.
Yep.
Well i'm happy whoever takes it now as I look more knowledgable on the subject :yes:
-
Sorry but numbers aren't enough. Possession does not represent the quality or effectiveness of a team; it's just a statistics thing which almost certainly has little importance over the outcome of a match.
How does possession not represent the quality of the team? Seriously, describe unto me a situation in which a team that does not have possession can score without their opponents doing something completely face-looking-out-of-one-leg-of-the-underpants-on-your-head stupid.
Now you may or may not be able to use it advantageously, that's true. But regardless of that if you don't have the ball, you don't have the ability to do anything that will positively influence your chances of winning. Lacking posession means your only hope is negative, to deny goals. Having possession means you can do that and positively influence your chances of winning by scoring. By any possible measure, possession is almost literally control of the game.
Numbers or not, you can't deny the fact that Holland had poor stamina near the end of the match. They were waiting for Uruguay to make mistakes rather than take the initiative themselves and it also became pretty obvious at some point. Had not been for the second goal, Holland would have remained a bunch of zombies until the end of the match.
Because, you know, they were actually making an effort. The fact that Uruguay were not zombies after playing for as long as that game ran means that something was seriously wrong.
-
You're throwing yet another statistics thing, just like QuantumDelta did before you. Even 10% of possession may lead to victory as long as it enables a given team to score 1 or more goals. Also, please note how possession is totally unrelated, for example, to the ability of the keeper and many other things; it helps, true, but it isn't enough.
I've seen teams with a possession percentage of 65 losing.
Back on topic, Zapatero claimed he would like to save the octo-Paul from the Germans' "rage"... :nervous:
-
Doesn't apply to the match we're talking about though, just your content from out your ass.
-
Back on topic, Zapatero claimed he would like to save the octo-Paul from the Germans' "rage"... :nervous:
Wait, we not get to eat it after the championship?
I found several interesting recipes for Octopussies...Octopuses...Octopus dish.
:P
-
Even 10% of possession may lead to victory as long as it enables a given team to score 1 or more goals.
On theoretical grounds, yes. In practice.. well.. can you mention a specific match?
-
I've seen teams with a possession percentage of 65 losing.
Let me guess... FC Barcelona? :p
-
Congrats Germany on 3rd place/Bronze. And a great game to watch it was :)
-
Indeed, Forlan's been the best spot kick taker, I honestly expected that ball to be in the net, really nice game overall, with a big ending.
-
The Uruguayan goalkeeper wasn't up to the task, though.
-
You're throwing yet another statistics thing, just like QuantumDelta did before you.
No I'm not. I'm throwing fundemental nature of the game.
And even if I was, that wouldn't make me wrong in and of itself.
-
Lots of yellow cards and pauses during the final.
It's an exciting match because we know what's at stake.
-
I sense a replica of 2006's World Cup...
-
Actually not...
GOAL!!!
EDIT:
CAMPEONES DEL MUNDO!!!
-
I wonder if it's Spain that won the match or it is the Netherlands that lost it.
-
Both, I'd say. Also, Netherlands were lucky not to be down to 8 players by half time, and lucky not to be down to 6 not too long after that. Damn that was one dirty game.
-
True.
The referee made a weird mistake at the end, though... and that helped Spain. That was a corner kick.
-
exciting match, but terrible football. i'm not sure either team really deserved to win. there was dirty play on both sides, but spain got away with/sold a LOT more. the ref was WAY too easy giving out cards i thought. but then he didn't red for the dropkick. go figure.
-
I think Spain can win this.
I'll take my £420 winnings tomorrow please :D
-
I think Spain can win this.
I'll take my £420 winnings tomorrow please :D
Congratulations. :yes:
-
exciting match, but terrible football. i'm not sure either team really deserved to win. there was dirty play on both sides, but spain got away with/sold a LOT more. the ref was WAY too easy giving out cards i thought. but then he didn't red for the dropkick. go figure.
You can't pretend the same treatment in all environments. That was the last match, afterall. There's nothing to be surprised of: depending on the situation, referees give out less (or more) cards than they should. I don't agree with that reasoning as much as you do, but referees simply can't compromise "the show".
As I said, however, the missed corner kick is another matter.
-
Dirty game never wins. And today that was proven by Spain. We played very clean during all the championship from the first match to the final match. See the Germany-Spain match for example... That match was a good one, both sides were very friendly and honorable with each other.
Spain never entered a final round. This is their first final match and their first world victory.
You say that Spain played dirty? Oh please :doubt:. Watch the match again and count the faults. We made very little dirty play, and they started with it first :p. Netherlands made a lot of faults without the deserved cards (they deserved at least two reds), and worse, they replied to the arbiter everytime like if we were the faulters and not them while our players were on the floor crying.
The arbiters made it difficult for us in every match, except today. I think we deserved this long waited victory. :(
YO SOY ESPAÑOL, ESPAÑOL, ESPAÑOL!!! :nod:
-
I still don't like spain, football fairies (fall over way too easy most of them, Fabregas is about the only one with any real fight in him, Xavi Alonso is especially panzy assed), but I dislike what the dutch brought to the final this year even more.
Where's the old dutchies gone? Gimme my total football back.
But yea, the spanish can be really crafty/dirty in their own right.
-
Terrible match. Neither teams really *deserved* to win with this level of play and the referee was calling a lot of bull. At times he was way to happy giving out yellow cards and then at other times it was 'just' a yellow card. The missed corner and Robben who was held by his defender not getting a referee call are both major wtf.
**** match made ****tier by a ****ty referee.
-
Well, it's over. :(
I feel that the buzz of recent months has ceased. :(
see what i did thar
-
see what i did thar
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/ngtm1r/2cglf5v.jpg)
YOU HAVE REDUCED ME TO IMAGE MACROS. SUFFER MY WRATH.
-
I feel that the buzz of recent months has ceased. :(
Yeah, we can all go back to being busy little bees.
see what i did thar
You don't need to toot your own horn.
-
I am glad we placed second :).
But I do not like it that the Telegraaf decided to photoshop their front page again and show a picture of two shadowless mourning dutch footballers. A picture of just Robben would have been awesome in a tragic kind of way.
It was an rather awfull final. The Uruguay - Germany match was waay more interesting, probably because the dutch and the spanish were playing with the idea of: "WE HAVE TO WIN THIS!", while the Uruguayas and the Germans were playing much more relaxed.
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8810629.stm
Enough said.
-
It was an rather awfull final. The Uruguay - Germany match was waay more interesting, probably because the dutch and the spanish were playing with the idea of: "WE HAVE TO WIN THIS!", while the Uruguayas and the Germans were playing much more relaxed.
I'd put an emphasis on the differences between this final and 2006's. Both us and France had a "We have to win!" approach on the match, but the celebrations at the end show that the Spanish kind of expected it since the very beginning even if Holland turned out to be a tough opponent. Even if it was the first World Cup they ever won, they acted as if winning World Cups is part of their daily routine.
-
This WC was generally pretty bad apart from a few team's performance, wasn't it?
I'd reform the system, actually. To be honest, I am generally not interested in the 150th or so team on the ranking list. Instead of holding the usual qualifiers, simply hold a bunch of international tourneys that the teams are free to join if they want, to rack up points on the FIFA ranking list until a given date. Then, the best 32 goes to the WC. How does that sound?
-
Quite a lot of international teams couldn't handle that sort of schedule, about the only countries that could are Asian and north American (aussieland included) everyone else has continental tournaments and stuff to do during the other even numbered years, the vast majority of international players who are worth mentioning also compete in leagues like the prem and champs which are much better organised and refereed and at a significantly higher level than this wc at least
-
BBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTT
-
Quite a lot of international teams couldn't handle that sort of schedule, about the only countries that could are Asian and north American (aussieland included) everyone else has continental tournaments and stuff to do during the other even numbered years, the vast majority of international players who are worth mentioning also compete in leagues like the prem and champs which are much better organised and refereed and at a significantly higher level than this wc at least
Well, the big teams rarely have their top players on the field (because of the clubs, obviously mentioned above) in the qualifiers, same would happen here. Plus a team like Brazil or Argentina wouldn't even need to participate in this sort of a qualification, their spot on the WC would pretty much be guaranteed.
-
Which would instantly suck the challenge and excitement out of this "Nations League".
-
Which would instantly suck the challenge and excitement out of this "Nations League".
Let's face it: the qualifiers are not that important. :p
-
What seems strange to me is that I seem to be the only person who caught a Spanish player knocking a Dutch player over when the game wasn't even active. That's a definite red card offence right there.
-
I'm still gonna walk around town blaring those ****ing horns until the next one.
It's gonna be a LONG four years for Omaha. :p
-
I'm still gonna walk around town blaring those ****ing horns until the next one.
It's gonna be a LONG four years for Omaha. :p
LOL, I accidentally read Obama. :D
-
Not the only one kara but the ref team didn't see it, the ref was facing completely the opposite way even cuz the ball had already left the area where it happened. I totally agree that he should have been sent off, but the puyol offence is the one most dutchies are whining about, they played on to create a half chance though. You cannot have it both ways, if it were like that the game would keep going everytime .. Give people an inch...