Official World Cup 2006 Thread

Off Topic
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[quote]danmaftei wrote:
The worst faking I’ve ever seen was Rivaldo in 2002 vs. Turkey… faking in soccer is nothing new, it’s half the reason I always root for new teams, some may call them “naive” not to play like that, but it makes for a more respectable soccer.

Watching Mexican club teams is the worst…[/quote]

I think this is one reason why soccer has not been able to make huge inroads into the Australian market, although that is now changing with the Aussies doing so well. Like the USA with gridiron, ice hockey etc, in Oz we have been brought up on a diet of rugby league (probably the toughest game of all), rugby union and Australian rules football. We are used to see players take massive hits which you can almost feel sitting in the crowd and then getting up straight away to play the ball and the game moves on. When a soccer player goes down after getting a slight nudge and is writhing around on the ground the first thought that comes into your mind is “what a pansy!” As a result soccer does not get the respect it deserves because it is not “tough enough” for our interests.

I think this is one reason why the Aussies have got a reputation as being very physical players. They are used to receiving hard knocks and have more of the Aussie mentality towards football. To them a little bump or nudge is nothing compared to a rugby tackle!

I reckon a lot of the time a player dives deliberately, especially when on a fast run down the wing he should have just kept going and probably would have got more space a better chance at goal rather than receiving a free kick and having to go around or over a wall of 5 players. If a defender goes in with a sliding tackle and yet you can keep your feet he is then out of the game on the ground and you can race on with no pressure at all and have a good shot at goal.

I see a lot of people are ruling out the Aussies against Italy tomorrow. I know Italy deserve to be favourites but this Aussie team knows how to fight to the death and they aren’t afraid of any team. Italy have lost their best defender in Nesta, plus one other guy due to a red card. Plus Mark Viduka has to be due to get a goal or two, let’s hope he shows up in this game.

GO AUSSIES!!!

Cheers,

Ben

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You`ll find me at the autobahn today, waving at the Dutch caravans on their way back home!!!
(Ohne Holland fahrn wir nach Berlin)
Should be a little easier for England to make the semis happen.

We will have the honor to kick out the strongest squad of the tournament on friday.
I am definitely rooting for the Aussies today.

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By the way, if Portugal faced Italy instead of the Netherlands this crazy Ref had sent every single Portugese player to the locker. The Italians are skilled actors. Check it out:

http://usa.worldcupblog.org/group-e/secret-italian-training-video.html

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[quote]hotsauce wrote:
By the way, if Portugal faced Italy instead of the Netherlands this crazy Ref had sent every single Portugese player to the locker. The Italians are skilled actors. Check it out:

http://usa.worldcupblog.org/group-e/secret-italian-training-video.html

[/quote]
Thats a funny video.

I’m hoping Ukraine beats the Swiss tonight.

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England will beat Portugal this time. There has been a lot made of Scolari’s ability beat England, but at the Euro’s we had a perfectly good goal disallowed and then only went out on penalties, which everyone knows England are wank at. Plus we are due a decent game and Portugal have about half their team either on a yellow or else unavailable to play. Easy.

My other sooth-sayer-like predictions for this week are:

The Aussies to beat Italy.

France to beat Spain.

Germany to beat Argentina in the quarter finals.

Brazil to have their arses proverbially licked by the commentators every time they succed in putting one foot in front of the other without tripping up. They are truely the Man United of international football.

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Do you guys watch much international soccer. Diving is part of the game, it enables a player to draw a foul and get a free kick and the result could be a goal. England will have an easier time with Portugal since two oftheir best players are not playing. As for the Asrtalians to beat Italy, that will be difficultfor the Astralians. Italy is a powerful team who have been to the world cup many times.
Lastley, Argentina is a much better soccer team than the Gremans. The Germans are more physical, but the Argentinians can play.
That’s my opinion.

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That Italian Training Video is awesome, and so true…thanks for posting that.

Holland is going home, Holland is going home, Holland is going home…

What a game, Holland has an awesome team though, they would have deserved it to go through…but who cares anyway…

Holland is going home, Holland is going home, Holland is going home…
Holland is going home, Holland is going home, Holland is going home…
Holland is going home, Holland is going home, Holland is going home…

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[quote]primo73 wrote:
Do you guys watch much international soccer. Diving is part of the game, it enables a player to draw a foul and get a free kick and the result could be a goal. England will have an easier time with Portugal since two oftheir best players are not playing. As for the Asrtalians to beat Italy, that will be difficultfor the Astralians. Italy is a powerful team who have been to the world cup many times.
Lastley, Argentina is a much better soccer team than the Gremans. The Germans are more physical, but the Argentinians can play.
That’s my opinion.[/quote]

yep, I agree with what you say, I just sense a couple of upsets, that’s all. Having watched the first half I’m gonna stick to my guns too - c’mon the Aussies! (eurgh, I feel dirty for saying that…)

Re the Argies, I think the 6-0 drubbing they gave S+M has possibly lead us to over-rate them. They looked no better than any of the other ‘fancied’ teams in the game against Mexico.

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[quote]juninho wrote:

Re the Argies, I think the 6-0 drubbing they gave S+M has possibly lead us to over-rate them. They looked no better than any of the other ‘fancied’ teams in the game against Mexico. [/quote]

If any team is overrated in this WC, it’s England. I can’t believe that squad may actually make the semis. Talk about getting by on talent alone. On a whole, ugly, unimaginative, mediocre football. Ugh.

LaVolpe (who is Argentinean and came up in the Argentine system) came up with an excellent game plan and stifled their attack.

The Argies are still the best team in the tournament. Their class will show when they send the Germans home on Friday.

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[quote]primo73 wrote:
Do you guys watch much international soccer. Diving is part of the game, it enables a player to draw a foul and get a free kick and the result could be a goal.[/quote]

Maybe diving is part of the game, but as an Aussie fan, I just want to say that Totti’s penalty 5 minutes ago was total B.S.

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I am not going to order pizza for at least a week!
Fucking PK!
Neil was already on the ground and did not touch the bastard!
We are going to destroy these girls…

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[quote]OARSMAN wrote:

If any team is overrated in this WC, it’s England. I can’t believe that squad may actually make the semis. Talk about getting by on talent alone. On a whole, ugly, unimaginative, mediocre football. Ugh.

[/quote]

dunno if that comment was meant as a personal dig, if so I’m afraid it failed, as I also think England are unimaginative and dull to watch. In fact I’ve not managed to sit through a full game of theirs yet. HOwever, “that squad” isn’t the issue, “that manager” would be a more apt thing to say.

Anyway, we’ll see about the Argies. They wont win the WC, I’m certain of that.

The Italians have just dived their way into the quarter finals. To be fair to them the sending off was another poor decision though so maybe some perverse kind of justice was done.

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Gutted for the Aussies.

Not a dive, but not a penalty either…

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[quote]juninho wrote:
dunno if that comment was meant as a personal dig, if so I’m afraid it failed, as I also think England are unimaginative and dull to watch.[/quote]

No, not a personal dig at all. I apologize if you thought that.

Just an observation about England’s ugly play so far and the fact that it may be enough to get them into the semis - undeservedly so IMHO, but they somehow keep beating the teams that come in front of them. So more power to them.

[quote]
In fact I’ve not managed to sit through a full game of theirs yet. HOwever, “that squad” isn’t the issue, “that manager” would be a more apt thing to say. [/quote]

Agreed. Sven is rather unimaginative. I can’t fathom how the FA passed on Scolari to give the job to McLaren - so I guess you boys are in for more of the same.

Anyway, the players have to shoulder some of the blame as well - they haven’t been playing well either, for all the individual talent, they don’t play well as a team. And for Sven to shoulder the hopes of England on a player as volatile as Rooney is literally like playing with dynamite.

[quote]
Anyway, we’ll see about the Argies. They wont win the WC, I’m certain of that.[/quote]

We’ll see, indeed… but I will say they have played the best soccer of the tournament. The winner of the Germany v. Argentina match will be in the Final, for sure. The problem with Argentina is the manager, Pekerman, he’s like Sven in that he does not quite know how to use his players to his best advantage. For example, he has yet to really let Messi loose - all this bullshit about his youth. Fuck that, let the kid play!

Sorin was playing out of position have the match and LaVolpe’s formation was frustrating the passage of ball from midfield to the forwards all game - and Pekerman did not make the adjustmen (bringing in Aimar) until much too late in the match. Note that as soon as Aimar came in the Argies basically took over the game and it was only a matter of time until they scored the game winner - which IMHO has been the goal of the WC. (w/Joe Cole’s strike a close second - I give Maxi the edge based on off the chest and in the air vs. a bounce off the floor. :slight_smile: Reminded me of Zidane’s goal vs. Leverkusen in the Champions League Final of 2002)

Agreed on the diving part. Perhaps karma for the jobbing the Italians got at the hands of the refs in that round of 16 match vs Korea in 2002 ?

  • but I think the blame lies with Hiddink for playing it too close to the vest and not attacking more - he simply gave the Italians too much respect and it came back to bite him in the ass. It was obvious the Aussies were content to go into extra time.
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Great post, Big100. So true.

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It’s funny that all you fortunetellers had your money on the swiss.
Sorry. Ukraine came thru with flying colours and will kick Italy’s ass like Australia should have done if the fucking referee wasn’t an asshole.
Bad calls have saved a lot of old european teams from being beaten by upstarts.

Australia should have won. That is obvious.
Italy will lose to Ukraine…again obvious.

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Haven’t been in this thread all day. Just saw the replay on ESPN Classic. Australia got screwed. One of the worst calls I’ve seen. Ever. What a joke.

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how can you say that australia deserved to win??

ok ASSuming that the PK was a bad call (which IMO opinion it is not since, the Aus defender did impede the ITA players progress) You can’t say that the red card to matterazzi was deserved… AT most that should have been a yellow.

So italy played a man down for most of the second period but still won… and they deserved to lose??
i don’;t get that.

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[quote]IRoNStaLLion wrote:
how can you say that australia deserved to win??

ok ASSuming that the PK was a bad call (which IMO opinion it is not since, the Aus defender did impede the ITA players progress) You can’t say that the red card to matterazzi was deserved… AT most that should have been a yellow.

So italy played a man down for most of the second period but still won… and they deserved to lose??
i don’;t get that.[/quote]

Read my post again. Where did I say Italy deserved to lose? Where did I say Australia deserved to win? That’s right, I didn’t.

My only issue is that I don’t think anyone wants to see an otherwise pretty good game decided in the 90th minute on a bush league call like that.

I’m a fan of soccer and of the World Cup, not Italy or Australia. I like to see good soccer. That was not good soccer.

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[quote]IRoNStaLLion wrote:
how can you say that australia deserved to win??

ok ASSuming that the PK was a bad call (which IMO opinion it is not since, the Aus defender did impede the ITA players progress)
[/quote]

Personally, I dont’t think that Australia deserved to win in the regular 90 minutes. They had a numerical advantage and failed to create any chances.

The penalty decision was complete bullshit. The Australian defender attempted to tackle the ball, fell down in the box and then Grosso deliberately ran into him and theatrically fell.

This is just one of the reasons I don’t like Italian football. Pippo Inzaghi is another of those reasons…