FIFA World Cup 2006 [Archive] - Literature Network Forums

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Scheherazade

04-19-2006, 02:18 AM

I am sure there are other fans out there. I can hardly wait for the kick-off in June! Who do you think will win? Who will be the stars? Please use this thread for World Cup related discussions.

Nightshade

04-19-2006, 03:02 AM

I dont know. I dont know if Ill even get to watch it it seems You need a sport channel to watch anny of the matchjes that donnt envolve the uk inthe uk. :(

I just love watching some of the more tense matches with people who actually care so I can roll aroound the flooor laughing :)

Virgil

04-19-2006, 07:07 AM

What the heck. I'll root for my old country. Forza Italia!!!

I just love watching some of the more tense matches with people who actually care so I can roll aroound the flooor laughing

Oh you're one of those. :D You get a kick out of stupid men rooting their guts out for a meaningless team full of spoiled, overpaid jocks. ;)

beer good

04-19-2006, 07:35 AM

Germany over Argentina in the final. Home advantage can mean a lot.

Weeping Willow

04-19-2006, 08:11 AM

Well... this poll is hard since i think that if Brazil Manage to lose .. they are in big trouble.. their team is just remarkable... soooo many great players.. it even hard to choose the team...
My guess is that it would be Italy VS Brazil in the Finel! but i keep my heart for my (well not exactly) home team!!
GOOOOOOO..... MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
í ORALE !

http://www.dallas.net/~lalo/flags.jpg

Grumbleguts

04-19-2006, 08:24 AM

England will win of course if there is any justice. Unless the referees let all of those foreigners get away with diving all over the place as usual!

(That was said with tongue in cheek for those of you that take everything I say literally.)

adilyoussef

04-19-2006, 09:24 AM

I'm joining my friend Willo. Brazil is a very good team. It's always a pleasure watching Ronalinio playing. Thereis Kaka and Robinho that can manage the midle very well, Ronaldo or Adriano are in a good form an can score at any moment, Dida the giant and all those players at the back with a midleback very remarcable, without talking of the substitutions that are available. If it Brazil doesn't win, at least it gives us pleasure watching it play.

papayahed

04-19-2006, 09:45 AM

hmmmmmm... I know nothing of this FIFA. I'm torn between my 2 "Home countrys". Mexico or Germany??????

Pensive

04-19-2006, 11:21 AM

Hmmmm, no Pakistan....well...we are having a cricket match today with India. *wondering who is going to win*

We have shooted India down in the yesterday's match! Yay!

Koa

04-19-2006, 12:41 PM

I have stopped even remotely caring for football (*sighs* soccer) a few years ago, my interest usually rises back in case of major events but this year I don't seem to care...
I don't like to be for Italy because it's so overrated. I'm actually glad I won't be here in June. Football (*ahem* soccer) is one of the basis of this country, there will be nothing else on the news (like, first news and 15 minutes on a match, on the regular news not the sport ones), and that can be so annoying, especially since it's just a team of spoilt overrated millionaires...

crisaor

04-19-2006, 01:20 PM

I'll take the unoriginal route and vote for ourselves. Unlike the previous one, Argentina actually has a chance of getting somewhere here.

RJbibliophil

04-19-2006, 01:47 PM

Ok, so I don't follow soccer/football, but I'd want Norway to win, as it's not an option, I don't care who wins as long as it's not Sweden, and probably not the US either, we win too much.

Morad

04-19-2006, 02:50 PM

If the Italian team will prepare well, they'll get the cup :D

Forza ITALIA ..

IrishCanadian

04-19-2006, 03:26 PM

Okay so i thnk that Italy will win but I want Iran to win. They literally came out of the dust last time and blew everyone's socks off. I have a lot of respect for that team. Let me just say that Ireland didn't actually LOOSE any games last time (just tied one too many times).
.. so in the meantime GO IRAN

Xamonas Chegwe

04-19-2006, 04:11 PM

and probably not the US either, we win too much.

I wouldn't worry about the US winning. They're not allowed to wear armour in this game, so they spend all the time protecting their expensive dental work! :D

England will be hamstrung by the British press as usual - I'll still be cheering them on though.

beer good

04-19-2006, 04:40 PM

Ok, so I don't follow soccer/football, but I'd want Norway to win, as it's not an option, I don't care who wins as long as it's not Sweden
I shouldn't worry. We got the bronze 12 years ago, which means it's going to take another 20 or so years for us to get over our collective shame of actually doing well in a sport that's not ice hockey.

(Though unlike SOME countries, we at least managed to qualify... :D )

Boris239

04-19-2006, 05:42 PM

Brazil is a clear favorite. just look at their forwards and attacking midfielders: Adriano, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka, Robinho... their defense and goalkeepers used to suck but now they are pretty good too

Germany plays at home so they are clearly one of the contenders. Although they don't have a lot of stars( ballack and kahn) it usually doesn't stop them. Was it Lineker who said that football is a game when two teams play an equal game for 90 minues and then germans win.

I'll be happy if England wins. they really do have a good team, but my prediction is that they will lose in the quaterfinal

I like Dutch and Czech teams and wish them luck- they are always fun to watch. Spain and Portugal have good teams as usual, but they never win anything.

Italy and France I think won't do that well. Argentine and Mexico should be good this year

Unfortunately US is in the same group as Italy, Czech republic and ghana. Not a lot of chances to advance...

kilted exile

04-19-2006, 05:44 PM

Ok, I'm picking Argentina this time around. Everyone seems to be ignoring them, which is a dangerous thing to do. I dont really mind tho' so long as England dont win it - it's bad enough hearing about 1966 all the time, I dont want to have to listen to 2006 constantly as well (yeah, I know typical scotsman....anyone but england :lol: )

Boris239

04-19-2006, 05:54 PM

kilted exile, how come you don't enjoy listening about Sir Alf Ramsey and goals by Hurst in the final against Germany? ;)

As far I remember though Denis Law, who is probably the greatest Scottish player of all-time, played during the 60s in Man. United. So it wasn't such a bad time for scottish football :p

kilted exile

04-19-2006, 06:04 PM

kilted exile, how come you don't enjoy listening about Sir Alf Ramsey and goals by Hurst in the final against Germany? ;)

Yeah, its amazing.

As far I remember though Denis Law, who is probably the greatest Scottish player of all-time, played during the 60s in Man. United. So it wasn't such a bad time for scottish football :p

Scottish football was excellent in the 60's - Celtic win the European Cup in '67 (and do the treble 30 odd years before Man U, and with 11 players born within 50 miles of the stadium - surprising noone ever mentions that eh?) and of course we became de facto world champions in '67 when we went down to Wembley and made them look silly - Jim Baxter doing keepy-ups on the sideline and nobody able to stop him :D

On the subject of greatest Scottish player though that is not Denis Law. he is in the top 10 however no.1 has to be Jinky Johnston (and thats coming from a Rangers fan) My personal favourites from that era however will always be Dave Mackay and Billy Bremner - the two players I tried to model my play after, unfortunately the only real similarity was the disciplinary record ;) )

For those of you unfamiliar with these 2:

http://www.derby.org/gaz/ramsnet/gallery/DCFC/Players/Dave_Mackay.gif

Boris239

04-19-2006, 06:13 PM

Unfortunately no Scottish players of such level now.
I thought that Barry Ferguson will become really good.
As you are Rangers fan, you should also remember Ally McCoist. His record is pretty impressive.
What do you think about Hearts now? I think it was bought by Romanov recently so a lot of money is invested.

IrishCanadian

04-19-2006, 09:44 PM

I see a lot of people predicting England's victory. I know I'll get a lot of flak for this comment but if Beckam is playing England will not make it too far. He's become a bit of a hotdog in my opinion, and they are starting to pass to him for "ol times sake" rather than his "superior" skill.
........ go iran

kilted exile

04-19-2006, 10:04 PM

I know I'll get a lot of flak for this comment but if Beckam is playing England will not make it too far. He's become a bit of a hotdog in my opinion, and they are starting to pass to him for "ol times sake" rather than his "superior" skill.

You'll get no flak from me for that, in fact I'll take it further. Beckham is possibly the most overrated player I have ever seen. He has no pace, can't defend, can't tackle, can't dribble, argues constantly, and seems to think he has a divine right not to be touched. He can hit a good pass and is good to use at set-pieces, he is not so much better than others however to make up for his glaring failures. Playing out wide his pace kills him, and in the centre he loses his main skill: crossing.

Englands midfield should be:

Joe Cole Frank Lampard Steven Gerrard Shaun Wright Phillips

Boris239

04-19-2006, 11:14 PM

Beckham is a pretty good player, but nothing close to Zidane, Figo, Nedved etc. Using Madrid language- he isn't a Galacticos. It's very profitable to have him in a team- shirt sales are really big, and he has a huge number of stupid fans and most of them don't understand football too well. Especially these new fans from Asia who were treating him like a God when Madrid was playing.

SleepyWitch

04-20-2006, 07:18 AM

i voted Czech Republic, although it's probably more wishful thinking then a realistic prediction... i don't know the first thing about football/soccer (the only football i ever watch is EuroCup and WorldCup.. but i liked what i saw of the Czech Team in the last EuroCup.. they fight hard and don't give up... most of the top teams are kinda conceited and can't be bothered to give their best, they just assume they'll win by default and when things turn out a bit more difficult they'll find somebody to blame it on...
my other faves would be France, Korea, Japan.. for no real reason at all...

by the way, I'm unfortunate enough to live in one of the world cup cities (Nuremberg), so I'll be your special reporter on what's going on down here (terrorist attacs, wild stampedes, English hooligans clashing with German hooligans, Iran's Achmadineechad popping by)..
well, i don't actually live in Nuremberg, but it's my birthtown and only 20mins from where i live now...

15-Jun-06 Nuremberg ENG:TRI 18:00
11-Jun-06 Nuremberg MEX:IRN 18:00
22-Jun-06 Nuremberg GHA:USA 16:00
18-Jun-06 Nuremberg JPN:CRO 15:00

http://www.easycredit-stadion.de/presse/PI_2006-03-13/easyCredit-Stadion_voll.jpg

Jay

04-20-2006, 11:46 AM

Not like I'd care about football too much (I'm more into ice hockey ;)) but it'll be nice to get a medal when we didn't get it in ice hockey :p

NNoah3

04-20-2006, 12:20 PM

I would like that Mexico wins, but one has to be realistic....
I am with Brazil, nevertheless we cannot underestimate our opponents, we can be taken by a big surprise. Like the one of "The Baseball World Cup", yes I am talking about JAPAN. They beat Cuba with all of his "big stars players" to win the Gold Medal.

Virgil

04-22-2006, 05:18 PM

In honor of this thread, I thought I'd post this smiley I found.
http://www.smilies.smileyville.net/smilies/868.gif

IrishCanadian

04-23-2006, 01:44 AM

In honor of this thread, I thought I'd post this smiley I found.
http://www.smilies.smileyville.net/smilies/868.gif
I didn't know they made smileys of my little brother! WOW

Scheherazade

06-13-2006, 01:06 AM

Ghana is the worthiest team to support at the World Cup according to a website ranking nations on national ethics and "global citizenship" criteria. The World Development Movement says its table highlights global poverty and the inequality of nations at the World Cup.

Fans can find out which are the best aid givers, the most indebted or the least corrupt and cheer them on.

Sweden and Tunisia join Ghana near the top of the list. The USA, Saudi Arabia and Australia are at the bottom.

Benedict Southworth is director of the WDM - part of the Make Poverty History campaign.

She said: "Whoshouldicheerfor.com is a fun and interesting way to think about a serious issue, that of global poverty and inequality between the nations competing in the World Cup.

"When their favourite team isn't playing many people will want to shout for a country that has the odds stacked against them.

"Some of the poorest countries in the world are playing in Germany, let's give them some support."

WDM's World Cup supportability rankings were determined by averaging each country's position across 10 criteria.

They were: Life expectancy, national income per person, military spending, aid spending, carbon emissions, income inequality, health spending, external debt, corruption and the number of companies among world's largest 500 multinationals. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/5071520.stm

Boris239

06-13-2006, 02:38 AM

Something tells me that not the worthiest will win this World Cup :D

So far this is a great championship- except the England-Paraguay game. English team should be ashamed of a game like that- I understand that you don't want to spend too much energy in the first game, but this was beyond all limits... And I actually wanted to cheer for them...

Look at Trinidad and Tobago. Getting a draw with Sweden with 10 men!!! Go Trinidad!!!!!

So far Italy, Germany and Czech Republic impreseed me most of all. I suppose Argentine and Netherlands wre pretty good too

bazarov

06-13-2006, 03:38 AM

Virgil

06-13-2006, 07:07 AM

I'm enjoying it so far. Can anyone beat Brazil?

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 08:37 AM

Everyone who voted on the poll is obviously wrong! ORANJE WILL WIN! That's Holland for all you people that think I'm talking about Ivory Coast. :D

But to be honest, In the few pools I made, We never wins the cup, but I still want them too, obviously. We just don't have a good enough defense.

Boris239

06-13-2006, 09:15 AM

Great Cup!!! Again good football, with ref's from Benin, Singapore... :confused: :confused: :confused: I really don't get it...I can't wait to see Zidane and Brazil...Even though I would like Croat's to win, Brazil is simply the best... :nod: Boris, I think Germany defense is really bad, with that kind of defence against Checzh, Brazil, Spain, Holland etc. they can't get anything better then 0:3 :lol: :lol: Africans impressed me, Ivory Coast against Argentina deserved at least a draw, and Ghana wasn't bad at all...

Germany will have ballack back and they'll sort out their defense problems. After all the second goal was clearly offside. Germany is always a contender even if they have outrageous team with no talant. If Germany had as much talant as let's say Holland, they'd win almost evry World Cup. And this time they are playing at home.

You mentioned Spain. This is a team that I'm perfectly sure will win nothing. They'll lose in the quaterfinal as usual. In fact I think Ukraine will beat them in the group stage.

Ghana wasn't bad, but their best players are defensive midfielders, so ...
Argentine completely controlled the game with Ivory Coast- they just stopped playing in the end. In the first half the difference in class was clearly seen.

Holland is good, Robben was awesome in the first game.

ShoutGrace

06-13-2006, 10:03 AM

I wouldn't worry about the US winning. They're not allowed to wear armour in this game, so they spend all the time protecting their expensive dental work! :D

Czechs blow out lethargic U.S.

. . . to lead the Czech Republic to a 3-0 win over the United States in Group E of the World Cup.

Pensive

06-13-2006, 10:53 AM

I watched the match yesterday and loved the way Czech played, specially the second goal was brilliant! Czech Football team seems intelligent, really rocks!

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 11:04 AM

Yes, and the czech were soundly beaten by Holland in the qualifiers, TWICE! :lol:

Pensive

06-13-2006, 11:12 AM

Oh, this happens in game but in the last game, yesterday, they showed that they can do something, and that something will be to win the Cup!

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 11:17 AM

Pensive

06-13-2006, 11:22 AM

Don't make me laugh, yes they were good, but have you seen the USA play, that was the worst sort of football I've seen in the tournament. And I've seen all matches except for today's South Korea vs. Togo. :lol:

LOL, you yourself admit that Czech were good, and what I am tying to say is also that they were good, played well. :p

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 11:28 AM

Maybe, but they are not taking home the cup.

Chava

06-13-2006, 11:32 AM

Denmark didn't even qualify?! this is so sad... We're going to have to cheer for sweeden instead. Guess who's going to be in Berlin for the finals?

Pensive

06-13-2006, 11:32 AM

Maybe, but we will see....

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 11:36 AM

Denmark didn't even qualify?! this is so sad... We're going to have to cheer for sweeden instead. Guess who's going to be in Berlin for the finals?
I'm jealous, although, if we reach the final I might just go to berlin and see what happens there. I don't have tickets though :(

Chava

06-13-2006, 11:40 AM

admittedly, i wont be seeing any football, it just doesn't interest me. I'll be drawing somewhere around alexanders platz, for my art project. But i'm sure i won't miss the atmosphere. To be honest, i hope holland will win, it's my "native" country after all, and the story behind the orange national colour is brilliant!

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 11:50 AM

Yay! The colour orange is brilliant indeed. :D I'll be dressed in orange myself this friday, when we go up against Ivory coast! :) We'll show those elephants a thing or two! :)

What's this about Holland being your native country? I always thought you were danish.

Chava

06-13-2006, 12:12 PM

"Native" True, let's just settle for my parents studdying in Holland at the time of my concetion, and the first three weeks of my life. born in Leiden. So, i've always had anaffinity for Holland. Same town as Rembrant is from too!

And, since i'm rather interested in art, i'm also majorly interested in Painter's like Vermeer, and naturally Rembrandt. I was going to go there this year, but it's been postponed.

AimusSage

06-13-2006, 02:39 PM

I see, Dutch at heart ;) Leiden is an nice city :) Although I don't go there often, it's a bit out of the way for me

kilted exile

06-13-2006, 06:18 PM

So far this is a great championship- except the England-Paraguay game. English team should be ashamed of a game like that- I understand that you don't want to spend too much energy in the first game, but this was beyond all limits... And I actually wanted to cheer for them...

I am not surprised in the least that England played that poorly, the only people who I heard talking about england winning was their own players/coaches/ and the over the top English media (as well as a few of the stupid talking heads, but I mute them anyway).

The English team lacks any real creativity (with the exception of Joe Cole, but he is out on the left wing and is not going to create much from out there). Gerrard and Lampard are both good driving midfielders who are a threat to get on the scoresheet, but neither exactly have what you would term flair and creative influence. Also playing Lurch up front encourages the defence to try to play the long ball constantly, and that will not work at this level.

With regards to AImus and the ORANJE, I like hollands team, but I do worry about their centre backs. Having said that I see the winner of their group (between them and Argentina - my personal pick - Ivory Coast are done) getting through to the final to play against Brazil, who I was unimpressed by against Croatia who showed if you get after them you have a chance of sneaking a result.

cuppajoe_9

06-13-2006, 06:24 PM

It looks like Brazil at the moment, but I'm cheering for Italy. My team, Ireland, didn't qualify this year.

bazarov

06-13-2006, 06:45 PM

If only Croats will play Japan and Aussie like they did today...Boris, I agree about Ballack, but he also have complains about their defense. Will see Spain tomorrow, Ukraina is playing without Shevchenko, it's their big chance in that poor group. Who is your favorite???

Boris239

06-13-2006, 08:10 PM

As far as I know it's still possible that Shevchenko will play with Spain. Actually Ukraine has a very good team- I won't be surprised if they'll qualify from the first place in the group. Spain always sucks on major tournaments.
Germany is certainly one of the favorites. Two main reasons- a) they play at home b) they are germans
For me other contenders are Brazil, Argentine and Italy, although I'll cheer for Czech Republic and Netherlands. And probably a bit for Ukraine.

AimusSage

06-14-2006, 05:03 AM

With regards to AImus and the ORANJE, I like hollands team, but I do worry about their centre backs. Having said that I see the winner of their group (between them and Argentina - my personal pick - Ivory Coast are done) getting through to the final to play against Brazil, who I was unimpressed by against Croatia who showed if you get after them you have a chance of sneaking a result.
Yes, the centre defense is a bit of a problem, personally I prefer boularouz over Mathijsen, he's a better defender. But we have Van der Sar in the goal, and he is without a doubt one of the best keepers in the world today, and has been for years.

I really liked Croatia vs. Brazil, an interesting match. Croatia played really well, but it was the individual class of Brazil that finally won the game for them. They didn't convince me either.

Germany is indeed always a contender, four years ago nobody thought they would get far, and they played the final. I don't think they'll get this far now, but they are always an outsider. Like Boris said, they are german. :)

Virgil

06-14-2006, 07:30 AM

Yes, that was not an inspired win by Brazil. They looked beatable. Let's see how Spain does today and we'll have a good look at all the contenders.

Scheherazade

06-14-2006, 11:12 AM

Spain 4 - Ukraine 0!!!

:eek2:

AimusSage

06-14-2006, 11:22 AM

It was a great match to watch, Ukraine was dissappointing, but really, Spain did play well. :) Although the penalty was a bit undeserved.

Scheherazade

06-14-2006, 11:33 AM

Unfortunately, I couldn't watch it (they refuse to put TV sets in the classes :mad:))

By the end of today, we will have watched all the teams at least once, right? Maybe we should close the poll before tomorrow's matches.

Boris239

06-14-2006, 11:37 AM

There was no penalty for sure. The fouth Spanish goal was awesome

Scheherazade

06-14-2006, 11:39 AM

I haven't seen the Spanish goals but Kaka's goal last night was the best so far, I thought.

Boris239

06-14-2006, 11:42 AM

I liked Lam's goal against Costa-Rica better. And Fernando torres' goal was great not because of the good strike, but because of the great combination

Asa Adams

06-14-2006, 11:45 AM

Man, I don't care who wins now, I am just excited Football is the center of attention now! :banana:

Scheherazade

06-14-2006, 11:48 AM

After watching Brasil last night, I am thinking the cup is up for grabs. No teams seems to have it all; it is very hard to predict the winner or claim that a certain team deserves to win it.

AimusSage

06-14-2006, 11:55 AM

Boris239

06-14-2006, 12:32 PM

The way puyol set it up was fantastic, Kaka's goal was nice, but nothing to extraordinary I thought. Lahm's goal definitely was better. :)

I'll put my money on Oranje, but I'm just worried about the defense. That certainly is the weakest line in our team.

Being objective defense was always not the strongest dutch side. You guys, have a pretty young team, Van Basten wasn't afraid to bring a lot of new faces. I'm used to see Stam and Frank de Boer in the center of defense. I'll cheer for Holland- after all Van Basten was my first idol.

AimusSage

06-14-2006, 01:24 PM

We always were more about attacking and attractive football, I wouldn't have mind to see Stam along though. To bad he retired from interland football.

AimusSage

06-14-2006, 05:12 PM

Germans, those lucky bastards :(

cuppajoe_9

06-14-2006, 05:24 PM

Man, the Brazilians really need to pull their socks up if they want to win the cup. Croatia should've scored about three times in that game.

The Netherlands is probably tightest team I've seen so far.

kilted exile

06-14-2006, 05:44 PM

For Germany to win the world cup, they will need to get rid of Friedrich. He does not have a clue about how to play his role.

The number of times his lack of positional understanding cancelled out what should have been off-sides against Costa Rica was staggering and frankly unexcusable for a player at this level.

He could well cost them against better opposition.

**Also if only Koeman and De Boer were still playing the Dutch would walk this**

Boris239

06-14-2006, 08:22 PM

EAP

06-14-2006, 08:35 PM

Côte d'Ivoire

Yup. Them's the guys.

Virgil

06-14-2006, 09:00 PM

Spain 4 - Ukraine 0!!!

:eek2:
Was Spain that good or Ukraine that bad?

IrishCanadian

06-15-2006, 12:08 AM

Ukraine was that bad I'm very sad to say. Unfortunately I miseed a lot of games because of work ... I think the best on I saw was Trinidad win 0-0 ... was that the second day of the world cup?
All I have to say at this point though is that Poland was beaten not by German players but by a papal blessing that forced the loss (a friend's joke).

Boris239

06-15-2006, 12:31 AM

germany-poland game was also funny because both german strikers are at least partly polish- Klose and Podolski

AimusSage

06-15-2006, 02:38 AM

Koeman, De Boer. It would also be nice to have Gullit, Rijkaard and van Basten. And let's say Neeskens and Cruyff :D
I can do without Gullit, and we already have van Basten! :D

But yeah, if we are to pull up old heroes, I would know a few more. But that's only wishful thinking. :)

bazarov

06-15-2006, 05:59 AM

Man, I don't care who wins now, I am just excited Football is the center of attention now! :banana:
Bravo Asa, that's the spirit :lol: :lol:

Shakira

06-15-2006, 06:00 AM

:D Brazil :banana: ,Brazil :banana: , Brazil. :banana:

cuppajoe_9

06-15-2006, 02:00 PM

I'm liking Spain's chances after seeing them trounce Ukraine.

Boris239

06-15-2006, 02:48 PM

SleepyWitch

06-16-2006, 07:43 AM

Spain often plays well in the group stage, but somehow they always lose in the playoffs. Pity that England won against Trinidad- I was cheering for them and hoped that T&T will get a draw. Shame to England for such a perfomance!!

me too... i was hoping for a draw... T&T tried really hard and played so much better than England for most of the match...

I live in Nuremberg where the match was held. there were 70,000 English ppl w/out tickets in town.. they watched the match at pubs and places... i watched it at a cinema where they had a huge screen and projector at a cafe... it was cool, coz there were lots of English people.. it was really fun to hear them shout "Rooney, Rooney.."... English fans are cool.. they even clapped and cheered when T&T were close to scoring... that's what i call fair play... lots of German fans hiss and shout insults when the other team scores...
there was a T&T carneval in town. there's a slideshow on the net. click "Link zur Diashow" to see the pics. in the pop up window you can also click under "Alle vorhandenen Diashows" to see pics of other world cup events in Nuremberg
http://fifawm2006.nuernberg.de/index.php?navi=1&rid=117&artid=665&startdia=diashow
click

AimusSage

06-16-2006, 11:01 AM

Impressive match by Argentina! Serbia clearly was very poor but 6-0!! That says something. It was good to see Messi play. :)

Boris239

06-16-2006, 11:08 AM

Man, I haven't seen such an impressive Argentine team since the first games of 1994 World Cup with Maradona. I'm really looking forward to Argentine-Netherlands game.

AimusSage

06-16-2006, 02:14 PM

HOLLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We're lucky bastards! :D But we won despite playing extremely poor!

Van Persie is the man! :)

Boris239

06-16-2006, 03:10 PM

It looks like Holland will have a very difficult game with Argentina

AimusSage

06-16-2006, 03:14 PM

No kidding! They can win this time, next time we will devour them :lol:

Or so I hope :)

Boris239

06-16-2006, 03:16 PM

No kidding! They can win this time, next time we will devour them :lol:

Or so I hope :)

This **** happened in 1988 when USSR beat Holland in group, but lost in the final when van Basten scored his unbelievable goal to Dasaev

AimusSage

06-16-2006, 03:18 PM

Hehe, how I loved that goal. It might just be that history will repeat itself. :)

Boris239

06-17-2006, 02:03 PM

Go Ghana!!! Now the situation in this group is very interesting

Boris239

06-19-2006, 02:10 PM

It would be funny if France won't advanve to playoff. they certainly don't desreve it. Saudi Arabia is extremely weak. 0-4 with Ukraine. If Spain will put their first 11 with them, it would be an interesting game. On the last World Cup it was 0-8 with germany if I'm not mistaken

miss tenderness

06-21-2006, 08:21 PM

Seems that the two most sportive guys in the forum are monopolizing this thread lol . let me tell you this :
My fiance is a big fan of football and I am not! In these days we have a deal that each one should try what the other like! So I started watching with him the matches. It turns to be fun and I turned to be a better fan than he is! Well , we women get into the mood , I mean I shouted with the goals and went overemotional with the match. If I were him I would regret the deal lol.

Virgil

06-21-2006, 09:16 PM

:lol: Very funny Miss Tenderness. Who are you rooting for?

Schokokeks

06-22-2006, 03:58 AM

AimusSage

06-22-2006, 04:43 AM

I'm terribly vexed. How dare you vote for the Netherlands ;)

Anyway, the match yesterday was quite interesting, Argentina being the superior team. I think they could have won if they really wanted too, but were content with a draw. We still have a long way to go if we are to get far in the tournament. The discipline and team spirit is there, now we need to start playing the game how it is meant to be played. :D

SleepyWitch

06-22-2006, 11:10 AM

Sorry to spoil the enthusiastic mood, but that soccer thingy is definetely going on my nerves by now. I wish it were already over.
Now this attitude of mine probably comes from the fact that I at the moment happen to live in the very epicentre of it. Although there are no matches or whatsoever in my city, the town is one big stadium. There's a huge screen installed down-town where people can watch the matches together, get drunk and throw stones at policemen, windows, their friends,...I just don't see why everybody is making such a fuss! If they are not dead drunk, they're bawling and whooping and jostling - and no, they don't sleep at night :rage:
What is even worse, you just can't possibly escape it. It is everywhere - newspapers, telly, radio, advertisements,...Right now, the German government is passing some impertinences again, and nobody cares if only for the "World Cup tranquilliser"...

Sorry to all of you soccer-lovers out there for that drastic report :). I hope you're all enjoying the matches! I probably would, too, if only I were faaaarer away :D

PS: I've voted for the Netherlands because I think that would vex everyone here the most :D

poor Schokokeks :( where exactly do you live? i live near Nuremberg... i dunno if we get any bawling and stone-throwing here.. so far it's been more like a big party... but the German fans are getting on my nerves with all their so-called patriotism and flags... i don't mind them as long as they are sober and civilized.... oh yeah, the other day i was going home on the train and there were some drunken kids with flags and Germany football shirts and they shouted "F*** England" at some English girls... "Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden?"- "Time to make friends?"... if this is what our new-found patriotism leads to, thanks a lot...
I do like watching world cup football (no German premier league for me though, *boring*, got better things to do), but I've watched so many group matches that I've lost track and can't be bothered anymore... I'll watch the quarter finals and final though

Scheherazade

06-22-2006, 02:02 PM

Football Chants Quiz (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5106006.stm)

Schokokeks

06-22-2006, 04:02 PM

I'm terribly vexed. How dare you vote for the Netherlands ;)
With "here" I meant here in Germany ;)
But anyway, you're right, Aimus, I should have picked Sweden or Australia!! They're far hotter than the Dutch! ;) I might even consider watching a whole match if only there were more close-ups... :p

poor Schokokeks :( where exactly do you live? i live near Nuremberg... i dunno if we get any bawling and stone-throwing here.. so far it's been more like a big party... but the German fans are getting on my nerves with all their so-called patriotism and flags... i don't mind them as long as they are sober and civilized....
Yeah, that's quite ridiculous. I expect patriotism and flags to be gone within a week once that spectacle is over. I live in a very small village (near Freiburg), but even here in provincial backwaters, everyone has gone mad...If i lived as close to a stadium as you, Sleepy, I'd seriously consider temporary emigration ;)

But although it definetely isn't my thing, I'm happy for all the inveterate fans who are now experiencing their dream coming true.
Let's hope the most deserving team will win! (Aussieland!!! Sweden!!! :D Any chance I might get another two votes :brow:? I'm some kind of victim, after all...:p)

miss tenderness

06-23-2006, 04:59 PM

:lol: Very funny Miss Tenderness. Who are you rooting for?

For all who plays well, but my team is not my fiance's . Another problem:D

what about ye Virgil?

Virgil

06-23-2006, 07:47 PM

For all who plays well, but my team is not my fiance's . Another problem:D

what about ye Virgil?
I'm rooting for Italy. My ethnicity is Italian and I can't go against my father and uncles. :D

Virgil

06-24-2006, 08:44 PM

That was a great game today between Argentina and Mexico.

cuppajoe_9

06-25-2006, 04:59 PM

Netherlands vs. Portugal was a disgrace to football. 16 cards is just ridiculous. Why Figo wasn't sent off I don't know.

Mark F.

06-25-2006, 06:38 PM

That was one of the funniest games I've ever watched, I don't know why that ref is considered as one of the best in football today, all his performances have been horrible, well, not as bad as this evening's.

On the bright side, Deco showed what a great player he is while he was still on the pitch and his sending off could really cost Portugal in the quarter-finals.

Scheherazade

06-25-2006, 06:39 PM

Netherlands vs. Portugal was a disgrace to football. 16 cards is just ridiculous. Agreed. Never seen such an eventful World Cup match! I hope there won't be any clashes between fans after the game...

With all these sending-offs, I couldn't help wondering if there is a minimum number of players for the game. Does anyone know?

cuppajoe_9

06-25-2006, 06:43 PM

That was one of the funniest games I've ever watched...It wasn't funny for me, the Oranje was my team.

SleepyWitch

06-26-2006, 04:36 AM

Agreed. Never seen such an eventful World Cup match! I hope there won't be any clashes between fans after the game...

With all these sending-offs, I couldn't help wondering if there is a minimum number of players for the game. Does anyone know?

i think the minimum is 7 (but i dunno if it's 7 e a c h or in total... )..
nope there were no clashes.. at least that's what they said on the radio this morning. i'll check the newspaper later

- this is SleepyWitch, reporting from Nuremberg for LitNet Forum :)

PS: yep, the referee did overreact a couple of times, but then the players didn't behave too civilized either.. i think there was a lot of unfair behaviour...
speaking of referees: does anyone happen to know the name of the referee who did Argentina vs Mexico? hehe, he was rather good-looking :brow:

edit: found him :) it's Massimo Busacca of Switzerland. hehe, sorry to hijack the thread :)
http://www.abc.es/RC/200606/03/Media/busacca--200x230.JPG

AimusSage

06-26-2006, 05:42 AM

That was the worst match I've seen in a long time. Ivanon loves his cards a little too much, and ruined it for both teams.

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g104/Aimussage/20970241_700_700_94lr.jpg

anyway, we lost, too bad, I can't really say it was undeserved. Not that portugal was better, but we didn't really earn a victory the way we played. Very weak again, the second half was crazy and portugal kept their calm a little better then we did. Their experience won the game. Figo was the bastard that he is again, the way he got boulahrouz his second yellow card. He did deserve his first yellow, obviously. Figo also 'headbutting' van Bommel and getting away with yellow.

I think fans of both teams eventually agreed to be angry at the referee instead of each other.

As for the minimum number of players on the field. A game cannot start with less then seven players on each side.

Mark F.

06-26-2006, 07:47 AM

Agreed. Never seen such an eventful World Cup match! I hope there won't be any clashes between fans after the game...

With all these sending-offs, I couldn't help wondering if there is a minimum number of players for the game. Does anyone know?

For international games, if a team is reduced to LESS than seven players the game is stopped and that team looses. In club football, the game is stopped when a team is reduced to seven players.

Mark F.

06-26-2006, 07:53 AM

It wasn't funny for me, the Oranje was my team.

Heh, sorry. It was fun as a neutral viewer, but as I'm rooting for England and they're playing Portugal next, Deco's sending off was a blessing. I'd feel very frustrated for my team to go out on such a match.

By the way, Figo could have been punished by FIFA after the game but wasn't. And Blatter (the FIFA boss) said "there could have been a yellow card for the ref".

Boris239

06-26-2006, 09:19 AM

Portugal-Holland was certainly an interesting game. The referee's fault is mostly in losing control of the game, because most of the yellow cards can be justified. Yep, Figo certainly used his fame and acting skills to get the dutch defender ejected. Somehow a lot of portugese players like to do stuff like that- Deco does that regularly. But let's say Van Persie and Robben do it in England all the time too. This is one of the reasons that people cheer for England- it's very rare to see Rooney or Gerrard doing something like that. Summarizing, Portugal got a deserved win, and it's a pity that they've lost so many key players.
I was a bit dissapointed by Argentina performance. Rodriguez's goal was fantastic, but I was absolutely sure that Argentina would win without any problems. Mexico is a strong team, but if you are a WC contender...
Italy is so damn lucky playing Australia and then the winner of Switzerland-Ukraine game. Compared to Germany-Argentina quaterfinal it's a piece of cake

cuppajoe_9

06-26-2006, 02:38 PM

This is one of the reasons that people cheer for England- it's very rare to see Rooney or Gerrard doing something like that.But then, Van der Sar and Robben don't have their own brands of cologne.

Scheherazade

06-26-2006, 05:21 PM

Luis Figo can play in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against England after Fifa ruled out further action for a headbutt on Holland's Mark van Bommel. The Portugal skipper was booked and, because referee Valentin Ivanov took action, Fifa will not intervene.

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari also hopes that midfielder Deco will be available.

He was sent off for two yellow cards in the 1-0 win but Scolari has urged the Portuguese Football Federation to appeal against the first booking.

The 28-year-old went into the book for a lunge at Holland defender John Heitinga after Holland had refused to give the ball back, despite Portugal kicking it out of play because of an injury.

And Scolari said: "The Federation could send a letter to Fifa because of the first yellow card.

"The ball was ours, we had possession but the Dutch player was told by his coach to continue playing.

"There should be fair-play guidelines from Fifa and the time has come for them to think about this."

The return of Deco, as well as Figo's reprieve, would be a massive boost for Portugal.

It had been suggested that Fifa could upgrade Figo's yellow card to a red for his deliberate headbutt on Van Bommel, potentially leading to a one-match ban that would have ruled him out of the game in Gelsenkirchen.

But Fifa communications director Markus Siegler said: "He was sanctioned immediately by the referee at the time.

"The referee's report is being analysed but it is very unlikely anything will happen as he has been sanctioned."

Van Bommel, commenting on the incident, had said: "Figo headbutted me and that is not a yellow card. I blame the referee, it was a clear red card."

But Siegler said: "It is only where there is a clear disciplinary issue, which has not been acted upon by the referee, that the disciplinary committee can look at it."

Figo was later involved in more controversy when his tangle with Khalid Boulahrouz led to the Holland defender being dismissed for a second yellow card.

However, Scolari defended Figo, saying: "Jesus said we should turn the other cheek. Unfortunately, Figo is not Jesus Christ."

Meanwhile, the coach also confirmed he would not appeal against Costinha's red card. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/portugal/5116722.stm

Thanks for the 7 players explanations :)

Mark F.

06-26-2006, 05:30 PM

Again, Blatter on Figo's headbutt : 'Jesus Christ said he would turn the other cheek but Figo is not Jesus Christ. I thought he was more correct than the Dutchmen'. The guy's hilarious.

Right now : penalties, the only entertaining bit of Ukraine vs Switzerland...

Scheherazade

06-27-2006, 11:52 AM

Right now : penalties, the only entertaining bit of Ukraine vs Switzerland...One of the most boring games I have ever watched in the World Cup! What lack of enthusiam and skill! Shame both teams did not go out of the tournament!

Mark F.

06-27-2006, 12:03 PM

Agreed. Even the penalty shootout was lame.

Scheherazade

06-27-2006, 12:08 PM

I think it is very unfair to decide the winner based on a few penalty shoot outs at a tournament like this.

I am glad it doesn't come to that very often.

Mark F.

06-27-2006, 12:59 PM

They used to flip a coin, at least penalties are usually fun to watch, as long as it's not your team who's playing.

bazarov

06-27-2006, 01:43 PM

Switzerland didn't concede a gol and now they are gone...Funny...I hope France will pass Spain, just to see Zidane against Brazil. That would a glorious end of the greatest player I've ever seen...La Primera won't be interesting next season. Without Zizou, Real will be helpless...

bazarov

06-27-2006, 01:47 PM

Mark F.

06-27-2006, 01:50 PM

Zidane hasn't been playing well for two years now, all he does is stand in the middle of the pitch and pass the ball backwards to his centre-backs. That or lose the ball. Real's season was saved by Batista, Robinho, Cicinho, Casillas and Beckham. I'm not blaming Zidane though, he can definitely still be a great player but he needs to play with a team who don't need him to put in an effort which Real and France cannot afford right now.

Pensive

06-30-2006, 02:21 PM

Oh, did anyone look at the faces of Argentina's Team? They were really, really crying...a pity...I thought that Argentina was a better team....well poor luck.

SleepyWitch

06-30-2006, 05:48 PM

~~~~~~ Don't Cry, Argentina~~~~~

poor Argentina... they played well enough, Pensy, but penalty shoot-out is different...

Pensive

06-30-2006, 06:04 PM

~~~~~~ Don't Cry, Argentina~~~~~

poor Argentina... they played well enough, Pensy, but penalty shoot-out is different...
Yep, Argentina is a good team, I think better than Germany and so deserved to be in semi-finals but luck...

Mark F.

07-01-2006, 09:26 AM

The deserved to lose...I mean they scored one goal and then took off all their best players thinking they'd already won the game. Please Italy, don't let Germany get to the finals! It's like reliving the 2004 Euro.

Mark F.

07-01-2006, 01:57 PM

SleepyWitch

07-01-2006, 02:24 PM

I'm dejected...I think there hasn't been a single game with decent reffing. Come on! what the **** was that red card about? You get sent off if you manage to keep possession of the ball between two Portuguese players?

yep, but there's a diff between kicking the ball (singular) and.... well you know what i mean...

Virgil

07-01-2006, 02:37 PM

It was a good game actually, but the Portugese goalie was outstanding in penalty kicks. That was the difference. One never knows, but even if there was no red card this game was headed for penalty kicks.

SleepyWitch

07-01-2006, 02:55 PM

yep, i was about to add that England was playing below par anyway/Portugal was stronger than expected....

it's Italy vs Germany on Tuesday.. what do you reckon Virgil?
my boyfriend has been predicting Germany's defeat ever since the beginning of the world cup.. he was sure Argentina would win... now he's saying Italy is sure to run all over them..... they might be lucky though and we'll get to see yet another penalty shoot-out

Virgil

07-01-2006, 05:06 PM

Mark F.

07-01-2006, 05:32 PM

Well, at the beginning of the WC I was predictin England vs Brasil and Italy vs Argentina semis...so over the last two days most of my hopes have been crushed. So now I'm rooting for Italy.

crisaor

07-01-2006, 05:41 PM

The reffing in Argentina-Germany was outrageous. They might as well hand them the Cup now, if they plan to continue like this.

I hate having to wait another 4 years. :mad:

SleepyWitch

07-02-2006, 03:58 AM

Well, Sleepywitch, I've been rooting for Italy so I'm thrilled they are in the Semis. Germany is a good team but young. Italy has a lot of experience. But then the Germans are at home. It should be a good game, but I think Italy will win.

What a great effort by France just now. The played magnificent and should beat Portugal.

From this perspective I think it will be France versus Italy in the final.

hehe, i know you've been rooting for Italy, that's why I asked :) hehhe, no offence :)
i've managed to miss all of Italy's matches... what kind of style/tactics do they play? i suppose they are fast and agile or something? what i don't like about "our" team (Germany) is that they are so boring... they played OK vs Argentina, but normally they'll just stand around and wait for the ball to drop down next to them... IF they are in possession they hop around until three opponents pounce on them and steal the ball.... plus they're really indecisive... they've let so many good chances to score go to waste because they aren't spontaneous enough to just kick it.. everything has to be perfect...
I like the South Americans (except Brasil), Portuguese and French (my fave team) because they are elegant, run a lot, and go after the ball even if there are 7 opponents around...

does anyone else think offside is the most ridiculous rule in any sport? i mean, i can understand it if all the players are in the other teams half of the pitch and there's a really long pass so it's only the goaly against an attacker...
but if there's like 3 defenders in the penalty area and the attacker happens to be half a meter ahead of them plus the ball is passed from the same half of the pitch, it's so ridiculous to call this "offside"... i mean, if a team doesn't have proper defense it's their fault...

Pensive

07-02-2006, 04:13 AM

Hey Sleepy, you live in Germany, right? Aren't you going to watch the game in stadium?

SleepyWitch

07-02-2006, 04:21 AM

Hey Sleepy, you live in Germany, right? Aren't you going to watch the game in stadium?

the tickets are too expensive... i mean, they're not t h a t expensive considering it's the World Cup, but seeing as footie is not my number one priority I prefer to be stingy

plus, FIFA anounced they were sold out ages ago... then it turned out they weren't sold out after all, so you can still get tickets on the internet now....
it's too much of a hassle for lazy SleepyWitch, though...
if i'd known they weren't sold out i might have got one for a match in Nuremberg.. but Berlin or something is too expensive because of the train tickets etc.
yeah, I know it's stupid but i can't be bothered :)
hehe, last time i watched footie at a stadium (the only time, actually) i went off on a trance as soon as the game started and didn't catch any of it :) :) :)

Pensive

07-02-2006, 04:46 AM

the tickets are too expensive... i mean, they're not t h a t expensive considering it's the World Cup, but seeing as footie is not my number one priority I prefer to be stingy

plus, FIFA anounced they were sold out ages ago... then it turned out they weren't sold out after all, so you can still get tickets on the internet now....
it's too much of a hassle for lazy SleepyWitch, though...
if i'd known they weren't sold out i might have got one for a match in Nuremberg.. but Berlin or something is too expensive because of the train tickets etc.
yeah, I know it's stupid but i can't be bothered :)
hehe, last time i watched footie at a stadium (the only time, actually) i went off on a trance as soon as the game started and didn't catch any of it :) :) :)
Yippee, lol! I guess that in tv, view is also clearer. :D

SleepyWitch

07-02-2006, 05:28 AM

yes, I'm aware it was a rather silly thing to do :)

yeah, i think the pic is clearer on the telly. watching footie at the stadium seems to be a skill in its own right... i think you've got to practice it a lot otherwise you won't have any idea what's going on... at least that was my experience :)

Virgil

07-02-2006, 02:55 PM

hehe, i know you've been rooting for Italy, that's why I asked :) hehhe, no offence :)
i've managed to miss all of Italy's matches... what kind of style/tactics do they play?
Italy is a defensive minded team. When they are playing well, the defense stymies anything the opposition does, and they counter up field with accurate passing. They have only given up one goal this whole World Cup and that goal they accidently put in themselves. When they are not playing well, they can be boring and unimaginative like Germany and frankly all European teams. But they are playing well.

Virgil

07-02-2006, 02:56 PM

Mark F.

07-02-2006, 03:09 PM

The point of going to the stadium isn't really to watch the match, it's more about getting drunk and singing and making fun of the other team. It's just a fun atmosphere.

SleepyWitch

07-03-2006, 02:30 AM

Italy is a defensive minded team. When they are playing well, the defense stymies anything the opposition does, and they counter up field with accurate passing. They have only given up one goal this whole World Cup and that goal they accidently put in themselves. When they are not playing well, they can be boring and unimaginative like Germany and frankly all European teams. But they are playing well.

ok, cool :) thanks for the explanation :) will be interesting to watch then :) In Euro 2004 some of the rookie teams did quite well because their defense was great.. some of the famous teams didn't have any defense so there was a lot of whining like "how dare they be so defensive, this is a re-writing of footie rules, it hasn't been done in 70 years"... :lol:

Virgil

07-04-2006, 07:15 PM

Wheeeeohh! What a game between Italy and Germany. Fantastic!! Italy still has not let the opposition score.

Scheherazade

07-04-2006, 07:17 PM

This tournament is full of surprises! I was rooting for Germany but Italy nailed it at the end! The first goal was amazing!

Pensive

07-04-2006, 11:41 PM

It was a great match, really! Poor Germany, defeated in their home crowd but they did play well!

SleepyWitch

07-05-2006, 03:57 AM

yep that was an exciting game, as compared to the ones before....
but seriously, I'm getting so fed up with extra times and penalty shoot-outs...
is it because both teams are too sluggish or because both of them are so good they kinda cancel each other out and nothing much happens?

i hope France will make short shrift with Portugal tonight because i'm not really prepared to stay up late for another penalty shootout...
sorry to be so grumpy, but this has been a lousy World Cup so far...except for T&T, Argentina and France maybe

Mark F.

07-05-2006, 11:31 AM

Agreed, the World Cup has been boring.

Virgil

07-05-2006, 11:38 AM

Boring? Not to me. I think it's been great.

SleepyWitch

07-05-2006, 11:54 AM

well, let's hope the game tonight and the final will be more interesting.
warning: ghastly (mis-)spelling ahead: Allez le bleu/les bleux? la blue? whatever :)

Virgil

07-06-2006, 03:59 PM

Well, what do people think of this final? Who's going to win? You know who I think.

SleepyWitch

07-07-2006, 06:13 AM

hehe, that's wishful thinking, Virgil.... :)
nah, I'm not sure... could be a tough game...for both teams... i tend to think France will win, though...

Virgil

07-07-2006, 06:54 AM

hehe, that's wishful thinking, Virgil.... :)
nah, I'm not sure... could be a tough game...for both teams... i tend to think France will win, though...
I'm glad you're predicting that. If I were to bet against all the predictions so far, I would have a fortune. So far I don't think anyone would have had these two teams in the final.

Shakira

07-07-2006, 08:40 AM

I guess France wins the FIFA Cup this year.

SleepyWitch

07-07-2006, 08:43 AM

I'm glad you're predicting that. If I were to bet against all the predictions so far, I would have a fortune. So far I don't think anyone would have had these two teams in the final.

yeah.. i wouldn't have thought France would make it that far again...
it's like all the 'big' teams kept their strengths for best but for some it went wrong because they didn't realize that "for best" had arrived :lol:
so it was a bit difficult to make predictions because most matches dragged on forever and you couldn't be sure until the last minute...
hehe, seems faith comes in useful in this case :) if there's no way of making accurate predictions you might just as well keep believing in 'your' team out of pure, unadulterated, irrational loyalty and you'll have the last laugh :)

Scheherazade

07-09-2006, 08:24 PM

A suitably disappointing end to an awfully disappointing World Cup!

No great games, players, sporting to mention... Teams who favour defensive and safe play; players who do not hesitate to dive to earn a free kick and a football association who seems more interested in its own image than the general wellfare and future of the game. Till recently, it was the football fans who were branded 'hooligans' and needed to be kept an eye on. However, it seems like today it is the players themselves who are risking a beautiful game with their hooliganish tactics.

I think the final match summed up the whole tournament pretty well. Zidane, a respected and experienced player with a reputation for clean game, gets a red card for headbutting another player (what a way to end his grand career) and the champion is decided over penalties. Meh.

Italy has got the cup fairly according to rules and regulations; congratulations. However, they failed to show a commanding presence throughout the championship and they were lacking during a great part of today's final as well. So maybe they are the becoming winners of World Cup '06, which I will remember with a little more than a bitter taste in my mouth.

All said and done, congratulations and thanks to Germany, who managed to organise and run the tournament without any glitches.

Virgil

07-09-2006, 09:23 PM

ITALY WINS!!

Virgil

07-09-2006, 09:29 PM

SleepyWitch

07-10-2006, 05:03 AM

Till recently, it was the football fans who were branded 'hooligans' and needed to be kept an eye on. However, it seems like today it is the players themselves who are risking a beautiful game with their hooliganish tactics.
great minds think alike :) i was only saying to my boyfriend last night: "So that's why there haven't been any major problems with hooligans, coz the players are doing it all, so the hooligans don't need to"...

how could Zidane be so stupid? :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: i still don't get how he could ruin it for his team like that....

are you guys going to watch the women's world cup next year? maybe the girls play fair?
I'm thinking of taking up footie next term.. there's a women's beginners footie course at univ. if it fits in my schedule I might actually do it..
what do you think?

cruciverbalist

07-10-2006, 05:35 AM

I was supporting the French, but I think Italy deserved to win. They came to the finals without conceding a single goal (except for an own goal by Cristian Zaccardo).

But I can't imagine what Zidane was thinking!!! :brickwall Ruining his team's chances and ending his career like that!

Virgil

07-10-2006, 07:15 AM

are you guys going to watch the women's world cup next year? maybe the girls play fair?

I don't usually watch women's sports, but I might this time.

I'm thinking of taking up footie next term.. there's a women's beginners footie course at univ. if it fits in my schedule I might actually do it..
what do you think?
Oh definitely. Everyone should do something for excercise.

SleepyWitch

07-10-2006, 11:06 AM

hehe, I already do swimming (btw 2000 and 3000 metres a week) and go to univ by bike :) it's not that i don't do anything for exercise :)

Scheherazade

07-10-2006, 12:57 PM

Sore losers always say that the winner was not impressive. They are not on the field playing and don't realize there is an opposition also playing well and preventing you from scoring or dominating. Kudos to the French. They did play very well too, and one hates to lose on a shoot out. But that is life. Virgil,

I sincerely doubt that my post deserves your harsh response. I expressed a dissatisfaction with the football quality of the tournament and players in general (including Italian). I think many people feel that way and if, as an Italian supporter, you don't want to admit to it, that is fine.

Just as a side note, I did play football myself growing up a lot (it was part of curriculum for us); I know a thing or two about it. However, one does not need to lay eggs or be able to make one himself to appreciate a good omlette. People may not be able to play football but still tell a good team/player/match from a not-good-one.
But that is not to say that Italy did not deserve it. I think they played the best ball of all the teams in the tournament and deserved the world cup.I encourage you to re-read my post because I did not say Italy did not deserve to win; I said they won fair and square according to the rules. However, that does not necessarily mean that they played good football throughout the championship. I am neither a supporter of Italy nor France. Neither teams impressed me; to be honest, as I said in my previous post too, none of the teams in the tournament was visibly better than the others consistently.

During World Cup Championships, there are always star players, teams, games which fans remember afterwards. In my opinion, there weren't any worth mentioning this year.
are you guys going to watch the women's world cup next year? maybe the girls play fair?I'm thinking of taking up footie next term.. there's a women's beginners footie course at univ. if it fits in my schedule I might actually do it.. Unfortunately, women's football does not get as much coverage but I usually watch it if there are matches on TV.

When we covered football at highschool,l it was a lot of fun so if you get the chance, give it a go. :)

Mark F.

07-10-2006, 01:12 PM

No great games, players, sporting to mention... Teams who favour defensive and safe play; players who do not hesitate to dive to earn a free kick and a football association who seems more interested in its own image than the general wellfare and future of the game.

I think Cannavaro was great throughout the Cup and deserved the best player award, more than Zidane who only really showed great touch against Brasil. I don't really agree with what you said because Italy won the WC by playing an offensive team, they finished the semi final with four strikers (Gilardino, Del Piero, Totti and Iaquinta) and the final with three (Toni, Del Piero and Iaquinta).

The media have always portrayed Zidane as a very clean player but that image is far-fetched, I've seen him head-butt players at least three or four times and he's had his other bad moments (stamping on a player in 98).

Scheherazade

07-10-2006, 01:32 PM

Just come across this article on BBC SPORT and though some might find interesting.
The 2006 Fifa World Cup drew to a close on Sunday with Italy claiming their fourth crown after beating France in a penalty shoot-out.

But has this World Cup been a success for football or just for the hosts, Germany?

NEW STARS ARE BORN
In 1990 it was Roberto Baggio. In 1994 it was Romario. In 1998 it was Zinedine Zidane. In 2002 it was Ronaldinho.

Great players have a tendency to emerge at the World Cup, where people from across the globe can watch them express their talent on the biggest stage of all.

It happened to the great Pele in 1958, the mercurial Johan Cruyff in 1974 and the legendary Diego Maradona in 1986.

This World Cup in Germany has witnessed plenty of promising players, but there has been a genuine dearth of quality.

GOLDEN BALL AWARD NOMINEES
Michael Ballack
Gianluigi Buffon
Fabio Cannavaro
Thierry Henry
Miroslav Klose
Maniche
Andrea Pirlo
Patrick Vieira
Gianluca Zambrotta
Zinedine Zidane

If the world's richest club in the transfer market, Chelsea, was looking for the player of the tournament to add to its illustrious squad, who would it choose?

Ghana's Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan stood out, as did Ivory Coast's Bakari Kone and Argentina's Maxi Rodriguez - scorer of one of the most wonderful World Cup goals in living memory.

But none of these players was even among the 10 shortlisted for the Golden Ball award, given to the tournament's outstanding player.

Of those 10, three are over 30 and the average age is 29.3. Going into the World Cup they all had major tournament experience.

Verdict: A disappointing World Cup, with few real breakthroughs.

CLASSIC MATCHES
The group stages were promising to say the least. A series of stunning goals seemed to set up the rest of the tournament and threaten to set the World Cup on fire.

But it failed to truly spark. The knockout stages were full of games that failed to deliver, with negative coaches cancelling each other out and the goals drying up as a result.

Great players make great games - how will anyone ever forget the way Pele's Brazil outclassed Italy in the 1970 final, or Maradona single-handedly led Argentina to victory over England in 1986?

This time round, classic encounters have been hard to find.

In the second round, Argentina and Mexico played out a hugely entertaining game that was settled in extra-time by Rodriguez's thunderbolt from the blue.

In the semi-finals, Italy broke the hearts of the host nation with two goals in the very last minute of extra-time, after going all-out for a win to avoid the risk of facing the Germans in a penalty shoot-out.

Very good games, but were either of them classics? Are they the games that people will tell their grandchildren about when the World Cup crops up in conversation?

Unlikely. So why so few games to set the pulse racing?

Coaches such as Sven-Goran Eriksson seem so afraid of losing that many are happy to settle for extra-time and penalties because it at least gives them a 50-50 chance and no-one can blame them if their team loses.

Take the Swiss. Rarely has a team ever played with less inclination to attack than Kobi Kuhn's team in their second-round contest against World Cup newcomers Ukraine.

They played for penalties, and got them. They then proceeded to take three of the worst spot-kicks in the history of football and were on the next plane back home.

Verdict: Cautious coaches do not make for classic games.

CLASSIC GOALS
Barely six minutes were on the clock in the opening game between Germany and Costa Rica when Philipp Lahm cut in from the left and curled a beauty into the top corner of Jose Porras' net.

That goal set the tone for the rest of the tournament.

Argentina lit up Group C with some great efforts, most notably Esteban Cambiasso's clinical finish against Serbia & Montenegro after a mouth-watering team move of 24 faultless passes.

Bakari Kone ran the length of the pitch before scoring against Holland; Joe Cole chested down and thumped home from 35 yards; Rodriguez wrote his name into World Cup folklore.

Yet, Rodriguez apart, the knockout stages failed to provide the kind of inspiration the World Cup is crying out for. Nine of Match of the Day's 10 goals of the tournament came from the group stages.

Goals dried up and players stopped shooting from 30 yards, preferring instead to pass the ball square so the team did not concede possession.

Even Fifa president Sepp Blatter raised concerns about the lack of goals produced by the world's finest footballers.

"The football isn't that bad, but there aren't enough goals - and, when there are too few goals, the public isn't very enthusiastic," said Blatter.

"The essence of the game is goals. If it's an open game, there is enough room for 11 players, but with 11 defenders there is not enough space."

Thank goodness then for Italians Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero, scorers of the beautifully-taken semi-final goals that did for Germany.

Verdict: Plenty of stunners to savour even if they did dry up.

SHOCK VALUE
Every World Cup needs a seismic shock to get the tournament going and warn the big teams they are not going to have it all their own way.

Cameroon stunned holders Argentina in the opening game of 1990, Senegal did the same to France in 2002.

Ghana did their best with a terrific 2-0 win over the Czech Republic to open up Group E, before tamely exiting the competition 3-0 at the hands of Brazil in the second round.

Was Ghana even that much of a shock? We know all about the midfield dynamism of Chelsea's Michael Essien, and in captain Stephen Appiah they had a player who enjoyed a successful two-year spell with Juventus.

Maybe that is the problem. Football has become much more global, and what might once have been a shock barely even registers now, so well do we know the major characters of even the lesser teams.

The same can be said of the bigger teams - the Brazilians, the Argentines.

Whereas once the players would mostly play for teams in their own country, these days the vast majority of them already play in Europe by the time they feature in their first World Cup.

There is little or no mystique left, and the globalisation of football shows no sign of slowing down.

Why did we expect so much from Ronaldinho? Because we can see him play week-in, week-out for Champions League winners Barcelona and know him to be the finest footballer on the planet.

Blanket coverage of English and European football all-year-round has left little to the imagination.

Verdict: No alarms and no surprises.

ICONIC IMAGES
It is never just about the games and the goals.

Cast your mind back to 1974 and Johan Cruyff's turn that so bemused Swedish right-back Gunnar Olsson. Or 1990 and Cameroonian Roger Milla's twinkle-toes celebrations.

These are images that will forever linger in the memory, that will be used time and again on television archive to show the World Cup finals in all its glory.

This year's World Cup may have been bereft of iconic players, but it has certainly had its fair share of iconic images.

Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann kicked it all off, the former Spurs striker jumping around deliriously whenever his team found the back of the net - 14 times in all, making them the tournament's leading scorers.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo may have been cast as the villain of the piece, but his gesture to the referee after Wayne Rooney's foul and subsequent wink to the bench after Rooney's red card have come to define another England exit.

Not forgetting Rooney's temper tantrum after being substituted against Sweden, Luis Figo's headbutt on Mark van Bommel, Philippe Senderos being covered in blood after scoring against South Korea or Fabio Grosso's impression of Marco Tardelli after his semi-final strike.

But Zidane saved the image that will haunt him for the rest of his life until 10 minutes from the end of extra-time in a remarkable final against Italy.

His last act as a footballer was to shove his head into the chest of Marco Materazzi, and with that his career, and France's World Cup dream, ended.

Verdict: With every moment captured on camera, there have been some unforgettable pictures transmitted across the globe.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5158988.stm

Mark F.

07-10-2006, 02:00 PM

The list for Golden Ball nominees was so pathetic, Ballack really didn't show much and Henry spent most of his time being off-side or diving. I think the world cup was pretty boring but Italy played the best and most offensive football throughout and deserved to win so I'm not too disappointed with the result. Hopefully McClaren will have a diifferent approach than Erikson.

miss tenderness

07-10-2006, 05:19 PM

CONGRATULATION for Virgil and all the Italiano fans...

better luck next time France... I was sad for them.

Virgil

07-10-2006, 09:46 PM

Virgil,

I sincerely doubt that my post deserves your harsh response. I expressed a dissatisfaction with the football quality of the tournament and players in general (including Italian). I think many people feel that way and if, as an Italian supporter, you don't want to admit to it, that is fine.

Scher
While my post did come after your response, I wasn't just criticizing your post. I hear the same comments (the play wasn't good enough) out of every tournament. It makes me wonder what would please people. There are people that are never pleased. The players are professional, as good in the world as they come. They played to the best of thier ability. I am sure it couldn't be outmatched by anyone else in the world today. The top players across the world played in this tournament. Italy won. No matter who would have won, I would be saying this. Notice how Sleepywitch criticized the German team. The German team finished third in the world. Obviously they are a great team, but it doesn't seem to matter to the critics who just take pot shots no matter how good a team finishes. Italy won; France finished second; Germany finshed third. They all deserve respect and admiration for their play.

Virgil

07-10-2006, 11:34 PM

Just come across this article on BBC SPORT and though some might find interesting.
This article just proves my point. I don't see anything positive written by journalist anymore. It seems if it's not to citicise then journalists have nothing to say. And it filters down and warps everyone's point of view. If they weren't happy with the play, who in the world would they be happy with? Who? Some fantasy players that can play like God? Well, they don't exist. The critics are just miserable people looking for negative things to say. These were the best players in the world. There is no one better. Appreciate it.

Mark F.

07-11-2006, 09:06 AM

Scher
While my post did come after your response, I wasn't just criticizing your post. I hear the same comments (the play wasn't good enough) out of every tournament. It makes me wonder what would please people. There are people that are never pleased. The players are professional, as good in the world as they come. They played to the best of thier ability. I am sure it couldn't be outmatched by anyone else in the world today.

I just think that many players didn't play as well as they've been playing throughout the season (Ronaldinho, Lampard, Deco) because they're bruned out after such a long season. The WC should be organised just after Winter or something like that.

Pensive

07-19-2006, 03:29 AM

A pity that I could not watch the final because I was on the train at that time...

Boris239

07-20-2006, 10:35 AM

I wasn't on the site for a while, but I couldn't write nothing about the end of the WC :)
I liked the WC and think that it was definitely better than the last one- there was South Korea in the semifinal just because of outrageous referees. This WC almost all the best teams made it at least to the quaterfinals. For me Argentine-Germany was a really good game. Anyway, you can enjoy the game even if it ends 0-0- it doesn't matter. Lets say in 2000 I was enjoing Italian defense( Cannavaro, Nesta, Maldini, Panucci) more than any offense.
It's sad that maybe the greatest French player ever finishes his career that way, but he had couple of similar episodes before and in the finale of WC the real captain of the team can't do things like that. having said that, I'm sure that Matterazzi said something outrageous and players like that who are making provocations throughout the game make me sick, even if they are really good (as players) like Matterazzi.

Scheherazade

07-20-2006, 11:05 AM

Zinedine Zidane has been banned for three games and fined £3,260 for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final. Following an investigation by world governing body Fifa, Materazzi was suspended for two games and fined £2,170 for provoking Zidane.

A Fifa statement said: "Both players stressed Materazzi's comments had been defamatory but not of a racist nature."

Zidane's ban is academic as he retired from football after the finals.

However the 34-year-old will instead work with football's world governing body Fifa for three days.

Fifa added: "Zinedine Zidane has agreed to do community service work with children and youngsters.

"During the course of their hearings both players also apologised to Fifa for their inappropriate behaviour and expressed their regret at the incident."

Zidane spent 90 minutes at a private hearing on Thursday, while Materazzi appeared before the Fifa panel on 14 July.

Playing in the last game of his career, Zidane snapped during extra time of the World Cup final.

The Frenchman later claimed Materazzi had insulted his mother and his sister.

However, Materazzi maintained his comments were not "racist, religious, or political" and he added: "I also said nothing about his mother."

Despite the incident, Zidane went on to win the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player and despite suggestions to the contrary, Fifa has confirmed the Frenchman will be allowed to keep the award.

"It wasn't even discussed at the meeting," said Fifa spokesman Andreas Herren.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/5198796.stm

Boris239

07-20-2006, 03:22 PM

Here is a pretty funny Zidane-Materazzi link

http://h2.padonki.org.ua/~jedi/zidane/zidane_jackal.gif

Scheherazade

08-01-2006, 09:11 PM

Zinedine Zidane's infamous World Cup headbutt has inspired a song that, thanks to the internet, has rocketed to the top of the French pop charts. Just hours after the song's producers had e-mailed it to friends they got a flood of calls from the music industry and mobile phone companies.

The hit was written as a "joke... to entertain our friends," said Sebastien Lipszyc of La Plage Records in Paris.

The small studio e-mailed the song the day after France lost to Italy.

The French star, affectionately known as "Zizou" in France, was banned for three games and fined £3,260 for head-butting Italy's Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final.

Fifa also suspended Materazzi for two games and fined him £2,170 for provoking Zidane, who was playing in the last game of his career.

Overnight success

Mr Lipszyc, whose company composes advertising jingles and sound-effects, said Coup de Boule (Headbutt) was written "in half an hour" and e-mailed to about 50 friends. That evening, he and his two colleagues heard it on Skyrock, a popular French radio network

Coup de Boule

"The next day, the major players rang us," said Mr Lipszyc, quoted by the French newspaper Le Figaro.

He said Warner made the best offer to distribute the song - an advance of 45,000 euros for the clip, percentages on the sales and a guarantee that La Plage Records would retain authorship.

The hit was distributed to 20 countries and a video clip was made at the Charlety stadium in Paris.

According to Warner Music France president Thierry Chassagne, "all this took two weeks - that's unprecedented in our industry".

The African-style song has become a tube de l'été (summer hit) in France, booming out at beaches, campsites and bars.

Zidane, il l'a frappé, la Coupe, on l'a ratée (Zidane hit him, the Cup - we missed it), the song goes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5234062.stm