World Cup 2014

[Scheherazade]

We are only 6 months away... Thought I'd mention.

:D

[papayahed]

So much fun!!!

[Michael T]

I don't know who suffers most, you girls having to put up with it - or us men having our expectations dashed. Unless of course, you're German, Spanish, Brazilian... *sigh*

[faithosaurus]

Super excited for this! Not all of us girls have to put up with it ;)

[cacian]

is it? gee time flies. I can't remember the last one :D

[Lokasenna]

If I get anymore enthusiastic I might even develop a pulse...

[tonywalt]

I don't know who suffers most, you girls having to put up with it - or us men having our expectations dashed. Unless of course, you're German, Spanish, Brazilian... *sigh*

The above sounds like an excellent double entendree!- could be football or sumpin else..

[Scheherazade]

'put up with it"??? I live counting the days from one World Cup to the next! Thanks Heavens for the European Cup for breaking the long wait for a brief respite.

Who is your favourite? Who are you rooting for this year? I shall add our usual poll once I am on my laptop.

[Paulclem]

England of course - come on Ennnnglllannnnnnnnddddd! etc.

It's a great competition, and I really liked our coverage of it last time. Are we doing the betting thing again?

[papayahed]

England of course - come on Ennnnglllannnnnnnnddddd! etc.

It's a great competition, and I really liked our coverage of it last time. Are we doing the betting thing again?


I vote for betting again!!:hurray::cheers2::hurray:

[cacian]

England of course - come on Ennnnglllannnnnnnnddddd! etc.

It's a great competition, and I really liked our coverage of it last time. Are we doing the betting thing again?

will live to see the day England would win it all. after the fiasco with the last England manager (not being English) and no one raised the finger as to his poorly deviced choices I wondered if he knew any football at all. he got away with it being Italian. if he was English he would have the sack straight away.

[kev67]

Six months to go. Just long enough for the manager to find out what the competition ball is going to be like, what acclimatization our players really need, which of the opposition players are wind up merchants, and how foreign officials interpret the rules. Also plenty of time for all our best players to get injured, and partially recover, but not enough to play very well. Still plenty of time for the manager to get involved in some scandal requiring him to step down.

[tonywalt]

I would like to see Germany win - always liked them ever since I was little. So structured and disciplined.

I am hoping Brazil loses - cuz, they really expect to win.

If not Germany, then England. third choice Spain.

[prendrelemick]

In the very unlikely event that England don't win. I would like to see Brazil do it. Think of the party they'll have.


My boy is working in Brazil at the moment, He's resolutely trying to make the job last all summer.

[deguonis]

Croatia, Netherlands, Argentina, USA, Portugal, Belgium, France, Australia.

[Scheherazade]

Are we doing the betting thing again?You betcha! :D

I would love to see England win but I don't think that'll go beyond a mere wish this time round.

[Ecurb]

The World Cup isn't quite the event it once was (although I still like it). Here's why it's gone downhill:

1) Club football is better than International football these days. Back in the days when only three foreigners could play for a club in any given game, the National Teams were stronger than the clubs. Not anymore. Look at Barcelona: it's the Spanish National team along with Messi, Dani Alves, Macherano and a couple of other international superstars. In other words -- it's clearly more talented than the all-conquering Spanish National Teams. I'd take Barca, Real Madrid or Bayern over any national team on the planet.

2) Now that football is purely Capitalist, there's not much difference in style between nations, or even continents. After all, the Brazilians are playing in Europe, alongside members of the European national teams. The National "character" of the teams doesn't exist anymore.

3) I'll still watch. Spain is older now -- all of its fabuous midfielders are into their 30s and there's no Puyol anchoring the defense. Still, they've been the best for a while now, and have to be given a chance. Brazil are the favorites at home, of course, but I'm not sure about their midfield. Argentina has Messi, and a host of goal-scoring talent, but their midfield and defense is questionable too. Germany are alwasy strong. Those are the top 4. Uruguay gets some home cooking for strike force Cavani and Suarez. Belgium has talent. (Those are my dark horse choices, although I haven't seen Columbia.)

[prendrelemick]

Uruguay could be a good dark horse. Germany and Italy always come good when it matters. I'd also like to see an out and out underdog from Africa or Asia get through to the later stages. Most of all I'd like to see some open attacking footie.

[Snowqueen]

Count me in guys! I haven’t been following football league matches lately, just watched a couple of UEFA Champions League’s games, but I look forward to this World Cup.

[tonywalt]

I'd like to see an underdog team from Asia get in and maybe the US. I'm not fond of Brazil or any African teams (the fake injuries too much)

[Darcy88]

I am getting pretty excited for the World Cup. I don't really have a team to root for but I would love to see Germany, Italy, Ecuador, Russia or Belgium finish near the top. America too, I'd really love for America to finish well as that would be great for soccer in North America. MLS is so awesome, it is quite a pleasant thing that professional soccer is increasing in popularity here and in the states, perhaps because of Beckham playing in Los Angeles or perhaps because people are simply waking up to the beauty and excitement of the game.

I miss playing it, was really into it as a kid. I bought a soccer ball the other day and it is so much fun playing around, more fun that training martial arts, which is what most of my exercise was in recent years.

[JCamilo]

Uruguay could be a good dark horse. Germany and Italy always come good when it matters. I'd also like to see an out and out underdog from Africa or Asia get through to the later stages. Most of all I'd like to see some open attacking footie.

One of best teams last cup, actual south american champion, last winner when the cup was in Brazil, two of the most expensive fowards in the world, they cannot be dark horses :D

Anyways, where your boy working?

[Paulclem]

[QUOTE=Darcy88;1251924 I'd really love for America to finish well as that would be great for soccer in North America. MLS is so awesome, it is quite a pleasant thing that professional soccer is increasing in popularity here and in the states, perhaps because of Beckham playing in Los Angeles or perhaps because people are simply waking up to the beauty and excitement of the game.

I miss playing it, was really into it as a kid. I bought a soccer ball the other day and it is so much fun playing around, more fun that training martial arts, which is what most of my exercise was in recent years.[/QUOTE]

It's only a matter of time I reckon. A few years ago my mate made the observation that whereas American Football and basketball are dominated by players with certain physical advantages over the rest of us ordinary sized people, this isn@t so much as a factor in footie. There are positions where height is an advantage, such as in defence, but a lot of the strikers are small. You also don't need many facilities to play it. You don't need to play it on grass - we used to play in the street - and a wall is good enough for footie skill type games. Perhaps this will help it to become more popular as anyone can play it almost anywhere.

[prendrelemick]

One of best teams last cup, actual south american champion, last winner when the cup was in Brazil, two of the most expensive fowards in the world, they cannot be dark horses :D

Anyways, where your boy working?

You are right of course, I apologise for my Euro-centric attitude . The Boy is working in Campinas doing computery things.


It's only a matter of time I reckon. A few years ago my mate made the observation that whereas American Football and basketball are dominated by players with certain physical advantages over the rest of us ordinary sized people, this isn@t so much as a factor in footie. There are positions where height is an advantage, such as in defence, but a lot of the strikers are small. You also don't need many facilities to play it. You don't need to play it on grass - we used to play in the street - and a wall is good enough for footie skill type games. Perhaps this will help it to become more popular as anyone can play it almost anywhere.


Ahh yes. Three and in, attack vs defence, bounce. I'm sure there are others.

[mal4mac]

I'd ban football and drive it underground - make it like dogfighting and bare-knuckle fighting. It's socially reinforced yobbishness. It's argued that it lets off steam, but I think it actually creates it. Unfortunately, these days, it's not just working class yobs who are obsessed with football. It now seems to be trend for literati to "support a team", with Melvyn Bragg and the like rabbitting on about supporting Chelsea, or whoever. But this populist middle-class football cult is essentially conservative, just a slightly `hipper' version of John Major's village cricket. In the 1930s being a football fan was perhaps a positive thing for working class stalwarts who had few other forms of entertainment. In those days players spent their entire careers with the club, on working men's wages, and fan's loyalties were clear and simple. He was not free to pick and choose among the glamorous clubs. Nowadays "the fan" is likely to support a distant club funded by Arab princes diverting money from poor people to ignorant, vastly over-paid young men whose only ability is for running quickly with an inflated sack of leather at their feet. It's a culture in which no one dare say they are homosexual, and in which racism persistently breaks out, even though many of the best players are black! So I'll be ignoring the World Cup.

[Emil Miller]

I think it would be most unwise to try to force football underground. The Devil makes work for empty heads and, football, together with its entertainment alter ego, pop music, keeps people concentrating on inessentials in times of economic downturn. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that politicians and others perceived to be in the top bracket encourage football by currying favour with potential customers/voters by professing an interest. Whether it be in a stadium, designated public space or simply in front of a TV, these entertainment venues handily contain those who might otherwise be ruminating on or demonstrating about their current situation.
As for anti-homosexuality and racism in football, some might say that it's better to have them confined to football matches than elsewhere; in any event, political correctness, which is largely a middle-class construct, is unlikely to carry much weight in what is primarily a working-class activity.

[Paulclem]

Ahh yes. Three and in, attack vs defence, bounce. I'm sure there are others.

We used to play slam - taking it in turns to kick the ball against a designated wall - or part of a wall, and then kicking it back to out position the other player. I was rubbish though.

[prendrelemick]

That's what we called bounce - I was rubbish too.

Three and in was my favorite, a general melee where everybody tried to score while trying to stop everyone else from scoring. if you got three goals you became the goalie.


I'd ban football and drive it underground - make it like dogfighting and bare-knuckle fighting. It's socially reinforced yobbishness. It's argued that it lets off steam, but I think it actually creates it. Unfortunately, these days, it's not just working class yobs who are obsessed with football. It now seems to be trend for literati to "support a team", with Melvyn Bragg and the like rabbitting on about supporting Chelsea, or whoever. But this populist middle-class football cult is essentially conservative, just a slightly `hipper' version of John Major's village cricket. In the 1930s being a football fan was perhaps a positive thing for working class stalwarts who had few other forms of entertainment. In those days players spent their entire careers with the club, on working men's wages, and fan's loyalties were clear and simple. He was not free to pick and choose among the glamorous clubs. Nowadays "the fan" is likely to support a distant club funded by Arab princes diverting money from poor people to ignorant, vastly over-paid young men whose only ability is for running quickly with an inflated sack of leather at their feet. It's a culture in which no one dare say they are homosexual, and in which racism persistently breaks out, even though many of the best players are black! So I'll be ignoring the World Cup.


I think it would be most unwise to try to force football underground. The Devil makes work for empty heads and, football, together with its entertainment alter ego, pop music, keeps people concentrating on inessentials in times of economic downturn. It's hardly surprising, therefore, that politicians and others perceived to be in the top bracket encourage football by currying favour with potential customers/voters by professing an interest. Whether it be in a stadium, designated public space or simply in front of a TV, these entertainment venues handily contain those who might otherwise be ruminating on or demonstrating about their current situation.
As for anti-homosexuality and racism in football, some might say that it's better to have them confined to football matches than elsewhere; in any event, political correctness, which is largely a middle-class construct, is unlikely to carry much weight in what is primarily a working-class activity.

People really, genuinely love football. Although I don't, I can appreciate the why. They can forget all the insipid pseudo interllectual Bollockyness (see above ) and get caught up in a bit of genuinely involving drama, and be allowed to react to it loudly, physically and verbally (try doing that at the ballet) .

[Emil Miller]

People really, genuinely love football. Although I don't, I can appreciate the why. They can forget all the insipid pseudo interllectual Bollockyness (see above ) and get caught up in a bit of genuinely involving drama, and be allowed to react to it loudly, physically and verbally (try doing that at the ballet) .

:lol:

Here's a bit more:

This phrase originates from Rome in Satire X of the Roman satirist and poet Juvenal (circa A.D. 100). In context, the Latin metaphor panem et circenses (bread and circuses) identifies the only remaining cares of a new Roman populace which cares not for its historical birthright of political involvement. Here Juvenal displays his contempt for the declining heroism of his contemporary Romans. Roman politicians devised a plan in 140 B.C. to win the votes of these new citizens: giving out cheap food and entertainment, "bread and circuses", would be the most effective way to rise to power.

The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky, with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation and a near-riot in the audience.

[JCamilo]

You are right of course, I apologise for my Euro-centric attitude . The Boy is working in Campinas doing computery things.

No games there, but Nigeria and Portugal with C.Ronaldo will stay there at least for the group stage games.

[prendrelemick]

He was thinking about the Sao Paulo games, though he will probably be finished by then.

[mal4mac]

People really, genuinely love football. Although I don't, I can appreciate the why. They [vapid insults deleted] get caught up in a bit of genuinely involving drama, and be allowed to react to it loudly, physically and verbally ...

Some people enjoy dog fighting, get caught up in the drama, and are allowed to react loudly. So should it be allowed? Of course only over paid yobs get injured in a football match, not innocent animals, but it has other demerits, e.g. the existence of said over paid yobs. Even nine out of 10 football fans now think players are overpaid, so why don't they walk away and find a better hobby? Doesn't have to be ballet, reading Conrad or London is allowed, if you insist on "manly" pursuits. Why not start a campaign for fathers to take sons to the library on a Saturday afternoon? They can sing on the way, to drum up some happy noise, or join a male voice choir... without suffering racist abuse, out of tune bands, or mind numbing taunts...

And what about the supporters? Today they are mostly not proletarians but well-paid professionals affecting to be working-class. They swear loudly and behave in an obnoxious way because they think that is how working-class folk get their kicks, and such antics, at least, feel better to them than their sad bourgeois lives. On foreign soil, when police take a dim view of the proceedings and apply their preferred methods of crowd control, these spectators are appalled. They feel they have ‘an inalienable right’ to behave badly, irrespective of the offence they cause. This downwardly mobile urge is one of the distinguishing features of modern English life, part of our cultural decay.

[JCamilo]

Seriously, footbal wasnt invented and meant for "working class". It became a mass sport after the 20's, but it was played in social clubs and schools, not factories. And a game with millions of supporters is not viewed by "mostly not proletarians", but rather all kind of people. The behaviour of the fans is quite similar to other sports and to what was in the past - also, quite unique in every country for you to label or them as loud. And really, police control violence not swearing or similar stuff.

[Emil Miller]

Knowing nothing about the actual game itself, I had a brief look at the history and discovered this:

'In 1526 comes the first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of England ordered a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526.'


Does anyone know which team he played for?

[Paulclem]

Some people enjoy dog fighting, get caught up in the drama, and are allowed to react loudly. So should it be allowed? Of course only over paid yobs get injured in a football match, not innocent animals, but it has other demerits, e.g. the existence of said over paid yobs. Even nine out of 10 football fans now think players are overpaid, so why don't they walk away and find a better hobby? Doesn't have to be ballet, reading Conrad or London is allowed, if you insist on "manly" pursuits. Why not start a campaign for fathers to take sons to the library on a Saturday afternoon? They can sing on the way, to drum up some happy noise, or join a male voice choir... without suffering racist abuse, out of tune bands, or mind numbing taunts...

And what about the supporters? Today they are mostly not proletarians but well-paid professionals affecting to be working-class. They swear loudly and behave in an obnoxious way because they think that is how working-class folk get their kicks, and such antics, at least, feel better to them than their sad bourgeois lives. On foreign soil, when police take a dim view of the proceedings and apply their preferred methods of crowd control, these spectators are appalled. They feel they have ‘an inalienable right’ to behave badly, irrespective of the offence they cause. This downwardly mobile urge is one of the distinguishing features of modern English life, part of our cultural decay.

:lol:
I'm with Mick. Generalisations sound good but never really describe the whole picture. Most people who go to footie matches just love watching the game and supporting their team. There's racism, swearing, abuse, homophobia etc - but you will get that in large crowds from a small minority. You are surely not suggesting that all the 40 thousand fans who attend Chelsea matches fit into your description?

I wonder if your downwardly mobile specimens are really mimicking Orwell? It sounds as plausible.

What I really llike is your suggestion that football fathers take their sons to the library and join choirs. I reckon you should suggest it to crowds as they walk to the ground. Make sure you take a video and post it here.


Knowing nothing about the actual game itself, I had a brief look at the history and discovered this:

'In 1526 comes the first record of a pair of football boots occurs when Henry VIII of England ordered a pair from the Great Wardrobe in 1526.'


Does anyone know which team he played for?

I don't know, but I bet he won every match.

[prendrelemick]

Football by Royal Appointment.

As paul said earlier, the advantage football has over any other sport is that it can be played at any level with next to no equipment, either on your own or with others - Pele didn't even have a proper ball as a kid . If you a kick a can down the street or a ball against a wall, you're playing the same game they play at the Bernabeu. It must be the most inclusive game there is.

[mal4mac]

I always found kicking a can very tedious & noisy, and kicking a ball against a wall rather tedious & limited. They are also anti-social - excessively noisy, plus windows & cars are always at risk. "No ball games allowed signs" are found necessary to keep order in the streets, unlike with other activities. Many games can be played with no equipment and without disturbing adults: hide & seek, Cowboys & Indians, running races, pretend you're a jungle explorer, wandering lonely as a cloud, cat stalking, build a den, climb a tree, bird watching, train spotting, singing, pretend your a ballet dancer (or Gene Kelly... *don't* shave your head and use the stalked cat as a toupe :))...

[Paulclem]

We played most of those and football. We had mass football matches on a local car park which was never used for anything else. All the kids on the estate would join in. It was brilliant.

At the same time I remember the apprentices from local firms playing football in their dinner times on waste ground. As Mick says, everybody played in one form or another, It's less common nowadays, but the best use of our local field is the football pitch which regularly has young lads playing over the summer. This will definately happen in the world cup, with a few adults joining in too.

[JCamilo]

I am imagining how mal played cowboys and indians without disturbing addults.

Jack "whispers" Bang
John "Whispers" Bang.
Jack I killed you first.
John I didn't hear.

[islandclimber]

The grand thing about being Canadian is that we have really no Canadian men's soccer team worth speaking of, so we get to jump on the bandwagon of whatever team we like. However, I've always like Italy and Uruguay, seeing as I have family from Uruguay and in my first real world cup experience in 1994, with the rather large Italian community in Toronto, I cheered quite vociferously for the Italians as I adored Roberto Baggio and Paolo Maldini, it and my love for the Old Lady of Turin have lasted for 20 years now.

So here's hoping Italy or Uruguay take this world cup, however unlikely that currently seems.

[JCamilo]

Canada played in 1986 WC and, wanting or not, changed the history of that cup and almost make me and my father lose some money :D

[Paulclem]

It would be great if USA or Canada did well in the world cup. It would be a great boost for football there. It would get them more involved in a world team sport.

Then the rugby.

[prendrelemick]

There was always at least 3 football matches going on in the playground at junior school. These games were intermingled overlapping and crossing each other, but everyone knew which ball and which group of players they were involved in and where the goals were etc, so it worked ok. At the same time there would be girls with long skipping ropes tied to the drainpipes (it made playing on the wing a bit tricky) and a game of rounders going on somewhere, and games of tig and races and hopscotch and elastics and so on. However if a fight ever broke out everything was abandoned and we all ran to watch.

[Paulclem]

There was always at least 3 football matches going on in the playground at junior school. These games were intermingled overlapping and crossing each other, but everyone knew which ball and which group of players they were involved in and where the goals were etc, so it worked ok. At the same time there would be girls with long skipping ropes tied to the drainpipes (it made playing on the wing a bit tricky) and a game of rounders going on somewhere, and games of tig and races and hopscotch and elastics and so on. However if a fight ever broke out everything was abandoned and we all ran to watch.

:lol:

I remember it well. The only time we abandoned football matches was when we once staged mass charges in the playground after watching some educational historical children's documentary at school. It had been about the Romans in Britain. Naturally everyone wanted to be a Briton and it just turned into a mass wrestling match. We had to go back to the football soon after when the school banned it.

My son's school were particularly anti football - it was a rubbish school with no male teachers, no real support for sports but lots of singing and drama - gah. They banned football in the playground - breaking all playground rights established by years of schoolchildren. My son and his friends - being particularly civilised young chaps - raised a petition to bring the footie back, but were dismissed as being "rude".

I never liked that school. Far too out of touch.

[prendrelemick]

That's disgraceful!

My son went to the same school I did, but by then there was a touchy feely nature park at one end of the playground, and a teachers car park at the other. The footie still went on, but there was hardly enough room for those proper 25-a-side matches we used to have.

[mal4mac]

Quite right to! Football should be banned in playgrounds. Football needs a lot of space, and that ****ed ball is disruptive of any other activity. When it's allowed the "yob element" take over the whole playground; the girls can't skip 'cause wingers keep bumping into them, and I can't hypnotise my form mates 'cause of all the noise and crashing around.

Nature park, drama, and singing? Where is this paradise?

[Paulclem]

Quite right to! Football should be banned in playgrounds. Football needs a lot of space, and that ****ed ball is disruptive of any other activity. When it's allowed the "yob element" take over the whole playground; the girls can't skip 'cause wingers keep bumping into them, and I can't hypnotise my form mates 'cause of all the noise and crashing around.

Nature park, drama, and singing? Where is this paradise?

Not in school! School was endured. I could never understand those people who claimed it was the best years of your life. No thanks!

And then, back in the playground, think of all those skills that are rehearsed with the mass footie - negotiation, pain relief, standing up for your rights to play . Invaluable lessons.

[JCamilo]

Basically, those are unskilled players. Here in Brazil, the playground girls were never hit, they were avoided by the wingers while they control the ball with their heads.

[Paulclem]

Basically, those are unskilled players. Here in Brazil, the playground girls were never hit, they were avoided by the wingers while they control the ball with their heads.

I can imagine it.

Brazil were looking good in the last competition. Always contenders.

[user name]

I would like to confidently predict that England will do better than, Wales, Ireland and that country up north that has teams about as good as England's third division!

[Paulclem]

Not long now. England are off to Miami for some warm-up games. Our first game is against Italy. Woo hoo!

[JCamilo]

Australia is already here.