Yep, Argentina is a good team, I think better than Germany and so deserved to be in semi-finals but luck...Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
Printable View
Yep, Argentina is a good team, I think better than Germany and so deserved to be in semi-finals but luck...Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
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.
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...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark F.
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.
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
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.
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.
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:
hehe, i know you've been rooting for Italy, that's why I asked :) hehhe, no offence :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
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...
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 stingyQuote:
Originally Posted by Pensive
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. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
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 :)
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
I find that to be true with most sports. And plus the TV provides replays and commentary. I prefer TV for sports.Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
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.
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:Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
Wheeeeohh! What a game between Italy and Germany. Fantastic!! Italy still has not let the opposition score.
This tournament is full of surprises! I was rooting for Germany but Italy nailed it at the end! The first goal was amazing!
It was a great match, really! Poor Germany, defeated in their home crowd but they did play well!
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
Agreed, the World Cup has been boring.
Boring? Not to me. I think it's been great.
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 :)
Well, what do people think of this final? Who's going to win? You know who I think.
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
I guess France wins the FIFA Cup this year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Virgil
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 :)
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.
ITALY WINS!!
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. 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.
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"...Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
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?
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!
I don't usually watch women's sports, but I might this time.Quote:
Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
Oh definitely. Everyone should do something for excercise.Quote:
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?
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 :)
Virgil,Quote:
Originally Posted by 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.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.Quote:
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.
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.Unfortunately, women's football does not get as much coverage but I usually watch it if there are matches on TV.Quote:
Originally Posted by SW
When we covered football at highschool,l it was a lot of fun so if you get the chance, give it a go. :)
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).Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
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).
Just come across this article on BBC SPORT and though some might find interesting.Quote:
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/foot...06/5158988.stm