Official World Cup Thread - Page 10

Abomination!!! Nice pick for a not too heady kick

What the heck is a "not too heady kick"? No idea what that means...or what you are referring to.

So far France is playing very well. Zidane has had a very good game. Brasil can't find the ball and when they do, they lose it and seem in danger on those quick counterattacks.

In South America it is believed that the best way to beat Brasil is to attack it. France is going to win this game if Brasil don't pick it up. The Brasil midfield has been erased off the pitch thus far. Credit to France.

France is also exploiting the right side where Cafú is playing...where most of the attacks are coming from. I would play Cicinho ahead of 36 year old Cafú...but then again, I'm not Parreira.

Well, you wrote that...so if you're confused....you really are confused. "Nice pick for a not too heady kick". Ok.

Congrats to France. Excellent game. Excellent tactic to "suffocate" Brasil's midfield knowing that since Ronaldo and roNIKEdinho don't help out on defense they could overrun their midfield and gain men advantages and openings while attacking....and we know Brasil's defenders are probably better at attacking than defending. Beautiful finish by Henry.

France was the best team today and probably the best team in both the 1st knock out round and the quarters. Wasn't this team having a lot of problems?

They're looking sharp and Zinadine is Zinadine one last time.

I was a little bit surprising to see that Brazil was not able to develop it's game. Zinedine did a great game and desserved it's superstar status.

Strange that there will be only europeans teams in the semifinals.

I agree if what you mean by Brasil not being able to find itself and a team is for the whole world cup and not just this game.

France were outstanding today. Brasil looked like a team of lazy or overweight primadonnas and France looked like a well oiled machine. Zinadine was great. I hope roNIKEdinho was watching....from his home in Barcelona where he's been the last 5 weeks.

Brasil didn't look good in any of their games. They barely beat a couple of teams and then they beat anabsolutele garbage team like Japan and a very innocent team like Ghana who actually exposed Brasil's shaky defense by creating quite a few clear chances.

The way it's going right now, I hope France win the WC. Right now, without question, they are the best side left.

Congrats Powerdoc.

Btw, i refered to the GER-ARG match yesterday. Calm down a bit.

No need to calm down. I simply asked you what you were referring to when you posted that in relation to the word abomination and then you replied with a confused smilie....lol...

So what is a "not too heady kick" and what does it have to do with the word abomination?

We will see in a couple of days. I am impressed
by France too, because the first 3 matches were
far from convincing. But they have a little bit the
same manner as the Germans, they develop themself from
play to play.

"confused smilie" means "confused smilie" (by your answers,
if you don't mind.


You say abomination, which i think is a bit harsh,
to put it simple. I'd rather say it was not a heady kick,
that everyone wished to see. (Strictly from a German Point of view.
If you don't mind.

Cheers

From the very first minute i was under the impression Brazilia
seemed to be exhausted very much. Though i don't have any explanation
for their poor performance. Maybe to much pressure from the
brazilian media (who didn't expect nothing more than the next
scoop). But then, heck, every squad of any significance has to deal
with that.

It was hyperbole. Never heard that expression before..."not a heady kick"...lol My posts are more understandable than yours...if you don't mind.



Brasil (brasilia is the capital although maybe that's what you call Brasil in german??) was simply overrun in midfield and Cafú was exposed time and time again by the speedy french. It doesn't help when your strikers/forwards don't help out on defense either....that overstretched the defense which was left with too many one on ones. And from what I'm reading from the brasilian media...they seem to agree with me. Capishe?

Hey Powerdoc...what are the french media saying? Any response from the idiot that said France had too many black players??

Couldn't stay awake for the game and just saw the results now (it started at 4:00 am and I am not as young as I used to be and I have a conference today this afternoon that I really should be awake for).

France sends Brazil home!

Will watch the game later today as it sounds like it was pretty good.


What is it with the focus on languaguage errors/differences in spelling, etc? See this thread here: Grammar Cops.

I've only just recovered from the Germany vs Argentina game, so missed the next night's games, but Brazil and England going out is quite the surprise.

I went to go see it the Germany game at the Lowenbrau Keller in Sydney and the atmosphere was awesome. The Germans sure like to get behind their team You wouldn't believe how many times they played that Mundstuhl song too!

Can't remember the last time England made it through the quarter-finals in a World Cup, so perhaps not quite a surprise. More like: things, as they happen.

Oh I also found an interesting link the other day which you guys might be interested in.

http://www.informationbuilders.co.uk/ontheball/wcuk.htm

That's true, but I just expected them to beat Portugal quite easily. I haven't seen the match yet, so I can't really comment on how they played in that match. The replay is on in half an hour I think so I'll have to check it out.

I haven't seen it either, but from what I've read, England was better at playing and Portugal was better at shooting penalties.

Oh no!! The Englishmen didn't make it! *sniffles*

At least France won. Yay!

I hope Germany won over Argentina..

good. actually, are we a wee bit heated, boy?

Did not read the french press today, nor the french media.
I ignored that some fool was saying that France has too many black players. The coach choose the best players regardless of the skin color, it should be obvious for everyone, excepting for the fool making this declaration.

All I can say, is that people where very happy after the match. The town was full of happy people.

No "boy". We're not a wee bit heated. I'd rather say "it was not a heady kick". Or a leggy header.

Powerdoc: I think those comments just caused the team to unite and emboldened them. The result on the field is pretty obvious. They're playing very well as a team and Zidane, has been reborn. For your sake I hope he has enough left for two more games. If they win thee next one that is.

By the way, it was France's own right winger Le Pen who made the comments.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/news...NCE-THURAM.XML

Well, it's good to know you're following the cup. Sorry to break the news to you, but argentina won 3-1.

I see Le pen ...
One more worthless comment coming from him ...

We will see if Zidane has enough strenght for two others matchs. I wrote two by purpose : there is also the small finale

That man is ridiculous. Period. I strictly believe it is safe to
ignore him. Don't put him into the center of any
media recognÃ*tion.


Hopefully, because the Brazilia match was pretty exhausting.
I just can see the upcoming Finale GER vs. FR, maybe wishfull
thinking, but it is quite possible, do you agree, Gilsch?

Dare to bet?

Why do you keep calling Brazil, Brazilia? If you want to call them in their native tongue, It's Brasil, as Brasilia is a city in Brazil, not the country itself.

It's like calling Germany - Alemania or (gasp!) Almanya, in Turkish.

Uh, this is just a very old and granted just a bad habit, a pen pal (portugiese)
of mine was used to, and i copied it. Now i barely can't control my really
fast typing fingers.

I thought it is fun in the first place. But if you compare it to
Germany vs. Alemania you make me to reconsider
my habits. Btw, it is still "Deutschland" rather than "Germany".

Btw2, several other countries refer to our country as Alemania
or something along that line, the French, the netherlands, the
turks and a lot more - this is just off top of my head.

Beckham has quit as captain of the English team.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

England will be getting two new faces soon: coach and captain.

By the netherlands i suppose u mean the dutch. And Germany in Dutch is Duitsland, so not something along the line of Alemania. Just so you know

SpcMs

you wrote "By the netherlands i suppose u mean the dutch". I've often wondered about the distinction between Holland and The Netherlands. Which is the official name? Someone once told me that Holland only covers 2 out of the 9 'districts', and that The Netherlands is the whole country.

However, since I'm not sure that The Netherlands has 9 districts in the first place, and we were pretty drunk at the time, I don't know whether the above is true or not.

Any idea?

re the football - England went out because big name players went missing in action during the game (Rooney, obviously, Gerrard and Lampard) and because the players didn't have the 'bottle' to take some penalties.

Some people persist in claiming that penalty shootouts are a lottery. Rubbish. Shootouts are a test of technical ability plus mental strength. Get them together and you'll win.

The Times newspaper has analysed World Cup penalty shootouts, and state that Germany have scored 17 out of 18 chances. England only 7 out of 14 taken. That is not a lottery.

Cheers,

David

I agree with you for the most part. However I wouldn't blame Gerrard. He was exhausted. His last game had been in mid May(FA cup final) and in the extra time he could barely walk which makes his amazing goal even more impressive. The point is, Liverpool played over 60 games this season and had almost no time off to start the 2005 season. That's too much for a player.

Wanna blame players for not showing up who had no reason to be exhausted? How about Terry (he was a disaster on defense), Cole and Lampard? It wasn't Gerrard who missed shots inside the box vs. Portugal. I'm surprised you didn't mention Sven....a disaster of a manager. Why Lennon didn't play more is a good question....he was pretty effective every time he came in...and then he gets subbed in for Carragher of all people. Clueless.

Thanks. How could i have forgotten the Dutch way.
Duitsland sounds pretty neatly. I really like it.

Gilsch

I'm not sure about Gerrard being exhausted because of the Cup Final. He arrived in Germany fully fit, he had several weeks off before the tournament, and he didn't strike me as knackered, more............ I don't know, disinterested is the wrong word, maybe unsure of himself. He wasn't strutting, saying 'give me the ball, I'm THE man' which he does for Liverpool week in week out.

You mentioned Cole, Lampard and Terry. Lampard I did already blame. Terry - to be honest I thought he had a more than decent tournament. Yes, he did make the odd mistake which is rare for him, but on balance I thought he was a rock. Cole - for me he's a funny player. Can be infuriating, can be excellent (though to be fair over the last year or so he's mainly the latter). Against Portugal he didn't do too much while he was on. So I'll agree, for that match, I'll put him down as another 'missing in action'.

Before I get to Sven, I'll mention Lennon. For the time being I don't rate him. He mainly came on when opposition defenders were tired, and I totally agree that he went past them more often than not as though they were not there. But, an important but, can you remember a single decent telling pass/cross that he did with that ability (with the single exception of the dribble into the Portugal box) in all the time he was on? He seems to rarely, if ever, lift his head and see what is going on around him to make his runs more effective. But he is young, so we'll see for the future. (I read the Carragher substitution was because Carra was the second best penalty taker during England practices during the tournament).

Sven. His biggest failing was the failure to get Lampard and Gerrard to play in the same team. If it really was impossible, then he should have had the nerve to go 4 4 2 with a midfield of Beckham, Hargreaves, Gerrard Cole with a front two of Crouch and Rooney. Then maybe Gerrard would have been free of the mental shackles he was playing under (my opinion, of course), and Rooney would not have spent the 60 minutes against Portugal frustrated and angry because when he did get the ball there was no-one around him to support.

Cheers,

David

I never said he was exhausted "because" of the WC. You said that, not me. Did you watch the FA Cup final? In the extra-time...did you miss Gerrard barely able to walk? Here are the facts: the LFC campaign finished later than everyone else in 2005-06 due to the FA final which went to penalty kicks. Considering the FA cup final was on the 13th of MAY 06 and the WC started June 9th(England arrived in Germany AFTER the pre-WC camp on the 5th of June to play their first game on the 10th) Gerrard did not have "several weeks off" as you said. FACT.

Rewind to 2005. The 2005 season for LFC started earlier than anyone else's because they had to qualify for the CL due to their 5th place finish in the Premiership. Their first game was July 13th....which means pre-season started earlier aswell. By the way, Gerrard scored a hat-trick that day. FACT.

As Benitez said after the FA final: "We needed to keep going but after 63 games it was really difficult." If 63 games isn't one marathon season I don't know what is....especially since like you said Gerrard is the man. So there you have it. Very little rest in 2 years for Gerrard. FACT.

What kind of rock? Crumbly lava rock maybe. Did you miss the Sweden game and the disastrous defensive effort? Or the Ecuador game? Terry was horrible (except for the Portugal game in which he wasn't too bad.) I hope he keeps playing like that too.
And Cole, like you said...missing in action....for most of the cup except for Sweden...although besides that great goal he didn't really do that much.

Me neither...rating Lennon...except for his WC performance when he did play. Funny how you can attribute "tiredness" to the opposing defenders but not to Gerrard. That's mindboggling to me. And Lennon was the only one adding depth and willing to go at defenders...except for Rooney and Cole with his silly looking and innefective "bicycles". And God save England if Carra was the second best penalty taker for England! I find that surreal to be honest...and that's even though I love him to death for what he's done for Liverpool FC through the years. And when Sven said he'd start him at the ball holding role I thought he was joking in a bizarro world kind of way. He wasn't.

I tend to agree with you about Lampard+Gerrard but Sven had MANY failings. His England team selection. His tactics, his substitutions, his system with only one striker. His "distractions". This team had a lot of potential....which is too bad because I don't see too many great young players coming out of England and many have said this was the best "batch" of talent in many years irregardless of the players Sven ultimately picked.

Cheers.

Hi,

re Gerrard's tiredness. We agree that in the last 2 years he's not had much rest periods. But as you said, the Cup was 13 May, and the first WC match was June 10. That's several weeks off in my book I suspect, that unlike you, I'm ignoring training sessions when I say he had time off.

Either way, it's a WC quarterfinal - if he can't get the energy from somewhere then there's something wrong. Which is why I attribute it more to a mental issue with him, not physical. Again, his penalty was a truly pathetic effort - have you ever seen him take a kick like that before?

Now, I don't wish for your mind to be boggled any longer so I'll try and explain what I meant about the difference between defender tiredness and Gerrard (though I suspect you know full well ).

60, 70 minutes into a game and all players are tired. Their reaction times are a little slower, their recovery periods are slightly longer. Bring on a pacy player like Lennon and he'll cause all sorts of problems. But I repeat, did he actually do anything with his runs (with the one notable exception)?

The Gerrard tiredness I understand you want to attribute to him is a general tiredness, right from the kick-off, where right from the beginning he was only at 90% freshness. Like I said, I'm not convinced. According to the Eurosport website he played 44 matches in the 2005/6 season, which isn't a huge total.

And yes, Sven had many failings, which is why I wrote "His biggest failing". I'm not a fan of his at all.

But for me, the bottom line is despite/because of Sven England got to a penalty shootout of a WC quarterfinal playing 10 against 11, and the players failed to convert from 12 yards. It wasn't Sven who got himself sent off, it wasn't Sven who missed the kicks. It wasn't Sven when Lampard failed to make decent contact with the ball when he had his half chances (which he does week in week out for Chelsea). Oh, and I think this tournament has probably scuppered his chances of a big money move to Barcelona!

Cheers,

David

PS I checked the Champions League penalty shootout, and Carra was not one of the takers then. Curiouser and curioser........

WHAT THE FUCK?!

Eh.

Germany fell apart???

That was two goals in what, 15 seconds?