# Soccer / Football - All things here :)



## Sebastian

So I though, since there are people that like football/soccer on the forums - instead of 10's of different threads, lets keep it all in one  No matter if it's some local leagues, international cups or just cool football related stuff - just post it here 

I'll start with a very cool story




and Zidane


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## Sebastian

Come on people 




And a pretty funny - yet very cool "trick" by Henry


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## Opeth666

man I love football. internationally club wise my favorite teams are Dc United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, AS Roma. love watching all the games though...hate those red devils though. and alex ferguson. but if ever given the oppertunity to play professionally and manchester united wanted to sign me...would I turn it down? no. I just wouldn't be too happy about it lol


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## scherzo1928

Huge barcelona fan here.

Now that we are linking vids, how about this penalty by Johann Cruyff


... brilliant.


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## Sebastian

I'm a Manchester United fan since 1995/6...
I used to play football A LOT! (midfielder, forward.. and defender when needed ) but the last time I played was like... 6 years ago 

My interest in football isn't so big as it used to be, but I still enjoy watching a good game... and I hope to get back to playing some time...


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## scherzo1928

I havent played in almoast a year. Damn leg wont finish healing up.


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## scherzo1928

It's champions week!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


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## mattofvengeance

Glory Man United!

Chelsea dies tomorrow.


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## Sebastian

Real and Schalke had some great games, 

Man the first goal was pretty cool  especially since it was at the beginning of the game.

I hope Manchester will win today


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## Sebastian

Waaaayne Roooney! and Man Utd wins with Chelsea!


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## mattofvengeance

Time to take it back to Trafford and close it out.


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## scherzo1928

And another manita by barcelona... Looks like we will have 4 clasicos in 2 weeks!!!!!!

Oh man.


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## scherzo1928

thread was getting too quiet!


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## Sebastian

That's really impressive!

I had internet connection problems recently


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## Sebastian

*Manchester United 2* - 1 Chelsea
Really cool goals, the players sure are in good shape! 
Now just the semifinals


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## setsuna7

Sebastian said:


> *Manchester United 2* - 1 Chelsea
> Really cool goals, the players sure are in good shape!
> Now just the semifinals


Viva John Terry!!! He could've won the cup but he fucked it up,viva john terry!!!


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## mattofvengeance




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## Sebastian

I's love to see one soccer thread without the Hate  why can't we be like NBA fans


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## mattofvengeance

Sebastian said:


> I's love to see one soccer thread without the Hate  why can't we be like NBA fans



I'm sorry, bro. There's just not many teams I can't hate more than Chelsea, and it's worse now that they have that douchebag Fernando Torres. Dude should represent Spain in the Olympics for diving.


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## Sebastian

mattofvengeance said:


> I'm sorry, bro. There's just not many teams I can't hate more than Chelsea, and it's worse now that they have that douchebag Fernando Torres. Dude should represent Spain in the Olympics for diving.



Of course Jokes are Jokes, and we all know that, but as I live in a country where people kill each other "for" soccer clubs, I don't really like "hate" in sport.
That's why I envy NBA fans....

this can be funny:










But the "shit" thing...well..

And I don't want to ruin the party - I just wanted a thread about soccer on a decent level... we can joke etc. but no hate 

Thanks, and sorry for the rant....


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## mattofvengeance

Sebastian said:


> Of course Jokes are Jokes, and we all know that, but as I live in a country where people kill each other "for" soccer clubs, I don't really like "hate" in sport.
> That's why I envy NBA fans....
> 
> this can be funny:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> But the "shit" thing...well..
> 
> And I don't want to ruin the party - I just wanted a thread about soccer on a decent level... we can joke etc. but no hate
> 
> Thanks, and sorry for the rant....



 but in the NBA, it's the players you have to worry about instead of the fans. Charlie Villanueva just suspended for trying to start an altercation on court, then trying to go to the opposing team's bench and twice attempting to get into their locker room. Bunch of thugs, I tell ya. I'll curtail the hatred just for you


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## Sebastian

mattofvengeance said:


> but in the NBA, it's the players you have to worry about instead of the fans. Charlie Villanueva just suspended for trying to start an altercation on court, then trying to go to the opposing team's bench and twice attempting to get into their locker room. Bunch of thugs, I tell ya. I'll curtail the hatred just for you



True... so I guess we have to start watching Curling


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## scherzo1928

I dont think Torres is the worst diver in there though... Drogba in his golden days was ridiculous. Then again, Drogba is no Christina ronaldo.



Just to compare:


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## Sebastian

^Epic video 
Christiano Ronaldo... as a Man Utd fan I have to say that he was (is?) a great player, but man... I did not like him! 
Wht the hell is he doing this dive thing is beyond me.. it's not like he's the worst player in the world  it's a disgrace for the sport and his teammates..
When you compare his style to Rooney - man that's a big difference between those two


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## Sang-Drax

"Christina Ronaldo" 

Great player; though far from being one of the best in the world, IMO.


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## scherzo1928

Sebastian said:


> ^Epic video
> Christiano Ronaldo... as a Man Utd fan I have to say that he was (is?) a great player, but man... I did not like him!
> Wht the hell is he doing this dive thing is beyond me.. it's not like he's the worst player in the world  it's a disgrace for the sport and his teammates..
> When you compare his style to Rooney - man that's a big difference between those two


 
He dives so much because the only way he can score is with a freekick


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## Opeth666

I'm a huge Cristiano Ronaldo, and Messi fan...man if they both were on the same team...with Villa and Benzema uptop...powerhouse for sure


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## Sebastian

scherzo1928 said:


> He dives so much because the only way he can score is with a freekick



This vid made me sad... because it's in Man United 
I can't remember Beckham wasting so many free kicks, and I was up to date with soccer from the mid90's to 200....2004...
Now I think this years Champions league will be really something! as every year 
But without Inter - which was a surprise, and Barca is playing Real - that will be really interesting


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## setsuna7

We lost the derby today  Scholesy was reckless, COW must be a happy man now that City is in the final.... I believe we'll tear the Geordies up this Tuesday!!!


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## Opeth666

so so so happy Man City beat Man utd. and Real came back to tie Barca.


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## scherzo1928

Opeth666 said:


> and Real came back to tie Barca.


 
It's still an 8 point lead, with 18 points left...


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## steve1

Opeth666 said:


> so so so happy Man City beat Man utd





Im not much of a football fan these days, but its always nice to see Man Utd lose


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## Opeth666

scherzo1928 said:


> It's still an 8 point lead, with 18 points left...



indeed but we won the copa del rey so Im happy . champions league is next!


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## Sebastian

Opeth666 said:


> indeed but we won the copa del rey so Im happy . champions league is next!



Definitely Real will have much more confidence after this important win, I can't wait to see the Champions League game


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## SD83

Opeth666 said:


> indeed but we won the copa del rey


and then accidentially threw it off the bus & crushed it. I feel kinda sorry for the poor guy who dropped it.
As for bad acting:

I still can't believe the guy from the other team had to leave the field and not this guy. But when it comes to diving, no one currently beats Ronaldo, at least none that I know. That was pretty much all he did last at the last world cup. Beside being arrogant as fuck (as was the Portugese media... "look at us, we are so great... I mean, we just destroyed North Korea, there is no doubt we will win the cup this time")


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## mattofvengeance

Tomorrow can't get here fast enough.


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## scherzo1928

And once again, it's
CHAAAAMPIOOOOOOOONS week!


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## Sebastian

ghanistha said:


> NIce video. I enjoy it. Thanks for sharing this.



Thanks 


And Man Utd won 2-0 

Can't wait to see how Barcelona Real will go


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## scherzo1928

mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Gonna be sweet watching real mierdid trying to play offensive against us in the Camp Nou now that they need 2 goals. Should be a blaugrana fest.


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## Opeth666

anyone know why madrid didn't start Kaka, Benzema or Higuin?


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## scherzo1928

Opeth666 said:


> anyone know why madrid didn't start Kaka, Benzema or Higuin?


 
Because they didnt plan on wining. They didnt want Barcelona to score an away goal, so the 0-0 was enough for them.

The forwards they had on the bench cost about 150 million dollars, but the plan was to play defense at home.


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## Opeth666

scherzo1928 said:


> Because they didnt plan on wining. They didnt want Barcelona to score an away goal, so the 0-0 was enough for them.
> 
> The forwards they had on the bench cost about 150 million dollars, but the plan was to play defense at home.



retarded! ugh


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## Sebastian

Opeth666 said:


> retarded! ugh





A lot of teams play defense these days, which is really boring...


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## scherzo1928

So, barca vs manchester...


And just because today I was thinking of this goal, here's a vid.


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## Sebastian

Manchester United 4 - 1 Schalke

Good goals, and well... Raul wasn't so scare as he told earlier 

I hope Man Utd will win the Chapions League this season, although Barcelona is a great team. both teams deserved the final, and now we'll see who's better


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## scherzo1928

Sebastian said:


> I hope Man Utd will win the Chapions League this season, although Barcelona is a great team. both teams deserved the final, and now we'll see who's better


 
As much as I'd love to see chicharito win a champions, that will have to wait for another season


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## mattofvengeance

Sebastian said:


> Manchester United 4 - 1 Schalke
> 
> Good goals, and well... Raul wasn't so scare as he told earlier
> 
> I hope Man Utd will win the Chapions League this season, although Barcelona is a great team. both teams deserved the final, and now we'll see who's better



Much like their last matchup in the Champions League Final, I worry about that Barcelona midfield.


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## Sebastian

mattofvengeance said:


> Much like their last matchup in the Champions League Final, I worry about that Barcelona midfield.



I think Manchester has a better team this year, still I'll probably wont watch the final.. to much stress


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## scherzo1928

Sebastian said:


> I think Manchester has a better team this year, still I'll probably wont watch the final.. to much stress


 
Hehe yeah. I didnt drink coffe on the last 4 clasicos. I always just take a beer at the start of important matches


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## buffa d

Ah, I love football! I used to play in a local team for 7 years until I stopped. Now I kinda wish I hadn't done that. 

Though, I've been focusing on skateboarding ever since.


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## Sebastian

buffa d said:


> Ah, I love football! I used to play in a local team for 7 years until I stopped. Now I kinda wish I hadn't done that.
> 
> Though, I've been focusing on skateboarding ever since.



On what position did you play ?


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## scherzo1928

Campeoooones, campeooooones, OEEE, OEEEEE, OEEEEEEEEEE


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## Sebastian

scherzo1928 said:


> Campeoooones, campeooooones, OEEE, OEEEEE, OEEEEEEEEEE



Good for Barcelona  3 times in a row!


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## buffa d

Sebastian said:


> On what position did you play ?



Oh sorry I didn't answer earlier.

Anyways, I started as a centre back, but after that I played as a striker. 
Though nowadays I think myself as a right winger. 

What position do you play?

Oh, btw I'm looking forward to the new adipower cleats


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## Sebastian

buffa d said:


> Oh sorry I didn't answer earlier.
> 
> Anyways, I started as a centre back, but after that I played as a striker.
> Though nowadays I think myself as a right winger.
> 
> What position do you play?
> 
> Oh, btw I'm looking forward to the new adipower cleats



My favorite was right midfielder, but I played everything from defender to forward - everything but not the goalkeeper


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## Sebastian

Champions League Final: *Barcelona 3* - 1 Man Utd

I don't watch the match, but congratulations to Barca - they proved to be a really great team


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## scherzo1928

Needless to say I'm very friggin happy and drunk atm.

For me the best part was that Puyol made Abidal captain, so he could be the one to lift the trophy.


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## sted

I feel a bit sorry for anyone having to play Barca in that kind of form...steamrollered doesnt seem to cover it for Utd!


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## simulclass83

A little off topic, but am I the only one who finds Adidas to be tenfold more comfortable than Nike's? Especially the Predators vs the T90's.


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## Opeth666

simulclass83 said:


> A little off topic, but am I the only one who finds Adidas to be tenfold more comfortable than Nike's? Especially the Predators vs the T90's.


Kelme Masters > Predators > any nikes


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## scherzo1928

simulclass83 said:


> A little off topic, but am I the only one who finds Adidas to be tenfold more comfortable than Nike's? Especially the Predators vs the T90's.


 
I cant use predators. LOVE them, but I have big feet (wide as hell) and the outmost studs hurt my feet. So I'm stuck with t90s.

I know I'd probably be able to get properly fitting predators in the US, or overseas, but since I cant play atm (lame leg injury) I wont bother.


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## Sebastian

FIFA investigating Nigeria win over Argentina | Sport | Reuters

Clearly there was no penalty kick in the last minute


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## scherzo1928

Sebastian said:


> FIFA investigating Nigeria win over Argentina | Sport | Reuters
> 
> Clearly there was no penalty kick in the last minute


 
Haha, I know. Loved the faces on both teams when he called the penalty.


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## Sebastian

scherzo1928 said:


> Haha, I know. Loved the faces on both teams when he called the penalty.



Someone made big money (betting) on that game... I hate corruption in football, it destroys the sport...

We had a big Game buying scandal here in Poland some years back, a lot of referees, football managers got convicted, it's much better now.

What do you think about limiting the players salary (per team) ? like in the NBA ?


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## scherzo1928

Fothermucking BEAUTIFUL goal by Andrés Guardado... Holy crap.


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## Sebastian

Daaamn! That was a really nice goal!


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## simulclass83

scherzo1928 said:


> Fothermucking BEAUTIFUL goal by Andrés Guardado... Holy crap.



You never see any American announcers get that excited, it sucks. But that was a fucking ace goal.


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## scherzo1928

Yeah, he doesnt score very often, but when he does it's always spectacular. He really knows how to hit that ball.


Skip to #3 through 1.... Funny things is, both goals 3 and 1 were scored in the same match, and they are almoast identical.


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## GalacticDeath

Yeah Guardado is a baller. I think the Mexico has a really great team right now. Probably the best team that's come out of Mexico in years. 

Gonna watch them demolish Guatemala today. lolz


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## niffnoff

Hernandez/Chicarito is gonna be the next Mexican footballer to be chanted all over the shop. Such a lucky bastard that Fergusson ¬.¬


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## Sebastian

niffnoff said:


> Hernandez/Chicarito is gonna be the next Mexican footballer to be chanted all over the shop. Such a lucky bastard that Fergusson ¬.¬


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## scherzo1928

I actually dont think he's that good... And that's comming from another Mexican.

He is always at the right spot at the right time to push the ball into the goal, but just watch him try to make a pass... most of the times he misses the other player by a nautical mile.

Still, I hope he scores 100 goals tonight against the US.


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## GalacticDeath

scherzo1928 said:


> I actually dont think he's that good... And that's comming from another Mexican.
> 
> He is always at the right spot at the right time to push the ball into the goal, but just watch him try to make a pass... most of the times he misses the other player by a nautical mile.
> 
> Still, I hope he scores 100 goals tonight against the US.


 
Yeah Chicharito isn't really good at initiating plays or making incredible assists. He's basically just scores goals. He just waits for someone to pass him the ball and he goes for the goal. He's damn good at it too.


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## Opeth666

scherzo1928 said:


> Fothermucking BEAUTIFUL goal by Andrés Guardado... Holy crap.




@ 0:33....asshole asshole asshole? sorry i dont speak spanish!


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## scherzo1928

Opeth666 said:


> @ 0:33....asshole asshole asshole? sorry i dont speak spanish!


 


he's saying GOOOOLAZO .... AZO AZO AZO

gol being.... Goal. And the azo just means it was a great one.


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## scherzo1928

Has anyone been following the under 17 world cup? I might be going to the final at the Azteca stadium.

Today Mexico beat germany 3-2 with one of the most astonishing displays of BALLS I have ever seen... Holy shit.


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## 777timesgod

Everyone should check out the womens FIFA world cup. I though it would be crap but i've seen some great skills and some sweet goals. The England's women's team is better than the mens one, how about that!


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## scherzo1928

Yeah, I've seen a couple of games. So far, I've really liked the Japanese team... I doubt they will win though.


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## Skin Coffin

Holy shit, so many C. Ronaldo hate in only one thread 

Regarding the diving, I mean, he kinda dives but that's only because in football you have to. Referees don't mark the faul if the the player is not on the ground. And I mean, ronaldo is 1.86 m and is really really strong so, either he dives or he just doesn't fall  Messi doesn't need to dive, is so friggin small and weak. I mean, I really love them both, Messi is a huge player, no doubt about it, but regarding to faults, I mean, Ronaldo gets his ass kicked every single game, he has to get some faults at some time 

Also, that video of him missing free kicks is really stupid. I mean, Ronaldo invented a new style of scoring free kicks, completely unique, that are really hard to preform. Tell me, is it better to shoot a normally swerved free kick with 80% chances of the goal keeper will defend and it's easy to score, or is it better to score like ronaldo, that if the ball passes the barrier (which is the hardest thing to do when scoring like Ronaldo, and the defenders usually step forward a little) there is a 95% probability of scoring?

Edit: Typo


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## glassmoon0fo

anybody just see that USA win in the womens cup?! that shit was PURE AWESOME! i may be a soccer fan now 





seriously feckin' great.


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## SD83

scherzo1928 said:


> Yeah, I've seen a couple of games. So far, I've really liked the Japanese team... I doubt they will win though.


Well, the did beat the team which seemed like the obvious champion before the world cup started. And they didn't win by accident. I'm really happy the US-team won, especially after Brazil once again demonstrated that their soccer players are rather bad actors. Does anybody else think Marta is kinda overrated? Sure, she's good, but not THAT good. And not always fair.


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## scherzo1928

glassmoon0fo said:


> anybody just see that USA win in the womens cup?! that shit was PURE AWESOME! i may be a soccer fan now
> 
> 
> seriously feckin' great.


 
Yeah, It was a great game. It's probably the first time I've wanted a USA soccer team to win, and they deserved it.



SD83 said:


> Well, the did beat the team which seemed like the obvious champion before the world cup started. And they didn't win by accident. I'm really happy the US-team won, especially after Brazil once again demonstrated that their soccer players are rather bad actors. Does anybody else think Marta is kinda overrated? Sure, she's good, but not THAT good. And not always fair.


 
Yeah, I wrote that before they played against germany. Even though they won, I dont think they played to all their potential, they were being too cautious. But I maintain that they really know how to treat the ball, and play the best football of all the teams I've seen in the tournament..

And about Brasil's national team, I think that the same applies for the men's national team. I for one didnt like the women's national team AT ALL. They spent all the game diving, and letting the clock run, and that's REALLY not what I like about this game.

AND, FINALLY





Mexico won the under 17 world cup!!!!!!!!11111oneoneoneone

They show a loooot of potential, and I cant wait a few years to watch them in the big team. Mad props for Germany as well, they got some MONSTER players comming out.


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## Sebastian

I believe this isn't the best MLS team?


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## Sebastian

nice!


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## simulclass83

Sebastian said:


> nice!



Wow!


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## scherzo1928

Hah! that was awesome!


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## Sebastian

Anyone saw some highlights from Manchesters and Barcelonas games from their USA tour?

Now some awesome goals here:


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## Sebastian

Holy Batman! Uniteds second goal was amazing! great passing


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## setsuna7

Yes it was!!! Stuff of Champions!!!! Cleverley was awesome,proof that United not need buying the replacement for Scholesy!! Suck on that COW!!!


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## C2Aye

Man, I was worried when United were 2-0 down at half time, but they played better throughout the game and deserved the win.

And who needs Sneijder when you have Tom Cleverly?!


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## Sebastian

C2Aye said:


> Man, I was worried when United were 2-0



I remember the game against Tottenham... Hotspur led 3-0 to the half.. in the second United scored 5 goals!


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## setsuna7

Sebastian said:


> I remember the game against Tottenham... Hotspur led 3-0 to the half.. in the second United scored 5 goals!



I prefer the one at Old Trafford in 09, we were 2 nil down at half time,then Carlitos came on,we scored 5 goals,and with Ronny taking his shirt after his 2nd goal(United's 3rd), that sums it up,the NEVER SAY DIE attitude of United!!!But then again we never played well if start the game attacking Stretford End,it's better when we end attacking Stretford End!!!


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## C2Aye

To be honest, there were many of those games. The worst in terms of how I felt was when we were 2-0 against Blackpool, followed by when we were 2-0 down against West Ham.

Still, I shouldn't have worried because we won those anyway


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## scherzo1928

Aaaaaaaaaaand, Fabregas comes back home!!


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## Wingchunwarrior

scherzo1928 said:


> Aaaaaaaaaaand, Fabregas comes back home!!



Wow! I didn't see that coming


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## C2Aye

scherzo1928 said:


> Aaaaaaaaaaand, Fabregas comes back home!!



Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...

He's on the bench. Hard to see him disrupting the Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets trio unless my dream comes true and Busquets actually is injured after rolling on the floor after receiving a tap on the ankle.


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## scherzo1928

C2Aye said:


> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand...
> 
> He's on the bench. Hard to see him disrupting the Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets trio unless my dream comes true and Busquets actually is injured after rolling on the floor after receiving a tap on the ankle.


 
Aaaaaand it only took him 15 min to win his first title.

Anyone else watched the game? What did you think? Personaly, I'm tired of madrid always lining up the FBI's 10 most wanted.


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## C2Aye

scherzo1928 said:


> Aaaaaand it only took him 15 min to win his first title.
> 
> Anyone else watched the game? What did you think? Personaly, I'm tired of madrid always lining up the FBI's 10 most wanted.



Yeah, I guess that beats 6 years at Arsenal 

It wasn't a question of whether he wins titles or not; at Barcelona that is pretty much a given. It's whether he could become a regular starter in the first team. Same goes for Alexis Sanchez.

There is also the question of whether Barcelona needed him or not as there is a kid there by the name of Thiago who recently signed a new contract as well as looking THE SHIT. His goal against Man United in pre season was AMAZING. I read a comment somewhere, The Guardian I think, saying that the Fabregas purchase (lol, even the Barca board get GAS for FabreGAS) was just to have the boards dream come true and field a team of 10 Catalans and Messi. Made me laugh quite a bit.

Which goes to the game. I think Jose has one of his players sent off every time he plays Barca so he can have a moan about it afterwards. Or maybe the boots of the Real player love the taste of Barcelona shins. I'm willing to go for the lattter, given that the Barcelona player in question is Sergio Busquets. I can never get enough of seeing him kicked.

In other news, I really want the transfer window to be over so I can never have to read another story about how Manchester United have signed Wesly Sneidjer. At this present count, I believe that we have signed him over 9000 times and counting. Once the UK tabloids figure out that we ARE NOT going to sign him, life can move on as usual and we can suck in the first half of the season only to win the title by a convincing 12 point margin once De Gea realises that you have to keep the ball out of the net, not let it dribble in (okay, the De Gea comment was harsh, I do really expect him to come though as our new No 1).

And once Javier Hernandez is fit, I expect him to score his first hat trick of the season all using unconventional body parts. First with his shin, second with his back and his third and final goal, a penalty won by a Nani dive, scored by Chicharito using his arse.


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## scherzo1928

Agreed. on pretty much everything.

About Fabregas, Barcelona plays waaay too many games during the season, and not everyone can start every game. Xavi is getting older and needs to rest a bit instead of playing every 3 days. And he will take Xavi's spot in the team when he eventually retires. Also, since we really only have 4 forwards (sorry I really dont know what you call every field position in english... funny since you invented the game) Iniesta can play on the left side, and another spot opens up in the midfield for Fabregas or Thiago.

Talking about Thiago. He is an unbelievable player. I think the best part of him, is that he is able to make unbelievable plays in any stadium, and he doesnt seem to feel the preassure even though he is still very young. Having seen at least 50% of Barcelona's 2nd team last season I think he has the skill to become one of the great players of the History of this team... I just hope he gets the minutes of play time he deserves.

--

About Madrid... I used to have respect for that team (even though I hate them for what they did in the past), but since Mourinho arrived I can't even watch their games. And what he did yesterday to Tito Villanova shows what kind of person he is. If you didn't watch, while Tito was trying to separate the players, Mourinho walked behind his back and grabbed him by the cheek (not exactly in a playfull maner) and walked away like the little bitch he is. Afterwards in the press conference he said he didnt do anything to "Pito, Pito villanova... I really dont know that %#$/'s name" (Pito is spanish for Dick)

AND, to end the wall of text, Give De Gea some time, he is VERY FRIGGIN GOOD. Oh, and your description of Chicharito is spot on.


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## revclay

scherzo1928 said:


> Aaaaaand it only took him 15 min to win his first title.
> 
> Anyone else watched the game? What did you think? Personaly, I'm tired of madrid always lining up the FBI's 10 most wanted.



Well, that was a fantastic game marred by some shenanigans at the end. Absolutely pathetic. I'm almost tired of watching the Clasico because of all of the bullshit.

Now, on to some other points that have been brought up:

- I used to love Mourinho and his antics, now I think it is just sad and that he has some serious psychological problems. He's turned Real Madrid into the antithesis of what it was during the Galacticos era. Not that I ever have liked Real Madrid, but at least Real Madrid were fun to watch at one point and were respectable.

- With Fabregas and Sanchez on board, they have so many more options. Now, they can potentially push Iniesta up on the pitch and play him as a forward and have Fabregas and Xavi in midfield with Busquets/Mascherano. Sanchez can also play instead of Pedro. Their attacking options are more varied and their depth will help them with all of the competitions they have this season.

- With that being said, they need some help in defense badly. Abidal looked great in the Supercopa and Mascherano actually played very well, but Mascherano isn't a CB. He will get schooled by bigger sides and he can get caught out of position at times. More depth there would help out immensely. Unfortunately, Puyol's age is catching up with him and he won't be around too much longer. They need to find a long term replacement for him.


----------



## C2Aye

revclay said:


> Well, that was a fantastic game marred by some shenanigans at the end. Absolutely pathetic. I'm almost tired of watching the Clasico because of all of the bullshit.
> 
> Now, on to some other points that have been brought up:
> 
> - I used to love Mourinho and his antics, now I think it is just sad and that he has some serious psychological problems. He's turned Real Madrid into the antithesis of what it was during the Galacticos era. Not that I ever have liked Real Madrid, but at least Real Madrid were fun to watch at one point and were respectable.
> 
> - With Fabregas and Sanchez on board, they have so many more options. Now, they can potentially push Iniesta up on the pitch and play him as a forward and have Fabregas and Xavi in midfield with Busquets/Mascherano. Sanchez can also play instead of Pedro. Their attacking options are more varied and their depth will help them with all of the competitions they have this season.
> 
> - With that being said, they need some help in defense badly. Abidal looked great in the Supercopa and Mascherano actually played very well, but Mascherano isn't a CB. He will get schooled by bigger sides and he can get caught out of position at times. More depth there would help out immensely. Unfortunately, Puyol's age is catching up with him and he won't be around too much longer. They need to find a long term replacement for him.



I wouldn't write off Barcelona just yet. Once they get going, they'll keep possession so well that their defence won't have to do that much. And being a Manchester United fan, I'm used to everybody and their dog writing us off, some even saying that we'd finish outside the top 4. And look what happened  I expect Barcelona to do the same!

In other news, anybody see the state Arsenal are in? I really feel for their fans. All of a sudden, they're losing their best players and Arsene Wenger isn't reinforcing their squad (possibly due to lack of funds) where they need to most, ie, in goal and at centre back. Not to mention injuries and other unavailable players.

I know I just talked about not writing teams off, but Arsenal will do well to stay in the top 4 unless something drastic happens before the end of the transfer window. Thoughts?

And while I'm at it, maybe I'll do a prediction for the top of the Premier League from my incredibly biased position? 

6th: Arsenal

Like I said, until they can bring in some new players to reinforce their squad, I think they'll struggle. Despite losing Clichy, Fabregas and the imminent departure of Nasri, they still have quality in their side with the likes of Van Persie, Walcott, Wilshere, Song and Vermaelen still kicking about. However, the rest of the squad has a lot to be desired and Van Persie often struggles with injuries and to be honest, I wouldn't trust Bendtner to tie his own laces. I do hope Arsenal prove me very wrong because they are a good side but as last season showed, they can't cope when the going gets tough and the going is tough already. We'll have to wait to see what impact Gervinho will have but really, Arsenal need centre backs!

5th: Tottenham Hotspur

Even if they do end up losing Luka Modric, I think Tottenham will be a tough team to beat. If their best players can find form and Harry Redknapp can get his hands on another striker than Tottenham should be exciting to watch this season. I can't see them breaking into the top 4 however, with the improvements that other teams are making. Still, they are a great attacking side and like I said, with another striker on the books (currently rumoured to be Adebayour, which should be a laugh seeing that he used to play for Arsenal) they should go strong this season.
Players to watch: Rafael van der Vaart & Gareth Bale

4th: Liverpool

One of my hated teams, but I've got to admit, they're looking like they'll do well. Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles combine well at the front and they've made good signings in Henderson, Downing, Enrique and Adam. I'll say that £16 million is a lot for Jordan Henderson, but then they payed £35 million for Andy Carroll, so I'll leave the Liverpool Owners to their skewed sense of value. Regardless of prices paid, they've strengthend their squad in all the right places and look creative up front. However, I have to make some snide remark about Liverpool with me being a Manchester United fan, so I'm going to say that this is the season that Steven Gerrard loses his first team place. The team looks good enough without him! 
Players to watch - Luis Suarez & Charlie Adam

3rd: Chelsea
They're not the powerhouse of a team that they were in the 2009/2010 season but still formidable nonetheless. Still, the players are a year older and towards the end of last season, Chelsea looked short of ideas. I also don't like how they've sacked Carlo Ancelotti after one bad season because I thought he was a very good manager and surely winning the double in his first season must have meant something! Still, if they can actually manage to sign Modric from Tottenham, they will certainly remain dangerous. Also, can the real Fernando Torres please stand up?
Player to watch - Fernando Torres (just to see if he hits form!)

2nd: Manchester City
Again, I hate having to give credit to teams I hate but I've got to give credit to them. All accusations of simply trying to buy silverware aside, they've assemble themselves a formidable squad with the right balance of steely grit and creativity. The purchase of Sergio Aguero looks a promising one too and he looks like he'll do very well in the Premier League. If Mancini can somehow keep Tevez on the books, then they'll have a very formidable strike force indeed! The two things that Roberto Mancini needs to sort are one, Mario Ballotelli and two, his defensive attitude. One is easy, either sell him or drop him. He has to learn his lesson somehow and despite his supposed talent, sometimes a player is just too much hassle. On the second point, it's frustrating when you have such a wealth of attacking talent yet Mancini plays Yaya Toure as an attacking midfielder, or starts Milner instead of Adam Johnson when he needs a goal. Still, at least David Silva gets a start every game!
Player to watch - Sergio Aguero & David Silva

1st: Manchester United (of course)
Last season, we had the worst midfield in the premier league and were a team on the decline. The Guardian predicted that we would come fifth. So...instead we ignored what everyone said and won the League by 12 points and made it to a 3rd Champions League final in 4 years, albeit getting taught a lesson in football in the latter. So what's changed this season? Well, no more Gary Neville, Edwin Van Der Sar, Paul Scholes, Owen Hargreaves, Wes Brown and John O'Shea. So what's been done about it? Sir Alex Ferguson has brought in Phil Jones, Ashely Young and David de Gea, as well as getting all his players back from loan. So far, De Gea has had a shaky start but I have faith that he will come good, being only 20 years old and younger than me! In Smalling and Jones, we seem to have the future central denfensive partnership for England as well as having a very young team indeed. The kids are looking pretty good but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I'll only do that once Chicharito is fit and scores goals left, right and centre, as well as with his face. But in all seriousness, I think Sir Alex has the know-how to get the best out of his young players and Manchester United will be the team to beat this season.
Players to watch: Nani, Wayne Rooney, Tom Cleverly and Javier Hernandez


----------



## revclay

C2Aye said:


> I wouldn't write off Barcelona just yet...



Barcelona are still the best team in the world by some distance. But if they have a weakness, it's at the back.

Also, your assessment of the top 6 is looking pretty good. Arsenal are in deep trouble. More like Arsene Wenger is in deep trouble. They need some quality all over the pitch (CB, midfield to replace Fabregas and Nasri, a striker who can stay healthy), and he won't spend money on someone who has gone through puberty. Oh well. Another season without silverware for them.

And I agree on everything else. I do think that City could be a threat to win the league and Chelsea, too. AVB gets goals out of his teams and Chelsea have a solid defense. It will be a tight title race again, but I still think Man U are too strong to take down this year.


----------



## Nesty

This is why I love Manchester United.


----------



## revclay

Has anyone else taken a look at the Champions League draw? Group A is going to be ridiculous, but I also think groups B, F and G have potential to be great as well. What do you all think?


----------



## scherzo1928

Yep, there are going to be some incredible matches in group A. I'm just glad Barcelona didn't get any Russian teams.


----------



## Nesty

Most of them will most likely be shit and predictable. I hope to see City crash out although with Mancini's "park the bus" tactics it may well serve them well in Europe.


----------



## revclay

Nesty said:


> Most of them will most likely be shit and predictable. I hope to see City crash out although with Mancini's "park the bus" tactics it may well serve them well in Europe.



Yea, Mancini's tactics are obnoxious, but if their last 2 games are any indication, they will be a high scoring team. We'll see if that is a blip on the radar of if Man City continue to play attacking football. Only time will tell, but that group should be a lot of fun to watch.


----------



## scherzo1928

So. many. goals. today.


----------



## setsuna7

scherzo1928 said:


> So. many. goals. today.




Yep. Arse-(NAL) got their asses handed to them by United..
Wazza scored a hattrick all via deadball situation? Amazing!!


----------



## Nesty

I still can't believe the scoreline. Fantastic performance by United today and possibly the worst Arsenal performance at OT I've ever seen...


----------



## Sebastian

8-2.. just wow...


----------



## C2Aye

Is this the worst penalty ever?


----------



## Sebastian

C2Aye said:


> Is this the worst penalty ever?


----------



## simulclass83

I was actually sitting hear with tears in my eyes from that video.


----------



## Sebastian

OK, to resurrect this thread 


The play at 2:33 was just pure awesome! and he makes it look so easy  close up at 3:04


----------



## revclay

That Juve goal was vintage Juve. It's refreshing seeing them back to competing for the top spot in Serie A.

Anyway, did anyone see the Chelsea - Arsenal game today? I only saw the 2nd half, but holy shit, Arsenal have some life in them yet. John Terry and Florent Malouda also conspired to gift Arsenal a goal, but it was a fantastic 2nd half of a great game.


----------



## Pengu

oh my god, just saw this thread and realized me and my mates did 2 freestyle soccer videos like, 3 years ago... 






Also... Barcelona foorr thhee wiiinnn


----------



## Sebastian

Nice skills.... 


I feel so old


----------



## niffnoff

bit of an odd one for this board. But anyone is a fan of the EPL will definantly call me an ambitious one for this, but anyone think Newcastle can go for Europe (at the least) considering only us and Man City are unbeaten at this point in the season? 
(considering we were written off every game, and we've played Stoke (rugby football), Tott and Arsenal )


----------



## Triple-J

As long as Arsenal and Chelsea keep doing as bad as they are now I think Newcastle have a great chance at europe and even though I'm a Man City fan I think it's very refreshing to have Newcastle, Spurs and Liverpool doing so well right now and it's a shame that Newcastle don't get a little more respect.

After last week everyone has been talking about Arsenal making a comeback but I'm not so convinced cause despite their victory they still have the same problems within as before and once the transfer window opens I'm sure that Robin Van Persie will be headed out the door.


----------



## revclay

niffnoff said:


> bit of an odd one for this board. But anyone is a fan of the EPL will definantly call me an ambitious one for this, but anyone think Newcastle can go for Europe (at the least) considering only us and Man City are unbeaten at this point in the season?
> (considering we were written off every game, and we've played Stoke (rugby football), Tott and Arsenal )



I think Newcastle has a chance right now, but the way I see it, there will be a strong competition for 3rd and 4th place. I don't know if anyone will be able to catch the two Manchester clubs this season. For 3rd and 4th, I see the competition coming down to Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool and perhaps Newcastle. I'm sorry, I just don't know if Newcastle has the depth and quality the other 4 clubs have to sustain themselves an entire EPL campaign. Once Chelsea gets a little more pace in the back, their high line will start being incredibly useful and they will start getting more results. Tottenham need to stay healthy, but Bale, VDV, Addebayor and Modric are all excellent players and should keep them in the top 4. Liverpool still can't defend and have too many midfielders and not enough production from Andy Carroll. Arsenal is still in a state of flux and could sneak in if they keep it up/if Van Persie doesn't leave in January/if they can get some reinforcements in January. But Newcastle seems like a stretch to me. Europa league seems more likely for Newcastle to me.


----------



## niffnoff

I agree it seems a stretch, but we have the most depth in our midfield, and also looks to be similar to man u's young guns, with Gosling, Marveux, Cabaye, Tiote, Abeid, Guttierez and Sammy Ameobi coming through. Was actually supprised how good a buy Ba was for us, for a free anyway. I hope to get at least 4th but it's only our second season so I'm not to fussed as long as it's a good shout for the next season. I'm not exactly with the pessimist crowd of the board. I see the good parts more than bad, just a couple cb's and a striker will do me nicely. As long as we are above Liverpool. I don't mind. 

On RVP I think (well my dad first made mention) is just showing the other clubs. Look I can score, I can work hard, BUY ME. I give him till Jan. But I think he'd rather play in the CL until the end of the season it'd make more sense.


----------



## niffnoff

I'd rather put this here than make a thread on it, if you're a fan of the EPL, then you know this guy was a complete legend especially in the northeast. Gary Speed died today aged 42. Truly sad day in football and for the Wales national team


----------



## JeffFromMtl

Euro 2012 Groups announced:

Group A - Poland / Greece / Russia / Czech Republic
Group B - Netherlands / Denmark / Portugal / Germany
Group C - Spain / Italy / Ireland / Croatia
Group D - Ukraine / Sweden / France / England

Group B is ridiculous. I'll be cheering for the Germans, as usual.
Group A could also cause some tension between my girlfriend and I, considering she's Czech and I'm Polish/Russian


----------



## niffnoff

JeffFromMtl said:


> Euro 2012 Groups announced:
> 
> Group A - Poland / Greece / Russia / Czech Republic
> Group B - Netherlands / Denmark / Portugal / Germany
> Group C - Spain / Italy / Ireland / Croatia
> Group D - Ukraine / Sweden / France / England
> 
> Group B is ridiculous. I'll be cheering for the Germans, as usual.
> Group A could also cause some tension between my girlfriend and I, considering she's Czech and I'm Polish/Russian



My money is on Germany and Netherlands, I hate portugal with a passion!
I reckon we will edge it with France, but England to get knocked out Quarters cause I know we are shit 

I fancy Spain or Germany to win


----------



## 777timesgod

Sebastian said:


>




The ref gave him a yellow card for violating rule no72 which says ''No epic fails allowed''. 

When you execute a penalty make up your mind before getting started.


----------



## Blake1970

Goalkeeper kicks fan.

Esteban Alvarado: Alkmaar goalkeeper attacks fan who ran on pitch | Mail Online


----------



## sahil1420

thiery henry's trick was yeah funny..and i do think so that ronaldo is the best..


----------



## C2Aye

Manchester United 2-3 Blackburn
Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa
Sunderland 1-0 Manchester City
Wolves 2-1 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Arsenal

Despite being a Manchester United fan, these results are good for the EPL. I want this to happen more often, make it more exciting 

Oh, and a transfer cap/salary cap would be grand as well.


----------



## scherzo1928

C2Aye said:


> Manchester United 2-3 Blackburn
> Chelsea 1-3 Aston Villa
> Sunderland 1-0 Manchester City
> Wolves 2-1 Chelsea
> Fulham 2-1 Arsenal
> 
> Despite being a Manchester United fan, these results are good for the EPL. I want this to happen more often, make it more exciting
> 
> Oh, and a transfer cap/salary cap would be grand as well.


 
lol yes, this week was pretty crazy!


----------



## Opeth666

why a salary cap?


----------



## C2Aye

Opeth666 said:


> why a salary cap?



It would stop the richer teams basically hoarding world class players by offering stupidly high salaries that even other top teams couldn't afford. Plus, I think in a time when everybody is struggling to make ends meet, I don't know how they can justify such high wages for someone who is essentially kicking a round thing around. I mean, we all love football but come on!

Example, Carlos Tevez of Manchester City apparently gets paid £250,000 a week, so that's just under £1 million a month and for 52 weeks, that's £13 million a year (or over $20 million a year, all before tax). So what, some players in the NFL earn that, right? Well, then you also have David Silva, Samir Nasri, Sergio Augero and a torrent of other players who will earn similar salaries (I'm assuming upper hundred thousands to above £200k a week). That's a ridiculous wage bill, but since City have billionare owners, they can pay that while others cannot. 

It makes the league lopsided, an example of which is Chelsea when they started paying £120,00 salaries, unprecedented at the time and buying players at will. And Manchester United being the richest club in England for a very long time did no harm in the 12 premier league titles they have won. The scary thing is, £120,000 seemed huge *only 5 years ago*! Now players are earning double that and more! Samuel Eto'o apparently earns 20 million Euros AFTER tax.

Now there are Fifa/UEFA financial fair play rules coming into effect which means that teams can only pay wages out of revenue as opposed to the bottomless bank accounts of owners which means teams like City and maybe even the likes of Barcelona would be barred from competing in European competion unless they meet the regulations. But I really doubt UEFA would have the stomach to ban one of the top teams from Europe's elite competition; they would lose prestige and viewers in the process, so I'm skeptical this scheme will work. I would prefer something like the NHL's CBA, where teams would have a maximum wage budget or salary cap to pay their players to help balance out the league.

It most probably wouldn't work if it were implemented though, since the financial discrepancy between teams is huge and has been for decades.


----------



## scherzo1928

C2Aye said:


> Now there are Fifa/UEFA financial fair play rules coming into effect which means that teams can only pay wages out of revenue as opposed to the bottomless bank accounts of owners which means teams like City and maybe even the likes of Barcelona would be barred from competing in European competion unless they meet the regulations. But I really doubt UEFA would have the stomach to ban one of the top teams from Europe's elite competition; they would lose prestige and viewers in the process, so I'm skeptical this scheme will work. I would prefer something like the NHL's CBA, where teams would have a maximum wage budget or salary cap to pay their players to help balance out the league.


 
The thing about Barcelona, is that even though many of their players earn a fuckload of money, most of them were formed in house. Last month when they beat real madrid, they did so with 11 out of 14 players formed in la Masía... and they beat Santos 4-0 in the world cup final with 12... last game of the season was played with 13 house players.

They get payed that much so they aren't tempted to leave... not like they would want to, really.


----------



## C2Aye

scherzo1928 said:


> The thing about Barcelona, is that even though many of their players earn a fuckload of money, most of them were formed in house. Last month when they beat real madrid, they did so with 11 out of 14 players formed in la Masía... and they beat Santos 4-0 in the world cup final with 12... last game of the season was played with 13 house players.
> 
> They get payed that much so they aren't tempted to leave... not like they would want to, really.



Yeah, that's true about the majority of Barcelona's players are from their academy and while that's a great achievement, they're still paying wages they can't afford and given their financial situation, I don't know how. Apparently they made losses of 79 million Euros in 2010 and if the fair play rules come into effect properly, they would have to somehow recoup 79 million Euros before they could even consider paying wages and paying for transfers and still be allowed into European competition. If a smaller club made a loss of 79 million, that would end them.

Manchester United, despite their debt, somehow make a profit every year so they would be fine. Manchester City however, don't make a profit so therefore under the new rules they wouldn't be allowed to compete in Europe. I just think the whole money situation is messed up and it's beginning to make Leagues highly uncompetitive. (EPL is turning into the Barca-Real two horse race with City-United and while I'd love to see United win it every year, it makes for a better league when the other teams can compete!)


----------



## MikeyLHolm

I wish they would implement similar wage-caps that NHL has. I think its nice that they can pay well to some superstar, but that eats the ability to pay for rest of the team. Also buying players with debt and shit is pretty retarded.

Another thing i would like is some sort of a limit for foreign/non-team-junior players.


----------



## nathanwessel

Huge RM fan. Unfortunately don't get a whole lot of fan interaction here in Kentucky.


----------



## megano28

C2Aye said:


> Yeah, that's true about the majority of Barcelona's players are from their academy and while that's a great achievement, they're still paying wages they can't afford and given their financial situation, I don't know how. Apparently they made losses of 79 million Euros in 2010 and if the fair play rules come into effect properly, they would have to somehow recoup 79 million Euros before they could even consider paying wages and paying for transfers and still be allowed into European competition. If a smaller club made a loss of 79 million, that would end them.
> 
> Manchester United, despite their debt, somehow make a profit every year so they would be fine. Manchester City however, don't make a profit so therefore under the new rules they wouldn't be allowed to compete in Europe. I just think the whole money situation is messed up and it's beginning to make Leagues highly uncompetitive. (EPL is turning into the Barca-Real two horse race with City-United and while I'd love to see United win it every year, it makes for a better league when the other teams can compete!)



Some debt is healthy in clubs. At the moment both Barcelona and Real Madrid are in debt yet they're the two highest grossing clubs. With the right management, debt can be controlled and not allowed to become overwhelming.

The last part of you statement about ManU doesn't make any sense. If they made an annual profit every year, there would be no debt period. Debt=Deficit+Time


----------



## Sebastian

Nice!


----------



## Sebastian

Talk about good aiming!


----------



## niffnoff

Just leaving this here


----------



## C2Aye

Manchester United 4 - 4 Everton

WHY U KEEP DOING THIS TO ME MAN U??!!

BBC Sport - Manchester United 4-4 Everton

Okay, it was an amazing game and 8 goal thrillers are amazing to watch, but I can't help but feel like we just handed the initiative back to City. The defending to the last two goals we conceded was shocking.

Oh well, here's to next Monday at Eastlands. Hoping we at least avoid defeat there!


----------



## Aftermath1

Anybody been watching the Champion's League? Big Bayern Munich fan here so hoping we can go all the way, especially since the final is in our home stadium!


----------



## C2Aye

Aftermath1 said:


> Anybody been watching the Champion's League? Big Bayern Munich fan here so hoping we can go all the way, especially since the final is in our home stadium!



Chelsea vs Bayern Munich is my preferred final


----------



## Aftermath1

C2Aye said:


> Chelsea vs Bayern Munich is my preferred final



Same for me, I think Chelsea could definatly make it. They've got the advantage over Barcelona of not having anything to lose (and obviously the first leg win).


----------



## Sebastian

Daaaaamn


----------



## Ayo7e

Today the football has lost.


----------



## Aftermath1

Ayo7e said:


> Today the football has lost.



Yay! I don't enjoy Barcelona at all so it was good for me


----------



## C2Aye

Ayo7e said:


> Today the football has lost.



On paper, Barcelona is the far better team and should have won. However, even though their finishing of late has been shocking, they were 2-0 up against a team with 10 men and they threw away their lead. They had a penalty chance to take it to 3-1, and Messi squandered it. Barcelona had their chances to win the game and they didn't take them. Chelsea deserved to go through I think, just for the sheer resiliance they showed in the second leg.

And John Terry deserves to be nowhere near the final. What an absolute idiot 

Also, I may be a Manchester United supporter and should hate Torres for his days at Liverpool, but I was so happy for him when he scored


----------



## Aftermath1

Bayern vs Chelsea Final, gonna be a good one! Just hope Chelsea don't just put up a 10 man wall in defence, makes for the most boring game to watch.


----------



## C2Aye

Aftermath1 said:


> Bayern vs Chelsea Final, gonna be a good one! Just hope Chelsea don't just put up a 10 man wall in defence, makes for the most boring game to watch.



I hope Barcelona don't just pass the ball around for 90 minutes and do nothing for it, makes for the most boring...oh wait 

I think we called it right on the teams in the final! I think the only reason Chelsea played the way they did was because the only way teams have ever won against Barcelona was to park the bus and stop them playing through the middle because frankly, there is no point in them trying to put crosses in if players don't commit into the box.

As a neutral though, I'm expecting a decent game. I think Bayern will win 2-1 on the day just because of all the suspensions Chelsea have had but it'll be close because as we've seen, Chelsea play well under pressure it seems!

Looking forward to it! Until then, there is the small matter of the Manchester derby for me


----------



## Aftermath1

C2Aye said:


> I hope Barcelona don't just pass the ball around for 90 minutes and do nothing for it, makes for the most boring...oh wait
> 
> I think we called it right on the teams in the final! I think the only reason Chelsea played the way they did was because the only way teams have ever won against Barcelona was to park the bus and stop them playing through the middle because frankly, there is no point in them trying to put crosses in if players don't commit into the box.
> 
> As a neutral though, I'm expecting a decent game. I think Bayern will win 2-1 on the day just because of all the suspensions Chelsea have had but it'll be close because as we've seen, Chelsea play well under pressure it seems!
> 
> Looking forward to it! Until then, there is the small matter of the Manchester derby for me



WAIT WHAT! Somebody else that doesn't like Barcelona's playing style. You sir are a scholar. Everyone gets so pissed at me when I say that to them, for half the match they don't even attack just get to the halfway line meet resistance and pass back to the centrebacks. Drives me insane!

But yeah, I'm calling it 2-1 Bayern aswell. Just can't let the jitters get to us and all should be well. 

Neuer's penalty saves though <3 Love that man!

I'll be watching the derby too, I enjoy those teams going at it. Ultimately I want Utd to win as I don't really like City and their "buy the biggest players" mentality.


----------



## C2Aye

Aftermath1 said:


> WAIT WHAT! Somebody else that doesn't like Barcelona's playing style. You sir are a scholar. Everyone gets so pissed at me when I say that to them, for half the match they don't even attack just get to the halfway line meet resistance and pass back to the centrebacks. Drives me insane!
> 
> But yeah, I'm calling it 2-1 Bayern aswell. Just can't let the jitters get to us and all should be well.
> 
> Neuer's penalty saves though <3 Love that man!
> 
> I'll be watching the derby too, I enjoy those teams going at it. Ultimately I want Utd to win as I don't really like City and their "buy the biggest players" mentality.



Well, having Man U's ass handed to them over two finals by Barcelona has made me ever so slightly resentful 

But naw, don't get me wrong. I can appreciate their play. When they play well, it's amazing to watch. When Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and co are all on form, they're amazing to watch. However, it was really evident against Chelsea is that when keeping possession and going through the middle isn't working, then they don't really know what else to do. Their finishing was sub par as well. When that happens, then it just becomes really boring to watch. Then the play-acting starts, surrounding the referee and accusations of 'anti-football' begin. (Obviously Barcelona aren't exclusive to these things!)

The whole idea of 'anti-football' is annoying. It's just football. When you keep possesion for 70% of matches and keep the oppostion pinned in their own half, how exactly do you expect them to play? Playing defensive and clogging up the middle is exactly the right way to play against them. And it's justified because it works. Inter Milan won that way. Chelsea have just won that way. Real Madrid have won that way. Back in the 07-08 season Manchester United did it to a certain extent too. Just because a team hasn't attacked gung ho and left you miles of space to pass into doesn't give you the right to accuse them of playing a lower class of football to you. Anyway, rant over. Like I said, I am an admirer of Barcelona but it's hard to feel sorry for them when they lose 

The Manchester derby could really go either way. If we defend like we did against Everton, we may well get demolished again. If we can just concentrate for 90 minutes, hopefully we can at least get the draw or maybe even nick a win, like in the FA cup (before we lost to Liverpool )

And if United win the title, it'll be 250 million well spent for City


----------



## Aftermath1

They have good passing sure, but I just find the way they try to mentally beat down opposition extremely boring. Spanish teams always dive more than others I think, I realise this is a huge stereotype but oh so true..

I didn't see the Everton game, did they play well or did your defence just fall asleep? lol


----------



## C2Aye

Aftermath1 said:


> They have good passing sure, but I just find the way they try to mentally beat down opposition extremely boring. Spanish teams always dive more than others I think, I realise this is a huge stereotype but oh so true..
> 
> I didn't see the Everton game, did they play well or did your defence just fall asleep? lol



Conceding 4 goals at Old Trafford and letting 3-1 and 4-2 leads slip away? Yeah, I think the defence cocked that one up for sure 

Still, if I didn't have red tinted specs on I would have said it was an amazing game. 4-4 draws generally are really good to watch as a neutral.


----------



## C2Aye

Oh well, intiative City. These last two games of the season are going to be tense!


----------



## Opeth666

Yay City! and im not even a fan of Manchester clubs...actually I despise them, but Id rather see City win it than Utd


----------



## Aftermath1

C2Aye said:


> Oh well, intiative City. These last two games of the season are going to be tense!



Unlucky dude, makes the next few weeks exciting though 



Opeth666 said:


> Yay City! and im not even a fan of Manchester clubs...actually I despise them, but Id rather see City win it than Utd



Any reason? I despise City for buying their way in.


----------



## revclay

Umm, did anyone else watch the QPR - Man City game? That was one of the best sporting events I have ever seen. And Joey Barton may be the biggest moron to play football ever. What a disgrace. He is probably the most hated man in England right now. And as if Aguero needed to prove anything else, he just showed that Kyle Walker being voted the Young Player of the Year was an absolute farce. What an amazing title race.


----------



## C2Aye

revclay said:


> Umm, did anyone else watch the QPR - Man City game? That was one of the best sporting events I have ever seen. And Joey Barton may be the biggest moron to play football ever. What a disgrace. He is probably the most hated man in England right now. And as if Aguero needed to prove anything else, he just showed that Kyle Walker being voted the Young Player of the Year was an absolute farce. What an amazing title race.



That was the best four minutes of injury time I have ever seen since Manchester United did the same thing to Bayern Munich in 1999 and certainly the best ending to a Premier League in recent memory. Can't really complain as a United supporter, City were the better team over the season and played the better football. The fact that we ended up level on points with them and lost on goal difference was an achievement itself with the squad and injuries we had this year. Congratulations to City, and here's to another great season of football ahead of us!

EDIT: And yes about Joey Barton. I thought John Terry was bad getting sent off away to Barcelona but in a game where you're fighting for survival, Joey Barton takes the pants-on-head retarded cake for sure.


----------



## Aftermath1

Joey Barton shouldn't of done it, but he barely touched either person. Aguero was just rolling around after a light tap to the thigh.. But regardless it just ruins a match atmosphere.

Unfortunately Bayern lost 2-5 against Dortmund in the Deutscher Pokal Final. Did anyone watch it? Our defence just crumbled. Hopefully this doesn't put too much of a downer on the players in sight of the Champions League Final next week!


----------



## revclay

Aftermath1 said:


> Joey Barton shouldn't of done it, but he barely touched either person. Aguero was just rolling around after a light tap to the thigh.. But regardless it just ruins a match atmosphere.
> 
> Unfortunately Bayern lost 2-5 against Dortmund in the Deutscher Pokal Final. Did anyone watch it? Our defence just crumbled. Hopefully this doesn't put too much of a downer on the players in sight of the Champions League Final next week!



Yea, there may have been some accentuation on the parts of Aguero and Tevez, but what in the world was Joey Barton thinking in the first place? 

As for the Dortmund-Bayern game, I watched the highlights and it looked like a typical Dortmund game: super fast on the break and clinical with their finishing. Yes, Bayern's defense looked disorganized, but Dortmund has done that to just about every team they have encountered in Germany. Their next step is to translate that success to Europe.

Also, who is excited for the Champions League? I know I am. It should be interesting to see what each coach does with their squad because of all of the suspensions. I still think Bayern are going to win 2-1, mainly due to the advantage of the final being a home game, essentially. What do you all think?


----------



## knispler

I also think that there is a chance for Bayern to still do it. Even though they had some defensive problems throughout the hole season. Sometimes their players did not seem to be concentrated enough and let them self get into useless fights and got aggressive too fast.
So, if they concentrate and do not get into trouble - they'll get their chance.


----------



## Aftermath1

Such a shame Gustavo is out the final though, he plays his role as defending mid so well. Perfect amount of aggression and control, it's a shame a lot of his great tackles are seen as fouls by the ref just because the other guy falls over. Tackles are getting too weak nowadays.

I'm really hoping Bayern can pull through, just as long as we keep them pushed back but then it's Chelsea, shouldn't be hard for them to stay in their own half 

I'm gonna say Bayern will win 2-1.


----------



## Sebastian

One of the better finals I ever saw! Holy smokes!! Amazing extra time !

Congratulations Chelsea!


----------



## Aftermath1

Sebastian said:


> One of the better finals I ever saw! Holy smokes!! Amazing extra time !
> 
> Congratulations Chelsea!



Really? Most of the match was quite boring.. Bayern unable to convert any decent chances and Chelsea just sitting back.

Shame, oh well.. Germany for the Euros!


----------



## Sebastian

Aftermath1 said:


> Really? Most of the match was quite boring.. Bayern unable to convert any decent chances and Chelsea just sitting back.
> 
> Shame, oh well.. Germany for the Euros!



Ohhh ...I forgot to add... I only saw the game from the 89 minute 

But what I said is true about the extra time...


----------



## IB-studjent-

and chelsea win the champions league, that was fucking lame


----------



## ShredBorland

New EPL season starting in another 2 weeks.what do you guys think will City make it two in a row?


----------



## Genome

Don't care about City, my hometown team are back for their glorious return to the Premier League!

(we will lose horrendously)


----------



## ShredBorland

Yeah Reading made it this year along with West Ham and The saints,so any key players you think world needs to watch out for?


----------



## Genome

When Jimmy Kebe is in the right mindset he is unplayable in any league, he's just extremely inconsistent... Pavel Pogrebnyak was a good signing, and I think Adam Le Fondre will have a good season.


----------



## ShredBorland

Pavel Pogrebnyak is indeed a good signing.Just hope he remains injury free. always good to know underrated players of EPL..especially when all the hype is surrounding RVP's departure.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

ShredBorland said:


> New EPL season starting in another 2 weeks.what do you guys think will City make it two in a row?


 
I hope not. City winning the League last year is like having sex with a hooker.......without the money it wouldn't have happened ;-).

I watching El Plastico at the minute, Community Shield, Man City vs Chelsea.


----------



## ShredBorland

So RVP joins United.Arsenal fans burning his jersey and abusing all over the internet.Piers morgan whining on Twitter. Good move by Fergie. Mid field rock soilid Amazing strikers Definate title challengers.Cant wait for tuesday's match against the Toffees. Thoughts?


----------



## C2Aye

ShredBorland said:


> So RVP joins United.Arsenal fans burning his jersey and abusing all over the internet.Piers morgan whining on Twitter. Good move by Fergie. Mid field rock soilid Amazing strikers Definate title challengers.Cant wait for tuesday's match against the Toffees. Thoughts?



Van Persie will most likely suffer a back injury in the opening game from having to carry the entire Arsenal team last season.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

ShredBorland said:


> So RVP joins United.Arsenal fans burning his jersey and abusing all over the internet.Piers morgan whining on Twitter. Good move by Fergie. Mid field rock soilid Amazing strikers Definate title challengers.Cant wait for tuesday's match against the Toffees. Thoughts?


 
I hope he is a success at United. They still need to strengthen their midfield more and I def thought that would have been addressed. Tricky opening fixture for United away to Everton.


----------



## C2Aye

IbanezDaemon said:


> I hope he is a success at United. They still need to strengthen their midfield more and I def thought that would have been addressed. Tricky opening fixture for United away to Everton.



Absolutely everybody says we need to strengthen our midfield but then again that same midfield lost the EPL on goal difference. We've bought Kagawa who should add a lot of creativity in the middle, while Nick Powell is a good prospect although I don't expect him to feature much.

The promising duo of Cleverley and Anderson, say what you want about either player on their own, looked really good at the beginning of the season and won big games, the 8-2 win over Arsenal standing out. We won't know whether it would have been like that until the end of the season since both players got injured (Kevin Davies, I'm looking at you). Since then, we suffered with injuries in both midfield and defence like we always seem to do, the worst one being to Vidic. Hopefully there will be less of that this season. Sure our midfield could be better, but it's not as bad as everybody says. Sure, we'd all like to be Barcelona but not everybody has a Xavi and an Iniesta in their team (we got stuck with a ginger that everyone at Barcelona tries to emulate  ). I'm looking forward to the role that Kagawa will play as he looks like a proper player who has already excelled in a tough league.


----------



## setsuna7

C2Aye said:


> Absolutely everybody says we need to strengthen our midfield but then again that same midfield lost the EPL on goal difference. We've bought Kagawa who should add a lot of creativity in the middle, while Nick Powell is a good prospect although I don't expect him to feature much.
> 
> The promising duo of Cleverley and Anderson, say what you want about either player on their own, looked really good at the beginning of the season and won big games, the 8-2 win over Arsenal standing out. We won't know whether it would have been like that until the end of the season since both players got injured (Kevin Davies, I'm looking at you). Since then, we suffered with injuries in both midfield and defence like we always seem to do, the worst one being to Vidic. Hopefully there will be less of that this season. Sure our midfield could be better, but it's not as bad as everybody says. Sure, we'd all like to be Barcelona but not everybody has a Xavi and an Iniesta in their team (we got stuck with a ginger that everyone at Barcelona tries to emulate  ). I'm looking forward to the role that Kagawa will play as he looks like a proper player who has already excelled in a tough league.



Yes I agree. Injuries to Ando,Clevs and Vida were the reason we got spanked by City. We lost that awesome midfield due to the stupidity of Davies(he'a a scouser after all).So with Shinji and Robin maybe we can go back to the Ronny days and play 4-3-3.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

There's no doubt the goals will come at United, just hope we can keep a regular back 4 this season. We are well stocked in midfield but I always wish we would bring a Roy Keane type player in, someone who has never been replaced (irreplacable actually). Evra needs to have a better season too than last year. Still 2 weeks to go before the transfer window shuts, don't know if SAF will sign anyone else but you never know.


----------



## ShredBorland

IbanezDaemon said:


> There's no doubt the goals will come at United, just hope we can keep a regular back 4 this season. We are well stocked in midfield but I always wish we would bring a Roy Keane type player in, someone who has never been replaced (irreplacable actually). Evra needs to have a better season too than last year. Still 2 weeks to go before the transfer window shuts, don't know if SAF will sign anyone else but you never know.



True that,Keane was definately irreplaceable we needed a good defensive midfield, wonder why Song wasnt on Fergie's radar. Also a lot is dependent on Vidic ,hope he gets his partnership right with Rio,Rafael has a lot to prove this season too. remember we lost a two goal lead with Everton last season to tie at 4-4. We wouldnt like that to happen this season do we.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

ShredBorland said:


> True that,Keane was definately irreplaceable we needed a good defensive midfield, wonder why Song wasnt on Fergie's radar. Also a lot is dependent on Vidic ,hope he gets his partnership right with Rio,Rafael has a lot to prove this season too. remember we lost a two goal lead with Everton last season to tie at 4-4. We wouldnt like that to happen this season do we.


 
Yeah, I still haven't got over that 4-4 draw. Evra missed an open goal at 4-2 in that match, if that had went in United could well have retained the title.


----------



## ShredBorland

O


----------



## ShredBorland

or If only we could've defended a two goal lead.Giving the title to City on goal difference did hurt tbh,but thats history now,what more important is too focus on every Pl game and with a new strengthened squad Im sure We could be bring the trophy back to OT. GGMU \m/


----------



## ShredBorland

or If only we could've defended a two goal lead.Giving the title to City on goal difference did hurt tbh,but thats history now,what more important is too focus on every Pl game and with a new strengthened squad Im sure We could be bring the trophy back to OT. GGMU


----------



## C2Aye

This looks shopped...

Oh wait, it's real 

RVP's first training - Imgur


----------



## ShredBorland

C2Aye said:


> This looks shopped...
> 
> Oh wait, it's real
> 
> RVP's first training - Imgur



Pinch Me am I Still dreaming 

Btw Jersey Number 20 for RVP

Sir Alex says he's raring to go asap

Hopefully we can see his debut for reds at the Everton match


----------



## peagull

While all this talk of RVP is great, and I honestly never thought he would come, so I'm really excited to watch the game Monday night....

Darren Fletcher, that's who we need back, fully fit. He will be like a new marque signing for our midfield. He's wasn't right for the past few seasons. If we can get him over his illness and back on form I think we have nothing to worry about


----------



## C2Aye

peagull said:


> Darren Fletcher, that's who we need back, fully fit. He will be like a new marque signing for our midfield. He's wasn't right for the past few seasons. If we can get him over his illness and back on form I think we have nothing to worry about



The sad thing is that Darren won't ever be fully over his illness; there is no cure for ulcerative colitis. He can only manage it as best he can while continuing whatever treatment he's on for it. As much as I would like Darren back at his combative best, it's hard to say with a chronic disease such as the one he's suffering from. I'm just happy to see him in training as well as playing in pre-season for a bit in the match against Aberdeen.


----------



## Genome

Liverpool up to their usual tricks. LOL.


----------



## ShredBorland

Genome said:


> Liverpool up to their usual tricks. LOL.



LOlerpool you mean  It could have been 5-0 easily if it wasnt it for reina.

Arsenal clearly struggling without RVP and Song. 

what an awesome opening day for EPL


----------



## Genome

LOLiveROFLpooLOL


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Some crazy scorelines today. West Brom could have had 5 or 6 against Liverpool, lol!!!!

Arsenal held to a goalless draw, thought they would have brought Van Persie on.......oh wait......


----------



## ShredBorland

That Sunderland vs City match was interesting. sucks that city won. But none the less city feeling the pressure of defending the title.Lets hope United starts off with a BANG.


----------



## Genome

Gutted tonight. We played very well in the first half and deserved to be 2-1 up, but Federici looks like our weak link if he keeps fumbling like this. :s

Torres' goal was miles offside and McDermott was justified to be angry about it.

Proud of Reading though, keep up those levels of performances and we'll be ok this year I feel. 

Also - you have to love our fans -


----------



## IbanezDaemon

I was hoping Reading were gonna get a result against Chavski and yes you can feel hard done by with that offside goal. Still it was a good performance from a newly promoted side. Good luck for the rest of the season!!







Genome said:


> Gutted tonight. We played very well in the first half and deserved to be 2-1 up, but Federici looks like our weak link if he keeps fumbling like this. :s
> 
> Torres' goal was miles offside and McDermott was justified to be angry about it.
> 
> Proud of Reading though, keep up those levels of performances and we'll be ok this year I feel.
> 
> Also - you have to love our fans -


----------



## Sebastian

This is hilarious


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Agreed man. Typical of the shenanigans that take place in every El Classico match. Both teams are as bad as each other.






Sebastian said:


> This is hilarious


----------



## IbanezDaemon

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE DRAW JUST BEEN ANNOUNCED:

*Group A*

FC Porto
FC Dynamo Kyiv
Paris St. German
GNK Dinamo

*Group B*

Arsenal
FC Schalke 04
Olympiacos FC
Montepellier FC

*Group C*

AC Milan
FC Zenit St. Petersburg
RSC Anderletch
Malaga

*Group D*

Real Madrid
Manchester City
Ajax
Borussia Dortmund

*Group E*

Chelsea
Shaktar Donetsk
Juventus
Nordsjælland

*Group F*

Bayern Munchen
Valencia
LOSC Lille
FC Bate Borisov

*Group G*

Barcelona
Benfica
FC Spartak Moskva
Celtic 

*Group H*

Manchester United
SC Braga
Galatasaray A.S.
CFR 1907 Cluj​


----------



## JMP2203

hey guys just want to share one of my favorites goals of Colo Colo, the most popular team of Chile(Alexis Sanchez of Barcelona played here)


----------



## scherzo1928

Sebastian said:


> This is hilarious


 
Hope you know Arbeloa stepped on him before lifting him up like that...

...In fact it was the second time they stepped on him in that match, first on his hand, then his leg.


----------



## Gabriel

not sure if any of you have seen this documentary before but thought i would share this with you all. touching documentary and really makes me wish i could travel for this specific reason.


----------



## subject aftermath

any LFC fans here?


----------



## scherzo1928

Honestly, game over.


----------



## Sebastian

^ Holy smokes!


----------



## Beat Poet

I must be the only person around that thinks that while Ibra meant it, it could have so easily been an airshot or booted out of the ground.


----------



## Zado

Well made Shaktar,really


----------



## whilstmyguitardjentlyweep

So, after Roberto Di Matteo wins the English FA Cup and the European champions league in half a season, Chelsea reward him with the sack. I really hope they win nothing this year.


----------



## setsuna7

Someone need to snipe Avramovich's brain out!!! He's so stupid he didn't know it. RDM did a good job salvaging Chelski's season, last season....this is how you repay him?
I'm a United fan, sorry for all the Chelskis....


----------



## ROAR

I don't think Di Matteo did anything wrong.
Fucking stupid decision, and it's going to show.


----------



## Sebastian

gabexedge said:


> not sure if any of you have seen this documentary before but thought i would share this with you all. touching documentary and really makes me wish i could travel for this specific reason.




Pelada - I was it yesterday - Great documenary! I really enjoyed seeing how people play the game all over the world, I wish they had just visited more countries... still awesome


----------



## Gabriel

Sebastian said:


> Pelada - I was it yesterday - Great documenary! I really enjoyed seeing how people play the game all over the world, I wish they had just visited more countries... still awesome



Agreed, while i enjoyed seeing how everyone came together no matter the religion, race, age, it still would have been nice to have seen more countries. 

BRB guys, gonna travel the world to only play soccer for the rest of my life with total strangers.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Manchester Plasticity 2 - Manchester United 3

YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!! GO UNITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## ArtDecade

My old man said to be a city fan - I said bollocks - You're a c.... Well you know the rest!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Champions League Last 16 Draw:

Valencia VS Paris St Germain

Real Madrid VS Manchester United

AC Milan VS Barcelona

Shakhtar Donetsk VS Borussia Dortmund

Arsenal VS Bayern Munich

FC Porto VS Malaga

Celtic VS Juventus

Galatasaray VS FC Schalke 04

Uefa had a rehearsal draw earlier and the real draw turned out EXACTLY the same!!!! Hmmmm......


----------



## Sebastian

IbanezDaemon said:


> Uefa had a rehearsal draw earlier and the real draw turned out EXACTLY the same!!!! Hmmmm......


----------



## IbanezDaemon

WooooHoooo!!!! Manchester United...20 League Titles!!!!


----------



## Crabface

IbanezDaemon said:


> WooooHoooo!!!! Manchester United...20 League Titles!!!!



Rooney's passing and vision for the first & especially the second goal... And then Van Persie's finish! Sublime.

I just wish that we hadn't wasted are lead in the FA cup and didn't get that unfair red card in the champions league.


----------



## Santuzzo

Very happy about Borussia Dortmund going through. 
Hoping for Bayern München to kick out Barcelona tonight!!!!


----------



## Andromalia

Well at least it will continue the tradition of having a german team lose in the final.


----------



## Santuzzo

Andromalia said:


> Well at least it will continue the tradition of having a german team lose in the final.



As well as the way bigger and more important tradition of having a German team WIN the final!!!


----------



## Santuzzo

3:0, NICE!!! Bayern literally slaughtered Barcelona! 
Now I don't even care who wins the finals!


----------



## Crabface

Dat Bayern performance... 
Love it. I hate the Spanish "tiki-taka" with all of my heart. Terribly boring until the goal and then it gets boring again. Totally overrated and I'm super pleased that these German teams have managed to bring them down with style.

Still want dortmund to win the final, though.
Their starting XI vs Real Madrid in the 1st leg only cost them £28million, which is incredible., whereas Bayern's probably cost them around £150-£200million.
I certainly appreciate Dortmund far more. They do it how it should be done.

Also, seeing how their squad is going to be stripped to the core, come the end of the season, by all these richer teams it'd be nice for them to go out on a high note.


... Also, I'm super worried that Pep Guardiola is gonna fuck over Bayern's exellent football with his dumb "tiki-taka" that everyone praises.
I'd also bet on him making them worse than they currently are.


----------



## Andromalia

If Paris wins tonight they will be champions unless Marseille scores like 30 goals in the 3 leftover games.
Of course, we're losing atm and Zlatan has been playing like #### since february. :/


----------



## whilstmyguitardjentlyweep

The end of an era - after 26 years in charge, Sir Alex Ferguson will be leaving Manchester United at the end of the season as the most successful manager of the English Premier League. Respect. Looks like David Moyes is up to replace him. Its gonna be a tough job!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

whilstmyguitardjentlyweep said:


> The end of an era - after 26 years in charge, Sir Alex Ferguson will be leaving Manchester United at the end of the season as the most successful manager of the English Premier League. Respect. Looks like David Moyes is up to replace him. Its gonna be a tough job!


 
Gutted that Sir Alex Ferguson has retired. I don't think Moyes is the right man for the job. Thought Mourinho was nailed on to go there but it does look like David Moyes will be the new manager.


----------



## Crabface

Gutted that Sir Alex is retiring. I didn't even see it coming, not this year. I've never known a Man utd without ferguson and I'm worried that we just won't be as good any more. Our squad is only really good enough for 5/6 place in the league, Ferguson is the man who wins it for us every season and keeps us competing in Europe.
We'll have to spend a lot this season to keep up.

Personally, I wish Jurgen Klopp of Dortmund would come. Seeing what he has done with limited funds at Dortmund is incredible and just what united need to carry on.

Otherwise, I don't think Moyes is good enough for Europe but maybe he can retain the League, hopefully he proves me wrong though.

Mourinho would be an awesome choice too but it doesn't look like it'll happen and he'd be gone in 3 years anyway.


----------



## Andromalia

*
19 FUCKING YEARS* since last title. \o/

As for Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest managers of football ever retires, I think he's right to do it now after a title.


----------



## Sebastian

WOW!


----------



## 777timesgod

Andromalia said:


> As for Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest managers of football ever retires, I think he's right to do it now after a title.



After 39 titles more like it...


----------



## Spencervmurph

Does anyone else think Arsenal will get Rooney?


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Spencervmurph said:


> Does anyone else think Arsenal will get Rooney?


 
Possibly but would Arsenal fans want a player who throws a hissy
fit every time he is left on the subs bench??


----------



## Sebastian




----------



## s4tch

Any other Juventus fan here?


----------



## IbanezDaemon

s4tch said:


> Any other Juventus fan here?


 
Nope but watched the farcical Gala Vs Juve second leg. Juve unlucky there. I read somewhere that the pitch may have been tampered with
on the sides that Juve are dangerous on. All sorts of conspiracies theories
will come out obviously.

I like Juve as a club, always enjoyed their football. They should have more
European Cups under their belt though considering how many great sides they've had over the years.


----------



## 777timesgod

IbanezDaemon said:


> Possibly but would Arsenal fans want a player who throws a hissy
> fit every time he is left on the subs bench??



Especially in a team where the coach does not know what subs are.
Sorry Arsenal fans but after the boring Chelsea game, he deserved that.


----------



## JoshhMoynihan

I'm a little disappointed with how dead this thread is  Is there any Arsenal supporters on here?


----------



## Albek

Tuesday Real Madrid defeated Shalke 04 6-1!!!!! What are your favorites for the win of Champions League 2014?


----------



## Albek

Any AC Milan fans here?


----------



## bouVIP

Favorite team is Real Madrid and my favorite to win CL La Decima! And the league as well


----------



## Albek

I agree with you, Real Madrid and Bayer Munchen are mine favorites for the final win


----------



## bouVIP

It would definitely make a great final with how well the 2 are playing. Real Madrid can have their chance at revenge against Bayern munich!


----------



## 777timesgod

bouVIP said:


> Favorite team is Real Madrid and my favorite to win CL La Decima! And the league as well



Definetely a contender for the CL but not the favourite. The league is looking close for Real especially with Barca's latest blunder.


----------



## Beat Poet

JoshhMoynihan said:


> I'm a little disappointed with how dead this thread is  Is there any Arsenal supporters on here?



Can't believe people are talking about Arsenal as if they're out of the running for even the Europa. The media's gushing on about Liverpool's title credentials, yet Arsenal have been up there the whole season and are level on points with Liverpool, having played the same amount of games!


----------



## elnyrb10

any chelsea fans out there?


----------



## bouVIP

So Manchester United are probably out of the CL

Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Paris St Germain vs. Chelsea
Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich

I can't wait for Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund. They are a weaker team this year so RM should be able to win unlike last year!


----------



## bouVIP

So yay Real Madrid are in the finals of the Champions League with a one-sided win against Bayern Munich!


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> Nope but watched the farcical Gala Vs Juve second leg. Juve unlucky there. I read somewhere that the pitch may have been tampered with
> on the sides that Juve are dangerous on. All sorts of conspiracies theories
> will come out obviously.
> 
> I like Juve as a club, always enjoyed their football. They should have more
> European Cups under their belt though considering how many great sides they've had over the years.



I guess it's more than mere theories.I'm no Juvenus fan,but it's no mistery that the FIFA doesn't really like italians and italian football.For example,when Italy won the world cup in 2006 Blatter refused to give the cup to the team...

Italian teams really count nothing in EU




Btw I'm really pleased Atletico Madrid reached the finals,they deserved it SO deeply.For the kind of football they showed this year,they deserve the cup as well.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Zado said:


> I guess it's more than mere theories.I'm no Juvenus fan,but it's no mistery that the FIFA doesn't really like italians and italian football.For example,when Italy won the world cup in 2006 Blatter refused to give the cup to the team...
> 
> Italian teams really count nothing in EU
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Btw I'm really pleased Atletico Madrid reached the finals,they deserved it SO deeply.For the kind of football they showed this year,they deserve the cup as well.


 
Yeah, fair play to Atletico. Look at the money they spent compared to teams like PSG and Man City. Really hope they can beat Real Madrid in the final.


----------



## Zado

Yeah I guess they can do this,they somehow represent the old school soccer,were values,hard work and teamwork can make the difference,and not only tons of money.

Also,soccer is weird enough to make this happen...look at what happened to Benfica against Seville!


----------



## Mr_Metal_575

Vamos Atleti!!! I'm FC Barcelona supporter but I'm going with Atlético tonight. They deserved the national league as well as they deserved now the Champions


----------



## bouVIP

Halftime and that was just poor from Real Madrid. Decent first 10 minutes but just downhill after that. Defense is piss poor



Poor 90 mins but after that was great!!! Real Madrid champions of Europe!!!


----------



## alvaro89

bouVIP said:


> Halftime and that was just poor from Real Madrid. Decent first 10 minutes but just downhill after that. Defense is piss poor
> 
> 
> 
> Poor 90 mins but after that was great!!! Real Madrid champions of Europe!!!



But finally we won "La décima" !! I don't wanna say anything.. but we deserve it xDD

You guys should have sawn how crazy people was and still are this days in Madrid.. we are in crisis but football makes us forgetting everything for 90 minutes..


----------



## Centrix

Zado said:


> Yeah I guess they can do this,they somehow represent the old school soccer,were values,hard work and teamwork can make the difference,and not only tons of money.
> 
> Also,soccer is weird enough to make this happen...look at what happened to Benfica against Seville!



I'm a Benfica fan, born and raised, and this game still hurts to remember...

Can't believe we've lost 8 straight european finals. It's way too much.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

I'm an AC Milan supporter and I'm in a crisis. T______T"


----------



## Centrix

OmegaSlayer said:


> I'm an AC Milan supporter and I'm in a crisis. T______T"



Sorry for saying it like this, but Milan had a pretty terrible season :/

It's too bad because they are my favourite club in Italy, a par with Torino!

What do you think were the main reasons? I think so many scandals with Berlusconi don't help the club at all plus italian football (apart, to some extent, from Juve) is kinda outdated and broke.

Still, I hope they will be back in the top places next season. The squad isn't that bad...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Almost good to go. 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in about
7 hours time!!


----------



## Centrix

IbanezDaemon said:


> Almost good to go. 2014 FIFA World Cup kicks off in about
> 7 hours time!!



Good luck to all, but I have a feeling this is the year where we finally win it all


----------



## Zado

Centrix said:


> Sorry for saying it like this, but Milan had a pretty terrible season :/
> 
> It's too bad because they are my favourite club in Italy, a par with Torino!
> 
> What do you think were the main reasons? I think so many scandals with Berlusconi don't help the club at all plus italian football (apart, to some extent, from Juve) is kinda outdated and broke.
> 
> Still, I hope they will be back in the top places next season. The squad isn't that bad...



I guess main reason is financial fairplay,applied here and there.Milan was a team totally under Berlusconi's control,and as a wealthy man,he used to spend tons of &#8364;&#8364; to have a competitive team;when everything ceased,the clud had to sustain itself,but with bad choices came bad results.

Weird enough,financial fairplay didn't affect the great Spanish teams,which are said to have an enormous amount of debts towards spanish banks,but noone seems to care.


All in all the best national club competition is imho the Premier League...the game is nice,very dynamic and spectacular,I really like it;there are no garbage teams,no match is secure win..it's not like here in Italy,where the top team is enormously stronger than 90% of the rest.


Oh btw,World Cup just started and there are tons of controversy already really,Croatia played a magnificent match,they never gave up although bein cheated by a very partial referee...and while brazilian players collapsed on the ground afted every single touch,croatian ones never stopped running..they deserved at least a tie.

I dont want to sound polemical after just one game,but considering what's the situation in Brazil,I wouldn't be surprised to see the world cup given to Selecao just to calm down the population...football is bread for poor ones they say,and we all know politics are everywhere...I'm curious to see what will happen


----------



## ilyti

Zado said:


> Oh btw,World Cup just started and there are tons of controversy already really,Croatia played a magnificent match,they never gave up although bein cheated by a very partial referee...and while brazilian players collapsed on the ground afted every single touch,croatian ones never stopped running..they deserved at least a tie.


Croatia played dirty, man. It's not partiality on the part of the referee that gave them all those fouls, just a good eye and feel for the game.


----------



## Zado

Honestly I can't agree with that,I don't really know how's football in America,but here in EU at least half of those fault woud have never been considered,especially the penalty for Brazil


----------



## AliceLG

There were definitely hard entries on both sides, but that penalty was non-existent, Lovren didn't even touch Fred.

Now Oscar's goal, that was reaaaaaaally gooooooooood.


----------



## Zado




----------



## IbanezDaemon

Agree with Zado. Never a penalty in a million years. Neymar could have been sent off. Croatia may have had a good goal disallowed but then again you can't touch keepers these days. I think Brazil will get the rub of the green big time in this tournament but I sincerely hope they don't.


----------



## Dcm81

The penalty call was an aboniation. Other than that though I think the ref was pretty impartial.
There were fouls on both sides that weren't called but I do think the Croatians were pretty brutal in some instances that would have deserved a card : Olic jumping into the keeper in the 5 meter box for instance.


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> Neymar could have been sent off. .



This.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdH5OEJwONI#t=25

at 0:22 you can clearly see he looks at Modric while approaching him and then strikes...It could have been by accident if he didn't look at the croatian player,but honestly,after seein where Moric was,with the elbow that high you just can't say it wasn't on purpose.

Neymar is sort of world cup mascotte this year,the most representative player of the host country..I hope he won't have the immunity granted for this...


----------



## Dcm81

Zado said:


> This.
> 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdH5OEJwONI#t=25
> 
> at 0:22 you can clearly see he looks at Modric while approaching him and then strikes...It could have been by accident if he didn't look at the croatian player,but honestly,after seein where Moric was,with the elbow that high you just can't say it wasn't on purpose.
> 
> Neymar is sort of world cup mascotte this year,the most representative player of the host country..I hope he won't have the immunity granted for this...



I saw that in the replay just after it happened. Definate red card cause it was clearly intentional but the chances of a ref seeing somebody eye up his opponent like that while in the game are slim to none.
Neymar is still really young and (sometimes) stupid. You can easily provoke him and he's had his share of cards with Barca.


----------



## Centrix

Ah, the excitement of WC has begun! 

I was kinda surprised when I noticed Croatia was in front (didn't manage to watch the match) but Brazil turned it around to a (natural) win, even though the ref had some calls that were not that good...

Three more games today, Spain x Netherlands should be a great game!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Mexico have been denied 2 clear goals due to poor officiating
in the first 30 mins of their match against Cameroon.


----------



## Zado

Dcm81 said:


> I saw that in the replay just after it happened. Definate red card cause it was clearly intentional but the chances of a ref seeing somebody eye up his opponent like that while in the game are slim to none.
> Neymar is still really young and (sometimes) stupid. You can easily provoke him and he's had his share of cards with Barca.



Tru,indeed,but I'm still hoping Germany or someone else to kick their butt



> Mexico have been denied 2 clear goals due to poor officiating
> in the first 30 mins of their match against Cameroon.


dammmm I've lost the whole match


----------



## Dcm81

Zado said:


> Tru,indeed,but I'm still hoping Germany or someone else to kick their butt



Very sceptical about Germany this time. Only one striker and 4 central defenders in the chain. A few injuries too....I don't have too high hopes 


Lucky for the ref that Mexico won, otherwise that would have been a big ass scandal again!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Dcm81 said:


> Very sceptical about Germany this time. Only one striker and 4 central defenders in the chain. A few injuries too....I don't have too high hopes
> 
> 
> Lucky for the ref that Mexico won, otherwise that would have been a big ass scandal again!


 
I think Marco Reus is a big loss to Germany. Disappointed to hear he got injured before the tournament. Germany will be just fine I think, lots of other great midfielders in the squad.

Holland vs Spain coming up. I've £50 bet on Spain to win the tournament at odds of 13/2.


----------



## Zado

Dcm81 said:


> Very sceptical about Germany this time. Only one striker and 4 central defenders in the chain. A few injuries too....I don't have too high hopes
> 
> 
> Lucky for the ref that Mexico won, otherwise that would have been a big ass scandal again!



Hey Germany is the one supposed to win this year,you can't disappoint everyone!


Anyway it's curious...I don't want to feed the flame but,as someone said,Mexico managed to win though 2 goals were considered invalid,while being regular.

Now if you absolutely DON'T want Brazil to be kicked out of the cup damn soon(for certain reasons one can imagine),what's the team you must avoid at any cost? Spain of course.

How to avoid Spain? well,the Group A winner will face Group B 2nd,and Group A 2nd will face Group B winner...so Mexico has to be at best 2nd,and Spain .... well not that Spain needs referee favours to win its group,but I wouldn't be surprised in case of weird episodes against Ned. 


EDIT: VP score




Incredible,impossible goal.The pass was impressive as well


Oh btw,the penalty









Sure as hell the referee could have seen it wrong,but it wasn't penalty.Again.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Holland 5 Spain 1. Still 10 mins to go. Spanish defence is shocking. Casillas has had a nightmare.


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> Holland 5 Spain 1. Still 10 mins to go. Spanish defence is shocking. Casillas has had a nightmare.



I can say I'm happy,not due to Spain being defeated,but because Holland always played a great football but not a single joy for them.I'd love to see Robben with the World Cup in his hands.Their playing now is magnificent.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Zado said:


> I can say I'm happy,not due to Spain being defeated,but because Holland always played a great football but not a single joy for them.I'd love to see Robben with the World Cup in his hands.Their playing now is magnificent.


 
Yeah, lost 3 World Cup finals. Would be great to see them win one.


----------



## Dayviewer

Holland represent!  
Normally not a fan of soccer at all but I do always like the World Cup as it brings everyone together, had good fun watching the match, looking forward how it all plays out.

And yes as mentioned before I do hope we can finally win one, would be cool


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> Yeah, lost 3 World Cup finals. Would be great to see them win one.



Definitely.

I hope Spain will try a lil harder next time,or we will have Brazil vs Chile


----------



## Dcm81

Wow. 5-1. Who would have thought!?!?


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Dcm81 said:


> Wow. 5-1. Who would have thought!?!?


 
Crazy scoreline. The odds on that were 500/1.


----------



## Alberto7

I am *this* close to surrendering my Spanish citizenship.  Poor Casillas. Where the shit was the Spanish defense?!?! D: Sooo disappointed.

Then again, I do happen to have 1/8 Dutch blood, and they have always been within my top 3 teams, so I am happy to see that they played such a great game. dat Van Persie goal  The Flying Dutchman!


----------



## Dcm81

IbanezDaemon said:


> Crazy scoreline. The odds on that were 500/1.



Really happy for them though. They deserve to finally win!


----------



## IbanezDaemon




----------



## Zado

Now I'm just waiting Italy to get buttraped by England tomorrow


----------



## Santuzzo

wow, H.O.L.Y C.O.W. I was very impressed with the Dutch team! 
They literally slaughtered the Spanish. 
Beautiful


----------



## Santuzzo

Zado said:


> Now I'm just waiting Italy to get buttraped by England tomorrow



I think Italy will win this! Scatto di Balotelli !


----------



## Zado

Santuzzo said:


> I think Italy will win this! Scatto di Balotelli !



 It'd be great,but this year we are very weak.Balotelli stopped being a good player a couple of years ago,now he's just a presumptuous twitter addicted Italy's strenght was team play,but this time it won't be enough...our defense is a total disaster,if you are surprised by Spanish defense you've seen,well,Italian's is far worse
England is far tougher,but maybe the referee will help us


----------



## asher

That header was so, so glorious.

Like a trained dolphin or sea lion or something


----------



## Alberto7

^ I foresee many a great gif of The Flying Dutchman in our very near future.

Meh, I've had a semi-irrational grudge against the Italian team ever since they won the World Cup in 2006.  My Italian friends all went shitty on the world when it happened, and it pissed me off to no end, especially since Spain and Germany were the two teams I was rooting for that year. They've always been a very good team though, and they've deserved every title they've earned (although during that 2006 tournament they played f*cking dirty more than once... agh).

I really look forward to England - Italy tomorrow. I've always liked the English, so I'm more biased to root for them tomorrow. I don't really care who wins though. I'm just looking forward to a great match.

(before anyone asks, I'm not very well versed as far as obscure players and teams etc go. I only get really into soccer during World and Eurocups. The rest of the time I could care less ).


----------



## Zado

Eh,italians are a pain in the ass when it comes to football,I know that I totally understand why everyone hate us,if supporters of other teams behaved after victory the way we do,I'd gladly slap them in the face  but,you know,it's our only pride nowadays,and not a great pride for sure


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Chile vs Australia was the best game yet. That injury time
goal from Chile was very hard on Australia who were brilliant 
throughout the game and did themselves proud.


----------



## Santuzzo

IbanezDaemon said:


> Chile vs Australia was the best game yet. That injury time
> goal from Chile was very hard on Australia who were brilliant
> throughout the game and did themselves proud.



agreed!
it was a good game, but for me Spain - Netherlands was the best game yet.


----------



## Centrix

IbanezDaemon said:


> Chile vs Australia was the best game yet. That injury time
> goal from Chile was very hard on Australia who were brilliant
> throughout the game and did themselves proud.



Australia definitely impressed me, I did not expect such a good exhibition!

How can a football fan not be in the high heavens right now when there are 2 to 4 good games everyday? 

If only it wasn't exam season...


----------



## setsuna7

Spain literally got their asses handed to'em.. My God, that fifth goal, Robben was awesome last night.


----------



## Zado

About the 1st half: slug races are way more complex and less predictable than our gameplay.


----------



## Santuzzo

Zado said:


> About the 1st half: slug races are way more complex and less predictable than our gameplay.



Italy made it! Congrats!  But England was very strong!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Congratz to Italy. That was a pretty close game.
England did quite well and I think they will qualify
from the group. Pirlo was sheer class for Italy.

Well done Costa Rica too! That was a shock result
against Uruguay but they thoroughly deserved it.


----------



## Zado

Santuzzo said:


> Italy made it! Congrats!  But England was very strong!



Yep but they played Italy styleass-pass-pass-where's Mario?-pass-pass-oh he's there-pass-pass-*eventually goal*-ok guys let's suffer like hell!!

I mean...





Seriously,you won't win anything this way,their goal was extremely easy too.

England is a very strong,very talented team,they just lack experience,and that's something they can cope.In any case they are damn young,there's time to improve and everyone knows what Spain did with youngsters.ATM they are probably not the best England I've seen,there's no Owen,Shearer,Neville & co. but when you have sacrifice and the guys grow together,it's all you really need.When Italy won in 2006,it was not really made by huge players,they were just put together the right way.



> Congratz to Italy. That was a pretty close game.
> England did quite well and I think they will qualify
> from the group. Pirlo was sheer class for Italy.
> 
> Well done Costa Rica too! That was a shock result
> against Uruguay but they thoroughly deserved it.
> Like


England will qualify no doubt,but it's really crazy to play with an hot weather like that,Italian players suffered a lot,I can only imagine the fatigue English ones felt.

Yeah Pirlo is still a great player,but Gerrard is immortal,you have to headshoot him to make him leave the field!He just refuses to stop playing!That's sacrifice,that's devotion!Oh and Sterling is a precious jewel,not even 20 yet already knows how to properly scare our defense.

Costa Rica was a super surprise!I dunno what to expect from them!


----------



## Alberto7

Congrats to Italy! That certainly was an entertaining game which was very welcomed in the middle of such a stressful day. I just have no idea where England was aiming the last 10-15 minutes of the game. They kept trying to shoot the ball at... somewhere in the opposite team's goal area.  Only one free kick that almost made it (I forgot who kicked it).

Also, like I said before:




It's glorious.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Been a great tournament so far. With Ivory Coast beating Japan
2-1 that's now 28 goals in 8 games. Compare that with 13 goals
from the first 8 games from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
I remember the players having real trouble with the official ball
in 2010, it flew all over the place, I wonder how much this newer
more balanced ball has got to do with the increased goal tally?


----------



## Centrix

IbanezDaemon said:


> Been a great tournament so far. With Ivory Coast beating Japan
> 2-1 that's now 28 goals in 8 games. Compare that with 13 goals
> from the first 8 games from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
> I remember the players having real trouble with the official ball
> in 2010, it flew all over the place, I wonder how much this newer
> more balanced ball has got to do with the increased goal tally?



True, lots of difference in the goals scored when comparing the two competitions!

It's very good for those who like to bet on results, just bet that the game will have 2,5+ goals and you'll most likely win 

Great for us the fans... lots of great moments already.


----------



## bouVIP

All these games have been surprisingly good! My favorite 1 so far has been Uruguay vs Costa Rica. I thought Uruguay would take the game easily but Costa Rica played superbly and won.


----------



## Santuzzo

Italy made it, congrats to Italy, even though IMO England was the stronger team. They had some good opportunities to score a goal.


----------



## Centrix

Ouch, surprising blow for Ecuador after taking the initial lead.

Still no draws...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Centrix said:


> Ouch, surprising blow for Ecuador after taking the initial lead.
> 
> Still no draws...


 
Yeah, Ecuador could have won it at the death
only for Switzerland to go right back up the pitch
and score!! Another 3 goals in that game.


----------



## Don Vito

Man those Africans were too aggressive for the reserved Japanese team last night. I enjoyed the game with Switzerland today as well, especially near the end. Didn't catch France and Honduras unfortunately.


----------



## Zado

Don Vito said:


> Didn't catch France and Honduras unfortunately.



Not a great match,honestly..the worst I managed to see.Honduras tried pretty hard,but had no real idea of what to do,and in the first half France was quite in the same condition.Tons of fouls and possibly the worst 'keeper I've seen in a while..sorry to say that,but looked like a cat with no thumbs,he just could not grab the ball no matter what,and when Benzema hit the post,he essentially self scored in a very naive way.


And Argentina is really disappointing,Bosnia is not an easy opponent by any means,but if you are aiming for the Cup you can't disappear from the field like this..


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Messi finally gets a WC goal!! Argentina don't look all that
hot though.

I've watched every game. Best teams so far Holland
and Italy.


----------



## Andromalia

I watched nearly all the games. Holland game was good but they are known to be inconsistent, not really sure how far they can go. Italy is a solid contender, England is a good team (England vs Italy was the most pleasant game to watch). France has good players but is a very young team lacking experience. Brazil although they won was disappointing.
Watching argentina atm, they win but meh. After that the NBA finals and then GoT. Good day


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Bosnia have pulled a goal back. Come on!!!


----------



## Zado

Andromalia said:


> England vs Italy was the most pleasant game to watch



I had at least a couple of strokes


> France has good players but is a very young team lacking experience.


France is missing Ribery,that sucks,he's one of the greatest player around,noone can really replace him in the entire european continent


Bosnia absolutely deserves at least a draw!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Unlucky Bosnia. That early own goal was a real
sucker punch and hard to recover from. They're
actually a decent side, could have got a draw with
a bit more attacking intent. Argentina disappointing
but serious pace in their front line.


----------



## Zado

You can't beat the defensive rabona!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

There's confidence for you. If that goes wrong.....


----------



## ilyti

I went into the tournament really wanting to see Argentina excel and have some fun with it, but judging by today`s game, I should be happy if they get to the quarterfinal. The game did get really great by the last few minutes though. 

Chile! Now there`s a fun team. Too bad they are in such a hard group though. With Holland performing the way they did, Spain probably finding their feet soon, and Australia playing surprisingly well, it`s a shame only two of them can advance.


----------



## asher

Does anyone know a good way to watch the matches that have already happened? I missed almost all of today's, but from what my friend was telling me I *must* watch France and Honduras.


----------



## bouVIP

you could watch highlights on youtube or torrent them.


----------



## Alberto7

Missed every single match today... st00ped university projects.  I did see part of the Spurs vs. Heats game while having a beer at a pub after we were finished though.  It kinda made up for missing what I hear were some great matches.

I have to turn in the aforementioned project tomorrow at the same friggin' time as Germany vs. Portugal.  Thinking hard about turning in that project and then bailing to watch the match.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

asher said:


> Does anyone know a good way to watch the matches that have already happened? I missed almost all of today's, but from what my friend was telling me I *must* watch France and Honduras.


 
France vs Honduras Full Match:

BBC iPlayer - Match of the Day Live - 2014 FIFA World Cup: France v Honduras


----------



## Zado

Portugal seemed to be playing better,with more focus,but Germany is extremely clinical today!

Ok,with Pepe gone it's over


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Pepe is prone to doing silly things like that.
That's killed the game. Now it's a matter of
how many Germany will score. They could have 
had at least another couple of goals in that first
half.


----------



## Zado

Yeah,I hate Pepe,he's always been an idiotic bastard,but that foul wasn't THAT heavy...not sure of the red card honestly.Portugal is good enough at least to gain the 2nd place anyway


----------



## bouVIP

He got the red for fighting is what I read.

Pepe had such a great season this year too so was expecting better from him.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Yeah, me and 2 friends just won  516,60 ( 172,20 each) with a bet of 3  each (we bet 2 sets, the winning one was  5,00 and a losing one was  4,00).
We bet 6 matches on Over 2.5
Brazil - Croatia
Uruguay - Costa Rica
Ivory Coast - Japan
France - Honduras
Argentina - Bosnia
Swiss - Ecuador

We lost the other since we bet on Japan and Uruguay.

We made another 2 bets today, let's see how it goes. 
There's Brazil going even with Mexico in one of them, risky but it might pay off consistently 

By the way, Germany and Netherland are killing it so far.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

bouVIP said:


> He got the red for fighting is what I read.
> 
> Pepe had such a great season this year too so was expecting better from him.


 
He had a tussle whilst running beside Muller and put his
hand in Muller's face. Muller of course went down as if he'd
been shot and then Pepe nudged his head into Muller when he 
was on the ground. There wasn't that much in it.


----------



## bouVIP

Ah I could only catch glimpses of the match since I was working. was really rooting for Ronaldo but Germany has been my team since 2010~


----------



## OmegaSlayer

This will be the World Cup in which teams wins, not top players.

Netherland has been really impressive.
Cynic, hungry, relentless.
They're my personal pick so far.

I'm also curious about Russia.
Fabio Capello is an old fox, his team won't be unprepared.


----------



## Centrix

Very sad day...


----------



## Santuzzo

I could not watch Germany - Portugal today, but am very impressed with the result. 
Very curious about US - Ghana.


----------



## asher

Excited to see what we're made of this year. Even if I'm just going to be watching in my room...


----------



## Santuzzo

USA!!!!! niiiiiiice!!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

USA score after only 31 seconds. Brilliant!!


----------



## Alberto7

Wow, I'm enjoying this game quite a bit. The US plays a different kind of football (soccer), definitely. Both teams playing very well. Ghana's uniform is beautiful, I want that Jersey.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Damn that was a nasty blow to the face Clint Dempsey
got. Thankfully he doesn't appear to have a fracture.


----------



## Centrix

Not sure how Ghana x USA is going to turn out but I'm confident that we still have what it takes to secure the second place on the group stage. 

A draw would be nice, just incase we can't manage to win both games...


----------



## Don Vito

My nose hurts


----------



## IbanezDaemon

That USA goal was the 5th fastest in the history
of the World Cup Finals.


----------



## asher

Dislike the borderline, if not outright, dirty physical play I'm seeing from Ghana. And no fvcking shit you're gonna get kicked in the head if you slide through his legs, dumbass. >>

While our pack-line-style D seems to be holding, I worry what happens as we get tired and more juiced and I'd be a lot more comfortable with more possession time.


----------



## Zado

Ghana scored...well I can't say it wasn't deserved


----------



## Santuzzo

WOOOOOOW!!!!! go USA !!!! awesome!!!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

2-1!!!! Try and hold out USA!!


----------



## asher

*heart attack*


----------



## Alberto7

YOO-ESS-AAYY!!

That was a great match! It was fun seeing such different teams playing. Granted, Ghana did take it to the more aggressive side, which I'm not always appreciative of. Both played very well!

Congrats to all you US people!


----------



## Don Vito

Gotta love that game saving header from whatshisface. USAUSAUSAUSA

Ghana actually had some good chances near the end of it. Getting me all anxious and shit.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Shame to Iran and Nigeria for no scoring.


----------



## Santuzzo

I'm very curious about Belgium, from what I have heard they have a very strong team!


----------



## MesaBeno

Santuzzo said:


> I'm very curious about Belgium, from what I have heard they have a very strong team!



I picked them to go first in their group in my office pool...they just have such talent this year


----------



## Centrix

Santuzzo said:


> I'm very curious about Belgium, from what I have heard they have a very strong team!



In individual terms I think it might be one of the strongest squads participating in the WC, but I'm not sure as a team. However I think they'll be doing fine since this a young generation that has already been playing together for a couple of years so they know each other well.

They might have the advantage of being in the second easiest group of all (that France group is ridiculous), because Russia does not have the strength of previous competitions and Argelia and South Corea shouldn't pose much of a threat.

Let's see how it goes!


----------



## bouVIP

Can't wait to see what Hazard and Lukaku can do. Also they have a top goalkeeper in Courtois so he'll be fun to watch on the big stage.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Belgium disappointing so far but then again Algeria
have parked the bus and Belgium are having difficulty
breaking them down.


----------



## Zado

World Cup opening match referee Yuichi Nishimura once caused a riot in the Congo - Ed Malyon - Mirror Online

and they say football's not funny anymore


----------



## asher

Zado said:


> World Cup opening match referee Yuichi Nishimura once caused a riot in the Congo - Ed Malyon - Mirror Online
> 
> and they say football's not funny anymore



Wow. 

Was he really that bad this opening game? I didn't see it.


----------



## Don Vito

Zado said:


> World Cup opening match referee Yuichi Nishimura once caused a riot in the Congo - Ed Malyon - Mirror Online
> 
> and they say football's not funny anymore


_"Congolese football fans vandalised Chinese restaurants after a particularly controversial display from Japanese referee Nishimura"_


----------



## asher

As someone else said:

We seem to be in some danger of soccer breaking out.

Sick finger save by the Mexican keeper though!


----------



## Zado

asher said:


> Wow.
> 
> Was he really that bad this opening game? I didn't see it.



"Bad" doesn't even describe it  anyway Mexico is playing really good,they can do it!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Great save by the Mexican keeper!!


----------



## ilyti

Brazil - Mexico 0-0. That was unexpected. Two great teams that just couldn't break through each others defenses. Pretty entertaining for a goal-less game though.


----------



## Zado

i'm eating tortillas tomorrow!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

ilyti said:


> Brazil - Mexico 0-0. That was unexpected. Two great teams that just couldn't break through each others defenses. Pretty entertaining for a goal-less game though.


 
Agreed. Pretty good for a 0-0. It was end to end play
in the last 10 mins. Mexico are quite a good side. I 
hope they qualify.


----------



## bouVIP

I thought it was a pretty poor performance from Brazil, but I had higher expectations for them. Ochoa was insane though! Best goalkeeper so far.


----------



## liamh

Goddamnit that mexican keeper was solid.
That match solidified my belief that Brazil do not have a Cup winning squad


----------



## Zado

And now,forgive me guys,but after WC 2002,I honestly hope Russia will score 5-6 million goals.


----------



## liamh

I'll never not despise the South Korean football team


----------



## asher

Ochoa is a beast. Holy crap.

Why all the SK hate?


----------



## Zado

It's not properly "hate" cause they did nothin (except trying to slaughter other players),it's just that this brings out painful memories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPd8YmFcvtQ

how can one celebrate after winning that way it's a mystery.Of course I am pissed of for what happen to Italy (1:46 starts the show),but Portuguese and Spanish supporters have something to be quite angry too.


EDIT: ok,after watching the vid once again i can say it's pretty close to "hate"


----------



## Santuzzo

I am a few days late with this comment, but I forgot to mention that I'm happy for Messi to have scored a goal in Argentina's match against Bosnia.
Unlike some of the other soccer-stars like Balotelli or Ronaldo, for example, that (at least to me) come across as somewhat arrogant and big-mouthed, Messi seems to be very quiet and humble which I really like him for. So, in my opinion he really deserves success in this WC.


----------



## Zado

ehw


----------



## asher

That was a completely miserable game. Wowwwww.


----------



## Alberto7

Zado said:


> It's not properly "hate" cause they did nothin (except trying to slaughter other players),it's just that this brings out painful memories
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPd8YmFcvtQ
> 
> how can one celebrate after winning that way it's a mystery.Of course I am pissed of for what happen to Italy (1:46 starts the show),but Portuguese and Spanish supporters have something to be quite angry too.
> 
> 
> EDIT: ok,after watching the vid once again i can say it's pretty close to "hate"



I was 12 years old. I was still living in Venezuela, so most matches were past midnight. I was so excited that my parents let me wake up at 3 in the morning to watch Spain play against SK. It was my first time being up so late at night (which, at that age, is exciting in and of itself), and it was to watch my favorite team play (Spain). That match marked the first time I ever cried of sheer anger and helplessness. Then, I learned what they did to the other teams. I will probably never ever root for the SK team.


----------



## asher

Zado said:


> It's not properly "hate" cause they did nothin (except trying to slaughter other players),it's just that this brings out painful memories
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPd8YmFcvtQ
> 
> how can one celebrate after winning that way it's a mystery.Of course I am pissed of for what happen to Italy (1:46 starts the show),but Portuguese and Spanish supporters have something to be quite angry too.
> 
> 
> EDIT: ok,after watching the vid once again i can say it's pretty close to "hate"



Yeah some of that stuff was right bullshit. 

So was that music though I had to mute it


----------



## OmegaSlayer

LMAO


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Zado said:


> It's not properly "hate" cause they did nothin (except trying to slaughter other players),it's just that this brings out painful memories
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPd8YmFcvtQ
> 
> how can one celebrate after winning that way it's a mystery.Of course I am pissed of for what happen to Italy (1:46 starts the show),but Portuguese and Spanish supporters have something to be quite angry too.
> 
> 
> EDIT: ok,after watching the vid once again i can say it's pretty close to "hate"



Now, you see me posting here, but I'm just seeing highlights, and not always.
I stopped watching soccer matches around 5 years ago.
Still I have to keep updated because in Italy everyone talk soccer, and having a store with people coming even to talk about it...I have to know what happens, it's a kind of customer service LOL
It's impossible for me to look at a show/sport when I know I'll get angry because there are direction flaws, both for inadequacy or bad will.
If 2 Countries I can't care less about play against each other and one dosn't get a clear penalty, I get very pissed, so I don't want to stare at a screen for 2 hours knowing I'll get angry.
The day soccer will be a sport where referee's errors/mistakes will be very limited, will be the day I'll follow and support soccer again.


----------



## Centrix

Santuzzo said:


> I am a few days late with this comment, but I forgot to mention that I'm happy for Messi to have scored a goal in Argentina's match against Bosnia.
> Unlike some of the other soccer-stars like Balotelli or Ronaldo, for example, that (at least to me) come across as somewhat arrogant and big-mouthed, Messi seems to be very quiet and humble which I really like him for. So, in my opinion he really deserves success in this WC.



That used to be the general opinion a couple years back. Even though I'm Portuguese (which by itself does not mean I like Ronaldo, one would be surprised to see the hate he gets in his own country) and like Ronaldo more than Messi, it has become clear in recent times that Ronaldo's "arrogance" is nothing more than a huge amount of self-confidence that gets perceived as arrogance. 
Messi on the other hand has the support of the press which has made him the "good boy" and yet he has been involved in so many scandals... from attacking other players on the field constantely to shooting balls towards opposition supporters, throwing up each week because his internal organs are all screwed (because of the treatment he received at Barça when he was younger, to grow up) and even tax evasion related to charity matches...

Both are amazing players, though. Really brilliant and they are definitely marking a generation because they are way better than everyone else. But Messi is not that good of a boy that one would think he is...

Still, I don't think neither Argentina nor Portugal are title contenders this year. I'd put my bets on Germany or Italy. The Germans are too strong and the Italians are always a pesky side to play against! You and your amazing tactical systems


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Kudos to the courage of saying the truth about Messi, which is a steroid machine.

Italy only got back into the game for the poor quality of the other teams.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Zado said:


> It's not properly "hate" cause they did nothin (except trying to slaughter other players),it's just that this brings out painful memories
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPd8YmFcvtQ
> 
> how can one celebrate after winning that way it's a mystery.Of course I am pissed of for what happen to Italy (1:46 starts the show),but Portuguese and Spanish supporters have something to be quite angry too.
> 
> 
> EDIT: ok,after watching the vid once again i can say it's pretty close to "hate"


 
Scandalous decisions in that vid. At least they didn't go on to win it. Biggest fix since the 1978 World Cup in Argentina were Holland and Brazil were robbed. I remember Argentina having to beat a very good Peru side by at least 4 clear goals to progress. Before the match Argentina lifted all sorts of trade embargos on Peru and sent grain to the country. Officials were bribed all over the place. Of course Argentina went on to beat Peru 6-0 in the match which knocked Brazil out. I think it came out years later that the Peruvian goalkeeper was born in Argentina. Check out the Peruvian defence:


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Music and mustaches were the best thing in the video


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Goal of the tournament so far by Gary Cahill for Australia!


----------



## Alberto7

HOLY SHIT this game is AMAZING. Can't wait for half time to finish  Australia is taking me by surprise. I genuinely fear for Spain now not making it to knockouts.


----------



## asher

"Somebody forgot to tell the soccerroos to just roll over and die. Really taking it to the Netherlands. Great attacking football."


----------



## Centrix

For those who haven't seen the goal:

Gfycat - jiffier gifs through HTML5 Video Conversion. Fast, simple gif hosting without size limits.

Amazing shot!

Has been an entertaining first half. Netherlands usually has a hard time when they are favourites in a match, and today has been no exception. Let's see what the second half brings us!


----------



## asher

This is a hell of a game! Wow! Really exciting, some great playing here.


----------



## Alberto7

Why is Spain playing so bad and making so many silly mistakes?! They've been killing it every time, even after the last Eurocup! So many good opportunities, and all of them wasted. It's like one day before their first match at the WC they decided they weren't gonna play well anymore. Let's see if they recover on this second half. Even if they did, it'd still be a sour draw/win. I'm frustrated and disappointed.

On the other hand though, Chile is doing great. This group B is really exciting.

... might have to go get me one of those Dutch or German jerseys. I accept donations.


----------



## Santuzzo

holy cow, Bravo is an amazing keeper. Chile is playing great! WOW!


----------



## Zado

No idea why,maybe due to Champion's League + Liga fatigues,but seriously,Spanish players look everything but interested in what's happening.I'd never say "they are going to be kicked out of the competition" by looking at the match.They just don't care,too exausted maybe.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Alberto7 said:


> Why is Spain playing so bad and making so many silly mistakes?! They've been killing it every time, even after the last Eurocup! So many good opportunities, and all of them wasted. It's like one day before their first match at the WC they decided they weren't gonna play well anymore. Let's see if they recover on this second half. Even if they did, it'd still be a sour draw/win. I'm frustrated and disappointed.
> 
> On the other hand though, Chile is doing great. This group B is really exciting.
> 
> ... might have to go get me one of those Dutch or German jerseys. I accept donations.


 
The manager Vincente Del Bosque has got to take much of the blame for Spain's demise. He picked teams based on sentiment. Xabi Alonso and Casillas who had nightmare performances against Holland were inexplicably chosen for tonight's match and were atrocious yet again. Exciting players like Koke, Mata and Fabregas were left on the bench and should have been used from the start. Costa also doesn't suit Spain's system, he's one of the most overrated strikers I've ever seen.


----------



## Zado

Tomorrow Spain's spread is going down like hell


----------



## Santuzzo

Centrix said:


> That used to be the general opinion a couple years back. Even though I'm Portuguese (which by itself does not mean I like Ronaldo, one would be surprised to see the hate he gets in his own country) and like Ronaldo more than Messi, it has become clear in recent times that Ronaldo's "arrogance" is nothing more than a huge amount of self-confidence that gets perceived as arrogance.
> Messi on the other hand has the support of the press which has made him the "good boy" and yet he has been involved in so many scandals... from attacking other players on the field constantely to shooting balls towards opposition supporters, throwing up each week because his internal organs are all screwed (because of the treatment he received at Barça when he was younger, to grow up) and even tax evasion related to charity matches...
> 
> Both are amazing players, though. Really brilliant and they are definitely marking a generation because they are way better than everyone else. But Messi is not that good of a boy that one would think he is...
> 
> Still, I don't think neither Argentina nor Portugal are title contenders this year. I'd put my bets on Germany or Italy. The Germans are too strong and the Italians are always a pesky side to play against! You and your amazing tactical systems



Regardless of the things you just mentioned and which I did not know, to me it's just the way these guys come across to me. 
There is a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, it's just my perception/opinion, could be just me. But if I look at players like say Mueller or Robben, to me they come across as very self-confident yet very humble.

But yes, I may not do Renaldo justice by seeing him as arrogant.


----------



## Alberto7

I knew the Spanish team's uniform this year was ugly anyway...



IbanezDaemon said:


> The manager Vincente Del Bosque has got to take much of the blame for Spain's demise. He picked teams based on sentiment. Xabi Alonso and Casillas who had nightmare performances against Holland were inexplicably chosen for tonight's match and were atrocious yet again. Exciting players like Koke, Mata and Fabregas were left on the bench and should have been used from the start. Costa also doesn't suit Spain's system, he's one of the most overrated strikers I've ever seen.



True there. I have no idea what was going through his mind. And Fabregas is such an incredible player too, I have no idea why he didn't play this match.

But it's not only that. The players today and last time were simply not into it. They were kicking balls all over the place, missing passes, doing backward passes in the oddest of situations and places, Casillas had no idea how to handle the ball when it was given to him. Receiving the ball for any of them was like a nightmare; they would literally stop for a second as soon as they got the ball as if they were scared of it. They hesitated too long. They had open spots to shoot through on Chile's side but they decided to pass to teammates that were being covered by Chilean players. It was honestly just BAD.

And with that said, MASSIVE props to Bravo (Chile's goalkeeper), because he earned it. Man of the match for me. What a dude.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Great energy in that Chilean side. They deserve to go through.
Don't know how much we can now read into Holland's thrashing
of Spain though you can only beat what's put in front of you I
suppose. My faves for the tournament now would be Germany.
Looking forward to seeing more of Italy though, along with the 
Germans they really have the know how in tournament football.


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> G
> Looking forward to seeing more of Italy though.



Annihilated by Costa Rica


----------



## alvaro89

ADIOS ESPAÑA !

I dislike Del Bosque from the first time he was our national team coach, he is a Fu**ing gutless and he deserved this (I have to say I'm Real Madrid supporter and I should like him, but no, I hate the way we won World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012) I hate "tiki taka", it is so boooooring, congratulations Chile and Netherlands !


----------



## bouVIP

Tiki Taka died earlier this year as evident by Barcelona's decline. They definitely should have changed their style of play and tactics. 

So hopefully this is the for sure end of it.


----------



## Zado

> The Germans are too strong and the Italians are always a pesky side to play against! You and your amazing tactical systems



It's a "we are diggin your grave" vs "let's defend,maybe they will score in their own goal" tactycal system.Dunno which one will be better


Meanwhile


Someone is happy





Someone feels st00pid




Someone takes action




Someone is worried


----------



## jahosy

Aus Vs Holland match was entertaining. And what a goal from Cahill.


----------



## Santuzzo

jahosy said:


> Aus Vs Holland match was entertaining. And what a goal from Cahill.



Unfortunately I could not watch it, but from, what I have heard Australia may as well have won.


----------



## asher

Santuzzo said:


> Unfortunately I could not watch it, but from, what I have heard Australia may as well have won.


 
Yeah, it was just a fantastic match overall. I think probably my favorite so far. I was really pulling for the Roos to win, which they really needed (Or a Spanish victory) to move on.

I actually don't think they should have gotten that PK though 

you should find it somewhere and watch it if you can.


----------



## danresn

asher said:


> Yeah, it was just a fantastic match overall. I think probably my favorite so far. I was really pulling for the Roos to win, which they really needed (Or a Spanish victory) to move on.
> 
> I actually don't think they should have gotten that PK though
> 
> you should find it somewhere and watch it if you can.



The world game has the full replay online


----------



## liamh

So much second hand embarrassment for Spain.
Still baffled as to why they didn't take Negredo; the guys been very impressive for Man City


----------



## Alberto7

Zado said:


> It's a "we are diggin your grave" vs "let's defend,maybe they will score in their own goal" tactycal system.Dunno which one will be better
> 
> 
> Meanwhile
> 
> 
> Someone is happy
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Someone feels st00pid
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Someone takes action
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Someone is worried



LOL I was looking for a gif of the dude waving with the "adios spana" sign. It absolutely annihilated my insides when I saw him on live friggin' TV. 

I still can't get over Spain. However, if they were gonna play that shittily anyway, I am glad they are out. As a Spanish, it pains me to say that. I don't know if I should wear my Spain jersey tomorrow to university,  although it's the Jersey from the last Eurocup, from the Spanish team at their very peak, from the Spanish team I still root for, and from the best uniform Spain has had till now, imo. Perhaps there's not much shame in wearing that jersey. 

Regarding Australia, I seriously wanted them to go to knockouts and make it until at least quarter finals. They deserved it. They were putting up an incredible fight against world-renowned teams and took everyone by surprise. Just that alone is enough for me to make me want to root for them.

Now that things begin to look a little clearer, I find Germany has an incredibly strong team. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them in the final. Rooting now for the Netherlands and Germany.


----------



## jahosy

Think the Italians will be there abouts too. Still reckon a south american team will win it. 

Have to say it's been a fantastic world cup so far. Most teams set out to attack which is something you don't see often. 

Now let's bring the 2022 world cup tournament to OZland!


----------



## Centrix

Santuzzo said:


> Regardless of the things you just mentioned and which I did not know, to me it's just the way these guys come across to me.
> There is a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, it's just my perception/opinion, could be just me. *But if I look at players like say Mueller or Robben, to me they come across as very self-confident yet very humble.*
> 
> But yes, I may not do Renaldo justice by seeing him as arrogant.



Ah yes yes, I see your point and I agree. There is definitely a difference when comparing that type of players to Ronaldo.

Also please don't take it personally man, I was just explaining my opinion 

In other news, Spain got the beating that was predicted...
Funny (or not lol) to see how Iberian teams dominated European competitions (two spanish teams on CL final, one on Europa League + Benfica) and yet our squads have been absolutely demolished. I just hope Portugal manages to win the next games to avoid going home so soon...


----------



## Santuzzo

Centrix said:


> Ah yes yes, I see your point and I agree. There is definitely a difference when comparing that type of players to Ronaldo.
> 
> Also please don't take it personally man, I was just explaining my opinion



Hey, no worries, man!


----------



## Alberto7

Centrix said:


> Ah yes yes, I see your point and I agree. There is definitely a difference when comparing that type of players to Ronaldo.
> 
> Also please don't take it personally man, I was just explaining my opinion
> 
> In other news, Spain got the beating that was predicted...
> Funny (or not lol) to see how Iberian teams dominated European competitions (two spanish teams on CL final, one on Europa League + Benfica) and yet our squads have been absolutely demolished. I just hope Portugal manages to win the next games to avoid going home so soon...



I don't follow club-based tournaments, so I wasn't aware of this, but after talking with my more football-savvy friends, they told me that, by the end of last season, most of the veteran Iberian players in the different European clubs were suffering from physical and personal issues, and were unmotivated and in pretty bad overall shape. Their time was due, basically. I'm not sure what the deal was like with Portugal, but Del Bosque simply failed to acknowledge this and chose his team based solely on sentiment (as has been said already). He didn't have any sort of plan B and his plan A completely sucked, so everything backfired.


----------



## Centrix

Alberto7 said:


> I don't follow club-based tournaments, so I wasn't aware of this, but after talking with my more football-savvy friends, they told me that, by the end of last season, most of the veteran Iberian players in the different European clubs were suffering from physical and personal issues, and were unmotivated and in pretty bad overall shape. Their time was due, basically. I'm not sure what the deal was like with Portugal, but Del Bosque simply failed to acknowledge this and chose his team based solely on sentiment (as has been said already). He didn't have any sort of plan B and his plan A completely sucked, so everything backfired.



True! There are 3 or 4 different aspects we should consider when analyzing current state of Iberian football:

Barcelona: since Guardiola left they have basically been playing without a coach. I respect the different managers that have followed him in front of Barça but it is the truth... the ego/way of playing of the team was way superior to all of them and hence there has been a different coach each season. However the tiki-taka way of playing has been steadily declining since then and as such this team did a very mediocre season considering all the stars they have in their squad. It's pretty much an amazing generation that has come to an end!

Real/Atletico Madrid: Most of the players from Madrid that are in the Spanish squad play in Real. However Real had a very fatigating season (they are consistently reaching the decisions' phase each year so it acumulates), especially with that extra-time in the CL's final. Ramos has never been more than a mediocre CB and there is a reason why Casillas stopped playing more regularly since Mourinho's last season at Real... his concentration is not the same as it used to be, he appears to be overconfident due to his status, which is fatal in a GK.
On the other side of the city we have Atletico, which also had a very tiring season yet they reached its end in much better physical state than any other squad in Spain. However their players haven't been the main choices for Del Bosque.
And I think Spain's main (fatal) error lies here. Del Bosque has been choosing the initial elevens based more on the "name" factor than actual form/performance. If he had put a couple more Atletico players in, maybe this would have gone a different way (please bare in mind that I am a Real fan yet Atletico has very good players so no bias here). 
The main borderline however is: how do you motivate a team that has won, in the last six years, two European Championships and one World Cup? It's so difficult, and it shows. They just don't care, this generation has won it all and just can't be bothered to go the extra mile to win more.

Portugal: like I said before, Real had a very fatigating season and coincidentally Ronaldo had a couple of injuries in recent months, especially on his (if I'm not mistaken) left knee. He's still trying to heal it, he actually had to leave practice earlier yesterday with ice on his knee so let's see if recovers by Sunday.
Speaking in more general terms, we have a couple problems in the squad. First, the press makes it so that we are very "Ronaldo-dependant", and it eventually gets in players' minds, which is not a good thing. Ronaldo is an enormous player at all times yet if he doesn't have a solid team with him he can't show his best (like Messi in Argentina, so to say). And our main starting eleven is also a generation that is coming to an end. Its peak was the last European Championship where we were beaten in the penalties by Spain (even though we so much deserved to win during the 120 minutes...). The players are old, out of shape (our midfield is Moutinho Meireles and Veloso... they were, in my opinion, a monster midfield in the Euro 2012 but now they are all out of shape. Veloso is at Dinamo Kiev basically just making money in a not so competitive league (like Moutinho) and Meireles had several injuries just before WC started) and our coach doesn't seem to have the same energy he has shown before.
However, and since I live here I have a deeper vision of things, Portugal's main problem is in the youth system. It's basically inexistent right now. Our main clubs don't put young players in the squads because they have to use other, foreign, players that pay high comissions (read up on Jorge Mendes... he is polluting European football, especially the Portuguese league). And since Portuguese clubs are traditional "sellers", our main focus has to be on developing those foreign players so that we can buy low and sell high to the big clubs in Europe, or else we will be forced to shut down due to financial debt (afterall, we are still a poor country... ).
Bottomline: there are much better, young, in shape players that are either in the bench or not even selected for the squad... but it seems we are "afraid" of taking a chance with them. And it makes me sad, because I see most other European squads reinventing theirselves with younger teams (Germany, England, France, even Italy...) and I just can't see us doing that anytime soon.


And now I realize I have written way too much about this subject  sorry about that!


----------



## Zado

I mean...what the actual ....hell?

EDIT: ok,now this is bad.And I mean really bad.For Italy too...if we lose tomorrow we are likely doomed.


Some pics of these days






A reason to hate The Sun.




























Next WC players are gonna exchange underwear


----------



## IbanezDaemon

England now need a big favour from Italy to get through.
I'm sure Italy will beat Costa Rica no probs but will they
really be that concerned about beating Uruguay in the 
final game. They'll probably rest some players in that 
match.


----------



## Zado

Italy usually has HUGE problems with teams like Costa Rica,those who are not afraid of who you are,that run like motherfukkers and never feel tired I hope we'll defeat them by a large margin


----------



## Alberto7

Yeap, that one will definitely be an interesting game. I can't say for sure who I want to win, but now that Spain is out, I feel a lot more empathy towards Italy,  the rivalry isn't there anymore. Either way, may the best team win.


----------



## asher

I'm pretty confident that Italy will make it, because I have a feeling they'll handle Uruguay better than Costa Rica, and they really only need one of those wins.


----------



## Centrix

Zado said:


>



Found an even better version


----------



## Alberto7

About to go Super Saiyan, I see.  What was he doing though?


----------



## Zado

ahahah that's incredible!!


----------



## Zado

Well I had better things to do than watching the WC this summer

No,seriously,if the trend is "find Mario and he will score",this is not gonna bring us anywhere.What could ever happen if a pass-based team can't even make two consecutive correct passes?They even deserved a penalty,do they have to score in their goal for us?


EDIT: I mean,4 strikers and not a single shoot in the 2nd half they never stopped running,totally deserved to win!


----------



## Alberto7

Well, shit. Costa Rica totally dominated this game. Italy played with the usual tactics, it seems, only they kept missing shots and passes on a constant basis. They defended well, at least.  Costa Rica sure knew what they were doing. They deserved it, so congrats to them!

This World Cup is proving completely unpredictable for me. I might just stop rooting for any teams altogether and just go with the flow  this is beautiful.


----------



## asher

> Time for England players to make a decision on that always-tricky moral dilemma: to sneak some hotel towels and toiletries into your case before check-out or not.



Disappointing Italy showing for sure, but I still think they can take Uruguay.


----------



## bouVIP

Costa Rica has been great! I really hope Italy loses against Uruguay. They play so boringly.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Congratz to Costa Rica. They were supposed to be the whipping
boys of the group but have gone through. Great achievement!!

That was without doubt the worst display I have ever seen from 
an Italian national team. Lost count of how many times they were
caught offside. Woeful!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

France looking good. Already 3-0 up after just 40 mins
and they have missed a penalty and an open goal after
the penalty was saved.


----------



## Zado

IbanezDaemon said:


> Congratz to Costa Rica. They were supposed to be the whipping
> boys of the group but have gone through. Great achievement!!
> 
> That was without doubt the worst display I have ever seen from
> an Italian national team. Lost count of how many times they were
> caught offside. Woeful!!



The problem is their offside trap was always incredibly impressing,never seen anyone having a defensive line so straight.They run like motherfukers for 90 mins no stop,chapeau.


Honestly France was in the easiest Group by far,Swiss a rather good team,but their defense's not impeccable.Equador and Hondouras are not really that good imho


----------



## Santuzzo

Argentina lucked out...such an undeserved win IMO....


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Messi's late goal was very harsh on Iran who did
very well in that game and had a good penalty shout
waved away.


----------



## Centrix

Fantastic display of belief by the Iranian side. Definitely deserved much more than a loss. I dare say they did more to win than Argentina...

Argentina to me looks like Brazil. A couple of individual references but not really a team capable of going to the end and winning it all. Let's wait and see...


----------



## Zado

Yeah,Argentina is Brazil MK II....nothing great,not as great as you could expect from them.

Ghana seems to be crazy good.


----------



## Santuzzo

the 2-2 was well deserved, Ghana also could have won this.
Fortunately Klose came in to score the 2-2....whew....


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Wow!! Ghana vs Germany was an amazing game!
Ghana had chances to go 3-1 up in that and probably
win it. Best game of the tournament for me so far. All
4 teams can still qualify. If USA manage to beat Portugal
tomorrow they will be the first team to go through from
the group.


----------



## Zado

Definitely not EU best year  I wonder if the weather has something to do with this...they better announce one of the next WC to take place in Finland


----------



## Centrix

IbanezDaemon said:


> Wow!! Ghana vs Germany was an amazing game!
> Ghana had chances to go 3-1 up in that and probably
> win it. Best game of the tournament for me so far. All
> 4 teams can still qualify. *If USA manage to beat Portugal*
> tomorrow they will be the first team to go through from
> the group.



Let's hope not...


----------



## Alberto7

I miss all of the games today...  although I was walking down St. Laurent street today and there was what looked like a celebratory riot of Argentinians  joined for like five minutes even though I don't really care that they won  it was super fun. I love the football spirit haha.

I kept getting notifications about the Germany and Ghana match and I could hardly believe it. It's good to hear that Ghana are managing such great matches!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Alberto7 said:


> I kept getting notifications about the Germany and Ghana match and I could hardly believe it. It's good to hear that Ghana are managing such great matches!


 
Yeah that was a great match. Full game here:

BBC iPlayer - Match of the Day Live - 2014 FIFA World Cup: Germany v Ghana


----------



## Santuzzo

I was hoping for Germany to win, but I have to say Ghana was maybe the stronger team and would have deserved to win this.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Belgium vs Russia. Sigh....there's a few hours of my life
I'll never get back. Awful match.


----------



## bouVIP

Work finally slowed down and saw the score for Algeria vs Korea... go Algeria!


----------



## Centrix

Good luck to all my fellow Americans around here! May the best win


----------



## bouVIP

I want the USA to do well but I also want Ronaldo to get back in to form and dominate....


----------



## Zado

Thank you Algeria,so much


----------



## Alberto7

Anybody else watching the games on cbc.ca? What happened to their commentators? There's only one of them today, and he's dull by himself. A good chunk of the football experience is a contagious commentator (especially when you're watching by yourself), and that's usually accomplished with two of them discussing the match.

EDIT: holy shit, the US goalkeeper is GOOD.


----------



## Santuzzo

Even though it's 1-0 for Portugal, in my opinion the US is stronger at this point


----------



## Centrix

Santuzzo said:


> Even though it's 1-0 for Portugal, in my opinion the US is stronger at this point



Yeah, no doubt. We are clearly lacking in physical form...

And damn, the US players have a nice mid-range Shot...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Wow!! What a goal by Jones. 1-1.


----------



## Santuzzo

Wow!!! 1-1 well deserved!

EDIT: Howard is amazing!


----------



## Alberto7

Centrix said:


> And damn, the US players have a nice mid-range Shot...



Yep. Yep, they do.  That was an awesome goal, even if it was quite silly on the goalkeeper's part. He totally did not see that one coming.


----------



## ShadowAMD

As a native English dude it's not a surprise we lost, especially watching the France match. Such speed and accuracy passing, always driving the right way and a great sense of player position and agility / speed. None of which England had...

Pleasantly surprised with the US and Dempsey has some balls to play , secretly routing for the US team. I hope you get into the last 16..


----------



## Santuzzo

USAAAAA!!!!!! GOAAAAL!!!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

USA 2 Portugal 1 !!!! Wow!!!


----------



## ShadowAMD

IbanezDaemon said:


> USA 2 Portugal 1 !!!! Wow!!!


 
Goal by Tally Whacker.. Go Dempsey !!!


----------



## Alberto7

Just kinda speculating here, but it seems the world has finally found ways of countering tiki-taka and European teams are being dethroned. Kind of a shame, in a way, since I really like that style of playing. On the other hand, it's exciting to see the sport is still evolving.

And the US does not cease to impress me this year.


----------



## Zado

Do you remember when Europe was under heavy crisis,but you could say "hey,at least we have football!"? 


Forget it


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Unreal!! Less than 30 seconds to go!!


----------



## Alberto7

OMG DAT GOAL LAST 30 SECONDS...!!


----------



## Santuzzo

Can't believe Portugal lucked out....


----------



## Don Vito

Damn it USA


----------



## Alberto7

Zado said:


> Do you remember when Europe was under heavy crisis,but you could say "hey,at least we have football!"?
> 
> 
> Forget it



I do.  I was living in Madrid (Spain, not US) when Spain had Fernando Alonso (Formula 1), the guy in MotoGP, Gasol (basketball), won two Eurocups and a World Cup, had Rafael Nadal (tennis) and I think we had also won a handball sort of world cup (I'm not sure... I don't follow that sport). We were winning almost every sport imaginable. It was wonderful, but it was also such a distraction from the huuuuuge issues in the country (and still is today).


----------



## Zado

I was about to post this





But looks like next sit is for Italy,Portugal did it in the very end,lucky bastardz!


----------



## liamh

Haha oh man poor Americans. 30 seconds left on a fairly long ET. Such injustice


----------



## ShadowAMD

Hmmm, Germany is a team to fear. I'll be watching that one, it'll be very interesting... If Portugal win against Ghana you guys are home free with GD, if you draw with Germany you're also home free. So you're still in it to win it .


----------



## Zado

ShadowAMD said:


> Hmmm, Germany is a team to fear. I'll be watching that one, it'll be very interesting... If Portugal win against Ghana you guys are home free with GD, if you draw with Germany you're also home free. So you're still in it to win it .



The awkward moment when you realize that football sucks


This guy feels the same


----------



## Centrix

Oh well. Can't say I didn't see that coming...

Everything is wrong with our team. From the chosen 23 players to the physical preparation plus team selection. 
There is also no will to win, doesn't even look like we are a latin team. Ridiculous.

However I think the draw is the fairest result considering the total length of the match. Kind of a bummer for USA because it pretty much means they don't go through though. It's not like Portugal has any chance... Germany and Gana it is.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Man, I opened the fifa page to check the score and it said "USA 2 -1 Portugal, 90' ," I almost jumped out of my pants, and then a MICROSECOND later it updated to "USA 2 - 2 Portugal."

I was _so_ ready to gloat to all the obnoxious Brits at the expat bars here.


----------



## Don Vito

And that's what soccer is for, really.


----------



## Zado

Justice League feels disappointed.

Bruce's gonna spend his night w/ beetches.

How it was supposed to be




what really happened





..I don't have a comment for this one


----------



## liamh

Grand Moff Tim said:


> I was _so_ ready to gloat to all the obnoxious Brits at the expat bars here.



Something tells me they will be a bit more humble, given recent events..


----------



## Alberto7

Zado said:


> Justice League feels disappointed.
> 
> Bruce's gonna spend his night w/ beetches.
> 
> How it was supposed to be
> 
> 
> 
> 
> what really happened
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ..I don't have a comment for this one



Omg, I nearly died with all of those.


----------



## Santuzzo

I would not be surprised if the US beats Germany next game.


----------



## ShadowAMD

Santuzzo said:


> I would not be surprised if the US beats Germany next game.



I wouldn't be so sure, they're not a team to underestimate.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

liamh said:


> Something tells me they will be a bit more humble, given recent events..



I kinda doubt it. They'll just talk about the past and make fun of us for calling it soccer .


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

It's kinda funny that other countries hate the South Korean squad. I'm gonna have to tell my coworkers that .

Anyone wanna elaborate a bit on why, so I don't have to watch that eleven minute video some posted explaining why? haha.


----------



## Alberto7

2002 Japan-South Korea World Cup. South Korea played some horrible matches against Italy, Portugal, Spain, and other teams. They played dirty and were very violent. They'd rarely get called out for it. The opposing teams had goals nullified for no reason. As a result, those teams were knocked out of the WC. I think it was Germany who finally put them in their place and sent them home after a rough match. Some would like to say the referee(s) was(were) in those games was paid off.


----------



## liamh

I also cant be bothered to watch the video so I'm working on my memory here
Basically they cheated when they hosted the World Cup. The referees were being absurdly lenient towards the South Korean Squad, whilst being absurdly harsh on their opponents (to the point where they were disallowing goals for absolutely no reason)
The Korean squad knew the deal, and took advantage of the fact that they would be basically absolved from any decisions against them, which basically ended up in them playing _horribly_, putting in challenges that would warrant a red card by even the most forgiving of refs
So yeah, fvck 'em


----------



## asher

Heartbreaking tie at the last second, but a super quality game I think. Only caught the second half.

Thursday is gonna be a nail biter.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

So does the US pretty much HAVE to beat Germany now to make the next round? Would a draw do the trick? Any way they can lose and still make it through?


----------



## asher

We advance with a win or a draw. I'm pretty sure there is a way we squeak by even if we lose, depending on what happens with Portugal-Ghana, but I'm not sure exactly what the condition is.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

Maybe if we lose and Portugal and Ghana draw? That'd leave us with 4 points but they'd each only have 2.


----------



## asher

Grand Moff Tim said:


> Maybe if we lose and Portugal and Ghana draw? That'd leave us with 4 points but they'd each only have 2.



That's a possibility. Apparently we can also lose, and depending on our margin of loss and the margin of victory of the other match, still make it:



> If the United States loses, Ghana would qualify instead if either game is decided by a margin of two goals or more. If the U.S. loses by one goal, Ghana would need to win by two goals or be involved in a higher-scoring one-goal win. For instance, a 1-0 scoreline in both games would put the United States through on head-to-head. So, if the U.S. loses 1-0, then Ghana must win 2-1 to qualify on goals scored.
> 
> To surpass the U.S., Portugal will need a goal-difference swing of five (head-to-head is level). So for instance, Portugal would need to win 3-0 and U.S. lose 2-0, among other equivalent scorelines. The teams will draw lots if goal difference is identical (this would happen with a 3-0 U.S. defeat and a 2-0 Portugal win, for example).



Shit's confusing, yo.


----------



## Zado

> . Some would like to say the referee(s) was(were) in those games was paid off.


He was paid,or at least he was said to let the host team win.FIFA always denied to have something to do with that.Yeah,FIFA,sure.There's probably a whole world of things FIFA did at least in the last decade,that we can't even imaging,and they don't want people to know.



In this WC the goal balance is the main factor considered to advance.US has way more chances than Portugal to qualify,but there a possibility to see US and Germany having a programmed draw ("biscotto",bisquit as we say in Italy ),which is not something uber dirty or illegal,just convenient for both teams (though Germany might want to destroy whoever comes next after the draw with Ghana).


----------



## OmegaSlayer

The more matches are played the more it looks like winning this World Cup will be as hard as surviving an enema of gravel...


----------



## Centrix

Zado said:


> He was paid,or at least he was said to let the host team win.FIFA always denied to have something to do with that.Yeah,FIFA,sure.There's probably a whole world of things FIFA did at least in the last decade,that we can't even imaging,and they don't want people to know.
> 
> 
> 
> In this WC the goal balance is the main factor considered to advance.US has way more chances than Portugal to qualify,but there a possibility to see US and Germany having a programmed draw ("biscotto",bisquit as we say in Italy ),which is not something uber dirty or illegal,just convenient for both teams (though Germany might want to destroy whoever comes next after the draw with Ghana).



Joachim Low was Klinsmann's second coach when he was in front of the Germany squad a couple years back.

So yeah, I wouldn't be too surprised if we see a suspicious draw.


----------



## chinnybob

Since England are out I think I'll be throwing some support the way of the USA, I've been mightily impressed by them so far! I'd back them to get second in the group and in all likelihood that'd mean Belgium in the round of 16, and they've been pretty ordinary so a quarter final isn't unrealistic, but beyond that they'll run into Argentina...


----------



## liamh

I like the USA squad but it would be disastrous if they won the world cup. The smugness would be palpable
I think my support will be going towards the Croatians, though I think Holland will be winning this one


----------



## chinnybob

I'm not sure about the smugness, one thing that's really endeared the American team to me has been their approach to the game, they seem to be very good sports! Someone was saying that unlike in Europe and South America, in the USA diving and gamesmanship is pretty much non-existent for that exact reason. Maybe as the game becomes more popular and competitive and the stakes get higher it'll start to pervade their game but for now it's quite refreshing. It would be nice if this World Cup makes football more popular across the pond, too.

As far as winning it goes, my heart says Brazil because that would be the best party ever. My head says Holland are a safe bet and they've got a pretty straightforward run at the final now that they've won their group, but my hot tip is France. Nobody was talking about them before the tournament because they were so woeful last time, but they've been the most impressive out of everyone so far. No pressure on them either, they're not expected to do well. Can see them comfortably beating anyone in this kind of form!


----------



## liamh

I really meant smugness coming from Americans in general, rather than the squad. I can imagine it now: "HAHAHAHAH, we don't even play this sport and we're the best at it 'MURICAAA"

Actually it's funny you mention France because I had considered them to be one of the teams who were more likely to do well in this WC, but that was before Ribery got injured.
They seem to be doing ok without him though.


----------



## Centrix

chinnybob said:


> I'm not sure about the smugness, one thing that's really endeared the American team to me has been their approach to the game, they seem to be very good sports! Someone was saying that unlike in Europe and South America, in the USA diving and gamesmanship is pretty much non-existent for that exact reason. Maybe as the game becomes more popular and competitive and the stakes get higher it'll start to pervade their game but for now it's quite refreshing. It would be nice if this World Cup makes football more popular across the pond, too.
> 
> As far as winning it goes, my heart says Brazil because that would be the best party ever. My head says Holland are a safe bet and they've got a pretty straightforward run at the final now that they've won their group, but my hot tip is France. Nobody was talking about them before the tournament because they were so woeful last time, but they've been the most impressive out of everyone so far. No pressure on them either, they're not expected to do well. Can see them comfortably beating anyone in this kind of form!



France definitely got a shot, not only because of the reasons you mentioned but also because it's quite a young squad... they are thirsty for success


----------



## chinnybob

It is a good young squad. I thought they were mad leaving Nasri out but having seen them play it's clearly a great decision. He's good but they're great without him and he's not exactly a positive presence in the dressing room... 

What impressed me most about them is the rotation and movement up front, actually reminds me somewhat of Germany at the last tournament. I quite like Griezmann, something about his technique and his gait is great to watch. Someone needs to explain to me how Debuchy is playing ahead of Sagna though. I wonder if they'll be swapped for the knockout stages when the defence will be tested a bit more, because apart from Evra I'm not convinced about their back four. Lloris for me is a ticking time bomb so the defence need to be on their game!


----------



## Zado

liamh said:


> I really meant smugness coming from Americans in general, rather than the squad. I can imagine it now: "HAHAHAHAH, we don't even play this sport and we're the best at it 'MURICAAA"



Yeah,it's possible,but there's also to consider the hypotetical cause for EU defeat,which is not only the hot and very humid weather(which affects playing style and fatigue sustain more than one can think,if a players are not used to),but the fact that clubs where EU national team players are usually have to sustain the very long national seasons (Premier,Liga and Serie A,for example,have 38 games + Cups) + Europa League and Champion's League.I can see why they cannot give their best,expecially under the condition mentioned above.

That said,our playing was inexcusable.


----------



## Santuzzo

I think the US will want to beat Germany, and I see them having what it takes to do so....I am sure it will be an exiting match, but I won't be able to watch it...


----------



## MFB

Santuzzo said:


> I think the US will want to beat Germany, and I see them having what it takes to do so....I am sure it will be an exiting match, but I won't be able to watch it...



Want to? Yes. Will? Doubtful.

Here's to Deutschland winning the cup overall


----------



## Alberto7

Well, at least Spain beat Australia 3 - 0, a team that the other teams really struggled with. They at least defended their pride in the end. I didn't have time to watch the match though, and I only watched the last three minutes of the match it, so I don't know how well the teams actually played.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

liamh said:


> I like the USA squad but it would be disastrous if they won the world cup. The smugness would be palpable




Turnabout is fair play. The Brits here are insufferable in their smugness whenever football comes up at the pub if an American is involved in the conversation. I think they'd fully deserve all the smugness we can dish out if the US somehow managed to squeak through this with the cup.

I doubt they will, of course, but it'd be nice to be able to say "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over OUR WORLD CUP VICTORY" the next time someone looks down his nose at me for calling it "soccer."


----------



## Zado

England keeper Joe Hart gushes to Andrea Pirlo over the Italian's free-kick, 'WOW! Fu**ing Hell!' [Vine]

How can you not love this guy?So humble one can't believe it


----------



## IbanezDaemon

I'd like to see Italy go through but they are playing
a dangerous game if they are looking to settle for
a draw.


----------



## Zado

I'm not watching the match,but all friends of mine are saying they'd rather watching metal rust.A total pain in the butt it seems,and Balotelli worst player ever seen With this,I'm not saying I'd like Italy out of the tournament but....well almost

EDIT: oh and there were 3 or 4 penalties for Uruguay,no idea if my friends are kiddin or not anymore


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Marchisio sent off. Still 30 minutes to play.


----------



## Zado

They told me it was totally absurd,is it true?


----------



## IbanezDaemon

No. High challenge on Uruguay player. Straight red
in todays game I'm afraid. Seen them given.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Uruguay score. 9 mins left on the clock.


----------



## Zado

And Suarez bit Chiellini,this is great

Also this is yellow all life,but imho not a chance to see a red card here other than a WC 







Oh NOW they remember how to play football 

We need Buffon to score anyway


----------



## gunshow86de

How many times has Suarez bitten someone now? Unbelievable. He should be suspended for the rest of the tournament.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Suarez did bite Chiellini. Absolute disgrace. Should be 
banned from the rest of the tournament!!


----------



## Zado

gunshow86de said:


> How many times has Suarez bitten someone now? Unbelievable. He should be suspended for the rest of the tournament.


It's not the first time?Oh my 

Anyway we totally deserved to be kicked out,Italy played indecently,and it's SO sad that Prandelli's fail will be covered by episodes.That said,I'm tired of seeing Italian team out of a WC because of the referee not seeing things,and not for our clear inferiority only.Why can't we just lose the match?


----------



## Centrix

Wow. Who would have thought Costa Rica would win the group...


----------



## IbanezDaemon




----------



## Zado

"U LOOK SO TASTY"


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Another One Bites The Dust!


----------



## OmegaSlayer

That's exactly why I don't watch this sport anymore.
Marchisio was a yellow card and Suarez a red.
In other sport there would have been an instant replay, in this crap the referee's fault decides a match.
It is easy for me to say it today, but I said it already some pages ago...no enjoyment whatsoever in seeing episodes like this one.
It's fair to lose a match, whoever you are, because your opponent bests you.
It's not ok to lose because of mistakes.


----------



## Axayacatl

OmegaSlayer said:


> That's exactly why I don't watch this sport anymore.
> Marchisio was a yellow card and Suarez a red.
> In other sport there would have been an instant replay, in this crap the referee's fault decides a match.
> It is easy for me to say it today, but I said it already some pages ago...no enjoyment whatsoever in seeing episodes like this one.
> It's fair to lose a match, whoever you are, because your opponent bests you.
> It's not ok to lose because of mistakes.



Agree it is a such a pity when one remembers the ref of a match. 

Just wanted to point out, instant replays would not solve much. There have been a few calls in this world cup that have led to days of discussion between experts disagreeing on what actually happened. This is with slow-mo, days after the fact, and from different angles. Instant replay on the field will solve nothing, there will be 23 different perspectives on every call divided into 3 camps. 

In other sports replays are used to determine whether a ball touched a line, etc, but in soccer when there is a scuffle and legs are flying and players are loosing their footing in crucial situations I think it *may* be a bit more difficult to resolve with a little black tent and instant replay. 

Come back to soccer btw! How can you leave! 

Sorry about Italy btw....


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Axayacatl said:


> Agree it is a such a pity when one remembers the ref of a match.
> 
> Just wanted to point out, instant replays would not solve much. There have been a few calls in this world cup that have led to days of discussion between experts disagreeing on what actually happened. This is with slow-mo, days after the fact, and from different angles. Instant replay on the field will solve nothing, there will be 23 different perspectives on every call divided into 3 camps.
> 
> In other sports replays are used to determine whether a ball touched a line, etc, but in soccer when there is a scuffle and legs are flying and players are loosing their footing in crucial situations I think it *may* be a bit more difficult to resolve with a little black tent and instant replay.
> 
> Come back to soccer btw! How can you leave!
> 
> Sorry about Italy btw....



I never thought IR could solve it, but at least cut down the episodes.
ALSO...it would serve as a deterrent for players to not simulate for example.
Suarez, to say the latest episode, wouldn't bite anyone if cams could be used as a referral proof in the match.
So IR couldn't solve every problems, but it could really change some players' minds.


----------



## Zado




----------



## Alberto7

Is that an actual bet on whether or not Suarez would bite again?


----------



## Zado

Alberto7 said:


> Is that an actual bet on whether or not Suarez would bite again?



It is!!!


----------



## Centrix

Zado, you can't be the only posting gifs around here heh  now that's what I call a passionate manager!


----------



## Santuzzo

what the heck is wrong with Suarez?

Italy - Uruguay, this game was corrupted by the referee....


----------



## jahosy

RE: Suarez - Such a talent, but what a nutter!! he seriously needs help. 

Thought the red was spot on though.


----------



## Axayacatl

OmegaSlayer said:


> I never thought IR could solve it, but at least cut down the episodes.
> ALSO...it would serve as a deterrent for players to not simulate for example.
> Suarez, to say the latest episode, wouldn't bite anyone if cams could be used as a referral proof in the match.
> So IR couldn't solve every problems, but it could really change some players' minds.



Fair enough, I agree that it could dissuade many players from the extra theatrical fall. All that matters is if the defender/goalie touched the player or the ball first and if after that touch the opposing player was illegally denied a chance to reach the ball. And I agree that that is something immediately 'verifiable' with IR. ... but then for those other calls where IR could be toxic.. dunno... tough question...


----------



## Zado

> Zado, you can't be the only posting gifs around here heh now that's what I call a passionate manager!


challenge accepted!


----------



## asher

I love the Mexican manager so so much


----------



## liamh

Y! SPORTS

Many feels were felt


----------



## gunshow86de




----------



## Centrix

So my team (Benfica) just sold Garay (Argentina CB) to Zenit St. Petersburg for like 15 million euro... shame really, I'd say he is easily one of the world's best CB right now, yet he has chosen to move to the Russian league, which has no competitivity and is only worth it for the money...

Kinda scared of how our squad is going to look at the start of next season...


----------



## Shawn

Some great games thus far! Was really hoping Japan could pull it through....congrats to Colombia for the win. I kinda had a feeling Japan was going to lose as they barely beat Australia, was a good game to watch none the less. USA vs Portugal was a great game too. Interesting to see how well USA does as i'm rooting for them as well.


----------



## liamh

I'm pumped for USA v Germany


----------



## Centrix

This pretty much sums up my faith for today


----------



## gunshow86de

And the ban hammer comes down on Suarez

Luis Suarez banned for four months - ESPN FC


----------



## bouVIP

You would think he learned the 2nd time. The fact that it's his 3rd incident he should be banned longer...


----------



## Centrix

Portugal is going to play with the best 3 midfielders in the squad right now. Or at least, the only ones which are fit. Let's see how it goes, would be nice to go out with a win anyways...


----------



## Zado

gunshow86de said:


> And the ban hammer comes down on Suarez
> 
> Luis Suarez banned for four months - ESPN FC



Essentially he's not gonna enter a stadium for the entire summer,when no match (except WC and few others) will be played,isn't FIFA too severe?







Ronaldo "gotohell style"





Rapist style






Oh and Suarez previously tried to taste Chiellini




but apparently didn't succeeded


----------



## MFB

MFB said:


> Want to? Yes. Will? Doubtful.
> 
> Here's to Deutschland winning the cup overall


----------



## asher

Well, we moved on, I'll take it


----------



## Centrix

Our first 45 minutes were the best in the WC. Shame we couldn't increase our advantage but I think we end up getting what we deserve...

A ride home.


----------



## ShadowAMD

Centrix said:


> Our first 45 minutes were the best in the WC. Shame we couldn't increase our advantage but I think we end up getting what we deserve...
> 
> A ride home.



Wow USA are in the final 16, well done guys.


----------



## Centrix

ShadowAMD said:


> Wow USA are in the final 16, well done guys.



Must say I am really impressed with the way USA is dealing with this competition, not only from the players' performance (who have been very, very competitive yet loyal) but from the audience too.

American football (oh, the irony ) might be a serious case in the next couple of years if the development continues at a good pace. Keep it up guys!


----------



## asher

Centrix said:


> Must say I am really impressed with the way USA is dealing with this competition, not only from the players' performance (who have been very, very competitive yet loyal) but from the audience too.
> 
> American football (oh, the irony ) might be a serious case in the next couple of years if the development continues at a good pace. Keep it up guys!



It's going to start dealing with more and more attention about the incredible health risks, for sure, which I think is a fight it will eventually lose. Both the concussion stuff and also the other class-action about being lied to by team doctors and force fed pills and such.


----------



## Grand Moff Tim

asher said:


> It's going to start dealing with more and more attention about the incredible health risks, for sure, which I think is a fight it will eventually lose. Both the concussion stuff and also the other class-action about being lied to by team doctors and force fed pills and such.



I think he meant American football as in soccer played by Americans, and that it will be something to take seriously in the coming years.






Also:


----------



## asher

Oops. You're right. Me and reading comprehension...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Damn! Sideshow Bob scores for Brazil. Come on Chile!!!


----------



## Alberto7

Man, this Chile - Brazil game is INTENSE. They're both playing so excellently.


----------



## kamello

aghhh, got to sleep around 5am last night (morning?  ) So I just hoped in the match...


----------



## Centrix

IbanezDaemon said:


> Damn! Sideshow Bob scores for Brazil. Come on Chile!!!



A goal "made" in Benfica 

Not sure if Brazil is going to make it. Chile has demonstrated an amazing spirit throughout the competition so far.

And now that Portugal is eliminated, I can actually say I'm not really rooting for anyone... this way I can enjoy all matches and football in its true beauty!

Except for France. I really don't like France


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Chile's pressing is relentless. Very difficult side
to play against.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Chile are hanging on for a penalty shoot out now.


----------



## kamello

fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck fvck


----------



## Alberto7

This is the most intense match of the tournament so far for me. These guys are pouring their souls on the field. I think Chile deserves it so far, but the ref does seem slightly biased towards giving yellow cards to Brazil. Either way, both teams are stellar.

EDIT: Jesus, these guys are tired as all hell. Players are falling to the ground left and right like flies.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Damn!! Chile hit the bar in the last minute.
Penalty shoot out coming up.


----------



## Alberto7

Noooooo no shootouts noooooo

EDIT: aw damn it. Penalty shoououts aren't even football... :/ I feel Chile will have a very good shoot at winning now, seeing how they have Bravo and how Neymar isn't feeling all to well, it seems.


----------



## Santuzzo

this is nerve-wrecking.....  rooting for Chile!!!


----------



## Alberto7

Kind of unrelated to the match, but those aerial takes from those hanging cameras look incredible. Still trying to figure out how those cameras are set up.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Terrible 1st pen from Chile.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

....and Brazil miss!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Damn!!! Gutted for Chile.


----------



## Santuzzo

once again Brazil did not play a very convincing match, but lucked out in the end....Chile so would have deserved to win this.


----------



## Alberto7

This is my favorite match that I have seen in a LONG time. Holy sweet baby Jesus. In my mind, this was a draw, albeit I do think that Chile played slightly better. Winning the shootouts is just a formality to see who goes forward in the tournament, just because someone has to. But Chile can safely say that they're just as good as, if not actually better than, the 5-time world champion. Extremely delighted with Chile.


----------



## bouVIP

Santuzzo said:


> once again Brazil did not play a very convincing match, but lucked out in the end....Chile so would have deserved to win this.



This so much. Brazil haven't looked like a team capable of winning the cup but just get lucky. I guess that's part of sports too though..


----------



## Centrix

My heart goes out to Chile... after this season's Europa League final, I can truly say that no fanatic supporter deserves to lose an important decision through the penalty shootout.

Great, great display. They go out with their heads high!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Hoping for a Colombia win here!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Colombia score. Rodriguez with possibly the best
goal of the tournament so far!!


----------



## bouVIP

What a goal


----------



## liamh

Oooft James Rodriguez what a strike son


----------



## Alberto7

Two of the best goals in the tournament in a single game. Same player, too.


----------



## bouVIP

James!!!


----------



## Zado

I was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hoping Chile to win the game.They deserved sooo much,when Pinilla hit the post I screamed,and when the last penalty was kicked I felt extremely angry.Damn it was so unfair.



Oh btw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ioB_6Aifg


----------



## bouVIP

Colombia was great in this game! great win


----------



## Mendez

Damn that was a scary game, Uruguay was going all out! Very happy colombia won!


----------



## Santuzzo

I'm rooting for the Netherlands, but so far Mexico looks like the stronger team. if they keep playing like this it's only a matter of time until they score.

The foul on Robben should have been a penalty...

EDIT: in the 2nd half the Dutch are getting better. Had a few good opportunities to score!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Big goal there from Sneidjer!!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Holland penalty in injury time.


----------



## Santuzzo

I did want the Dutch to win, but in all honesty, Mexico was the stronger team.


----------



## Centrix

What the hell just happened? Wow!


----------



## Alberto7

I only watched the second half of the game, and Holland really came across as the stronger team until Sneijder scored; always putting pressure on the Mexican side and keeping possession of the ball. Apparently Mexico was stronger during the first half though. That penalty was extremely unfortunate for Mexico. I am glad the Dutch won, but Mexico impressed me.


----------



## asher

What a shitty way to end a hard fought game.


----------



## Zado

I'm glad Holland won,though I'd have preferred another team to be defeated,I really liked Mexico.That said,I guess it's becoming more and more relevant how the weather is a critical factor...In the first half Holland played pretty bad,and the conditions were very similar to those that happened when Italy (and probably England) played.
Not trying to find excuses for Italy,we played awfully with no ideas (and some rumors confirmed the players sort of hated each other,Balotelli behaved like a moron of course),but that's probably the reason for EU teams's suffering so much  That said,Robben is scary...He can win a match all by his own.Stellar player!finnally Holland has a chance to win a WC,they dserved it in a long time...played to death the game and the result is quite fair,to me.



I'm a lil sad for Ochoa though


----------



## ilovefinnish

I really thought Mexico was going to win :/
But that's our curse, we always lose at the same match.

but damn that dutches can dive!!


----------



## Mprinsje

Holland played such a terrible match, until sneijder scored i was convinced we were out.

So happy we won though, time to buy some ridiculous orange wigs/shirts/glasses/everything. 

We're gonna win guys!


----------



## Santuzzo

OMG...another penalty shootout.....I feel sorry for either team that loses this....


----------



## Santuzzo

Happy for Costa Rica to have won this, but I also feel sorry for Greece, especially Gekas who missed the penalty.


----------



## Centrix

This World Cup is being so dramatic, god!


----------



## Zado

Awww poor Greek brothers  in case of win the players said they didn't want the money bonus since they play for the happiness of their country...why do I have to watch Balotelli?


----------



## liamh

I've got a bet on for Colombia to beat Brazil 2-1 and by God I feel confident


----------



## chinnybob

Zado said:


> Awww poor Greek brothers  in case of win the players said they didn't want the money bonus since they play for the happiness of their country...why do I have to watch Balotelli?



To be fair I think it's commonplace for international players to give their appearance fees/bonuses to charity.

It's gutting to see teams going out on penalties, but I was rooting for Costa Rica and Joel Campbell, would like to see him back at Arsenal next season.

It seems to me like the teams who have been most impressive are those that are well drilled, disciplined and have a good work ethic. Holland have been carried by Robben and Van Persie, and almost came unstuck last night when those two didn't reach the levels they have done. Same applies to Brazil and Argentina.


----------



## Zado

Ouch!


----------



## Santuzzo

we need Klose!


----------



## Santuzzo

GOOOAAAL!!! finally!!! 

EDIT: 2-0 YES!!!!!

EDIT v.2 dammit 2-1. but at least still a win!


----------



## Centrix

Ooh. So close!


----------



## Zado

I honestly almost felt like crying,Algeria is the emblem of a kind of football I've never seen in at least 20 years now.Playing til the very last second against a team enormously stronger than you on the paper,running like there's no tomorrow and even when your opponent scores again in the last 5 minutes you find the streight and the honor to battle and never surrender,even scoring and having the chance to equalize...this is fvcking sacrifice,this is what Football is supposed to be,not a bunch of rockstar-wannabes waiting for the ball to come their way.

No matter how EU patriotic I can be,tonight I'm cheering for Algeria


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Only watched the first half.
Algeria played a hell of a good match.


----------



## Zado

German keeper







Oh btw worst Argentina ever seen


----------



## SD83

Zado said:


> Oh btw worst Argentina ever seen



Iran vs Argentina was even worse, but I have no idea how they manage to play that weak and still win...


----------



## bouVIP

Di Maria>Messi.... Totally not biased Real Madrid fan....


----------



## Zado

The final's gonna be Brazil vs Argentina.When you manage to win after playing that bad like both teams did,it's a sign of destiny.


----------



## TBF_Seb

Zado said:


> When you manage to win after playing that bad like both teams did,it's a sign of destiny.



Hm, so there's still hope for the german team


----------



## Zado

TBF_Seb said:


> Hm, so there's still hope for the german team



Germany played well against Algeria,the second half was really good!


I guess USA will win against Belgium,and easily defeat Argentina too!


----------



## asher

Yedlin's got the chutzpah. Damn.

Cautiously optimistic about our chances here, especially since Klinsmann definitely seems to know his shit and how to adjust.


----------



## Zado

USA will win,no doubt.Belgium is wasting tons of chances,and you ALWAYS pay that kind of mistakes.


EDIT: damm u wondolowski


----------



## asher

DIS FVCKING GAME MAN

ONE MINUTE ARE YOU KIDDING


----------



## Santuzzo

holy shit, all these 8th finals are so close, so many go into extra time.


----------



## chinnybob

That was the best game I've seen so far. Sad to see the Americans go out, they've been great to watch, gotta say they've set an example to other teams with the attitude they approach the game with. The team is a credit to their country, big congrats to them!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

USA VS Belgium was easily the best game so far. No team
deserved to lose that. Well done Belgium. Gutted to see an
heroic USA team go out. Really enjoyed watching them. Tim 
Howard was immense tonight.


----------



## Zado

asher said:


> DIS FVCKING GAME MAN
> 
> ONE MINUTE ARE YOU KIDDING



I guess all americans definitely hate football now

Good game btw,USA would have won if only they started playing since the beginning the way they just did. Kudos to Belgium,played a great match with tons of occasions...but you really CAN'T waste all of them like that,not in a WC.


----------



## asher

Zado said:


> I guess all americans definitely hate football now
> 
> Good game btw,USA would have won if only they started playing since the beginning the way they just did. Kudos to Belgium,played a great match with tons of occasions...but you really CAN'T waste all of them like that,not in a WC.



Oh absolutely. We needed that fire a lot earlier. Still crap though  and IMO Belgian got away quite a pretty good amount of ballless shoves.


----------



## revivalmode

BEEEEEEEEEELGIUM! We haven't came so far since 1986 I think, pretty crazy haha.

Howard played a really good game, I just read that he saved the most goals in a game of any World Cup, that's a pretty great achievement.

Intense game, Belgium won all games in the first round but those games were a lot more boring to watch than this one.


----------



## Zado

Ladies n Vikings: Pinilla





Respect.


Btw I'm cheering for Belgium and Holland now!


----------



## Centrix

These 30 minutes of ET were by far the best football in this competition!


----------



## liamh

Anyone notice how all the best players in the Belgium/USA game played for Everton?


----------



## Zado

I KNEW IT!


----------



## aneurysm

Damn, US Boys are out and i got pretty mad last Night ! They didn´t play the whole 90 Minutes and then of a sudden the last 15 Minutes they fought like there´s no tomorrow.
I don´t understand this, sure Belgium played very well but in my Opinion they had it all on their own.


----------



## Alberto7

Not sure if any of you is watching the Netherlands - Costa Rica match. I'm all for a Dutch win, but... Robben, you f*cking dishonest disgrace. He just cost one of the Costa Ricans his next match should they go to semi-finals, just because of a dive... again.


----------



## Santuzzo

Alberto7 said:


> Not sure if any of you is watching the Netherlands - Costa Rica match. I'm all for a Dutch win, but... Robben, you f*cking dishonest disgrace. He just cost one of the Costa Ricans his next match should they go to semi-finals, just because of a dive... again.



yeah, to me that looked like a dive as well. I like Robben a lot, but I hate this kind of dishonest playing....


----------



## bouVIP

I hate Brazil, but damn it sucks for Neymar to be injured and out for the rest of the WC. I really wanted to see my Germany destroy Brazil at it's "best".


----------



## Alberto7

Brazil is far from being its best this World Cup. It does suck about Neymar about missing the rest of the tournament. I have so man mean comments about that, but having a broken vertebrae can't be fun, so I'll hold back. 

That last dive by Robben was not even a foul. The CR's arm just barely grazed him, and off he went flying across the air like a truck just rammed him. He's a very good player, but he can be an ass.


----------



## Mprinsje

jesus christ this is the most nerve-wrecking thing i've ever seen. Soooooooo much chances.

Costa-rica is playing as slow as possibe so they can have a try at penalties


----------



## Mprinsje

Huntelaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! go on, get that ball in there so i can go to bed


----------



## tedtan

Mprinsje said:


> Costa-rica is playing as slow as possibe so they can have a try at penalties



Yep, that's probably their only shot at a win today.

But if I were betting I'd put my money on Germany at this point - they're playing like a well oiled machine. Yesterday's game was like a master class on ball handling and team work.


----------



## Mprinsje

tedtan said:


> Yep, that's probably their only shot at a win today.
> 
> But if I were betting I'd put my money on Germany at this point - they're playing like a well oiled machine. Yesterday's game was like a master class on ball handling and team work.



yeah i already put germany as winner in some polls. A Germany-Netherlands match would be nice but the WWII jokes would be rampant.


----------



## Zado




----------



## Mprinsje

Zado said:


>



this is how i'm feeling right now.


----------



## Alberto7

It's funny how they call a draw "penalty shootouts."  That's it, guys, I'm going to bed. Tell me who 'wins.' (I'm lying, my eyeballs are glued to the screen...)


----------



## Mprinsje

noooooooooo not penalties


----------



## Mprinsje

these nerves man


----------



## Mprinsje

we are the most nervous family in the world right now


----------



## bouVIP

Now I'm rooting for Netherlands to beat Argentina~


----------



## Mprinsje

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS
YES
YES
YESSSSSSSSS

o god, so happy right now, totally deserved win IMO, they played much better the whole game


----------



## Alberto7

So is it like... the first penalty shootout ever that the Netherlands win?  That was certainly interesting though, with that last-second goalie substitution. Good move from the Dutch side, that one.


----------



## Mprinsje

bouVIP said:


> Now I'm rooting for Netherlands to beat Argentina~



you're damn right you are!


----------



## Santuzzo

and once again the Dutch lucked out. 
Costa Rica would have deserved to win this IMO.

The referee should have given Robben a yellow card for diving and also the new goal keeper for the Dutch should have gotten a walking up to the Costa Rican penalty shooters and trying to disturb them.


----------



## Zado

Holland was never lucky with penalties...I remember Italy defeating them some years ago in a WC (or Euro cup,not sure) with penalties and felt a lil bad for them.Glad this time they managed to win,I mean,it's good when teams like CR advance in the competition,football becomes more and more interesting and unpredictable...but honestly,when you play a quarter finals with 11 'keepers,create no occasions during the whole match while your opponent does the exact opposite with zero luck...it's time to be kicked out.


----------



## Mprinsje

Zado said:


> Holland was never lucky with penalties...I remember Italy defeating them some years ago in a WC (or Euro cup,not sure) with penalties and felt a lil bad for them.Glad this time they managed to win,I mean,it's good when teams like CR advance in the competition,football becomes more and more interesting and unpredictable...but honestly,when you play a quarter finals with 11 'keepers,create no occasions during the whole match while your opponent does the exact opposite with zero luck...it's time to be kicked out.



that penalty series (euro 2000, in Holland FFS) is one of the first sports memories i have. I've been scared for penalties ever since.


----------



## Mprinsje

Santuzzo said:


> and once again the Dutch lucked out.
> Costa Rica would have deserved to win this IMO.
> 
> The referee should have given Robben a yellow card for diving and also the new goal keeper for the Dutch should have gotten a walking up to the Costa Rican penalty shooters and trying to disturb them.



You can't really say we lucked out man, we were on their side most of the game and we had wayyyyyy more chances.


----------



## Alberto7

I partially agree with Mprinsje. Robben's douchebaggery aside, Holland created SOO many opportunities, and had such a great offensive front. On the other hand, the Ticos had much fewer chances and their offensive almost paled in comparison with the Dutch, but their defense was impenetrable, and their goalie is a damn wizard (in the same vein as what Zado said: one stationary goalie and ten walking ones). That's why they went 120 minutes without a single goal. However, someone had to win and it was left out to Lady Luck to work her ways, but the Dutch had a trump card, and they used it to great effect.


----------



## Santuzzo

I agree with you guys that the Dutch were the dominant team, and yes, they had so many opportunities, many more than the Costa Ricans.

And I was rooting for the Dutch until Robben's first dive that got him a penalty against Mexico which was unfair. Today he took another dive. He should have gotten a yellow card for this.


About the game Brazil-Colombia: I could not believe how much foul-play the referee let go through. That foul that got Neymar so badly injured that he can't play in the World Cup anymore was so ugly. And no card was pulled. Unbelievable. That is not sports anymore to me.


----------



## Zado

When you have the best defense in the whole competition by far (just 2 goals taken,one from the Carnivore's team,one from Greece while in 10 vs 11),you must lack somewhere...problem is that probably noone needs another Euro 2004.


----------



## Alberto7

^ What happened during that Euro?? That happened during a time in my life where I gave as many shits about sports as I did about becoming a pro cricket player... zero.

Also, I forgot to comment on the huge locust on James's arm. I would have literally screamed and flailed my arms around in front of 3.5 billion people. I am TERRIFIED of those gigantic locusts... and to think I was surrounded by them growing up in my hometown in Venezuela (although those were a disgusting shade of reddish brown with horrible dark green legs and a maniacal look on their face).

And yes, the Brazil - Colombia match was pretty terrible in terms of foul play.


----------



## Mprinsje

Alberto7 said:


> ^ What happened during that Euro?? That happened during a time in my life where I gave as many shits about sports as I did about becoming a pro cricket player... zero.
> 
> Also, I forgot to comment on the huge locust on James's arm. I would have literally screamed and flailed my arms around in front of 3.5 billion people. I am TERRIFIED of those gigantic locusts... and to think I was surrounded by them growing up in my hometown in Venezuela (although those were a disgusting shade of reddish brown with horrible dark green legs and a maniacal look on their face).
> 
> And yes, the Brazil - Colombia match was pretty terrible in terms of foul play.



Greece won, with the most defensive play ever. it was very surprise but my god it was boring


----------



## Zado

Alberto7 said:


> ^ What happened during that Euro?? That happened during a time in my life where I gave as many shits about sports as I did about becoming a pro cricket player... zero.
> 
> Also, I forgot to comment on the huge locust on James's arm. I would have literally screamed and flailed my arms around in front of 3.5 billion people. I am TERRIFIED of those gigantic locusts... and to think I was surrounded by them growing up in my hometown in Venezuela (although those were a disgusting shade of reddish brown with horrible dark green legs and a maniacal look on their face).
> 
> And yes, the Brazil - Colombia match was pretty terrible in terms of foul play.



Well,to put it simple,If you think Italy has a defense based tactical system,you've never seen Greece.Really,that was the anti-football.



And yeah,I'd have cut my arm off and thrown away.I hate locusts too,the only insect I absolutely can't stand.Along with this maybe


----------



## SD83

Totally looks like a locust to me. Or maybe a giant cricket. Or something from a nightmare I dare not remember... 
Damn it, that was nerve wrecking. I meant to get up early and get tons of stuff done today and they just kept on playing (game started at 10 pm for me). But, Robbens acting aside, as much as I would have loved to see Costa Rica win, the Netherlands were the better team. If even half of the Costa Rican team was on the same level as their keeper, though, they would probably already be World Champion...


----------



## tedtan

Santuzzo said:


> About the game Brazil-Colombia: I could not believe how much foul-play the referee let go through. That foul that got Neymar so badly injured that he can't play in the World Cup anymore was so ugly. And no card was pulled. Unbelievable. That is not sports anymore to me.



Damn straight. Zuniga should have been thrown out of the game at the very least.


----------



## ilyti

It's been a series of hard won victories for Brazil, but they did play great in the last two games. Brazil-Columbia especially was a riot. With both Silva and Neymar out its gonna be extra tough against Germany. The Germans really don't deserve such a lucky break. If Brazil somehow beats them it'd be a heroic, downright sports movie worthy performance. But hey, one can hope right? Somebody HAS to beat Germany at some point or alles ist kaos. Seeing how they struggled with Ghana and Algeria was somewhat encouraging.


----------



## Zado

Well,you know,when one is so famous for falling on the ground when he feels the breeze on his skin,I guess it's not that difficult for episodes like this to happen


----------



## 777timesgod

tedtan said:


> Damn straight. Zuniga should have been thrown out of the game at the very least.



I agree but lets also consider that the Brazilians pushed for a violent game. It helped them win the match but the cost was the loss of Neymar.
At least now they have an excuse if they lose it, other than being called a mediocre team.


----------



## Zado

It seems that many idiotic fellows are posting in socials and Zuniga's personal sites racist comments and statements like "your daughter will be raped" and stuff like that.Human kind really sucks.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Heavyweight line up for the Semi Finals.

No European team has ever won a World Cup staged in
South America.

So far European teams have 10 World Cup victories between
them and South American teams have 9.


----------



## Zado

Tonight it's Rodriguez time to be referee...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Yessss!!!! Muller!!!!


----------



## Zado

Great great player! And Imho that was no penalty!


----------



## bouVIP

Wow.....Germany!!!!!!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

4-0 inside 25 minutes. Go Germany!!!


----------



## Zado

It's samba time guys!


----------



## StevenC

How can it possibly be 5-0?


----------



## bouVIP

I repeat wow......


----------



## IbanezDaemon

5-0. Massacre!!!


----------



## MFB

Germany... Just wow.


----------



## kamello

as a Latin American I guess I should support Brasil.......but my god, this is priceless


----------



## bouVIP

Chile would have put up more of a fight... Just saying...


----------



## Zado

They are paying for being here without really deserving it.Algeria did WAY better than this too


----------



## Volteau

This is depressing...

Just goes to show how much Neymar and Silva can be game changers.


----------



## stuglue

This defeat is going to haunt Brazil for years. They have been utterly destroyed.
The ultimate insult will be for Argentina to get the final and win it in Brazilian soil.


----------



## Zado

It totally was due to the lack of a proper defence.TOO easy to score,no one opposing.


I want holland to win this all


----------



## Murdstone

I got to watch the Netherlands game in Amsterdam this weekend and now I'm watching this slaying in Germany. I don't know if they're broadcasting the same thing on every channel, but this German TV station is spending so much priceless time on the crying faces of Brazilians


----------



## stuglue

I hope for a repeat of the 74 final and not the 90 final. Come on Holland!


----------



## Zado

Before the match

Brazil:" yo Germany,gimme five!"

Germany:"Sure"


----------



## bouVIP

+1


----------



## Murmel

Brazil, I was actually rooting for you guys..


----------



## MFB

I was hoping for a shutout but I GUESS I can allow one goal


----------



## ilyti

Yup, the Germans are quite literally adding insult to injury with this genocidal annihilation of the Brazilians. Does that seem really _wrong_ to anybody else?


----------



## Santuzzo

wow, didn't expect this.
Excited about the other half final and then the final.


----------



## liamh

damn son that was some Mountain vs the Hound type shit


----------



## liamh




----------



## Alberto7

Neymar or no Neymar, that 7-1 that looked like it could have easily been 10-0 was unstoppable. The whole Brazilian team today was just shameful. Still happy for Germany's team though, as they and the Netherlands have been my top choices after Spain lost. This match was entertaining to watch, to say the least.


----------



## aneurysm

I hope Hollands gonna win, although i don´t like Robben at all !!!


----------



## gunshow86de




----------



## Zado

ilyti said:


> Yup, the Germans are quite literally adding insult to injury with this genocidal annihilation of the Brazilians. Does that seem really _wrong_ to anybody else?



Well let's say they could have stopped logng before the 7th goal.I mean,when Italy was defeated by Spain in the last Euro Cup,after the 4th goal they stopped attacking,they already had won,it was meaningless puttin the opponent into shame.Sometimes german pride is a lil too much overboard


----------



## IbanezDaemon

I reckon Brazil were still tired after screaming that National anthem
out again and never fully recovered. 

Sideshow Bob had a absolute nightmare game in defence.


----------



## jahosy

IbanezDaemon said:


> Sideshow Bob had a absolute nightmare game in defence.



50 million pounds. 

FIFTY million.

EDIT: 

Anyway this segment by John Oliver is spot on  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlJEt2KU33I


----------



## Santuzzo

Zado said:


> Well let's say they could have stopped logng before the 7th goal.I mean,when Italy was defeated by Spain in the last Euro Cup,after the 4th goal they stopped attacking,they already had won,it was meaningless puttin the opponent into shame.Sometimes german pride is a lil too much overboard



This IMO makes no sense. When you play the game, you keep playing, and in the 2nd half the Germans did not attack as much anymore as in the 1st half, but when there was a chance for a counter-attack, they went for it.
German pride? overboard? I don't see that having anything to do with German pride. This is soccer, aim of the game is to make goals.


----------



## Zado

This is anyway the worst defeat in Selecao history EVER since 1920 (when they lost against Uruguay 6-0)


> This IMO makes no sense. When you play the game, you keep playing, and in the 2nd half the Germans did not attack as much anymore as in the 1st half, but when there was a chance for a counter-attack, they went for it.
> German pride? overboard? I don't see that having anything to do with German pride. This is soccer, aim of the game is to make goals.


Well considering what this WC meant for brazilian citizens in particular,imho was a lil too much,but that's just me


----------



## Santuzzo

Zado said:


> Well considering what this WC meant for brazilian citizens in particular,imho was a lil too much,but that's just me



 IMO that was way too much, but I would not blame the German team for that, but rather the Brazilian team


----------



## Zado

Santuzzo said:


> IMO that was way too much, but I would not blame the German team for that, but rather the Brazilian team



My only complain is that Neymar isn't really part of the defeat,someone will blame Zuniga even some and som others will say "with Neymar it would have been a whole different story".






I wanted too see Neymar crying


----------



## bouVIP

IbanezDaemon said:


> I reckon Brazil were still tired after screaming that National anthem
> out again and never fully recovered.
> 
> Sideshow Bob had a absolute nightmare game in defence.



He's always been a terrible defender, but having Thiago Silva partnered with him helped him a lot.


11 Freds is my favorite joke so far.


----------



## Santuzzo

Zado said:


> My only complain is that Neymar isn't really part of the defeat,someone will blame Zuniga even some and som others will say "with Neymar it would have been a whole different story".
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I wanted too see Neymar crying



I actually also think with Neymar and Silva this may have been a completely different outcome. who knows, Brazil may have won.

Silva was out due to a yellow card, but Neymar was fouled and injured so badly he could not play anymore. That to me is unacceptable, whether or not the foul-play was on purpose. I know this kinda stuff happens in soccer, but I dislike that part of it.


----------



## Zado

Thiago Silva would have been a huge help no doubt,but the total mess was due to the defense totally lacking the basis of defending.Neymar would hardly have been the saviour for Brazil,but yeah,you never know


----------



## Sang-Drax

Santuzzo said:


> I actually also think with Neymar and Silva this may have been a completely different outcome. who knows, Brazil may have won.
> 
> Silva was out due to a yellow card, but Neymar was fouled and injured so badly he could not play anymore. That to me is unacceptable, whether or not the foul-play was on purpose. I know this kinda stuff happens in soccer, but I dislike that part of it.



I honestly don't think it would have made that much of a difference. Brazil didn't really play any differently from previous games; it's just that, this time, the adversary was a lot better. 

I don't think the players were that bad either, but our coach is absolutely obsolete. We lack a midfield *and* a psychologist, too. I'm actually glad it was such a humiliation - maybe now they will consider bringing a foreign coach in, because ours are absolutely terrible.

Germany has a great team and the players seem like very nice people, too. They've been incredibly friendly over here and they were always saying wonder about Brazil (the country, not the team). Even if it's not sincere, I do think it was very kind of them.

I wish Netherlands would win just because it's unfair for them not to have won a world cup ever, when they always have a good team. I don't think Argentina stands a chance without Di Maria, but maybe Messi decides to win by himself - who knows?

To be honest, I like all the lasting three teams for different reasons.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

You know some things shouldn't happen...for dignity.
http://cdn.lolhappens.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ballet-oops1.jpg

I keep rooting for Holland


----------



## stuglue

This result wouldn't have been any different whether Neymar and Silva played.
Luiz went walk about far too often and left huge holes at the back. There was no defensive line and the marking was atrocious.
Fred has been woeful from the very first game.
Credit to Bernard for trying.

That's why Brazil played so badly this World Cup, the real Brazilian players have been replaced with English imposters. Jo, Bernard and Fred, not exactly Brazilian names are they.

Hulk was also dire

As for Germany they surely now must be the favourite to win the tournament.
I'm rooting for Holland.


----------



## AliceLG

stuglue said:


> That's why Brazil played so badly this World Cup, the real Brazilian players have been replaced with English imposters. Jo, Bernard and Fred, not exactly Brazilian names are they.



Even though I agree with you, this is a very incorrect thing to say. 2 of those are nicknames, which are extremely common in Brazil (What kinda weird parents would name their kid Pelé?! His name is Edson). Jo is short for Joao, Fred is short for Frederico. And Bernard is more of a French name if you wanna nitpick.

Anyways, the defense was completely absent and this is the worst I've ever seen Brazil play, including the shutout against France in '98. They clearly had a lot of luck, and a little help, in getting that far. And I think the Germans actually held themselves back a lot, as this could've easily turned into double digits. I was glad Oscar got his goal, he was by far the best Brazilian player in the field.

Who knows, maybe it's finally time for Holland to win their first one.


----------



## hairychris

That game was savage, although not quite as savage as some of the jokes going around Twitter!

Brazil haven't played too well all tournament. I missed the very beginning (anthems & etc) but if it's true that the team were all propping Neymar then I am not surprised that they got beasted. That is no way to get your head right for something like this.

Germany played some really nice football, and at the same time did what they do best - show up deficiencies in the opposition. They also played like a proper team, not as a collection of individuals. I was quietly fancying Netherlands for the title after they demolished Spain but I'm not so sure now.

What was funniest about the whole thing was how subdued the German team's celebrations became. I think that they were as shocked as everyone else.

Anyway, a couple of gags that appeared on my feed, just to finish off:

"The only person who's going to be wearing yellow tomorrow will be leading the Tour de France"

"The last time I saw something so badly f**ked by a group of Germans it was on a badly-dubbed VHS tape"


----------



## aneurysm

Call me an arrogant Bastard, but i don´t know why every Team always gonna make the same failure when they play against Germany ?
I watched every Game, the Germans have a great Team but IMHO the only Way to win is the following tactic !
You have to fight them from the very beginning, otherwise it´s only a matter of Time to get the first Goal.
I i would have been Coach of Brasil ( or any other Team ) my intention would be FULL Attack !


----------



## asher

Germany-Brazil, Summarized By A Roomba


----------



## chinnybob

aneurysm said:


> Call me an arrogant Bastard, but i don´t know why every Team always gonna make the same failure when they play against Germany ?
> I watched every Game, the Germans have a great Team but IMHO the only Way to win is the following tactic !
> You have to fight them from the very beginning, otherwise it´s only a matter of Time to get the first Goal.
> I i would have been Coach of Brasil ( or any other Team ) my intention would be FULL Attack !



And that's exactly why you're not a coach. Going "full attack" was pretty much exactly what Brazil did and it was suicidal. Going for a high tempo, attacking game is fine but if you're going to shift the team up the pitch like that you need to press the opposition more effectively. While pushing on the wingers, full backs and midfielders, Brazil actually left the centre backs quite deep, maybe because Dante lacks the pace to play high up the pitch. Players like Khedira then had a massive space between the midfield and defence in which to receive the ball and turn. In that system I would have expected Brazil to be more physical and really get in Germany's faces and they never really did it.

I'd be interested to know if the positioning of the defenders was Scolari's game plan or if it was entirely down to the players.

EDIT: If you want to see what I mean, the Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto writes a blog on tactics with visual aids which is quite cool. It's in Spanish though. Have a look at "Adelanto de lineas" here: http://www.jorgeluispinto.com/Estrategia/estrategias


----------



## hairychris

^ Yep. I'd say that you need a very solid defence, fill up the middle of the pitch, and try to hit them fast in breaks. Going all-out is suicidal, Germany are too well organized and will ruin you if you can't shut them down (as Brazil found out).

It wouldn't be an attractive match though!


----------



## tedtan

Sang-Drax said:


> Germany has a great *team*





hairychris said:


> Germany played some really nice football, and at the same time did what they do best - show up deficiencies in the opposition. They also played like a *proper team*, not as a collection of individuals.



That's what I think a lot of people have missed. There have been a lot of great players in the tournament, but the German *team* has been playing like a machine lately, steam rolling everything in their path. Just watch how they control the ball, pass, work as a tea, etc. That will beat a superstar or two almost every time.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

This is the WC of the failing superstars and idiot coaches.

1-There are too many players that believe they are gods, we all know the names.
Too many that don't remember that soccer is a team game, and that's why some minor teams steamrolled teams of stars.

2-Many coaches did stupid picks
Prandelli failed much bringing Balotelli and betting on him, a guy that scored only 2 goals in the second half of the season (and I said it as an ACMilan supporter); he failed big time with the team composition
The Belgium coach should have brought Nainngollan instead of Fellaini since Nainngollan is a hound of war...also, you don't leave Martens out of the match.
Scolari should have let Hernanes play, since he's a guy with ideas, talent and experience, and should have brought Kakà, who even if not in his prime and playing still has more ideas than Hulk and Fred combined.
The Argentinian coach left Tevez at home and today he's going to pay that mistake.

I hope Argentina will play a fair match and not start kicking Holland players because they will best them.


----------



## chinnybob

OmegaSlayer said:


> This is the WC of the failing superstars and idiot coaches.
> 
> 1-There are too many players that believe they are gods, we all know the names.
> Too many that don't remember that soccer is a team game, and that's why some minor teams steamrolled teams of stars.
> 
> 2-Many coaches did stupid picks
> Prandelli failed much bringing Balotelli and betting on him, a guy that scored only 2 goals in the second half of the season (and I said it as an ACMilan supporter); he failed big time with the team composition
> The Belgium coach should have brought Nainngollan instead of Fellaini since Nainngollan is a hound of war...also, you don't leave Martens out of the match.
> Scolari should have let Hernanes play, since he's a guy with ideas, talent and experience, and should have brought Kakà, who even if not in his prime and playing still has more ideas than Hulk and Fred combined.
> The Argentinian coach left Tevez at home and today he's going to pay that mistake.
> 
> I hope Argentina will play a fair match and not start kicking Holland players because they will best them.



I'm not sure how fair it is for us fans to make such sweeping statements about the ability and decisions of coaches. These guys know a whole lot more about the game than we do, and I'm sure Prandelli had good reasons for picking the players he did.

As for the Belgian players you mentioned... I don't see anything about Nainggolan which would warrant his inclusion, and Mertens actually got a lot of game time so I'm not sure what you're on about there, you don't seem to have any actual good reasons why either should have been included. 

Kaka is a different player to those two, there are plenty of players in his position already who are physically more able and who suit Scolari's system better. As for Tevez, there is absolutely no room for him in the team, they've already got Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Lavezzi and Di Maria. Tevez is also something of a disruptive influence, Samir Nasri got left out for the same reason.

You know what, this kind of thing annoys me a fair bit. There are some fans out there who are so ready to be critical of the decisions of people who are clearly more qualified and are in better positions to make those choices. You've given little or no reasons for any of what you said. Why can't we all just watch and enjoy the game rather than whinging as if we know better?


----------



## OmegaSlayer

chinnybob said:


> I'm not sure how fair it is for us fans to make such sweeping statements about the ability and decisions of coaches. These guys know a whole lot more about the game than we do, and I'm sure Prandelli had good reasons for picking the players he did.
> 
> As for the Belgian players you mentioned... I don't see anything about Nainggolan which would warrant his inclusion, and Mertens actually got a lot of game time so I'm not sure what you're on about there, you don't seem to have any actual good reasons why either should have been included.
> 
> Kaka is a different player to those two, there are plenty of players in his position already who are physically more able and who suit Scolari's system better. As for Tevez, there is absolutely no room for him in the team, they've already got Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Lavezzi and Di Maria. Tevez is also something of a disruptive influence, Samir Nasri got left out for the same reason.
> 
> You know what, this kind of thing annoys me a fair bit. There are some fans out there who are so ready to be critical of the decisions of people who are clearly more qualified and are in better positions to make those choices. You've given little or no reasons for any of what you said. Why can't we all just watch and enjoy the game rather than whinging as if we know better?



I do it because I'm Italian, and everyone knows Italy is a Country made of 60 millions soccer coaches


----------



## chinnybob

OmegaSlayer said:


> Italy is a Country made of 60 millions soccer coaches



This I was not aware of. Carry on then!


----------



## OmegaSlayer

chinnybob said:


> This I was not aware of. Carry on then!


If you'll ever visit Italy, please stop at my store, I'll offer you a coffee and you'll see what I'm talking about


----------



## aneurysm

Yeah, it sucks Italy didn´t make it to the Final. But to be honest, i watched every Game but IMHO they failed as a Team.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

aneurysm said:


> Yeah, it sucks Italy didn´t make it to the Final. But to be honest, i watched every Game but IMHO they failed as a Team.



TOTALLY.
In Italy's case the worst stuff was that the individuals inside the team had grudges that they revealed in interviews.
First of all you keep the grudges outside the field and you play like a pro, second...what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.
You don't make accusation to one of your team mates in interviews with the media.
That sucks. 
That's also VERY bad as a message for the youth and youngest generations of fans.
Italian players are bad examples of humanity and have little to no dignity.
Brazilian players played a bad match and left in tears supporting each other, Italians spit at each other in interviews.
Italy deserved to be out because they didn't represent the values of the sport called soccer, but everything wrong and murky about it.


----------



## aneurysm

Well, i wouldn´t go that far, but i don´t know what´s really going on with Italy ?
I think the only Team that made huge Steps forward are they Germans or Costa Rica and a few others . Sure Italy won 2006 but i didn´t really expect that.
I don´t say it´s a bad Team but like Brasilia, Argentina, it kinda leaves me with that Feeling they repose on their Glory or big Name


----------



## gunshow86de




----------



## OmegaSlayer

aneurysm said:


> Well, i wouldn´t go that far, but i don´t know what´s really going on with Italy ?
> I think the only Team that made huge Steps forward are they Germans or Costa Rica and a few others . Sure Italy won 2006 but i didn´t really expect that.
> I don´t say it´s a bad Team but like Brasilia, Argentina, it kinda leaves me with that Feeling they repose on their Glory or big Name



Have a read
Gigi Buffon says old guard not to blame for Italy&#8217;s failure in Brazil | canada.com
This stuff should be solved in the locker room, not in front of the media.
In the best case scenario that's unprofessional.


----------



## MFB

I honestly felt bad when I saw this earlier, then I remember the win and thought, "Eh, tough shit"


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Think Argentina will win this game but would love
to see Holland go through.


----------



## liamh

Nah it's gonna be an all European final. COME ON ORANJE


----------



## Alberto7

MFB said:


> I honestly felt bad when I saw this earlier, then I remember the win and thought, "Eh, tough shit"



I don't know anything about the veracity of this, but it's really cool anyway:.

Sad Brazilian fan.

I wanted a German win, and it was incredibly entertaining to see them destroy Brazil like that, but that old man breaks my heart when I see his face.


----------



## Zado

aneurysm said:


> Call me an arrogant Bastard, but i don´t know why every Team always gonna make the same failure when they play against Germany ?



Hey,Italy always defeated Germany in recent years!



Thank God we didn't encounter them this time



> Well, i wouldn´t go that far, but i don´t know what´s really going on with Italy ?



Well,wrong people in the wrong place.Prandelli is first in the list


----------



## bouVIP

So I fell asleep for the first 70 minutes... I see I didn't miss much D: 

Go Holland!


----------



## Alberto7

It's been like watching a team play against themselves.  It hasn't been boring at all - it's been a good match - but holy shit, that ball rarely leaves the midfield. They have both been getting slightly closer to scoring, with a few good chances here and there, but I smell penalties.

EDIT: well, ain't that shit.


----------



## bouVIP

F*** well at least we get to see Germany destroy Messi and co. if Argentina keep playing like they do.


----------



## Zado

Football sucks.


----------



## Alberto7

Well, I am sad...  poor Netherlands. Always the same with them. Lose on semis, and on shootouts, no less. No luck for these guys. Ah, well, Argentina played an awesome game as well, and it was almost down to luck. Congrats to Argentina!

Now, let's see the Germans shoving some sauerkraut-y Frankfurters down Argentinian throats.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Argentina have bored their way to the final.

Never let a defender take your first penalty in a shoot out FFS!!

Sneidjer and Kuyt's crossing was abysmal tonight.

German shirt ordered for Sunday!!


----------



## Zado

Hope to see some 57 - 0 next game


----------



## Alberto7

Imagine Argentina actually wins and we're just sitting here like "whaaaa...  "

*knocks on wood*


----------



## Zado

Alberto7 said:


> Imagine Argentina actually wins and we're just sitting here like "whaaaa...  "
> 
> *knocks on wood*


Brazil explodes.Literally.


----------



## Alberto7

A friend of mine was genuinely afraid that riots would break out if Brazil lost in home turf (they seem to have a history...). They lost, nothing happened (although police presence was reportedly high). Now he's totally paranoid about Argentina winning it.


----------



## liamh

Well I said from the start that Argentina will beat Holland...


----------



## Shawn

The Brazil vs Germany game was insane....Argentina is amazing too. Should be interesting....some great games!


----------



## bautista

Why you hate Argentina?


----------



## Zado

bautista said:


> Why you hate Argentina?



No hate for Argentina,just disliked the match,and got the sensation they will be defeated by Germany...but there's no real "hate" towards them,though I really don't like Messi.


----------



## tedtan

bouVIP said:


> So I fell asleep for the first 70 minutes... I see I didn't miss much D:
> 
> Go Holland!



I got home from work just in time to catch the last half of overtime and had the same thought. I'm sure I missed a lot of defensive play, but still...  

And for the record, my money is still on Germany.


----------



## aneurysm

And no Love for the US Boys, i´m really dissapointed of you Guys
I´m just kidding, everyone talks about Brazil, Argentina and German but the US Team played very good.
i hope Soccer becomes more Attention !


----------



## ilyti

USA did play really good. So did Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Belgium, Algeria, and heck even France has seriously pulled their socks up since the last tournament. These are the positive surprises that made this world cup fun. Australia was amazing to watch despite not winning a single game. They got thrown in the toughest group and gave each team a hard run for the money. The way they played, they could have come out on top of a group of lesser teams, or at least 2nd in an average group.

Now as for the final: Its hard to be optimistic, but I'll try. Argentina has confidently carried their way through every game, adapting to the playing style of each team with a cool head. They will not let the Germans find holes in their defense easily. At this point, Germany could consider themselves unbeatable and in football as in history, that could be their... Untergang.


----------



## Don Vito

Well, I'm happy with Sunday's lineup. Seems like a fair match up of football.



aneurysm said:


> And no Love for the US Boys, i´m really dissapointed of you Guys
> I´m just kidding, everyone talks about Brazil, Argentina and German but the US Team played very good.
> i hope Soccer becomes more Attention !


I feel like the only non-Hispanic person that watches the game where I live(American Football is the king in southeast US. p.s. not the band)


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Argentina in the finals is a shame.
They play a very boring soccer nowadays.
This tournament they didn't won easily one single match.
I'm a sad panda today.


----------



## stuglue

Argentina hasn't been found out yet, look what happened to Brazil. They played a genuinely great team and were exposed as an average side.
I just hope we don't get a repeat of the 1990 final where both sides kicked lumps out of each other.
Argentina haven't played well in any of the games I've watched, they struggled against Iran, were lucky against Nigeria. Fortunately for Argentina both those nations were poor when putting the ball away.
Belgium were slow and lacked creativity but this German team is on a different level.

If Argentina do win on Sunday I think Brazil will go on to melt down


----------



## AliceLG

If Argentina wins in Maracana no one will remember about what happened to Brazil in Mineirao  This would be even worse than that.


----------



## hairychris

I thought that NL would get through (mainly due to what they did to Spain), so was quite wrong. They really screwed up the penalties though. Dull game. Both teams played to not lose.

I really hope that the final is better!


----------



## Santuzzo

I think Argentina deserved to win this yesterday. They did play stronger than the Dutch, but still IMO it was a pretty boring game to watch. The other half-final was at least more entertaining.
I would have liked to see Germany-Netherlands in the finals, but ever since Robben started his acting/diving, I was not so pro-Netherlands anymore.
Also, after they won the penalty-shootout against Costa Rica, I was pretty sure they would lose a 2nd penalty shootout.

I am hoping for a good final, but also for a good 2nd final (Brazil-Netherlands).


----------



## Sang-Drax

Alberto7 said:


> A friend of mine was genuinely afraid that riots would break out if Brazil lost in home turf (they seem to have a history...). They lost, nothing happened (although police presence was reportedly high). Now he's totally paranoid about Argentina winning it.



I'm genuinely concerned myself for the safety of Argentinians around here if their country wins. I fear some pricks might take this rivalry too far.

That said, I'm not sure whom I'll be supporting on the finals. Germany plays an exceptional, beautiful football, and their players are probably the nicest guys in the tournament. Argentina, on the other hand, deserves more than two world cups and, well, they're our neighbors and stuff. Unless all of their best players decide to actually play their best at the same time for once, I don't think they really stand a chance.


----------



## ilyti

stuglue said:


> Argentina hasn't been found out yet, look what happened to Brazil. They played a genuinely great team and were exposed as an average side.
> I just hope we don't get a repeat of the 1990 final where both sides kicked lumps out of each other.
> Argentina haven't played well in any of the games I've watched, they struggled against Iran, were lucky against Nigeria. Fortunately for Argentina both those nations were poor when putting the ball away.


Okay, sure you can view it that way. But on the other hand Germany struggled against Ghana and Algeria, were lucky against USA and France and essentially played a disabled team in the semi final. Doesn't get any more lucky than that.


----------



## Santuzzo

ilyti said:


> Okay, sure you can view it that way. But on the other hand Germany struggled against Ghana and Algeria, were lucky against USA and France and essentially played a disabled team in the semi final. Doesn't get any more lucky than that.



Almost every team struggled. Argentina struggled in every single match they won. So did Brazil.

In the Germany-Ghana match I agree, I think Ghana was equally strong and the deuce was fair.
In the other matches (against Algeria as well as US and France) Germany was the stronger team IMO, even though the end-result did not necessarily reflect that very obviously.


----------



## bautista

Germany is a strong team, but if Argentina is there and others teams don't, it's for some reason IMO


----------



## chinnybob

Slightly away from the World Cup, Arsenal signed Alexis Sanchez last night. I literally ran about the house celebrating. He's so good I might be tempted to get his name and number on the back of one of our horrible new kits!


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Erm...


----------



## tedtan

^ Sure looks easy with that wide open goal.


----------



## SD83

Adidas should totally use this match and the modified Volkswagen slogan for a commercial. Have the entire team step out of a VW Golf, let them kick the ball around a bit, 'Adidas. That's Das Fussball!' Sure, the correct form would be 'Der Fussball', but who cares...


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Damn only 2 games to go. 

Any diehards here gonna watch the 3rd/4th place
play off tomorrow??


----------



## Santuzzo

IbanezDaemon said:


> Damn only 2 games to go.
> 
> Any diehards here gonna watch the 3rd/4th place
> play off tomorrow??



I'd be interested in that game for 3rd place, and I am planning on watching it, unless my g/f and I make other plans.


----------



## chinnybob

Definitely going to watch the playoff. Got to make the most of these matches before we reach the barren desert of August, with only the transfer window to keep us going....


----------



## Axayacatl

chinnybob said:


> Slightly away from the World Cup, Arsenal signed Alexis Sanchez last night. I literally ran about the house celebrating. He's so good I might be tempted to get his name and number on the back of one of our horrible new kits!




Best Player in the World. 

Vamos Alexis CTM!!!!!!!

Sincerely, World's Newest Diehard Arsenal Fan


----------



## ilyti

SD83 said:


> That's Das Fussball!' Sure, the correct form would be 'Der Fussball', but who cares...


This turns my entire German language education upside down. All we did was agonize over the proper gender of nouns, and seeing an actual German not care about that is a huge slap in the face to every German teacher.

Thank you.


----------



## stuglue

Will be watching the third place play off tonight, here's hoping Holland can further humiliate the Brazilians.
My allegiance tomorrow will be with Germany and then that's it for another four years.
In the UK regular club football has been taken away from the terrestrial channels. Sky TV and BT SPORT have got all the rights to the premier league and European football so once the world cup is over I won't have be able to watch any club football.
To be honest I've lost a lot of interest in the premiership for the reason that it has a negative impact on the national team. Club sides just buy foreign players which stifles young English players opportunities. 
That's why we've been on the slide for the last twelve years.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

stuglue said:


> Will be watching the third place play off tonight, here's hoping Holland can further humiliate the Brazilians.
> My allegiance tomorrow will be with Germany and then that's it for another four years.
> In the UK regular club football has been taken away from the terrestrial channels. Sky TV and BT SPORT have got all the rights to the premier league and European football so once the world cup is over I won't have be able to watch any club football.
> To be honest I've lost a lot of interest in the premiership for the reason that it has a negative impact on the national team. Club sides just buy foreign players which stifles young English players opportunities.
> That's why we've been on the slide for the last twelve years.


 
It's ridiculous that all the pay per view stations have snapped up most of the sport on British TV. I get all my matches on streaming sites for free.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

IbanezDaemon said:


> It's ridiculous that all the pay per view stations have snapped up most of the sport on British TV. I get all my matches on streaming sites for free.



It's pretty common everywhere nowadays.
We Europeans weren't used to it, but now that's the standard.
And yes, it sucks.


----------



## chinnybob

The FA Cup is still on terrestrial at least!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Hoping for a good competitive match between Brazil and Holland.

One of my all time fave goals came in the 1978 3rd/4th place play off:


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Oops. Actually meant to post Nelinho's goal in the post above:


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Holland 2-0 up circa the 16th minute!!


----------



## Zado

Holland uniform was amazing tonight <3


----------



## Centrix

Damn... I don't really have any more words to describe the last couple of games!

Now let's see who will win it all... I think Germany might just edge it. Argentina doesn't really look like such a good team imho.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Pope Emeritus says: "May the best team win"
Pope Francis: "I hope not"


----------



## Entropy Prevails

German here, you people can´t imagine how much I, my family and the whole country are looking forward to this. It´s equal to celebrating independence day! Let´s hope for an awesome, entertaining and fair game!


----------



## Mprinsje

i'm kind of glad with the 3rd place for The Netherlands but not super happy or something. They played well and deserved that win.

Now on to tonight, I sure hope our eastern neighbours obliterate those argentinians!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

As they have played the more entertaining and attacking
football I'm hoping for a Germany win. It's Muller Time!!


----------



## bouVIP

Götze!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Mprinsje

yeeeesssssssss, it's going to happen!


----------



## Santuzzo

YES!!!!


----------



## bouVIP

Deutschland 2014 World Cup winners!!!! Tears of joy!!!!


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Congrats to Germany, the team that deserved this cup with consistency and good played soccer.
Hats off.


----------



## Volteau

This game was FIERCE! Both deserved the win in this case to be honest. Germany just took advantage of its kairos a bit better and made an awesome goal. Congratz to the German team!


----------



## Mprinsje

it happened!

despite our (holland) loss, i'm happy the germans won. Deutschland!


----------



## MFB

GER-MA-NY!
GER-MA-NY!
GER-MA-NY!


----------



## SD83

Unbelievable goal  Awesome match from both teams and massive respect to Schweinsteiger. Indestructible


----------



## liamh

great goal from Gotze. Brilliant technique


----------



## Zado

It was good,but I want to see Spread going down a lil tomorrow,you hear me Angela?


----------



## bautista

wasn't penalty at all...


----------



## Santuzzo

bautista said:


> wasn't penalty at all...



No, it wasn't.
Neuer was going for the ball.


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Congratulations to Germany. Thoroughly deserved to
win this World Cup. Schweinsteiger and Boateng were
immense tonight. Wonderful goal to win the game.

How the hell did Messi win player of the tournament??


----------



## Zado

> How the hell did Messi win player of the tournament??


HE DID????Are you ....ing kiddin me???


----------



## Entropy Prevails

HELL ....ING YEEESSS!!!! That was a ....ing intense match! Thank you Argentina for such a legendary final! 

ps: yeah messi winning the golden boot was kind of random


----------



## Shawn

Congrats to Germany....tough and talented team. Was awesome!


----------



## Alberto7

DEEEUUUUUTTTSSCCCHHHHLAAAAANNNNDDDDD!!! 

So happy the Germans won, even though I kind of expected it.  Was a good match, for sure!. It was particularly fun watching it at a pub where 90% of all customers were wearing Argentina jerseys and flags and had their faces painted with the Argentinian colours, etc.  t'was good rubbing it in their faces just for the shit of it. Regardless, it has to be acknowledged that Argentina played one hell of a game and Germany just barely had the lead for some of the time.

Still bummed about that Golden Boot though... just wtf?! Messi? Really? He was good this tournament, but not nearly the best or that memorable.


----------



## OmegaSlayer

SD83 said:


> Unbelievable goal  Awesome match from both teams and massive respect to Schweinsteiger. Indestructible



Indeed.
Schweinsteiger and Lahm have been INFINITE.



bautista said:


> wasn't penalty at all...



It wasn't...just like Aguero's punch to Schweinsteiger.


----------



## tm20

great game, was worth waking up early to watch. I just wish I was back in Germany right now partying


----------



## AliceLG

Watched the game with about 5000 germans in a conference hall. I was secretly rooting for Argentina 

It was a great game, the kinda game one expects for a final. Victory well deserved for die Mannschaft.

I have to admit I'm sad to see that a European team has finally won a World Cup on the other side of the Atlantic, but all European teams that got thru the group stage were playing good football. Last night both teams played extremely well.

Messi didn't win the Golden Boot, THAT would be a travesty. He won the Golden Ball and it was well deserved if you ask me. Out of the 8 goals that Argentina made in the tournament he made 4, assisted the other 3 and the last one came after a shot of his was blocked. He pretty much took the team on his shoulders up until the quarter-finals, winning 4 MVPs for the first 4 matches. So yes, he might not have played at his best, but he was the best player. Last night every single time he got the ball you could feel 5000 germans butts clenching in the conference hall 

Now giving Neuer the Golden Glove? For shame! Romero, Navas and Cilessen were all better keepers. Navas was the best of the bunch. 2 goals conceded in 5 matches (510 minutes, 255 min/goal) and a shitload of saves including a perfect penalty shootout against Greece. Neuer conceded 4 goals in 7 matches (690 minutes, 172.5 min/goal) and had to do some aggressive defensive play against Algeria because the defense line was horrible on that match.

It might be that Messi didn't rise up to expectations, but Neuer winning the Golden Glove, that is just wrong.


----------



## Zado

Anyway it was the first time I've seen Germany's coach with a smile on his face,I kinda had the feeling he had paralysis or something

He did a great job,but yeah,when you are the German Jeff Beck twin,one can expect nothing less!


----------



## Centrix

Amazing! It was a very boring game as one would expect from a final but I think in the end Germany goes home with a much, much deserved win. Throughout the entire competition they were not only regular but also much better than all other teams. Very enjoyable football to watch 

And that Götze goal... Incredible! Reminded me of a goal my team (Benfica) scored this season, against our biggest rival and that allowed us to go through to the cup final which we would end up winning. Hence the crazy celebrations  here's the video: [sapovid]Y3wnPRRz2G34u2YUKhet[/sapovid]

There's also a couple of players on our line-up that game who were on the WC. Garay and Enzo for Argentina (even though the first has already been sold to Zenit), Maxi Pereira for Uruguay... And also Lazar Markovic who, although he wasn't in the WC because Servia didn't get the qualification, has moved to Liverpool today for around 25 million euro. And our goalkeeper, Oblak has also moved to Atletico Madrid to replace Courtois, for 16 million...

So yeah, I'm not sure if we're going to have a decent team this season, with so many sales


----------



## Sang-Drax

AliceLG said:


> Watched the game with about 5000 germans in a conference hall. I was secretly rooting for Argentina
> 
> It was a great game, the kinda game one expects for a final. Victory well deserved for die Mannschaft.
> 
> I have to admit I'm sad to see that a European team has finally won a World Cup on the other side of the Atlantic, but all European teams that got thru the group stage were playing good football. Last night both teams played extremely well.
> 
> Messi didn't win the Golden Boot, THAT would be a travesty. He won the Golden Ball and it was well deserved if you ask me. Out of the 8 goals that Argentina made in the tournament he made 4, assisted the other 3 and the last one came after a shot of his was blocked. He pretty much took the team on his shoulders up until the quarter-finals, winning 4 MVPs for the first 4 matches. So yes, he might not have played at his best, but he was the best player. Last night every single time he got the ball you could feel 5000 germans butts clenching in the conference hall
> 
> Now giving Neuer the Golden Glove? For shame! Romero, Navas and Cilessen were all better keepers. Navas was the best of the bunch. 2 goals conceded in 5 matches (510 minutes, 255 min/goal) and a shitload of saves including a perfect penalty shootout against Greece. Neuer conceded 4 goals in 7 matches (690 minutes, 172.5 min/goal) and had to do some aggressive defensive play against Algeria because the defense line was horrible on that match.
> 
> It might be that Messi didn't rise up to expectations, but Neuer winning the Golden Glove, that is just wrong.



My thoughts exactly. While I think other players might have played better (Robben and James Rodriguez spring into mind), I do think Messi was great on his own. Neuer is doubtlessly amazing, but Navas or Ochoa deserved the prize better, IMO.

I was supporting Argentina, but Germany having won is pretty fair, especially considering their performance in 2006 and 2010.


----------



## gunshow86de




----------



## HurrDurr

Alright, so the WC has come and gone, time to get back to some good ol' club football. With that in mind,

*HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE NEW ARSENAL KITS?!??!!?!!?!??!1!??!ONE??!?!!1/111*

*LINKS!*


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> Alright, so the WC has come and gone, time to get back to some good ol' club football. With that in mind,
> 
> *HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE NEW ARSENAL KITS?!??!!?!!?!??!1!??!ONE??!?!!1/111*
> 
> *LINKS!*



The home kit is okay... I can't get along with the away kit or the third kit. Too many colours maybe? I think I'd prefer it if the away kit had blue Puma and Emirates logos, and I'm not a fan of the green bits on the third kit.

Bit annoyed I didn't get last season's away kit now...


----------



## HurrDurr

chinnybob said:


> The home kit is okay... I can't get along with the away kit or the third kit. Too many colours maybe? I think I'd prefer it if the away kit had blue Puma and Emirates logos, and I'm not a fan of the green bits on the third kit.
> 
> Bit annoyed I didn't get last season's away kit now...



I have both home and away from the last two seasons _(they were the same, so I lucked out!)._ You can probably find some on closeout sale online or at Nike outlets. I'm still on the hunt for their elusive third kit from the 12/13-13/14 seasons. I'll definitely be getting my hands on the new Puma kits though, for sure!


----------



## Centrix

Looks nice! Clean and simple.


----------



## HurrDurr

Who else is excited for the Premier League this year?


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> Who else is excited for the Premier League this year?



Its not quite grabbed me yet. I think the world cup has sated me, I need a break before I can really get up for it. I absolutely cannot wait to get playing again though! Watching matches always gets me hungy to play. Pre season starts soon and I've been doing so much fitness work so that I can turn up in the best possible shape. Anyone else here play the game?


----------



## Centrix

HurrDurr said:


> Who else is excited for the Premier League this year?



Ah, yes!

Watch out for Liverpool's most recent signing. Markovic is absolutely brilliant. I was very sad that he left Benfica but at least he went to my favourite English club. Let's see how it turns out


----------



## tedtan

chinnybob said:


> Anyone else here play the game?



I played in school, but haven't played in years. I still have family that plays regularly, so I should probably get off my ass do something to get back in shape, but you know how that goes.


----------



## HurrDurr

I used to play almost three times a week as a cardio routine, but I dislocated my clavicle almost a year ago playing as a goalkeeper _(which I have no idea how to play. I've always favored the CB/RB position)_ and I haven't really been able to play the same since. Recently though, my arm has been feeling a lot better, so I'm itching to get back out there and play again. Unfortunately, I'm ridiculously out of shape given my loss of willingness to get out there and continue exercising after the injury.


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> I used to play almost three times a week as a cardio routine, but I dislocated my clavicle almost a year ago playing as a goalkeeper _(which I have no idea how to play. I've always favored the CB/RB position)_ and I haven't really been able to play the same since. Recently though, my arm has been feeling a lot better, so I'm itching to get back out there and play again. Unfortunately, I'm ridiculously out of shape given my loss of willingness to get out there and continue exercising after the injury.



That sucks, I never volunteer when we're short a keeper! I tore my lateral collateral ligament (which frankly I'd never heard of) four years ago when me and another guy both kicked the ball at the same time  I figured it was nothing, but about a month later I got up to leave a lecture and my leg just gave way, decided I should see a physio at that point! Took nearly a year to get past that one... but I've been on a upward curve in terms of fitness ever since then! 

A team I played for whilst doing an internship a couple of years back has agreed to trial me in pre-season, but only because they're in desperate need of some wheels on the flanks. Need to impress them as I didn't post very good numbers in the one season I was there, twenty three games played, three goals (plus one ridiculously disallowed), eight assists, one spectacular own goal and dropped for the last five games... 

Only a couple of weeks to go!


----------



## bouVIP

So James Rodriguez to Real Madrid... A bit unnecessary and expensive but I'm excited to see him play this season!!


----------



## chinnybob

bouVIP said:


> So James Rodriguez to Real Madrid... A bit unnecessary and expensive but I'm excited to see him play this season!!



This makes me question Real's scouts a little bit. Rodriguez was hardly an unknown quantity going into the World Cup, we all knew how good he was and Monaco paid a massive fee for him. Madrid signed Isco a couple of weeks later, also for a substantial amount of cash, and presumably Rodriguez will push him further down the pecking order. Why didn't they just get James a year ago and save themselves a whole heap of money?? The only two things I can think of are that either Real didn't think he had proven himself at the highest level yet, or that he just wasn't a big enough name at the time...


----------



## HurrDurr

Lampard officially an NYFC player! Xabi of Barcelona was also a reported target of the club, but just extended his contract recently. I'm excited to see top players coming out from the European leagues and into the MLS. The dawn of MLS 3.0 will soon be upon us!


----------



## chinnybob

Arsenal have signed two players in two days!

I must say, our new transfer policy of spending good money on very good players is all very alien, but I like it.


----------



## ArtDecade

chinnybob said:


> Arsenal have signed two players in two days!
> 
> I must say, our new transfer policy of spending good money on very good players is all very alien, but I like it.



Arsenal is building up a good squad this season. I think they have a chance to win the league this year.

Although it looks like Vermaelen is possibly coming to my club in Manchester. It must be odd sending your captains North. Ha.  But now that Liverpool is also trying to sign him, this could drive up his transfer fee. So that's another bonus for the Gunners - especially because he seemed surplus to needs last season.


----------



## chinnybob

ArtDecade said:


> Arsenal is building up a good squad this season. I think they have a chance to win the league this year.
> 
> Although it looks like Vermaelen is possibly coming to my club in Manchester. It must be odd sending your captains North. Ha.  But now that Liverpool is also trying to sign him, this could drive up his transfer fee. So that's another bonus for the Gunners - especially because he seemed surplus to needs last season.



Even though it's probably the right thing for him, I'd be sorry to see him go, he's a good player, and just because he doesn't get a whole lot of game time doesn't make him surplus to requirements. If anything I'd say only having three first team centre halves last season was taking a big risk. I'd want four in the squad at any one time. If he does go I can see us going into the market for one more defender, wouldn't want both him _and_ Jenkinson moving on.


----------



## 777timesgod

Heard that Man. UTD coach placed cameras all over the training pitch in order to check on the players. Should we expect a youtube channel with training bloopers of Wayne?


----------



## Centrix

Benfica was completely humiliated at the Emirates Cup. I feel so ashamed right now...


----------



## HurrDurr

chinnybob said:


> Even though it's probably the right thing for him, I'd be sorry to see him go, he's a good player, and just because he doesn't get a whole lot of game time doesn't make him surplus to requirements. If anything I'd say only having three first team centre halves last season was taking a big risk. I'd want four in the squad at any one time. If he does go I can see us going into the market for one more defender, wouldn't want both him _and_ Jenkinson moving on.



Agreed, but I wouldn't mind if we found replacements for both in any case. I've never been at all impressed by Jenk's playing.


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> Agreed, but I wouldn't mind if we found replacements for both in any case. I've never been at all impressed by Jenk's playing.



We'd still need another body if Vermaelen left, but I've been impressed by Calum Chambers, and I wonder if he could provide cover for both right back and centre back, given that he wouldn't be first choice in either position. I remember seeing him last season when Clyne got injured and thinking I'd like to see him at Arsenal.

I'm a big fan of Jenkinson. He's a bit raw but he's athletic and has an excellent cross on him. Plus we know he'll run through a brick wall for the shirt. A loan is good for him, and it's definitely not the end of his Arsenal career if Chambers does end up being a centre half.

Thought we were excellent on Saturday, all the fringe players did themselves proud. Passing was quick and dynamic, clever movement, and players willing to run at opponents, Campbell and Bellerin especially impressive. Pleased for Sanogo too, thought his positional play in the box was outstanding. 

As good as we were against Benfica we were awful against Monaco though. Probably down to a lack of fitness but the imagination and verve of the previous game was completely gone. Giroud was too static and his touch deserted him, trying too many tricks and flicks. Arteta and Wilshere were disappointing, didn't move the ball quickly enough and Wilshere seems to have actually lost pace over the last few years, he used to be able to burst past people and doesn't seem to do it any more. Very impressed with Debuchy, looks very composed. The Ox gave us some much needed pace when he came on and Alexis is just special, great in the air for such a small guy and he's completely unpredictable. Actually looked best when going through the middle which bodes well because Wenger's comments suggest Giroud won't be starting the season...


----------



## HurrDurr

Giroud, although I love him as a fan, just hasn't shown much in recent games. Not enough to start, that's for sure. I'll agree also to Jenk's athleticism; his size and ball skills are great, but his 'raw/rough-around-the-edges' playing irritates me from time to time. I just expect a bit more of him every time he hits the field. Sanogo's positioning definitely looks to have improved from what I've heard of Saturday's match. Last time I saw him play, he was as static as a CB and I've always detested the idea of a spoon-fed striker. That style doesn't cut it in top-league/top-cup competition. Wenger's made comments as to Jack's dipping fitness levels, so hopefully that's motive for improvement on his end. Wilshere can be as devastating a threat as Ramsey on a good day, and we both know how lovely that can be! As for Arteta... I like him, but maybe it's the chemistry between Cazorla being Spanish teammates as I've always felt they Arteta plays his best with him on the field beside him as other times I feel he holds the fort but never gets too creative or exemplary. As opposed to Cazorla who's always a pleasure to watch as per his output on the field always seems to be at 110%. I wasn't able to catch the Monaco game on account of helping a family member move, but from what I've been told the match sounds to have been a good, competitive bout.


----------



## chinnybob

I'm a massive Giroud fan. I really think he's integral to our style in the way he gets involved in the build up and feeds runners from midfield. If Alexis is going to play up front he needs to replicate that, which I think he can.

Frankly I think time is running out for Wilshere, to the extent that this season may well be make or break for him. He's not making enough progress and there's more competition for places in the midfield than ever, although I think after another couple of seasons we'll see the end of Arteta, Rosicky and Flamini, so there's an opportunity there.

I find Cazorla quite a frustrating player sometimes. He has so much ability and his two-footedness is unbelievable, so I'd like to see a bit more end product. There was talk of him leaving but he's too important to Wenger's favoured setup of a flying left back paired with a left winger who will come inside to allow the overlap, and a more conservative right back with a right winger who has an absolute set of wheels. Maybe his set up on the left is reminiscent of the Cole/Pires duo. It leaves us quite a nice plan B though, because we have enough depth now with Alexis coming in to switch to a classic 4-4-2 with more pace on the flanks.


----------



## HurrDurr

Wilshere will definitely stay, _*if*_ he gets his form back. There is surely a great deal of competition at Arsenal for midfield spots. As for Cazorla, I love him as a player and I also genuinely believe he's much too integral to our ball movement and control in the midfield to let him go. I'm definitely excited to see how Alexis and Cazorla will play in the league this coming season!


----------



## HurrDurr

Had a blast yesterday at the Guinness International Champions Cup finals here in Miami last night. Closest to an official live Premier League match as I'll ever get, and It was loads of fun to see Rooney play and watch _The Reds_ get crushed! fawk


----------



## HurrDurr

Anybody else catch the MLS All-Star game against Bayern?


----------



## chinnybob

Deep down I know we were right not to re-sign Cesc Fabregas, but that assist last night was like seeing an ex-girlfriend with a richer, better looking, more successful new guy. 

It hurt. Right in the feelings.


----------



## Talmaci

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is amazing!!! Yesterday killed Saint-Etienne.


----------



## Zado

Today I've seen a GREAT Italy against Holland! Very good match,Sirigu almost never touched the ball,and the guys all played very fine,with good ideas and personality against the 3rd strongest team in the world,which has never really been dangerous .Sure,they had no Robben,but we had no Pirlo,Chiellini,Rossi,and luckily Balotelli  Many chances to score too...I'm really glad,hoping to see the team improving even more!


----------



## OmegaSlayer

All the European leagues have started from some weeks now, and...just leaving this here


----------



## chinnybob

More importantly, my Saturday league has finally kicked off! Had the worst pre-season imaginable, playing three, scoring none and conceding _fifteen_... then we went and won our first league game one-nil. Funny old game. It's great to be playing again but I've already developed a hip injury and I have to take painkillers at half time


----------



## OmegaSlayer

Good luck with your season and wishes for a fast recovery


----------



## bouVIP

Champions League is back today!

Hoping for Real Madrid to be the 1st wins to win back to back!


----------



## HurrDurr

Well... What can we say about AFC's back four against BVB? Player's coming off injuries, Merte's age becoming more and more evident, and mistakes in the midfield were surely costly. Not necessarily disappointed, but wasn't at all impressed either.


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> Well... What can we say about AFC's back four against BVB? Player's coming off injuries, Merte's age becoming more and more evident, and mistakes in the midfield were surely costly. Not necessarily disappointed, but wasn't at all impressed either.



I blame the midfield more than the back four. Too many long balls out of Dortmund's defence completely bypassed our midfielders who simply don't have the pace to chase down the like of Aubameyang. The defenders didn't cover themselves in glory but they were hopelessly exposed. Passing was slack all night as well, worryingly we were misplacing passes in our own half, not just the final third. Sanchez kept losing the ball and tried to do too much as the game wore on to make up for it. Jack Wilshere had a good game in the circumstances though.

What I find strange is that even though we got dominated and absolutely deserved to lose, had Danny Welbeck buried any of his three very decent chances it might have been a different outcome.


----------



## HurrDurr

Agreed, Welbeck definitely had his chances, but his touch simply wasn't there.


----------



## JustinKarlooten

@bouVIP, No previously Real Madrid have won Champions League back to back.


----------



## bouVIP

Well yes before when it wasn't called the Champions League, but I meant no team has won it in its current name and format.


----------



## HurrDurr

Stunning display by Welbeck starting for Arsenal yesterday against Galatasaray. Shame Szczesny saw red, but I couldn't dispute that call once I saw it from all angles.


----------



## chinnybob

HurrDurr said:


> Stunning display by Welbeck starting for Arsenal yesterday against Galatasaray. Shame Szczesny saw red, but I couldn't dispute that call once I saw it from all angles.



Definitely seems like he's settling in! Got to take it with a pinch of salt given that Galatasaray were utterly dire, but Welbeck does give us an option we haven't had for a long time with his runs off the shoulder. It gets defenders running back towards their own goal which in turn creates space for our midfielders, so hopefully it's good for players like Ozil and Sanchez.

As for the red card, by the letter of the law it's correct, and something Szczesny needs to eradicate from his game. But in all honesty I think that rule needs changing. The red card was given because Szczesny denied Yilmaz a clear goalscoring opportunity, but that was then restored with the award of the penalty. In that situation a yellow would have sufficed.


----------



## stuglue

Brazil v Argentina today, that fixture is never a friendly.
Brazil will look to bounce back from the biggest humiliation in their recent history (7-0 defeat to the Germans), i honestly think that the scars of that loss will hang over them for a long time


----------



## HurrDurr

Anybody else catch the USA vs. Honduras and Canada vs. Colombia games?
The US showed a huge lack of communication on the pitch, and with the boss playing a few fellows out of formation (Jones, Dempsey) it was inevitable to concede that goal. I was impressed by Jones' performance at RCB given it's not his preferred spot also I felt Mix has done a good job of replacing LD.

As for the Can vs. Col. game, I felt Colombia also showed a lack of proper communication on the field whereas Canada were simply amazing at shutting them out time and time again until James found net late in the game. Shame Canada don't have any forward bite, or else I feel the outcome would have been _*very*_ different.


----------



## liamh

I hate Kun Aguero


/spursfan


----------



## chinnybob

Finally got over my hip injury after nearly two months, then twenty minutes into today's game I had to go off after some moron tried to break my ankle. So frustrating. At least I have Alexis Sanchez being amazing to cheer me up!


----------



## Zado

Soccer is a game of poetry


----------



## Tang

HurrDurr said:


> Stunning display by Welbeck starting for Arsenal yesterday against Galatasaray. Shame Szczesny saw red, but I couldn't dispute that call once I saw it from all angles.



ARSENAL SUPPORTER BUMPING!

How about that Welbeck goal to beat Man U yesterday?! HOLY SHIT! So hyped.


----------



## Andromalia

I'm sorry.
EAT THAT MOURINHO. Serves you right for pushing dirty tactics. A good 10 vs 12 qualification.


----------



## Jujex

Cool never expected to see this forum here of all sites 

Anyway I guess we will start over from August.


----------



## MSUspartans777

NEW EPL SEASON!


----------



## IbanezDaemon

Champions League group stage draw in full 

A - PSG, Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk, Malmo. 


B - PSV, Man Utd, CSKA Moscow, Wolfsburg. 


C - Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Galatasaray, Astana. 


D - Juventus, Man City, Sevilla, Mönchengladbach.


E - Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Bate Borisov.


F - Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Olympiakos, Dinamo Zagreb.


G - Chelsea, Porto, Dynamo Kiev, M. Tel-Aviv.


H - Zenit, Valencia, Lyon, Gent.


----------



## chinnybob

I suppose it's not the worst group in the world for Arsenal, would have liked to avoid Bayern but should expect to finish second in that. Just worried that our pattern in Europe recently has been to mess up against the small teams and then put in one amazing performance and go out on goal difference.

Away from the pros, anyone else playing in a league this season? I managed to injure myself training for the new season so I've been out for a month and missed almost the entire pre-season! Going to be a long way behind everyone else fitness-wise when we actually kick off . Also looking a bit stupid for telling our captain I was going to be injury-free and top scorer this season haha.


----------



## Tang

chinnybob said:


> I suppose it's not the worst group in the world for Arsenal, would have liked to avoid Bayern but should expect to finish second in that. Just worried that our pattern in Europe recently has been to mess up against the small teams and then put in one amazing performance and go out on goal difference.
> 
> Away from the pros, anyone else playing in a league this season? I managed to injure myself training for the new season so I've been out for a month and missed almost the entire pre-season! Going to be a long way behind everyone else fitness-wise when we actually kick off . Also looking a bit stupid for telling our captain I was going to be injury-free and top scorer this season haha.



well, that didn't turn out good for Arsenal.


----------



## Stijnson

Today marks the sad day of the passing of Johan Cruijff. A football and humanitarian legend. 

RIP Johan Cruijff


----------



## Mprinsje

Stijnson said:


> Today marks the sad day of the passing of Johan Cruijff. A football and humanitarian legend.
> 
> RIP Johan Cruijff



Yup, even though he is mostly associated with the team I dislike most (Ajax), he was the best player my country has ever produced. Above everything else, I'll miss his linguistic brilliance most.


----------



## Stijnson

His linguistic brilliance will definitely be missed! But he left us with some great one-liners and beautiful football moments, especially if you're a supporter, like me, of the club he is mostly associated with  
Hopefully our stadium will have a name change soon! 

But i'll guess you're in that case maybe an Ado fan?


----------



## Mprinsje

Stijnson said:


> His linguistic brilliance will definitely be missed! But he left us with some great one-liners and beautiful football moments, especially if you're a supporter, like me, of the club he is mostly associated with
> Hopefully our stadium will have a name change soon!
> 
> But i'll guess you're in that case maybe an Ado fan?



Nope, Feyenoord, the ol' arch rival. Although he did play a season with feyenoord just to spite Ajax because he had a falling out with someone there. They won the championship that year so I can't be too mad at him for being from Amsterdam.


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## Stijnson

That is why i guessed Ado, seeing as he also played for Feyenoord and you didn't mention him in that sense. But he played a great season there, especially considering he was 36 if I remember correctly. Ajax hasn't always been the best at taking care of their most valued assets unfortunately. And you know, Feyenoord could use a championship from time to time, to bad that one was mostly because of an Ajax legend


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