Mr.T Posted June 16, 2010 Posted June 16, 2010 I watched the Chile game this morning and I was very, very impressed with their passing, speed, skill and movement on and off the ball; Sanchez is very dangerous. I agree the Chile vs. Spain match should be a cracker! Spain should not underestimate the Chileans. Even though Spain has a great team, they have never risen to the occassion to win a World Cup. I'm heading to Brasil next week for work and I am really excited about the matchup against the former colonial power, Portugal! That should also be a lot of fun to watch!
mazolaman Posted June 16, 2010 Posted June 16, 2010 the only real surprise for me so far was the Germans emphatic victory.( I still don't think they'll do much). It's all been tight so far,England v USA,North Korea v Brazil,Switzerland v Spain,Italy v Paraguay......all not being as easy as we thought. I hope it gets a bit more lively soon,though!
cgarner Posted June 16, 2010 Posted June 16, 2010 I haven't watched all the games but I have watched most and the Chile team was the only team I was impressed with. I hope teams stop playing it so safe, not wanting to lose their first game, then things should be much more lively. Especially once single elimination comes around.
brutusthebuckeye Posted June 16, 2010 Posted June 16, 2010 Everybody is trying to win the World Cup like Italy does..... 1).Just make it out of the group 2)Escape with a ugly 1-0 win 3).Get lucky in the final 8 4).Play best game of tourny (against the likes of Germany,France,Brazil)2-0 victory 5)Then defend like hell in the final and either win or lose on PK's
khomeinist Posted June 16, 2010 Posted June 16, 2010 Which is why the Azzurri are often called a cynical side. Basic game theory. If everybody chooses the cynical option, nobody wins! Italian football is typically based on hoping one team over-extends itself playing positively. Defend. Counter-attack. Dive. Azzurri! Go Oranje. Total Football
Alberto_Magnus Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Which is why the Azzurri are often called a cynical side. Basic game theory. If everybody chooses the cynical option, nobody wins! Italian football is typically based on hoping one team over-extends itself playing positively. Defend. Counter-attack. Dive. Azzurri! Go Oranje. Total Football I beg to differ. Nobody plays like that in Serie A anymore. The Azzurri are also going to play differently. Against Paraguay we had a pretty offensive tactic. It will get better, for sure. On the other hand, I am also a fan of Dutch Total Football, but that lacks experience in the defensive dept.
khomeinist Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Was just making jokes Alberto. Of course Internazionale do not play that way. Beautiful team. I was more referring to Azzurri history, but as you basically say, the era of catenaccio might be over. I actually own a 'retro' Italy jersey from the 1980s. Only has 3 stars though!
Alberto_Magnus Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Was just making jokes Alberto. Of course Internazionale do not play that way. Beautiful team. I was more referring to Azzurri history, but as you basically say, the era of catenaccio might be over. I actually own a 'retro' Italy jersey from the 1980s. Only has 3 stars though! Our history is surely a catenaccio one, especially 1982 Italy. Gosh. This World Cup is a real headache from the point of view of predictions. Lots of unexpected good teams and favourites slowly drifting away...
khomeinist Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Am very pleased that France is gone. Nothing against the country (I love the 1998-2000 squad). The latest incarnation is dreadful though. Viva Mexico!
MIKA27 Posted June 17, 2010 Posted June 17, 2010 Chile will be one of the surprise teams this world cup IMO and of course Germany will be there in the finals, you can bank on that one.
Alberto_Magnus Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 They rightly define this generation of Mexican footballers the "golden generation": they are amazing and deserve going far.
Padrino Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Congrats to the Yanks for battling back, unfortunately the ref robbed them of a win . However they should beat Algeria quite comfortably next week so they should progress quite easily.
SandmanTR Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Congrats to the Yanks for battling back, unfortunately the ref robbed them of a win . However they should beat Algeria quite comfortably next week so they should progress quite easily. Robbed is an understatement.
mazolaman Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Would agree with alot that has been said. The ref made a mistake in the USA game,but the ref in the German game was apalling,a letter of the law man... I too am pleased to see Mexico go through,they thoroughly deserve it,as they are the only teem who have played positively,commiting many forward.France were too busy fighting amongst themselves,and seemed to be totally against the manager. Great tournament in terms of unexpected results,and starting to warm up in quality. Great to see the North Koreans,and how much it meant to the players.
mazolaman Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Wow,we were crap. It looked like we couldn't score in a brothel with diamond studded underpants.
MIKA27 Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 I'm watching Germany vs Serbia at the moment, Serbia winning 1-0 thus far. Hope Germany draw at least.
Ken Gargett Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 we've been lulling you all into a false sense of securoty. we are about to unleash harry kewell. seriously, the bloke couldn't win a kick in a riot.
MIKA27 Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 we've been lulling you all into a false sense of securoty. we are about to unleash harry kewell.seriously, the bloke couldn't win a kick in a riot. Come on Ken, Kewell will win the world cup single handedly, he's Australias secret weapon!
perfectform Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 How is this ref allowed to commit such butchery of an obvious clean goal? What heart we showed coming back from an impossible situation! Go Yanks! We will win the cup, sorry Aussies! How do the Kiwis have more points than you by the way???
DrunkenMonkey Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 How is this ref allowed to commit such butchery of an obvious clean goal? What heart we showed coming back from an impossible situation! Go Yanks! We will win the cup, sorry Aussies! How do the Kiwis have more points than you by the way??? And that goal, while by far the worst call, wasn't the only bad call that went against the USA. Findley is going to miss the Algeria match. Can anyone tell me what that card was about?
bunburyist Posted June 19, 2010 Author Posted June 19, 2010 And that goal, while by far the worst call, wasn't the only bad call that went against the USA. Findley is going to miss the Algeria match. Can anyone tell me what that card was about? One theory is that at world cups FIFA is obliged to use refs from everywhere in the world, so the standard drops to the extent you see outrageous decisions like those. Quotas and all that. Refs from the Middle East or Asia for example are exposed to a far lower standard than in say Europe. But then....you still see shocking decisions in the Bundesliga and La Liga every week.... *minor edit made*
mazolaman Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 It's kind of an accepted fact that some of the refs in the early rounds are awfull,and are heavily influenced by fifa to abide by the letter of the law,the worst so far being the chap who refd the Germany Serbia match.Shocking.As Bunbuyist mentions,sometimes from nations with a lower standard than others. No consellation when you get the raw deal....
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