Official World Cup Thread [Archive]

LeftEyeNine

11-15-2005, 01:30

I agree with LeftEyeNine, Turkey has improved a lot, the team showed it in the match vs. Brasil, where Brasil won with a little help, keep it up!!

Ah yes, you refer to the match between the U-19 teams.. That was a memorable match, truly memorable..

Nuri was promoted to seniors after that match and against Germany friendly, he scored. You should have seen how the whole team and coaches were all over him congratulating for the goal..

We definitely missed such a magical pair of feet at the hands of Switzerland. I still don't get why Terim did not give him a chance where he was absolutely needed. No Emre, no Hamit, no Yildiray..

Well, keep following the thread about Switzerland vs. Turkey. I'll be posting what's going on here until the match.. ~:)

Soulforged, let me tell you that Leo Messi has already been one of my favorites. Every 2 or 3 years a new Argentinian player is dubbed as the new Maradona but this kid is the only one that Maradona told watching him was very enjoyable.

I love Argentinian football a lot, just remembered how we failed on Ortega (I'm a Fenerbahce fan). However, Brazil is my all-time favorite. These guys dance on the ball, one of the reasons I love football is that it is the most aesthetic sports of all. And Brazilian feet definitely prove that..

Netherlands come as my 2nd favorites and France (because of my Djibril Cissé adoration ~D) may come the 3rd. (not a World Cup '06 prediction, by the way. Only my personal preferences)

But Argentina has always its place, mate.. ~:cheers:

P.S. Greece had truly deserved their trophy on Euro '04. I was a fan of their wall-like defense and accurate counter attacks tactic. Pity that they could not keep up with that style.

Ja'chyra

11-15-2005, 10:00

Gah!! We're not going. Oh well, so long as you-know-who doesn't win I'll be happy enough.

English assassin

11-15-2005, 11:51

Gah!! We're not going. Oh well, so long as you-know-who doesn't win I'll be happy enough.

Ah yes, it must be great being Scottish when England qualify for the world cup, so many teams to support, Cameroon, Nigeria, Portugal, Sweden...~;)

England will lose in the semi finals, to Germany, on penalties. David Beckham will take the first penalty and will somehow manage to hoof the ball into a low earth orbit.

miho

11-15-2005, 14:36

England will lose in the semi finals, to Germany, on penalties. David Beckham will take the first penalty and will somehow manage to hoof the ball into a low earth orbit.
That's most likely gonna happen.

P.S. Greece had truly deserved their trophy on Euro '04. I was a fan of their wall-like defense and accurate counter attacks tactic. Pity that they could not keep up with that style.
Come on! What they did on the Euro '04 was the worst massacre of football I've ever seen. Czech republic and Portugal should have been in the finals. But they did play their tactic well and deserved the victory.

LeftEyeNine

11-15-2005, 15:59

Come on! What they did on the Euro '04 was the worst massacre of football I've ever seen. Czech republic and Portugal should have been in the finals. But they did play their tactic well and deserved the victory.

Czechs were my favorites as well, I absolutely agree on them..

However I'm not talking about football murder here. I'm a tactics stuff addict, and Greece absolutely prepared a cup-long tutorial named : " For Dummies : How to be a Tournament Team "

Something that modern Netherlands - unfortunately - has to work hard on. Their last generation lacked team work so hard that whole team was rebellious against each other and their coaches. However, the new generation is young and therefore enthusiastic. Not predicting anything before the group drawings but if they can lean on the ones like Cocu, Van Der Sar and Van Bommel, these brilliant young guns may hit the bullseye..

Mouzafphaerre

11-15-2005, 16:06

.
Ahh, memories! ~:) In Mexico '86 we had a bet with the grocer: I for Brazil or Argentina and he Italy or England. I had a free coke in the end. ~D
.

Geoffrey S

11-15-2005, 16:50

England will lose in the semi finals, to Germany, on penalties. David Beckham will take the first penalty and will somehow manage to hoof the ball into a low earth orbit.
Can't imagine that; I mean, it's not as if there's a precedent...~:rolleyes:

Something that modern Netherlands - unfortunately - has to work hard on. Their last generation lacked team work so hard that whole team was rebellious against each other and their coaches. However, the new generation is young and therefore enthusiastic. Not predicting anything before the group drawings but if they can lean on the ones like Cocu, Van Der Sar and Van Bommel, these brilliant young guns may hit the bullseye..
Anyone in charge of the Dutch team needs to be more adventurous when it comes to selecting players. This has been happening more often lately, thankfully, but it takes guts to place far more emphasis on new players than on the recognized overpaid stars.

Dutch_guy

11-15-2005, 17:48

Czechs were my favorites as well, I absolutely agree on them..

Yeah, well, after the Portugese beat us then I I too wanted them to win;)
'
And I really hated the fact that Greece won the tournament....they did not deserve it, what ever you might say - they didn't.

Something that modern Netherlands - unfortunately - has to work hard on. Their last generation lacked team work so hard that whole team was rebellious against each other and their coaches. However, the new generation is young and therefore enthusiastic. Not predicting anything before the group drawings but if they can lean on the ones like Cocu, Van Der Sar and Van Bommel, these brilliant young guns may hit the bullseye..

I sure hope they do LEN ~D , though I'd put Van der Vaart up in the list of names too.
He is just what the team needs , a leader, once the above mentioned retire, he'll be one of the most important players.

:balloon2:

Viking

11-15-2005, 21:37

Don't think Norway have much of a chance against the Czechs.

You wait and see until tomorrow...

When I think of it, we actually beated Brazil 2-1 in the WC in '98. ~:eek:

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 12:58

Congrats to you Aussies....really wanted to see you do it and it was nailbiting watching reports of the pens as they were taken on SkySportsNews. It'll be great to see you at the World Cup.

Alrowan

11-16-2005, 13:24

im so [expletive]ing happy right now, i gettin piss drunk and laughing and cheering all night!!! Aussies are goin to Germany!!!!!!!!! THE 32 YEAR CURSE HAS BEEN BROKEN!!!

HUZZAH!!!!

AUSTRALIA

Ser Clegane

11-16-2005, 13:45

Congrats Australia!! ~:cheers:

Quite a surprise - and definitely a pleasant one ~:)

Looking forward to seeing lots of Aussies visiting us here in Germany next year ~:cool:

Dutch_guy

11-16-2005, 14:53

Wow Hiddink managed to do it with them too ?

that is good news.

:balloon2:

Alrowan

11-16-2005, 15:37

oh bugger my head feeels ;like its 150 kgs and my extremities are bumb, but i feel GOOOOD AUSTRALIA IS In THE WC!!!!!!11

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 16:32

Place your bets lads....Bahrain or Trinidad and Tobago? I think I'd like to see the Soca Boys make it, but it should be a laugh either way.

Dutch_guy

11-16-2005, 16:53

I'm betting on T&T, would be great if they'd manage to make it !

:balloon2:

LeftEyeNine

11-16-2005, 17:31

Trinidad & Tobago has a player named Marvin Andrews. I know that he is a solid defender, however I could never watch him. I'd like to see him playing..

I wonder if Collin Samuel is capped for T&T national team as well..

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 19:11

Well, that's two down. Congratulations T&T! The final 3 will be determined tonight, although you can pretty much put Spain in there.

Dutch_guy

11-16-2005, 19:24

T&T is through too ?

I managed to miss both matches...to make matter worse , I've heard the Aussies made quite a show.

So how did T&T play, and does anyone know if South-Korea is qualified for the WC

That would make the total Dutch coaches in the WC 4 ( Holland,T&T,Australia,S-Korea )

:balloon2:

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 19:30

South Korea got through. Trinidad played ok, but I think it was more that Bahrain were awful - I don't see T&T posing much of a challenge at next year's tournament I'm sorry to say.

Dutch_guy

11-16-2005, 19:39

Really, no one expect them to get far, no one expects them to even win a single match ~;)

It's just that they are there that counts.

:balloon2:

Papewaio

11-16-2005, 20:38

Australians in Germany ... two beer drinking cultures and a side event of football. ~D

Aussie: Do you have any Australian in ya?
German Women: No.
Aussie: Do you want some?

And that is the epitomy of Aussie pick up lines. ~:joker:

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 21:17

The Turks are out - valiant effort though.

LeftEyeNine

11-16-2005, 21:47

Swiss players attacked assistanct coach Mehmet Ozdilek and when Alpay tried to interfere the assault he was assaulted too. That's what I just saw on TV..

These Swiss players are pity kids that pretend to be playing football..

Fatih Terim just called the referee of both matched being "corrupted".

A world cup is always enjoyable. But I don't think Switzerland will prove anything on such childish stuff. They don't deserve a single point or even a pinch of reputation after all of that. Our "Democracy tutors" are falling one by one, quite interesting ~D

Congratulations to all going to World Cup.. You know who I imply an exclusion for..

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-16-2005, 21:57

Well I'd love to have seen the game, but Eurosport showed Slovakia-Spain instead - I mean what's the point?!? I thought the Turks would win to be honest.

LeftEyeNine

11-16-2005, 22:18

We beat them to hell.. But it all started with an imaginary penalty given to Swiss at 20th second of the game..

The team locked Swiss into their own half until it was 3 - 1. But then it was that supernatural touch of Tolga (centre back) trying to prevent the ball going into touch which put the ball into the feet of the Swiss forwards. That made 3 -2.

Tuncay - a constant fighter - knocked his 3rd header goal of the match when it was 88th minute. It was 90 + 2 when Tumer (that struck killer goals against Denmark, Ukraine and Albania) was on a 23 - 24 metres long freekick. I don't remember any more stressful moment than this one lately. The angle was perfect the spot was perfect, his left foot was perfect but he shot the ball into the wall and all our dreams faded.

Switzerland who conceded only 7 in whole qualification group matches saw 4 goals at once. But they were the schizophrenic De Bleecker and supernatural Tolga that handed the game into Swiss team at once..

All kinds of sports are games of win or lose - sometimes draw. That's the nature of it. I'd happy to congratulate the rival team after a defeat - like I did after our pathetic defeat at the hands of Latvia before Euro '04. However, I seriously doubt that Swiss players are aware of what they are doing.

Dutch_guy

11-16-2005, 22:23

too bad Turkey is out...

The Swiss probably won't contribute any thing meaningfull to the tournament, though I wouldn't mind if the Dutch managed to get into the same group as them ;)

But anyway, I feel with you... some time ago, IIRC WC 2002 we weren't there either...makes for a long and boring summer.

:balloon2:

Quid

11-16-2005, 23:50

Swiss players attacked assistanct coach Mehmet Ozdilek and when Alpay tried to interfere the assault he was assaulted too. That's what I just saw on TV....

Obviously, we have seen two very different camera shots then...

These Swiss players are pity kids that pretend to be playing football...

Oh look who's talking...putting up posters at the airport insulting player's mothers and throwing eggs and other such things at the players as well as their bus is not at all immature then...

Fatih Terim just called the referee of both matched being "corrupted"....

Oh there comes a surprise...why can't he take a loss like a real man...

A world cup is always enjoyable. But I don't think Switzerland will prove anything on such childish stuff. They don't deserve a single point or even a pinch of reputation after all of that. Our "Democracy tutors" are falling one by one, quite interesting ~D

And Turkey clearly deserves all the reputation for fair play and a job well done...oh...almost forgot...you should also get first prize in Human Rights...

Congratulations to all going to World Cup.. You know who I imply an exclusion for..

Generally...
I am not really certain you have watched the same match as I just did. I am glad we are in the WC and not you. I have never seen so much hatred on TV as I have just witnessed. I always knew that Turkey is hell to play in an away match (meant in a fair way) but that is just beyond the bounds of any justified rivalry.

It's easy for your coach to just blame others and accuse them of all sorts of things (good tactic) but maybe he should be looking at himself for once. The amount of bollocks he has been spreading is rather laughable at best and pure hate at worst.

I find it funny that one of your players went to the Swiss cabin to apologise for the punch up in front of the cabins and the general atrocious behaviour of the public and players alike (this coming from the horse's mouth, so to speak).

Also, I have for the first time tonight seen scenes from the Swiss Team's arrival and I would immediately be banned permanantly from this board if I only repeated a single syllable of the 'welcoming posters' that were there.

Don't get me wrong, you won today, and you did well, for the most part. You played rough and we have to get used to that first. The atmosphere and the tremendous support is almost unbeatable worldwide in Turkey. You're an emotional people which can help to miraculously lift your team. But let us be honest...you lost, you don't deserve to go to the WC. Take it as it is and do better next time. DOn't be a sore loser...because I don't like to be a winner rubbing it in...

Well played...

Quid

LeftEyeNine

11-17-2005, 00:25

Make sure I watched the same match, Quid.. I agree with Terim on that : "They are professional provocators"

That's another simple, over-repeated and annoying cornerstone of football but, two penalties (one given to the Swiss without *any* touch, and several we were not in this match) make so much difference..

I can't do anything much about the fans. Fair Play (which has a referee and two rival players in the logo) aims the ones on the pitch being fair first. You know assaulting an assistant coach and a player is not Fair Play.. You may well see in previous posts that I refused to defend Turkish murderers that were pretending to be fans.. My subject is the professionals of football..

Fatih Terim is known well to avoid blaming referee for all his career...Note down..He's not a cry-after-defeat guy.

Take it as it is and do better next time. DOn't be a sore loser...because I don't like to be a winner rubbing it in...

Latvia played so well and won their way to Euro '04 over us. Fair from the start all over the pitch.. No referee plays.. No press insults over coach..

I'm not a sore loser. Though I'd recommend you to rub this win in - few time to enjoy until summer, you know ~;) ... Enough said..

Do the Spaniards qualify after that draw?

asilv

11-17-2005, 01:09

Do the Spaniards qualify after that draw?
Yes

Qualified teams:

Africa (CAF)

:angola: Angola
:cotedivoire: Côte d'Ivoire
:ghana: Ghana
:togo: Togo
:tunisia: Tunisia

Asia (AFC)

:iran: Iran
:japan: Japan
:southkorea: Korea Republic
:saudiarabia: Saudi Arabia

Europe (UEFA)

:croatia: Croatia
:czechrepublic: Czech Republic
:england: England
:france: France
:germany: Germany (host)
:italy: Italy
:netherlands: Netherlands
:poland: Poland
:portugal: Portugal
:yugoslavia: Serbia and Montenegro
:spain: Spain
:switzerland: Switzerland
:sweden: Sweden
:ukraine: Ukraine

North America, Central America & Caribbean (CONCACAF)

:costarica: Costa Rica
:mexico: Mexico
:trinidad-tobago: Trinidad and Tobago
:unitedstates: United States

South America (CONMEBOL)

:argentina: Argentina
:brazil: Brazil
:ecuador: Ecuador
:paraguay: Paraguay

Oceania (OFC)

:australia: Australia

LeftEyeNine

11-17-2005, 03:31

No Colombia ?!

This World Cup is getting worse and worse..

Watch out for Ivory Coast and Iran.. I predict these teams doing Senegal-2002 surprise in Germany..

Quid

11-17-2005, 07:32

Make sure I watched the same match, Quid.. I agree with Terim on that : "They are professional provocators"

We will have to agree to disagree then because all I could see in the past two weeks was Mr. Tarim provoking the Swiss...but never mind...neither of us will change our mind about him...

That's another simple, over-repeated and annoying cornerstone of football but, two penalties (one given to the Swiss without *any* touch, and several we were not in this match) make so much difference..

The Penalty for the Swiss WAS a handball. The only question is...did the ball go to the hand or vice versa. The referee thought the latter. End of discussion. You got a penalty too, I don't know what you're whining about. None of the other incidents were anywhere near another penalty but poor acting on the part of the Turks...

I can't do anything much about the fans. Fair Play (which has a referee and two rival players in the logo) aims the ones on the pitch being fair first. You know assaulting an assistant coach and a player is not Fair Play.. You may well see in previous posts that I refused to defend Turkish murderers that were pretending to be fans.. My subject is the professionals of football..

Right, and how many yellow cards have been handed out in both matches? This implies that neither team really played all that 'fair'. In fact, usually the defending side (i.e. Switzerland in Turkey) gets more cards. You rarely see an attacking side getting as many as the Turks did...

We are not talking about Turkish murderers. We're simply talking about players and fans alike behaving in at least sort of a civilised manner. This did NOT happen. I already apologised for whatever the Swiss may or may not have done to the Turks in Switzerland (although I doubt anything ever happened at all) but what I saw yesterday on telly was ALL the Turks and NONE of the Swiss...

Fatih Terim is known well to avoid blaming referee for all his career...Note down..He's not a cry-after-defeat guy...

He is in this one!

'Nough said!

Quid

InsaneApache

11-17-2005, 14:12

UK based players who are likely to play at Germany 2006 (England players not included)

Argentina
Hernan Crespo (Chelsea), Gabriel Heinze (Manchester United)

Australia
Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough), Lucas Neill (Blackburn), Tim Cahill (Everton), Tony Popovic (Crystal Palace), Harry Kewell (Liverpool), Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough), John Filan (Wigan), Stan Lazaridis (Birmingham), Craig Moore (Newcastle), Luke Wilkshire (Bristol City), Josip Skoko (Wigan), Tim Cahill (Everton)

Brazil
Gilberto Silva (Arsenal)

Croatia
Dado Prso (Rangers), Ivica Mornar (Portsmouth)

Czech Republic
Petr Cech (Chelsea), Milan Baros (Aston Villa), Jiri Jarosik (Birmingham)

Ivory Coast
Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Kolo Toure (Arsenal), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal)

France
Djbril Cisse (Liverpool), Claude Makelele (Chelsea), William Gallas (Chelsea), Jean-Alain Boumsong (Newcastle), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United)

Germany
Dietmar Hamann (Liverpool), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Robert Huth (Chelsea)

Ghana
Michael Essien (Chelsea)

Holland
Edwin Van Der Sar (Manchester United), Edgar Davids (Tottenham), Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Manchester United), Mario Melchiot (Birmingham City), Arjen Robben (Chelsea), Wilfrid Bouma (Aston Villa), Robin Van Persie (Arsenal), Andy van der Meyde (Everton)

Japan
Junichi Inamoto (West Brom), Hideoshi Nakata (Bolton), Shunsuke Nakamura (Celtic)

Mexico
Jared Borgetti (Bolton)

Poland
Jerzy Dudek (Liverpool), Artur Boruc (Celtic), Kamil Kosowski (Southampton), Tomsaz Hajto (Southampton)

Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Ricardo Cavalho (Chelsea), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Luis Boa Morte (Fulham)

Tunisia
Hamed Namouchi (Rangers), Rahdi Jaidi (Bolton)

Serbia and Montenegro
Zvonomir Vukic (Portsmouth)

South Korea
Park Ji Sung (Manchester United), Lee Young-Pyo (Tottenham)

Spain
Luis Garcia (Liverpool), Xabi Alonso (Liverpool), Fernando Morientes (Liverpool), Jose Reina (Liverpool), Albert Luque (Newcastle), Jose Antonio Reyes (Arsenal)

Sweden
Olof Mellberg (Sweden), Freddie Ljungberg (Arsenal)

Switzerland
Philippe Senderos (Arsenal)

Trinidad and Tobago
Chris Birchall (Port Vale), Russel Latapy (Falkirk), Jason Scotland (St Johnstone), Stern John (Derby), Kenwyne Jones (Southampton), Kelvin Jack (Dundee), Marvin Andrews (Rangers), Dennis Lawrence (Wrexham), Carlos Edwards (Luton), Shaka Hislop (West Ham), Brent Sancho (Gillingham),

USA
Claudio Reyna (Manchester City), Brian McBride (Fulham), Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham), Bobby Convey (Reading), Tim Howard (Manchester United), Eddie Lewis (Leeds), Jonathan Spector (Manchester United)

link (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4442898.stm)

Looks like the UK will have a lot of recognizable names in Germany next year. I'm getting excited already.

Alrowan

11-17-2005, 15:31

i knew a lot of aussies played overseas, but thats suprising to see so many over in england, i guess they neeed a stronger league here where the pay and level of play is up there with the best :-/

Tricon

11-17-2005, 15:38

I haven't seen the game (Turkey-Switzerland), just parts of the aftermath. So I cannot comment on who provoked whom...
Now, I understand that soccer is a thing of national honor in turkey, but :FANS STOP TAKING MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS.
This is at least the sixth time (in the past three years) I noticed turkish fans acting like hoodlums and wreaking havoc (usually involving Galatarasay Istanbul fans, but also Fenerbahce Istanbul fans and others).
It's not right. This shames the people I've met as gracious hosts on several ocasions.

Edit: Note that I do not comment on ANY players or trainers action.

miho

11-17-2005, 15:40

Thats nice to know that the preimier league and the scottish league have so many good players. Anyway I counted that Chelsea has 10,Man. Utd. 9 and Liverpool 8 players.

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-17-2005, 15:42

From PlanetFootball.com:

Swiss players have exposed the extent of the abuse dished out by Turkey during Wednesday's World Cup qualifying play-off.

Defender Stephane Grichting was hospitalised after receiving a kick in the stomach at the end of the match and was treated for a perforated urinary channel.

Violence erupted in the tunnel following Switzerland's qualification, with Swiss players claiming they were attacked by their Turkish opposition and a number of security guards.

Johan Lonfat, Johann Vogel, Benjamin Huggel and trainer Erich Burgener were all caught in the fracas.

"It is a scandal," fumed Swiss coach Kobi Kuhn. "I never saw it, nobody saw it - Turkish police officers stopped television crews from filming what happened in the tunnel."

Sochaux's Lonfat added: "After the match, the players were pushed around in the tunnel leading to the changing rooms. There, the Swiss players were worked over by Turkish players and police officers.

"Grichting got a kick in the privates and was bleeding. I was attacked. It is incredible."

Sepp Blatter, who is himself Swiss, has revealed his outrage at the events and has threatened to exclude Turkey from the 2010 World Cup.

It has also emerged that the Swiss government are considering legal action. Spokesman Raphael Saborit confirmed: "We can't exclude the possibility of there being action.

"We are seeing what we can do or say but initially we need to be put in touch with the people concerned."

Now I didn't see the game, but I've seen most of what was filmed afterwards. Really funny stuff, but is it me or did a Swiss player start it? They ran off the pitch, he kicked the Turkish coaching staff member and then it all erupted from that. It doesn't matter what happened on the pitch, the Swiss appear to have started the trouble afterwards, so I don't see why the Turks appear to be getting punished. I think Sepp Blatter, being Swiss, is not the right man to preside over this case. I'm just calling it how I saw it.

Also, I've heard that neither fans caused any trouble. I know Turkey have a reputation, but I really don't think they can be solely blamed for last night.

LeftEyeNine

11-17-2005, 18:34

Now I didn't see the game, but I've seen most of what was filmed afterwards. Really funny stuff, but is it me or did a Swiss player start it? They ran off the pitch, he kicked the Turkish coaching staff member and then it all erupted from that. It doesn't matter what happened on the pitch, the Swiss appear to have started the trouble afterwards, so I don't see why the Turks appear to be getting punished. I think Sepp Blatter, being Swiss, is not the right man to preside over this case. I'm just calling it how I saw it.

Also, I've heard that neither fans caused any trouble. I know Turkey have a reputation, but I really don't think they can be solely blamed for last night.

And you know what ? FIFA president Sepp Blatter organized a press briefing without seeing ANY official reports blaming Turkey for the whole scene and told that we could be excluded for further organizations..

That's shame times shame. I saw Number 14 running into the tunnel kicking the assistant coach, then Alpay kicks the one in his front and the nottorious 14 assaults Alpay.

And it is all since we are not very humanitarian.. This is being backroom stuff, though. I don't want to comment any further related to politics.

However, it is obvious that Blatter is a Swiss more than being FIFA president.

InsaneApache

11-17-2005, 19:33

Blatters a bloody disgrace and should resign with immediate effect. He has been an embarrassment for years....remember the envelopes under the door thingy and the NZ rep who 'changed' his mind (after a large amount of money was deposited into his acount) so that Germany got to hold the championship?

The mans a menace.

Louis VI the Fat

11-17-2005, 22:51

I saw at the news that the Swiss team coach (as in bus) was shot at on it's way to the airport? ~:eek:

Quid

11-18-2005, 00:47

I have just seen a report on tv what initially led to the little punch up in front of the cabins between Turkey and Switzerland. The oh-so-holy Mehmet Ozdilek intitally kicked Streller in the legs when the latter was trying to escape to the tunnel. THEN and only then Huggel did the same to the assistent coach. Alpay, meanwhile went for another kick in the tunnel and Huggel charged him also. The assistent coach then charged Huggel and the whole thing escalated.

Funny, apparently those 2 or 3 seconds were never shown on Turkish tv; only the assult on the assistant coach. Furthermore, camaramen who were trying to film the whole incident in order to use it as evidence were hindered in doing so by being shoved around. The shoving is also recorded...and I am not talking Swiss cameramen. It happened as the ARD (German channel) interviewed one of the Swiss players.

The Turkish goalkeeper also led first a verbal assult towards our coach followed by running into our doctor and charging into the tunnel to join the party. It's all recorded.

One Swiss player had to be hospitalised over night and is now wearing a catheder due to a kick in the stomach.

I will expect harsh punishment for the Turkish Football Association as well as bans on some of their players. Also, from what I have seen, Huggel will also need to be banned for the charge on the Assistant Coach.

Although it might be exciting to some to see a good old punch up, this does NOT belong to football or any other sport. It is a disgrace to fairplay and should be dealt with harshly for all parties involved.

The fact that Sepp Blatter is Swiss has very little to do with his reaction. It's about time that FIFA is reacting to such blatant ignorance of fairlplay. I am sick and tired of hearing and seeing fans beating each other up and destroying whole city blocks.

Louis IV the Fat

I have not heard anything of this. Neither from any of the delegation nor in any newsreport. I reckon if it did happen, we would have heard of it by now. Chance are, this is just another prank to heat the situation up further.

Quid

Strike For The South

11-18-2005, 01:06

USA ALL THE WAY Heck it even rhymes We are gods choosen we shall domanate. PS Whats The Wrold Cup?

Tricon

11-18-2005, 01:25

USA ALL THE WAY Heck it even rhymes We are gods choosen we shall domanate. PS Whats The Wrold Cup?

It's something only our women will ever win, because our men cannot compete with the worlds best(no matter what the FIA standings).

Louis VI the Fat

11-18-2005, 01:41

PS Whats The Wrold Cup?It's the football world cup.

The one where 'world' actually means world and which is about the kind of football that involves kicking an actual ball with your foot. ~;)

Louis VI the Fat

11-18-2005, 01:58

I have not heard anything of this. Neither from any of the delegation nor in any newsreport. I reckon if it did happen, we would have heard of it by now. Chance are, this is just another prank to heat the situation up further.It probably is then. I did see some footage of the player bus with what looked suspiciously like two bullet holes. But there is a compelling logic to the statement that if it did happen, the Swiss would've heard of it by now.

Anyway, congratulations. I'm already looking forward to playing the Swiss again like we did in Portugal - we need the points. http://matousmileys.free.fr/swiss.gif

LeftEyeNine

11-18-2005, 04:05

Actually we just got trapped the way we were told to be exposed during the 4 days-time after the match.

Play on the nerves and keep off the touch.. We should've known that for sure..

Quid

11-18-2005, 07:19

Anyway, congratulations. I'm already looking forward to playing the Swiss again like we did in Portugal - we need the points. http://matousmileys.free.fr/swiss.gif

I must thank you for letting us have the youngest player ever to score in a European Cup; this time, it won't be so easy...with or without Henry...~;)

Actually we just got trapped the way we were told to be exposed during the 4 days-time after the match.

Play on the nerves and keep off the touch.. We should've known that for sure..

Not sure what you mean, mate. Care to rephrase ?

Quid

Soulforged

11-18-2005, 08:36

Ah yes, you refer to the match between the U-19 teams.. That was a memorable match, truly memorable..No man I was refering to the match in the World Cup, unless my brother, who is a real fanatic, informed me wrong...

Soulforged, let me tell you that Leo Messi has already been one of my favorites. Every 2 or 3 years a new Argentinian player is dubbed as the new Maradona but this kid is the only one that Maradona told watching him was very enjoyable.LOL- Don't believe anything that Maradona sais friend...He has being saying this of every player with name that I know. First Saviola, then Riquelme (my favourite), then D'Alesandro, then Tevez and now Messi. But yes I agree with you he has something special.

I love Argentinian football a lot, just remembered how we failed on Ortega (I'm a Fenerbahce fan). However, Brazil is my all-time favorite. These guys dance on the ball, one of the reasons I love football is that it is the most aesthetic sports of all. And Brazilian feet definitely prove that..Yes well some brazilians are born for this (though it goes against my believes). But they're not so go tacticians, they're good dribblers and attackers but they lack on the back.

I like Turkey's team for two reasons. 1- Because it's an arising team (as long as they don't defeat us~;) )2- Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend (I would let you guess who my enemy is~D )~:cheers:

Dutch_guy

11-18-2005, 14:52

Yes well some brazilians are born for this (though it goes against my believes). But they're not so go tacticians, they're good dribblers and attackers but they lack on the back.

Well the worst Brazilian attacker is the goalie, that's how they base their team on - their attackers, and the worst needs to be the goalie.

That;s not at all the case today, but that was said of the Brazilian team- and I found it quite appropriate, knowing their dribbling skills ;)

:balloon2:

LeftEyeNine

11-18-2005, 15:09

The offical reports about Turkey - Switzerland match is said to be including heavy accusations over Turkey and around 3 or 5 matches of home ban (SP ?) is probable. Exclusion from the next tournament has low chances, they say.

I'm still shocked at how things grew that much wrong. We were just like grizzly bears trapped under a hornet hive.

English assassin

11-18-2005, 15:25

No disrespect LEN, because England can't exactly give anyone lessons in football hooliganism, (or rather, we can, sadly), but I can't say any of this is a complete surprise. My impression from English teams playing European football in Turkey is that the clubs are perfectly happy with the sort of bear-pit atmosphere that develops, and if you dine with the devil, sooner or later he is going to get out of control...

In other words this sort of thing was bound to get out of hand eventually, especially if as M says some of the Turkish police are maybe also too wrapped up in the game and not enough in their job.

Not intended as a criticism of Turks generally, as I say England too has a problem, albeit maybe a different one.

LeftEyeNine

11-18-2005, 16:00

Well appreciated, EA..

We were told so much happening in Switzerland that the atmosphere in Turkey was impossible to avoid.. Do not inquire whether it is so important or not, if the coach gets sworn at, Magnin fakes striking the bench and, fans whistle off our national anthem. These could happen and they did.

Sorry, we are emotional ones. And you absolutely know how to arise it.

Tricon

11-18-2005, 17:34

What really ticks me is that the turkish media did a lot to heat this thing up further. From what I'm reading most turkish papers/TV channels did not show Özdilek tripping the swiss player (who a few seconds later kicked him). That is feeding missinformation. And, since numerous other TV stations are filming the thing, it's really not that smart. (It's like every country seems to need a paper that goes above and beyond the call of feeding BS to the public, be it The Sun,BILD, Enquirer, or as in this case Sabah- but this is maybe a topic for a different thread)

Anyway, over all this mess, the Trinidad/Tobago- Bahrain game seems to be totally forgotten. Again, i could not see the game... was it a legitimate goal the referee did not accept, or was he right?

Quid

11-18-2005, 19:43

Well, am glad that this mess is finally being sorted and the accusations can stop. More and more is now being analysed and processed so that something like this won't happen again in the near future.

I, too, find it dispicable when so-called fans whistle during the visitor's national anthem. I, too, was annoyed at the fact that the Swiss did it during the Turkish one. At least, however, the Turkish national anthem could still be heard ~;).

I completely agree with Tricon on this one. It was the media falsely portraying the incidents and trying to create a mob that would be ready to lynch any Swiss in the vicinity of the stadium (probably a gross exaggeration). We all know that many Turks are steered by their emotions and the newspapers and the tv were banking on that. To intimidate was apparently more important to them than fairplay.

With Turkish newspapers today coming out with the truth I can't help but be a little cynical. It just appears that there is a lot of back-peddaling going on at the moment.

I don't think Turkey deserves an outright ban either. I, too, would think that of too harsh. Something has to be done about the media and such 'hate campaigns' against visiting teams, however. Some of our players (at least one) will also need to be banned for attacking one of the Turkish physios. No matter what happened before, such attacks are not acceptable by anyone.

As to the Bahrein - T and T match...I have watched the goal disallowed...I would have given it...the player at no time even touched the goalkeeper. The ref, however, could not have seen it. I seem to remember that George Best had such a goal disallowed once also.

Quid

EDIT: I must also apologise to you, LEN, I just got increasingly frustrated with all the things you said that were simple not true or only partially true. I now know, of course, that you were not fed the same information as the rest of Europe.

LeftEyeNine

11-18-2005, 20:15

Quid, grab the beer, mate !

~:cheers:

Divico

11-18-2005, 21:21

And considering that some of the most successful and respected current and retired palyers on the Swiss national team have names like Kubilay , Hakan and Murat, that was really a stupid incident last Wednesday.

~:cheers:

LeftEyeNine

11-18-2005, 22:20

'Cause they were Turkish, mate.. ~;)

InsaneApache

11-22-2005, 08:35

an illuminating article in yesterdays times..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-1880959,00.html

I’ve just spoken to the heroic officer who bravely attacked Eric Cantona when Galatasaray played Manchester United and he says this incident has made him feel ashamed of his badge.”

~:joker:

Quid

11-22-2005, 11:38

Lol ! This just says it all. I rest my case...

Quid

Fragony

11-22-2005, 11:57

Ahhhhhh worldcup! I don't think the Dutch team will get very far, but it is a great worldcup for dutch football as a product. Of the 32 participants 4 have a dutch coach ~:cheers:

I will be hoping for what I always hope, a finale between Holland and Brazil.

Mouzafphaerre

11-22-2005, 12:08

.
*another old fart plug*

Gullit, Rijkaard and Van Basten were youngter players when I used to watch the world cups.
.

The Blind King of Bohemia

11-22-2005, 18:02

LeftEyeNine

11-22-2005, 19:18

Fragony

11-22-2005, 19:26

I remember Van Basten scoring for Ajax with a full volley.. One of the most memorable moments of soccer history..

Well.. Then he just stood up and jumped like a junior school student to celebrate it.. I think I'd run out of the stadium and take a marathon tour around the city if I'd score such a tremendous goal.. Time has changed ~:)

Kind of sad Turkey isn't playing, although the reaction on their defeat wasn't very chivalrous. Still a team that deserved to play the WC if you ask me, must be sour to win and lose at the same time.

Tricon

11-22-2005, 20:57

Those three you just mentioned are true legends, with Basten scoring one of the best goals ever in a final against the USSR in the euro chapionships of 88 and not forgetting Rik spitting in Voller's perm at Italia '90. Totally disgusting but for some reason extremely funny, for me anyway!

I still remember that, too. Disgusting. After that I could never see him without remebering that scene. I never liked him afterwards.
I just recently learned that I will actually be in Germany during the entire World Cup! Tickets are out of the question, but at least I can party in a country that apreciates soccer.

InsaneApache

12-05-2005, 15:31

The draws been made!!!!!!!!

http://www.worldfootballnetwork.co.uk/

:knight: ~:joker:

Dutch_guy

12-05-2005, 16:03

that was great, thanks for sharing !

( on a side note.. I do hope germany draws an unbeatable group ~:joker: )

:balloon2:

Louis VI the Fat

12-05-2005, 16:14

~;) ~:cheers:

Good fun, and quite flattering, really, from my perspective. I mean that final draw to complete that group of death for Germany...

Oh, I do so hope to play the Germans and hammer them 4-0 on their own turf..:knight:

asilv

12-09-2005, 22:15

Groups:
https://img479.imageshack.us/img479/889/draw1ue.jpg (https://imageshack.us)

The Blind King of Bohemia

12-09-2005, 22:35

I'm happy, would have loved Togo or Angola though. Groups C and E are the groups of death, especially C.

Sasaki Kojiro

12-09-2005, 22:39

So how does this work? 2 teams from each group advance?

Louis VI the Fat

12-09-2005, 23:18

Yo, Quid!!!

Anyway, congratulations. I'm already looking forward to playing the Swiss again like we did in Portugal - we need the points. http://matousmileys.free.fr/swiss.gifCheck out the draw! Looks like France's first three points are in the bag indeed! ~;p

Togo, Korea and Switzerland are ok teams, and I wouldn't underestimate any of them. But the draw could gone far, far worse for France. ~:)

Group C is definately the traditional Group of Death.

So how does this work? 2 teams from each group advance?Yep.

Strike For The South

12-10-2005, 00:50

Usa Usa Usa

Dutch_guy

12-10-2005, 01:54

Hmm looks like we haven't had any luck with our group...the only easy game we have is against Bosnia H.

Let's hope we don't get knocked out in the first round...that would be humiliating ...

:balloon2:

The Wizard

12-10-2005, 02:41

Usa Usa Usa

Oh this is gonna get painful... US is with Italy and the Czechs... that's going to be harsh :bounce: :netherlands:

TheSilverKnight

12-10-2005, 02:42

Usa Usa Usa

Do you really think the USA will have any chance with Italy AND the Czech Republic in their group? Dream off, SFTS...

Strike For The South

12-10-2005, 04:02

Do you really think the USA will have any chance with Italy AND the Czech Republic in their group? Dream off, SFTS...

we shall fight you commie DONT TREAD ON ME

Sasaki Kojiro

12-10-2005, 04:03

Do you really think the USA will have any chance with Italy AND the Czech Republic in their group? Dream off, SFTS...

They're tiny, obviously their soccer teams can't be any good.

Byzantine Prince

12-10-2005, 04:08

They're tiny, obviously their soccer teams can't be any good.
OMG, LMAO!

JAG

12-10-2005, 04:33

lol Sasaki Kojiro, that was brilliant.

As for England, I think we could of had a worse group - by far, but that doesnt mean we have the easiest of groups. Sweden will be incredibly tricky.

Soulforged

12-10-2005, 04:38

It's time for vengenace against the Netherlands....muhahahahahaha~D !!:devil:
Seriously if France doesn't pass the first round now, I don't know when...I mean it has a great team.

And this is to sweet to be real, there could be a final match, for the first time in history, of Argentina vs. Brasil...:jumping: of course if both qualify as first in their groups, but still... :jumping:

The Wizard

12-10-2005, 04:47

They're tiny, obviously their soccer teams can't be any good.

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/images/smilies/rofl2.gif http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/images/smilies/rofl2.gif http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/images/smilies/rofl2.gif

Ahh, that was nice. Nice laugh.

Anyways, you Argentinians and your foul tactics will be pwnd this time >_<

TheSilverKnight

12-10-2005, 04:48

They're tiny, obviously their soccer teams can't be any good.

Mmmmhmmm...I'm sure...*cough*

AntiochusIII

12-10-2005, 05:11

They're tiny, obviously their soccer teams can't be any good.~D ~:joker: ~;)

Anyway, I wanna see the Dutch pwn the Argentinians again. lol

Things seem to be pretty easy for France, though.

*Goes back and waits to see the Czechs crushing the North Americans in about...7 months.* ~;p

Soulforged

12-10-2005, 05:13

Anyways, you Argentinians and your foul tactics will be pwnd this time >_<
We've been pwned last time if I remember correctly.
And come on, we're not the only one using "foul" tactics, it's football for God's sake, a lot of mans in a relatively tiny camp with dangerous tennis, it's a formula for making "mistakes".~;)

Quid

12-10-2005, 09:07

Yo, Quid!!!
Check out the draw! Looks like France's first three points are in the bag indeed! ~;p

Togo, Korea and Switzerland are ok teams, and I wouldn't underestimate any of them. But the draw could gone far, far worse for France. ~:)

Group C is definately the traditional Group of Death.

Yep.

It seems to be tradition that we're playing the French. In the last three draws we have had you now. European Cup, Qualifying, and now the World Cup. It's ok, though, we know we can win ~;). It's simple really, we need to beat Togo and South Korea and have a draw against France in order to be first or second in the group. All is possible. Germany, as usual, gets the 'easy' draw.

Group C is a bummer...but will be very interesting to watch.

Quid

Alrowan

12-10-2005, 15:00

ah damn aussies are up with brazil... here's hoping for #2 in the group, then a win vs whoever wins in group E

GreatEmperor

12-10-2005, 19:06

A win against the winner of group E? Did you see the group? It's one of the heaviest...

Van Basten likes the draw Holland gots...
Think it will be though

Alrowan

12-10-2005, 22:56

group E only has Italy and Czechs to really worry about, the USA hardly can match the class of most WC teams, and Ghana is usually a wild card

LeftEyeNine

12-11-2005, 06:02

Anybody seen in which group is Turkey seeded ?

:charge: :turkey:

Soulforged

12-11-2005, 06:07

Anyway, I wanna see the Dutch pwn the Argentinians again. lol

Hey *ouch* that hurts AntiochusIII :san_sad:. I thought you were on my side.:san_laugh: :san_wink:

InsaneApache

12-11-2005, 11:49

Got this of another footy site ...

have been claiming for a while now that FIFA rigs the qualification and the seeding to ensure that the "big countries" with money to spend and big TV audiences make it as far as possible. Now, it's apparent that the draw itself was fixed, and I don't know how anyone can deny that. I'm going to look through each group and expound upon how apparent the fix is.

GROUP A: FIFA has obviously gone into this World Cup with the intent of pushing hosts Germany as far as possible. We all remember some of the questionable decisions that put home team South Korea as far as they went in 2002, and it seems 2006 won't be very different. Germany probably did not deserve to be seeded in the first place. They did not have to slog through qualifcation, and their last tournament was a disgrace. They failed to manage a single win, scoring just two goals and even drawing 0-0 with 500 to 1 minnows Latvia. FIFA knows the lackluster hosts need a strong showing to keep tickets coming in. Unsurprisingly then, they have been dealt what I would consider the weakest qualification group. Germany only need to overcome Poland, Costa Rica, and Ecuador to move on. Hardly an epic task.

GROUP B: England had a bumpy road to qualification, but it seems FIFA have sought to ensure that it won't happen in Germany. While Sweden are a talented team and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most dangerous players in the world, it seems unlikely that England would be unable to best Paraguay and future whipping boys Trinidad and Tobago. They've also dealt a rematch against Sweden, making for lots of "Swede vs. Swedes" headlines - yeah, that's a coincidence.

GROUP C: FIFA and UEFA sure don't seem to like Holland very much. They were in the "group of death" in EURO 2004 and got a tough qualification draw with the Czechs and Romania. Then they were not seeded, despite topping that group. They've been drawn in another tough group with Argentina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Ivory Coast. I think Argentina and Holland will still move on, but they will be weakened by tougher games than the other "favored" teams face.

GROUP D: The idea that Mexico would be seeded was about as foolish as the decision not to seed Portugal. Mexico are a poor team; Borgetti is the only one with any class. They only come to play football against tiny nations. If they think there is going to be an actual contest, they come to foul. There is no doubt they will be mugged by the Portugese, who steamrolled through qualification and led Europe (along with the Czechs) with 35 goals in the process. They were also EURO finalists. Of course, they also have only 10 million people, so FIFA did not seed them. However, FIFA has ensured Mexico is almost certain to go through by pairing them with Iran and Angola, ensuring Mexico's large population of 106,000,000 stays tuned.

GROUP E: This is the real group of death. Any one of these teams could go through. The Czechs were EURO semi-finalists and, if not for the loss of Pavel Nedved to injury, could have won it all. But FIFA hates them: their population is too small and too poor for them to make any TV money or ticket money. They got the group of death in EURO 2004 and a tough group with Holland to qualify. FIFA dislikes the US in a similar way: they don't think we'll watch the games on TV or pay for them in Germany. They've put those two talented teams against Italy and Ghana to try and make sure at least one will not go through, and that even if they do, they will be exhausted by the tough matches.

GROUP F: You could put Brazil in a group with Argentina, Holland, and Italy and they would still go through. FIFA have taken advantage of Brazil's talent to knock out Croatia, Australia, and Japan. They are all pretty good teams, and capable of causing an expensive upset. Now, two of them cannot do so.

GROUP G: FIFA doesn't want a repeat of 2002 when France was knocked out in the group stage, so they've given the fading 1998 champions a pretty easy go of it here. Togo doesn't have any experiece at this level, and without the friendly refereeing of 2002, Korea doesn't have much of a chance. France and Switzerland to go through with little trouble.

GROUP H: If you look at the teams who deserved seeding the least, you'd have to put Spain at the top of that list. They had a miserable EURO, failing to get past the group stages. Their qualifaction was pathetic as well. Despite being drawn in a suspiciously easy group, they still failed to come out on top, and only squeaked into the finals through the playoffs. Big surprise then that FIFA has sought to make sure they progress by putting them against Saudi Arabia, whose last World Cup appearance was marked by conceding 8 goals against Germany, and Tunisia. I have little doubt Ukraine will beat them and top the group, but it would take a miracle for Spain to go out in the group stages again.

In conclusion, I think EURO 2004 scared the crap out of FIFA and UEFA. By the semi-finals, the biggest, richest, and most populous nations were gone, and small, poor Greece won it all. When you look at the draw here, it's hard to see that happening again. And it's hard to see these groups which so perfectly fit FIFA's aims coming about by accident.

I'm not too sure myself about this, nevertheless it's an interesting proposition. :san_shocked:

Ser Clegane

12-11-2005, 12:02

The top match of the first round - Argentina vs Holland will be here in Frankfurt ... and I didn't get any tickets :bigcry:

Dutch_guy

12-11-2005, 12:13

funny article, even find myself agreeing with him sometimes. though some of his arguments are very far fetched.

:balloon2:

Monarch

12-11-2005, 12:33

I'm English and cant wait for the Sweden game. It will be the last game of the group, winner will most likely play Poland and the loser will have the much harder tasks of taking on the hosts. Should be a great game of football and England in my opinion will just have the edge.

Also T&T should be a fun match, I read in the Telegraph we've never played them before and I dont believe I have seen them play either. I've heard most play in England.

PS. My first post in the Tavern :D

AntiochusIII

12-12-2005, 05:59

Hey *ouch* that hurts AntiochusIII :san_sad:. I thought you were on my side.:san_laugh: :san_wink: :san_tongue: I'm a rabid Ajax supporter, so...

Even though I'm not Dutch! :san_laugh:

GROUP E: This is the real group of death.
The Czechs
the US
They've put those two talented teams against
ItalyFunny. US more talented than Italy? Since when?

:P

I think this guy has a gripe with FIFA. Perhaps he's right or perhaps he isn't.

Fragony

12-12-2005, 12:56

It's time for vengenace against the Netherlands....muhahahahahaha~D !!:devil:

Oh still pissed of because our prince stole the only decent looking woman in Argentina huh :san_grin:

great matches ahead, we dutchies got a hard group but it will be fun!

LeftEyeNine

12-12-2005, 16:38

:netherlands: :netherlands: :netherlands:

Go Oranges GO GO !! HAIL TO THE TRICKIEST FEET OF EUROPE !! HOLAAAAAAA !!!!

:netherlands: :netherlands: :netherlands:

Fragony

12-12-2005, 16:49

:netherlands: :netherlands: :netherlands:

Go Oranges GO GO !! HAIL TO THE TRICKIEST FEET OF EUROPE !! HOLAAAAAAA !!!!

:netherlands: :netherlands: :netherlands:

I don't think we will get very far, our current team is not of the same quality as Argentina. I would be VERY happy if we won, but prospects are grim; we have some nice new meat but the world championship is out of our lague for now, especially considering that damned C! If we don't make it, I hope the Czech Republic will. I have fond memories of the last Holland vs Czech dual, best match of the championship if you ask me.

But thx for your support :)

InsaneApache

12-12-2005, 16:52

I like to think more Cumquat than Satsuma or Tangerine...

Go Cumquats Go!!! has a certain ring to it, don't ya think? :san_laugh:

Ser Clegane

12-12-2005, 16:52

Got this of another footy site ...

I'm not too sure myself about this, nevertheless it's an interesting proposition. :san_shocked:

I would say it's mostly paranoia - the guy who wrote this probably could have explained how the draw has been fixed with any combination of teams.

You can certainly argue about the motivation to seed certain teams ... but the rest is nothing more than a rant...

Monarch

12-12-2005, 16:58

I don't think we will get very far, our current team is not of the same quality as Argentina. I would be VERY happy if we won, but prospects are grim; we have some nice new meat but the world championship is out of our lague for now, especially considering that damned C! If we don't make it, I hope the Czech Republic will. I have fond memories of the last Holland vs Czech dual, best match of the championship if you ask me.

But thx for your support :)

You severly underestimate, have you seen Argentina play recently? Against England they were nothing special, and from what i've heard van basten has got the Dutch playing as a team, he's got somer good youth in there but also people like Nistelrooy to add experience. Holland for the semi finals at least I say.

InsaneApache

12-12-2005, 17:02

World Cup Predictor...

enjoy...

clicky (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/shared/spl/hi/predictor/html/football/world_cup_06/default.stm#)

Kickius Buttius

12-12-2005, 21:27

Ugh, the US got put in a brutal group. Plus, if we manage to qualify for the next round but only finish second in the group, we will get to face, most likely, Brazil. Not good.

England appears to have an early cakewalk, so I guess I can revel in their success. Ahh, England: the last refuge of American soccer fans.

I had high hopes for the US this time (not championship hopes- I am a realist), but the draw is just too harsh.

Who will win the cup? I'd love to see opinions.

Sasaki Kojiro

12-12-2005, 22:04

"Kickius Buttius" lmao

HunkinElvis

12-13-2005, 07:06

I'm sure FIFA doesn't rig the seedings:

...GROUP C: FIFA and UEFA sure don't seem to like Holland very much. They were in the "group of death" in EURO 2004 and got a tough qualification draw with the Czechs and Romania. Then they were not seeded, despite topping that group. They've been drawn in another tough group with Argentina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Ivory Coast. I think Argentina and Holland will still move on, but they will be weakened by tougher games than the other "favored" teams face...
Holland and Argentina have a lot of fans around the world. I don't see why FIFA would want to put them in a difficult group unless they want to see some exciting games.

...GROUP D: The idea that Mexico would be seeded was about as foolish as the decision not to seed Portugal. Mexico are a poor team; Borgetti is the only one with any class. They only come to play football against tiny nations. If they think there is going to be an actual contest, they come to foul. There is no doubt they will be mugged by the Portugese, who steamrolled through qualification and led Europe (along with the Czechs) with 35 goals in the process. They were also EURO finalists. Of course, they also have only 10 million people, so FIFA did not seed them. However, FIFA has ensured Mexico is almost certain to go through by pairing them with Iran and Angola, ensuring Mexico's large population of 106,000,000 stays tuned...
Anyone who has watched Iran play knows that Iran is difficult to beat. Iran has a lot of great players including AFC Player of the year Ali Karimi. Iran's Mehdi Mahdavika and Hashemian are impressive midfielders. I consider Iran as the Brazil of Asia.

...GROUP F: You could put Brazil in a group with Argentina, Holland, and Italy and they would still go through. FIFA have taken advantage of Brazil's talent to knock out Croatia, Australia, and Japan. They are all pretty good teams, and capable of causing an expensive upset. Now, two of them cannot do so...
Japan has a huge population who love football. You can tell if you watched their fans during the 2002 World Cup. If FIFA rigs the seedings, then wouldn't they want to put Japan in an easier group?

...GROUP G: FIFA doesn't want a repeat of 2002 when France was knocked out in the group stage, so they've given the fading 1998 champions a pretty easy go of it here. Togo doesn't have any experiece at this level, and without the friendly refereeing of 2002, Korea doesn't have much of a chance. France and Switzerland to go through with little trouble...
I wouldn't underestimate Togo. One of their players, Adebayor, made the most goals in the African qualifying. Plus, they have Nigerian players.
South Korea seems to be doing better after they replaced their coach. They tied with Sweden, and beat Serbia and Montenegro. I don't know how Korea will do in an away game, though. The funny thing about this group is that all of the four teams are happy with the group and they think they could qualify to the next round.

...GROUP H: If you look at the teams who deserved seeding the least, you'd have to put Spain at the top of that list. They had a miserable EURO, failing to get past the group stages. Their qualifaction was pathetic as well. Despite being drawn in a suspiciously easy group, they still failed to come out on top, and only squeaked into the finals through the playoffs. Big surprise then that FIFA has sought to make sure they progress by putting them against Saudi Arabia, whose last World Cup appearance was marked by conceding 8 goals against Germany, and Tunisia. I have little doubt Ukraine will beat them and top the group, but it would take a miracle for Spain to go out in the group stages again...
Today's Saudi Arabian team is very different from the Saudi Arabian team of 2002. They beat South Korea twice in the qualifying. I think they'll make an impressive show like they did in the USA World Cup.

Soulforged

12-13-2005, 07:22

Holland and Argentina have a lot of fans around the world. I don't see why FIFA would want to put them in a difficult group unless they want to see some exciting games.Well essencially because Holland is not a header and it's by raffle.

You severly underestimate, have you seen Argentina play recently? Against England they were nothing specialNah...Mejor que siempre viejo!!!:san_laugh: It will be nice match, but Argentina has the advantage of replacement...well Holland has the advantage of terrain, proximity, eviorament and....maybe...just maybe of the referees:san_laugh: Oops I didn't say anything.:san_lipsrsealed:

HunkinElvis

12-13-2005, 07:39

Well essencially because Holland is not a header and it's by raffle.
I know. I was responding to an article that Insane Apache found. It claimed that FIFA rigs the seedings, and I was posting reasons for disagreeing with it. :san_wink:

Monarch

12-13-2005, 17:19

I just did that BBC predicter thing and Brazil won, Czech Republic 2nd and Holland 3rd. One thing thats interesting is Argentina won my group C ahead of Dutch because I gave them the same results as Dutch, not deliberatly and so 'lots' were supposedly drawn, Argentina won. Now, that gave the Argies a pretty easy run putting them against Mexico, Germany then they're in semis and i knocked them out them agsinst Czechs...but anything can happen in the semi. Also I think that the way the teams line up, we can beat Argentina but not Holland, so group in C its vital the dutch win it if not England will go out to them in the quaters most likely.

Shaka_Khan

12-14-2005, 00:57

Try using Winning Eleven to predict the games. :san_cheesy:

Strike For The South

12-14-2005, 01:07

:unitedstates:USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates::unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates: :unitedstates:

InsaneApache

12-14-2005, 01:39

Sasaki Kojiro

12-14-2005, 01:41

World CUP...not SERIES the only 'Worldthingymajig' you yanks are stitched on to win everyyear.

:san_laugh:

the canadians could win...

Strike For The South

12-14-2005, 03:47

World CUP...not SERIES the only 'Worldthingymajig' you yanks are stitched on to win everyyear.

:san_laugh:

but you forget one thing

AMERICA=Bastion of freedom=winners (becuase were americans we win at everything its in our contract)

Everyone else= Communists (people ment to serve us)

So inso facto America wins:san_laugh:

LeftEyeNine

12-14-2005, 05:53

SFTS, I'm seconding that I adore your way of perception. You're my man ~:cheers:

Shaka_Khan

12-14-2005, 08:09

but you forget one thing

AMERICA=Bastion of freedom=winners (becuase were americans we win at everything its in our contract)

Everyone else= Communists (people ment to serve us)

So inso facto America wins:san_laugh:
And the World Cup is there just to keep the Communists happy. :san_wink:

Beirut

12-14-2005, 13:08

Let's keep our nasty nationalism and pugilistic politics under our ugly little hats, shall we?

Or else!
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/horsesass/santa_weilding_axe.jpg

Kickius Buttius

12-14-2005, 16:37

Ugh, please no politics. Let's just talk soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it).

Monarch

12-14-2005, 17:20

Ugh, please no politics. Let's just talk soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it).

Soccer...pleh...it is Football...American Football is just that 'American Football', besides British football makes much more sense, I mean how much use of the feet do superbowl champs actually do?:san_laugh:

Fragony

12-14-2005, 17:32

Ugh, please no politics. Let's just talk soccer (or football as the rest of the world calls it).

You call it 'soccer' and you expect no politics??? 'Football' in the name of everything that is holy, it's f-o-o-t-b-a-l-l capice?

Kickius Buttius

12-14-2005, 17:58

Fragony

12-14-2005, 18:04

I was not serious mate, apoligies if I made it appear that way :)

Kickius Buttius

12-14-2005, 18:08

No problem. No harm done.

What's your country of choice in the Cup?

Fragony

12-14-2005, 18:11

No problem. No harm done.

What's your country of choice in the Cup?

Well being dutch, Holland. But I think Brazil has the best chance of winning. I also always love to see the Czech Republic and England play, anything that isn't Italy really :san_grin:

Monarch

12-14-2005, 21:01

How about a little cultural understanding, gentlemen? I understand you call it football, but I grew up with a life dominated by a wholly different game called by that name.

Besides, does it really matter what we call it?

Geez, it's hard enough being an American "football" fan without being attacked by the rest of the world for terminology. You have no idea the blank looks a mention of the World Cup garners here in America (Oh, are they doing that thing again?).

We're probably a few world cups away from being a serious threat, which I suppose is a good thing, since it would no doubt cause great consternation if a country which barely cares were to win the sports championship valued most by the rest of the world.

I'll try to remember to call the sport "football" here, but I might need a little leeway for the slip-ups....

I was joking with you, seriously just having a laugh is all. I mean I'm sorry but it is not like a was posting 'wtf r u on, its football not soccer u weirdo' is it? I honestly thought I was posting in a sarcastic tone but it's pretty difficult to be sarcastic with just words ya know?

Apologies for any offence you may have taken, I guess I just will not attempt, sarcasm on here in the future, waaaay to difficult :san_cool:

InsaneApache

12-14-2005, 23:09

No ....it's a GOAL!!!...footy footy...

England (http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/footy/)

(I know it's an old 'un...but it's the World Cup :san_smiley:)

The Blind King of Bohemia

12-14-2005, 23:40

Lets keep the politics aside boys and lets all just agree that England will win it by beating Brazil 3-0 in the final:san_grin:

Louis VI the Fat

12-15-2005, 00:53

How about a little cultural understanding, gentlemen?

We're probably a few world cups away from being a serious threatWell that easily beats forever being just a penalty-shootout away from being a serious contender as in the case of England. :san_grin:

And there is no such thing as a little cultural understanding in (association) football, you yanks just don't get it, do you? We, America's cultural superiors, all understand that you're suppossed to shout insults, spit at and kick at each other before and during proper football matches.

That way, we can be all nice and happy in real life. :grin3:

What's your country of choice in the Cup?I really couldn't care who wins the World Cup next summer. All I'm asking for from God is to see the Germans suffer horribly.

*Louis, not at all managing to keep nasty nationalism and pugilistic politics under his ugly little hat, tries to slipp off before Beirut returns...:creep: *

InsaneApache

12-15-2005, 10:46

I really couldn't care who wins the World Cup next summer. All I'm asking for from God is to see the Germans suffer horribly.

I just couldn't possibly comment on this.....:san_shocked: :san_laugh:

Something to keep you lot busy whilst we await the main event..enjoy chaps..

this is "FOOTBALL":san_laugh: (http://www.funnyoldgame.net/html/Table-Football.html)

Ser Clegane

12-15-2005, 12:45

I really couldn't care who wins the World Cup next summer. All I'm asking for from God is to see the Germans suffer horribly.

It seems someone hasn't fully digested some semifinal losses yet :san_grin:

English assassin

12-15-2005, 12:53

It seems someone hasn't fully digested some semifinal losses yet :san_grin:

Well that easily beats forever being just a penalty-shootout away from being a serious contender as in the case of England.

Who the bloody hell invented penalty shoot outs anyway??? I bet it was a German.

If we lose to Germany on penalties again I think I will eat my own head.

LeftEyeNine

12-15-2005, 14:16

English Assassin is a Hydra !

And if he's a Hydra, England may see the semi-finals! ~D

[DnC]

12-15-2005, 16:37

Lets keep the politics aside boys and lets all just agree that England will win it by beating Brazil 3-0 in the final:san_grin:

What..like France did in 1998 when Brazil's previous match wore them down so much when they played against the Netherlands? :san_wink:

Dutch_guy

12-15-2005, 16:58

Who the bloody hell invented penalty shoot outs anyway??? I bet it was a German.

If we lose to Germany on penalties again I think I will eat my own head.

penalties have been out worst fear for ages...so it has to be a german who invented it ~p

Our penalty fear suddenly vanished when we beat Sweden in the EC after playing 0-0 in regular play time.

:balloon2:

Fragony

12-16-2005, 12:16

Who the bloody hell invented penalty shoot outs anyway??? I bet it was a German.

As penalties are our doom, I agree :san_angry:

//struggles to avoid politics

The Blind King of Bohemia

12-16-2005, 13:51

Of course if the Dutch and the English have to go to penalties against whoever it is, the chances are we will both go out, as when it comes to penalties we both usually suck at it.

The dream scenario for moi would be to get Germany in the final and then beat them 5-4 on penalties for all those past agonies. Infact anyone would do as long as we win a shoot out:san_laugh:

Monarch

12-16-2005, 14:55

The Dutch are not too bad on penalties anymore, wasnt is at the last euro they won a penalty shoot out???

English assassin

12-16-2005, 15:03

After the Euro 2004 debacle, we (that is my mates in the pub) decided that the solution is for Sven to have some cards printed before the match with "top right" "top left" "bottom right" etc printed on them.

Then, when it comes to a shoot out, he picks his five men and hands them each a card at random. All they have to do is put the ball where the card says. It would remove all the mind games about which way is the keeper going etc which are, presumably, the only reason why incredibly well paid football players are suddenly incapable of putting the ball on target from a distance of 12 yards.

Fragony

12-16-2005, 15:26

The Dutch are not too bad on penalties anymore, wasnt is at the last euro they won a penalty shoot out???

Who doesn't believe in miracles isn't a realist.

InsaneApache

02-07-2006, 18:51

Looks like Turkey got stuffed after all.

FIFA (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/4690948.stm)

Turkey have been ordered by world soccer's governing body Fifa to play their next six home matches at a neutral ground and behind closed doors.

The punishment comes following a fracas after their World Cup qualifier against Switzerland, last June.

I thought they might have thrown the book at Turkey, I never imagined it would be a library. :laugh4: :oops: :2thumbsup:

Louis VI the Fat

02-07-2006, 21:11

That is a bit harsh. The way the Turkish team and crowd behaved was ridiculous, but this punishment seems a bit out of proportion.

Turkey won the first match on 16 November, 4-2, but were beaten to a berth at the World Cup, after losing the second leg 2-0 in Bern. Hey, whatever happened to the much admired flawless reporting from Auntie Beeb?

Turkey won their second match, not their first.

Dutch_guy

02-07-2006, 21:23

yes it is, it's too harsh, six games without fans on neutral ground is about as hard as it gets...

And what kind of punishments did the Swiss team get, as they did have some part in the commotion at least...

:balloon2:

InsaneApache

02-07-2006, 22:44

Hey, whatever happened to the much admired flawless reporting from Auntie Beeb?

Do not get me onto the accuracy of BBC sports reporting..

May I present this as an example?

Quote:
Former Manchester United coach Brian Kidd is eager to get back into football after recovering from prostrate cancer.

:sweatdrop: :wall:

Quid

02-08-2006, 12:37

And what kind of punishments did the Swiss team get, as they did have some part in the commotion at least...

:balloon2:

The hearings showed the following results:

1. The players Alpay, Emre (both Turkey), and Huggel (Switzerland) each are being excluded for the next 6 'point games'. In addition to that, all of the above have been fined CHF 15'000 (plus court costs of up to CHF 10'000 each).

2. The player Serkan (Turkey) and physiotherapist Stephan Meyer (Switzerland) each are banned from 2 'point games' and receive a fine of CHF 5000 and CHF 6500 respectively.

3. The Turkish assistant coach Oezdilek is banned for a year and fined CHF 15'000.

4. The Turkish FA has to play on neutral territory behind closed doors for 6 matches. Additionally, they are being fined CHF 200'000 and have to pay court costs of about CHF 20'000.

All court rulings are on a provisional basis at present with the exception of point 2, which is definite. Both parties have 30 days in which they can either accept the rulings or contest them.

All in all, it might seem harsh but personally I think it was about time FIFA got their fingers out and punished those that were involved in that match. It can't be that teams and their staff (and spectators) behave in such a fashion and get away unpunished.

For some, it might effectively end their National career, for others, it gives them time to reflect on their silliness. Tough!

Quid

Mouzafphaerre

02-08-2006, 18:05

.
Well deserved and even much watered down let alone harsh. :rtwno:
.

Dutch_guy

02-08-2006, 19:52

thanks for the brief summary Quid.

Have any of you been following the Africa Cup by the way?
I saw a bit of Egypt - Senegal on the news today,highlight of the match was when an Egyptian player - Mido- was substitued by the Egyptian coach for a player called Amr Zaki, Mido didn't take it very well and nearly got into a fight with his coach in full view of everyone in the stadium it would have definitely gotten worse if not for a fellow Egyptian player who got between the arguing couple.

Ironically Amr Zaki proceeded to take position in the field and score the winning goal at first ball contact...

here is the link explaining the match and scene I just described :

http://www.eurosport.com/football/egypt/2006/sport_sto829184.shtml

:balloon2:

Dutch_guy

06-09-2006, 17:50

Well, it was about time that this thread got resurrected, I mean this is the official thread.

So I presume you're all following the match ? Germany - Costa Rica ?

I guess it's an Okay first game, with Germany leading 2 -1 at the moment.

We might want to post all further soccer / football related stuff in here, although the predictions should be posted in the original threads - we owe that to the respective thread starters.

:balloon2:

Fragony

06-09-2006, 17:58

German team seems to be in good shape, two nice goals. CRC counter they gave away though, what was the defence thinking standing there in the middle of the field. Costa Rica is no world cup material, very sloppy team.

Dutch_guy

06-09-2006, 18:14

Yes I agree.

The Germans seem to be playing fairly well, though their defence isn't in too good a shape - the Costa Rican goals was a costly mistake.

However It'd be interesting to see how the germans fair against somewhat better playing teams. If the word ''team'' is an appropriate one for their current adversaries...

:balloon2:

Fragony

06-09-2006, 18:38

3-2, like a full stack of teutonic knights charging on peasants, how on earth did costa rica ever qualify, blatantly unworthy of a WC match. Germany doesn't impress me either, two outragious mistakes that costs them dearly. They may be saving up energy for what's comming but this isn't the diciplined german machine we love to hate, like watching a team in a national cup of little importance. I am extremily dissapointed in my dearest rival.

edit:Rediculously beautiful fourth goal, what a whopper. Lots of individual talent there in Germany but as a team they will have to do better....

Boohugh

06-09-2006, 19:10

That ball really moves through the air :dizzy2:

I can see keepers having nightmares over the thought of people like Gerrard, Lampard and Beckham, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, etc whacking that at them :laugh4:

Avicenna

06-09-2006, 19:17

Wooh, 4-2. Exactly double my prediction :inquisitive:

LeftEyeNine

06-09-2006, 19:18

As it was already obvious, Germany has an inexperienced and erroneous defesive line. It's one of the best Panzer upfront in recent years however these guys are famous for their solid and machine-like teamwork, and this genuineness starts from the defence -where Germany is suffering.

It will obviously be harder for the hosts. Hopeless Costa Rica can bag two goals and..well, they will need extraordinary motivation to meet expectations.

Waiting for the match of one of my surprise teams of the tournament, Ecuador 's game against Poland.

:ecuador: Go Ecuador ! " Si, Se Puede !! " :ecuador:

LeftEyeNine

06-09-2006, 19:25

For all World-Cup-o-philiacs in the house, get your readymade match schedule below, in which you can enter the results that will automatically be processed in the relevant group's standings.

World Cup 2006 Calendar (http://www.excely.com/world-cup-2006.html)

w00t WooT !!

Fragony

06-09-2006, 19:29

As it was already obvious, Germany has an inexperienced and erroneous defesive line. It's one of the best Panzer upfront in recent years however these guys are famous for their solid and machine-like teamwork, and this genuineness starts from the defence -where Germany is suffering.

They were surprisingly offensive, seemed like two seperate teams, offense and defence that were not in concert at all. Not sure what to make of this mess match but I doubt germany will get very far like this.

[DnC]

06-09-2006, 19:31

Germany played decently with some good moments of nice teamplay. The highlights of the game for me were definitely Lahm's and Frings' goals. Absolute beauties. Their defense however didn't do so well. And it showed when Wanchope scored twice. Although the second was offside.

Costa Rica played horridly for the most part. Very bad defending. - Cover your man, don't look at the ball ffs!! - Also poor offense. Biggest problem was that they didn't use their chance to counter-attack. Far too many times they stopped at midfield and gave the germans time to recover. Also they waited far too long playing the ball and tried to play with the ball too much instead of passing the ball to another player. Rarely would their tricks work.

In the end it was a nice first match to watch due to the large amount of goals, of which two were simply amazing shots.

Rodion Romanovich

06-09-2006, 19:31

Wooh, 4-2. Exactly double my prediction :inquisitive:

My prediction was 3-1. For a moment it looked like it could come true... Anyway 4 goals was more than I expected from the German offensive. Looks like the team is even more offensively oriented than I thought - I overestimated defense and underestimated offense. Then again, the second Costa Rica goal was actually an offside and the fourth German goal was a bit of luck - a brilliant shot, but still any team is supposed to stop shots from such distances either at the defenders or at the goalkeeper. The player change the last minute was also interesting - that guy runs fast! With him and Ballack in the field in more important games they can get even better than they were today, and Klose was as usual playing very good.

Now time for Ecuador vs Poland!

cegorach

06-09-2006, 22:30

That was just pathetic ! Poland can pack and get back so can 300 000 Polish football fans. Fortunatelly soccer teams gave us so much disappointement in the past that it won't be a tragedy rather a source of numerous jokes.:shame: :wall:

LeftEyeNine

06-09-2006, 22:40

:poland: Poland 0 - 2 Ecuador :ecuador: :balloon2: :balloon2: :balloon2:

Yes then, Ecuadoran underdogs made it. Absolute power of control on the ball, confident short passes, fatal dribblings and last ditch tackles brought the glorious start. :balloon2:

Men of the match : Giovanny Espinoza & Ulises De La Cruz

Though their captain Ivan Hurtado is a solid defender, Espinoza surely stands out for this match. In front of the unconvincing keeper, Christian Mora, this strong centre-back was agile and brave enough to save his storming team from any shocks. Worth watching out in the upcoming matches if he can keep up with his rocky defence.

De La Cruz is the only (IIRC) Ecuadoran that currently plays in Europe, and that proves out why he is. Ecuador's right wing was a constant threat to Polish defence, most of the attacks coming through that flank, and De La Cruz was like a lightning in shoes. It was around 80 minutes when he dribbled all along half of the whole pitch dodging the exhausted Polish. Definite one to keep a close eye on if you are the coach of the opponent.

Carlos Tenorio is another one to remark as well. He was only recently out of an injury but seemed fit enough to disturb and create a goal. I expect him to be better by the following matches.

Poland is more pathetic than Germany when compared in terms of defence. I couldn't see them doing their job at all. Thanks to Artur Boruc who is good enough to compensate Dudek's absence, Ecuador made only 2 goals. Poland's revival in the last minutes was due to the concentration loss of Ecuador who did not expect their rivals to be so soft. Pawel Brozek, a young gun I've known for the last 2 years, showed his class by taking a good control and bending a shot that ricochetted off the post. Poland can not defend, at least Brozek should be given time so that they can create more goals, he needs self confidence.

There is also a negative sidenote about Ecuador among all other pluses. Though I couldn't determine if it was a tactical move to save energy or not but Poland did not come across with much resistance until they were around Ecuador's penalty box. This may be due to their anchorman's low performance, maybe a tactical move but it will give chances to score to more talented feet -Germany has a couple of them.

Spendios

06-09-2006, 22:49

Vive la France ! Allez les Bleus !!!!!!!!!!!!!!:france:

Bohdan, Lord of Courland

06-09-2006, 22:53

This match was a complete disaster. 2-0! The attacks of the Polish team were badly co-ordinated and played out even worse. But it could have easily been 2-1 if it had not been for that blind referee :wall:
And yes, we Poles are used to having bad football teams and even worse football coaches since the 1970s :no:

Shaka_Khan

06-10-2006, 05:40

I got my predictions right! Wow! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=65079&page=2)

Gealai

06-10-2006, 06:03

Germany absolutly dominated the poor and weak guys from Costa Rica, something like 35 shots agains 4, yet it was able to get two goals. Great offensive, great movement, fast play.The
Two chances two goals for Rica. Friedrich slept two times, causing the offsidetrap to fail, although the second goal was irregular IMHO. If Germany wants to go on it must protect it's defense better and exercise it's line movements.

Poland played stunnigly bad. Ecuador seemed like a world class team.

Ser Clegane

06-10-2006, 06:35

Wow - the opener was much more entertaining than I would have expected.

Very nice performance in the offense by Germany but I fear if they don't improve the defence very quickly they will get torn apart when they have to play a team that actual has some class :no:

[DnC]

06-10-2006, 07:09

I got my predictions right! Wow! (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=65079&page=2)

Haha cheater. You posted that 15 minutes before this post ~;)

Quid

06-10-2006, 10:08

Fair game for Germany. Not more not less. Most important for them is a win in the first game. I don't think, however, that they can play likewise against stronger opposition.

Costa Rica...well, played to the best of their abilities, I suppose. They might still give us another surpise.

Poland...well, typical. Played well in the qualifying rounds and now are nowhere near the form they were. It was already mirrored in the test games, though. Hopefully, they will give Germany a good run for their money next Wednesday, at least.

Ecuador played close to world class. Didn't give Poland a hint of a chance until the last 10 minutes or so. Am well impressed. I didn't think they would do so well.

Quid

Rodion Romanovich

06-10-2006, 10:14

While I was disappointed with Poland which I thought could get at least a tie in the game, Ecuador was so impressive that they're now one of my new favorites in the tournament. I suppose that means Germany and Ecuador proceed from group A. Ecuador could perhaps even win to group before Germany. They would have either England, Paraguay or Sweden in the quarter finals, all three are teams which they could defeat I think. And I think they have pretty good chances in the semi-finals too... They probably won't win the World Cup, but they could go far ~:)

Prodigal

06-10-2006, 11:04

:jumping:

COME ON ENGLAND

:dancing:

http://ezpiper.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LionEng.jpg

Boohugh

06-10-2006, 12:09

:jumping:

COME ON ENGLAND

:dancing:

http://ezpiper.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LionEng.jpg

What he said ^^ ~:cheers:

LeftEyeNine

06-10-2006, 13:38

Gah, sorry to disappoint you, British friends, but you'll get a draw today. :smoking:

Oh and Cissé 's foot is broken in that friendly against China ! What a freakin' luck ! :furious3: :wall:

The Blind King of Bohemia

06-10-2006, 13:42

Just about to sit down and watch england stuff paraguay. 3-0 i reckon, a header from terry, then a lamps then owen to finish it.

Rodion Romanovich

06-10-2006, 15:00

Haha funny own goal 4 minutes into England-Paraguay... Poor Paraguay :wall: Looking at this match I wonder if perhaps Sweden rather than Paraguay will take the second place in the group. England will take the first - they've shown a very good defensive work so far. I wonder what changes will be made after the half time. My 3-2 predictions doesn't seem likely at this point...

Equilibrium

06-10-2006, 15:25

Watching England - Paraguay, the brits don't really convince me and paraguay's getting better atm; the 1 - 0 was really bad luck for them...I guess a draw will be the result in the end.

naut

06-10-2006, 15:57

Amazing free-kick. It should have been more though, 1 - 0 is simply not enough. But that was possibly the worst refereeing I have ever seen. Terrible descisions or the lack of decisions. No. 13 for Paraguay should have been sent off multiple times.

Ianofsmeg16

06-10-2006, 16:05

Although I'm English and my opinion might be biased....but was that referee wearing a Paraguay shirt underneath his referee's shirt, or do South Americans Stick together?

The Blind King of Bohemia

06-10-2006, 16:07

Paraguay didn't play well its just that are second half performance was beyond belief and then bringing on downing and hargreaves who imo have no talent just summed it up. The 2nd half shambles will undermine the first half performance as we ripped them apart for the first 45 mins. We cannot afford to play like that against someone like sweden.

But we got the three points and the first game is always the hardest, smash TAT and then beat sweden 1-0 and then the 2nd round against either ecuador or Costa Rica and we should be fine

Big King Sanctaphrax

06-10-2006, 16:15

I really sympathise with the England players-it was tactical ineptitude and poor substitutions that were responsible for the poor second half performance, and that wasn't their fault.

If they can keep the standard of play they were exhibiting in the first half up, they should do well.

Boohugh

06-10-2006, 16:21

Not the most convincing performance from England in the second half. Our inability to kill off a game when we are dominating could cause us problems later on in the tournament.

The refereeing was a complete joke though, so much for FIFA claims it would be better this time round. Some of the decisions were just laughable, such as Gerrard being given a yellow card in the first half even though TV replays clearly show he didn't touch the player or Downing being body-checked as he ran past a Paraguayan player only for play to continue with Paraguay in possession in the second half.

Soulforged

06-10-2006, 16:36

Although I'm English and my opinion might be biased....but was that referee wearing a Paraguay shirt underneath his referee's shirt, or do South Americans Stick together?
Oh we stick to our brothers always ~:pat: ... And I specially hate the english football team (kidding) so my opinion might be biased too. There was no actual team dominating the match this time, it has happened many times to England during debutes in the World Cup. Though Paraguay was unlucky i think that they sincerelly didn't diserve to win this match, they played as many desperate teams play, long unprecise shots, little coherence and little game play. On the other hand England played the football that we all want to watch, though only for a few moments. All in all I think this diserved a draw. Anyway, I still think that this two are the ones who will make it to the round of 16.

Sasaki Kojiro

06-10-2006, 19:10

That Sweden vs T&T game was great fun. Always nice to see the underdogs do well.

Red Peasant

06-10-2006, 19:22

Radier

06-10-2006, 19:26

Sweden T-T : 0-0 :wall:

Nonononono.....

Dutch_guy

06-10-2006, 19:28

That Sweden vs T&T game was great fun. Always nice to see the underdogs do well.

Quite something indeed, especially since T&T were playing with one man less than Sweden, because of a red card in the first minute of the second half !

I most certainly had not suspected T&T to last, let alone keep the Swedes at bay.

:balloon2:

InsaneApache

06-10-2006, 19:38

Well played Trinidad and Tobago, down to 10 men and still got a draw, they are my 2nd team in the championship. Most of them are, or have played in the English and Scottish leagues. It also leaves the group wide open. Be nice to see T&T and England go through.

Oh! and RP I couldn't agree more with you. Germany, Italy etc, etc... play badly and still win, I can see the headlines in the News of the World tomorrow. Onanists.

Big King Sanctaphrax

06-10-2006, 19:43

The T&T game was great, I was really hoping they'd do well. Excellent goalkeeping from Shaka Hislop.

ShadesWolf

06-10-2006, 19:54

Excellent match by T&T well played boys.

And BTW its not Brits, its Engllsh.

Next up a victory for Ivory Coast would be great

Dutch_guy

06-10-2006, 20:55

Argentina - Ivory coast is quite an impressive match, with the former leading with 2 - 0 at half time. You might not say so judging by the score, but ivory coast is playing great, and has had at least one great chance to score a goal.

Also, the second goals was a beauty, a brilliant Riquelme moment - need I say more ?

Hope the second half 'll continue to be as interesting to watch as the first half was.

:balloon2:

Dutch_guy

06-10-2006, 20:56

Never mind, double post...

:balloon2:

ShadesWolf

06-10-2006, 22:00

Ok that was the best game Ive seen so far, I've watched 4 out of the 5 matches ( missed the Poland match as we had a power cut)

I felt IV were very unlucky, not that impressed with the defense of Argentina but they luck very quick and dangerous going forward.

Dutch_guy

06-10-2006, 22:13

Soulforged

06-10-2006, 22:30

It's the World Cup and most teams will have at least 15 mins of good play, which Paraguay did for part of the second half. England controlled the match and came out with the win. Result. Judging by some of the typical over-reaction in the media, however, we may as well pack our bags and leave now! Tossers.
Careful there, though Paraguay is not at the summit, it certainly is an experienced and respected team. In fact it didn't lose its first match since 1958.

Now about Argentina... Mmmm frankly it dissappointed me, I expected a lot more. The players did a lot of fouls, too many long shots, too many errors in both the defense and the offense, specially when they were in full attack and the recovery of Ivory Coast provoqued dangerous situations. This has to be solved inmidiatly. Also I think it was a grave error for Pekerman to include Gonzales at that point in the match. However Ivory Coast, though not a surprise, at least for me, did played a lot more of football than I expected at least until the 60 minutes of match. And until the end of the first half they diserved to win the match (without mentioning the penalty that the referee didn't give to them in the first half). Until now all great teams have showed that they're not at their best, all of them will improve I think. I cannot comment on Sweden vs Trinidad y Tobago because this damn cable service didn't transmited it.

Anyway :sweatdrop: .... Volveremo', volveremo', volveremos otra vez, volveremo' a ser campeones como en el ochenta y seis. :argentina: :2thumbsup:

LeftEyeNine

06-10-2006, 23:05

England - Paraguay

More impressive England -quite better than I expected...until it was the second half.. I had predicted Paraguay to get one point from the game since I thought they would be rather stable and error-free in defence however the first half was a complete disaster for Paraguay backline and they were fortunate to have conceded only one goal.

Valdez is someone to trust in the attack force, he really merits being the best subsitute in Werder when Klasnic or Klose is somehow out -he has even more potential and I don't think he 'll be waiting behind those two after the World Cup, he may leave Werder provided this form. Paraguay captain Gamarra was a bit out of concentration today, creating the first goal into his own net and a couple of minutes later heading a ball back to his keeper which would nearly be completed as a goal by Owen. The subsitute keeper Bobadilla is a good keeper, by the way.

England, as always, still lacks some spirit. You look at the squad and can not keep your jaw dropping, however when it comes to wear that shirt of Three Lions, things do change. A change in the coaching team will greatly benefit this bright generation of England, me thinks. This good generation of players should win some trophy before time runs out for them.

Man of the Match : David Beckham. He is a captain, a playmaker, a dead ball expert and despite his enormous fame, still very enthusiastic. He showed his class in this match as well.

Argentina - Ivory Coast

No team without a pinch of World Cup experience could be any more comfortable and self confident than the Elephants were today against a giant like Argentina. There are many unwritten rules of football and one was valid today -"big teams do it instantly and win it". Above all enthusiasm, sheer class and confidence of Ivory Coast, Argentina is the aged wolf of these tournaments and Crespo and Saviola have killer feet.

No, Argentina is still a great team, they are the way we are accustommed to see although they may stumble in times they are integrating new "parts" to the body. However Ivory Coast is meeting and overlapping expectations indeed. I think every football fan would like to see them progressing at least to the next round. Experience is their block -and the group drawn, of course- and they seem well enough to get over it sooner than any other World Cup rookie team.

Arthur Boka and junior of the Toure brothers, Yaya Toure were the ones standing out for this match within Ivory Coast squad.

Man of the Match : Juan Roman Riquelme. Ortega or Gallardo won't be missed for too long. What's more to say ?

ShadesWolf

06-10-2006, 23:13

I agree ShadesWolf, best match thus far.

I didn't think IC would be as good as they were, didn't really see them as a threat but I've come to my senses - they're quite dangerous in the offense.

Argentina, plays solid and always has at least one ( in this case 2 ) moments where it just sneaks in a goal, also a Riquelme - Crespo combination is deadly to say the least.

:balloon2:

I watched the IC in the African Cup of Nations and was impressed. Drogba, toure and Eboue are all premier league players, so I have seen them quite a lot over the last season. If they had a quality midfield player then I think they would be a real threat. But that, for me, looses them down.

Agentina on the other hand seem to be able to find that defense spliting pass, but the defence I felt looked quite weak. But if you score more goals than the other team who needs a defensc.

Im looking forward to your game against Angola tomorrow.

Dutch_guy

06-10-2006, 23:23

Im looking forward to your game against Angola tomorrow.

We're playing Serbia ~:)

:balloon2:

Prodigal

06-11-2006, 00:47

:jumping:

COME ON ENGLAND

:dancing:

http://ezpiper.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/LionEng.jpg

Lately I've been feeling like I felt before...DREAMING of the perfect score...I keep on dreaming...Been brought up on stories that my father told, ONLY TIME THE BOYS STRUCK GOLD but I weren't born yet

Will it be a 4-4-2?

Bring the trophy home to you?

ONLY THING I'LL EVER DO FOR SURE IS SING IT FOR ENGLAND

Prodigal

06-11-2006, 01:13

Ooop, forgot to mention...

WILL IT BE A 4-2-4 brings the trophy home to me?

I'm getting older I should know better...

But I'm singing for
ENGLAND

Louis VI the Fat

06-11-2006, 01:13

What a horrid substitution by Errikson, it killed the game. England's first half performance was promising though, and with Sweden equalizing against T&T the road to the next round lies wide open.

Argentina and Ivory Coast were excellent. If I were Holland or Serbia, I'd be very worried by now. The group of death indeed.

Man of the Match : David Beckham. He is a captain, a playmaker, a dead ball expert and despite his enormous fame, still very enthusiastic. He showed his class in this match as well.Beckham IS good, isn't he? He's certainly much more than just the pretty fashion model / marketing machine some think he is.

Prodigal

06-11-2006, 01:26

What a horrid substitution by Errikson, it killed the game. England's first half performance was promising though, and with Sweden equalizing against T&T the road to the next round lies wide open.

Argentina and Ivory Coast were excellent. If I were Holland or Serbia, I'd be very worried by now. The group of death indeed.

Beckham IS good, isn't he? He's certainly much more than just the pretty fashion model / marketing machine some think he is.

0-1 ENGLAND

naut

06-11-2006, 01:30

Although I'm English and my opinion might be biased....but was that referee wearing a Paraguay shirt underneath his referee's shirt, or do South Americans Stick together?

Thats what I was thinking, His poor decisions and Eriksons poor decisions killed the chances of England winning by more.

The Argentina - Ivory Coast match was a true thriller!!! Ivory Coast played exceptionally well. And the only things that really separated the sides were, the quality of goalkeeping and the use of good chances.

scotchedpommes

06-11-2006, 01:39

Was behind Trinidad and Tobago all the way - they very nearly scored a
cracking goal late on with a shot that hit the crossbar, not sure anyone has
mentioned that. Was also backing the Ivory Coast, and disappointed they
couldn't get a draw for all their effort and enthusiasm.

Looking forward to watching Serbia and Montenegro play, and win [I'll stick my
neck out, yes] tomorrow.

Prodigal

06-11-2006, 01:42

0-1 ENGLAND
And...........????????

COME ON ENGLAND

Louis VI the Fat

06-11-2006, 01:46

0-1 ENGLANDPoint taken, mate. :2thumbsup:

I would settle for France 1-0 against whomever too, and bugger everything else.

Rodion Romanovich

06-11-2006, 09:42

Both England, Paraguay and Sweden disgraced themselves yesterday... Overall pretty boring day if it hadn't been for Argentina - and the last twenty minutes shown by Côte d'ivoire... England at least seemed to have potential that wasn't shown in the game vs Paraguay, but Paraguay was way below normal standards and Sweden had a ridiculously inefficient offensive. I'm a bit disappointed that my predictions were so far off, I seldom cheer on a single team but am cheering on whichever team needs to score another goal to bring the results closer to my prediction ~:). Not that it matters, because I'm not betting any money on it, only honor ~:)

Of the remaining games of the first round, these are the ones I'm looking forward to most:
SCG:NED - probably holland wins, but Serbia isn't to be underestimated, plus it's a tight group so it's exciting to watch
ANG:POR - because it's Portugal!
USA:CZE - will USA surprise again? Czech rep is always good to watch. Is Baros still injured? If not, it'll be good entertainment
AUS:JPN - I love the playing style of Japan!
BRA:CRO - Brazil's first game!
ENG:TRI - let's see if it was Trinidad that was good or Sweden that was bad... And if England has the potential it seemed they had in last game
ARG:SCG - a nice group of death game
NED:CIV - another nice group of death game
ITA:USA - again an interesting game. Italy living up to the rumour or USA surprising again?
JPN:CRO - Japan again!
FRA:KOR - two interesting teams in an interesting meeting
ECU:GER - the only really difficult to predict outcome of game of group A, I suppose
SWE:ENG - Swedish team vs Swedish coach, always fun to see where the loyalty lies
NED:ARG - the two IMO top teams of the group of death meeting in battle!
CZE:ITA - another great game of this group
JPN:BRA - last Olympics Japan nearly beat Brazil (IMO they would have if the ref hadn't been supporting Brazil). Japan has a playing style incompatible with Brazil's playing style and the only team in this cup that I really think has a great chance of beating Brazil

The Stranger

06-11-2006, 10:28

Holland has to become first because the 2nd of poule C will play against the first of the poule that holds Brazil. and i think Brazil will end up first so the 2nd of poule C is dead anyway.

Dutch_guy

06-11-2006, 11:17

Holland has to become first because the 2nd of poule C will play against the first of the poule that holds Brazil. and i think Brazil will end up first so the 2nd of poule C is dead anyway.

No, they'll play against the number one ( or two ) of group D, which holds Portugal, Angola, Mexico and Iran.

As a matter of fact, the only match we're able to face Brazil would be in the finals.

:balloon2:

naut

06-11-2006, 13:23

Overall pretty boring day if it hadn't been for Argentina - and the last twenty minutes shown by Côte d'ivoire...

Are you kidding, Ivory Coast was exciting and showed brilliance the ENTIRE game, they were just terrible at finishing, which Argentina are masters at.

Boohugh

06-11-2006, 14:50

Quite a good first half from Holland just now, and I have to admit they look like a very good team. I think the heat will kill the game in the second half though, in the same way it killed off the England game yesterday.

Dutch_guy

06-11-2006, 14:59

Well I guess I should be happy with the current score ( 1 -0 ), but Serbia has had it's share of chances, which is mainly due to our - at times - sloppy and inexperienced defence.

Interesting to see what 'll happen in the second half.

:balloon2:

Boohugh

06-11-2006, 15:56

Hmm, a lot of similarities to the Endland - Paraguay game in the way that match played out then. Still, its a good 3 points for Holland but they were definitely made to work hard for it.

The Stranger

06-11-2006, 16:38

No, they'll play against the number one ( or two ) of group D, which holds Portugal, Angola, Mexico and Iran.

As a matter of fact, the only match we're able to face Brazil would be in the finals.

:balloon2:

yeah i noticed that later. my bad:sweatdrop:

The Wizard

06-11-2006, 16:39

England and Germany were in shambles, yet Argentina and Holland emerged victorious in far better shape. Now to wait for Brazil \o/

Dâriûsh

06-11-2006, 17:47

GOAL!!! :iran: :jumping: :iran:

Edit: Gaugamela all over again... :iran: ~:mecry: :iran:

The Stranger

06-11-2006, 20:37

btw DG if holland becomes 2nd of the C poule they can play Brazil in the semi finals

Strike For The South

06-12-2006, 02:24

Im additidted to this "football" it has really sucked me in (I even bought a german jersey) Mexcio won ans there were guys runnig down me street. The US has a gut czech tmrw and they will win

LeftEyeNine

06-12-2006, 03:04

SFTS, brotha, welcome to the tribe ! :indian_chief:

Sorry to disappoint you but, you'll only give some hardtime to the Czechs, they will win it somehow.

Anyways, tomorrow I'm a USA fan.

:unitedstates: :2thumbsup:

Sasaki Kojiro

06-12-2006, 04:30

On broadcast tv they show golf and reruns of dr. Phil instead of the World Cup. They aren't even showing the US match tomorrow :wall:

Fragony

06-12-2006, 09:24

Im additidted to this "football" it has really sucked me in (I even bought a german jersey) Mexcio won ans there were guys runnig down me street. The US has a gut czech tmrw and they will win

Going to be hard, czech team RAWKS.

And I am very pleased with the dutch team, these serbs are no pushovers.

Rodion Romanovich

06-12-2006, 10:29

Nice games yesterday. I wonder why not more teams use the type of tactics that led to Robben's 1-0 goal, and later Pauleta's 1-0 goal! The nice long pass + a fast running forward (like Robben) or tactics to fool the offside traps always seemed to me to be one of the most effective ways of scoring, accounting for about 1/3rd or 1/4th of all goals scored in the latest World Cups and European Championships, and especially effective against defensive opponents. Seems to me most teams except Brazil and Germany have worked hard improving their defensive at the expense of a much more careful offensive, after Greece won the last European Championship. So more quick attacks of the type Holland and Portugal showed will probably be necessary, unless you have the same ball control as Argentina ~:)

I'm looking forward to USA-Czech Republic today, should be one of the more interesting games in that group, which is IMO nearly as much a "group of death" as group C ~:) Italy, Czechs and USA in the same group is quite tough. How good Ghana are I don't know though.

Ser Clegane

06-12-2006, 18:56

Wow - the Czech were really impressive. The strongest team I have seen so far.

I hope they will get far this time and finally get rewarded for their performance during the last couple of years...

Dutch_guy

06-12-2006, 19:09

Wow - the Czech were really impressive. The strongest team I have seen so far.

I hope they will get far this time and finally get rewarded for their performance during the last couple of years...

I agree, with both statements.

The Czechs played solid, subtle and were on the attack a lot, which isn't their usual style of play. enjoyed to see them play, and am looking forward to their match against the Italians.

Only downside of todays match was that they should have scored a goal less, would have predicted it correctly if that were the case....Oh well...

:balloon2:

LeftEyeNine

06-12-2006, 19:12

A-ye. They are not likely to miss their injured strikers Baros and Koller as long as Rosicky keeps up with his terrific form. Their defence is like a pile of mountains and midfield is very productive. Very well deserved.

SFTS, USA should have called up Freddy Adu no matter what age he was. There was not a team on the pitch indeed. (You 're still interested in football after this defeat, huh? ~:) )

Let's see how Italy will crush Ghana :2thumbsup: :italy: :2thumbsup:

Rodion Romanovich

06-12-2006, 19:22

I have to agree with you all - Czechs are best team so far. Notice they got 10 offsides or so? It's a clear indication of that they were using the effective near-offside long pass + breakaway attempt tactics. Looking at the tournament, this tactic was the way Costa Rica scored their 2 goals vs Germany, the way Robben and Pauleta scored their goals for Holland and Portugal respectively, and the way the Czechs scored 2 of their 3 goals. With the solid defenses used in football today that is the most effective way of scoring IMO. Notice that it also pushed back the USA defenders in a way that allowed Rosicky to get further forward for his long shot that gave the 2-0 goal. The last few games have clearly shown that the long pass and breakaway tactics is effective and that a slowly built up offensive seldom works well.

Finally, the Czechs also deserve credits for keeping up the offensive even after scoring 2-0 and also to some extent after 3-0, so it was entertaining to watch until the end of the game. My prediction of Czechs vs Brazil in the finals might not have been way off after all...