The unofficial World Cup Thread,

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Congrats to the Holländer ...

... and there are Paraguayas even much more beautiful.

[Louis VI the Fat]

Awesome games today!


There was never much hope for samba vs total football today. Both Brazil and the Netherlands have been a bit bland throughout. But I thought the solidity of the Brazilian team would prevail against a Dutch defense just begging for a mauling. I was wrong - it was not the Brazilians who've been playing one gear lower than they can, it has been the Dutch. What a difference between the first and second half. Great grid and determination.

The Dutch for the finals! Which, if there is a God, should be won by Orange. Third time's a charm.



I was firmly rooting for Uruguay in the other game, so no complaints about the ending from me! Awesome finish of the game, fantastic drama!!



I want either Uruguay or the Netherlands to win this cup! Both football styles have a worldwide cult following. Either one, if they win it, can claim the title of coolest football nation on the planet.

[Myrddraal]

Ghana was robbed. Another team goes through thanks to intentional cheating, pure and simple. There really should be an automatic penalty goal for a hand ball on the line.

It seems to me that the Dutch have the attacking capability to go all the way. If they don't, I reckon it will be because their defence lets them down.

[Cute Wolf]

Brazil got an EPIC FAIL

[Louis VI the Fat]

Ghana was robbed. Another team goes through thanks to intentional cheating, pure and simple.

Robbed? How so?

You are allowed to stop the ball with your hands in your own penalty box. One player is allowed to. As a matter of courtesy, one is expected to state in advance in writing, which of the players that is. The Uruguay FA regretably failed to properly inform Fifa in time which player they had in mind. A tournament is more paperwork then one might expect, I guess.

I do think it is a bit unfair to call this smallish administrative oversight a matter of robbery. South American countries simply have less administrative fixiation than Northwest European 'classify - count - register' societies. If Fifa wants a truly multi-regional sport, then we ought not to go administrative-nazi on them.


(yay, managed Godwin in a footy thread )

~~o~~o~~<<oOo>>~~o~~o~~

Of the four quarterfinals, three are Europe vs. South America. One down, two to go!

It has become impossible to root for Spain (that is, to not root for Paraguay), so our hope is on the Germans. Although it would be better if Argentina won - ever since 1974, there's only been one non-Latin champion, and the global Latin dictatorship of southwest Europe and southeast America must continue.


Ah...the bliss. See, I can't lose. Either a European country will win, and I will claim European overlordship over the world, or a Latin country will, and I'll claim Latin ascendancy. The sun's out too. Life is great.

~~o~~o~~<<oOo>>~~o~~o~~

I must agree with la Filosofo, Evra should be kicked out, or at least stripped of the captaincy. Give it to someone who is not a petty fool. Like Toulalan!

Players like Thuram, Zidane, and Yannick Noah in tennis did their sport proud. All are from deprived backgrounds, and used their sports to uplift themselves. Used it to become part of mainstream, civilised society, where they are held in wide esteem both on and off the pitch.

It's all in such stark contrast to this bunch of ghetto gangstas (including white French players like Ribéry).

As far as I'm concerned, Blanc simply starts all over with a mostly new squad, build around players such as Gourcuff, son of a teacher's family, and simply ousted from the team by the gangstas for showing aquaintance with the art of eating with knife and fork; and Toulalan, a man of some modesty; and Monaco jetset boy Lloris.

[naut]

Dutch better beat Uruguay to make up for that hand-ball. So unfair on Ghana.

[Crazed Rabbit]

CR works for the Sun/Mail/Mirror it seems.

The "we wuz robbed" line only works when you play well and lose. When you play that poorly then there's a reason you lose.


You give them too much credit.

I want it noted I wrote that during half time. In the last bit of the first half England was playing well. In the second half they did bad, and I'm not going to complain that much about them losing.

***********

What a great game from the Netherlands. A surprise that Brazil only got one goal, and snuck that one in.

And what a pity for Ghana - they should've won, if not for that blatant foul.

Also, go Paraguay!

CR

[Fragony]

Dutch better beat Uruguay to make up for that hand-ball. So unfair on Ghana.

We have a perfectly fine excuse to lose. Hats of to Ghana.

[naut]

We have a perfectly fine excuse to lose. Hats of to Ghana.

Hup Nederlands Hup!

Edit - Rooney and Gerrard back to their old tricks, well, actually Gerrard has been learning new tricks from Terry. You can take the man out of the council housing, but you can't take the council housing out of the man.

[Ferret]

As far as I'm concerned, Blanc simply starts all over with a mostly new squad, build around players such as Gourcuff, son of a teacher's family, and simply ousted from the team by the gangstas for showing aquaintance with the art of eating with knife and fork; and Toulalan, a man of some modesty; and Monaco jetset boy Lloris.

Marc Planus for captain!

As for Suarez he really does love to cheat doesn't he, the diving was bad enough. I thought he could have just have easily headed it off the line anyway...

[Intrepid Adventurer]

Ha! to all the naysayers. Holland through to the semi-finals! They have to stay focused now, Uruquay is no push-over.

That said, it will be easier without Suarez. Not because he's that good, but because of his sick ways of spoiling the game. He was faking fouls the entire game against Ghana, whining for cards and in the end making a disgusting handsball, on purpose. If that's the way you want to win, you don't deserve it. I hope we slaughter these guys in the next round, because they don't belong in the semi-finals, at all.

[LeftEyeNine]

Ronin gets my vote. He be the mayor.

[Pannonian]

Robbed? How so?

You are allowed to stop the ball with your hands in your own penalty box. One player is allowed to. As a matter of courtesy, one is expected to state in advance in writing, which of the players that is. The Uruguay FA regretably failed to properly inform Fifa in time which player they had in mind. A tournament is more paperwork then one might expect, I guess.

I do think it is a bit unfair to call this smallish administrative oversight a matter of robbery. South American countries simply have less administrative fixiation than Northwest European 'classify - count - register' societies. If Fifa wants a truly multi-regional sport, then we ought not to go administrative-nazi on them.

Suarez: "I made the best save of the tournament. Sometimes in training I play as a goalkeeper so it was worth it"

[Ronin]

Ghana was robbed. Another team goes through thanks to intentional cheating, pure and simple. There really should be an automatic penalty goal for a hand ball on the line.

Robbed? hogwash! If you can´t put a goal in from the penalty line you have no place at this stage of the tournament anyway.

and besides....why not look at this from the "glass half full" perspective? The Uruguay player took a bullet for his team! He sacrificed himself possibly for the rest of the tournament just so that his team had a small chance of surviving....that's the stuff movies are made of right there! imagine it with the rocky soundtrack behind it...he gambled and it payed off, it's not his fault the Ghana players aparently can´t score penalty kicks.

That said, it will be easier without Suarez. Not because he's that good, but because of his sick ways of spoiling the game. He was faking fouls the entire game against Ghana, whining for cards and in the end making a disgusting handsball, on purpose. If that's the way you want to win, you don't deserve it. I hope we slaughter these guys in the next round, because they don't belong in the semi-finals, at all.

If you ain´t cheating...you ain´t trying....

but anyway I´m hoping we get Holland - Germany in the final.

[Tellos Athenaios]

Robbed? hogwash! If you can´t put a goal in from the penalty line you have no place at this stage of the tournament anyway.

Ghana was robbed in the sense that it was a foul, and that it would otherwise have been a goal. More precisely they were unlucky in that the penalty hit the bar rather than the net.

and besides....why not look at this from the "glass half full" perspective? The Uruguay player took a bullet for his team! He sacrificed himself possibly for the rest of the tournament just so that his team had a small chance of surviving....that's the stuff movies are made of right there! imagine it with the rocky soundtrack behind it...he gambled and it payed off, it's not his fault the Ghana players aparently can´t score penalty kicks.

He didn't “take a bullet for his team”. He played volleyball.

If you ain´t cheating...you ain´t trying....

Or you are being honest. Naive, I know; but I preferred the Ghanese who showed much more effort towards winning than Uruguay did IMO and they did it with considerably less of Schwalbe, gross physical fouls, or handballs.

[Fragony]

I'm with TA, poor sport. Maybe the rules should be stricter to unleash the inner gentleman. The best team should win, not the best lawyer.

[Ronin]

This is modern football....you field backup goalkeepers....2 of them!



I wonder who gets the Yashin award for best goalkeeper of the tournament? :P

[Sasaki Kojiro]

Robbed? hogwash! If you can´t put a goal in from the penalty line you have no place at this stage of the tournament anyway.

and besides....why not look at this from the "glass half full" perspective? The Uruguay player took a bullet for his team! He sacrificed himself possibly for the rest of the tournament just so that his team had a small chance of surviving....that's the stuff movies are made of right there! imagine it with the rocky soundtrack behind it...he gambled and it payed off, it's not his fault the Ghana players aparently can´t score penalty kicks.

It should be like goaltending in basketball. The mindless "that's the rule that's the rule that's the rule" droning is dogmatic.

Soccer desperately needs instant replay.

[Ronin]

It should be like goaltending in basketball. The mindless "that's the rule that's the rule that's the rule" droning is dogmatic.
Soccer desperately needs instant replay.

in my view you cannot award by rule points that were not actually scored.

why instant replay in this case? the foul was spotted by the referee and the proper penalty given.

[Proletariat]

What's the animosity against instant replay? In the chat I heard football 'purists' don't want their sport Americanised. This tournament is all about who can most cleverly dupe the referee, handball at the correct times, and then it comes down to phantom offsides calls. At first it was ruining it for me but I think I'm getting used to it now.

I don't mind what Suarez did, tho.

Sasaki, even in basketball, when you're fouled you have to make your foul shots. Ghana missed their penalty kick. I don't think it should be like goaltending tho but I'm also sick of the 'it's the rules it's the rules it's the rules' line.