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** Official FIFA World Cup 2006 thread **

perkele said:
Germans deserved it. Next match will be even easier.

Ballack, World Cup's MVP.
Click to expand...
argentina controled for most of the first half,but in the last third or so of the first half germany started to bring constant pressure
all second half too
OT was about equal
 
"These teams are about to put their their fans through the emotional wringer of penalty kicks. This is supposed to be fun."
the announcer's pretty funny.

clap clap clap-clap-clap, clap-clap-CLAP-clap, ENG-LAND!!!!
 
penalty kicks are awesome
penalty kics in quarterfinals in world cup and beyond has to be the most exciting event in all of sports
has there ever been a title decided by penalty kicks?
at least a billion peeps watching around the globe
 
also too I read recently that ABC/ESPN's US TV ratings are up 93%(about double) from the 1998 world cup
2002 was in korea and didn't offer good viewing times
also too the US matches were only 7% better,thus meaning that the US audience is watching all the matches
 
I think the french are dominating so far
they have some african-american players
 
brazil hasn't looked good all tourny
this doesn't surprise me at all
 
4everhung said:
brazil hasn't looked good all tourny
this doesn't surprise me at all
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Usually they start weak and finish strong
and they had more individual stars with (supposedly) more skill
but Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Ze Roberto, Kaka, all got locked down.
In the end they were more legend than reality
And new stars are born and old ones shine again (Zidane, Henry, Ribery)
 
Island Son said:
Usually they start weak and finish strong
and they had more individual stars with (supposedly) more skill
but Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Ze Roberto, Kaka, all got locked down.
In the end they were more legend than reality
And new stars are born and old ones shine again (Zidane, Henry, Ribery)
Click to expand...
that's the custard bookies make their money from
peeps tend to take the "favorites",with favorites established based on past performance
anticipating future performance is considerably difficult
 
Italy,France and Brazil "underachieved" in the early matches
so I was thinking which could "turn it up a notch" when it got serious
Portugal gave it all today,but that's it for them
France and Brazil were underachievers
France dominated
and now there's four
Italy was weak against the US
Germany has yet to show weakness
Argentina was the team to beat
and down a goal they kept their poise
and then humilated them in the penalty kick round
watching all the failed shots today btw UK and Portugal
and then juxtapose that with the precision German penalty kicks
the german team is the best coached and they have a "psych" mission
 
what I find interesting about the penalty kick round
is it changes a team sport into a one vs one matchup
like in baseball hitter vs pitcher
and the four Germans all got base hits
perfect too
 
I remember as a child reading about the improbable '69 NY Jets victory in superbowl III against the heavy favorite Colts
the Jets coach,Weeb Ewbank,stressed "poise and execution"
the Joe Namath led Jets won 20-7
 
some of the pre-cup commentary speculated the german team might suffer in performance due to the pressure of being the host team
I haven't seen any evidence of that
 
4everhung said:
I think the french are dominating so far
they have some african-american players
Click to expand...

Aren't these guys just as French as Francois Mitterand? Remember Yannick Noah? Lot's of black frenchmen, just like lots of blacks here.

BTW, Beckham quitting was bad for the sport of Soccer. Here it is the WORLD CUP QUARTERFINALS and supposedly one of the games greatest players walks off the field due to injury.

Note: walked off, not carted off.
 
4everhung said:
what I find interesting about the penalty kick round
is it changes a team sport into a one vs one matchup
like in baseball hitter vs pitcher
and the four Germans all got base hits
perfect too
Click to expand...

...and the German goalie did his homework and it paid off.
 
Longhorn85 said:
Aren't these guys just as French as Francois Mitterand? Remember Yannick Noah? Lot's of black frenchmen, just like lots of blacks here.



Note: walked off, not carted off.
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yeah I know
was just joking around
the french team looked good
a franco-german title match would be cool
 
everyone should just go ahead and smack rooney in the face.. he should be paraded around the UK and slapped by every england fan..

yeah!!! go Portugal!! beat france!! haha!
 
Stop dissin Portugal.

Have to love everyone acting like Rooney cost them the game. As if victory was assured otherwise.

Portugal was also without two of its better players, including Deco, but apparently that is a non factor. Yeah I know they played a man short.

The better team won
 
uh huh.. but rooney's dismissal was one of the cause of them losing.. it brought the team's morale down.. not that i'm a england supporter.. but that it was the fact and it contributed to the loss..

portugal really worked their asses off so far.. and kudos to them! the upcoming match with france looks really intimidating but who knows? they managed england.. hehe.. but england didn't have zizou did they?
 
As long as Italy don't win, I'll be happy... Hopefully the Krauts will rape them 5 - 0 tomorrow night.

Wouldn't mind seeing Portugal win it, considering they haven't won it before. :cool:
 
carlsuen said:
uh huh.. but rooney's dismissal was one of the cause of them losing.. it brought the team's morale down.. not that i'm a england supporter.. but that it was the fact and it contributed to the loss..

portugal really worked their asses off so far.. and kudos to them! the upcoming match with france looks really intimidating but who knows? they managed england.. hehe.. but england didn't have zizou did they?
Click to expand...


England just wasn't that good.

France has a very good team, even if they are all Algierians;) They should be the favorite with Brazil and Argentina both out. I like Portugal better against Italy or Germany than France.

And we have Figo bitch:) Not to mention the gay boy Ronaldo who should stop being such a show off and just score some fucking goals. Bitch keeps playing with the ball
 
Spoke with a German fellow tonight, his pitch was 'why does England have a Swedish manager'?

Good fucking point I thought.

When it comes to international tournaments it's in the best interests of the team to have a manager of the same nationality, correct?
 
Last edited:
In the end experience pays off

France and Portugal are "old" teams with very experienced players

Germany - France should be the final
 
two entire nations
on the edge tomorrow
2est
and the rest of the world
 
yeap.. i hope they will have a fantastic match up against france so that it will be a fair play and the better team wins!

still there's italy.. but judging from their game with germany i think they are an easier team to play against compared to france..
 
carlsuen said:
yeap.. i hope they will have a fantastic match up against france so that it will be a fair play and the better team wins!

still there's italy.. but judging from their game with germany i think they are an easier team to play against compared to france..
Click to expand...

Surely you are joking??! As much as I hate Italy for Grosso's blatant dive to get through to the Quarters against Australia, their defence is VERY good and a class above any other side in the WC. They outplayed the Germans for the entire game, and bar one occasion, Buffon wasn't really challenged all night.

It will take a VERY good midfield and attack to break through their defence. I hope I'm wrong but I can't see either Portugal or France being able to break through it at this stage.
 
Scolari has been doing extremely well with Portugal, they've had a lot of "firsts" in the last couple of years.
If Portugal wins I won't be overly upset. Plus they're more likely to get physical with the Italian forwards/mids which will be needed to slow them down.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Zidane and Ribery this afternoon!!! This match may be better than the final!!!
 
Italy vs France

Who would have imagined those 2 teams to go to the final?
 
anthrax said:
Italy vs France

Who would have imagined those 2 teams to go to the final?
Click to expand...

lol ive been saying France since round 1. They just started out kinda slow. They have the best overall team if you look at their players. I'm pretty sure they will beat Italy as well.
 
thewanderer690 said:
lol ive been saying France since round 1. They just started out kinda slow. They have the best overall team if you look at their players. I'm pretty sure they will beat Italy as well.
Click to expand...

Yes and you were right

But none of the bookmakers have rated France high when the competition started.

I am glad such great players as Zidane, Thuram, Barthez, Makelele and Viera will retire after an amazing World cup

The younger teams will have other opportunities to win
 
Apparently ZZ was all but ready to retire from International football when he had a spiritual experience one night and claims to have spoken to a deceased friend who convinced him he should not retire from the French international football as he had more to achieve... spooky! ;)
 
I've heard nothing but announcers and all of these commentators going on and on about this Zidane guy. People like me who don't know much about soccer have been wondering what all the fuss was about, and now this head butt to the chest.

That was an awesome head butt, I've never seen one like it during a sporting event, but it sure hurt his team.

Also why did the French coach pull Henry from the field with only a few minutes left? Wouldn't you want your best player kicking penalty kicks?

I don't understand this sport.
 
Phenom78 said:
What a pathetic way to go out.

Just the dumbest thing I've ever seen
Click to expand...

Right after the clowns during the medal ceremonies. I'm glad they didn't shove the world cup trophy in someone's butt before letting the captain touch it FIRST.
 
Longhorn85 said:
I've heard nothing but announcers and all of these commentators going on and on about this Zidane guy. People like me who don't know much about soccer have been wondering what all the fuss was about, and now this head butt to the chest.

That was an awesome head butt, I've never seen one like it during a sporting event, but it sure hurt his team.

Also why did the French coach pull Henry from the field with only a few minutes left? Wouldn't you want your best player kicking penalty kicks?

I don't understand this sport.
Click to expand...

zidane is probably the most gifted player in this sport, his creativeness and elegant poise with the ball is just amazing.. sad that he erupted like that.. apparently hes is really a reserved guy.. so materazzi must've said something really offensive to trigger that head butt..

and henry was having a hamstring problem.. so he wouldn't be able to play affeciently.. and with ribery, zidane, viera on the bench, no way they could've ensured 100% victory.. what's more, barthez is just to damn short for a keeper.. don't cover alot of ground..
 
The Secret of American Foreign Affairs
By Stanley K. Ridgley, Ph.D.
CNSNews.com Commentary
April 29, 2003



During his administration, Bill Clinton cut the United States Army from 18 active divisions to 10 and presided over an aimless "Blackhawk Down" foreign policy. How, then, could the U.S. military remain so formidable as to conquer Iraq, a nation of 24 million people, in three weeks?

A larger question is how does our military continue to outstrip the rest of the world in every category, from soldier training to leadership to the will to win? The answer to that question is one of the great secrets of American foreign affairs.

There is one primary reason for the rise of U.S. military power over the past century and its overwhelming capability to fight and win wars: American football.

Decried by some as a simple-minded sport that "glorifies" violence and appeals to the blue-collar, beer-bellied crowd, football is a phenomenon woven into America's social fabric and into the psyche of her people.

The United States is a football nation - football players and football fans - and this sociological factor sets Americans apart from every other nation on earth.

American football is a brutal collision sport in which every player's mettle is tested on every play. At its supreme level, the mutual human violence done in football is greater than that of any other sport in the world.

The only other sport that approaches football in bone-crunching controlled mayhem is rugby, another Anglo-Saxon game played almost exclusively by the British and Australians. Coincidentally, they were the two major powers providing ground troops for the war in Iraq.

Football is violent, but it is not aimless violence. Each individual collision is a tightly circumscribed competition that measures each man's heart, drive, intellect, skill and cunning.

On both sides of the ball, strategy and counterstrategy - the multiplicity of options on a single play - contrive to create an intricate and sophisticated contest. Football is as cerebral as it is violent.

The only people who cannot comprehend football's sophistication are snobs who would like nothing better than to believe that these slashing wide receivers and great gridiron behemoths smashing into each other are dumber than they are. What a devastating ego shock to realize that the average college professor would be incapable mentally, as well as physically, to play successfully the modern game of football.

Why incapable? Because a working intellect under intense psychological pressure and physical exhaustion is an entirely different quality than a working intellect languishing in the library.

Players must execute a sophisticated battle plan swiftly, decisively and flawlessly in extreme situations, while a similarly equipped and talented group of athletes is doing its best to stop them. Play after play, there is no room for error.

In football, there is no time for still more "resolutions." The threat must be perceived and evaluated and the correct decision made now or the consequences could be ignominious defeat. The ethos of football and its prerequisite talents, attitudes and qualities are inculcated in abundance in America's military leaders.

While the football ethos is reflected in America's national spirit and her military, the Europeans draw from a distinctly different sports tradition; one developed on the playing fields of Paris and Potsdam, Boulogne and Berlin.

The ethos of what Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called "Old Europe" is exemplified in the game of soccer.

Soccer is a beautiful and well-powdered sport, much like "diplomacy," bringing to mind men in top hats and striped pants walking herky-jerky, as in black-and-white silent newsreels. Soccer is French jeu d'esprit, and it is the sport of the United Nations.

Soccer rules are easily understood, and the sport is imbued with a comradely egalitarian aspect. Players run about. They wave their arms. Sometimes, they fall down. Sometimes, they can even be tripped, and it is in these moments that Europeans first learn to be either bad actors or diplomats; tumbling on the turf, clutching a "bruised" shin, then bounding up unhurt to take a free kick (or a post-war oil concession.)

Soccer matches can and frequently do end in a tie. This abundance of scoreless ties leads one to suspect that for soccer players, as for U.N. diplomats, the goal is to stall until ultimately nothing is resolved, and no one can really be blamed. Tie-breaking "shootouts" in international play ought to be eliminated altogether, since an egalitarian draw of no winner, no loser, and no hurt feelings is a U.N. dream come true.

The activity, in the end, is pointless. But fans will neither despair nor rejoice at the outcome; aficionados in smoky salons, sipping espresso, can debate endlessly who played the better game.

Is it any wonder that the Old European nations shrink from decisive action, taking only tentative, mincing steps, hoping they'll never have to fight for anything and unable to decide firmly whether there is anything at all worth fighting for?

Consider also what American football is not. It is not about passing the buck, walking while others carry the load or debating until you are overcome by events. Nor is it about ennui, languor and the c'est la vie attitude.

Football is about character and courage, might and mettle, decisiveness, strength and stamina. It is about men who sacrifice, who dare great things and who are not afraid to win great victories.

Hundreds of thousands of American boys and young men play football each year, forging a distinctly American character in the fire of competition. This character is reflected in the American military and its successes.

I am not the first to claim more from sport than might be deserved. Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, supposedly credited his victory over Napoleon at Waterloo to his having been schooled on the "playing fields of Eton," his famous alma mater. So mightn't there be substance here?

Perhaps. American football might not be the great secret of American foreign affairs success of the past 100 years, but it does capture much that is true about the United States and her mettle. And surely, it is one small part of why she is great.


Stanley K. Ridgley, Ph.D., is president of the Russian-American Institute and a former military intelligence officer.
 
American Football is a military ground acquisition game...with a little air force thrown in (The Pass).....

I think I read somewhere in a book that some Russians military leaders were amazed by it when they visted the U.S in the 70`s and saw one.
 
Looking for bright side after loss to Ghana, U.S. points to 20 year advantage in life expectancy




Their first round exit from the World Cup at the hands of Ghana still fresh in their minds, the U.S. Soccer team has taken comfort in the knowledge that their Ghana adversaries will be dead 20 years before they will at current life expectancy rates.

"It's not better than a win, but we'll take it," said U.S. player Claudio Reyna. "We'll be watching high-def DVDs of the loss with our grand kids long after those guys have starved to death, or been shot, or whatever it is they do to each other in Ghana."

Several U.S. players did not miss the opportunity to remind their Ghana counterparts of this fact at the close of the game.

"'Nice game, you'll be dead in 20 years,' was my standard greeting when we shook hands after the game," said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. "They understood enough English to get my drift."

Other comments heard from the Americans at the post-game handshake were "Good Luck with the Typhoid Fever" and "Don't Get Eaten by a Lion."

"Sure, the loss hurt," continued Reyna. "But when you consider the recurrent drought in Ghana that is severely affecting agricultural activities, the relentless deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, the rampant poaching and habitat destruction that they have to deal with up until the day they are eaten alive by a gang of white-toothed shrews, well, the loss stings a bit less.
 
carlsuen said:
zidane is probably the most gifted player in this sport, his creativeness and elegant poise with the ball is just amazing.. sad that he erupted like that.. apparently hes is really a reserved guy.. so materazzi must've said something really offensive to trigger that head butt..

and henry was having a hamstring problem.. so he wouldn't be able to play affeciently.. and with ribery, zidane, viera on the bench, no way they could've ensured 100% victory.. what's more, barthez is just to damn short for a keeper.. don't cover alot of ground..
Click to expand...

They showed clips of other on-the-field antics by Zidane. This wasn't his first. He may be gifted, creative, etc, but that didn't turn into goals scored on his part this entire cup except for friggin' penalty kicks. Any decent soccer player should be able to make those.

Henry managed to stay on the field for over 100 minutes. You mean to tell me he couldn't stay on to kick one penalty kick when the WC is on the line?
 
I read he made a racist comment about his algerian origin (even though Zidane was born in France)

They should have been both red carded

On a side note the headbutt was pretty nice ;)
 
perkele said:
Materazzi called his sister a prostitute.

Headbutt approved.
Click to expand...

I completely agree but it wasn't the time or the place. He might have shot the penalty instead of Trezeguet. His team needed him at that moment. His responsibility to them exceed personal matters. And that was the last thing he did as a player. Years from know, nobody will remember what Materazzi did. It will always be "What Zidane did in his last game."
 
Mercere said:
I completely agree but it wasn't the time or the place. He might have shot the penalty instead of Trezeguet. His team needed him at that moment. His responsibility to them exceed personal matters. And that was the last thing he did as a player. Years from know, nobody will remember what Materazzi did. It will always be "What Zidane did in his last game."
Click to expand...


satchboggie, is that you?
 
perkele said:
Materazzi called his sister a prostitute.

Headbutt approved.
Click to expand...
If that is all it takes, then Zidane should not be considered anywhere near one of the best in the game.

A BIIIIG part of sports is the mental aspect of the game and that includes how you handle pressure, the media, the fans, and yes, trash talking. If it were the streets, then Zidane should have broken Materazzi's face into pieces. But it was during a game. It was childish, immature, amateurish and pathetic all together. He should hang his head in shame for not being a man and able to control himself.

I don't what Materazzi said (if he said anything at all), but I am smart enough to guess that this type of trash talk happens A LOT in soccer. It's just that all of you never hear about it until an incident like this and then you react.
 
perkele said:
Materazzi called his sister a prostitute.

Headbutt approved.
Click to expand...
That's funny, I heard on ESPN that Zidane claimed he called him a terrorist. I wonder how many different versions there will be. Regardless of what WAS said, at that level of the sport, you dont do that shit. But, easier said than done I guess. I'm sure that close to the end of the game and it could have gone either way, tempers were flaring and adrenalin flowing. He made a bad impulsive decision.
 
And how the hell did Zidane get the top player?!! nevermind the childish behavior, but Cannavaro deserved it on the field. Hell, weren't 2 of Zidane's goals on PKs?? PKs?!
 
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