World Cup and European leagues

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Sorry to miss all the action this weekend.  That's what I get for only posting on workdays.

The US game was a truly valiant effort.  To tie Italy after those setbacks and a man down was gutsy.  I would have liked the win and I think it would have been a shoe it without the second red card.

Pablo's was crap, although probably yellow worthy and Pope's was justified, I think.  At least, it was consistent with the way the tournament has gone, even with the good refs, like Merk yesterday in the France-Korea match.  That was one heck of a football match; I'd love to see the Swiss and the Koreans moving on.


I don't have faith that Italy can pull that win off, so we're going to have to beat Ghana by like 6 goals, just to be safe.  Can John O'Brien maybe get some playing time now that Eddie Pope is out?  O'Brien can take Pablo's starting spot and I think Conrad did a very good job for Pope (maybe he should have been starting the whole time).

Other than that, I'd like to see Eddie Johnson in and maybe start Beasley over Convey.  I'd rather have Bobby coming in with fresh legs when DeMarcus gets lazy rather than having to rely on Beasley in the second half.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The Swiss to the semis?  I think it can happen!

[Gotberg]

I just got back to the States yesterday from my trip to see a game in the WC.  It was such a blast (figuratively only ).

I saw the Netherlands vs the Ivory Coast.  The dutch fans were a ton of fun and very peaceful (of course they won). 

If you ever have the chance to see the WC outside the US - take advantage of it.  It's soo unique.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Spain got lucky at the right time.  Although, true to form, they were one of the most blatant diving teams I have ever seen.  Those guys seem to instinctively know when the referee doesn't have an angle on the play and they'll just faceplant without even being touched.  Remarkable.

[sac]

I've enjoyed reading the World Cup posts, nice to see a few Americans care ........but seriously, I just felt I needed to weigh in with my opines.


Italy v USA........is there a more gutless whining bunch of soccer players than the Italians.........good grief for a team with so much supposed talent what a bunch of divers and whiners.  Most disgracefull performance I've seen in the cup either that or there are alot of snipers at Italy games.  Now that I have that off my chest.

Congrats to the US team for one of the guttier performances I've seen from a soccer team in a while...........they were up against the wall even before the whistle but who knew they were a man down before they even kicked off......11 v 12.  They earn a medal just for surviving that game and big kudos to how the team handled the result after the game.

I've had my doubts about how far they can go since the draw back in December, just to tough a draw to think they could do much damage.


Most exciting moments of the tournament were the 3 games between Wed night and Thursday with 3 games being decided in the final minutes..........Germany, England and Swedan...........good stuff.  Throw in Aussie's comeback the previous day and it was pretty dramatic.


My unofficial rankings of the teams so far.

1. Argentina..........solid team, fun to see them score 6
2. Brazil......could Ronaldo be fatter
3. Holland.........laugh if you want but I've been impressed with this bunch
4. Germany.....hosts always do well and their win over Poland certainly was inspiring
5. Portugal......lots of talent but have a tough draw in the next round with either Holland or Argentina
6. Spain......loaded but showed their frailties today, and their power, history not on their side
7. England.....for a team with 2 wins they've been very disappointing.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

WOW!!! Very impressed with this post!!!

As a former collegiate soccer player... I feel like I am the only soccer fan at my job (though that isn't completely true - since I do work in TV and the games are on many TV's)... however I am loving reading the posts so far.

Few thoughts:
Team USA - was embarrased by their effort against the CR... happy to see them at least "rebound" against Italy! But I wish we had just out and out beaten them.
The call against Mast... deserved a card... but not a red! He went in very late... and took the ankles out. The way the games are being called... I expected a yellow... but the red was ridiculous.
Pope getting the second yellow... undecided.
This team needs to really step up against Ghana and I think put their foot on the jugular... and not let up. They won't know what has happened in the other game (since they are being played at the same time)... so... just play to win and win by a lot.
Disappointed in Beasley so much this tournament... but not worth rehashing everything already said.

The refs - really tired of these guys. I understand that FIFA wants them to keep thing safe and keep the games under-control... but these cards are ticky-tack. What ever happened to warning players? And what ever happened to calls that made sense. The red card against the Italian in the US game... DESERVED. The second yellow card against - shoot... Trinidad & Tobago player in their second game... was bad. He was penalized for being aggresive to a ball... beating his opponent to it... playing it... and was punished because his opponent is a whimp and dove... I am SO TIRED OF THE DIVES!!!

Anyway... the World Cup has certainly been exciting so far. I am loving watching almost every game (it helps I work at  TV station with plenty fo TV's to watch the games all day long) and look forward to the rest of this tournament (USA or not!).

[Greek Tragedy]

Spain got lucky at the right time.  Although, true to form, they were one of the most blatant diving teams I have ever seen.  Those guys seem to instinctively know when the referee doesn't have an angle on the play and they'll just faceplant without even being touched.  Remarkable.

Uh?  Everyone dives.  But I'm not sure where that really came into play in the Spain/Tunisia game.  I thought the pace of it was outstanding with both teams going for goal.  The one thing that's constant with those African teams is that they are entertaining.

Spain's first was a poacher's goal with Raul finishing off a very nice movement by Spain.  The breakaway goal was clinical and the 3rd was a bit harsh.  Both were grabbing, but I honestly don't think the Spanish player was "looking for" a PK.  The goalie was unfortunate not to keep it out. 

Very entertaining trio of games today.  2-0, 4-0 and 3-1.  Though scoring is always a bonus, all three games were played at a high level with both teams in each game looking to score. 

Since sac started it...

1.)  Argentina-not just because they scored 6, but they really do look unstoppable

2.)  Holland-Robben is a stud and it's nice to see R v. N get on the board.

3.)  Spain-stats show they've scored 3 or more goals in SIX straight group games and now have 21 wins, the most of any WC team that hasn't won the Cup.  They should have an easy draw in the 2nd round.

4.)  Ecuador-I can't name anyone on their team, but no one gave them a shot to even win a game at sea level.  They had the worst away record in WC qualifying.

5.)  Germany-simply because they are the host team.  They showed they could score vs. Costa Rica, but then again they showed their defensive frailities as well.

6.)  Brazil-Ronaldinho, Robinho, Robert Carlos, Dida...and FRED.  Australia also outplayed Brazil.

7.)  England-Rooney is back and is scheduled to start tomorrow.

Biggest surprise:  Ecuador
Biggest disappointment:  France

Oh yeah, if it was up to me, Tommy Smyth and whoever he's paired up with should do every game.  Screw Balboa, Rob Stone and that Shepp guy.  Harkes isn't too bad.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Spain got lucky at the right time.  Although, true to form, they were one of the most blatant diving teams I have ever seen.  Those guys seem to instinctively know when the referee doesn't have an angle on the play and they'll just faceplant without even being touched.  Remarkable.

I totally disagree - more like their bad luck finally went away!  I unfortuntely missed the first half, but at least for the second Spain must have had possession 75% of the time, at one point had outshot Tunisia for the half by 10-0 (I think it must have finished about 14 or 15 to maybe 1), yet still trailed at the 70-minute mark!  If the comeback had not occurred that would have been BY FAR the biggest upset of this Cup (after all, while comparative scores is always a mine-laden game, Spain destroyed Ukraine, 4-0, Ukraine destroyed the Saudis, 4-0, and Tunisia can only get a tie on KSA??!).

I'd also have to disagree re: the PK.  While the anouncers also thought it harsh, I thought it way way lenient (especially as card-happy as most of the refs have been).  My view of the play was that there was mutual jostling and grabbing early on, but once Torres went up for what might well have been a header-goal, the defender put on a bear-hug and threw him to the ground.  Where I come from, such a deliberate, illegal denial of a goal is not just a PK, it is a red card.  It is the same as a deliberate hand-stop, assuming you are not the keeper!  (Assuming also that you are not Maradona, or a German defender playing USA in 2002!)

[David Collinge]

The run of play certainly favored the Spaniards the entire game, but Tunisia did have at least one first-half shot.  It wasn't an own goal, after all.  [Edit: Tunisia ended up with 4 shots, 3 of them on goal.  Two of these were on the scoring play, a corner kick with a save and goal off the rebound.  Spain, by contrast, had 24 shots and was credited with 66% possession.  Match stats.]

I agree that Argentina and the Dutch are looking good so far, but I think the team to beat so far has to be the Fat Kid's Mostly French Team.  Lampard and Robben look great, and Zidane's yellow cards don't eliminate him from the playground.  I have doubts about how deep they can go with Defoe in goal, though.   

The playground game truly is "impossible," as advertised, but it's not because of Cisse's health or Platini's and Beckenbauer's youth.  It's impossible because, if it were the real World Cup, Jose's foul on Robben would have resulted in faux-agony for Robben and a booking for Jose.   

[Mr. Ypsi]

The run of play certainly favored the Spaniards the entire game, but Tunisia did have at least one first-half shot.  It wasn't an own goal, after all.

David, I surely hope you read briefs more carefully than posts!   (And I'm sure you do.) 

If you re-read my post, the shot stats were clearly for the second half only.  But the Spaniards were TOTALLY dominant in the second half (like I said, I missed the first half) - I can attribute their still trailing in the 70th minute only to tons of bad luck. 

Spain SHOULD have breezed through this game (and their game against KSA SHOULD be a rout), but strange things happen when you move from on paper to on the pitch.  I think Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia-Montenegro (which no longer even exists!), and perhaps only one or two others are competing to avoid 'bottom-of-the-barrel'.

[David Collinge]

Oops.  Briefs are easier for me to understand, since they don't typically have as many parentheticals as your posts. 

[Mr. Ypsi]

Oops.  Briefs are easier for me to understand, since they don't typically have as many parentheticals as your posts. 

I'm not sure that is true (as a former union president, and union organizer, I read a fair amount of briefs!), but at least I don't DELIBERATELY obfuscate as frequently as the average brief!

My second favorite t-shirt: 'Eschew Obfuscation'. 

[My favorite is from my 14-year-old yesterday: a picture of the US World Cup Team, and reading Happy Fathers Day - he did the computer work himself, though he had a bit of help from my wife on the t-shirt decal.]

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Uh?  Everyone dives. 

True, everyone (except for the Americans, and usually the English) dive all the time, but most countries wait until they've been touched and then "sell it."  I wouldn't do it, but I understand why they do and it makes sense.

Late in the second half the camera caught the quintissential Spanish dive, however.  One of the Spanish guys is coming down the sideline, looks back over his shoulder, sees that the Tunisian defender is blocking he refs view and he just does a summersault.  The defender was three feet away.  The Spanish guy just went heels over head and the Tunisian guy rolled his eyes and ran back to set up the defense.  It was rediculous.  That's what I mean about the diving.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

A bunch of big games today.  The Germans get a touch one and England get to try their best to help T&T move on.

[Greek Tragedy]

Say Ecuador and Germany tie and the South Americans get first place.  Does England sandbag it, let Sweden win and have them play the host country?  Ummm.

Since we're all soccer experts, here's an easy trivia question.

Regarding the all-too-familiar soccer commercial involving the two kids picking all-star teams, name BOTH players that originally start in goal.  If you want, you can send me a message through the site with your guess! lol.