World Cup and European leagues

[Superfoot Wallace]

Germany
Turkey
Netherlands
Italy

signed,
Tony Mowbray

[Hoosier Titan]

I don't know anything about anything, but how can Manchester CITY have more money to spend than AC Milan?  I guess that's what their excuse is for dropping out of the Ronaldinho chase.

I don't know anything either, but perhaps the new owner (former president of Thailand, right?) has the resources.  And it could be an excuse.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Wow - where did THAT German team come from?!  They must have brought in some ringers to add to the team that lost to Croatia and barely edged pathetic Austria.

As seems the norm for this tourney, the officials may have had a hand in the outcome, with a call and a no call.  I'm not at all convinced that Pepe was offside on his disallowed goal (51st? minute), and Ballack almost certainly got away with a shove to clear himself for the winning header.  If both calls had gone the way they certainly appeared on the tube, the final score would be reversed.

On the other hand, I predicted Germany, so what am I bitchin' about?!

[cawcdad]

Portugal over Germany - This was really hard to do. I hope I'm wrong.
Turkey over Croatia - Upset special, the cardiac kids do it again.
Netherlands over Russia - Should be the most entertaining game, but A Clockwork Orange prevails.
Spain over Italy - Hard to score against a team like Spain that holds the ball the way they do, especially missing key players.

Well, I was wrong and I am happy about it.

[sac]

being wrong seems to be a given for me when it comes to pick'ems on this site .

[Hoosier Titan]

Wow - where did THAT German team come from?!  They must have brought in some ringers to add to the team that lost to Croatia and barely edged pathetic Austria.

My thoughts exactly.  I only saw, basically, the first half.  It looked as though Portugal overslept by about half an hour, especially on defense. 

What I saw made me wonder if Ronaldo's price tag might have dropped a little.  Any other opinions?

[Mr. Ypsi]

We watched somewhat different games, since I didn't tune in until about the 30th minute (shortly after Germany's first two goals).  The announcers referred often to Portugal simply not showing up on time; seems true, since I thought they were the stronger side (though not by a large margin) for the portion of the match I saw.

Ronaldo was quite good (though not truly spectacular) while I was watching.  And, as seems his change of style, actually played futbol - most of the time - and may be suffering the effects of his earlier, whining persona: while he waited to make sure the ref was watching before beginning his death throes on one foul, there were probably 3-4 times he was fouled with no call.

I was quite looking forward to a Portugal/Nederland match, but I'm sure there will be other entertaining matchups.  Tomorrow might be a good one, or it may be two over-achieving sides reverting to form!

[Mr. Ypsi]

BTW, I see that Cape Verde is 2-0-1 in WC qualifying.  If they were to make it (for the first time) would they be the smallest country ever to qualify (population c. 500,000; area just larger than Rhode Island)?

[Mr. Ypsi]

Was anyone else as impressed as I was by Podolski's shot (just wide) at c. the 80 minute mark - that may have been the hardest kick I've ever seen!

Reminded me (relatively speaking) of when it was my turn in goal in a rec coed league.  The opponents happened to have a starter from the Detroit indoor professional team.  I got both hands on his shot - didn't matter: I just got two sprained wrists and he got a goal.  To add insult to injury, as I passed off the gloves to some other sucker, his girlfriend told me he took a lot off the shot.   I think I'll pass if offered a chance to go aganst Podolski.

[Superfoot Wallace]

Was a solid shot, Ypsi.  He toed it however, hence the lack of bend or spin.  The look of surprise by the defender and the avoidance of the shot more  indicated the lack of instep as opposed to the defender's lack of fortitude.  Podolski was playing for the ricochet.  Strong leg undoubtedly, but let's see that velocity using the blades instead of the point of the foot.

regards,
Hungary (1954, May 23rd)

[Stinger]

What I saw made me wonder if Ronaldo's price tag might have dropped a little.  Any other opinions?

Absolute lazy defending on the Klose goal. Good riddance!

[Greek Tragedy]

Holy crap!

Turkish goalie takes a stroll in the park and Croatia scores in the 119th minute.  Game, set, match, right?  Wrong!  Turkey comes back and floats the ball into the box and then drops down perfectly for a screamer from the edge of the box to send it to PKs!  Wow.

[cawcdad]

Holy Cow! In the pick 'em thread I called the Turks the cardiac kids. Boy are they ever. They can't seem to play / score unless they are down and have their back to the wall. Simply amazing.

[cawcdad]

Portugal over Germany - This was really hard to do. I hope I'm wrong.
Turkey over Croatia - Upset special, the cardiac kids do it again.
Netherlands over Russia - Should be the most entertaining game, but A Clockwork Orange prevails.
Spain over Italy - Hard to score against a team like Spain that holds the ball the way they do, especially missing key players.

Got this one correct. 

[Hoosier Titan]

Unbelievable!

I'd say Turkey are toast (er, roasted) against Germany, but then I said that about today's match. 

What a tournament!