FIFA: 2010 World Cup Discussion Thread
#1522
Registered Member
iTrader: (1)
haha i won $100 for voting Spain for winner which was even before the world cup started
well after watching the game... dunno why, maybe injured or something... but Netherland shouldn't have sub Gio(Giovanni van Bronckhorst) the captain... after then the defenders were like they have no idea where to go... and he always covered up the last...final guy.... and at last no one for Iniesta and goal....
Eventhough there was only 1 goal scored...it was good.interesting game....
congratz for SPAIN haha
well after watching the game... dunno why, maybe injured or something... but Netherland shouldn't have sub Gio(Giovanni van Bronckhorst) the captain... after then the defenders were like they have no idea where to go... and he always covered up the last...final guy.... and at last no one for Iniesta and goal....
Eventhough there was only 1 goal scored...it was good.interesting game....
congratz for SPAIN haha
#1523
What Would Don Draper Do?
gio was probably wasted by then. he's already in extratime and he's on old legs.
and he was carrying a yellow, already, and was getting roasted by navas.
it was a good sub, imo.
and he was carrying a yellow, already, and was getting roasted by navas.
it was a good sub, imo.
#1526
Q('.')=O
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
I won my bracket $400 in my pocket with a $20 buy in
Btw, on a un-biased side, the Dutch literally looked like they were trying to beat the fuck out of the Spanish (LOL Robben YOU PIECE OF DIVING SHIT 2 CHANCES ON GOAL AND FUCKED UP BOTH LOL F U). Van Bommel should have had a second yellow for a red. And OMFG don't even get me started on De Jong's mother fucking karate kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso... that was OBVIOUSLY a mother fucking red card.
Honestly, imo, the better team won today. And another honestly, it was fucking disgraceful watching the Dutch play. I used to love them for their beautiful football but all the diving (Robben mostly of course... fucking Italian..) and their ridiculous no-ball-contact fouls make me hate them more. The beautiful game from Netherlands is gone... it seems more like 'do wtfever it takes whether it is diving or breaking peoples' legs' momentum.
Spain won. Spain deserved to win.
Btw, on a un-biased side, the Dutch literally looked like they were trying to beat the fuck out of the Spanish (LOL Robben YOU PIECE OF DIVING SHIT 2 CHANCES ON GOAL AND FUCKED UP BOTH LOL F U). Van Bommel should have had a second yellow for a red. And OMFG don't even get me started on De Jong's mother fucking karate kick to the chest of Xabi Alonso... that was OBVIOUSLY a mother fucking red card.
Honestly, imo, the better team won today. And another honestly, it was fucking disgraceful watching the Dutch play. I used to love them for their beautiful football but all the diving (Robben mostly of course... fucking Italian..) and their ridiculous no-ball-contact fouls make me hate them more. The beautiful game from Netherlands is gone... it seems more like 'do wtfever it takes whether it is diving or breaking peoples' legs' momentum.
Spain won. Spain deserved to win.
#1527
What Would Don Draper Do?
congrats, imj!
ironic that if robben did fall to the ground, he might have gotten the call. what's funy is puyol managed to do a 360, leg out slide. it's hilarious in slow-mo.
ironic that if robben did fall to the ground, he might have gotten the call. what's funy is puyol managed to do a 360, leg out slide. it's hilarious in slow-mo.
#1528
Burning Brakes
Spain really deserved their victories over Germany and Holland. They out-played both teams and now they've won.
I'm sad that the WorldCup is over but there is MLS!! Support Union
I'm sad that the WorldCup is over but there is MLS!! Support Union
#1529
they weren't nearly as dirty as Netherlands was in this game. glad the good guy won
#1532
Moderator Alumnus
This stings, but congrats Spain, a match well played. We'll be in mourning for a while but I feel comfortable saying the better team won. Can't wait until 2014, it was a great cup.
#1534
What Would Don Draper Do?
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iker and his hot girlfriend.
iker and his hot girlfriend.
#1535
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Not Las Vegas (SF Bay Area)
Age: 40
Posts: 63,276
Received 2,793 Likes
on
1,988 Posts
#1537
Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Not Las Vegas (SF Bay Area)
Age: 40
Posts: 63,276
Received 2,793 Likes
on
1,988 Posts
video or link, im too lazy to google it and want someone else to do it for me.
#1538
The Dumb One
iTrader: (1)
clearly its luck.. but pretty awesome luck and entertaining.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P_bJ...layer_embedded
#1540
Senior Moderator
Lame championship game. I was pulling for Holland, but both teams played pretty bad.
#1541
Team Owner
I think it was more disruptive than bad. Netherlands wanted to kill the Spanish rhythm which they did albeit in a dirty manner. I know Webb didn't want to kick out any players early to keep it an even match but some of those fouls hurt for real.
#1542
Safety Car
That kick was hilarious, not for Xabi of course, that HAD to have hurt. I thought for sure he was going to get red carded.
#1543
Senior Moderator
It was bad because both sides had clear chances to score, but the finishing was horrendous.
#1545
Senior Moderator
Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo has blamed the vuvuzelas for the own goal he scored in Brazil's World Cup Quarter-Final against Holland.
Melo has been widely blamed for Brazil's premature exit from the competition and was even warned by Ronaldo not to holiday back home.
He had started the Quarter-Final in fine form, setting up Robinho for Brazil's opening goal with a stunning pass from midfield.
However, it all went down hill from then onwards as he got in Julio Cesar's way while defending a set-piece, which allowed Holland to equalise.
Melo then failed to pick up Wesley Sneijder who scored Holland's second goal and was sent off soon afterwards for stamping on Arjen Robben.
Brazil lost 2-1 and their World Cup dream was over.
Speaking to Rede Globo, Melo said: “I will not be a scapegoat in any way: it's seems that everything I have done has been negative.
“We are forgetting the good things like the assist I gave to Robinho and the good performances in the other games.
“I know that I share part of the blame for the defeat against Holland, but I know that I gave my best.”
When asked about the own goal, he said: “Julio Cesar called for the ball, but with the vuvuzelas it was difficult to hear.
“Now my only objective is that of returning to Juventus and doing a good job.”
Melo has been widely blamed for Brazil's premature exit from the competition and was even warned by Ronaldo not to holiday back home.
He had started the Quarter-Final in fine form, setting up Robinho for Brazil's opening goal with a stunning pass from midfield.
However, it all went down hill from then onwards as he got in Julio Cesar's way while defending a set-piece, which allowed Holland to equalise.
Melo then failed to pick up Wesley Sneijder who scored Holland's second goal and was sent off soon afterwards for stamping on Arjen Robben.
Brazil lost 2-1 and their World Cup dream was over.
Speaking to Rede Globo, Melo said: “I will not be a scapegoat in any way: it's seems that everything I have done has been negative.
“We are forgetting the good things like the assist I gave to Robinho and the good performances in the other games.
“I know that I share part of the blame for the defeat against Holland, but I know that I gave my best.”
When asked about the own goal, he said: “Julio Cesar called for the ball, but with the vuvuzelas it was difficult to hear.
“Now my only objective is that of returning to Juventus and doing a good job.”
#1546
#1547
Suzuka Master
Boring game. I actually snoozed in the 2nd half. The better more deserving team won. I, along with a million others, called Espana to take it all before the Cup started. It's like combining the Yankees and Phillies for the World Baseball Classic. Basically, Espana=Barcelona and their style of play+Real Madrid. Sheeit even Villa is going to Barca next season. I think only 2 of Espana's starters are NOT on Barca or Real LOL.
Interesting article from Yahoo about what JMT was discussing.
How Team USA can become a world-beater
By Martin Rogers and Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
JOHANNESBURG – Until 8-year-olds aspire to be Landon Donovan rather than LeBron James, the United States is as far away from matching the new world-standard Spain as it has been with any World Cup champion of the past 80 years.
Landon Donovan makes an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last month.
(Charles Sykes/AP)
Right now, soccer is the other sport that elite young American athletes play on a big field. The participation numbers in youth soccer are staggering. But it’s a pastime, mostly suburban, and not the route to either a college education or untold riches that inspire the best and most dedicated of players.
Those kids dribble basketballs with their hands instead of soccer balls with their feet. They play football, not futbol. That’s why Americans dominate in those sports.
Related Video
World Cup WinnerWorld Cup Winner
South Africa 2010
Top goal celebrations
Will Spain continue to reign?
More World Cup Videos
More World Cup Stories
Spain's hero pays tribute to fallen friend
Winners and losers from World Cup 2010
ADVERTISEMENT
Training, coaching, commitment, popularity, they all play a part in a nation attaining international success, as Spain did Sunday in defeating the Netherlands 1-0 here to win the World Cup.
In Spanish society, soccer is not a game. It is a way of life, a rite of passage for young men seeking not athletic perfection but credibility among their peers. It’s not so different than football in Texas or basketball in Brooklyn.
Eight-year-olds – or younger – are driven by material, obvious rewards. Today the richest, most famous, most beloved American athletes play football or basketball or baseball. Those sports provide the role models. Those role models are the bench mark.
They get the eight-figure endorsement and the MTV “Cribs” segments and the one-name superstar status (Kobe, Peyton, A-Rod, etc.).
Donovan is the closest thing to a U.S. star in soccer and his name only comes up once every four years. He can make around $4 million a year, in salary and endorsements – less than the NBA mid-level veteran exemption. Most of the American players have had to leave their homeland to find even less money – an unappealing prospect to a kid.
Forget the millions. A realistic prize – a college scholarship – is more readily available in those other sports. While some U.S. colleges offer full-rides, many are forced to pool their scholarships and allocate them partially to multiple players.
Even the best-funded college soccer team has just 9.9 scholarships to offer. A football team has 85.
They don’t have 100,000-seat campus cathedrals for college soccer. They don’t show the games from morning to midnight on Saturdays. They don’t have March Madness.
The kids are going to follow what’s in front of them. And the World Cup, while splashed all over television screens and the news during the briefest of windows, is enough to pique, but not maintain, interest.
If U.S. Soccer could just get some of the athletes playing Division I college football or basketball – the ones who won’t make the NFL or NBA – then it would stand a chance. With a population of 330 million, the numbers would be there. Spain is a nation of just 45 million.
Spain, however, is home to arguably the world’s best professional league. The money and glory of La Liga means soccer chooses them, rather than the other way around. And then an intricate development and identification web kicks into gear. It allows the cream of the crop to be identified at a base level and immediately ushered into an environment where they can mature.
The U.S. has neither of these things. One of the biggest problems for U.S. Soccer is that talented youngsters too often slip through the net. The country is simply too big and its soccer infrastructure is still too much in its infancy.
That’s the not case with Little League, Pop Warner or AAU basketball.
For the United States, it isn’t about a quick fix or a new coach. It can field an excellent national team – one that can contend for World Cup quarterfinals or maybe semifinals.
But without a dramatic change of the culture, one that can get the kids’ attention, the prospects of beating the world’s best and holding aloft the golden trophy are remote.
Since Landon isn’t about to become LeBron, U.S. Soccer needs a non-materialistic spark.
How to grab the next generation’s attention? Field a winning team. How to field a winning team? Get those best athletes out of helmets and into soccer cleats.
Welcome to the Catch-22 of American soccer.
Interesting article from Yahoo about what JMT was discussing.
How Team USA can become a world-beater
By Martin Rogers and Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
JOHANNESBURG – Until 8-year-olds aspire to be Landon Donovan rather than LeBron James, the United States is as far away from matching the new world-standard Spain as it has been with any World Cup champion of the past 80 years.
Landon Donovan makes an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" last month.
(Charles Sykes/AP)
Right now, soccer is the other sport that elite young American athletes play on a big field. The participation numbers in youth soccer are staggering. But it’s a pastime, mostly suburban, and not the route to either a college education or untold riches that inspire the best and most dedicated of players.
Those kids dribble basketballs with their hands instead of soccer balls with their feet. They play football, not futbol. That’s why Americans dominate in those sports.
Related Video
World Cup WinnerWorld Cup Winner
South Africa 2010
Top goal celebrations
Will Spain continue to reign?
More World Cup Videos
More World Cup Stories
Spain's hero pays tribute to fallen friend
Winners and losers from World Cup 2010
ADVERTISEMENT
Training, coaching, commitment, popularity, they all play a part in a nation attaining international success, as Spain did Sunday in defeating the Netherlands 1-0 here to win the World Cup.
In Spanish society, soccer is not a game. It is a way of life, a rite of passage for young men seeking not athletic perfection but credibility among their peers. It’s not so different than football in Texas or basketball in Brooklyn.
Eight-year-olds – or younger – are driven by material, obvious rewards. Today the richest, most famous, most beloved American athletes play football or basketball or baseball. Those sports provide the role models. Those role models are the bench mark.
They get the eight-figure endorsement and the MTV “Cribs” segments and the one-name superstar status (Kobe, Peyton, A-Rod, etc.).
Donovan is the closest thing to a U.S. star in soccer and his name only comes up once every four years. He can make around $4 million a year, in salary and endorsements – less than the NBA mid-level veteran exemption. Most of the American players have had to leave their homeland to find even less money – an unappealing prospect to a kid.
Forget the millions. A realistic prize – a college scholarship – is more readily available in those other sports. While some U.S. colleges offer full-rides, many are forced to pool their scholarships and allocate them partially to multiple players.
Even the best-funded college soccer team has just 9.9 scholarships to offer. A football team has 85.
They don’t have 100,000-seat campus cathedrals for college soccer. They don’t show the games from morning to midnight on Saturdays. They don’t have March Madness.
The kids are going to follow what’s in front of them. And the World Cup, while splashed all over television screens and the news during the briefest of windows, is enough to pique, but not maintain, interest.
If U.S. Soccer could just get some of the athletes playing Division I college football or basketball – the ones who won’t make the NFL or NBA – then it would stand a chance. With a population of 330 million, the numbers would be there. Spain is a nation of just 45 million.
Spain, however, is home to arguably the world’s best professional league. The money and glory of La Liga means soccer chooses them, rather than the other way around. And then an intricate development and identification web kicks into gear. It allows the cream of the crop to be identified at a base level and immediately ushered into an environment where they can mature.
The U.S. has neither of these things. One of the biggest problems for U.S. Soccer is that talented youngsters too often slip through the net. The country is simply too big and its soccer infrastructure is still too much in its infancy.
That’s the not case with Little League, Pop Warner or AAU basketball.
For the United States, it isn’t about a quick fix or a new coach. It can field an excellent national team – one that can contend for World Cup quarterfinals or maybe semifinals.
But without a dramatic change of the culture, one that can get the kids’ attention, the prospects of beating the world’s best and holding aloft the golden trophy are remote.
Since Landon isn’t about to become LeBron, U.S. Soccer needs a non-materialistic spark.
How to grab the next generation’s attention? Field a winning team. How to field a winning team? Get those best athletes out of helmets and into soccer cleats.
Welcome to the Catch-22 of American soccer.
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