# World Cup 2006



## ShyLight (Jun 19, 2004)

Anyone watching the world cup games? 

Today i watched Poland Vs. Ecuador And i was cheering for ecaudor which they one 2-0 so i'm happy about that  But when its time for ecuador to play with germany hmmm....is gonna be tough one but will see opcorn


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

I plan on watching. Didn't today though. Go U.S. I just hope Brazil doesn't win it.


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## Randall (Apr 8, 2006)

I should be watching the mother country right now, but I'm on the computer again..

Paraguay own goal 4th minute. Ouch!!


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Trinidad & Tobago held off Sweden. Impressive.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

GermanHermit said:


> I kind of _have _to watch it! :lol
> Pretty difficult to avoid it at the moment over here!


I can't even imagine. I would love to go to a game in Europe with all the passionate fans. No one really seems to care here in the U.S.


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## Buerhle (Mar 6, 2006)

weatherman said:


> GermanHermit said:
> 
> 
> > I kind of _have _to watch it! :lol
> ...


I would love to go to a game too.


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## umbrellagirl1980 (Dec 28, 2005)

weatherman said:


> Trinidad & Tobago held off Sweden. Impressive.


i watched most of this one; i love to see the underdog succeed (or at least tie).


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## kintrovert (Oct 28, 2005)

Randall said:


> I should be watching the mother country right now, but I'm on the computer again..
> 
> Paraguay own goal 4th minute. Ouch!!


Someone pray for the life of the poor dude who made that mistake! Players have been _killed_ for this type of thing!


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

kintrovert said:


> Randall said:
> 
> 
> > I should be watching the mother country right now, but I'm on the computer again..
> ...


Fortunately, he's still in Germany. But upon his return to Paraguay... :afr


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

weatherman said:


> kintrovert said:
> 
> 
> > Randall said:
> ...


Brings to mind that incident where a Columbian player scored on his own goal against the USA and they ended up losing to them. Of course back then losing to the USA was the ultimate shame (not so much now), and he ended up getting killed when he returned home.


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## Lost_in_the_Ivy (Jul 15, 2004)

Trinidad & Tobago. I didnt think a 0-0 game could be that fun to watch!

The World Cup newbies (T & T, the African nations) are holding their own in these early games. I was pretty impressed with Ivory Coast yesterday vs. Argentina.

I dont root for them really, but I tend to see the South American teams going deep into the Tournament because of the fact that they have a very tough qualifying pool (they all play each other twice), and they're better prepared for WC competition as a result. Anything can happen though.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Lost_in_the_Ivy said:


> Trinidad & Tobago. I didnt think a 0-0 game could be that fun to watch!
> 
> The World Cup newbies (T & T, the African nations) are holding their own in these early games. I was pretty impressed with Ivory Coast yesterday vs. Argentina.
> 
> I dont root for them really, but I tend to see the South American teams going deep into the Tournament because of the fact that they have a very tough qualifying pool (they all play each other twice), and they're better prepared for WC competition as a result. Anything can happen though.


Angola played decently against Portugal today. That early goal really sucked though.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

kikachuck said:


> weatherman said:
> 
> 
> > kintrovert said:
> ...


The Paraguayan player was Carlos "el colorado" Gamarra. There is no danger of him being killed, he's the captain of the team and one of the best defenders in the world for the last 15 years. The colombian player that was killed, Andres Escobar, wasn't in that "superstar" echelon (also, no one put thousands of dollars on Paraguay winning the world cup like the drug lords did with colombia in 1994).

Besides that, I'm having lots of fun watching the world cup. I've seen most games and they've been very exciting. I hope more people watch because it's great soccer.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Wow. Czech Republic destroyed the U.S. That was a sad performance.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

USA loses.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Ghana vs. Italy. Good game. Very exciting. But Ghana got screwed with a no call towards the end of the game. Darn officials.


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## gejj (Jun 10, 2005)

booo team USA.. what a disappointment









atleast italy won


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## brimontz (Nov 10, 2003)

Count me among the Americans who could care less about soccer. I've tried many times, but I just don't get it and never will.

Brian


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

Good thing America as a whole doesn't give a damn about soccer, or today's loss could have been a major blow to our national pride :lol


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## Bahar (Aug 12, 2004)

I'm supporting two teams, Iran and Australia.

Iran lost their first match 3-1 to Mexico :x , but we put up a good fight and we've got the best international team we've ever had.

Australia won their first match against Japan last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (3-1
) WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Australia scored all three of their goals in the last couple of minutes of the game to win! Now that is just impressive!!! Go Ozzie!!!!!!!!!! I would say the best match of the World Cup so far! Australia hasn't been in the World Cup since 1974 (I think), so I'm so happy for the Australian team, they've really worked their butts off the last decade or so trying to win a place in the World Cup. Interestingly enough, Iran beat Australia to win a place in the World Cup back in 1997, right here in Melbourne. Couldn't make it to the match though :mum , was doing year 12.

Anyway, best of luck to all the teams, but especially Iran and Australia!!!


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

brimontz said:


> Count me among the Americans who could care less about soccer. I've tried many times, but I just don't get it and never will.
> 
> Brian


There's not much to get, really. Eleven players pass the ball with their feet and try to score on the net.

People say that soccer is boring, but, take basketball for example: if you put them in a court 120 yards long, there'd be little scoring too.


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## ShyLight (Jun 19, 2004)

USA Lost !! :no :mum Hope they win the next game.


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## se7 (Nov 28, 2005)

USA were poor, I thought they'd do ok again this year but not after yesterday! I think the Italy v Ghana game was rigged! Ghana played so well in the first half, conceded a goal then came out 2nd half and were absolute crap. No way a team can play so differently without something dodgy going on. Obviously we've all seen teams lose games they should've got something from, but there was just something very fishy about it, couldn't put two passes together, looked like they gave the ball away on purpose, the fella who hacked down iaquinta, even though he was offside, looked like he was trying to get sent off!

Mighty Brazil tonight, can't wait!


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## starblob (Oct 23, 2005)

AUSTRALIA DEFEATS JAPAN 3 - 1 - with the 3 goals scored in the last 8 minutes of the game :clap :boogie :yay :fall :banana 
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO YOU SOCCEROOS!!

Even if they get no further they will most certainly get a parade and be National heroes :nw Please, just qualifying got them that status.


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## Bahar (Aug 12, 2004)

STARBLOB HERE'S TO THE SOCCEROOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :drunk 

.....And may they keep on kicking butt!!!!!


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## brimontz (Nov 10, 2003)

Micronian said:


> brimontz said:
> 
> 
> > Count me among the Americans who could care less about soccer. I've tried many times, but I just don't get it and never will.
> ...


I get it -- I just don't get why it's popular. I like baseball and a lot of people call it boring. There's not a lot of scoring in hockey, but I love that sport. I just don't care for soccer. I find it funny that so many soccer fans get annoyed that some people don't like it -- especially Americans.

And incidentally, I'm far from the biggest basketball fan too. I like it, but I'd also rather watch a lot of other sporting events before basketball. Baseball, (American) football, and hockey come first.

Brian


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

brimontz said:


> Micronian said:
> 
> 
> > brimontz said:
> ...


I think it's popularity deals with history and culture. Every corner of the world has it's own particular history about soccer, traditions, style, and people. The US equivalent is baseball. They have the new york yankees, the legend of Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner, the "Black Sox"; lots of history and tradition.

Nevertheless, Brazil plays today. I hope Juninho Pernambucano gets to play.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

> I find it funny that so many soccer fans get annoyed that some people don't like it -- especially Americans.


It is quite strange. Some people seem to feel it is their duty to convince everyone that soccer is the greatest sport ever. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people who hate soccer and are determined to try and make every soccer fan realize it sucks. I don't understand either one.


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## starblob (Oct 23, 2005)

Bahar said:


> STARBLOB HERE'S TO THE SOCCEROOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :drunk
> 
> .....And may they keep on kicking butt!!!!!


Hey Bahar - cheers :yay May they kick Croatia's butt on the 22nd of June.


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## brimontz (Nov 10, 2003)

weatherman said:


> > I find it funny that so many soccer fans get annoyed that some people don't like it -- especially Americans.
> 
> 
> It is quite strange. Some people seem to feel it is their duty to convince everyone that soccer is the greatest sport ever. But on the other hand, there are a lot of people who hate soccer and are determined to try and make every soccer fan realize it sucks. I don't understand either one.


I agree. All I said was that I don't get it ("it" being soccer). I was never trying to change anyone's mind about it. Obviously, a lot of people love the sport, since it's the most popular sport in the world. I'm just not in that group of people.

Brian


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## Randall (Apr 8, 2006)

You hope Poland wins, Tania??? That's the spirit!!

I like soccer more and more. Well, big-time European soccer and the World Cup that is. It is the beautiful game. I like how they have so many rules to prevent high scoring so that when a goal is scored it means something.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Oh man. Poland vs. Germany. One heck of a game. Darn Germany. Gets a goal in stoppage time. Poland put up a good fight. Down a man for about the last 20 minutes. Ugh. I hate Germany.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

That was one heck of a game. Germany was so close to scoring all game, but Poland held on. Then poland gets the dumbest red card, and it cost them.

so exciting!


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

brimontz said:


> weatherman said:
> 
> 
> > > I find it funny that so many soccer fans get annoyed that some people don't like it -- especially Americans.
> ...


The only part I don't understand is that, in my experience, soccer is the only sport that publicly gets a bad rap from people. Like, I never see people knock down hockey, basketball, football, lacrosse, baseball, NASCAR, golf, tennis, with the fervor/ire/disdain that they do with soccer.

Whenever my friends see me watching the Champions League on TV, they say "Soccer sucks!" with pent up hate. or they say stuff like "Real men don't play soccer", and you hear similar things on the radio and television.

....it's almost as if people hate soccer with the same passion that other people love it....


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## gejj (Jun 10, 2005)

yay deutschland!! :drunk 
good game.. atleast the last 10 minutes that I saw were


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## ShyLight (Jun 19, 2004)

oh man i saw the game with germany and poland...and What a game!!! I really thought it was gona be 0-0 but then there goes germany scoring the goal in the last minutes of the game.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Hooligans. :lol I saw on the news about 200 some people were arrested before the Germany-Poland game. Crazy soccer fans. During the Croatia-Brazil game, the Croatian fans were lighting flares inside the stadium. :haha Man I really want to go see a game over there. Looks so fun.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

I thoguht it was more fun to watch the Poles and Germans fight and then get jacked up by the riot police. Germans and Poles fighting in the streets is more entertaining than soccer any day.


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## ShyLight (Jun 19, 2004)

woo hoo :banana ecuador beat costa rica but too bad i couldnt see the live game since i was at work :mum Uhh then its Germany Vs. Ecuador that's gonna be a great game to watch opcorn


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## se7 (Nov 28, 2005)

England are through and we havn't even played well yet! Best news of all is having Rooooooney back, with him in the team we can win the cup, without, we don't stand a chance.

The ref's have been really crap so far, always blowing up for nowt, too many bookings, they all want their 5mins of fame don't they


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

The yellow cards have been flying so far. I hate this rule of 2 yellow cards in the first two games and a suspension for the third. Such crap.


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## Randall (Apr 8, 2006)

weatherman said:


> The yellow cards have been flying so far. I hate this rule of 2 yellow cards in the first two games and a suspension for the third. Such crap.


Yeah especially if the ref is blind like in the Netherlands V. Ivory Coast match. Ned. player got a yellow for a dive in the box, when he should have had a penalty kick.

Oh, and how about Los Argentino's??


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## se7 (Nov 28, 2005)

Argentina are flying, I hate watching them though, especially as they keep showing that cheating barsteward in the crowd, can never be forgiven. Plus that Messi fella has "86, hand of god" stitched into his boots, hope we get to beat them at some stage!


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

I have been enjoying watching World Cup soccer but I still don't understand any of the damn rules. Could someone please explain to me what happens when one team is playing shorthanded? I know earlier Italy was playing with 9 players and I never understood why.

Thanks.


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## se7 (Nov 28, 2005)

Italy had 10 men the States had 9. To be honest this world cup isn't the best thing to watch if you're trying to learn the rules, referee's have been appaling, can't believe some of the decisions they've made.

If a player gets booked twice they get sent off, simple enough.

Thought the states were unlucky not to win tonight, their goal should have stood IMO, Ghana next, they looked good earlier, be a tough game but looking forward to it!



> Ummm...what does it mean when a US-fan wears a hat in the shape of a piece of cheese?


I wondered about that aswell!


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## Turtle_Island (Feb 20, 2004)

GermanHermit said:


> Ummm...what does it mean when a US-fan wears a hat in the shape of a piece of cheese?


It means he's a resident of the great state of Wisconsin, the official home of the Cheeseheads.


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## Coup (Jun 18, 2006)

I've watched all but 4 of the games so far and i've NEVER been a football lover. Have a lot of time to spare though 

That Italy v USA game last night was brilliant viewing. The USA really impressed me. To be honest most of the teams i expected to play well, played dreadfully...except for Argentina.

Come on England, get your s**t together!!! oke


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

Haha, germanhermit. When I saw those "cheeseheads" I thought it was hilarious. In Green bay, Wisconsin there is am American football team called the Packers and all their fans wear cheese-shaped hats.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

z.e. said:


> Haha, germanhermit. When I saw those "cheeseheads" I thought it was hilarious. In Green bay, Wisconsin there is am American football team called the Packers and all their fans wear cheese-shaped hats.


Darn cheeseheads. Making Americans look like fools. Not that the rest of them don't do that on their own. Being a Chicago Bears fan I kind of have a hatred off all things Packers. But that's beside the point. Thank god for Ghana. Saved the U.S. Still haven't scored a goal on their own. Yeesh. I missed the game. Wedding. :mum Looked quite exciting.


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## se7 (Nov 28, 2005)

Did anyone else see this? When the anthems were played before the States' 1st game a group of fans were waving a big flag over their heads, but there was a small but obvious hole in it. I said to myself, why would you take a big flag like that if it's got a hole in it?! Then a hand came through the hole holding a camera, took a picture, went back and started waving again, genius! lol


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

weatherman said:


> z.e. said:
> 
> 
> > Haha, germanhermit. When I saw those "cheeseheads" I thought it was hilarious. In Green bay, Wisconsin there is am American football team called the Packers and all their fans wear cheese-shaped hats.
> ...


It WAS an exciting game. The US held their own, and earned a lot of respect from the soccer world. The coolest part, was that is was such an emotional roller coaster:

1) Italy scores; jubilation. Business as usual, as far as many were excpecting.
2) Italy scores an own goal; shock/disgust at the italian player for being a bonehead/Jubilation for the US
3) Italy gets a red card; The US--after being down--is now in the driver's seat, all in a 3 minute span.
4) US gets a red card; The italians now get a boost and advantage goes back to Italy
5) US gets another red card; complaints all around with the ref, and it becomes Italy's game to lose
6) the US scores! Insane surprise and jubilation. Italians all over the world start crying in their beer and wetting their pants.
7) the goal gets waved off for offside. US goes from winning the game, nearly eliminating Italy, and back to hanging on for dear life!
8 ) game ends 1-1. A totally deceiving score considering all the drama in the field.

It was absolutely engrossing, just looking at the game from an impartizan point of view.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)




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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

it doesn't make Americans look like fools any more than the neo-nazi marches make Germans look like rascists. No culture has a monopoly in idiocy.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

However, the generality we can infer about Americans is that they aren't so great at soccer!


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Ecuador was basically taking it easy. From what I understand, they were satisfied with being number 2 in the group and didn't want to risk any injuries. They already advanced so the game was basically meaningless.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

Agreed. 

Their captain, Ivan Hurtado, wasn't even playing. Or Agustin Delgado, or Carlos Tenorio, who are their starting forwards.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

Germanhermit:

Do you refer to our football (North American football) as football or fussball?

Just curious.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

I think you should call it "soccer". Then you could have football AND soccer just like we do--and no one would really like "soccer", just like it is here.


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## Randall (Apr 8, 2006)

That back line defense was awesome for the US!!

Anywho, at least we have world domination of Basketball to fall back on.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

Hmm. That U.S. performance was pretty bad. I don't know why they were so conservative. Attack! Sheesh. They got a bad call with that PK but they still deserved to lose.


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

Good, now the USA doesn't have to pretend it gives a flying fig about this game :lol


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

Give credit to Ghana. They played the game well, and were much quicker than the US.

Nevertheless, I think Bruce Arena messed up in placing Beasley so far back. In PSV, he is an attacker. They were lacking in attackers, and they should have placed him further up.

I just remembered now, that Landon Donovan once placed in Germany, and he disliked it so much that he went back to MLS rather than play for Bayer Leverkusen (at least, that's the popular story). Maybe he was psychologically affected by his failure to make it in Europe--especially playing in Germany and all.


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## ACAC (Nov 11, 2003)

GermanHermit said:


> z.e., we use the English term "American football."


Same in Japan. American football is often abbreviated and called "ame-futo (Ame-foot)... Succor is called succor.

By the way, why is succor so unpopular in the U.S? Considering its popularity among American female under 18, this lack of enthusiasm looks odd to me.


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## Randall (Apr 8, 2006)

One reason Soccer never took off is it didn't have much of a chance. Rugby and Soccer were morphed into American Football in the late 1800's. So our football became the dominate physical/manly sport.


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## nascar nine (Jun 26, 2006)

the US team are better than what they showed at the World Cup. they played too conservative and needed a couple more forwards. atleast have Donovan as a forward and not a midfielder


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## nascar nine (Jun 26, 2006)

I'm for the Germans 


are any of you that are in the US watching the games on Univision? I hardly know any Spanish but I enjoy their commentary more than ESPN/ABC. Univision actually shows enthusiasm.


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## whiterabbit (Jan 20, 2006)

I want Germany to win. It's a shame this has to be a quarter final. It'd make a great final. They've been the best two teams of the tournament so far.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

It's difficult to pronosticate this game. Argentina comes into the game as the better team, but Germany is the home team and that means a lot.

I think Klose is the most effective forward out of both teams, so as long as he is neutralized, argentina will win. 

Also, it's odd that the Argentina/Germany game and the Brazil/France are happening. They happen to be repeats of the last two finals played in Europe, with the wins going to the european teams.


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## whiterabbit (Jan 20, 2006)

Yes! Germany won. 

I'm sticking out like a sore thumb in England by wanting Germany to do well. Most people here seemed to be supporting Argentina as the lesser of two evils. But I'm glad they won.

I can't believe Pekerman took Riquelme off and didn't bring Messi on. What was he thinking?


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

I understand the taking of Requelme off. with 15min left, they weren't going to build up any offence. It was all going to be counterattack--which is why I found it strange Julio Cruz entered instead of Messi. Messi is speedy and a gamebreaker. He should've been key in the couterattack.


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

Well, as someone (lineker?) said: 

"Football is a game with 22 people and in the end the Germans have won".


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

I have a feeling I am the only one on this board that will root for the French.


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## cakesniffer (Nov 11, 2003)

Sticking with my heritage: VIVA ITALIA!


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

Old Zidane looked great, doing the stuff everyone was excpecting
Ronaldilnho to do...


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2006)

...................


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

> kicked the ball against the top of the crossbar


Yeah, the computer graphics people did a good job there.


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## cakesniffer (Nov 11, 2003)

ITALIA! :yay It's gonna be pretty wild around here.


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## z.e. (Feb 26, 2005)

Good show by the Italian side.


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

> It's going to be France v. Germany in the final, you heard it here first!





> Yea, gonna agree with you on that!


Except when only two teams were involved, has there ever been a prediction on SAS that actually came true?

In my experience, it never pays to be too sure of oneself when it comes to predicting sporting events.


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## whiterabbit (Jan 20, 2006)

Well, now I'm hoping for an Italy v France final. And Germany for third place. I hope Klose still gets top scorer.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

CovertBanana said:


> My_Shrink said:
> 
> 
> > Old Zidane looked great, doing the stuff everyone was excpecting
> ...


Yep! And I bet Ronaldhino kicked the ball on the cross bar on purpose! HE is a showboater in addition to being a great player! Similar to Michael Jordan. He wasn't just a great player who could win but he won with style!

Soccer is a difficult sport to play. They just don't kick the ball in the general direction of the goal. But they do it with skill. Very much the way a pitcher throws a curve ball, fast ball, etc...Watch the video again I posted on the previous page. They have mad skills moving and changing speed and direction like a running back in football and a point guard in basketball.

And yet some people in the world refuse to recognize this sport as legitimate and truly challenging.


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## sslhea (Sep 30, 2005)

I caught the semi-final between Portugal and France last night. Great game!(Although, Portugal looked like they made sloppy moves and missed opportunities....sorry)

I don't really watch or follow soccer but I was flipping through channels and decided to take advantage of my DirectTv's ESPN channel.

I've been to one professional soccer match and it was so much fun to watch. I was invited to go to another game with Beckham but because of the SA, I turned that free ticket down. ( I know, wasted opportunity...)


I didn't know that I could also watch some old sports events. I watched a boxing match with Mohammad Ali and George Foreman. That was so awesome. 
I also watched one past Lakers vs. Celtics game. Ah, the nostalgia!


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## Buerhle (Mar 6, 2006)

Italy or France are going to win, you heard it here first.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

kingJulien said:


> Italy or France are going to win, you heard it here first.


That's a bold prediction my friend.


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## ShyLight (Jun 19, 2004)

I'm rooting for Italy though I was upset that portugal lost.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

I don't care for either one of these teams. I am rooting for fights and red cards. Maybe some crazy fans will start a riot.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

GermanHermit said:


> weatherman said:
> 
> 
> > I don't care for either one of these teams. I am rooting for fights and red cards. Maybe some crazy fans will start a riot.
> ...


Well, I was being facetious. I certainly don't want any innocent people to be hurt or killed. Now if the drunken hooligans want to fight each other... :twisted


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

Damn dirty Italians, I feel so bad for Zidane


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

GaryUranga said:


> Damn dirty Italians, I feel so bad for Zidane


 :lol I hope you're joking. That was a classless act and he deserved what he got. It was unbelievably stupid and selfish. His team suffered because of what he did. I'm not saying France would have won had Zidane been in there, but they would have had a better chance. It's very sad to see one of the game's greats end his career like that.


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

Poor Zidane.That italian almost cracked his head with his chest.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

weatherman said:


> kingJulien said:
> 
> 
> > Italy or France are going to win, you heard it here first.
> ...


Bold but accurate.

I am French and was cheering for my team all along. What he did was pretty bonehead (no pun intended) and was disappointed in him for that.

but without him France would've never have won the world cup in 1998, the European cup in 2000. Hell! France wouldn't even have qualified for this world cup if it wasn't for his return. And they wouldn't even have gone all the way to the finals without Zidane. Sure it wasn't a smart but he is human, we can't fault him for that. He has given France so much glory and pride in the last 10 years.

CONGRATS TO ITALIA! Not winning the WC since 1982 this is their moment of GLORY!!! GO ITALIA!!!! Yeah Go Italia!!!


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

My_Shrink said:


> Poor Zidane.That italian almost cracked his head with his chest.


Now you know why soccer players fake injuries! Had he not over reacted, the ref wouldn't have seen it and Zidane would've gotten away with it.

But if you look at the Italian player, he walked up to Zidane like he was going to do something to Zidane. Zidane did the preemptive strike (typical in street fight). Maybe he did it in Self defense?


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

theturtle said:


> My_Shrink said:
> 
> 
> > Poor Zidane.That italian almost cracked his head with his chest.
> ...


The ref on the field actually did miss it, didn't he? I think it was one of the sideline officials who told him about it. The Italian guy did look like he was going to do something. But regardless, it was a stupid thing to do. I understand they had been going at it all game but at this level, in this game, he has to restrain himself. There's no excuse for it. And if the Italian was going to do something, let him. He will get the red card.


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

> Now you know why soccer players fake injuries! Had he not over reacted


You're grasping for straws. 

He probably said some **** to him in italian which zidane understood. 
But Zidane has been great though.


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## Buerhle (Mar 6, 2006)

what was he thinking? I dont know, seems like he made a big mistake.

as a former player/defender, I am def impressed with Italy. Defense can be a fun thing to watch. I want to go play again and play d.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

Yep. It was the sideline official. Had the sideline officials not seen it and thus not told the main ref, Zidane would've gotten away with it.

There's just no winning for Zidane. Had he not headbutted him and let the guy hit him, the American populace would've chanted "haha he surrendered!"

PS: somewhere in Washington DC, some Freedom fries hating/right wingers in the white house are smiling at the French defeat.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

kingJulien said:


> what was he thinking? I dont know, seems like he made a big mistake.
> 
> as a former player/defender, I am def impressed with Italy. Defense can be a fun thing to watch. I want to go play again and play d.


Great stiffling defense can frustrate an offensive team to the point of tears.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

This was Zidane's last football match. For memory's sake:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=LhcM4WP2cTc& ... ed&search=


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

It is sad. I just wish he didn't end it like this. But there's no question he is one of the best.


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## nascar nine (Jun 26, 2006)

I can't belive that happened.. I am shocked.. I mean I am glad that Italy won the gmae.. but.. Zidane.. I am speechless.

I wonder if he would of been as good of a WWE wrestler as a soccer player.


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

Bunch of americans discussing soccer, this is funny :lol

That wasnt as barbaric as some people say/think it is, really sad to see Zidane go like this, you gotta be kidding me, De Rossi Cracked Reyna's head open and you see what zidane did with such taboo, sorry but its hilarious.

Btw, I read that Materazzi called Zidane's sister a **** thats why he did it :lol


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

GaryUranga said:


> Bunch of americans discussing soccer, this is funny :lol


agreed. And it is annoying when they keep judging soccer players about faking injuries. But whether it is good or bad it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Faking it like a prostitute is part of soccer. If they can't accept or understand that, then there is no hope.

PS: Imagine a bunch of French and Italian people discussing the world series in baseball or nascar racing. lol. But then again those countries wouldn't give a flying fawk.


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

Exactly, I limit myself to sports that I know about and those are only Soccer and Baseball,  no offence everyone is free to state their oppinion, just that its weird the kind of comments that come up


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

Zidane's headbutt will go down in infamy as one of the dumbest plays in soccer.

of course, there's been so many of them. Abel Xavier comes to mind, and David Beckham's trip on Simeone in France '98.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

GaryUranga said:


> Bunch of americans discussing soccer, this is funny :lol


Does being american make one any less knowledgeable about soccer?


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

weatherman said:


> GaryUranga said:
> 
> 
> > Bunch of americans discussing soccer, this is funny :lol
> ...


To a certain degree maybe. But at the same time, not completely clueless about it either. I know plenty of Americans who know the rules of soccer very well. But sometimes, soccer is better appreciated and understood if you experience it first hand in Europe. Go to Europe and attend a match in any of the European countries. You will not only see the game but also feel the atmosphere, the intensity, the joy, and the bitter taste of defeat.

On the other side of the coin, non Americans appreciate baseball much better by attending the games sitting behind home plate while eating a hot dog and a drinking a glass of beer.

Non-Americans would appreciate American football much more if they watched it live at the stadium or at an American household. You must not only watch it but experience the festivity that goes along with it like the commercials (during the super bowl), eating chips and salsa etc...

I digress...

But again congrats to team ITALY for winning their world cup!


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

I will agree with you about the atmosphere. I have absolutely no clue what the games are like in Europe. I have been to many Chicago Fire games here. It is sad to see only 15,000 people in a 60,000+ seat stadium. But that doesn't have anything to do with my knowledge and understanding of the game. I could never attend a game in my life and understand it just fine.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

watching a European game live? I don't know about understanding the game, but certainly experiencing the passion for it.

In my opinion, you can learn much more about soccer by just watching games from your local houseleague. you hear the coaches yelling instructions at the players (kids, usually), the referees discussing, and parents shouting. or better yet, join a team.


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

theturtle said:


> agreed. And it is annoying when they keep judging soccer players about faking injuries. But whether it is good or bad it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Faking it like a prostitute is part of soccer. If they can't accept or understand that, then there is no hope.


That may be your opinion. However, when very knowledgeable soccer analysts call for FIFA to investigate the rampant amount of injury faking taking place in the game, it may be time to re-think your position. I found it funny how Portuguese fans watching the semi-final game wondered why the officials weren't calling penalties against France. Duh! If your team does nothing but fake injuries, what do you expect?



> PS: Imagine a bunch of French and Italian people discussing the world series in baseball or nascar racing. lol.


There's a big difference between the two situations. Don't forget, the U.S. actually had a team in the World Cup. Furthermore, a lot of North American youth actually play the game. How many French or Italians ever watch Nascar or play baseball?



GaryUranga said:


> Bunch of americans discussing soccer, this is funny :lol


People shouldn't be discouraged or ridiculed for discussing any sporting event even though some of them may be limited in their ability to effectively analyze the game or to talk about the intracacies of the sport.


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## GaryUranga (Apr 22, 2006)

chill out on the SA this is a sports discussion no one sees anyone being "ridiculed" no one is laughin at anyone just at the situation.

*DONT* DO NOT forget South America on this, its not only an european thing


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

GaryUranga said:


> chill out on the SA this is a sports discussion no one sees anyone being "ridiculed" no one is laughin at anyone just at the situation.


I'm not sure what social anxiety has to do with my comments. :con

Typically, anytime someone laughingly names a group of people and suggests that those people are incapable of doing something at the level of others, it is not unreasonable to assume that the named group is being ridiculed.

However, I'll take your word for it when you say there was no intent to ridicule.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

Rough translation:

What ticked Zidane off was that the Italian guy kept repeating what he said over and over.

Zidane said what the Italian guy said was so bad that he would've preferred have taken a right punch to his mug instead of hearing his family getting insulted.

He won't say in public what he heard from the Italian guy.

He said he was sorry that his untolerable act was seen by all little kids and adults alike around the world.

But as a man, he said, he did not regret what he did to the Italian guy because to regret it itself would have given him the right to say what he said. And he did not have the right to say what the Italian guy said.

When the interviewer asked Zidane how he would respond to the FIFA, who is investigating this incident, Zidane said the focus is always on the reaction. Of course, my reaction has to be punished. There is no question about it.

But there cannot be any reaction without provocation. But we must acknowledge that there was a provocation, the real guilty person is the provocator. He said to NOT punish the Italian guy is for his action is to tolerate his act. Zidane then said, "would you think that in this crucial moment in the world cup final with only 10 minutes left in my playing career, I would do such a thing? Do you think I wanted to do this?"

Zidane could have his award as best player stripped from him. It's a possiblity said the interviewer.

He said that he thanked the sport of football/soccer and thank all the fans who supported the French team.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

I think the Italian should be punished. But how can you prove he said anything bad? Obviously he did, but there is no actual proof. Only he and Zidane know what was said and I doubt the Italian will confess.(what his name is, I forget) It's too bad that Zidane will likely be the only one punished but what can you do?


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

free thinker said:


> theturtle said:
> 
> 
> > agreed. And it is annoying when they keep judging soccer players about faking injuries. But whether it is good or bad it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Faking it like a prostitute is part of soccer. If they can't accept or understand that, then there is no hope.
> ...


Who were the "very knowledgeable soccer analysts" just out of curiosity? Has this "call to the FIFA" been made just recently? If it was rampant since the beginning of its popularity, how come there hasn't been any punishment for it? (Or at least I have not heard of anything done about it). It is common knowledge that players do it. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. The lack of punishment of it (if there wasn't any) would suggest a certain amount of acceptance for it. At least by the officials of the game. Retrospectively looking at a particular faked injury, punishing may not do any good because you can't redo the game over again if indeed the faked injury was a factor in the final outcome.

If there ARE any forms of punishments for it, it sure ain't working because the world cup WAS indeed full of faked injuries.

Honestly though, I hate faking worst than anything but it has been part of soccer for a long long time, at least I personally have learned to somewhat accept it. Rather than complaining to the ref that he is faking, go ahead and just play. During you can't really prove that a player is faking because the ref doesn't have the luxry of camera replay and can only trust his memory and the memories of his colleagues.

Damn it, there is nothing you and I or any one else for that matters who can do it about it. Only the officials in the game can take action.



free thinker said:


> theturtle said:
> 
> 
> > PS: Imagine a bunch of French and Italian people discussing the world series in baseball or nascar racing. lol.
> ...


I was simply making a point. Does it matter that the US have a soccer team in the world cup? It won't necessarily make the US population* anymore knowledgeable about soccer than French and Italians knowledgeable at baseball and nascar.

No there aren't many French and Italians who either play baseball or watch nascar. That's because well to them those sports are the most boring things ever. (no offense to baseball or nsacar fans)

In addition, I take it any American wouldn't like it if some French or Italian person was making self-centered, ignorant, and ethnocentric comments about sports that are loved in the US. That is why I made the point. To let people who may be reading imagine what self-centered, ignorant, and ethnocentric comments foreigners could say about popular sports in the US that are considered fun and normal.

*(not including those who play because they at least understand what is going on)


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

weatherman said:


> I think the Italian should be punished. But how can you prove he said anything bad? Obviously he did, but there is no actual proof. Only he and Zidane know what was said and I doubt the Italian will confess.(what his name is, I forget) It's too bad that Zidane will likely be the only one punished but what can you do?


I think the Italian guy did admit to saying something bad but he said that what he said to Zidane would've been something you wouldn't freak out about.

Neither Zidane nor the Italian guy would repeat what was said. I believe that it would've made the Italian look bad. And despite the headbutt, people would understand more about the reason WHY Zidane did it, though not condone it.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

My Achilles Heel said:


> PS. The diving is getting out of hand. This is true, and FIFA has to do somthing about it.


I agree. I have a very hard time accepting this as just a part of the sport. It really bothers me and I want to see it stop.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

weatherman said:


> My Achilles Heel said:
> 
> 
> > PS. The diving is getting out of hand. This is true, and FIFA has to do somthing about it.
> ...


Diving is definitely cheating. Most people (including you and me) would think so. But there is nothing much we can do about it. FIFA can punish for that but it won't discourage players from doing it again. Like Steroids or blood doping, it is not just a fashion trend or fad. It has been going on for a long long time. But cheaters are cheaters, if punishment was severe enough for them to stop the "faking" or "diving" then they will find some other way to cheat.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

My Achilles Heel said:


> Looking at a sport from the perspective of one culture and judging it as silly or a crazy sport because of diving or whatever is very 'you centric'. Its like looking at another culture and deeming certain things they do bad.
> 
> You can have an opinion, no need to bash. Understand that it is a completely different sport and culture.
> 
> ...


Agreed. but I have to admit, as a French person, I have yet to appreciate American football (in addition to baseball and nascar). To this day, I phawking hate it. But knowing how distasteful judging is, I keep my mouth phawking shut.

Speaking of different culture, Zidane will live in infamy in the US (to those bandwagon world cup watchers and haters alike) for that headbutt incident. They don't know what he has done for the French team during the last 10 years (I saw a video made by America kids ridiculing Zidane). You don't ridicule someone for standing up for his family.

Keep in mind that Zidane is considered the top 5 players in soccer history, if NOT the best one! (arbitrary opinions clash in this as some may consider Pele still the best ever!)

If it wasn't for Zidane, France would have not won the world cup, France would have not won the European cup (probably harder than the WC), France would have NOT qualified for this year's cup (they barely qualified), and finally if it wasn't for Zidane France wouldn't have even made it to the final game (while many experts predicted they wouldn't have gotten out of the first round COUGH FOX COUGH!)

For example, Barry Bonds, who is one of the most celebrated athlete in the USA, has been under investigation for steroid use. He has been a great players throughout many years in baseball. It's a shame that now he is the "butt" of all steroid jokes. They completely forgot what he did and sure lost of credibilty.


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## kikachuck (Nov 10, 2003)

My Achilles Heel said:


> kikachuck said:
> 
> 
> > Good thing America as a whole doesn't give a damn about soccer, or today's loss could have been a major blow to our national pride :lol
> ...


Touche


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

My Achilles Heel said:


> kikachuck said:
> 
> 
> > Good thing America as a whole doesn't give a damn about soccer, or today's loss could have been a major blow to our national pride :lol
> ...


Or if the US soccer was much better, THEN it would give a gawd damn! (the band wagon would grow at tremendous rate)


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

A lot of kids these days, at least in the US, are playing soccer now. Most everyone I know played soccer as a kid so I believe the interest is growing. I think if the US actually won the World Cup the interest in soccer would greatly increase. But with this video review, would the game be stopped to review the play? I don't want the game to be paused for a couple minutes every time something happens. Kind of takes the flow out of the game. But I am all for stopping the diving so maybe it is necessary.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

My Achilles Heel said:


> theturtle said:
> 
> 
> > [quote="My Achilles Heel":d900c]
> ...


here's hoping for the next world cup! they're not gonna win, but if they do anything like 2002, its good.[/quote:d900c]

Rome wasn't built in a day. but It will come eventually. the us will win the world cup one day.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

The only rule change I would go for is to increase the number of substitutions--maybe even unlimited.

Why?

because most of the fouls, as much as they're done to get a free kicks, are also done to catch a breather and slow the game down. Unfortunately, the pace of the game has increased from 35+ years ago and makes the game more defensive in order to conserve energy. 

If you ever see games from Mexico 1970, you'd notice how the game was a little bit slower, players would walk more with the ball, defenses would let the attackers play a little bit more, there'd be much more playing with the ball (ball tricks), and there were no fouls. Once the game sped up, there was less time to organize, and the onus was more on how fast the offence can run and how physically big they are to gain yardage as they run.

Now, there's no way to backtrack to a simpler, slower playing style, but you could probably change the fatigue levels of the players so they take more risks--and that can come with more substitutions.

it's a really small change, but I think it can work--just because it IS small.


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

This talk about "more goals" comes from people who have never 
been interested in the game and tries to think about ways they could 
like it more. 

Handball has plenty of goals and has never interested me, it is not 
only about scoring plenty of goals. 

The tension and anticipation for a goal makes the goal more exciting than 
in other sports. 

But i can understand the criticism of faking injuries, then inconsistency of 
refereeing and how penalties is a very arbitrary way to decide a game. 

I was rooting for france in the final simply because they played best, 
and then the whole thing was decided simply by one kick. 
It seems rather pointless.


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## My_Shrink (Jun 27, 2006)

> The only rule change I would go for is to increase the number of substitutions--maybe even unlimited.


I like this idea, they do this in many other sports.

And it was obvious to me in this world cup, as you said, that many 
people lie down just to stop the game for a while.


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## free thinker (Nov 11, 2003)

theturtle said:


> Who were the "very knowledgeable soccer analysts" just out of curiosity?


Here in Canada, the World Cup games were shown on TSN, the equivalent to ESPN in the States. The pre-game, half-time and post-game shows were hosted by Vic Rauter and Gerry Dobson, with analysis from soccer experts Dick Howard and Craig Forrest. If you do a search on Howard and Forrest they have a long history in the game.

Here's one American's perspective on the Canadian and US broadcasts. 
Arlington, Va.: "Regarding the poor US TV coverage: If you have the right satellite dish or go to a bar that has access, you can watch the superior Canadian World Cup coverage on TSN and Rogers Sports Net. They have an excellent pre-game show and analysis, then they use the World Feed (not BBC) with British announcers. There is one announcer for each game, and their commentary is far superior to ESPN/ABC. They also show al the pre-game ceremonies with flags and anthems that the English language US coverage ignores."

From the Canada Free Press: "Another job well done by the TSN/Sportsnet broadcast team made up of Dick Howard, Gerry Dobson, Vic Rauter and Craig Forrest, who again proved themselves to be one of the most enlightened, knowledgeable panels in the soccer world today. Always fair-minded their insights into the play on the field as well as educating us into some of the intricacies of the sport were invaluable to us all."



> Does it matter that the US have a soccer team in the world cup? It won't necessarily make the US population* anymore knowledgeable about soccer than French and Italians knowledgeable at baseball and nascar.


I would hope so. I would think a lot of sports-minded people would at least watch the games simply because the US was there and thereby at least obtain some basic knowledge of the game.


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## weatherman (Apr 19, 2006)

I wish I could have gotten the Canadian broadcast. The US coverage was unbearable. Typical ESPN. Just awful, senseless crap. Non stop US team *** kissing. Ugh.


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## theturtle (Nov 24, 2005)

free thinker said:


> theturtle said:
> 
> 
> > Who were the "very knowledgeable soccer analysts" just out of curiosity?
> ...


Those guys have a lot of credibilty. No doubt about it. But I don't think it takes an expert to know that diving is bad and something needs to be done about it.

Diving's been around for a long time. In France when growing over there, I learned that a "tricheur" was a guy who faked. "tricheur" means "cheater" in French. I am 26 now and this was when I was 7-8 years old playing soccer at recess in a school playground in gray Paris.

But at the same time, the more it happens the more referees will learn how to differentiate diving and a real injury. For every call that resulted from diving, you will also see that the bad acting will go ignored as the refs know better and will NOT be fooled by it. Better refereeing will be the deciding factor in reducing the diving. If it goes unnoticed, then pretty soon divers aka cheaters will find some other way to get an unfair advantage.


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## AdamCanada (Dec 6, 2003)

It shouldn't be to hard to see a dive, the refs in the NHL do a pretty good job, the refs in the international league are another story....


I did like watching the world cup though, i was hoping germany would win.

I also like england, i think it was there last game i watched. I always liked it when that rooney guy got the ball, hard worker.


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## Micronian (Nov 11, 2004)

really? I thought Rooney looked like the whiniest S.O.B in the whole tournament.


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## JenWiz (Feb 24, 2006)

I give props to Zinedine Zidane for his hit on the player. He is a man of emotion much like a lot of us. Infact hadnt he been such an emotional person that made him headbutt the guy. He wouldnt have become one of the greatest soccer player of all time. cause it comes from the same passion. Take the good and the bad in a person. You can't have one without the other.


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## AdamCanada (Dec 6, 2003)

Micronian said:


> really? I thought Rooney looked like the whiniest S.O.B in the whole tournament.


i said he was a hard worker, which he was when i was watching.


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## Mayflower 2000 (Nov 11, 2003)

Micronian said:


> really? I thought Rooney looked like the whiniest S.O.B in the whole tournament.


He's an overhyped thug.
The English love him, because he's so English.

Diving is great, because the English get so pissy about it. The English think diving is worse than stomping on an opponent's groin. Cristiano Ronaldo left the World Cup to **** on England in the EPL this season, and I'm loving every minute of it. Every time he gets the ball, those no-tooth English football fans shake in terror, as he dives to win a penalty after dribbling past four opponents.

With regards to Zidane... well Matterazzi is an ****. Delvecchiio headbutted him a few weeks ago! haaha


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## PGVan (May 22, 2004)

Diving is only a part of the game because governing bodies like FIFA, UEFA, etc, allow it to be. 

They tell referees to give yellow cards, but they don't because it is so hard to tell on the pitch at times. The only way to stop it is to punish it after the game via video review, and suspend players for a game, with the punishment doubling with each repeat offence. At that rate, Cristiano Ronaldo would be done for the next decade and the soccer world would be a bit happier.


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