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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - Entertainment & Sports - The Soccer Thread! (Bet you weren't expecting THAT when you saw "Stefan Postma" and "sex tape".) |
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| Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | Add to favorites | Next newer thread | Next older thread |
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drjayphd Torosu OW! BURNY!                     Since: 11-18-05 From: CT Last post: 6328 days Last view: 6325 days |
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Originally posted by drjayphd Even if the refs couldn't tell a handball or some guy tripping over his own feet, I SPEAK THE TRUTH.  |
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ziffhasnoaim/password Snifit Since: 06-07-06 Last post: 6516 days Last view: 6516 days |
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| Shevy is a tank. | |||
Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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| Ziff: Point was that they were in a strong group and made it through. Senegal were different because they were an unknown quantity and nobody expected France to crap out like they did - if France weren't so pathetic, Senegal wouldn't have made it to the next round. I thought the United States were more impressive than Senegal during the tournament considering the low expectations and all.
Shevchenko's going to get killed by the press if he tries any dives like that with Chelski. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| Ziff: When Croatia won bronze in 1998 they had one of the best teams in the world, what with Davor Suker on top and all. Croatia had already done a good showing at the 1996 Euro Champs, and even though them making it all the way to winning bronze was probably a surprise to most, them doing good was not a shocker.
Anyways, statistically, the US can always blame their poor showing this year on the location of the tournament. USA has still not won a World Cup match on European turf. There will come a time when a team not from Europe or Southern America will win the World Cup. When Pele allegedly stated in 1977 that an African nation would win the World Cup before the end of the 20th century he was wrong. Unless Ghana will provide an absolute shocker, we won't see an African winner this year, and I highly doubt that we'll see an African nation win the World Cup in the upcoming tournaments either. Asia has had a poor showing this year. All 4 nations crashed out in the groups, and South Korea today proved that them making it to the bronze final four years ago was part home-field, part luck with some horrible ref calls. Oceania sees their team (which technically no longer is an Oceanian team, as the Aussies have decided to join the footballing powerhouses of Bhutan and Mongolia) go through to the second round. And even though Australia has been good so far in the World Cup, thinking that they will win it all is idiocy. This leaves North America as the remaining confederation to dethrone the European/South American surpremacy. North America has two potential candidates. Mexico has a good team, but they seem incredibly arrogant. I've seen interviews with Mexicans proclaiming them as the greatest team ever and as the obvious favourite for the title. Nobody outside Mexico thinks of them like that. I am no expert on Mexican football, but their extreme hatred for Guillermo Franco (for being a "mercenary") and their reliance on domestic players and distrust on players from foreign leagues makes me think that they hold their domestic league and organization to be much better than it really is. Then you have the US, a team with lots of potential in a country where interest for the sport is growing. Today, the US is simply not good enough, but with the intense general interest for sport in the country, and football's growing status in the US, I'm thinking you'll see more and more great American players in the future, meaning the US is definitely a potential candidate for winning the World Cup in around 12 years time. |
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Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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What about Canada? We're on the cusp of... um... goodness. Not greatness but we can beat Austria! 
Actually, we're without a coach at the moment so... 
I'll probably end up paying a LOT more attention to the MLS next season with the introduction of Toronto FC, so we'll see if they can develop. *chuckle* |
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ziffhasnoaim/password Snifit Since: 06-07-06 Last post: 6516 days Last view: 6516 days |
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| I'm getting seasons tickets. I'm going to start my own soccer firm! | |||
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| Well, Colin, Canada's team currently consists in large part of players playing in, well, Tippeligaen (the Norwegian Premier Division). Now don't get me wrong, I love Tippeligaen, I consider Patrice Bernier one of the most important players at Tromsø, and I've seen some great playing from him and all our Canadian imports over the last years, but still, the quality of play ain't exactly at English Premier League level.
So you Canadians should stick with things that you know, like your ice hockey, your policemen with the horses and the funny hats, your polar bears, and your accents that ain't exactly British, ain't exactly American, but some weird hybrid - and leave football to us other countries, eh? You might "always get your man", but in this here sport, you won't get your win. (for those who refuse to understand my sense of humour - that which I just wrote was not intended to be serious  )
Anyway, I see that Brad Friedel wants to take some of the money he has made over the years and start a world-class football academy in the US. It should definitely help the sport grow, and is a good initiative by the man. |
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Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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| Well, who's the latest Canadian to go to Norway? Ali Gerba from Sundsvall to Odd, no?
I should take you to task about WTF is up with Tromso (  ) but that's a story for another time unless you're willing to share. 
In case anyone else is wondering, Canada is looked at by many teams in the CONCACAF region as a joke. I'm fairly certain we're the highest ranked team with no national league - there's a regional league called the CPSL but that's solely focused in Ontario and has no players of note or fans so it doesn't count. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| Yup, Gerba's on loan Odd. Appearantly, they're hoping he'll become a new Oliver Occean. He's contracted at IFK Göteborg (not Sundsvall), but will be at Odd untill the end of season. Odd has an option in the contract to buy him should they like what they see.
I see from what the media in Telemark (where Odd is from) is writing that they focus on how Gerba is the preferred striker in the Canadian national team rather than Occean. Saying "we lost one good Canadian, but got an even better one" is pretty much the same as what was said ahead of season in Tromsø when Hirschfeld went to Rosenborg and Stamatopoulos came to Tromsø, when the media here claimed that Stamatopoulos was preferred on Canada over Hirschfeld. Unfortunately, he has not been the success that Hirschfeld was. Wouldn't the MLS be considered a Canadian league from 2007 onwards? "I should take you to task about WTF is up with Tromso" <-- 
Tromsø's problems this year stem from a lot of sources. First of all, the hiring of Ivar Morten Normark before the season started. He never managed to make Aalesund a success before he was fired, and when he was hired at Tromsø the descicion was met with a lot of criticism. Tromsø's poor form hasn't exactly made things better, but firing him ain't exactly an option. Tromsø has, with their 8 coaches over the past 6 years, gotten a reputation for being a club that fires a lot of coaches. If Normark was fired now, no one in their right mind would touch the job with a ten-foot pole. All in all, the descicions of Normark have been dubious, the players have looked uninspired, the defenders have made some horrible mistakes and the attack just ain't cutting it. Ole Martin Årst, 2005's Norwegian striker of the year, basically has a defender following his every movement in every match, while the rest of the attackers ain't good enough. Things are looking up, though. the fall part of the season is traditionally Tromsø's best part. The team is gradually progressing from the horrible start of the season. Tore Reginiussen, one of the most promising defenders in Norway, is finally being played in defence in stead of midfield, and most important of all, Sigurd Rushfeldt is returning to the club after having been away since 1996. Together with Årst, he'll make out the best attacking duo in the league. Back on topic: Predictions for the second round of the World Cup (though predicting some of these matches is a lot like flipping a coin. Lots of even-powered teams coming up): Germany vs. Sweden No surprises here. I still have Germany winning everything. From what I've seen in the first three matches their side looks solid. I know there's been a lot of focus on the defence, but appart from two unlucky incidents against Costa Rica where Friedrich ruined the offside trap, I don't really see what there is to complain about. Sweden, on the other hand, had a hard time scoring against both Costa Rica and Paraguay, while they were horrible against England in the first half and only really started playing good when England decided to lie down and try and win the match on their 1-0 lead. Argentina vs. Mexico The self-proclaimed best team in the world vs. the best team in the world according to many in the rest of the world. Argentina has been good so far this year, while Mexico has been mediocre. One of the safest wins of the second round. Argentina had no problems beating Serbia & Montenegro (one of Europe's best defences) 6-0 and drawing the Netherlands, while Mexico failed to score against a defence consisting of a club-less Goal Keeper and defenders from tier two football in Portugal. England vs. Ecuador Now this one's interesting. England hasn't really been that good this year, while Ecuador has, along with Ghana, been the surprise team of the group stage. Granted, Ecuador was horrible against Germany, but that was without some of their best players, who were being rested for this match. I'm predicting England here, but if they keep up what they did against Paraguay and in the second half against Sweden, we might just see the surprise win of the round in this match. Portugal vs. The Netherlands This is one of those flip-a-coin matches. I give the victory to the Netherlands based solely on the fact that I really wish to see van Nistelrooy beat Cristiano Ronaldo. van Nistelrooy has allegedly said that he's annoyed with Ronaldo's constant keeping posession of the ball in stead of passing it to the strikers for Manchester United. I've been saying this about Ronaldo since I first saw him, and I still think he's an over-hyped brat who seems more interested in getting people to notice his skills with the ball rather than play as a part of the team. Thus, van Nistelrooy > C. Ronaldo, the Netherlands > Portugal. Italy vs. Australia People might not agree with me here, but I have Australia winning this match. Italy is a team that is riding on former success, not present talent. Their matches against Ghana and the US in the group stage prooved that they ain't that good (granted, I didn't see their match against the Czech Rep. since I went for the Ghana vs. USA match in stead), while Australia is a team that I think is underrated by many. Australia has played some impressive football so far in the tournament, and I see no reason why their campaign should stop this soon. On a side note, with the Italian media now writing that Juventus might be demoted to the Serie C, and Lazio, AC Milan, and Fiorentina might be sent to the Serie B, the thoughts of the Italian players must be divided between the task at hand and the situation at home. That's never a good premise if you want to win a football match. Switzerland vs. Ukraine Ukraine impressed in the qualifiers, Switzerland impressed in the World Cup groups. It could go either way, but I just have to go with the team that has yet to let in a goal at this year's world cup. Ukraine should be the better team, but they just haven't seemed to get around to playing proper football this year. And no, a 4-0 against Saudi Arabia ain't that impressive. It is, after all, against Saudi Arabia. Brazil vs. Ghana Brazil got through the World Cup's group stage in a most unimpressive manner, while Ghana was a roller-coaster with an out-of-this-world performnace against the Czechs and a poor, but lucky win against the US. All in all, of these two teams, Ghana has been the impressive one, the one actually playing good football. Brazil has not gotten their act together,, their team has played poorly, and their superstar attackers have been most disappointing. What I'm saying is: Ghana good, Brazil bad. Despite all of this: It's Brazil vs. Ghana, Brazil wins. Spain vs. France France hasn't played a good match in the World Cup since 1998's 3-0 victory over Brazil. Spain has been great so far this year. On paper, two very good teams, in reality, one good team and one poor team. The only thing stopping Spain from winning this is a good old Spanish choke. (edited by Salmon on 06-24-06 01:32 AM) |
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Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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Take you to task = make you explain, give you hell. 
Good luck in the second half, you guys at least have the talent to pull it off... although if you were to somehow get *gulp* relegated, I think you should let Bernier go.
The MLS would be an American league with a Canadian team who probably wouldn't even be able to take part in the US Open Cup; in order for them to qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup, they'd have to win the league I think. |
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PrincessPeach Buzzy Beetle  Since: 11-18-05 From: Rüti ZH Last post: 6332 days Last view: 6332 days |
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| I'm not a fan of football, but I surely was happy after all three wins (0:0, 2:0, 2:0) for us.
I was in Zug last friday evening and the streets where filled with fans, everything was red / white. I so hope we'll win against the Ukraine on Monday. I so hope. And If we win, hell'll break loose. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| Looks to me like the quarter final between Germany and Argentina will be the moral final... Whoever wins that match will win the World Cup, as it seems that no other teams are good enough to beat these two. | |||
Toxic 250 TOX4ADMIN  Since: 11-17-05 From: I'm keeping a list. Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6324 days |
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| Uh, neither Brazil or England have played their best football yet, and they're both undefeated. Ecuador tested England once that entire 90 minutes, and if it wasn't for Lampard having a rediculously bad game, it would have been 3-0.
As for Brazil...I'll believe they're not the best team in the world when I see them lose. |
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drjayphd Torosu OW! BURNY! Since: 11-18-05 From: CT Last post: 6328 days Last view: 6325 days |
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| (kills and eats Valentin Ivanov)
It seems his philosophy's to book everyone that moves. 15 yellow cards between Portugal and the Netherlands. They're currently going 10-on-9, with Portugal two men down. They're also up 1-0. I'd be amazed if Ivanov was even allowed to watch the rest of the World Cup, never mind referee a game. EDIT: This is ESPN's blurb on the game. Mind you, at this point, they're only in the 86th minute, and they've already put this up. Farcical scenes of a referee booking everyone in sight have marred what promised to be a footballing spectacle in Nuremburg. In amidst a record number of bookings, three players were dismissed as Holland battled to equalise a 23rd minute Maniche strike for Portugal. Boulahrouz was sent off for two fouls either side of Costinha and Deco being red-carded, the latter for, frankly, very little at all. (edited by drjayphd on 06-25-06 04:45 PM) |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| Toxic: They will get problems when they play like that against stronger sides. England and Brazil haven't exactly met the best teams in the world yet.
I thought Ivanov's refing was good. If anything, there could have been more cards. Maniche could easily have been red carded for his goal celebration (he had a yellow card when he did that), and Deco's red card was completely fair. Picking up the ball and refusing to give it away when the other team has a free kick has given you yellow cards since the beginning of time. The match was entertaining, the only ones to blame for all the cards are the players themselves. |
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Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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| I had a problem with Boulahrouz's red because it didn't look like an intentional elbow. Figo should be made to sit out a game for his headbutt.
I'm just finishing up my blog recap on it now but this is probably England's best chance at reaching the semis. Ivanov won't ref another game at this WC and I'm hard-pressed at finding GOOD officials. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6341 days Last view: 6330 days |
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| The way Boulahrouz swung his arm didn't really look natural to me. I'm sticking with what I said earlier, Ivanov kept his head cool (as opposed to the players) and refed a good game. | |||
Randy53215 Melon Bug Since: 11-17-05 From: Greenfield, Wisconsin (U.S.A) Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6324 days |
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| As I believed all along Germany shall win.
Look at their team and their record right now, just amazing. |
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Cynthia Uh-huh. Since: 11-17-05 From: LaSalle, Quebec, Canada Last post: 6325 days Last view: 6325 days |
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| Boulahrouz shouldn't have been sent off for that elbow though. He should have been sent off for nearly killing poor Cristiano with that challenge early on.
I wouldn't want him reffing the final, he tried to handle things but could have given out more cards and let some stuff go. |
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Arwon Bazu Since: 11-18-05 From: Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia Last post: 6326 days Last view: 6326 days |
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| Australia doesn't have a prayer tonight, but I'm going out to watch it. One lives in hope. |
| Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | Add to favorites | Next newer thread | Next older thread |
| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - Entertainment & Sports - The Soccer Thread! (Bet you weren't expecting THAT when you saw "Stefan Postma" and "sex tape".) |
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