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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - - Posts by Salmon |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep                  Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| Well, good bye, United States and the Czech Rep. If I may say so, horrid efficiency from America's attackers. However, Markus Merk's refing today has been very strange. He started out with a zero-tolerance policy, handing out very strict yellow cards and a cheap penalty kick. Then, all of a sudden in the second half, he stops giving out yellow cards, being very lenient. Bah, crappy refing all in all.
That being said, the Czech Rep and the US have been very disappointing. I'd like to think the Czech Rep would easily go through had Jan Koller not gotten his early exit, but ohh well... |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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I'm sorry Arwon, it's kinda hard for me to predict sucky refing in a match that hasn't yet been played when commenting on the ref in a finished match being poor. Of course, seeing as how Graham Poll refed, it could be predicted that he would suck.  
And, yes, as I said long before the World Cup, the US had no realistic hope of doing good. However, the way they played was worse than I had expected. Colin - that spot would have been lost anyway, as the FIFA Rankings are going to be changed after the World Cup so that they more correctly show the actual standings between teams. Edit: Daniele De Rossi got a 4 match suspension. Meaning he can return to Italy if they make it to the bronze final or final. Pablo Mastroeni got a 3 match suspension, meaning he misses the first two qualification matches for the US. (edited by Salmon on 06-23-06 12:15 PM) |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep  Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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Well, let's see. I checked my bank account today, only to find out that I didn't have 500kr (ca. USD 75)... In stead, I had 3000kr in my bank account! Extra money FTW, 
I was happy. Following this, I went down to the pub, where I was met by the girl behind the bar who told me that the dishwasher hadn't properly washed a glass that she had accidentally poured beer in, meaning she had a glass of beer with faint tracks of lipstick on it. She wasn't able to sell it this way, and thus asked me if I wanted it. I'm not the picky one, so I took it. That + the extra 2500kr in my bank account = me getting that proper, nice buzz tonight. The best days for drinking alcohol are usually those where you go out only planning to meet friends for a casual cup of coffee, and end up sharing cold ones until the place closes. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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. | |||
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep  Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 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. | |||
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| Honestly, Arwon, it's the opinion of me and many of my football-interested friends that Australia has a golden opportunity to win this match. Italy is really nothing but a has-been-name these days, and the attention of the players is greatly divided between the World Cup and their domestic league. | |||
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| So, Zubi went through all of his World Cup not letting in a single goal, impressive. | |||
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| Hm, that means that up untill today, Norway held the record (along with many others, I guess), after having been knocked out after conceding only a single goal (1994). Damn the Swiss for stealing our record!
Oh, and if it's any consolation, Arwon, I went through the same thing you do now 8 years ago. First Norway went through our group after having finished second behind Brazil, then we were knocked out in the round of 16, losing 1-0 to Italy (in fact, Italy is the only team to have beaten Norway in a World Cup, having done so all 3 times we have participated, thus making them the cause of our exit all 3 times). |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| If Ghana keeps this up, one team will eventually score. Their attack is stunningly good, however, their defensive line is put up way high, meaning Brazil can easiliy break through it.
I think, if Ghana can make it to 1-1, they might have a shot, if Brazil scores first and it's 2-0, however, it's all over. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| I've been washing my hair like crazy mad for a long time now and I have to launder my jacket and my pants because they've got shit all over them. I mean, it was four o'clock in the morning, I was the only person walking around in downtown Tromsø, meaning there was a huge fucking area in which there was not a single human being, and then there was that one square meter of pavement I was occupying. Yet for some strange reason the seagull decided it wanted to go about and do its business right above my head. Are they fucking aiming or something? Is it a survival of the fittest thing? The one who is the best at hitting a moving target with his shit gets dibs on the hottest she-gull?
I swear to God, I never really realized how freaking annoying they are untill I moved up here. The worst part are the moronic tourists who insist on feeding them. I'd rather just see them all chased off to some other place. Gah! |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| I'm fairly sure Norwegian law states that you are not allowed to buy lottery tickets (or hand in bets of any sort) after either 18 or 20, to prevent drunk people from wasting their money at night (of course, thanks to the wonder that is slot machines, they may still waste it away, just not on the national lottery), so buying a lotto ticket just won't be possible at this time of night. Of course, the stores open in about an hour and a half, I can always go buy a ticket then...
Oh, and seagulls are quite popolous around these parts. It's a town in Northern Norway, y'know, it's basically founded on the fishing industry. Fish + people = lots of seagulls. Weirdest part is, though they're hated by many of the local community, some love them. Boiling seagull eggs and eating them together with a pint of Mack beer (the local beer) is a delicassy this part of the country is famous for. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| EM = Europameisterschaft - you don't speak German, Colin? |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| Well, they don't call it EM in English, of course, but in German it is (as far as I remember) Europameisterschaft (EM) and Weltmeisterschaft (WM) for World Cup.
We keep dividing the numbers in Norwegian. The first knockout round is "åttendelsfinale" which means 1/8-final, or one eight final. The round before that would be 1/16-final, or one sixteenth final, etc. etc. Only problem is, the English words for 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 sound lame. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| So I was looking at that other thread about the World Cup being rigged.... Well, all I can say is that's a really interesting line-up there. |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| It's 6:21, and I am, as usual, sleepless (god damn midnight sun). I was flipping through the channels to find anything interesting, and I had the choice between TVShop and MessTV (an intereactive TV program where you have this one host who sits down and talks all the time and people who are up at night can send text messages to the show that show up at the right side of the screen, or they can send pictures of themselves that show up at the bottom. It's basically a gyp to cheat young adults out of their phone bill money.
Anyway, since it's slightly less annoying than TVShop, it was on in the background while I surfed the net. The program host decided to hold a contest where he'd ask questions and people could text message in their answers, whoever answered first would win a t-shirt or something. Basically, this is what happens: First question: What number is pi? Answers keep coming in saying 3.14 all over the place. He insists it's wrong, and eventually tells the people that it's 3.41, now for the last half hour, he's tried to keep the contest going, but he gets like message all the time from people telling him to stop being stubborn and realize that it is 3.14, yet he keeps going on about how it is 3.41, and that 3.14 is wrong. Now another host who is coming on to take over for him just came in and claimed he was wrong, and that pi is 3.51. Where the hell do they get these people? Anyway, on to question number two: Which city is the most popolous in Norway? People say Oslo, he claims it is Trondheim. Oslo has 541,822 citizens, Trondheim has 213,605 (according to Wikipedia). He probably would have gotten a lot of smack for this, had it not been that people are still going on about how his claim that pi is 3.41 is completely absurd. However, all good things are three, no? Third question: How much is in a dozen? Well, he goes for a hattrick! The answers keep coming in saying it's 12, but no, the wise and powerful program host manages to claim it's 33! I'm just hoping he checks up all he's claimed before the program is over, I want to see him apologize for his extreme ignorance on the air after having been so extremely stubborn about him being right, and the hundreds of people who have texted in to correct him being wrong. Question four: What day was originally the first day of the week? No answers ain't come in yet. I wonder if he manages to fuck up again. Edit: Thinking about it, the man is probably really a gneius. By making people so mad at his horrible claims, he gets people to send in many text messages. Lots of text messages = lots of money for the program. (edited by Salmon on 06-30-06 12:40 AM) |
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Salmon Red Cheep-cheep Since: 11-18-05 From: Norway Last post: 6313 days Last view: 6302 days |
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| Well, he wrapped it up claiming that the first day of the week was originally a Tuesday (the Norwegian calendar weeks start on a monday, yet originally they started on a Sunday, like they do in most English-speaking countries), before saying that there are 500 centimeters in a meter. Now, I can see someone who's grown up using the imperial system making a mistake like that, but he has, like all other Norwegians, grown up using the metric system, so he has to know there are 100 centimeters in a meter.
I could understand getting one thing wrong, such as mixing up 3.14 and 3.41, but after 5 misses, all of which were quite horrible, I'm thinking this man is either a candidate for "dumbass of the year", or more realisticaly, he intentionally gave the wrong answers to piss people off, sine pissed off people = pissed off text messages to the program = ca-ching! |
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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - - Posts by Salmon |
