2006 FIFA World Cup

[Pidesco]

Who cares about England. The proper game today is Portugal against Holland.

Edited June 25, 2006 by Pidesco

[metadigital]

Australia are playing Italy.

 

I think it's gonna be another draw, and if Beckham repeats his previous penalty failures, then it's bye bye time. Just a little sad that whichever city houses the violent English hools will probably get burned to the ground if that happens. )

 

!VIVA ECUADOR!  :D

 

Ty Jaqs for finding that, btw. ;D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, no no!

 

the two scenarios are:

• England score in the first part of the first half, then desperately try to defend this goal all match, only to be drawn into entra time and lose on penalties,
  
• OR
  
• Ecuador keep a goal ahead of England the entire match
  

If England had played Mexico yesterday, then they would already be out.

[Atreides]

Italy ftw. This will be the first time I've seen my team live because I've had exams screwing up my schedule.

[metadigital]

Although I wouldn't write-off the Socceroos until the final whistle, and even though my partner fondly remembers watching Totti play for Italy with her father (who died nearly 20 years ago), I doubt even sheer determination and perspiration can get a ball past the most expensive goalie in the world, even if the forwards aren't the superstars they were a decade ago ...

 

Should be a godd game, though.

 

[Atreides]

Watching Totti play 20 years ago? He must have been around 9 or less then. Anyway Buffon can be overrated. He's good but he had a poor outing in the previous World Cup.

 

I'm looking forward to watching what Totti and the no nonsense strikers Gilardino and Toni can do, as well as watching Italy's defence close things out.

[Lucius]

Personally I'll be rooting for whomever Italy is playing against, as long as that prick Snotti is on their team.

[Baley]

England, Germany fans clash in Stuttgart

 

 

 

By Kate Holton

 

STUTTGART (Reuters) - English and jubilant soccer German fans, celebrating after their team's second-round victory over Sweden, clashed in Stuttgart on Saturday before riot police moved in to separate them in the city center.

 

Tens of thousands of English and German fans had gathered in the city's Schlossplatz, with many drinking all day, to watch Germany's 2-0 second-round victory and trouble broke out shortly afterwards.

 

Both sets of fans traded punches before dozens of nervous-looking riot police moved into the area, pushing the German fans away and keeping the English supporters in one corner. A few hundred fans were involved.

 

One German man was seen being taken away from the area with blood on his face and other fans from both sides were seen being detained by police. A flare was also let off.

 

Plastic tables, chairs and bottles were seen being thrown by fans from either side.

 

There had been little trouble involving England fans at the World Cup so far but 122 were detained in Stuttgart on Friday night for drunken and aggressive behavior.

 

Earlier, Germany had beaten Sweden in Munich to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup. England play their second-round match with Ecuador on Sunday in Stuttgart.

 

They were expected to be detained by police for days.

 

 

♫

Two World Wars And One World Cup

Doo Dah Doo Dah

Two World Wars And One World Cup

Oh, de doo dah day

♫

[Lucius]

Danish news reports 300 English hools arrested. But I don't have any fancy male on male slapping pic to go with it. :">

[Atreides]

Well, England literally managed to squeeze past a poor Ecuador, almost being as bad as them. England one of the favourites? Fat chance.

[Jediphile]

Anyone watching Holland against Portugal right now?

 

I swear, it's more of a wrestling match than soccer, as reflected by the large amounts of cards - now three players sent off... and counting!

[Pidesco]

We won, we're screwed, and the game was awful.

[kirottu]

English was the winner of that match. Too many portugese players got red cards.

[Jediphile]

English was the winner of that match. Too many portugese players got red cards.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Nah, only two with red cards, and unless I'm mistaken (which is certainly possible - I don't know the Portuguese that well...) it wasn't any of their really major players.

 

Besides, England's game was awful today - I was extremely disappointed by their match against Ecuador, which didn't even try to score after Beckham's goal.

 

Even weakened, I still think Portugal is too much for England. My money's on Portugal in that match.

[Baley]

It was fantastic. If all football was like this maybe it wouldn't be seen as a silly game for school-children and emaciated she-men in the States. You could taste the tension, man. Shame they didn't actually start a brawl on the field. And those scenes with Van Bronckhorst and Deco idly chatting on the stairs, after they've been both sent off, were beyond hilarious.

 

How tall is Kuyt anyway? All those long balls going his was were goddamn funny. I couldn't stop laughing.

 

 

Oh and:

 

♫

Two World Wars And One World Cup

Doo Dah Doo Dah

Two World Wars And One World Cup

Oh, de doo dah day

♫

Edited June 25, 2006 by Baley

[metadigital]

You aren't allowed to laugh!

[Pidesco]

Deco and Costinha are two of our best players. Our midfield works completely around Deco and Costinha was in great shape. For Costinha we have a good replacement in Petit, but Deco missing is a real blow. Also, there's a chance of Cristiano Ronaldo due to his injury. We can manage to get to Semis, but only because England has been awful in this World Cup.

[Atreides]

Lol, superb game. I think Tiago and Petit can cover for Costinha but losing Deco and Ronaldo's a huge blow.

[SteveThaiBinh]

That game was very uncomfortable viewing. I think there could have been another red card or two if the ref had seen everything that went on. I hope the papers and pundits don't start moaning about how the ref lost control of the game - every single one of those red and yellow cards was richly deserved.

[Guest The Architect]

England is going to win the World Cup, end of story. I have no doubt about it. Last nights match confirmed it for me. No, I'm not from England, nor do I barrack for England and no, I don't think there going to win it because their the best team either, I think they are going to win it because the deal is already done, it's fixed, England have bought the World Cup IMO.

 

I've watched enough soocer in my life to tell that Ecuador were deliberately holding back. Why would an exciting, adventureous, attacking and technically adept side like Ecuador all of a sudden become a negative, conservative, defensive team when the weather was on their side too?

 

I'm telling you, look at some of the Ecuador players shots on goal, some of them were very suspicious and looked like they were deliberately not aiming for goal, and what happened to the low, hard, sharp crosses that Ecuador produced in the group stages?

 

That turned into high, inaccurate, sloppy, wide crosses, and whenever Beckham took a free kick, what was with the wall? And when Ecuador went a goal down, why didn't they go on the offence more? They had nothing to lose. Call me a nutter if you want but match-fixing and corruption in the World Cup is not impossible, just look at the Serie A match-fixing scandal in Italy.

 

England has everything on their side, the draw, the refs (IMO), their opposition 'suspiciously playing really badly' and luck. A lot of people are saying Portugal will beat England, no they won't. I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian ref was payed by England to be card happy in an attempt to weaken their future opponent for the quater-final.

 

Paraguay's poor performance and Gamarra's deliberate looking guided header OG, biast refereeing, the weakening of teams that are a threat to England, Ecuador's poor passing and shooting, the eye-brow raising controversal '2-2' draw with Sweden (Sven is a Swede, I saw the draw coming a mile away, another '1-1' draw would have been a bit suss, '0-0' would have probably been too boring for the fans, spectators, etc but '2-2' is a suitable result for a spectacle and drama).

 

I'm very suspicious of match-fixing and corruption in Soccer, of course I could be wrong about all of my suspicious looking observations and comments made by players, staff, coaches, etc, but then again, I might be on to something.

 

Anyone remember the 2005 Champions League Final? Where AC Milan were '3-0' up at half-time then Liverpool came back and made it '3-3', then won in a penalty shootout. Well guess what, when Liverpool played West Ham in this years FA Cup Final, West Ham led '2-1' at half-time but because of some of the sloppy skill errors, poor tactical discipline and bizarre goals that were scored in the first half, beleive it or not, I saw the '3-3' draw coming.

 

In the first half West Ham scored two goals and Liverpool scored one, and because of the way the game was going and last years CLF, I thought to myself the scores will be reversed in the second half, Liverpool will score two goals, West Ham will score one and it will finish '3-3' and Liverpool will win a penalty shootout, I saw a late Gerrard goal coming, it was all just too good to be true IMO.

 

Of course no one has to agree with me in this case, but I just thought I might bring up a little something for you folks to think about, I don't know for sure if the World Cup is fixed and corrupt, and if it is, I don't know for sure which games are legit, which are not, who's in on it and how games are fixed, etc, all I'm saying is in future referance, look out for anything suspicious whether it be biast refereeing, suspicious looking skill errors, or suss comments from a player, coach, etc.

 

I know that soccer (especially at International level) is a big pressure sport and plenty of legit basic skill errors and mistakes are made by players and referees, however, with all the money and glory that is involved in soccer, it would be naieve to think that there is no corruption or match fixing in soccer since it has already been proven in the past that there is...

 

Look at how Korea got to the semi's in 2002, look at how France beat BRAZIL '3-0' in the 1998 WC Final in FRANCE!!! But anyway, that's enough from me, I still don't know for sure what's going to happen, and I still love my soccer, so GO THE SOCCEROOS TONIGHT!!! But I think unfortunately, our WC journey ends tonight...

Edited June 26, 2006 by The Architect

[Pope]

No way, Spain for the win. Even Nostradamus said so.

 

http://www.thinkspain.com/news-spain/11342

Edited June 26, 2006 by Pope

[Atreides]

But anyway, that's enough from me, I still don't know for sure what's going to happen, and I still love my soccer, so GO THE SOCCEROOS TONIGHT!!! But I think unfortunately, our WC journey ends tonight...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You got that right.

[Pidesco]

The Architect should lay off whatever he's been smoking.

[metadigital]

Interesting prediction by the Architect ... there is no doubt that corruption plays a larger than commonly believed and largely undocumented role in our world.

 

I wouldn't single out football / soccer as the worst culprit, either (that dubious honour goes to "the sport of Kings": Horse Racing).

 

Still, because of two factors: that the average person isn't cognizant of the machinations nor results, and that the changes are within the realms of probability, there is no real harm to the society as a whole.

 

After all, it's only a game. :D

[Guest The Architect]

The Architect should lay off whatever he's been smoking.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What? Don't you think it's possible that a rich country like England would pay Ecuador to win the match? At least that would explain why the good, pacy, fluent, attacking Ecuador team I saw became a poor, negative, sloppy Ecuador team against England. There has to be a reason for Ecuador's poor performance.

 

I know Poland and Costa Rica are no England, but England haven't exactly been playing well have they? And based on what I saw, Ecuador were capable of beating England but for some 'unexplained' reason the Ecuador I saw never showed up? Why?

 

I'm telling you, something is going on in this World Cup, I AM NOT saying that EVERY SINGLE GAME in the World Cup is fixed or staged and I AM NOT SAYING that some, most or all of the players are in on it, beleive me, there has been plenty of legit games and actions in this World Cup, but IMO, 'England vs. Ecuador' was not a legit game.

 

Of course I could be wrong, but if you ask me, I reckon some of the Ecuador players were payed, if you've watched some of the controversal decisions that have occured in this World Cup and the 2002 World Cup and if you watch Roberto Baggio's penalty miss against Brazil in the 1994 final then surely you can understand why I'm entitled to question the legitemacy of the World Cup right?

 

It's not a crackpot idea to think that the World Cup is legit, if you know your soccer well, then you should know that there has been match-fixing and corruption in soccer games, leagues and tournaments. Because it's been proven on tv, radio, newspaper, etc, like I've said before, look at the Serie A recently, that is a good example.

 

But your entitled to your own opinion, it's fair enough for you to think the World Cup is legit, I do too, however, I think there is SOME corruption with referees, players, etc...

 

I actually hope it is just me and pray that England DO NOT win the World Cup just to shut me up and prove me wrong, but nah, I still think England is going to win the World Cup...

Edited June 26, 2006 by The Architect

[Guest The Architect]

Interesting prediction by the Architect ... there is no doubt that corruption plays a larger than commonly believed and largely undocumented role in our world.

 

I wouldn't single out football / soccer as the worst culprit, either (that dubious honour goes to "the sport of Kings": Horse Racing).

 

Still, because of two factors: that the average person isn't cognizant of the machinations nor results, and that the changes are within the realms of probability, there is no real harm to the society as a whole.

 

After all, it's only a game. :D

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

True. That's why I'm still interested in soccer, it's still a mystery to me, so the fun is not taken away, that's of course assuming that games, etc are fixed...