World Cup '06

john m · Post by **john m** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:22 am

Well, that's that. Based on their disappointingly underwhelming play, England didn't deserve to be here anyway, but it is unfortunate to see them eliminated in such an ugly fashion. The Rooney foul was stupid of him, and it's too bad that Beckham wasn't in the game to take all those free kicks.

3 for 3 on predictions for this round so far... but next up is the one I care about. Allez les Bleus!

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:07 pm

I hope France win.

As for England, eh, kinda expected. They weren't playing that great, I just wished we could have gotten to the semis. But oh well. There's always next time. (As for the Rooney foul... ouch.)

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 12:56 pm

john m wrote:it's too bad that Beckham wasn't in the game to take all those free kicks.

to take which free kicks, the ones he fired into the wall in the first half?

Hargreaves and Ashley Cole are my new heroes

Nigel (spOOn) Clements · Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:55 pm

This country owes Hargreaves one heck of an apology, that guy ran his heart out for the cause...

...only good thing to come out of England's world cup is Aaron Lennon
only good thing to come out of being beaten by Portugal is...

THAT'S ERIKSSON'S LAST GAME IN CHARGE, you can take your bloody money and your boring negative tactics and fuck off back to sweden, bloody eriksson has taken quite possibly the most gifted collection of english footballers and turned them into a fuckin' shambles, this is the 10th world cup i've followed since Mexico 70 (was just too young to remember '62 and '66) and although we didn't even qualify for a few, this whole campaign has been hideous to watch, eriksson, what a c*nt!

john m · Post by **john m** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 2:07 pm

YES!!!!

j$ · Post by j$ » Sat Jul 01, 2006 9:06 pm

Surprised. Happy, after disappointment of our own making. I predict Germany France final, with germany winning 2-1 in extra time. Ack.

john m · Post by **john m** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 9:34 pm

For a couple weeks now, I've been saying France over Italy in the finals. I've done well on predictions for a bit, but who the hell knows. Four good teams left now. Should be three good games.

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Sat Jul 01, 2006 11:46 pm

Bjam wrote:Hey EPSN, it's not "Overtime", it's "Extra time". It's not "PeeKays", it's "penalties". I don't think I've ever heard "PeeKays". Maybe it's just a new 'cool' term and I'm behind the times. The score is not "Zero Zero", it's "Nil Nil". Do you really not say "Nil Nil"?

Are these general American terms or are ESPN just crazy? The Americans already call it soccer instead of football, you could at least use some normal terms

(Working and having to listen to the match on the radio sucks.)

...and tell Australian sporting commentators to stop watching that crap too. It's pronounced de-FENSE, not freaking DEE-fense. I really hate that

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 1:45 pm

I watched a good bit of England and even some of France, that was a lot of fun. Weird tho - I watched ~90mins of game and saw no goals. Had to leave before France's and the penalty kicks don't count.
What day is the final?
-bill

john m · Post by **john m** » Sun Jul 02, 2006 6:06 pm

The 9th.

john m · Post by **john m** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:19 pm

Allez les Bleus! Allez les Bleus!

Just one more prediction to get right.

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:36 pm

Way to go, Zidane. What the hell was that? That just was horrible, especially for his last match. This world cup has been pretty damn brutal.

The haircut of the Italian player was a, uh, interesting way to celebrate.

Caravan Ray · Post by **Caravan Ray** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:56 pm

Well seeing as how it was only a dodgy penalty in the round of 16 that got Italy past Australia anyway - I think we can claim this as a de-facto victory for the Green and Gold.

Egg · Post by **Egg** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 2:57 pm

[quote="Bjam"]Way to go, Zidane. quote]

A clip that was shown later during the game clearly reveals that Italian player grappling Zidane to hold him back from the game and I think it's while the ball is active. Zidane turns around and says something before walking away. The player follows him, presumably to cover him, but the Italian must have said something because Zidane turns around and headbutts him like there's no tomorrow (which, for his career, is true anyway!). I thought Italy was being really pricky the whole game. Intentionally throwing the ball down the field after whistles get blown against them to give their guys fifteen seconds to get better field position, tripping all over the place, etc. They played a relatively ugly game against the US team too. I'm biased though, so /shrug

I also think Zidane is a hero. If he blew up, it was probably warranted. Also, the ref probably made that penalty call retroactively which is pretty bullshitty. If he wants to go retro, he should at least card the Italian guy too who is commiting a penalty in the exact same clip that he probably based his decision about Zidane on.

WeaselSlayer · Post by **WeaselSlayer** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:34 pm

The ref looked like Henry Rollins. I just wanted to say that. Also, fuck this shit. Zidane was provoked, and the American announcer who originally compared him to John Elway and Joe Dimaggio (I guess they're athletes too, is that the connection?) said "vicious and classless" about 500 times. It overshadowed the rest of the game, which is just a god damn shame.

john m · Post by **john m** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:46 pm

I've already written this about ten other places, but based on the last 75 minutes of the match, Italy deserved to win absolutely nothing. Overrated defense that only showed up a few times tonight, sloppy football, etc. Ugly.

And it's a shame that any sport's championship game can be decided in essentially an exercise in luck.

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 3:59 pm

john m wrote:Overrated defense

I wouldn't say that to Cannavaro's face

Bjam · Post by **Bjam** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 4:26 pm

john m wrote: And it's a shame that any sport's championship game can be decided in essentially an exercise in luck.

Definitely. And they're all so tired after the 90 minutes, that extra time is just tiring to watch. Then to make them shoot a ball in a net, is just... :/ It's sad, they're all just so exhausted that it doesn't make for good football.

Egg · Post by **Egg** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 2:41 am

john m wrote: And it's a shame that any sport's championship game can be decided in essentially an exercise in luck.

He's just angry cause he predicted France over Italy. hehehe

I heard that the rumor is the Italian guy called Zidane a terrorist. I hope that's not actually the straw that broke Zidane's cool temperment. I wonder if the Italian guy will publicly admit what happened. It seems like he probably provoked Zidane verbally after blatantly cheating and that he'd probably be proud that his verbal assault was enough to get Zidane to remove himself from the game. I mean, the guy who replaced him is the one who missed the goal in overtime too. ouch.

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:26 am

Knowing what the provocation might have been is nice for the whole story, but without a similar move from the Italien, you don't need any further context to remove a guy for a rediculous offense like that. Called him a terrorist? What are we in here, grade school? Give me a break. These are professional athletes supposedly wearing their countries' colors as a uniform of pride. I was rooting for France all along, but that changed at that moment and I'm glad. If that was Zidane's last game, his name is mudd for the books. Then again, I don't know his reputation...does he tutor homeless children and fight for the downtrodden?

j$ · Post by j$ » Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:17 am

No excuses. Zidane's reaction was unneccessary. He's a hero, and a genius on the ball, and will be remembered that way, but really .... he reacted like that because he was called a 'terrorist'? Pur-lease! I doubt it was anything so post-modern. Even the bright footballers aren't that bright, generally.

I was so thrilled with the way Italy played in the semis, good attacking football, and so disappointed with the way France played in the semis (does Henry do anything for France apart from over-dramatic diving?) that I was rooting for Italy. But then both teams played dismally. A disappointing end to (another) disappointing world cup. Still nowhere near as bad as USA '94.

Penalties suck. But there is no other way to end a game that is deadlocked - would you make them play for another three hours? No time for a replay in the hectic schedule.

Also if there is gonna be a penalty shoot-out in any world cup, I suppose Germany is the place to have it

furrypedro · Post by **furrypedro** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:50 am

j$ wrote:both teams played dismally. A disappointing end to (another) disappointing world cup

so it really hit the spot for you then
now, if I'd have been on the pitch I could've shown them a thing or two and not made a complete arse out of myself, but then I guess every armchair fan in the country could have done that couldn't they.

j$ wrote:Penalties suck. But there is no other way to end a game that is deadlocked

I suggest a set-piece shoot-out. Each team gets 5 chances to take a free kick from a pre-arranged spot outside the penalty box and get, I dunno, either 1 rebound or 5 seconds to score from it and then on to the next one. I think it'd be worth at least a trial run