World Cup: Oooops...

[catulle]

:confused:

[72gmc]

Spain is being served by a Tunis racket.

[Tom Byrnes]

Lucky Spain!! 72nd minute. 1 to 1. A beautiful goal.

Actually, Spain was overdue to score as it has been on the attack throughout the whole second half. I would not be surprised to see Spain score again.

[Ozz]

Spain is being served by a Tunis racket.
hardly....slow start, maybe. ;)

[Tom Byrnes]

Spain's second goal - seemed inevitable.

They will probably score again.

[Ozz]

Spain's second goal - seemed inevitable.

They will probably score again.
Yeah, what Tom said!

I think they have at least one more goal in them against Tunisia.

[72gmc]

I had to post a dumb comment while the moment lasted.

This is the same reason I have a photo of the scoreboard with my alma mater leading USC 3-0 in football. I snapped it quick because the massacre was, as Tom says, inevitable.

[catulle]

Phewww...! I think I sweated this game more than El Nino Torres, atmo. Good. They had their tortilla de patatas washed down with Vega Sicilia during the brake and the result speaks for itself. Spain has been from the start in my list of favorites, irrc.



GO ORANGE...!!!

[Ozz]

...GO ORANGE...!!!
With some luck, see you in the Semi-Finals

Spain will probably need to get thru South Korea and Brazil...yay! :crap:

Netherlands matches are tougher to call....they still need to play Argentina to determine whether they are 1C or 2C. Germany & Ecuador still need to play to determine how they finish, as does Mexico and Portugal. England has their placement sewn up. I'm going to call Netherlands a 2C, and they will play Portugal and England to reach the Semis.

Sorry, but they will lose to Spain, who will face Argentina in the final.

:beer:

[catulle]

With some luck, see you in the Semi-Finals

Spain will probably need to get thru South Korea and Brazil...yay! :crap:

Netherlands matches are tougher to call....they still need to play Argentina to determine whether they are 1C or 2C. Germany & Ecuador still need to play to determine how they finish, as does Mexico and Portugal. England has their placement sewn up. I'm going to call Netherlands a 2C, and they will play Portugal and England to reach the Semis.

Sorry, but they will lose to Spain, who will face Argentina in the final.

:beer:

Great summary, dude. Thank you.

VIVA ESPAÑA...!

[goonster]

When Tunisia went ahead, I turned to Mrs. Goonster and said, "Now we'll see what this team is made of. If they're for real, they'll win 3:1." Honest.

This is a very good, very young team. They don't even have a Philip Cocu, Roberto Ayala or Bernd Schneider equivalent. Raul, despite having been around for freaking ever, is still not quite 29, Puyol is 28 and Joaquin, brought on as a stabilizing influence, is 24.

I'm not quite completely sold on Torres. Phil Ball called him a "shooter of blanks" and despite his two goals today (OK, the first was nicely finished, but must we really count the penalty he squibbed under the keeper?) what sticks in my mind are the one-on-ones with the keeper that he failed to finish. I'm not dogging him, and I don't begrudge Atletico a Raul of their own, but I'm not jumping on the bandwagon just yet.

Speaking of the "Angel" . . . never been a fan, but he did the business today. Respect. Same goes for Sheva.

http://www.gulf-times.com/mritems/images/2006/6/6/2_90423_1_248.jpg

I'm rooting for Spain (until they meet Korea, you know it's gonna happen ;) ) because they are fun to watch and they are starting nearly as many Liverpool players as England.

Speaking of Liverpool and England . . . Peter Crouch is a freaking disaster. I support Liverpool, but this is a whole different bowl of punch. He may serve a purpose against the likes of Bolton and Blackburn, and whoever the early rounds of the cup competitions serve up, but on the stage of world class competition he's frankly mp. His performances in the last couple of warmup friendlies notwithstanding, this is a striker primarily noted for two things:
- being freakishly thin and tall (Dennis Lawrence is as tall, and Jan Koller is taller, and neither look like beanstalks)
- not scoring a single goal in his first seventeen games for Liverpool (it was so painful you felt bad for him)
To paraphrase somebody else (can't remember where I read it), he works really hard out there, but it only emphasizes his limitations.

(Let's see . . . Cisse hurt, and out-of-favor anyway, Morientes gone, Baros gone, Fowler old, that leaves . . . Crouch, Mellor and Le Tallec :crap: )

Anyway, watching England I can't shake the notion that this is a team that is less than the sum of its parts. Midfield of Cole, Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham? Shouldn't take 83 minutes to score against a nation with fewer people than San Antonio.

Speaking of Joe Cole . . . always liked him, since he was the unpolished crown jewel of Harry Redknapp's loveable, underachieving Hammers. He did things for the England under-17's that made you think, "that might be England's Brazilian some day."

http://212.85.13.3/home/showcaseoldfiles/londonoratory/DanielG/West%20Ham/Raw/JoeCole.jpg

Argentina have been scary. Riquelme barely breaks a sweat, Crespo and Saviola are on-target and they've barely let Messi out of his cage. Brazil are not always focused, and Spain took a while to hit their stride today, but I haven't seen any chinks in Argentina's armor yet.

Not good enough for Barca. Think they're motivated?
http://www.valechumbar.com/media/2/20050726-saviola%20riquelme.JPG

I'm bored tonight. Can you tell? ;)

[Louis]

Here's an Ooops for you (not from the World Cup, though).

I found it on the Le Monde web site.

[catulle]

When Tunisia went ahead, I turned to Mrs. Goonster and said, "Now we'll see what this team is made of. If they're for real, they'll win 3:1." Honest.

This is a very good, very young team. They don't even have a Philip Cocu, Roberto Ayala or Bernd Schneider equivalent. Raul, despite having been around for freaking ever, is still not quite 29, Puyol is 28 and Joaquin, brought on as a stabilizing influence, is 24.

I'm not quite completely sold on Torres. Phil Ball called him a "shooter of blanks" and despite his two goals today (OK, the first was nicely finished, but must we really count the penalty he squibbed under the keeper?) what sticks in my mind are the one-on-ones with the keeper that he failed to finish. I'm not dogging him, and I don't begrudge Atletico a Raul of their own, but I'm not jumping on the bandwagon just yet.

Speaking of the "Angel" . . . never been a fan, but he did the business today. Respect. Same goes for Sheva.

http://www.gulf-times.com/mritems/images/2006/6/6/2_90423_1_248.jpg

I'm rooting for Spain (until they meet Korea, you know it's gonna happen ;) ) because they are fun to watch and they are starting nearly as many Liverpool players as England.

Speaking of Liverpool and England . . . Peter Crouch is a freaking disaster. I support Liverpool, but this is a whole different bowl of punch. He may serve a purpose against the likes of Bolton and Blackburn, and whoever the early rounds of the cup competitions serve up, but on the stage of world class competition he's frankly mp. His performances in the last couple of warmup friendlies notwithstanding, this is a striker primarily noted for two things:
- being freakishly thin and tall (Dennis Lawrence is as tall, and Jan Koller is taller, and neither look like beanstalks)
- not scoring a single goal in his first seventeen games for Liverpool (it was so painful you felt bad for him)
To paraphrase somebody else (can't remember where I read it), he works really hard out there, but it only emphasizes his limitations.

(Let's see . . . Cisse hurt, and out-of-favor anyway, Morientes gone, Baros gone, Fowler old, that leaves . . . Crouch, Mellor and Le Tallec :crap: )

Anyway, watching England I can't shake the notion that this is a team that is less than the sum of its parts. Midfield of Cole, Lampard, Gerrard and Beckham? Shouldn't take 83 minutes to score against a nation with fewer people than San Antonio.

Speaking of Joe Cole . . . always liked him, since he was the unpolished crown jewel of Harry Redknapp's loveable, underachieving Hammers. He did things for the England under-17's that made you think, "that might be England's Brazilian some day."

http://212.85.13.3/home/showcaseoldfiles/londonoratory/DanielG/West%20Ham/Raw/JoeCole.jpg

Argentina have been scary. Riquelme barely breaks a sweat, Crespo and Saviola are on-target and they've barely let Messi out of his cage. Brazil are not always focused, and Spain took a while to hit their stride today, but I haven't seen any chinks in Argentina's armor yet.

Not good enough for Barca. Think they're motivated?
http://www.valechumbar.com/media/2/20050726-saviola%20riquelme.JPG

I'm bored tonight. Can you tell? ;)

Very incisive and insightful. Thank you. What worries me about Argentina is that all too soon the players might start playing for their own sake and forgo the team. The Brazilians, regardless of their present condition, tend to be more disciplined, atmo; thus, more consistent. Lots of good football this time around, though.


GO ORANGE...!!

[LilBolt]

First they lose their bikes, now their pants...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5496373

[inGobwetrust]

Never mind that, look at this!
http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5682904_7_1.jpg

More here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/id/5682904_7_1.jpg

[goonster]

What worries me about Argentina is that all too soon the players might start playing for their own sake and forgo the team.

I don't know. The 2002 exit, during the Argentinean economic meltdown, was traumatic. Nobody wants to go there again.

A lot of these guys have something to prove. Crespo will be fighting for a job. Riquelme and Saviola's plight (despite the latter's UEFA cup win) is obvious, Cambiasso languishes at Inter, Ayala has two Champions League loser's medals, and then you have a few eager young bucks. Anyway, I get the feeling that they understand, deep down, that the only way they'll get anywhere is together. Riquelme is the barometer. He's an unusual, complex character. Everything has to be just so, or he becomes ineffective.

Maybe you're right. It could all go wrong very quickly. Watch No. 10.

Lots of good football this time around, though.


Agreed 100%. The quality of play, and the ups and downs in some of the groups, is a pleasant surprise. My heart goes out to the African teams, who have served us up some very tasty fare, but may end up with not a whole lot to show for it.

I get the feeling I'm younger than many here, but I'm old enough to remember the shame and disgrace of Austria/Germany in '82. :mad:

A couple of thoughts about Korea . . .

Full disclosure: Mrs. Goonster is Korean, I lived there for a number of years, speak the language, visit there occasionally and regularly commune with elements of "Urinara" expat society. That said, I, born in the home of Sindelar, Happel and Krankl, always regarded their team with an air of disinterested bemusement. What could they do against the giants of Portugal, Italy or Spain?

Never mind 2002. That was madness, fun to watch, but a fluke national hysteria. Except they're doing it again, and I don't know how. This is a team with no midfield regisseur. Defenders are plentiful but anonymous. Their strikers can't finish a sentence. Somehow the ball gets to the edge of the box, and then a dance of futility ensues, a kind of desperate waiting for a happy accident.

I'll give the Dutch credit, but this isn't Total Football. It's like a symphony of worker bees. OK, Ji-Sung Park is at ManU (and his last season at PSV was very good), but what does he do there? He's a tireless watercarrier, running up and down the flank, harrassing attackers, drawing defenders, occasionally cutting inside for a speculative shot. He's like a Marc Overmars who never scores. Not the kind of player you build a team around.

The Swiss looked good today. Good ball movement, beautiful distribution, exemplary use of space, composed and comfortable in defence. I'm not predicting a result, but it will be messy against Korea. ;)

Trivia: This year the Koreans are wearing their first names on their jerseys. If you know anything about Korea (truly the anti-Brazil, if there ever was one) this is pretty weird, but it spares us a field full of Lees and gives us a "Ho". Woo hoo!

[catulle]

Hey Goon,

Great write-up. Keep them coming. We'll have to wait a few days until the Cup hits the fan. I can't believe that Ecuador is doing so well. Today they lost 3-0 to Germany but it was mostly their back-up team, the Ecuadorian back-up team. But then, Ecuador is not in contention for the last day. I do hope Argentina keeps it up. I didn't like to see Saviola leaving Barcelona. I realize that it will be more of the same for the Dutch, but that's my team.

GO ORANGE...!!!

[72gmc]

Fun to read, Goonster et al.

All I have to add is: Korea drives me nuts. Specifically their style--they're taking the theatrical dive to new levels. Infuriating. And I have no particular allegiance to Argentina, but given how fun their 6-0 (should have been 7-0) win was, along with their need for something good to happen in that country, I'd like to see them go to the final.

[catulle]

Tomorrow is the big day, atmo.

GO ORANGE...!!

[ada@prorider.or]

First they lose their bikes, now their pants...
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5496373

this is really unbeleiveble that something like this can happen

money money money
they destroy the whole sport
in hollaand there was already a count case what heineken lost
lot of people hate those sponsering

[catulle]

this is really unbeleiveble that something like this can happen

money money money
they destroy the whole sport
in hollaand there was already a count case what heineken lost
lot of people hate those sponsering

How stupid...!! I can see why some dudes would be upset, though, atmo...

[goonster]

Korea drives me nuts. Specifically their style--they're taking the theatrical dive to new levels. Infuriating.

I disagree. I don't think they dive. There may be some misguided enthusiasm in the mix, but I don't see them diving. I promise to watch the next game with a fresh perspective and an open mind and we'll re-review.

The thing with the orange lederhosen really is outrageous. Where can I get some? FIFA really are a bunch of robber barons. From what I understand, the host nations bear the overwhelming brunt of the cost of the event, but FIFA rakes in the lion's share of endorsement revenue, ticket allocations etc. When I see Blatter, Platini, Beckenbauer and the other suits grim-faced at the games, and then I have to see the two ex-players in the freakin' Adidas commercials in between the action . . . well, I really wonder whose sport this is.

Since the issue of powerful controlling interests and the notion of "thinking globally, acting locally" has come up in another thread, I guess it's time for me to reveal that for the last eight years I've managed a humble adult coed team in a small corporate league. Our color is Orange.

England played well today, and I thought their performance was very encouraging primarily because this was a game they didn't have to win. The Owen injury is heartbreaking when you consider he's coming off a six-month injury layoff, and how very brightly his star shone in '98. Get better soon Michael, and come home to Anfield.

This was Joe Cole's big day, and he deserved it. Scored one goal, made another and always ran at opponents with supreme confidence. That volley is the goal of the Cup for me so far, although Rebrov's cracker wasn't bad either. For a time third-choice left winger at Chelsea (behind Robben and Duff), he's not even a naturally left-footed player. Maybe now he'll get the girl (caution: mild nudity) (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006010529,00.html)

Let's talk about Sven. Even if he could keep it in his pants, and even if he didn't discuss fantasy job scenarios with fake sheiks, he'd deserve the boot for the striker fiasco. Scoring goals is, um, kind of important in this game, but you take one guy who hasn't played a competitive game in five months, one guy with a broken foot, one guy is just plain awkward and a 17 year-old who has never played for his club and who you've never seen in person. Expecting Owen to play every minute of every game was unrealistic from the start, Rooney's availability was always limited, at best, and now you're heading into the knockout stages probably having to field the teenager whose last opponents were Queens Park Rangers.

Darren Bent and Jermain Defoe (at least he's in the aforementioned Adidas ads) are looking pretty good right now, no? At least I get the feeling that things are gelling a little bit on the field. That back four should cope, and there is enough class and depth in midfield to make good things happen yet.

No way do I see Germany advance past the quarterfinals. This team has scored lots of goals against very mediocre competition (Ecuador rolled out the B team). Lahm, Schneider, Klose and Schweinsteiger have been good, but this team doesn't quite have the requisite depth.

Oh yeah, the Argentina/Holland game should be a cracker. There may be a bit of a cautious approach, with respect to players on yellows, but I look forward to seeing a bit more of what these teams can do. The '98 quarterfinal was a great game, capped by the unforgettable image of Dennis Bergkamp receiving a fifty-yard pass, turning his marker and firing into the high far corner. Sublime.

Thanks to Serotta, the moderators and everybody else for putting up with this. It's like the Tour, but with more cheap nationalism thrown in, and it only comes around once every four years. :beer:

[Climb01742]

The '98 quarterfinal was a great game, capped by the unforgettable image of Dennis Bergkamp receiving a fifty-yard pass, turning his marker and firing into the high far corner. Sublime.

i happened to be in france during that world cup and was watching that game surrounded by many very knowledgeable -- far more than i -- fans. as that goal found the net, i know my jaw had dropped in amazement. but as i looked around the bar, everyone's jaw had dropped too. we all knew we'd just seen a moment of true brilliance and beauty. that goal sticks in my mind as what soccer/football can be. it also added to my sadness this past season as dennis' career with arsenal ended with a whimper, rather than the bang i had hoped for. i always loved watching bergkamp play. he had grace and class in all the definitions of those words.

[stevep]

are those real soccer balls in there?
cant tell.
need bigger photo for my wall at home./