Jim R

Fwimbw: Raney thread

FRANCE 2/ TOGO 0. It could have been FRANCE 8/ TOGO 1 They have so many possibilities to score. France reach the last 16 with a match against SPAIN where they are going to be the underdog. I suppose everybody will put his money of SPAIN, what's the best thing for FRANCE. There's something that you should know about this curious game (that you call by this terrible word SOCCER) : than the best teams of the qualifying Groups are RARELY the WORLD CHAMPION of the tournament (only BRAZIL in 1970 succeded to be the best time from start to finish). In 1982 ITALY, before winning the title, could'nt beat any of its oponant (three draws and a miracle happen, they qualified with three points for the next level as the second team of that group. I think than never before and never after a future WORLD CHAMPION qualified with so little points). Before beating HUNGARY 3-2 in the 1954 final, GERMANY had been previously beaten by the HUNGARYAN in the qualification 8-3. Before loosing against GERMANY in 1974, HOLLAND was taken for unbeatable. Who though that ARGENTINA could win in 1986 before MARADONNA starts his show in the secound round? Who ever imagine thant URUGUAY could beat BRAZIL in BRAZIL in 1950? And so on and on. I don't think than FRANCE will go very far but they have seen the light in front of the TOGO (and improve match after match). Let's hope (from my point of view, at last) that they continued in this way (something that I believe in deeply, because I've never been worried about the team even if the first match against SWITZERLAND was closed to disaster and the second against COREA a huge disappoinment). Sorry for the elimination of USA who could have win against ITALY and GHANA (the bad refeering is worst than ever in this tournament). And sorry also for the lecture! No apologies necessary- it's good to remember the history. If one of the best teams in the first round does not end up as world champion, I hope it isn't a result of these referees. Believe me, I'm not saying that only because of what happened to the U.S. (the U.S. did not play up to their ability in this tournament, and the referees only sealed their fate, imo). The bad refereeing has been rampant in probably every group. WHY did we need to change the rules/interpretations for this WC? A normal foul has become a yellow card, a yellow has in some cases become a red. I'm all for cracking down on unfair and dangerous play, but they've gone overboard. It's almost ruining the whole tournament for me. Even in matches where I don't even care who wins, it disturbs me to see ridiculous yellow cards and bogus PK's awarded. The dive (and the flop) lives. I wasn't able to watch the two later games today, so I missed the turnabout in the performance of France. Saw a few highlights, though. Let's hope that France will play as well against Spain and give us all a great entertaining match. Before today, I would have expected Spain to win that match, but now, who knows. If France wins, I'm happy for Zidane, Henry, and the other veterans (and some of our members here ). If Spain wins, it would be a step toward erasing their unfortunate WC history (and I'm all for it, if that's what fate holds for them). Brad, the boards I refer to are called the "Big Soccer" boards (http://www.bigsoccer.com/). It seems to be a very well-established and popular place to discuss the sport, and there are apparently many, many forums (for different countries, club teams, and tournaments). So far I've only had time to investigate the "USA Men / News and Analysis" forum, which has hundreds of threads and a "real time" discussion atmosphere with many participants. http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=180 The Spain forums are here: http://www.bigsoccer.com/index.php?page=Spain

Emma Peel Rusty Staub Michel Legrand

Well, it's kind of traditional that you don't rugby scrum the keeper into his goal after he's caught the ball... I agree that those could have been called penalties, although in Viduka's case I think he deserves to get rugby tackled every once in awhile. Dmitry, it's never too late to discuss your reactions to the games. This doesn't have to be all "real time" discussion. Thanks for the photo!

King Tut The Mummy Bill Mumy

Buckminster Fuller Gerd Muller Jesse Van Ruller

George Wein Bobby Wine Evelyn Champagne King

Fair enough, Scott, I understand your viewpoint (sorry- didn't mean to put words in your mouth). To me, 3 wins is pretty impressive any way you slice it. I'm not saying that I expect Germany to reach the final, but I'm still impressed. In terms of that opening game, I agree that their back line could have been better, but then again, Wanchope is a handful. The goals by Lahm and Frings were nothing less than scary (they still stand as two of the best I've seen so far). Their finishing vs Poland could have been better, but they looked dangerous to me nonetheless. The Ecuador match isn't a good guage, of course, but they did what they had to do. Not trying to change your mind, just giving Germany a few props that I think they deserve. I meant to ask you before- do you read/post at the Big Soccer boards? Maybe you've already mentioned it... I couldn't remember. Anyway, I've been reading for a short time and recently registered. A lot of nutcases posting there, but also quite a few interesting viewpoints. Oh well, it's kind of hard to maintain my enthusiasm for participating there after what took place this morning...

Don't forget the hosts, Scott. I might have preferred to root for some of the underdogs, but the way this tournament is going, I don't see too many upsets on the horizon. Because I have liked Kenny's attitude here on this thread, I thought I might adopt the Aussies as a team to pull for if the U.S. got eliminated, but unfortunately I haven't really warmed to their physical style of play. It's certainly more respectable than diving and flopping all the time, but I still don't like it. The play today where two of their attackers tried to knock the Croatian keeper (with the ball already in his hands) into the goal was kind of crazy, imo. I don't know if I'll root for any team in particular... I'd just like to see excellent team play, fewer cards, and fewer dives.

The U.S.A.: Too conservative- another 4-5-1 with McBride all alone (and I mean that literally) up top; very few forward runs (with or without the ball) by the attacking midfielders. When did they bring Eddie Johnson in? 60th minute or so? He probably should have played 90 minutes, and when they're down 2-1 in a must-win situation, they don't even bring him on at the beginning of the second half. Insanity. They completely wasted the first 30 minutes of the game, just kicking the ball around like it was a practice session. Our most veteran field player, our captain, our on-field general gives the ball away with nobody behind him except Keller, and Ghana scores. Even before that, I already doubted that we'd mount any kind of attack (let alone win the game), but that was the clincher for me. I almost turned it off. Terrible PK call by Markus Merk, and that only made things worse, but it's pretty unlikely we were going to score the all-important second goal anyway. The goal we got in this game (and in this tournament ) was the result of a mistake similar to Reyna's by a Ghana defender. Once again we lacked energy, vision/teamwork, aggressiveness, skill, and intelligence. I'm embarassed and somewhat disgusted. The referees are too involved in the games at this point in terms of handing out cards. There have been far too many cards given and fouls called in response to players diving (the PK call today being a glaring example). I'd like to see more cards for the divers.

He sings. He sings good, too.

Kenny Burrell K.B. Groovington The K.G.B.

One of the announcers here in the U.S. (I think it was Balboa) criticized Beckham during the Sweden match, and I was already thinking about it myself. Certainly no villain, but not much in the way of contributions lately. Contrasting his play with someone like Joe Cole, and it's that much worse. Perhaps he's getting too conservative in his old age? Mexico and Portugal have a pretty inspired contest going (currently 2-0 Portugal at halftime). Can't wait for Australia/Netherlands later on!

Freddy Fender Amp Lee The Tubes

Augie Doggie Aubie the Tiger Audie Murphy

I'm very disappointed with Ecuador's game today. Not because I really cared who won, but they just played like crap, and I didn't expect this match to be so boring. Germany looked fine, so it's no knock against them. Ecuador came out like they wanted to fall behind (maybe it would have been better for Klose's defender to step toward him on that first goal?). Then, they go into some kind of macho keep-away style, with no intelligent attack and a lot of cheap shots after they lost the ball. Oh well, I guess I should have watched the meaningless Poland/CR match.

The Koreans definitely have some great fans. My only problem is that song they sing. I think it may be even more annoying than that old Houston Oilers fight song (a lot of you won't know what I'm talking about, and believe me... you're lucky ). Well, I skipped the Togo/Switzerland game. The Swiss goals looked great on replay, fwiw. Ukraine... finally showed why they advanced out of their qualifying group. A nice display, if against a weak opponent. Spain... well, you could see that result coming from a mile away, right? Tunisia went into a defensive shell even before half-time (rightly or wrongly is debateable, but I think it was foolish), and like Poland in the final minutes against Germany they endured wave after wave of attacks. Even when they attempted to possess the ball, they gave it away as though they were confident that they could hold off the Spaniards indefinitely. Well, either way, I suppose they never really had a chance. Nice to see Raul get the equalizer. I hope Ecuador will at least give the Germans a good game tomorrow. I expect Germany will be too much for them, though. England/Sweden should be entertaining.

Croatia vs Japan- a very odd game, with a minumum of midfield build-up and frantic defending. I think the heat really was too much for the players. Brazil vs Australia- I was impressed by Australia, especially in the first half, and not so impressed by Ronaldinho, who seemed to be emulating the laziness of Ronaldo. He was playing a bit like Zidane is currently playing (certainly nothing shameful, but Ronaldinho should be able to do more running than that). The second half was a different story, with the Brazilians asserting themselves. France vs Korea- France started off much better than they had done against the Swiss, with more cohesion, intelligence, and effort. There were still too many poor plays by Wiltord, Viera, and probably a few others. Obviously, as it turned out they needed a second goal, and they probably should have gotten it while they were controlling the game. I began to doze off midway through the second half (getting too old to sit through 3 matches in a row ), but I did see the yellow card given to Zidane. Utterly absurd. This is getting out of control, imo. Brad, Dave O'Brien is probably improving somewhat, but you're right- he's still awful. I also think Balboa is awful as an analyst. He doesn't make intelligent observations, and he's incapable of speaking clearly. It's an absolute joke to have those two guys as the "lead" announcers for the WC.

It's funny... I've never been too worried about alignments, in terms of how the team is laid out on paper before the game. Once the actions starts, a team's "shape" will usually be in flux according to how the game is flowing (whether we're controlling, holding, dictating; or constantly chasing/defending). Maybe I'll have to watch the match again (a third time, as I already watched it once on tape) to see if I really recognize the "4-1-4-1". I certainly recognize the last "1" (McBride), but in terms of the defensive midfield, I think it's less obvious. I don't know that Reyna got further upfield than he did against the Czechs, generally speaking, and Mastroeni committed himself forward on a number of occasions too. At any rate, I think the basic shape we took was good. The only change I would have considered would have been to get EJ into the game (as a starter) instead of leaving McBride alone up top. McBride is great at that, but historically we just don't create a lot of chances that way. And yeah- I thought EJ should have replaced McBride in the 2nd half (I would have brought him in around the 60 min. mark). Some people are saying that it would have been too risky to use our final sub when we were already down to 9 men (an injury would have brought us down to 8), but I would have taken that chance. Agreed about Dempsey. I've been saying all along (since the beginning of this thread, I believe) that I thought he deserved to start. He's shown that he's consistent, and pretty much fearless (maybe he's too young to realize he should be nervous ). He didn't have a spectacular game today, but he made a very solid contribution. I also agree with your comments re Donovan. He's too unselfish sometimes. He's capable of shooting from distance, and he's also good at shooting on the run. The way we were failing to put our shots on target (as I said above), we needed all the shots we could get... and Donovan was one of the players (and Beasley was guilty as well) who held the ball up a few times when we should have been attacking. Even Cherundolo could have run at the defense more, IMO. We just need to be more aggressive in attacking in general, because we need to create more chances than most other teams (with better finishers). Such a strange game, though. What were the odds of: 1) Beasley getting into the match; 2) Beasley scoring a goal; 3) A veteran like McBride screwing up and causing the goal to be disallowed?

Agreed. The U.S., by virtue of some very good midfield play today, set themselves up for some very good chances on goal. Convey: over the bar. Bocanegra: over the bar. Dempsey: wide of the post. Mastroeni: over the bar (good effort from long range, but the fact remains...). McBride: wide of the post (very very weak effort with his left foot). Reyna: wide, a slow roller with no power on it. A World Cup match against Italy, a match we positioned ourselves to win... and we can't put the ball on the frigging frame. Too bad about Beasley's goal being disallowed... McBride should have known better than to interfere in the play. The Italians defeated themselves in the attack by getting caught offside over and over again. I think one of those was a bad call, but there were many that were called correctly. Regarding the referee, this guy was sanctioned (? if that's the right word) by FIFA in the 2002 tournament for his erratic judgements. Of course there is some subjectivity in all of this, but I'm sorry- this guy was card happy. Few verbal warnings, and some silly and rash judgements. And not only against the U.S.- possibly the worst cards he gave out were against Italy... Totti's card didn't look deserved; and the MILD foul by (? forgot who it was now) against Cherundolo when he took the ball down the right flank in the 2nd half... not a yellow card offense. I also can't agree about Mastroeni's straight red. Certainly it was bad enough for a yellow, but I can't see ejecting a player for a tackle like that when he is obviously attempting to play the ball. Ghana were wonderful today. Great touch, vision, running off the ball for one another, anticipating each other's movements and passes... just beautiful stuff. Defensively they did a great job of limiting the number of dangerous attacks from Nedved and Rosicky, and Kingson made a couple of fine saves toward the end. I can only hope that Ghana won't be that sharp on Thursday! Italy/Czech Republic ought to be interesting... neither one will want to finish 2nd in the group, for obvious reasons. Anyway, GO ITALY!... and stay the *&^% ONSIDE!

You forgot to warn us that in this clip we would have to listen to the commentary of Marcelo Balboa. "... he's not even looking for the ball...". Kind of difficult to watch the flight of the ball when someone is jerking your head around 180º by pulling your hair, Marcelo. I missed the Argentina match, but thanks to the wonderful folks at ABC/ESPN, I got to see two of the six goals during their pathetic little replay package. The Dutch were up against a very talented and highly determined I.C. squad today, and I was very impressed with the fact that they fought them off and prevailed. Van Nistleroy was fortunate to have been played onside by that one out-of-position defender, and that was a relatively easy goal, but he still did what he had to do. Mexico needs Borgetti back, asap. I watched that one on tape, and it put me to sleep. I agree about the problems with a couple of the refs today, but overall it's hard to complain. I think they've been doing a fine job for the most part.

Jim Crow Columbus Crew Craw (not "Craw", Craw!)

John, I understand what you mean, but I was talking about only the last few minutes. There were times when Poland could have easily wasted more time rather than carelessly banging the ball down to Lehmann and preparing for the next immediate onslaught. Perhaps they didn't have the courage to face all the whistles that would have rained down on them if they tried to ice the ball near the German corner flags. I don't know, I just think that they asked more of their defenders than was necessary (or prudent). Like I said, though, Germany looked good, and deserved to win. I thought that Schweinsteiger looked good in the first half, but not so in the second. I agree about the subs. The way he has performed against the U.S., I always say "uh-oh" whenever Nouville is brought in late in a match. He's my kind of player- he's very smart, always knows how to find space (and usually knows what to do when he finds it). His only mistakes today were getting caught slightly offside a couple of times... but he nearly created some real danger on those plays. Lahm is fun to watch!

Did Germany deserve to win? Most definitely. But the way I saw it, Poland was monumentally stupid the way they closed out that match. Time and time again they launched the ball downfield to Lehmann, who promptly set Germany back on the attack. Perhaps the Polish midfielders, forwards, and coach thought this made sense, but the Polish defenders (who did a good job of thwarting wave after wave of German attacks in the final 20 minutes) must have been cursing- at least under their breath if not out loud. WHY? If you want a 0-0 draw, and there are only a few minutes remaining, POSSESS the ball as much as you can- in midfield, down the wings, whatever! No matter the sport, no matter the teams who are playing, one thing that makes me squirm- even if I don't particularly care who wins- is stupidity. Poland was stupid. Oh, and maybe Nouville should have been marked in front of the German goal. Poor Boruc- he played very well. Bottom line- Germany deserved 3 points for creating so many good chances (that Klose missed that header in the first half is something I still have trouble believing).

Rick Barry Nate Thurmond Chris Mullin