couw

cute

This is the lame way out: Lee Harvey acted alone and file closed. Makes for real bad films. Of course if you need a simple view on life with easily identifiable enemies... And the dude DOES deserve loads of sympathy for growing out of the ghetto and making a difference to many people. Everybody knew the guy had this "dark" side that flashed up on rare occasions. It is a damn pity that it needs to flash once more at the end of his career. So maybe instead of acting like you started watching football only yesterday, you can bring it over yourself to mourn a little with the rest of us about this sad finish of one of the true greats of the game.

no, you said you didn't care what Materazzi did to provoke and that you didn't care about how the red card came to be, basically closing your eyes to the discussion in this thread and in the media worldwide. That's pretty idiotic.

No one is really questioning whether he should or should not have seen red. He should and he did. Just that the procedure opens a real big can of worms. It DOES matter who saw it, because if it turns out to the fifth man watching his monitor, this is a precedent FIFA is not ready to handle. They are nowhere near ready to allow video footage in refereeing as they do not have any idea how, when, what, and inhowfar. So probably they will keep telling the story of the fourth guy seeing it, although some footage on German tv showed that the fifth guy was probably involved. and I for one care what shitforbrains Materazzi said to Zidane as it shows that the verbal shite thrown around on the field DOES pose a problem. Moreso if it is combined with the shitty tactics of continuous near-fouls. Not to excuse the inexcuseable, but I don't think I saw Zidane without an Italian hanging on his shirt or dealing out little kicks and pushes. Similar shite went down in the Portugal vs. Netherlands game: little crap that piles up and then hits the fan in a major way. And everyone is wondering what the hell is going on. Bad referees is what's going on.

some Brazilian tv station has done some lipreading ( ) and came up with the same theory.

I saw some speculation about Zidane being called a "terrorist" and another report speculated that the comment related to him being from Algeria, something like "You should go play for your own country" Strictly rumor at this point. Zidane's manager said Zidane told he said something very serious that provoked him but wouldn't say what it was. I imagine we'll get the details soon enough. well, here's what he denies saying: right smarty, Zidane got the Golden Ball, you get the Golden Brain award.

ah yes, just as I thought: FIFA spokesman Andreas Herren however said that Spaniard Luis Medina Cantalejo had seen the incident live. "He saw what happened as it happened and he immediately told the referee over the communications system. The referee then sent Zidane off." that's of course also why the card was giving only what? 3 or so minutes later after the world had watched the incident half a dozen times in replay. "Immediately" is much sooner dear FIFA. And if this is the speed with which these communication devices works, then you guys need to bring those back to the shop.

on telly they showed Buffon going to the linesman, who had not raised his flag or otherwise informed the ref. He was near the fourth ref and they had some bla bla with the fifth man joining. Lippi and Domenech both explained later that the decision was based on video footage. Of course FIFA may tell you otherwise. They will likely come up with a story where the linesman had seen it, but wasn't sure and went for the opinion of the 4th and 5th man. My problem with this is not that Zidane went out, but with the fact that FIFA used video footage during the game. If they can do it here, they could also have done it with the various dives and other crap. People have demanded FIFA use it for years, they have always declined and now you see them using it without any plan. Such arbitrariness is pretty typical for this moloch of course.

watch again. The guy hit his foot so there is no way he could have remained upright. The foul looked worse than it was because of the whack Italian dancing in midair undecided whether to yes or no. Foul in PK area equals PK. so no gift. no even out, a big steal if you want to name it correctly. If FIFA can look at video to give Zidane a red, they can also look at video to grant that PK I'd say. FIFA lost this tournament.

I disagree. The French played very well against Spain, Brazil and Italy and certainly went through the tougher sides compared to Italy's draw. I'd take out Spain and then you're left with two good halves. So I can make it three if you really want me to.

at least they are more coherent than yours! go party, man!!!!

another thing: since when does FIFA allow for the fourth ref to go watch his monitor in replay and then decide who gets a card? That's a nice precedent, let's keep that up.

ah bullshit. who missed his PK? Who would have taken it even with Zidane still on the field? Correctamundo. Next headline will be that these world champions please should not be relegated to the third league and then they will find some way to grant them all amnesty and next year they can all go out and buy referees again. heheheh.

bah!

I am 100% sure that Matterazzi is a choirboy. BTW and in the end: this was a real BORING WC so we get the best of it and decision by PKs. I bet the Italians will win. Somehow that would fit. Although just like the Italians, also the French only played two good halves during the entire tournament.

oh, I am so sad that Portugal lost! NOT!!! heheh. feghthemdivers.

so we have the little pisser diving like nothing again. Sheee-ittte! Can someone paste some NASA rockets on him and make his dives reach into the stratosphere? (no parachute, that would be lame.)

same goes for the domestic series (RVGs): some real stinkers in the early batches. same goes for the recent 24bit Japanese BN reissues (more TOCJs, this time TOCJ24s or whatever): some utter stinkers and some real good ones. In the end, if you want consistently good sounding BNs, go for the TOCJ BNWorks series. They all sound the same. Some might sound better in another series, but at least all BNWorks CDs sound like the next one.

The German commentator here was already questioning how different the gravity force in the French PK area could be. Please introduce this video shite pronto and ban these blokes.

That dive was unbelievable, not even good acting for him. I'd have given him yellow just for the occasion. ow yes it was definitely a PK. The guy missed the ball, kicked again with the other leg and there was only a player to be kicked. Equals foul. Foul in PK area equal PK.

In my view Italy played very well, way more attacking than usual - maybe except for those tactical intervals mentioned above - and I found it a refreshing change from the extremely boring and destructive defensive "catenaccio" system they're known for. My point as well. Italy played very differently from what they showed thus far in the tournament. Only when Germany put on pressure, you could see Italy fall back into their old (boring ) pattern. Also during the second half there were some of these moments that seemed to stem from fatigue. But the change to two forwards really made the difference in the end. Very un-Italian, but also very effective.

Yes, but it could have gone either way I think. Both teams had their moments, Italy some very boring ones. In the end the change to two forwards put Germany into trouble. Great tactic move that was. For once a fine game to watch, including a fine ref. Not to detract from Germany's excellent game, but in my view Italy was the better team and had the better chances throughout the game. I didn't see those boring Italian moments. The referee was excellent indeed; he made refreshingly few mistakes. the Italians fell back into their boring defensive-with-long-balls-to-the-guy-waiting-up-front game when Germany turned up the pressure, especially during the second half. Maybe boring is the wrong word as it was exciting to watch. Just not the kind of play I like too much. The first half wasn't that spiffy as it was in the end yet another tactical stalemate; hardly any balls broke through the defense on either side. Good to watch as the midfield play was good on both sides, but there were maybe three or four minor chances during the entire first half.

yes, on Lonehill.

Pele just walked onto my screen, let's see if he has something profound to say... ... ... ... ... nope.

they did?