12/21/24
July 01, 2006
Hidden: World Cup Semifinals Set: Germany, Italy, Portugal and France: Both South American teams were knocked out in the Quarterfinals, along with powerhouse England. Argentina, while talented, also suffered from horrible coaching. Deciding it was a good idea to take out their play-maker, Riquelme, at the 72nd minute (Germany scored just 8 minutes later). Participating in their first World Cup, Ukraine surpassed everyone's expectations, but their inexperience showed against a veteran Italian squad. A controversal call against Rooney all but sealed England's fate as Sven continued to play a 4-5-1 with Crouch (a good striker, but he can not play up top by himself). And a beautiful strike by one of the most talented players in the world, Thierry Henry, put France ahead of heavily-favored Brazil. I'm going to say Germany and France advance to the final, Germany wins it all.
I tried to make the original post as unbiased as I could, but now I'm going to lay into England. First and foremost though, I hope that Ronaldo gets AIDS. Rooney was fighting for the ball and stepped back to gain ground -- completely accidental. But then here comes grease-eating Ronaldo crying like a little bitch with a skinned knee pleading to get Rooney sent off. Rooney gives Ronaldo the equivalent of a tap on the shoulder and gets an instant red. I don't think the ref was even going to card Rooney for the original foul (he didn't even reach in his pocket), he did it for the shove. You see that same shove in all games with no repurcussions. Sven is horrible. I hate him with a passion. I know what Argentina felt like when their coach took off Riquelme. Sven cost England their chance at the cup. His first error was only bringing two guaranteed strikers (Crouch and Owen). Rooney was coming off an injury and no one was sure of his condition (although he played fine) and Theo Walcott is 17 and was scouted off video. And while I'm not doubting Walcott's talent, when you get to the quarterfinals and it's crunch time, you don't feel comfortable putting out a 17 year old who has never played for his country. Jermaine Defoe would have been a much better choice. Defoe plays on the Hotspurs along with Lennon and I think pairing up the young Lennon with a fellow club teammate would have meant more goals for England. After Owen was injured, Sven abandoned the 4-4-2 (which at least produced chances by pressuring the defense) in favor of the unexciting 4-5-1 and seemed to be against quick counter-attacks. A report said that Sven would not give inspirational talks or quote Churchill because Sven said that isn't how he coaches. When your team is playing like piss, you need to do something instead of sit on your ass and spectate. Even had England advanced and played France, we would be without Rooney and Terry, our only pure striker and our best defender. Crouch isn't horrible, but he can not play up top by himself and seemed to have lots of trouble in the air (which is weird because he is 6'6, so the air should have been his specialty). Sven needed to replace Lampard in the Sweden game. While he had a couple of nice chances, Lampard came up empty throughout the entire World Cup on 20 shots (9 on goal). Joe and Ashley Cole were non-existant in today's game against Portugal, they didn't make the runs they had made in prior games. Gerrard should most definantely captain this squad in Euro 2008.
posted by v3rity at 04:42 PM on July 01, 2006
You've got to be kidding, Rooney's red card wasn't controversial, I mean the dumb shit stomped on an opposing player's groin with the ref about two feet away! Ronaldo had nothing to do with it, it's all on Rooney. Oh my God, France. They freaking dominated Brazil! Their back 6 are ruthless defenders. I don't think either Spain or Brazil got more than two shots on goal. Zidane looked great, but Viera was the man of the match for me. Oh, and Henry only faked a couple of fouls this match! Still, I pick Germany to win it on home advantage.
posted by sic at 04:48 PM on July 01, 2006
By the way, that AIDS and "grease eating" comment made me happy that England was eliminated, just because it upset someone like you.
posted by sic at 04:52 PM on July 01, 2006
Ronaldo might be a primadonna, but wishing AIDS on him and resorting to ethnic stereotyping to show the breadth of your ire? Rooney needs to get himself together otherwise he's going to really get himself in trouble.
posted by igottheblues at 04:58 PM on July 01, 2006
Besides the FPP being full of simple holes and sweeping generalizations, I thought there was understanding not to post results during the World Cup. Did I miss something?
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 05:08 PM on July 01, 2006
How did you all miss the wink that Ronaldo gave Rooney after Rooney was sent off? He deserves what comes to him. It'll be a very interesting Man U camp when Rooney and Van Nistelrooy return with Ronaldo. Make no mistake, if Ronaldo played Serie A and had an Italian National Team player sent off, he wouldn't be playing in Italy anymore. He must really want to go to Madrid.
posted by v3rity at 05:24 PM on July 01, 2006
And why would you not post the results for the World Cup? There was a post here when the United States were eliminated in the Group Phase. There was a post here immediately after the Huricanes won the Stanley Cup and when the Heat won the NBA Championship. If you don't want to know sports results, why are you going to a sports website?
posted by v3rity at 05:26 PM on July 01, 2006
Sic, I'm sorry you proud of a rapist.
posted by v3rity at 05:33 PM on July 01, 2006
Sic, I'm sorry you are proud of a rapist.
posted by v3rity at 05:34 PM on July 01, 2006
Rooney deserved to be sent off just for being a thick-as-pigshit moron. You could see it coming. Sven plays him alone up front, he gets none of the ball and gets frustrated because he's so stupid. Before you know it he's chasing the ball all over the pitch and barrelling into players he has no business being near. It's happened before and it'll happen again. Ronaldo obviously knows what he's like and played him perfectly.
posted by afx237vi at 05:37 PM on July 01, 2006
And why would you not post the results for the World Cup? Why did I know this would need further explanation? Football is a global sport, SpoFi has a global audience, and different people around the world are on different schedules. Although they may check this site for other info, it's been made clear that posting the results in an FPP is not cool. What do you think, this is a race to see who can post the info first? It's not, and you doing so just highlights exposing your ass, as if your words weren't clear evidence.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 05:38 PM on July 01, 2006
Sic, I'm sorry you are proud of a rapist. Sour grapes, much? So what was he charged with?
posted by afx237vi at 05:38 PM on July 01, 2006
What do you think, this is a race to see who can post the info first? This is a sports discussion website. Would you prefer to post headlines and discuss topics that are a week old so that everyone can catch up and view them "live" without having the ending spoiled? The two games today took place on a Saturday, anyone who was a true fan of the game would have made plans to watch their team play.
posted by v3rity at 05:48 PM on July 01, 2006
For the record, as an Englishman, I don't want Ronaldo to get AIDS. I want (and expect) him to get his dream transfer to Real. England just weren't good enough and haven't been all tournament. I'm just glad we made it as far as we did. I will now switch my support to France for the rest of the tournament. Particularly the Zidane of old who suddenly reappeared tonight in full pomp and the peerless Thierry Henry.
posted by squealy at 05:50 PM on July 01, 2006
Sour grapes, much? So what was he charged with? I believe the charges were eventually dropped. So, excuse me. Alleged rapist.
posted by v3rity at 05:52 PM on July 01, 2006
Being ranked fifth in the world, I still believe the Americans can pull it off. USA! USA!
posted by Desert Dog at 05:54 PM on July 01, 2006
Being ranked fifth in the world, I still believe the Americans can pull it off. USA! USA! There should be an American Wildcard, where America plays the winner of the World Cup for the true international title.
posted by v3rity at 06:04 PM on July 01, 2006
v3rity, no need to be a dick. if people kindly request something, what bother is it to you to honor it? also, i don't think you'd hope AIDS on anyone if you ever saw what it does to a person firsthand. especially not over something as trivial as a football game. grow up.
posted by ninjavshippo at 06:13 PM on July 01, 2006
Are you English or American v3rity?
posted by jamesonandwater at 06:14 PM on July 01, 2006
when the united states stops being us soccer incorporated they will be good they were very overrated the czech republic they should have beat them when they finally beat brazil then we might have a soccer team for a norwegian/swedish I really don't want to say this but go Germany
posted by luther70 at 06:16 PM on July 01, 2006
I'm pulling for the former, jameson. Sorry guys. I don't want to claim that.
posted by igottheblues at 06:18 PM on July 01, 2006
Are you English or American v3rity? I'll bet the house on an American Brit-o-phile.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 06:18 PM on July 01, 2006
Defoe plays on the Hotspurs... If that's not the comment of one of my uninformed countrymen, I don't know what is.
posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 06:20 PM on July 01, 2006
France was just awesome, as i posted long ago, april 25, france has a great defense, and they showed tonite, mackalele and viera were superb, and i didn;t notice anyone attacking the flanks, brazil didn't seem to have any plan and france had great patience. brazil didn't have a shot until extra time, just amazing!!! I think france vs. germany in the finals and france winning 2-1. an excellent cup pour les blues.
posted by sauceysays at 06:24 PM on July 01, 2006
I'm just curious, I thought he was posting from the US point of view a while back. I'm going to confess that I find the "adopters" fairly baffling. I'm Irish, we sure ain't in it (thanks Israel!) and I'm still watching it all but can't imagine getting so foul mouthedly invested in another country's team. But different horses, I guess . . . .
posted by jamesonandwater at 06:26 PM on July 01, 2006
So, what exactly do you have to do to get a posting taken down, or an account banned. Idiots wishing AIDS on people, racist and vulgar comments don't seem enough. Calling someone a rapist when they were only charged with the offence, not convicted has got to be close to libel. Generally, comments on this site are intelligent and well thought out.Even though I often disagree with peoples opinions on matters, I do respect them. With v3rity having been a member since March, he should know that world cup results are not to be posted in the link. It is simply common courtesy, in case someone has not seen the game yet. The depth to which v3rity has sunk must be an all time low for SpoFi.
posted by tommybiden at 06:34 PM on July 01, 2006
Now that England are out, I think Sweden will win. Yes, Sweden.* *Link marginally NSFW Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to distance myself from the comments of v3r, if he does turn out to atually be English. Anyone who's been anywhere near the Campfire will know I'm not exactly Ronaldo's biggest fan, but the op goes way too far. Still, tonight's results are good for anyone who has France to win it all in the confidence pool. Ahem.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 06:50 PM on July 01, 2006
A disappointed as I was earlier in the day to see England lose on penalties (what, was any of expecting them to win when it got to that stage? We all know better), France's win was just electrifying. Rooney is hotheaded dipshit. He deserved to be sent off, and he deserves to hear it for the next four years (just as Beckham did after his first sending off in 98). Overall, England again just couldn't demonstrate that they are as good as the sum of their parts. I'll agree, it has to be coaching. They've been shaky and slow all tournament, and I had a feeling this morning when I woke up, that it just wasn't meant to be. Erickson had them playing very unimaginitve football, and inexplicably put one striker up front, and was content to leave one striker isolated, and try to win the battle at midfield. Against Portugal, this was good enough for 0-0. I think Germany looked vulnerable against both Poland and Argentina, Italy hasn't really been pushed, Portugal looks erratice, but France are playing the best football in the world right now. Zidane is playing better than he did 8 years ago, and the team is much faster and more creative. I'm picking France and Italy, with France to take it all.