The World Cup Thread

[Llopin]

I didn't complain as much because I thought better teams would end them before the final stage, but FUCK Spain and their shit game. I have all the respect for several of their players (Casillas, Fabregas, Xavi, Alonso...) but overall I can't stand that they have won it in the end.

Why such hostility?

It seems to me Spain's gameplay is greatly divisive. Many consider it to be "great football" while others dismiss it as too elaborate and fussy. I admit they try to be too mathy and perfectionist at times, and that can be annoying, but shitgame? "Shitgame" in my view is what the Netherlands displayed yesterday; agressive (karate kicks such as the one Xabi Alonso ate), ugly (continuing playing after the ref has signaled offside) and overall not very sportsy (constant complaining). The germans, on the other hand, offered a much more respectful play. I don't know where the "bad" spanish reputation comes from; I think their ballplay has been fair and solid all tournament long. Myself, I'm used to watch this type of games since it's the style of the local heroes, Barça. As to how much Pep Guardiola's coaching has influenced Del Bosque, I wouldn't jump to conclusions. It's obvious Iniesta and Xavi, for instance, play the same, but it's Del Bosque's achievement to incorporate the other players into such meticulous machinery. The middle-field bliss formed by both those mentioned, as well as Busquets, Alonso and Capdevila, was just gold.

All that being said, I've not been much of a fan of Spain this cup. As stated above, they tried too hard at times and mostly didn't succeed. And their shots on goal weren't much impressive (the ones that got in were good - Villa, Puyol, Iniesta - but the ones that didn't were too many). Torres disappointed greatly. It seems Spain has become the team with the least goals to win the tournament. Which isn't bad, considering nobody scored them in the last four matches. They've been very patient - whereas some other team would have lost it - and iterative, and that's been probably their strongest asset.

Also, I don't believe la Liga is "really shit" as Spiff mentioned. There's lots of good teams. Certainly FC Barcelona and Real Madrid hover over most the others (particularly last year, which was a tête Ã* tête), and for that same reason it's exciting to see the underdog beat their ass once and again. There's quality players all around.

[Ezee E]

La Liga only interests me if it would be Barcelona V. Real Madrid. Looking at last year's standings, those two and 3rd place were separated by 10 wins, and 40 goals scored.

Looking at thre results, it looks like Sevilla gives both teams fits, so that might be a good match. Outside of that, you could count the losses that both teams had to opponents on one hand. Not very exciting to me.

[[ETM]]

Why such hostility?

It seems to me Spain's gameplay is greatly divisive. Many consider it to be "great football" while others dismiss it as too elaborate and fussy. I admit they try to be too mathy and perfectionist at times, and that can be annoying, but shitgame? "Shitgame" in my view is what the Netherlands displayed yesterday

I'm not defending the Dutch at all - they played dirty and got away with some things they shouldn't have, but even though there's no excuse for it, the team tactic was clear: get physical with the Spaniards in order to break up their "ball possession, wait for mistakes, complicate as much as you can, perhaps score" mantra. And it did work to an extent.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Also, I don't believe la Liga is "really shit" as Spiff mentioned. There's lots of good teams. Certainly FC Barcelona and Real Madrid hover over most the others (particularly last year, which was a tête Ã* tête), and for that same reason it's exciting to see the underdog beat their ass once and again. There's quality players all around.

I'm sorry, but it truly is a crap league. Pretty much the equivalent of the Scottish League, except the duopoly of Spain are much superior to the duopoly of Scotland [and the weather is better, natch]. In saying that, I like the way Spain plays but I think del Bosque hamstrung himself and his team which I find odd considering how legendary he was back in his Galacticos era. It was criminal to persist with such a static midfield three in Alonso, Busquets and Xavi, who for all their pass mastery - neither of them have balls in the final third. Was silly to persist with such an obviously unfit Torres as well. Cesc Fabregas is their best player and should have played as the attacking fulcrum [especially after the 20 goal/20 assist league season he's just had (to put it in perspective all the other spanish midfielders put together could only equal his goal tally and that was in a much easier league playing for a team at a much larger advantage)] and kept the front 3 of Iniesta - Villa - Navas/Pedro they would have smashed teams for fun and there would be no talk about how Spain were unworthy winners or whatever it is that I'm hearing from anglo-saxon journalists and pundits.

[Kurosawa Fan]

ESPN3.com seems to be doing some good things with soccer, and you have the option of replays, so I'll have to hope they show some of the bigger games this season. And then when it upgrades to x-box.

They don't show any EPL games on ESPN3.

[Ezee E]

They don't show any EPL games on ESPN3.

:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:
Killer blow.

[Kurosawa Fan]

:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad:
Killer blow.

Yep. If you're looking for online streams, I posted a few options a couple posts ago. Quality isn't near ESPN3, but it's better than nothing.

[MadMan]

Even though the final was rather boring, I can't wait for 2014. Even though the US still won't be good at soccer by then.

[Llopin]

I'm sorry, but it truly is a crap league. Pretty much the equivalent of the Scottish League, except the duopoly of Spain are much superior to the duopoly of Scotland [and the weather is better, natch]. In saying that, I like the way Spain plays but I think del Bosque hamstrung himself and his team which I find odd considering how legendary he was back in his Galacticos era. It was criminal to persist with such a static midfield three in Alonso, Busquets and Xavi, who for all their pass mastery - neither of them have balls in the final third. Was silly to persist with such an obviously unfit Torres as well. Cesc Fabregas is their best player and should have played as the attacking fulcrum [especially after the 20 goal/20 assist league season he's just had (to put it in perspective all the other spanish midfielders put together could only equal his goal tally and that was in a much easier league playing for a team at a much larger advantage)] and kept the front 3 of Iniesta - Villa - Navas/Pedro they would have smashed teams for fun and there would be no talk about how Spain were unworthy winners or whatever it is that I'm hearing from anglo-saxon journalists and pundits.

Well, Johann Cruyff was the one who imported into Catalonia (specifically FC Barcelona) the tiqui-taca (as it is referred to here) style of playing, based on precise passes and angular constructions. So, ironically enough, it was the dutch who championed that gameplay in the 70s; Guardiola mastered it with Barça, winning every possible cup two years ago. Thing is, up to the middle 00s, the spanish team didn't at all display those kind of moves. The concept of the "spanish fury" has been since abandoned and there's no place for much irrational charging tactics; Xavi represents football's thinking man. I agree in that Fabregas should've been in all games (one must think Del Bosque had some beef with him?), but the mastery displayed by Villa and Pedro cannot be denied at all. Also, did I mention how awesome is Iniesta? It's such a pleasure to see such an anti-hero score the winning goal. Fuck you, Cristiano Ronaldos and Maradonas of the world.

Concerning the spanish league, I guess I must be biased, but I can't see it as "crap". I've had great fun watching good football from minor teams. But then again, I'm not excessively familiar with other european leagues.

[Morris Schæffer]

Even though the final was rather boring, I can't wait for 2014. Even though the US still won't be good at soccer by then.

They were better than Italy this year. Who knows what kind of miracles 2014 will unearth!

[Fezzik]

Upgraded DISH network. Now have Fox Sports Channel (+49 others!)

ritch:

[Spaceman Spiff]

Well, Johann Cruyff was the one who imported into Catalonia (specifically FC Barcelona) the tiqui-taca (as it is referred to here) style of playing, based on precise passes and angular constructions. So, ironically enough, it was the dutch who championed that gameplay in the 70s; Guardiola mastered it with Barça, winning every possible cup two years ago. Thing is, up to the middle 00s, the spanish team didn't at all display those kind of moves. The concept of the "spanish fury" has been since abandoned and there's no place for much irrational charging tactics; Xavi represents football's thinking man. I agree in that Fabregas should've been in all games (one must think Del Bosque had some beef with him?), but the mastery displayed by Villa and Pedro cannot be denied at all. Also, did I mention how awesome is Iniesta? It's such a pleasure to see such an anti-hero score the winning goal. Fuck you, Cristiano Ronaldos and Maradonas of the world.

Concerning the spanish league, I guess I must be biased, but I can't see it as "crap". I've had great fun watching good football from minor teams. But then again, I'm not excessively familiar with other european leagues.

Yeah, I know all about Cruijff. Brilliant player. In fact, my all time favorite. That Ajax side of the 70s (as well as the Dutch under Michels) was godly. And that's not even mentioning that barca side that he played in and later managed. As for Cesc, the Spanish FA (like most FAs in fairness) are simply deluded and in the case of del Bosque partly xenophobic. Cesc plays for Arsenal Football Club in cold, rainy England and not Barcelona (or Real Madrid) and therefore, he doesn't get picked. It really is as simple (and dumb) as that. Once he goes to Barca, he'll become the midfield general for club and country.

To me a crap league means a league where there is 0 competition. Next season one of barca or madrid will win the league, one of barca or madrid will win the copa del rey, and one of barca or madrid (and possibly both) with reach the quarters of the Champions League [possibly semis if they're lucky enough to not face another elite team (united, chelsea, arsenal, internazionale) in elite form] and that'll be that. Every other club haven't a chance, and a large majority of them don't even have a clue. And that's even without getting into the whole financial debate - which I'm not really going to go into now as it's a long debate and there's plenty of excellent literature on the subject. Compare that to the English Premier League, Serie A and the Bundesliga and it's clear as day that La Liga is a fundamentally broken league.

[Ezee E]

Agreed Spiff. Although, I guess that makes the Real Madrid VS. Barcelona games pretty important.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Well with all that being said, I'm very curious to see how Mourinho does with Madrid.

[Fezzik]

We might need a regular football thread:

Henry signs deal with Red Bulls

To this I say...whhaaaaa?

[transmogrifier]

Ha. Someone twitters, "And the only unbeaten team in the World Cup????? New Zealand."

This bears repeating.

[Spaceman Spiff]

We might need a regular football thread:

Henry signs deal with Red Bulls

To this I say...whhaaaaa?

There's the European Football Thread somewhere in the Kitchen Sink. We should just proceed there.

As for this, Titi in a big money movie/easy life shocker. It's not like he has a lot left in the tank and he's literally won everything you can possibly win in the game, so fair fucks to him I say. Proper legend.

[MadMan]

They were better than Italy this year. Who knows what kind of miracles 2014 will unearth!

And they were better than France too! Wahooo! :lol: ritch:

[number8]

Expected, but still...

The entire squad was forced onto a stage at the People's Palace of Culture and subjected to criticism from Pak Myong-chol, the sports minister, as 400 government officials, students and journalists watched.

...

The team's coach, Kim Jong-hun, was reportedly forced to become a builder and has been expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea.

...

Only two players avoided the inquisition - Japanese-born Jong Tae-se and An Yong-hak, who flew straight to Japan after the tournament.

However, media in South Korea said the players got off lightly by North Korean standards.

"In the past, North Korean athletes and coaches who performed badly were sent to prison camps," a South Korean intelligence source told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...World-Cup.html

[MadMan]

They're just lucky they didn't get executed in horrible ways. Like Saddam's government used to do to the Iraqi soccer squads back in the day...