Definitely the boot. The black thing in his face is a boot. You can see the sock/shin actually behind his shoulder.
By far not!
Netherlands.
By far not!
Netherlands.
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The 2010 World Cup
- Thread starter Jaffa Cake
- Start date
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If Spain persist with the clearly unfit Torres and a Fabregas-less midfield they'll be badly beaten by the tactically superior Germans. Hell, if Spain don't persist with Torres and play Fabregas from the start they'll still be beaten by the tactically superior Germans!
The amount of comedy and theatricals in football is unbelievable.
Every penalty given leads to complaints... all these players hope to influence the ref.
Somehow in football this has come into the game. I just wish referees would give yellow quicker for the endless complaining.
Fabregas is injured. Shoulder.
It appears to have happened straight after the penalty, where he should have got another penalty. Edit - this is the barely-noticed moment in all the excitement, Fabregas' left hand going to his right shoulder while on the ground there after he landed on it. (You can tell when a player is genuinely injured, there's no theatrics with Ramos above and Fabregas here.)
PS. Watching the replay highlights, Valdez' disallowed goal was fair onside. 1-0 Paraguay...
By far not!
Netherlands.
Nononono...!! we want to be the underdog.
Judging from the recent performances, here's my "favourites" sorting
1) Germany
2) Netherlands
3) Spain
4) Uruguay
Before the WC it would have looked like this:
1) Spain
2) Netherlands
3) Germany
4) Uruguay
Yep, Torres has to make way for a midfielder. Think it was takao who mentioned Mascherano, outnumbered and overrun. Match the Germans in midfield and get to their defence.
Cheers,
OW
Definitely the boot. The black thing in his face is a boot. You can see the sock/shin actually behind his shoulder.
By far not!
Netherlands.
i'd be happy if holland wins, but germany has been playing much better, in my opinion.
that said at this point anything can happen
It's basically Germany's trophy to lose, though the Netherlands or Spain still have a decent shot.
true and spain has so far been playing with at least two holding midfielders with xabi alosno and busquets with the other two (iniesta and xavi) dropping deep in the center all the time to collect balls. thus very likely taking özil out of the game and still have one DM to close the space down in front of the defenders
so spain winning the central midfield should be a given,even without an extra fabregas ... the question will be if their sidebacks capdevilla and ramos who are pretty much responsible for all the pressure on the wings, can pull the extra load
if he plays with fabregas from the beginning it will mean villa more in the center and thus less pressure on the left wing and with fabregas,xavi and iniesta,(and alonso+busquets) spain will do one thing and one thing only: push through the center... perhaps turning them into the very same one trick pony that argentina was
edit: and if he plays Torres again from the start.. he can pledge that he was drunk if they lose the game.. because he has to be drunk to put him in the squad.. he simply isn't match-fit and a waste of offensive balls of heskey proportions
to make it worse for spain: it's completley open of how germany is going to replace Müller:
-is germany going no risk:replacing him with the right offensive midfielder Trochowski ? then all is good for spain because he is way more limited positional and his better crossing ability makes no impact because of pique and puyol.. and his defending isn't the same level as müller
-replace him with Marin on the right wing: if you haven't watched Bundesliga: he played together with özil the last season at bremen and Marin was the one talked about most: a fast, agile attacker who loves to go into speedy dribblings and takes on defenders 1on1 or 1on2 and then loves to cross from the goal line, on the negative: weak on defense
-pull özil on the wing (less free role) and put Kroos in the center midfield : perhaps the most dangerous set up for spain with having to face another hardworking, Bayern youth schooled central midfielder/former striker with a strong long distance shot, massive game intelligence and the best (no-look-) through pass of the german squad ... which considering his team mates is saying something
Hello everyone I've been away for a few days celebrating my success at picking this WC
(haven't done so well in our Fantasy League however)...So how 'bout those Germans and how 'bout that Miro Klose?
-J.-
how 'bout that Miro Klose?
considering the flak Löw got for taking him and podolski to the WC over Kuraniy with the statement "watch them explode at the tournament"
honestly even i thought that was ridiculous but i guess Löw is the one laughing now
2 months ago Klose on the pitch meant: trotting around at slow speed, losing balls all the time , not winning any headers, not even getting a single chance for a goal, not having enough stamina for even one half, being late all the time
now: constantly fighting for balls (even if it means risking those fouls), impressive stamina,work rate and even pace, positioning himself for tap-ins over and over again(and having the luxury of missing them), winning those important long ball forward headers/first touches, and an impressive off the ball movement
(podolski has improved as well but not as dramatic...Löw just managed to get him to cross from time to time instead of just hammering those long shots)
what makes Klose such an impressive (tournament) striker ? while the tournament thing is a matter of getting confidence by Löw (opposed to the club with van gaal) what makes him such a deadly striker ?
speed ? for a striker average pace and acceleration
technique ? good in stopping the ball (podsolki stopping this high balls is a real treat though), above average first touch... apart of that it's more or less no thrills
shooting ? neither very powerful or precise
working/stamina: one of his better points but compared to former/other german strikers ? nothing exceptional
headers etc. ? good there but because of his height and lack of power far from being dominating the air in the box
consistency in leagues ?: quite a negative example
how he managed to be 2nd best scoring german striker of all time is still unbelievable... and it's only 16 goals to catch the Bomber (who finished his career in the german national team at 28...)
edit: looking forward to Paul the octopus prediction .. hopefully before i choose my fantasy team
http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,703609,00.html
100% correct at this world cup so far for german results
You can't teach instinct and positional awareness takao...u either have it or you don't
This thread got really quiet as soon as England and the USA bowed out
-J.-
The closet Germany fans are coming out of the woodwork...I was in a rural Alaskan town the other day and spotted a man in a Germany warm-up top.
In MLS news, Columbus just beat Chicago 2-1, our first regular season victory over the Fire in about six years [pumps fist].
In MLS news, Columbus just beat Chicago 2-1, our first regular season victory over the Fire in about six years [pumps fist].
You can't teach instinct and positional awareness takao...u either have it or you don't
true but is klose such a big instinct striker ? he can't replicate his lethal scoring at the club level...that sombody fails to do it in national teams is quite common but the reverse is just confusing
though one has to say his positioning is just mind boggeling: has anybody ever saw Klose making an 'impossible goal' /one that is very difficult ? with him it's just always those tap ins, easy headers or in the box 'empty net' shots... or missing an absolute sitter.. he never has those half assed attempts, crazy shots from impossible angles or miracolous dribblings
Klose seems to be the opposite of Gerd Müller: with klose you always think: "so easy, i could have scored that goal" with Gerd Müller you always thought "how did he do that from that position"
This thread got really quiet as soon as England and the USA bowed out
well they seem to be already talking about the shirt designs of the next season premier league in the new football thread
joking aside: what i find funny at world cups are the female "every 4-year" brasilian fans.. who well ...aren't brasilian: as long as brazil is still in the cup it's always about how great they are playing (even if they aren't) and as soon as they are out the world cup, the world cup is an 'uninteresting event for men'
joking aside: what i find funny at world cups are the female "every 4-year" brasilian fans.. who well ...aren't brasilian: as long as brazil is still in the cup it's always about how great they are playing (even if they aren't) and as soon as they are out the world cup, the world cup is an 'uninteresting event for men'
There are quite a few men here in the USA that are like that. They are attracted to overdogs...Brazil is the "best" team in football so they support them. When I was watching the USA-Ghana match, there were quite a few of this type of Brazil fan there, and they looked down their noses as us USA fans, claiming we were just s physical team with no skill. I pointed out that Dunga's Brazil was mostly a pace-based counterattacking side, and not as exciting as the classic Brazil sides of the past. They didn't understand what I was talking about.
So when is the octopus prediction happening?
This thread got really quiet as soon as England and the USA bowed out
-J.-
Well that, and also there are no longer games being played every day.
I shall be in Spain from Wednesday morning until next Monday, so they absolutely MUST beat Germany and reach the final
I think you're going to be disappointed!
I'm desperately trying to reconfigure my work schedule so I can watch the two semifinals. Spain/Germany should be a classic. I don't see Germany overwhelming Spain's midfield, especially if Fabregas or Silva starts instead of Torres.
I also think Müller will be a huge loss for Germany, but then again I thought they'd have a hard time without Ballack so what do I know?
I expect a pretty open game. I'm going to say 3-2 Spain.
Not sure what I'll do about a potential Spain/Netherlands final. Those are my two favorite teams. It'll be good for one of those countries to finally bring home a World Cup after all these years.
I also think Müller will be a huge loss for Germany, but then again I thought they'd have a hard time without Ballack so what do I know?
I expect a pretty open game. I'm going to say 3-2 Spain.
Not sure what I'll do about a potential Spain/Netherlands final. Those are my two favorite teams. It'll be good for one of those countries to finally bring home a World Cup after all these years.
Congrats! Yesterday the LA Galaxy beat Seattle Sounders 3-1!
I got the honor to see Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle return from their USA world-cup campaigns.
Edson scored!!
from a corner assist from landon! great corner! see pics!
Attachments
Congrats! Yesterday the LA Galaxy beat Seattle Sounders 3-1!
I got the honor to see Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle return from their USA world-cup campaigns.
Galaxy are the league's favored son.
You guys are obviously seeing huge improvements on the pitch though, Bruce Arena has turned the club around and Galaxy are more balanced than they were at the beginning of The Beckham Experiment. They seem certain to make the playoffs at a trot this season, I won't be surprised to see them in the final again. Facing Columbus, if all goes according to plan.
Galaxy are the league's favored son.
They seem certain to make the playoffs at a trot this season, I won't be surprised to see them in the final again. Facing Columbus, if all goes according to plan.
I will be looking forward to that!
it's happening tuesday night .. sadly too late for the fantasy team (not that i needed all the transfers more or less for kicking out the injured or banned ones)
speaking about injuries: Khedira is said to have a hardnend leg muscle and thus not 100% fit
which ironically is the same problem podolski had prior to the argentina game and schweinsteiger prior to the england game... so i take it with a grain of salt
the interesting thing about replacing Müller though is how his biggest strenght for an attacker is ironically his defending skill
Mueller, lucas and klose are mediocre strikers at best. People thinking they are talented players boggle my mind. The fact still remains that Germany hasn't met a single decent organized team in this tournament. Heck, there isn't till now one single match in this world cup that is worth talking about. Poor refereeing, the lack of a true black horse team...etc etc.