The 2010 World Cup

[takao]

with neither sneijder or villa scoring in the final this means that Müller not only takes he "best young player" award with him from the world cup but also thanks to having more assists than Villa, Sneijder, and Forlan also the golden boot for being the best scorer

whoever has put a bet on that .. is now a rich fellow

also this has to be the most yellow card ridden final ever played at a world cup

 

[Don't panic]

also this has to be the most yellow card ridden final ever played at a world cup

probably, and there should have been more (4 to iniesta alone!)

 

[jav6454]

probably, and there should have been more (4 to iniesta alone!)

I think more red cards should have been given. Almost the entire Netherlands team was yellow carded.

 

[the vj]

The world cup was great. But I was thinking in why is not popular in the US and I have found the answer....

The games that are popular in the US have many breaks, basketball, football and baseball. That gives sponsors plenty of time to advertise.

With futball/soccer is one continuos 45 minutes time. Is not profitable since you cannot advertise.

I was watching a basketball game 2 weeks ago, it was so boring and tedious, they had like 20 seconds left but those 20 seconds lasted 30 minutes and at least 5 TV commercials brakes. Of course media likes that sort of games.

With soccer you do not have that in the US. I remember in the world cup celebrated in the US, many sponsors complained because of the lack of space to advertise. On the other hand, they had close to one billion viewers instead of the 60 millions the super ball has.

So... that is it.

 

[leomac08]

"this is the worst of the 2010 FIFA world cup"

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/418878-the-best-and-worst-of-the-2010-fifa-world-cup

funny...

i do agree with the whole ESPN fiasko

1. Italy and France— don’t bring old players to a young player’s tournament. The problems on both teams had a lot to do with selection. They underperformed and embarrassed their respective nations. I’m pleased by this.

2. England—ugh. Terrible. Get younger and get technical or you’ll never have a chance.

3. Officiating—horrendously awful, uniformly. The players are bigger and faster, but the referees are the same. The game has evolved to the point where no one person can keep up with it, even if ably assisted by linesmen. Something has to give .

4. ESPN’s bizarrely racist intros to games — You know, the whole “Circle of Life” thing they had going with the young, black, African children running around in loincloths. It was painful. It was only fitting that they chose Bono to do the theme song.

5. ESPN miking the players while they struggle to sing their national anthems off-key — Ugly.

6. North Korea—everything about them: the fake fans, the terrible players, the weird coach, the whole thing.

7. The Argentinian goal keeper—I’m not even bothering to Google his name. He looks like a woodman in a 70’s porno set in New Jersey. He plays goalie like one, too.

 

[jav6454]

The world cup was great. But I was thinking in why is not popular in the US and I have found the answer....

The games that are popular in the US have many breaks, basketball, football and baseball. That gives sponsors plenty of time to advertise.

With futball/soccer is one continuos 45 minutes time. Is not profitable since you cannot advertise.

I was watching a basketball game 2 weeks ago, it was so boring and tedious, they had like 20 seconds left but those 20 seconds lasted 30 minutes and at least 5 TV commercials brakes. Of course media likes that sort of games.

With soccer you do not have that in the US. I remember in the world cup celebrated in the US, many sponsors complained because of the lack of space to advertise. On the other hand, they had close to one billion viewers instead of the 60 millions the super ball has.

So... that is it.

Ypu'd be surprised how many advertising can go on a soccer/football match. Trust me, there is plenty of place for sponsors to throw ads at people without waiting for breaks or stops. Think corner kicks (and the ball goes to a corner kick which is sponsored by Coca-Cola). Now think Free Kick (Free kick by x player, brought to you by Lowe's).

There way too many places to advertise. I know this because if you watch a soccer match from football playing countries you can hear it and see it.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

With futball/soccer is one continuos 45 minutes time. Is not profitable since you cannot advertise.

That doesn't stop ITV.

Viewers watching England's opening game against the US on ITV's HD channel missed Steven Gerrard's goal after they went to an ad break during the match. The buffoons.

 

[MacsRgr8]

I think more red cards should have been given. Almost the entire Netherlands team was yellow carded.

To Iniesta sure.
Almost the whole Dutch team was yellow carded because of Webb's believing in the Spanish drama.

 

[awmazz]

Well you can see his arm resting on his shoulder quite clearly in the first picture you've posted so can't quite see what your getting at?

Disappointed by the Dutch, expected more from them.

What I'm getting at is that it is only a foul if the player goes down - so they go down to win the foul.

Robben failing to go down under Puyol's torso grapple (as Iniesta did under the much lighter hand-on shoulder) kept Puyol on the field. Robben could have gone down and it would have been a legitimate sending off for Puyol as the last defender.

Robben did the wrong thing by doing the right thing, and his team lost because of it.

Iniesta did the right thing by doing the wrong thing, and his team won because of it.

The only difference is Iniesta faked his fall. Robben would have fallen simply by not holding himself under Puyol's weight. Since when does anyone collapse spreadeagle forwards when their shoulder is held backwards. Laws of physics. But that doesn't matter at all, the hand on the shoulder made it a legitimate foul so the ref had no choice but to blow. This is what I was trying to say about the Italian players - they win the fouls by taking full advantage of the situation presented to them. It's not cheating or 'simulating', it's milking. The Italian win I mentioned over Australia was a legitimate foul (Don't Panic seems to believe I dispute this), but only because he milked it by tripping over the defender like a two-left footed gumby instead of jumping over him like the supeerb athlete he is. Result - 2006 World Cup champions.

Doesn't matter anyway. It's just academic. There were plenty of other occassions where the fouls were *not* given (even despite the milking). As someone already mentioned, it could easily have been 8 men against 9 at one point instead of 11 against 11 so someone had to go sooner or later. My argument is basically is that Robben had a gilt edged opportunity to make it a Spaniard first instead of the other way around. Result - 2010 World Cup losers.

 

[oscillatewildly]

To Iniesta sure.
Almost the whole Dutch team was yellow carded because of Webb's believing in the Spanish drama.

Yep, that Alonso is a real queen! Webb's mistake was trying to save the game by keeping players on the pitch, despite the best efforts of the Dutch. Heitinga deserved to go and the following should have; van Persie, de Jong, van Bommel, Robben, Iniesta and Puyol. If anything, Webb favoured the Netherlands.

Fourth time lucky?

Cheers,
OW

 

[MacsRgr8]

Sure, they do really get hit occasionally...
But Iniesta dived. C'est tout. He did that professionally, sort of cheating, but hey... you win.
Robben should have too. Like he did in his days at Chelsea.

But, as usual, discussions around professional football end up in arguments regarding diving, theatrics and cheating.

Will there be a 4th time... having 3 shots at the final and never win it...

 

[Jett0516]

The world cup was great. But I was thinking in why is not popular in the US and I have found the answer....

The games that are popular in the US have many breaks, basketball, football and baseball. That gives sponsors plenty of time to advertise.

With futball/soccer is one continuos 45 minutes time. Is not profitable since you cannot advertise.

I was watching a basketball game 2 weeks ago, it was so boring and tedious, they had like 20 seconds left but those 20 seconds lasted 30 minutes and at least 5 TV commercials brakes. Of course media likes that sort of games.

With soccer you do not have that in the US. I remember in the world cup celebrated in the US, many sponsors complained because of the lack of space to advertise. On the other hand, they had close to one billion viewers instead of the 60 millions the super ball has.

So... that is it.

I think the only reason why soccer is not popular here (USA) is because.......we suck. And soccer really never established as an american tradition like baseball and football.

 

[Jett0516]

And congrats to Paul the octopus for predicting Spain as world cup champs!

I hope he lives long enough for the 2014 world cup!!

 

[aloofman]

The world cup was great. But I was thinking in why is not popular in the US and I have found the answer....

The games that are popular in the US have many breaks, basketball, football and baseball. That gives sponsors plenty of time to advertise.

With futball/soccer is one continuos 45 minutes time. Is not profitable since you cannot advertise.

That helps explain why soccer has had trouble competing for TV coverage over the last 60 years, but it doesn't explain why Americans didn't care about soccer in the first half of the 20th century, when any given sports event was mostly heard about on the radio or in the newspaper later, not observed on a live broadcast.

I think the only reason why soccer is not popular here (USA) is because.......we suck. And soccer really never established as an american tradition like baseball and football.

It was a vicious cycle. We weren't any good at it, so Americans didn't want to see us play it, so few Americans were motivated to become good at it, and so on. And now that there IS an audience and interest, it's hard to stand out among the hundreds of TV channels out there. On the other hand, it's only because of those hundreds of channels that most of us can watch the top leagues at all.

 

[Troon]

What I'm getting at is that it is only a foul if the player goes down - so they go down to win the foul.

Robben failing to go down under Puyol's torso grapple (as Iniesta did under the much lighter hand-on shoulder) kept Puyol on the field. Robben could have gone down and it would have been a legitimate sending off for Puyol as the last defender.

Robben did the wrong thing by doing the right thing, and his team lost because of it.

Iniesta did the right thing by doing the wrong thing, and his team won because of it.

The only difference is Iniesta faked his fall. Robben would have fallen simply by not holding himself under Puyol's weight. Since when does anyone collapse spreadeagle forwards when their shoulder is held backwards. Laws of physics. But that doesn't matter at all, the hand on the shoulder made it a legitimate foul so the ref had no choice but to blow. This is what I was trying to say about the Italian players - they win the fouls by taking full advantage of the situation presented to them. It's not cheating or 'simulating', it's milking. The Italian win I mentioned over Australia was a legitimate foul (Don't Panic seems to believe I dispute this), but only because he milked it by tripping over the defender like a two-left footed gumby instead of jumping over him like the supeerb athlete he is. Result - 2006 World Cup champions.

Doesn't matter anyway. It's just academic. There were plenty of other occassions where the fouls were *not* given (even despite the milking). As someone already mentioned, it could easily have been 8 men against 9 at one point instead of 11 against 11 so someone had to go sooner or later. My argument is basically is that Robben had a gilt edged opportunity to make it a Spaniard first instead of the other way around. Result - 2010 World Cup losers.

Correct, apart from where you say “it’s only a foul if a player goes down” This is not true you can get a foul if the opposing player “obstructs you” which is what Pyol did. I have won a lot of fouls be being obstructed, and i have also given away a lot be obstructing players that have not gone down.

The ref had a good game in a very very difficult game which was instigated by the Dutch trying to cheat their way to the WC crown. it’s very disappointing to see from a team that is good as there is in the World when they want to be.

 

[takao]

The ref had a good game in a very very difficult game which was instigated by the Dutch trying to cheat their way to the WC crown. it’s very disappointing to see from a team that is good as there is in the World when they want to be.

true but spain got quite lucky in some of the earlier games .. like when Villa wasn't red carded when he slapped the defender in the face or casillas with his "could have been career ending" tackling against the swiss striker..since both players were crucial to spains road to victory...

also the spanish, brazil, argentinian, italian "crowd the referee" "demand cards" "complaining" tactics have to be punished hard the the next world cup .. in some scenes it turned broderline ridiculous with Robihno (or Bastos ?) jumping into an another player with both feets forward into the other players ankle and then the Brazilians have the guts to demand a yellow card for 'diving'

edit: or spain against paraguey with the hilarious two-handed "mami let's go home " holding from Pique where spain didn't take it professional but actually complained about that penalty

 

[Troon]

true but spain got quite lucky in some of the earlier games .. like when Villa wasn't red carded when he slapped the defender in the face or casillas with his "could have been career ending" tackling against the swiss striker..since both players were crucial to spains road to victory...

also the spanish, brazil, argentinian, italian "crowd the referee" "demand cards" "complaining" tactics have to be punished hard the the next world cup .. in some scenes it turned broderline ridiculous with Robihno (or Bastos ?) jumping into an another player with both feets forward into the other players ankle and then the Brazilians have the guts to demand a yellow card for 'diving'

edit: or spain against paraguey with the hilarious two-handed "mami let's go home " holding from Pique where spain didn't take it professional but actually complained about that penalty

I agree. Referees need more help. You must remember we have the benefit of seeing replays from several angles, the Ref has got to make his decision in a second..........

 

[Don't panic]

To Iniesta sure.
Almost the whole Dutch team was yellow carded because of Webb's believing in the Spanish drama.

webb was very generous with the dutch players. there was some acting and diving but the dutch played very dirty from the get go, and if de jong would have been ejected, as he certainly deserved on that kung-fu kick, holland would have played most of the game one man down. at some point the spanish started hitting too, and they should have got some cards as well.
As i mentioned i think iniesta could have been carded 4 times: two times for diving (or milking as awmazz would put it) on for an ugly foul on sneijder and then that reaction push on the nth hard challenge from a dutch player toward the end (who, just to show how universal the milking is, flew in the air as if he was hit by a full-speed train). But it was the dutch who set the tone, and they could easily ended with 7-8 men on the pitch, not undeservedly.

i think webb tried *not* to be a protagonist and influence too much the match by not red-carding players, but he ended up in part losing control of the game.
he was put in a difficult position and i think at the end the best team won. but especially the dutch (which i mildly supported, so i am not being biased here) shouldn't be complaining about refereeing.

and awmazz, i agree with the core of your last post, it is a sad and unfortunate but true reality that players seem to be forced to 'emphasize' falls (even when they arenot straight on diving) to make sure the ref reacts.
this wouldn't be needed if players were more honest (that said, i think to let robben play was the correct call, the wrong call was buying the iniesta dive).
where i an not on-board with you, is when you characterize an entire nation as 'cheaters' just because they were born there. And this is not because i want to defend the "italians", it would have been the same if you had mentioned any other nation (but the fact that you always use this stereotype with italians, even with older posts, led me to think it's personal).
Are there "italians" who dive and act? yes
do all "italians" dive and act? no.
substitute in any ethnic group there, and it still works.

 

[Troon]

To be honest the Italians started the whole diving and rolling around like they were shot in the 70’s. They did give it to the World of football unfortunately.

 

[Don't panic]

To be honest the Italians started the whole diving and rolling around like they were shot in the 70’s. They did give it to the World of football unfortunately.

source?

 

[Troon]

source?

By watching football since the 70’s with my own eyes and being involved in and playing football all my life. The Italians are renowned for it. I can remember watching old European cup matches when Brits teams played them and we were shocked at the lengths they would go to for getting a foul or an opposing player sent off.

 

[Fizzoid]

By watching football since the 70’s with my own eyes and being involved in and playing football all my life. The Italians are renowned for it. I can remember watching old European cup matches when Brits teams played them and we were shocked at the lengths they would go to for getting a foul or an opposing player sent off.

I seem to remember they were really good at free kicks too. Fall over around the 18 yeard box, get a free kick, and bang, GOAL!

 

[Troon]

I seem to remember they were really good at free kicks too. Fall over around the 18 yeard box, get a free kick, and bang, GOAL!

Yeah. I have always loved Italian football and used to watch it religiously on a sunday afternoon on Ch4. I know a lot of people didn’t like it as they are always very defensive, and good at it.

But it was so annoying watching them roll about like they did. Unfortunately it has creeped into the UK game since we have had the influx of mass TV n our tv and the players coming over.

 

[skunk]

then the Brazilians have the guts to demand a yellow card for 'diving'

That's "gall", not "guts".

 

[theITGuy]

source?

if they didn't invent it they sure perfected it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8W00d3yJKl4

-J.-