The Official World Cup 2006 Thread

dietcokevanilla said:
Has she called yet? ;)
Originally Posted by Applespider said:
So far my intake of Peroni has matched Italy's goal scoring in each game I've watched. I have 8 in the fridge tonight just in case!
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...or is she too drunk? :D
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Nah... I'm only just home ;) Spent the game jumping up and down in a pub in Soho with several hundred other Italians in a very small room. I've remembered more of the naughty words in Italian tonight than I have in recent years and I ended up with several beer showers when the equaliser and penalties went in!

What a game Cannavaro had...Wow! Then we went for a wander through Little Italy, joined the crowd at Piccadilly Circus where the traffic was gridlocked by Azzurri singing 'Ole Ole Ole Ole' and the Italian anthem.
Then down to Trafalgar Square where we joined the fun by the fountains. Pics below....

I'm still slightly damp from the fountain, slightly deaf from the shouts/whistles/car horns, slightly drunk... and very, very happy!

What a night! Forza Azzurri!
 

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Jaffa Cake said:
So we start extra time 10-a-side, 10 minutes later we go to 9-a-side, and so forth. Not the most elegant way to find a winner but then again neither is a shootout.
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LOL.

Every 10 minutes it turns into dodgeball. Whoever gets hit with the ball or has posession of it when the 10 minute buzzer goes off is out. Would be most fun if the goalie is sent off...

Wasn't there a time when two overtime sessions were required before it went to a penalty shootout. I seem to recall some games that never ended...

Anyhow, I was quite saddened for this game to have taken the turn it did near the end, as I thought the players and the ref were all putting on a great fair-play game until then. It's just so shocking to see a world class player completely lose their cool like that in the WC finals, of all games. Did ZZ really think that the cameras weren't squarely on him at the time?

B
 
Loge said:
Penalties usually works very well at deciding a game - it's usually the better team who wins or the team that keeps its nerve better.
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I think penalties are a necessary evil, since they're part of the game. But, I'd like to see one more option added to replace it. Two 15 minute OTs are fair. If that ends in a tie, I'd like to see 10 minute segments of sudden death until someone scores. It would award skill as well as stamina, and put forth the accumulation of the game's unfolding (for example if a team has a player sent off, that would carry over and on 'til the match is decided). That way, the game would be won by something more than a condensed 5x5 shot period which calls upon more luck than skill (i.e. "Boing, bing, boing"...you lose").
 
balamw said:
Did ZZ really think that the cameras weren't squarely on him at the time?
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He just didn't think, period. Otherwise it wouldn't have happened.

Edit: Glad to see we're on the same page, Mitthrawnuruodo. :D
 
Mitthrawnuruodo said:
I'm fairly sure there wasn't very much thinking involved... just plain old stupid rage... :rolleyes:
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I'm not so sure, it looked a bit too calculated from the replays. In a fit of plain old stupid rage the head butt would have probably gone straight to the other player's face. :( :eek: :rolleyes:

B
 
2 countries, 2 styles, 1 loser...

Zidane is going to regret this for the rest of his life. What a shocking way to go down in history....



I think corner kicks should be played instead of shootouts. Each team gets a corner kick, first team to come out ahead after each team has had a go, wins. More entertaining and gives advantages to the best team.
 
At first I was totally disapointed in Zidane. But now that I thought it over I really feel bad for him :( And I think that Zidane wouldnt just head butt him without a reason. I think there was some racial slur or SOMETHING that provoked him into doing that. Poor guy. He must of been totally depressed because he didnt even come out for the awards .
 
jakochampolska said:
At first I was totally disapointed in Zidane. But now that I thought it over I really feel bad for him :( And I think that Zidane wouldnt just head butt him without a reason.
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There's no excuse for losing your temper in such a fashion. Trash talking is a part of every professional game and athletes learn how to tune it out and ignore it. If a 'rookie' to the international scene had attacked another player, people would have blamed his inexperience. But when it's Zidane, oh, it can't be his fault. Rubbish... he let himself and his country down on what should have been a glorious farewell. I wonder whether Trezuguet would even have taken a penalty if Zidane had still be on the field
 
Applespider said:
There's no excuse for losing your temper in such a fashion. Trash talking is a part of every professional game and athletes learn how to tune it out and ignore it. If a 'rookie' to the international scene had attacked another player, people would have blamed his inexperience. But when it's Zidane, oh, it can't be his fault. Rubbish... he let himself and his country down on what should have been a glorious farewell. I wonder whether Trezuguet would even have taken a penalty if Zidane had still be on the field
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i know i know :rolleyes:
I still feel for him. He must of been pretty pissed at himself afterwards.
 
ScubaDuc said:
Man, and what about baseball? :confused: The "sissy" game par excellence where the idea of the game is to go "home" :rolleyes: ...One sits around forever eating hot dogs waiting for someone to hit the ball...and when finally someone hits it, it is over in 30 sec. :p

Wouldn't be as bad if the beer wasn't watered down...
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Meanwhile, the Red Sox and White Sox are headed into the bottom of the 18th inning. That's basically two games right there.

Anyways, congrats to Italy. I think I'll be picking up a jersey this week, I just have to figure out which one.

And let Zidane be a lesson to all pro athletes. That is NOT how you end a career. I felt bad for him until I saw why he got the red card, as all I saw on my phone was "shoving M-whatsisface". Last time I checked, headbuts aren't the same as a shove.

Edit 1: Aiiee, 19th inning now. They've been playing for 6 hours now. (Although I think the record for a 9 inning game is just under 6.)

Edit 2:
whocares said:
I think corner kicks should be played instead of shootouts. Each team gets a corner kick, first team to come out ahead after each team has had a go, wins. More entertaining and gives advantages to the best team.
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I could go for that myself. The dodgeball idea seemed interesting too. :D

Also, I wonder what Gov't Center in Boston looked like at the end of the game. It seemed like the entire North End (chock full of Italians) was there. Not quite as full as the rally for the Patriots I went to, but that was AFTER they won.
 
Counterfit said:
Anyways, congrats to Italy. I think I'll be picking up a jersey this week, I just have to figure out which one.
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Number 5 - Cannavaro since although he won't play in the next World Cup, he'll be remembered as an amazing defender for years to come.
 
jakochampolska said:
i know i know :rolleyes:
I still feel for him. He must of been pretty pissed at himself afterwards.
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Sorry, but I fail to see how anybody can feel sorry for him.

What he did (whatever the circumstances) was a disgrace to himself, the team and the game. He deserves to loose any sponsorship contracts he has. I know I wouldn't sign him after that. Do you really want that image for your company? :(

Counterfit said:
And let Zidane be a lesson to all pro athletes. That is NOT how you end a career. I felt bad for him until I saw why he got the red card, as all I saw on my phone was "shoving M-whatsisface". Last time I checked, headbuts aren't the same as a shove.
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Materazzi. ;) :)

Used his head in a much more effective manner. :D :D :D

AppleSpide said:
Number 5 - Cannavaro since although he won't play in the next World Cup, he'll be remembered as an amazing defender for years to come.
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Agreed. His name should be up there with Paolo Rossi's. :D :D :D
 
look at the longer replays, Materazzi appears to be holding Zidane and possibly squeezing his nip. then saying something offense to zz. thats maybe why.
 
lu0s3r322 said:
look at the longer replays, Materazzi appears to be holding Zidane and possibly squeezing his nip. then saying something offense to zz. thats maybe why.
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Sorry, but nothing Materazzi could have done/said justifies Zidane's action. The game is football, not wrestling.

-----

One last post to finish this thread off nicely:

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image courtesy of fifa.
 
Applespider said:
Number 5 - Cannavaro since although he won't play in the next World Cup, he'll be remembered as an amazing defender for years to come.
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I think I'll go with him then. I prefer to play defense, and the last time I played, only one goal was scored against my team while I was on the field. Using someone who's a good forward/striker as a goalie does NOT work, hence why we lost every game that season :rolleyes:

And my prediction for the next WC: US 3-2 Brazil.



Yeah right. :rolleyes:
 
I just got home. Wow. What an idiot. All throughout the tournament they compare his career to Pele and then with 10 minutes left he loses his mind. I've been routing for Italia anyway but after hearing the French biased crowd booing the Italians my family swung towards Italia too. Exactly how does that work: your player gets assaulted, the guilty party gets kicked out, you get booed. There are stupid people everywhere.

Maybe Zidane and Charles Barkley can do a reality TV show together.
 
BakedBeans said:
Petulant, stupid and classless from the most passionate, clever, classy footballer to play the game

Shame it happened like that.
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'Nuff said. Such a great player, so sad to see him possibly throw his entire legacy down the toilet like that. Materazzi must have really done something to get under his skin, but there is simply no valid excuse. They can say any stupid, hurtful thing they want to say, but you have to keep your cool and be there for your team and your country at the end.

It was a very good match to that point, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. As soon as Zidane did his thing, the emotion just drained from me. I went from passionately pulling for France to being this close to turning off the TV entirely. Now I'm not disappointed that Italy won: they did whatever it took to get through, so congrats to them.
 
gekko513 said:
The people at the stadium probably didn't get to see exactly what happened.
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The announcers were discussing how they played it on the jumbo-tron and that is how the ref probably saw it. I would assume most of them saw it on the big screen.
 
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