Official Football Thread

Albie said:
I must admit, I do feel for Croatia - 20 points in qualifying (and third) is more points than most of the teams that finished second (and certainly more than any team that finished third).
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Don't.  This should be a learning lesson.  Tough love.  To be fair, they've had a run of bad luck.  Last Euro Edo was injured and now Modric.  Those are their two best players.
 
Learning from bad luck? Looks like they couldn't do better in these circumstances, so I think it is quite a pity.
Though I won't miss the arrogance surrounding that team, and coach.
 
Media hype. Ignore it.

Actually, we've played internationals since 1996 and have qualified to euro 1996, 2004 and 2008, and world cup 1998, 2002 and 2006. Not qualified to euro 2000 and w.c. 2010. So it's pretty much ok, no catastrophe.

We are individually better than Ukraine, and if we had our full team, we wouldn't even be in the same class. They had massive luck in games against us.

In the end, you have two out of twelve points against two main competitors, and that's not the way to do it.
 
Zare said:
Media hype. Ignore it.

Actually, we've played internationals since 1996 and have qualified to euro 1996, 2004 and 2008, and world cup 1998, 2002 and 2006. Not qualified to euro 2000 and w.c. 2010. So it's pretty much ok, no catastrophe.

We are individually better than Ukraine, and if we had our full team, we wouldn't even be in the same class. They had massive luck in games against us.

In the end, you have two out of twelve points against two main competitors, and that's not the way to do it.
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Pretty good summary.  :)
 
Of course it didn't take Sparky long to convince City's Arab owners to splash out on Sunderland's hero from Saturday:

2dsg474.jpg



Post Scriptum: The "draw" for the play-offs in the European qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup has been done.

France vs Ireland
Portugal vs Bosnia
Greece vs Ukraine
Russia vs Slovenia
 
France vs Ireland -- I usually like the gutsy style of Irish soccer.  But I haven't paid attention to them, so I can't decide who I'd like to win.
Portugal vs Bosnia -- Usually I'd pick Portugal, but against Bosnia, I can't.  I have to go for my old neighbours.  Besides I want to see how well Edin Dzeko can play on the grand stage.
Greece vs Ukraine -- Ukraine wins hopefully.  Though these Greeks do have Gekas who is the best scorer in the qualifiers.
Russia vs Slovenia -- I like the Russians, but I have to once again go with my old neighbours.

I really don't like how FIFA set-up the matches.  The top secod placed team in the qualifiers should face the bottom (8th placed team) and so on.
 
Should I break with tradition and support Germany this time? Usually, I root for whoever is playing against them.
 
I don't know. They're all just so... fake. Sometimes you just don't like people.

Maybe it's also because I grew up supporting players like Thomas Hässler, Lothar Matthäus, Oliver Bierhoff and Andreas Köpke. That was the brief moment I was actually into football. Those were real characters whom you could like and hate and you could never deny that they did grand things on the pitch. The current players just lack personality, they're either all the same colourless puppets or so arrogant and lubricious that I simply don't enjoy following anything they do- and they suck.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
France vs Ireland
Portugal vs Bosnia
Greece vs Ukraine
Russia vs Slovenia
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The only one which Blatter wasn't able to preordain. Although hopefully France will continue to be in such disarray that Ireland will have a chance.
 
Perun said:
I don't know. They're all just so... fake. Sometimes you just don't like people.

Maybe it's also because I grew up supporting players like Thomas Hässler, Lothar Matthäus, Oliver Bierhoff and Andreas Köpke. That was the brief moment I was actually into football. Those were real characters whom you could like and hate
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Say that again. ;)

I guess Lothar Matthäus is about the most despised post WW-II figure in the Netherlands, hehe. Well, he was a good leader and I had a lot of respect for him. I still remember when Jan Wouters (also not a small name in Dutch football) went to Bayern München, playing with Matthäus, and a lot of people didn't get this. He said that Lothar was a pretty nice guy and had lots of respect for him.

Yep Holland vs Germany, it's always been like that since 1940 uhh I mean 1974!
:)
.... a huge match with lots of tension. Who knows we'll meet again!


I doubt it will be as vile as in the old days:

newskoemanoranje.jpg

rijkaard-voller.jpg
 
A reader's comments on the Greek e-press

No way we'll qualify...
With such a team like that, which "won" Luxembourg 2 -1 , better not go to South Africa.
Why to go, we will come to "0 points 0 goals," once again.
Fortunately, Ukraine will not leave us to become a laughing stock this summer.
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:lol: Go Ukraine!
 
Forostar said:
Say that again. ;)

I guess Lothar Matthäus is about the most despised post WW-II figure in the Netherlands, hehe. Well, he was a good leader and I had a lot of respect for him. I still remember when Jan Wouters (also not a small name in Dutch football) went to Bayern München, playing with Matthäus, and a lot of people didn't get this. He said that Lothar was a pretty nice guy and had lots of respect for him.

Yep Holland vs Germany, it's always been like that since 1940 uhh I mean 1974!
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:D We invaded you with panzers, you invade us with caravans. :P

Matthäus is a very unique character. He's not very bright (people always made fun of his English - "I vill ansver oll yoor kvetshns") and I have a natural disrespect for him because he is Franconian, not to mention he was with Bayern, but seriously, German football has never been the same after he left.

rijkaard-voller.jpg
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There's only one Rudi Völler!
 
Forostar said:
rijkaard-voller.jpg
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There's only one better action shot than that (no perms/moustaches though):

vinniejones.jpg


German players have a reputation in England for being supremely arrogant, possibly due to Michael Ballack, more likely because they always beat us in penalties (and they know they will).
 
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