Official Football Thread

Eddies Wingman said:
The Dutch team did a professional performance and Romania were disappointingly weak. Congratulations to Italy on beating France and getting the spot. It's quite typical Italy, though - getting a crappy start to the tournament and just managing to go through from the group stage, and now I won't be surprised if they get far. Spain vs Italy in the quarter-finals, we've seen it all before ...
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what about France ? what do you think about this team ???
 
____no5 said:
what about France ? what do you think about this team ???
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Not very good. Quite bad, in fact. The young players who play in France (Nasri, Benzema) have been touted as being the next big thing, but didn't show anything close to justifying that. The old players are past it - Makelele, Thuram. And most of the other players are at best average - Anelka, Malodour, Abidal.
France's best players, Ribery and Henry, never really got going in the tournament.

Sure, they were very unlucky with Ribery's injury, but Domenech's tactics were a bit suspect. 1-0 down in a MUST-win game, don't sacrifice an attacker for a centre-back. If anyone, Makelele should have been subbed.
 
____no5 said:
what about France ? what do you think about this team ???
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I don't really think much about them. They have been disappointing in this tournament, that's pretty much it. And as for Henry which NA mentions as one of France's best players; he hasn't really been at his best since he left Arsenal ... at his best, he would easily be one of the best players in the European Championships, but now? No.

I was not surprised that Italy won tonight and I hold them as favorites in the quarter-finals against Spain. Mostly because Spain always screw up  :innocent:
 
national acrobat said:
The young players who play in France (Nasri, Benzema) have been touted as being the next big thing, but didn't show anything close to justifying that.
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You're right. However Nasri didn't get that much playing time and today Benzema had a great shot. Buffon was excellent again, magnificent save.

I also understood that the ref was not to good for France (understatement). Didn't see the whole match to judge well, though.

So up next:

Thursday: Portugal - Germany
Friday: Croatia - Turkey
Saturday: Netherlands - Sweden / Russia
Sunday: Spain - Italy
 
national acrobat said:
Not very good. Quite bad, in fact. The young players who play in France (Nasri, Benzema) have been touted as being the next big thing, but didn't show anything close to justifying that.
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I liked France, this team was unlucky with Italy as well as with Holland, strangely enough les tricoleurs didn't dissapoint me this time (except with Romania of course)
I agree that in the first match Benzema was dissapeared, but today he showed to me that ha can have a great carreer in the future
the same thing about Nasri, dispite his little appearence

best players for today : Gavou, Toulalan, Evra

national acrobat said:
Sure, they were very unlucky with Ribery's injury, but Domenech's tactics were a bit suspect. 1-0 down in a MUST-win game, don't sacrifice an attacker for a centre-back. If anyone, Makelele should have been subbed.
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I agree with you, if is to blame someone, Domenech would be the man -the team regarding players -I quite liked it

Eddies Wingman said:
I was not surprised that Italy won tonight and I hold them as favorites in the quarter-finals against Spain. Mostly because Spain always screw up  :innocent:
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:lol: yeah but as Italy plays without some of its best players, I would say 50-50

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@Foro : dude, what a team you have  :ok:
easily the best Dutch team since 1988  :wub:
 
Who knows ;)

I'm not sure yet. Today, Lineker (half joking) wondered if Holland didn't peak too early. We haven't had much bad luck this tournament and I suppose something has to go wrong some time, heh.
 
wait a minute. if Holland get the cup or not that is a completely other story !!!

as Czechie was the best team during 2004 but never won it, the same thing can happen to Dutch team
...this fact doesn't change that Holland plays much better football as a team even than '98's team
 
@ Foro: That was a tougher angle with the ball going just under the top corner.  Sweet!  I've seen at least one of those at a World Cup in the last 20 years.  But one can never tire of free kicks like that!

Here is one of my favourites.  Robert Prosinečki receives a touch from a free kick and you watch the rest.  He is playing for Belgrade Red Star here, three years after he won the recognition as the best player in the World Youth Championship (Chile, 1987).  He is the guy who should have started the game against France in 1998.
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=1HvHqzNxjWU
Forostar said:
Ahum..well, I don't want to discourage anyone with French and/or Italian passion, but Holland will start with 9(!!) different players. The ones in blue are the only two who started in the other matches.:

Stekelenburg, Boulahrouz, Heitinga, Bouma, De Cler, Van Persie, De Zeeuw, Afellay, Engelaar, Robben, Huntelaar 

Even another goalkeeper! With all respect for Stekelenburg, but Van der Sar was very important in the last two matches. I'm not sure what to think about this. It's almost a risk. I'm convinced that their's enough threat in the Dutch attacking lines, but how the hell will the defense and the goalie do? We'll see soon enough.

My idea is that Van Basten wants to give rest to some players but I also think he wants to give others some time to play. I am terribly curious how this is gonna work out!
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I have not watched this game, but during intermission the commentators remarked that Romania played without passion or desire to win. 
Eddies Wingman said:
The Dutch team did a professional performance and Romania were disappointingly weak. Congratulations to Italy on beating France and getting the spot. It's quite typical Italy, though - getting a crappy start to the tournament and just managing to go through from the group stage, and now I won't be surprised if they get far. Spain vs Italy in the quarter-finals, we've seen it all before ...
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Exactly.  This is why even though I expected them to win I was hoping they would not.  The Spanish team looks stronger, but they are the "perennial under-achievers" and the Italians get more courage as time goes by.  Still, I cannot see them beating Netherlands no matter what and besides my original pick for Spain vs Italy was Spain and I'm sticking to it.
____no5 said:
what about France ? what do you think about this team ???
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After Ribery was injured in the 9th minute, the Frenchmen were virtually non-existant.  Something is lacking here and I think it is passion.  I have watched their last two games and I've watched Romania's game against Italy.  Between the two countries, Romania showed more in this tournament.
Spain and Sweden should win tomorrow.  I wonder how many changes the Spaniards will make.  (Even a tie would suit Sweden).  Greece has shown the worst performance of all teams in this tournament.  It is questionable how long Ibrahimovic will play.  Hopefully just long enough to score, again!  :D
 
That was a beautiful goal really, Genghis. I believe the angle (and perhaps also the distance) was less difficult than Van Hooijdonck's, but VH's had more time to concentrate on it. ;)

Prosinečki was really a tecnician "pur sang". World class player. Another (ex-)Yugoslavian player with a fantastic technique was Savićević, but he was Serbian and he sure showed that.

Nice to see all that old footage by the way!
 
Oops alright. Well, at least he had something in common with some Serbs. *cough, cough* What I mean is this:

Savićević is the protagonist of a widely circulated internet clip (viral video) from a 1999 Dutch documentary about the 1987 World Youth Championship winning SFR Yugoslavia under-20 team. Most of the footage was shot in October 1999 just as the Yugoslavia and Croatia national teams were to play a deciding Euro 2000 qualifier in Zagreb. Conceptualized as a "what might've been" homage of sorts, the documentary interviews different members of the 1987 youth side, now split between the senior national teams of two countries.

This particular clip shows Savićević being interviewed on the day before the match, in front of the hotel in Zagreb where Yugoslav team was staying. He is wearing Yugoslavia training gear and as such is easily spotted and recognized by people strolling by. As Dejan is answering a question, man on the street is heard shouting off-camera: "You're a piece of shit!".

Savićević looks up, realizes the comment was directed at him and answers the heckler by berating him with an obscenity laced tirade. After insulting him sufficiently, Savićević returns his attention to the interview and continues answering the question right where he left off without missing a beat.

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=MTFhh3Ea5kE

Longer version without subtitles:
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=FSI5rSa0Rt0
 
I almost wish Sweden wouldn't go on past the quarterfinals because we're gonna be flattened by Holland. But anyway for tonight I predict Sweden to beat Russia and Spain to beat Greece. As for last night's match, it was painful from minute 11 when Ribery was taken out due to injury. Then that ridiculous red card (yellow would have been justified with the obvious penalty shot, but RED?!!!), so France was on its knees for the rest of the game without their best player and with 10 men on the field. Not an even match and while Italy certainly played much better than they have in any other game, it was an unfair affair the whole thing.
 
Yea, i know what you meant, and what particular incident you're going to point to.  :D

Montenegro has always been split between unionists (pro-Sebian side wowing for common state with Serbs), and separatists (wowing for independent Montenegro). What's more curious, the ratio has never exceeded 40%-60% margin, always bouncing around half people here, half people there. I know the issue very well, i have roots down there. And, as you're going to find biggest Croatian right-wing nationalists in Bosnia (Herzegovina), you're going to find "biggest Serbs" in Montenegro.

You know...Hitler was Austrian.

End of offtopic  :D
 
As for the penalty and a red card. It seems harsh but fouling a player while being the last defender is a red card. Even if it is a penalty as well for being within the box.

So the ref made a good call even if it ruins the game. One man less and a goal down vs the Italian is fatal. But not the ref ruined the game the defender did. The ref only did (unlike most refs) what he should.
 
I watched the Netherlands - Romania game...till I fell asleep last night.  I see what GK was saying - the Romanians had a few flashes of effort, but overall could care less.

Also, is everyone in the Netherlands bald?
 
Warhurst said:
As for the penalty and a red card. It seems harsh but fouling a player while being the last defender is a red card. Even if it is a penalty as well for being within the box.

So the ref made a good call even if it ruins the game. One man less and a goal down vs the Italian is fatal. But not the ref ruined the game the defender did. The ref only did (unlike most refs) what he should.
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The rule doesn't state anything about being "the last defender". The rule is that if you destroy a clear scoring opportunity for the attacker (by committing a foul that leads to a direct free kick or a penalty) you should be shown red. So, technically, you could be shown the red even though another defender is closer to the line. Imagine an attacker being tripped on the edge of the penalty area, with the keeper and another defender just outside the goal line. The defender committing the foul would still be shown off.

As for the "unlike most refs" part - is that true? My impression is that most refs actually do show the red card in such situations. Quite often they receive a lot of flak for it, though - mostly by pundits and journos who don't know the rules well enough.
 
True the rule does not state last defender but in here (Holland and like Forostar not bald yet) a clear scoring oportunity destroyer is mostly the last defender.

As most refs do show the red card. I beg to differ. Most refs feel that the penalty is a major punishment already and therefor keep it to being a yellow card only.
 
Well, in the Norwegian league it is definitely not like that. In such situations I see many more red cards than yellow. And of course, the TV pundits sit there with slow motion replays and draw lines and everything to see whether the defender was the last man or only the second last - with another one 10 meters away and equally far from the goal line, as if it was an offside decision.

I also watch a lot of Premiership matches, and my impression is that the PL referees are more likely to show the red than the yellow. I don't watch much Dutch football (there are some highlights now and then, but no live coverage of matches). National Acrobat and Albie, how is that in the Football League?
 
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