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Close Combat Series -> The Mess

#1: World Cup! Author: Homba,

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 3:26 am
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With TH forum down, I just had to continue my world cup spieling somewhere, so here it goes!

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Well, I pick up UNIVISION on my antenna, and got it to come in good, taped both games. Avoiding scores all day, watched them tonight (selectively fast-forwarding), then caught the 2nd half of the basketball game. So now you know: I don't have cable or satelite TV or a DVR. I use the old fashioned antenna and a vintage VCR. I didn't grow up with cable, neither did my wife, and we watch enough TV as it is, so have just never sprung for cable. Miss ESPN, CNN, HIST, and some channels like that, but I get enough sports on EspnRadio and if we watched any more TV than we already do we'd be zombies.

Germany pounds Ecuador, we really see the disparity of talent - Germany dominates every phase of the game. If Ecuador wins their next game, I'll be surprised. Germany looked good again, but I would not call this a true test.

Paraguay dispatched T&T. No surprise there. But T&T can hold their heads high going home with the gutty draw against Sweden and the near draw against England.

Costa Rica has a nice free-kick goal against Poland, three men lined up beside the Polish wall, then dodged away at the last second as the kick came through, the keeper's view was shielded and the shot went in. But the Pols salvage a little pride with a win.

I correctly predicted the drawn result between ENG and SWE. Heh, but not for the right reasons. I was thinking England would combine both poor play and cynical play to aim for the draw, and I didn't think SWE would expose themselves to counter-attacks by going forward with much enthusiasm since a draw would advance them as well, but a loss could sink them.
Well I was wrong. This is my new match-of-the-tournament so far, topping the thrilling Saudi-Tunisia game. What a game, lots of attacking,on both sides, ENG had slightly the better of the possession with 55%, plus 14 shots (8 on goal) and 6 corners. But SWE put 6 of 9 shots on goal, dominated for spells of the game, and had a huge 12 corners from which they were very danagerous. What a goal by Joe Cole, about a 1% chance of scoring from out there, and he made the perfect kick! I've been really impressed by Joe Cole in the games I've seen.

The Swedes get a beautiful goal and hit the bar twice within the span of 10 minutes early in the 2nd half - all off corner kicks - wow! The game never slows down, England looks to win it with a goal in the 85th minute, but Sweden strikes again with either a corner or cross in stoppage time! Those two Swedes were lucky, they ran into each other both stabbing at the ball and one foot barely scraped it, I think either man alone wouldve finished strongly, but as it was the ball luckily trickled into the goal. But a well deserved goal to be sure. The draw was a fair result for great efforts by both teams. I'll look forward to watching them both in the next round. Too bad about Owen's knee, what a freak accident, from what they are saying it sounds like odds are he is quite possibly out of the tournament.

Tomorrow, Meixco and Portugal get to show if they are firing on all cylinders for the round of 16, though Angola could possibly bump out Mexico if Mexico loses in the same way Trinidad might've bumped out Sweden.

And Netherlands-Argentina! Two powerhouses, potentially a GREAT match! Can the Dutch stop the Argentine onslaught!?

H

June 21-

Portugal looked good. Mexico looked bad. Angola drew Iran and a very competitive game between ARG & NED, though without any fireworks. The Dutch will be a tough 2nd place opponent for someone.

June 22-

Today I skipped work to watch the US play Ghana. If you knew me, you'd know I'm not a complainer about refs. I barely argee that Dallas got hosed by the refs in the recent NBA Championship. I didn't expect the US to go far in this tourney, really didnt expect them to make it out of the group. Im not a US superfan, and I think Im capable of being unbiased. Just being objective - I think the US got horribly hosed by the ref on both Ghana goals. The first goal: Ghana man runs up to Rena who is in possession of the ball, smashes his kneecap into the side of Rena's knee and comes away with the ball. Rena crumples to the turf, Ghana man scores. That was a foul, folks. A very simple example of a foul. It was not even an especially inconspicuous foul. It was pretty much out in the open. How the ref didnt whistle that one, I dont know. Rena hobbled around for 10 or 15 more miniutes, then went out of the game for good. You can't smash someone in the process of getting the ball from them - the replay showed it was a clear foul. The ref whistles that, the subsequent goal is erased.

Second goal penalty kick call was a farce. I played for 20+ years, including 7 years for University teams and ref'ed myself, and you do not call a penalty kick -- least of all in a pro/worldcup game -- on that sort of bullshit contact out on the edge of the penalty box when there is no scoring chance. Let's look at what happened: the ball was popped up probably 100 ft in the air, coming straight down toward a US and Ghana player on the top edge of the penalty area. There was some bumping and the US guy headed the ball, then the whistle blew. The Ghana man never even had possession, or from what I could see 'position' or lease of all a chance to score! And the ref calls a F'ing PENALTY KICK!?!? Unbelieveable. It is not like the US guy charged in and rammed him out of an established position. They were both standing there waiting for the ball to come down. Those of you who know football will I think agree that that call was way out of line.

So the US lost. Without those two calls that led directly to goals, maybe they win 1-0. I can't say I've seen anything like it, where two calls (non-call & call) completely destroy a team.

That said, Landon Donovan, the US most well-known player, and supposed to be their star striker, had not scored a goal in the last 18 international matches. 18!!! Yeow. The US needs to find some better players.

Wow, I can only imagine how Boro is feeling right now, having to watch his Croats qualify twice with one-goal leads, and then have it twice ripped away by Aussie equalizers. The Aussies advance 2nd on goal differential (great effort, Aussies), and the Croats go home, doomed by a draw against Japan.

The other game I watched today, Japan v Brazil was fun, I heard Japan built its team around the Brazilian style of play, so it was sort of a master-student game. And low and behold the Japanese score first! And lead for about 20 minutes until Brazil nets one before half. What a happy 20 minutes those were for Japan, who went on to get clobbered 4-1, as expected. I cut it off with about 15 mins to go to finish watching my tape of the ARG-NED game. I think Brazil is very vulnerable.

Ukraine should qualify by beating Tunisia tomorrow. France will qualify 2nd in their group by beating Togo, winner of Swiss-Korea will advance first, loser GOES HOME! Unless they draw, then it become tie-breaker maddness between them and France, where if France beats Togo by 3, I think they'd qualify FIRST.

H

#2: Author: Thatoneguy, Location: California

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:15 am
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Good summary there and I agree that the US got screwed by the refs. But against Italy also they got screwed so that really sucks. But my second team was Portugal and they look really good right now beating mexico while sitting 6 starters out so even though the US is out at least i still have a team to root for. And frankly, I dont tthink Brazil looks like they are going to be able to win. I missed todays game, but I wasnt all that impressed by them in the other 2 games.

#3: 1 word, Author: ANZAC_Tack, Location: Australia

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:10 am
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GO AUSTRALIA!

HISTORY HAS BEEN WRITTEN FOR THE RELATIVELY JUNIOUR'S OF THE COMP!

next stop, Italy, hope they run as fast as 1942!(sorry poor pun)

maybe take off the boots to run faster ;o)

hopfully, wont have to eat my boots with my words next monday!

#4: Author: pvt_Grunt, Location: Melbourne, Australia

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:51 am
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Good game against Croatia ! Bad news is I lost 2 of my team at work today to "Soccer Leave", the rest of us were just tired from lack of sleep. I suppose there were a lot of sickies today, maybe I'm just jealous? Mad

#5: Author: Glabro,

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 11:22 am
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...but talk about refereeing! I suspect that was the last time Graham Poll whistles in a World Cup game!

3 yellow cards to Simunic...stopping play just before Australia was about to win..

I suppose neglecting to penalize Tomas´ SECOND handling of the ball in the penalty area was compensated by the Aussies´ second goal being an offside!

Anyhow, glad to see our Australian mates go through!

#6: Author: Pete, Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:10 pm
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I agree that the refereeing is awful. We have seen many great matches and many of them could have been even better if it hadn't been for those referees.
Before the tournament started it was announced that extra attention was going to be paid to arms and elbows raised too high. Fine, but this resulted in some pathetic decisions and furthermore many referees are whistling against insignifcant fouls and waving yellow and red cards for what?
Congrats to the Aussies. I hope they succeed in eliminating the Italians.

#7: Author: ronson, Location: England

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 5:27 pm
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Great summary there Homba Smile

,

Its been a thriling competition so far and shows every sign of continuing to be.

The US team isn't so bad, look at that performance against the Italians.....showed them at their best I thought.....as good as the team from the last world cup when they put Mexico out, certainly had me on the edge of my seat.

I think it will take a team and half to stop the Argentine though, they have an excellent team this time, a good solid defence, potent strikers and a very fluid midfield and last but not least they play as a team.
The dark horse might be the Spanish, a fresh team of younger players with what looks like an urge to win and unafraid to take chances to do it.

But in the world of football you never know Confused

maybe my (SV)..England Laughing

will make it after all even without the mighty Owen....I can always hope Smile

Good luck to all the teams that are through, especially to Gambia and the Aussies, it's good to see fresh faces in the later stages. Many thx for the hours of entertainment to those that leave, just to reach the finals is an achievement in itself.

Cheers
Ronson

#8: Author: AT_MarkIVG,

Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:12 pm
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Its really good to see people from countries not usually associated with football (ok,soccer, if you must) getting enthusiastic about the world cup. Personally I can't see past Argentina as winners with Spain, the perenial underachievers, as the dark horse.

As a Scotsman I dont care, as long as it isn't England! And,before my English friends point it out, I am indeed a jealous,bitter jock and I do indeed have a huge chip on my shoulder but I also live in London and my life would be misery if the buggers won.

Keep up the analysis guys

AT_MarkIVG

#9: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 1:24 am
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did germany beat poland along the way Very Happy

and is germany still in

#10: Author: Homba,

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:45 am
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I was not too interested in the games today, except the Swiss-Korea game. All the other games seemed to have a preordained result - France would beat Togo, Spain would smash Saudi, and Ukraine should have no problems with Tunisia. Swiss-Korea was unfortunately only on TELEFUTURA, which I guess is a sort of UNIVISION2. I dont get ESPN or ESPN2, so couldnt tape the one game I wanted to see.

The Swiss beat Korea 2-0, though Korea had a few more shots, more shots on goal, and slightly more possession. It was an even game where the Swiss got 2 in. Good for them, and too bad that the exciting Korean team will exit early. Get this - the Swiss are the ONLY TEAM in the Cup not to allow a goal in any of their first three games. Nice. WOW, the video highlights are a real treat, the first Swiss goal, the great header and the guy smashes his face on the Korean's skull and blood is everywhere! Some GREAT saves by the Swiss keeper too. Last bit of the video a great little backpass chance for Korea that just goes amiss. Good stuff, wish I'd have seen this game.

France must have had some nervous talk at half-time, still being tied with Togo! A draw would send France home! But they finally found some goals, and advance 2nd, as expected. I don't expect them to go anywhere now. They clearly aren't on form, and don't look like getting in form any time soon. Spain is on form, and should pound France in the Round of 16.

Closer games than I expected for Ukraine and Spain, but they both beat their lesser opponents.

Now come the knock-out games!

Here is the Round of 16 Bracket!

Tomorrow we have GER-SWE!!! Can't wait to see this one! Germany's first real test. They haven't played anyone really strong yet. Yes, they manhandled Ecuador, but I heard Ecuador only qualified for the Cup by playing all their home games at high altitude, they were able to beat both Argentina and Brazil this way, but only because those teams were out of breath after 30 minutes. They aren't bad, as they beat Poland and Costa Rica, but they aren't a GREAT team, as the game against GER showed. So now GER faces a real test. I'm going to pick GER to win by a goal, I think they're up to beating the Swedes.

Argentina v Mexico should be less interesting. After that drubbing by Portugal, Mexico appears to have problems. Argentina should win by 2 or more goals.

SUNDAY

ENG-ECU - I'm going to pick England becuase I don't think ECU has the quality to stop them as I explained above.

POR-NED - Anyone's game! I am going to pick the 2nd place Dutch to upset POR. Though it wouldnt surprise me if this one goes to PKs at the end - and if it goes to PKs, the Dutch will LOSE, because they are CURSED for PK sessions, and all Dutch fans know that recent history proves that.

MONDAY

ITA-AUS - I'd love to pick the Socceroos to go through, but I think Italy will find a way to win this one. Tough call though, I will be pulling for Australia.

SUI-UKR - I am going to pick the Swiss here. They keep their sheet blank with another shut-out and manage a goal or two. UKR has shown too many problems to get past a very competent Swiss team.

TUESDAY

Brazil is gona beat Ghana by two or three goals. No question. Ghana has a lot of raw talent but not the discipline to compete with Brazil.

Spain will beat France. Spain is peaking, France is struggling.

Happy football weekend everyone.

H

#11: Author: Pzt_XLegione, Location: Milano, Italy

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:27 am
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Hi everybody,

GO ITALY

first of all, the italians didn't run in the 1942 they stood and fought until the last man Wink

Remember Folgore and Ariete Division to EL ALAMEIN !!!!

and my austrialian friend, prepare to eat your boots next monday Smile

Ciao from Italy

Luft_XLegione

#12: Author: Homba,

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 4:12 pm
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Half time of Germany - Sweden. Well, my doubts are put aside now, the Germans are for real. They will be a force to be reckoned with in this Cup, and their likely collision with Argentina in the quarterfinals could be a classic match. I thought Germany would be up to win this game, and they are.

Just simply clinical play in front of the goal to go up 2-nil on a Sweden side that seemed not to have had their coffee this morning. I did expect more from Sweden, but Germany made them look slow and inferior.

However. Let me rage, for a moment, about the red card which totally sucked any remaining drama out of this game and sealed the Swede's fate. WHAT THE F!?!?!? What is this ref thinking to give that red card? What are any of these refs in this Cup thinking. They have uniformly sucked - bad.

How can the ref give a second yellow for that HARMLESS little arm-pull?
(1) the german didnt have a clear run at the goal/unopposed goalscoring chance.
(2) the foul was utterly harmless, free from risk of injury.
(3) it was barely a foul anyway, as the german player still got forward to the ball ahead of the Swede,
(4) by giving a red card at 30-ish minutes into the game with a 2-0 german lead already, the ref might as well blow the final whistle of the match - the Swedes really have no chance now. Only a miracle direct from the soccer gods could get the Swedes to a draw (and penalty kicks) now.
(5) It is almost as if the ref believed that once a player has a yellow card, if they commit another foul of any sort, a second yellow comes out - BUT THIS ISNT THE RULE!!! It has to be a foul WORTHY of a second yellow!!! An EGREGIOUS foul, a SERIOUS foul. What is wrong with these referees? It makes me sad that they are affecting the Cup in such a negative, unprecedented way.

So the ref showed the WORST POSSIBLE judgment in giving this red card. He ruined the game. He ruined it for all the people watching who wanted to see a dramatic soccer game.

Ah, a penalty kick just missed by Sweden, well they are really done now - maybe the ref tried to give them a little gift, I did not see the foul. Will have to watch on the replay. Going to go continuing cleaning my house and keeping one eye on this spoiled match.

H

#13: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 5:49 pm
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germany all the way man.YAY Deutschland!
:german

#14: Author: Homba,

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 8:56 pm
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End of regulation in ARG-MEX - well, I was wrong about Mexico, they looked Argentina's equal in this match! What a bang-bang start, 1-1 then no more goals. But the gods smiled on Mexico at the very end, the Argentines were not offside (as the replayed showed) on a goal in the 93rd minute, but the linesman wrongly raised his flag. EXTRA TIME HERE WE GO!!!

#15: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2006 9:11 pm
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i would love it if mexico beats the powerhouse argentina

#16: Author: Pete, Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands

Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 1:09 pm
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Argentina-Mexico was a great game and Mexico would have deserved a victory. Now it's Argentina-Germany and I admit that I am actually feeling a little sympathy for the Germans. Don't know what's happening to me but I have enjoyed their matches and wouldn't mind at all if they would become the new world champions Shocked

#17: Author: Heeresarmee,

Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:12 pm
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Well since us Dutch are now history in a match with about 20 yellow and 4 red cards all that is left for me to say is; GO SOCCEROOS!!! Go Hiddink! Wink

#18: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:55 pm
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well it monday morning here in sydney
and strangely quiet for start of working week.
guess people have taken time off work and r sleeping in for tonights match
Australia vs Italy
every1 here is excited,2nd time ever at the world cup.
last one was in 1974 coincidentally also at Germany.
for us to qualify into world cup was a major victory in itself.
then for us to make last 16,there is nothing to explain that.
Tonight we know we are playing a genuine world power in soccer,wether they in bad form or good form,underrate them at ur own peril.
But were going into the game to win and more importantly the fans believe it to.

#19: Author: Antifa,

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:30 am
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Well in the quarters it's Germany against Argentina -- the Argentinians play cunt ball. They are dirty and they spend most of their time rolling around on the pitch pretending to be injured. When they do actually stand up -- they play like a band on thugs and usually injure the opposing teams players for real -- they suck -- they should be banned from international play. In any case, I hope they lose to Germany and then die in a plane crash at sea (well I hope they survive the crash but get eaten alive by sharks)

Portugal is not as a bad but today we all learned that Ricardo is portuguese for "cunt" -- but I'm pretty sure I won't have to hope to hard that they will lose to England.

For the remaing contests to get into the quarters:

It would be nice to see the Aussies and the Ukrainians but I am betting on the Italians and the Swiss.

Spain will beat France and after a meteor explodes over the stadium unlessing a swarm of Brazilian-eating flying pigs, Ghana will win, if that doesn't happen Brazil will win. Very Happy

#20: Author: Homba,

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:42 am
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What a great shot by the Argentine to win the overtime game against Mexico. GER-ARG should be great.

The ENG-ECU game this morning was very uneventful except for Beckham's masterful free kick. Neither side threatened much. I have to give Ecuador credit for playing well enough - if it wasnt for the free kick, that game wouldve gone to penalty kicks. ECU nearly had a goal after the English defenseman blundered a header that went backwards and fell at the ECU man's feet, only another defender who flashed in with a great effort deflected the shot into the bar. ENG showed no signs of finding any form, I think they'll be taken out by the Portugese in the quarterfinals.

POR-NED. This was a WAR. DEAR LORD!!! It was rivetting to the last, though not what I had expected to see. Who could've predicted this? I'm not sure it's fair to say the ref "lost control of the game" - you keep control of a game by calling fouls and giving out cards, also to some extent by talking to players (which this ref didn't do too much of). Both teams were playing with such fire that the game just blew up. The ref did give the first two red cards for bad reasons. The first was for a supposedly intentional handball. Im not sure it was, but it certainly didnt stop any scoring chance or even much of an attack - i think it occured near midfield. A handball calls for a free kick, end of story. If in the ref's judgment a card is warrented for intent or stopping an attack or whatever, fine, but the ref's judgment was extraordinarily bad here. Then in the 2nd half, the first red card to the Dutch was bad too, an incidental elbow to the face, unintentional, just a brush, and the Portugese striker fakes a big hit to try to draw a card and even up the sides - and it worked. From there, things really degenerated, Im surprised punches weren't thrown. The headbutt that we saw should have got the portugese player ejected, but the ref didnt see it. Some of those shove-downs mightve called for ejections too. The cleets to the neck/shoulder area (very clear in live action and on the replay) of the Dutchman in the penalty box shouldve been a penatly kick or at least an indirect kick from that spot and a card, but amazingly the ref missed it.

I knew this would be a great game, probably the most evenly matched pairing of the Round of 16, but I didnt expect it to escalate to "total war." It was something else to watch. Too bad for the Dutch they had a lot of skill, but couldnt quite get a goal. Great goal and great effort by a really good Portugese side who I think will beat England. A shame that in such a potentially great match, the referreeing is the headline, rather than the play.

Tomorrow AUS get their moment in the sun against Italy, good luck.

And two overachievers, the Swiss and Ukranians will battle to go even further than they've ever gone.

Both games should be good watching - and what games aren't at this point.

H

more: here is a good story by a british football writer on the Dutch game:
http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/matchreport/0,,1806130,00.html
Included is this:
"So there may be no Figo or Ronaldo to add to Costinha and Deco for England to face."

Figo may get suspended by FIFA for the head-butt.
Ronaldo is hurt, unknown prognosis.

The other two of course were red-carded. I disagree with the author that Costinha's was just or correct.

Losing 4 starters does not bode well for Portugal against England, except that with the way England is playing, it may not matter. Im not as wild about Portugals chances any more though - but I'll still give them 51% chance of winning.

H

#21: Author: poli, Location: The Netherlands

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:17 pm
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Figo should be banned from the rest of the WC in my opinion. NOT ONLY was he the player that headbutted but he was also the guy that did the award winninng acting that got the red. Personnaly i believe the ref was totally out of his legue! He should be reffing girls matches (under 16) and not be out on the greatest stage of all!

Very disappointing game...

#22: Author: Pete, Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:07 pm
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Italy - Australia: another match f***cked up by a referee. This smells like corruption to me. God, imagine Australia beating Italy, we can't have that can we?
Typical that the Socceroos could only be beaten by a referee...

#23: Author: Glabro,

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:16 pm
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Wow, that is one pathetic "win" by Italy...granted, the red card was uncalled for, and Australia was too slow to capitalize, but barely winning Australia by taking a dive at the last seconds? That is a sad, sad state for Italian football.

They just lost any sympathy I might ever had for that team...

Now, let´s see which "major" football country they get to struggle with next - Ukraine or Switzerland?

#24: Author: ronson, Location: England

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:56 pm
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In many years of watching football I've never seen a more dastardly method (and that includes 'The hand of God') used to win a game than the one that was pulled on Australia today.

Isn't it about time some of these professional dives were punished?, its getting to be that players are afraid to tackle an opponent in the box now, for fear of giving away the penalty.

How long before this attitude spreads to the rest of the field? this is a sport where contact is inevitable at times. Had these standards been applied 25 years ago very few of the great players of those days would have finished a match!

A most disappointing ending to an entertaining game Sad

, but one where all can see plainly the most sporting side.

Cheers
Ronson

#25: Author: Pzt_XLegione, Location: Milano, Italy

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:37 pm
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Hi to everybody,

all the people knows very well, in every competition the skills are not enough, the fortune is necessary to win.
The most important aspect in this tournament is the balanced level of the teams for this reason in every match there isn't a winner already written.

Italy played the second time without Materazzi, the team was strong enough to arrive at the end of the match and the fate awarded us with a penalty.

This is not a fault, many times in the past we were not lucky ( I remember previous World and European Cup).

Honor to Australia but it is the life, you will do better next time.

Ciao from Italy

Luft_XLegione

#26: Author: Pzt_Mac, Location: Oregon

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:46 pm
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Perhaps so...

However, hands down the worst thing about soccer (football, fotbal, etc.) is the acting and diving that happens in the game. I suppose it could be argued that it is simply "a part of the game", but it's the worst part.

No offense to Italy, but there is not team in the World Cup who cries and takes more dives than the Italians. But, again, they are just exploiting that part of the game which allows that kind of crap to happen.

Is anything more stupid than having to wait while a player screams and rolls around on the floor, only to pop back up 3 seconds later as if nothing ever happened, all for the sake of acting in an attempt to get a foul? Come on, guys, you're grown men for Christ sake!

My hat is off to Italy who played hard with a man down, but also it is off to Australia who essentially lost the World Cup because of an actor who some how found his way onto the field...

Acting should be banned, penalties incured if caught, plain and simple.

#27: Author: Glabro,

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:55 pm
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After further consideration, I do think that the last-minute penalty was stupid, but it was a stupid move by everyone except the diving Italian...O´neill (I think) wasn´t thinking straight when he dove that way to block the Italian, the ref didn´t see it well once again, but the Italian - well, he did what was necessary to win. Not sporting, but I suppose there are not many who wouldn´t have "taken one for the team" in his shoes.

I also have to concur that Italy was the more experienced and skilled team on the field. Their defense was just too good for the Aussies who were too slow and timid to get into the box when it counted, and the attacks Italy did were always dangerous throughout the game.

However, the Italians are lucky indeed to face Australia followed by Ukraine in the knockouts.

#28: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:01 pm
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yer good on Italy,they were the least threatening team we have played at the world cup.
that penalty may have killed soccer off in australia
we play our sport hard and fair,ive seen guys finish games with broken bones in our rugby codes,to proud to put their hand up and say they hurt.
why soccer will never compare,no matter how many countries play it.
the world game? more like the acting game.
maybe next world cup we can lend yas some refs from our rugby codes.

#29: Author: Homba,

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:41 am
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Just finished watching my tape of Australia. I was pulling for the Aussies from start to bitter finish. There were just 5 seconds of the +3 minutes stoppage time left when the penalty was awarded. I watched it over and over, and I'm not sure if it was a "dive". The Italian played the ball around the sliding Aussie, and the Aussie's entire torso was contacting the Italian's legs. He didn't make much effort to leap over him or dodge around him, but he wasn't obligated to, he was already impeded to the extent that he was not going to recover possession of the ball before the next aussie knocked it away (which is what happened). Personally, I think even had the Italian not been touched, he was not going to get to the ball he'd just touched around the sliding defender, because he touched it a little too far and an oncoming Aussie got it. For that reason, I would not have blown the whistle had I been the ref, but I had the benefit of watching replays to make that determination. I hate to see a game decided by a Penatly call, and that is why it should be so clear cut if the ref is going to award a penalty. I won't say this was an outright "dive," nor was it a clearcut penalty-worthy foul. It was just a marginal call. Debatable, controversial (like many penalties are). Not clearly wrong or right. The italian had already beaten one man and was penetrating directly into the box, the next man left his feet to slide, the ball was tipped around him (defender did not get any part of the ball), and contact was made with the offensive player. You let an attack develop to that degree, and something bad is more likely to happen, and it did. It is easy to blame this penalty, and it may be blameworthy - but the real blame is on the Aussies for not being able to score (and not even generating many/any good chances) playing for a whole half and more with a man advantage. Thirty minutes of overtime plus more golden-goal time, and we may have reached penalty kicks with the score 0-0. I would have preferred to see it go on into overtime, but this is far from the worst travesty I've seen. The call was somewhere well between the extremes of 'justified' and 'illegitimate.' The Aussies put themselves in a bad position where the ref might make a penalty call, and he did.

I don't criticize the diving too much. Firstly, only a minority of it is really diving. I wish it were a smaller minority, but it is still a minority. Most of the time, even that is not effective in influencing the ref. The same thing happens with wide-receivers and D-backs in NFL Football, same in basketball. Refs are bad in every sport (Seahawks get screwed in the superbowl, anyone? - how about Pittsburg-Indy, a comedy of ref errors) How about Dallas getting screwed in the NBA finals? It doesn't matter what sport, there is usually a loophole or two or area of the game that is difficult to ref correctly. As one of the minority of soccer fans in America who'd like to see soccer prosper here, it irritates me when people, especially Americans who are just casually acquainted with soccer, pile on to soccer and exaggeratedly say it is a bunch of acting while failing to acknowledge that every sport has its own unique brand of attempting to influence the ref to make the call for you.

H

#30: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 5:41 am
—
should be pointed out that the last team to beat the Italians in regulation time,was France in 1986.

#31: Author: JDXX,

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:25 am
—
Talk about a bunch of whinging Aussies! U call the referee biased but say nothing when an Italian player was harshly sent off giving the Aussie team a great Advantage, an advantage the Aussies were incapable of making the most of. The penalty seemed ok enough, it could have been called either way, but WTF was the Aussie defender doing sliding in like that? everyone knows u must stay on ur feet as a defender in the penalty area. The Italians do what they do best, defend, and they did a great job with 10 men. The Aussies, well they just blew it! and r now crying about it.

#32: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:10 am
—
whose whining now? Smile

#33: Author: poli, Location: The Netherlands

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:03 am
—
want to hear something spooky? Theres a columnist here in Holland with an attached forum and a guy on that forum EXACTLY predicted the Italy -Aus match (and the dutch- port match AND the england game too..creepy stuff!!)
His explaination(4 days before the match) was spot on too "In the last 5 minutes Italian will dive in box- penalty- 1-0 to Italy.
Now the funny part is he claims to make these predictions based on the fact that he conciders every game (up to the half finals ) to be rigged!!!! lol

Lets see if this guy is right? his final 4 were:: Germany:Brazil:Argentina:Italy

#34: Author: JDXX,

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:57 pm
—
well he's wrong on the semi's, england play portugal in a 1/4 final match, and 1 of them must progress to the semi's, and germany must play argentina in another 1/4 final match so both cant go through Very Happy

#35: Author: Pzt_Mac, Location: Oregon

Posted: Tue Jun 27, 2006 7:33 pm
—
Well, as one of the "minority American's" myself, I couldn't agree more with the whining that goes on in every sport, not to mention the refs Rolling Eyes

But again, it's used on a whole nother level in Soccer.

Ah well, let's just hope it changes in the near future.

American soccer fans are certainly in the minority, but we're a growing minority.

#36: Author: poli, Location: The Netherlands

Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:46 am
—

JDXX wrote:

well he's wrong on the semi's, england play portugal in a 1/4 final match, and 1 of them must progress to the semi's, and germany must play argentina in another 1/4 final match so both cant go through Very Happy

aye your right, well suppose it was too good to be true..lol

I rekon Germany will take the cup this time...

#37: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 2:44 pm
—
they better becuase i have $100 bucks riding on them

#38: Author: Homba,

Posted: Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:06 pm
—
I just watched the Brazil-Ghana game. It was one of the strangest soccer games I've ever seen. But probably only because I haven't watched Brazil enough.

If you watched only a 15 minute segment, from virtually any part of this game (a segment that didn't include one of Brazil's goals) you would've concluded that Ghana was the much better team, and was routing, or going to route, Brazil. Ghana had an incredible amount of ball possession, I haven't looked at the stats because I'm trying to stay away from the FRA-SPA score because I'm watching that game tonight, but I would guess that Ghana had a possession advantage of at least 75% to 25%. At least! They played the whole game banging on Brazil's door in front of their penalty box. Ghana's problem was that their first touch often betrayed them (unlike in the US game) and they only put 1 of every 10 shots on goal - badly mishitting the rest! I will say it was pure luck that the great ball headed down into the Brazilian keeper's foot did not find the net, but otherwise they couldnt hit the broadside of a barn (not much bigger than the goal)!!! Then, their back 4 were not capable of stopping Brazil's DEADLY counterattacks, so Brazil gets 2 GOALS out of 4 or 5 counters throughout the game - the only time Brazil really ever had the ball!!! The counter-attacking style the Brazilians employed - or were forced into - in this game, suited them perfectly, their attackers are the cream of world-class. I don't think Brazil adopted this by choice - Ghana consistently beat them to every ball when there was a battle in midfield for possession, and no team would willingly allow their opponents to beat on their goal like Brazil allowed Ghana to do. But for Brazil, it was enough. They have such a diverse ways to beat you. If anyone beats them, they're going to have to have a strong back 4 capable of stopping those precision counters. And further, to stop Brazil YOU CAN'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TRYING TO OFFSIDE-TRAP THEM!!!

BAD decision by Ghana coaching staff to try to rely on offside traps. Really ridiculous. I never liked the trap. I always considered it a tool of last resort for use by slow-footed teams against enemy forwards they simply could not match pace with. If you can run step for step with the opposing forwards, why REPEATEDLY risk everything on offsides traps??? Just let your sweeper play behind the other three defenders and clean up the through-balls, while your other defenders mark their men and run stride-for-stride. Defense in depth puts the defense's fate in their own hands. With off-side trap, your fate is equally in the hands of the linesman, who guaranteed will miss at least one call over a game. There is also ample chance a defender will be a step slow and screw up a trap. There is also the fact that a skilled attacker will be able to beat the trap - SO MANY THINGS CAN GO WRONG. Brazil certainly had skilled attackers. They shredded Ghana's offside trap twice for two goals. Good luck next time Ghana. Practice shooting and abandon the offside trap, and you'll beat Brazil.

Haven't watched Swiss v Ukraine yet, but unfortunately saw the outcome. Probably won't watch it. Hard to watch a 120+ minute game when you know there will be no goals. I'm sure it was exciting as anything watching it live. I guess they abandoned the golden goal period after normal overtime - I had not realized that until now. Swiss kept their sheet blank yet again, for 120 minutes, but couldn't score themselves. PKs are a hard way to end a game, but it's gota end somehow. I hope the underdog newcomer Ukraine beats Italy, but it is probably unlikely.

The only favored team I am rooting for is Spain, because they've done so poorly in the past. Curses are there to be broken. Only thing I've seen is a picture of Zidane, and I quickly looked away. But bodes ill for Spain. Headline might've been "Zidane's Cup Ends" though... I'll find out tonight.

H

#39: Author: Homba,

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:48 am
—
Watched Spain-France. Was a close game. Both sides played well, Spain had trouble penetrating French defense for a good shot, France seemed to find their game. First penalty kick, awarded to Spain was marginal, but not illegitimate as there was palpable contact.

France's equalizer was very nice. This game should've been headed for extra time, but Henry blatantly cheated to draw a free kick - which resulted directly in France's second goal, which resulted directly in the third goal.

That was a pure dive, unadulterated by any contact. Henry realized Puyol was ahead of him and would beat him to the ball, so Henry ran right up Puyol's back, bounced off, then jerked his head backward and crashed onto his back as if he'd been knocked out. The replay showed it was all fakery. FIFA should fine and sanction Henry for that. Makes me sick. The ref was so blind to it that he yellow-carded Puyol, who confusedly asked "what did I do?" Why isnt their better communication between ref and linesman? Surely the linesman had a view of this?

The resulting free kick for France got them a goal. Never should have been a free kick. Should have been a yellow to Henry for diving. Third goal was only because Spain pushed up and

For the unanimity of opinion on this dive, just google: spain france dive henry

The clock was ticking, extra time on the horizon, when a bewildering piece of refereeing gave France the game. Henry had run into the back of Puyol, charging him between the shoulder blades. A free kick, whistled the arbiter - but a free kick to France! Worse, he showed Puyol the yellow card.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/27/sports/webfrance.php

Spain can point to the fact that television replays showed the striker fell theatrically without contact having been made.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19615345-23215,00.html

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=372805&cc=5901

Really a sorry way to go out for Spain. Damn I hope Henry gets sanctioned.

Now the quarterfinals are all set, they all seem pretty even unless Italy has a slight edge over Ukraine - but I don't know enough to say. I think France has the defence to play with Brazil. GER-ARG and ENG-POR promise to be great.

H

#40: Author: Pzt_Mac, Location: Oregon

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:28 am
—
Here's a radical thought.........

Why not add a second, or third ref ON the field. Maybe 1 dedicated to each half of the the pitch and a third, main ref running the length. I bet a hell of a lot more would get caught. That's just two much field for one man to cover, and the linesmen aren't much help.

More dive calls would be made, less calls for straight play and natural roughing.

#41: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:09 am
—
soccer doesnt want to appear to be copying other codes.
i.e gridiron,rugby,so on.
cant say too much about gridiron but in rugby.
there is a video ref,who has access to instant replays from multiple angles.
usually take anywhere from 30 seconds to in extreme cases maybe 2 minutes.
i dont think soccer would take anywhere as near as long due to nature of the game,ball nearly always visible and never too many players in the 1 area.
ud either be looking for an offside,handball,or foul/acting play.

#42: Author: JDXX,

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:58 am
—
yeah blantant dive by Henry, and clutching his face like he had been elbowed there was also very poor. I dont know why FIFA are so reluctant to use new technology i.e video evidence, in the least they should use it and discipline players after the game if video evidence shows they dived or cheated in another way. IMO it would greatly reduce blantant cheating in the game as it is near impossible to conceal cheating from the camera these days.

#43: mmm Author: ANZAC_Lord4war, Location: Sydney Australia

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:04 am
—
maybe FIFA should consider it purely from a crowd control point of view.
not just at the games there selves
but anywhere over the world watching
i think most fans can handle it when there team is beaten fairly and squarely.

#44: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2006 3:53 pm
—
yeah thats how should be in all sports but thats not always true. Sad

#45: Author: Pzt_Mac, Location: Oregon

Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 5:51 pm
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Germany v Argentina - great game!

#46: Author: ronson, Location: England

Posted: Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:30 pm
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Was indeed Mac:)

So close and great skill shown by both sides, a shame it has to end in penalties. Personally I prefer the Golden goal.

Only goes to show that along with the skill you need just that little bit of luck too:)

Cheers

Ronson

#47: Author: Homba,

Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 3:51 am
—
I enjoyed the ARG-GER game a lot. Good game. I did not realize it, but the ARG coach held out of the game a really explosive 19 yr old, Messi, who a lot of people think would have made the difference (see link). I didn't especially notice that ARG went totally defensive after their goal, but to a lot of the commenters in this thread (who appear more familiar with ARG football) it did seem that way.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/soccer/world_cup_blog/2006/06/pekermans-major-blunder.html

Italy whitewashed Ukraine. Probably superior players to what Ukraine could put on the field. Anyway a good run for Ukraine, hopefully they got a little national unity out of it and encouragement to aim high for 2010.

Damn do we have to wait another 4 years for this!?

H

#48: england loss in PK Author: hiddentiger45,

Posted: Sat Jul 01, 2006 7:31 pm
—
ref corruption:
the same ref that red carded Beckham red carded Rooney
this WC has ruined it for me,the refs are a joke...i dont care who wins,Australia was robbed and so was England,BAH,i wont watch it anymore till 2010
sick of it!

#49: Author: Homba,

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 3:52 am
—
England-Portugal, wow. So what do yall think, did Rooney lose it for a second and stomp that guy's crotch, or was it innocent incidental contact?

Same ref as outed Beckham in last cup!? Amazing!

Still they got to penalties, and wow did the Portugese keeper get it done. That last save blocked off the bar was unreal.

Brazil out! Great effort by France, you could see it coming... France was getting much better pressure. Brazil wasn't getting much - though it doesnt matter because Brazil can score at any instant - but FRA finally was rewarded with a goal, and Brazil couldnt equalize.

Anybody's Cup now! If I had to guess, I'll say GER will beat Italy, and Portugal will beat France, and Portugal is my 51% vs 49% chance favorite to beat GER in the final.

One thing is becoming more and more clear to me, FIFA, and each national federation (for its home professional league) has got to start reviewing tape and fining and suspending players for diving. It is not often difficult to verify on the replays. If they want to stamp it out, they can.

H

#50: Author: Antifa,

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 4:03 am
—
the same ref that red carded Beckham red carded Rooney

Yeah -- this world cup has been fantastically corrupt -- they're not going to allow video reviews because they're fixing the matches through intense referee interference.

WORLD CUP FOOTBALL IS AS REAL AS PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING

It's just sad that FIFA doesn't at least let the teams know in advance.

Well at least the French didn't poison anyone to beat Brazil this time.

#51: Author: Pzt_Kami, Location: IRAN

Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2006 10:02 am
—
Hi;
Both games were great Although I only saw the15mins of both. Sad

England - Portugal match was good ,Especially its penalty kicks.I think it was the beast penalty kicks I saw during the last two years.IMO England lost the game to the Portugal goal keeper.

Brazil - France ,It was so exciting too.With realy believable result.Brazil played a bit disappointing.They could play better though.

Anyway ,Lets see what's happen next.

#52: Author: Pzt_Kami, Location: IRAN

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 9:59 am
—
The game of final : France - Germany

#53: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2006 2:51 pm
—
i think theres a lot of wierd matches here. Germany vs. Poland, Germany vs. France Very Happy

#54: Author: Homba,

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 3:59 am
—
Italy and Germany both looked really good. Maybe Italy looked a little better, but if so not by much. Great vision and pass to assist the goal at last. Italy must be the favorite now, they are hitting on all cylinders. Looking forward to France-Portugal tomorrow. This young german team is going to be a force in 2010.

#55: Author: Thatoneguy, Location: California

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 9:10 pm
—
Italy-France. Who saw that coming? The two teams that I thought were going to lose in the semifinals won.

#56: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2006 11:23 pm
—
i don't like soccer very much but when the france-portugal game came on i was hooked. i bet i'll watch the constellation game and the finals too.

#57: Author: Homba,

Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:02 am
—
Not really rooting for either team but just wanting to see a great game, I'm pretty mad about the penalty kick the ref called in the first half. France never put the ball in the goal on their own, had to have a major assist from the ref. The game shouldve gone on to overtime, which would have been fitting. Really, Portugal looked the more dangerous throughout. And sadly wasted a few clear chances for a well deserved equalizer, especially the header off the rebound, and a few clear looks that went just over.

The penalty, much more egregious than the one that felled the Aussies. More like the ridiculous call against the US in the Ghana game out on the edge of the box.

The "foul" was out on the very edge of the box, the "fouled" player was not shooting or about to shoot, he had just tipped the ball on past the defender, way too far, an oncoming Portugese cleared it away as the ref whistled the foul - so even if there had been no contact, no way the Frenchman gets to that ball (same as the Aussie call - which is why I wouldnt have whistled it). The Port player had missed a swing at the ball and fell off balance, his other flailing foot kicked the French shin as he fell. Knowing the ball was too far gone, the Frenchman dove as he felt the contact.

Just a shame the players arent allowed to settle it on the field. I just hate it when a penalty kick is awarded when there was not a scoring chance prevented by the foul. And especially when it is just a "touch" foul. Maybe this one was marginal, as I argued the Aussie call was - though I disagreed with that call as well. But much less marginal, if marginal at all. Maybe the rule of "any foul in the box" regardless of severity or goal-scoring-chance, should get a PK. But it has never been, and is not now, enforced that way. Something egregious is normally the only thing that will draw a PK. I am sorry to see this game decided by a very weak call, rather than an honestly earned goal.

Barthez made some nice saves, as did the Portugese keeper. Im sorry C.Ronaldo did not get to the finals, to me he was the most dynamic player to watch in the tournament. Lightning quick, seemingly impossible to defend 1-on-1 (notice the French doubled him a lot), unselfish, great passes (the backheel setup), great free kick striker (when the header rebound was missed). He made Ronaldinho look pedestrian.

With Henry's dive that resulted in the goal against Spain, and this very questionable PK tonight, it is tempting to say the French have dived their way to the Final. A little blemished I think their achievement is. But that is soon forgotten. All the same I think I'll pull for Italy in the Final. But the way these two teams play defense, I will not be at all surprised with another 0-0 decided by shootout for this final.

Too late to change the size of the goal now I guess, but with all these 0-0 and 1-0 games, I find myself wishing that way back in the day the powers that were had decided to make the goal about 12" higher and 24" wider. Then we'd really see some back and forth scoring duels, and more importantly these stupid PK calls would lose their game-deciding importance.

H

#58: Author: RedScorpion, Location: Neverland

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:20 am
—
ronaldo is indeed a player blessed by god, but he has too many hollywood ambitions to play in the finals. he should look for a role where he can toss and dive alot and develop his skills even more
now i dont really bother who wins, lets hope the best team wins without any penalty or overtime. lets see lots of real goals and good refs

#59: Author: poli, Location: The Netherlands

Posted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:02 pm
—
As for the goal, I think the ref got that one SPOT on, Henri had passed the player and the defender then brought his OTHER leg around to take Henri down..in the box, thats a P (even if the ball is payed out after that..).

i counted at least 5 bigtime DIVES by C.Ronaldo. And im supprised he didnt get a card for it as it was very tiresome.
On another note Fifa is thinking about changing some rules as it became apparant that The Portugees team stood before the second half and argued with the ref's for 5-10 minutes BEFORE the french showed up.......

#60: Author: king_tiger_tank, Location: the Band and State of Kansas

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 4:00 am
—
Italy wins it... man i didn't see that coming Shocked

#61: Author: Homba,

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:31 am
—
Wow, what an end. We got one real goal from Italy - after Zidane hit a beautiful PK chip that brushed against the margin of error (or brushed perfection, whichever you prefer). The PK call was very questionable, but all was fair in the end, as a probably justified PK to France was ignored by the ref in the 2nd half. How did the Italian keeper stop that smashing header by Zidane in extra time!? That was the save of his life, tipped just over the bar.

France looked better in the 2nd half and extra time, but Italy hung in there and ended their PK curse (0-3 previously) and made their perfect 5 shots.

Zidane's headbutt! OMFG! It was like Greek Tradgedy. His last game, on the greatest stage, and he goes out like that!? Having read a lot of post-game coverage, I learn that he had done it before, and that his temper had always been an issue. Rumors so far: Materazzi called him a "terrorist" (Zidane is the child of Algerian immigrants to France and was always combative about racial remarks, having been harrassed a lot as a child apparently). On the other hand, Materazzi is known to be the best friend of an African player on his club team, and an easy-going liberal guy. Both he and Zidane dodged all press coverage after the match, and no teammate has enlightened us. The biggest item of interest remaining is "What did M say to provoke Z?" Bottom line is nothing can justify it, Z lost his head and blemished his legacy. It makes me very sad, even though I don't closely follow football. Seems to me any human being who watched the game and heard the coverage about how this was Zidane's last for France, would feel sad at that tragic end for him, his failure to overcome his own fatal flaw at the very last.

Congrats to Italy. I enjoyed the Cup a lot.

H

#62: Author: RedScorpion, Location: Neverland

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 2:50 pm
—
france was better overall, but italy took it home beautifully. zidane might have blown the entire show all by himself what a hot head. the face of pirlo prior to the penalty, now thats focus, respect and to some extent fear curled into one expression, enjoyable and scary at the same time.
i think i wont remember this championship with the same delight as i did previous, too few goals, too much hollywood, too many bookings, uneven refs etc and now 4 more years of waiting, how cruel that is at this moment. life during the championship is shaped according to the matches, results and expectations, there is no place left for normal life during these 4 weeks! ok, we got euro in 2 years, but how hot is that compared to the championship...

there were good things about the fest as well, i must not fail to mention: teutonic efficiency at a remarkable degree, good behaviour by fans and little to no violence such, and of course that EUROPE RULED this one Laughing

anyway good coverage homba, been a treat.

#63: Author: poli, Location: The Netherlands

Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:01 pm
—

Homba wrote:

Wow, what an end. We got one real goal from Italy - after Zidane hit a beautiful PK chip that brushed against the margin of error (or brushed perfection, whichever you prefer). The PK call was very questionable, but all was fair in the end, as a probably justified PK to France was ignored by the ref in the 2nd half. How did the Italian keeper stop that smashing header by Zidane in extra time!? That was the save of his life, tipped just over the bar.

France looked better in the 2nd half and extra time, but Italy hung in there and ended their PK curse (0-3 previously) and made their perfect 5 shots.

Zidane's headbutt! OMFG! It was like Greek Tradgedy. His last game, on the greatest stage, and he goes out like that!? Having read a lot of post-game coverage, I learn that he had done it before, and that his temper had always been an issue. Rumors so far: Materazzi called him a "terrorist" (Zidane is the child of Algerian immigrants to France and was always combative about racial remarks, having been harrassed a lot as a child apparently). On the other hand, Materazzi is known to be the best friend of an African player on his club team, and an easy-going liberal guy. Both he and Zidane dodged all press coverage after the match, and no teammate has enlightened us. The biggest item of interest remaining is "What did M say to provoke Z?" Bottom line is nothing can justify it, Z lost his head and blemished his legacy. It makes me very sad, even though I don't closely follow football. Seems to me any human being who watched the game and heard the coverage about how this was Zidane's last for France, would feel sad at that tragic end for him, his failure to overcome his own fatal flaw at the very last.

Congrats to Italy. I enjoyed the Cup a lot.

H

Great commentary Homba!
I enjoyed this WC as well, and will wait impatiently for the next 4 weeks of madness!

Close Combat Series -> The Mess

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