World Cup Discussion Thread

Ferris_Bueller

Havn't seen the likes of New Zealand, Honduras or North Korea play before but so far I would have to say Greece based on their performance yesterday.

The Volt

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Havn't seen the likes of New Zealand, Honduras or North Korea play before but so far I would have to say Greece based on their performance yesterday.

Even though they invented Homosexuality, you would think that they'd be tighter at the back :pac:

steelcityblues

Enough poor matches so far to argue for a return to 24 teams!

Dont be at yourself

It's been a slow start alright. Don't hold much hope for tonight's game either.

Still, things should hot up in the make-or-break 2nd and 3rd rounds.

redout

Gallas could miss the rest of the World Cup with a calf injury according to Canal+

Dont be at yourself

France's defence is makeshift already, what cover do they have? Is mexes in the squad?

Peyton Manning

Rooney missed training today as a precaution due to a knock he took on his ankle against the US. They're saying he'll be fine, but I'm not buying it. He hasn't been anywhere near 100% since his original injury against Bayern in the first leg of the CL quarter final. If it's the same ankle (which he rolled over again in the second leg) he could be in trouble.

Pro. F

Watched all three games today
Bit of a waste of time tbh

The dutch will improve a lot I feel, Denmark just stopped them getting into their stride today. The Italians missed Pirlo big time, but even if he returns they won't do much imo.

delta_bravo

steelcityblues wrote: »

Enough poor matches so far to argue for a return to 24 teams!

Good teams are playing poorly as well as bad teams, even more so really.

redout

No Dutchy dresses: FIFA ejects women in Bavaria orange

Johannesburg
- FIFA has defended its decision to eject of A group of 36 Dutch women from the Netherlands-Denmark game in Johannesburg's Soccer City on Monday for wearing orange 'Dutchy dresses' supplied by a Dutch beer company.

Bavaria brewery distributed the figure-hugging dresses in the Netherlands
as part of a World Cup promotion but the Dutch brewer is a competitor of Budweiser, an official FIFA sponsor. Orange is the colour of The Netherlands jersey.

'What seems to have happened is that there was a clear ambush marketing action by a Dutch brewery company,' FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said Tuesday at a press conference in Johannesburg's Soccer City.

'We are looking into all available legal remedies against this brewery.'

One of the women told The Star newspaper that they were sitting in their seats near the pitch, 'singing songs and having a good time' when a FIFA official came up to them and said they were not allowed wear the dress and had to leave.

When the women refused to leave FIFA called in stewards to eject them by force, Barbara Kastein said.

The group was then taken to a FIFA office and interrogated by police for several hours before being released, she said.

'They said we were ambush marketing and it was against the law in South Africa. They said we would be arrested and would stay in jail for six months. Girls were crying,' she told the paper.

However, FIFA denied the story, saying the women had not been held.

'No one was detained, there were no arrests,' said Maingot.

A spokesman for Bavaria expressed dismay at the women's alleged treatment, saying there was no branding on the dress and that 'FIFA don't have a monopoly over orange.'

Bavaria also locked horns with FIFA at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Dutch fans wearing Bavaria-branded orange lederhosen to games were ordered to strip.

A bit ott to be honest - any pics ?

Link

noodler

Just about to say - I am going to need some photogrpahic evidence of these "figure-hugging" outfits.

Fizman

noodler wrote: »

Just about to say - I am going to need some photogrpahic evidence of these "figure-hugging" outfits.

Just as long as they are hugging the right kind of figures.

anplaya

remember seeing a thing about that them doing the same in germany,some fans went to the matches in their underwear lol,they were asked to take off the orange letherhosen with bavaria printed on it.

apparantly the dresses the women were wearing in sa are a well known type of custom bavaria give out to fans in the netherlands to wear at matches.

Peyton Manning

Re: The ball

IT IS a situation that almost defies belief.

After all the vast preparation that goes into winning a World Cup, it turns out that England (and others) find themselves at a significant disadvantage because some of their main rivals have far more experience of using the hugely controversial Jubulani Adidas ball. Germany, Switzerland, Portugal and the USA have been using the ball over the past year in their domestic leagues while the France and Argentina national teams, who are sponsored by adidas, have also been using the ball in internationals.

When England won the rugby union World Cup, Sir Clive Woodward famously attributed that success to a philosophy that said the difference between winning and losing hinged on the finest margins and, therefore, the smallest details.

He would have regarded getting the players used to the ball they would use in a World Cup as an absolutely basic aspect of their preparations.
And, however you look at it, the fact that the ball is still clearly a big issue to the squad even after they have arrived in South Africa does not reflect especially well on Fabio Capello or any other team who have been grumbling.

Apparently England have been using it in training for the past four weeks. That’s fine but, as adidas have been quick to point out, it was first made available to them way back in February. The problem is that the use of the Jabulani is clearly tied to sponsorship deals. The Premier League is prevented from using it because it has its own contract with Nike while England have their own arrangement with Umbro.

Yet while England should have tried to mitigate this problem earlier – a sponsorship agreement is less important than giving the team the best chance to win the World Cup – it is Fifa who should be answering most of the questions.

We can only go on the feedback from the players and, so strong are the comments from respected and experienced goalkeepers like Gianluigi Buffon, Iker Casillas, David James and Mark Schwarzer, that we have to accept that this Jabulani ball is very different to the Nike and Umbro equivalents.

The Telegraph’s own Alan Smith – a former Arsenal and England striker – tried the Jabulani out and concluded that it “behaves like no other I have kicked in my life”.
It is a situation that cannot be right and fair. The sponsorship deal that a domestic league has with a ball manufacturer should not be a factor in which team has the best chance of winning the World Cup.

Fifa should act to ensure there is more uniformity between the balls that are being used in different countries before future tournaments. The ball, after all, is a fairly fundamental part of the equipment in football.

mike65

Dutchy Dress, its orange meh!

anplaya

pic

anplaya

Archimedes wrote: »

Re: The ball

same thing every world cup,itll be the same news at the next.always get a chuckle when i read about it.

pickarooney

This advertising **** is an abomination. How on earth can they justify 'allowing' someone into a stadium wearing an orange dress and then forcibly ejecting them? Bunch of dicks.

patmac

No wonder the stewards in Durban were rioting, no Dutch women to eject.
FIFA are becoming more and more meglomaniacal as they go on, you can't even see any advertising ffs.

redout

redout wrote: »

No Dutchy dresses: FIFA ejects women in Bavaria orange

A bit ott to be honest - any pics ?

Link

This was them

patmac

redout wrote: »

This was them

Just a thought, I'd never heard of Bavaria beer and you wouldn't associate these dresses with it, but now if I ever see it on sale anywhere I will buy it just to annoy FIFA. Clever marketing ploy made successful by FIFA's heavy handedness, similar to the outrage over the Hunky Dory ads.

redout

patmac wrote: »

Just a thought, I'd never heard of Bavaria beer and you wouldn't associate these dresses with it, but now if I ever see it on sale anywhere I will buy it just to annoy FIFA. Clever marketing ploy made successful by FIFA's heavy handedness, similar to the outrage over the Hunky Dory ads.

FIFA are pissed because companies are getting free exposure because of the World cup. I read an article yesterday that Nike are getting more exposure than official sponsor adidas and Pepsi are also doing well.

pickarooney

For Christ's sake, as though Nike or Adidas or Pepsi or Coke needed any exposure!

MementoMori

redout wrote: »

This was them

Cant believe anyone who saw them would have suspected that they werent relatives of Robbie Earle. :pac:

LuckyLloyd

patmac wrote: »

Just a thought, I'd never heard of Bavaria beer and you wouldn't associate these dresses with it, but now if I ever see it on sale anywhere I will buy it just to annoy FIFA. Clever marketing ploy made successful by FIFA's heavy handedness, similar to the outrage over the Hunky Dory ads.

redout wrote: »

FIFA are pissed because companies are getting free exposure because of the World cup. I read an article yesterday that Nike are getting more exposure than official sponsor adidas and Pepsi are also doing well.

The point is that clamping down in this fashion only serves to increase the exposure of the rival brand (s) in question.

Zombienosh

Lot of people talking about this being a crap world cup so far, lack of goals etc...and this ball is getting a lot of stick.

cm2000

AlcoholicA wrote: »

Lot of people talking about this being a world cup so far, lack of goals etc...and this ball is getting a lot of stick.

yep, definitely has been a world cup so far

SlickRic

i'm sorry, but this World Cup can f*ck off so far.

i hope it's just 'first game nerves' or 'not wanting to lose your first game', i really do, because bar the German performance, and Messi, this World Cup has been a waste of everyone's time.

peabutler

Fairly poor alright, The ball and Altitude have to take some stick but some of the play is just boring as. The First Game, The Argentina Game and Germany's performance are all we have had so far, here's hoping that Brazil show their class in an open game tonight.

parker kent

SlickRic wrote: »

i'm sorry, but this World Cup can f*ck off so far.

i hope it's just 'first game nerves' or 'not wanting to lose your first game', i really do, because bar the German performance, and Messi, this World Cup has been a waste of everyone's time.

It is day 5 you know? Maybe at least give every team a chance to play first!

redout

parker kent wrote: »

It is day 5 you know? Maybe at least give every team a chance to play first!

In fairness there has been 13 games played already and none of them great.

Shíte world cup so far tbh.

Very disappointing.

Essien

SlickRic wrote: »

i'm sorry, but this World Cup can f*ck off so far.

i hope it's just 'first game nerves' or 'not wanting to lose your first game', i really do, because bar the German performance, and Messi, this World Cup has been a waste of everyone's time.

I agree.

Dear Korea, its nothing personal but for the sake of this World Cup I hope Brazil tear ye a new one later on.

I'm really hoping Brazil and Spain raise the bar in their respective opening games.

SlickRic

parker kent wrote: »

It is day 5 you know? Maybe at least give every team a chance to play first!

you're a patient man.

but i know, if i'd paid good money to see any of those games so far, bar Argentina and Germany, i'd have been f*cking angry.

never mind the vuvu-f*ckers.

peabutler

I hope Honduras and Chile throw up a cracker aswell, neither can defend so why bother just go hell for leather for the win and none of this afraid to lose in the first round nonsense.

parker kent

redout wrote: »

In fairness there has been 13 games played already and none of them great.

Very few, if any, world cups are remembered for the first round of games. At least wait until teams are playing their third games before even thinking about the tournament as a whole. But in reality, it is the knock out stages that make or break a tournaments legacy. Great games become great because of the tension and importance around them.

Essien

parker kent wrote: »

But in reality, it is the knock out stages that make or break a tournaments legacy. Great games become great because of the tension and importance around them.

Nope, Portugal V Ivory Coast should have been a belter of a match, a win would almost certainly see either side through to the second round, it was sh!te apparrently.
This is the World Cup Finals, they are all important games.

parker kent

Essien wrote: »

Nope, Portugal V Ivory Coast should have been a belter of a match, a win would almost certainly see either side through to the second round, it was sh!te apparrently.
This is the World Cup Finals, they are all important games.

Yes it is momentarily important but for the long-term legacy of a tournament, the latter stages are much more important. Of course, Ivory Coast and Portugal should have been better. But every tournament has dull, tactical group games.

What is remembered more, Italy not scoring a goal in the 1st round group stage of the 1982 World Cup or the later rounds with the Italy-Brazil and Italy-Germany games? The latter stages are where the best teams should meet each other, this is where history is made.

RichTea

The quality of the games is about to take off after Spain finish off the opening round of fixtures. Every team will then know what they have to do to get out of the group. In some cases (England and Italy) teams will need to improve rapidly while others will iron out some kinks (Holland, Côte d'Ivoire).

redout

parker kent wrote: »

Yes it is momentarily important but for the long-term legacy of a tournament, the latter stages are much more important. Of course, Ivory Coast and Portugal should have been better. But every tournament has dull, tactical group games.

What is remembered more, Italy not scoring a goal in the 1st round group stage of the 1982 World Cup or the later rounds with the Italy-Brazil and Italy-Germany games? The latter stages are where the best teams should meet each other, this is where history is made.

I couldnt give a toss how a tournament is remembered is 20 years.

We are living in the here and now and we want to be entertained by the supposed greatest teams in the world.

Essien

parker kent wrote: »

Yes it is momentarily important but for the long-term legacy of a tournament, the latter stages are much more important. Of course, Ivory Coast and Portugal should have been better. But every tournament has dull, tactical group games.

What is remembered more, Italy not scoring a goal in the 1st round group stage of the 1982 World Cup or the later rounds with the Italy-Brazil and Italy-Germany games? The latter stages are where the best teams should meet each other, this is where history is made.

I see what your saying, but nobody here is asking for history to be made in the first round. I'm sure we would all just like to see something that even resembles entertainment, thats all.
You're right though, off the top of my head I can't remember any extraordinary games from previous WC group stage's, but I can't remember being this bored watching the groups either.
I think the vuvuzela's have played they're part in the lack of excitement, not hearing the crowds reaction's takes away from the experience too imo.

parker kent

redout wrote: »

I couldnt give a toss how a tournament is remembered is 20 years.

We are living in the here and now and we want to be entertained by the supposed greatest teams in the world.

I was responding to claims it was the worst world cup ever. So how a tournament is remembered is pretty important for that particular discussion.

Obviously I want to see exciting games, not drab 0-0 bores. The sooner the better a few more exciting matches happen.

peabutler

On a different note

I give a big :cool: to the Ref's so far, bar Cahill's red they seem to have been very consistent and fairly strong.

mike65

It must be the "worst" opening round in the history of the torunament. Certainly the most goal shy. Of course it matters not whit how poor things might be FIFA will "double plus good" South Africa 2010 and declare it a huge success.

Peyton Manning

Just read this article by George Caulkin - a delightful little read and a great (if somewhat uneventful) anecdote for any journalist to have!

My near exclusive with Ronaldo

DIARY DAY 9: Port Elizabeth

George Caulkin

I ONCE shared a lift with Ronaldo. For lift, read elevator and for Ronaldo, read the other one. The big-boned one. The Brazilian one. And while, admittedly, this particular anecdote may not be getting off to the most explosive of starts, you’re urged to consider the context. Because I once shared a lift with the big-boned, Brazilian Ronaldo the night before he face England in the World Cup quarter-finals.

As a journalist – which I was then and still am, arguably - this represented the ultimate scoop. England in the quarter-finals. At the World Cup. Against Brazil. And here I was, hours before the two teams came together, on my own, sharing space with the most famous footballer on the planet. Whose toe I’d trodden on as I’d walked in (what a story THAT could have been).

All I had to do was say ‘hello’. All I had to do was ask ‘are you looking forward to the game’ or ‘what do you think of England’ and I would have enough for an exclusive. Countless words have been written on the basis of less information (as you’ll know if you’ve been wading through this diary) and so what if the procurement of it might have been a little bit murky. This football. This is war.

There had been no skulduggery on behalf of The Times, no tricky behaviour from me. We had not set out to infiltrate the opposition camp on the eve of an important, defining fixture. In a bizarre conflagration of circumstances, luck and what must go down as slipshod security on behalf of Fifa, I’d got myself into the official Brazilian hotel completely by accident.

As my taxi skittered through the streets of some remote Japanese town, I’d had a growing sense that something was unusual; too many police, too much security, too many children running around clad in yellow. As we pulled up to the hotel gates and I saw Brazil’s team coach idling and Roberto Carlos, in shorts and flip-flops, stepping off it, I was convinced there’d been some kind of bureaucratic blunder.

But, no. Having rummaged through my lap-top bag, found my crumpled accommodation voucher and waved it at the coppers, everything was in order. Surreal. So, safely checked-in and barging into the lift – oops, sorry, who’s foot was that? - what an extraordinary opportunity presented itself. It wouldn’t be Pul litzer Prize material, but still. Promotion? Pay-rise? Possibly.

Are you beginning to guess where we’re heading? Because this episode is not being relayed to glorify genius or brilliance or even good fortune. It’s actually the rags to riches story of a poor Philadelphia boy who leaves his job as a debt collector to become heavyweight champion of the world. Oops. Hang on. That’s Rocky, isn’t it? No, this is a tale of exhaustion, cheesey fish-balls and incompetence.

The point (and it’s a loose one), is this. Although I’m reporting on it, I’m not entirely sure what this World Cup has been like. Although I work for one, I haven’t – for geographical reasons – seen much of the newspapers. Aside from Germany, whose demolition of Australia I attended, I haven’t seen a surfeit of outstanding football, but then again, I haven’t watched a surfeit of matches.

This is an open admission of fallibility. Yesterday was spent flying from Durban to Port Elizabeth, finding a taxi in the teeming rain, getting to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, heading to a Sven-Goran Eriksson press conference, writing it up and getting to my hotel. A grown man, foodless, friendless and pathetic at 9pm. The three games played pass me by. All together: awww.

Tournaments become exercises in endurance. There’s nowhere you’d rather be and in the midst of all the tantrums and travel, the experiences you share are remarkable and life-enhancing, as are the people you spend time with, but it won’t be long before my brain is mashed potato. If you asked me to name the competition’s best right-back, I’d say the following: that’s what Google is for.

All right, all right. I’d have a stab at it. Football is my job, so I could probably wing it – although maybe not, now I come to think of it, why on earth did I have to say flaming right-back? – and, as my old head of sixth-form once said about me at a parents’ meeting: “the thing about George is that he’s very plausible.” It’s all I’ve ever aspired to.

I’ve already written about Japan and South Korea eight years ago, the 48-hour stints of working because of the ludicrous time difference, the feeling of dislocation and jet-lag, the caffeine and ProPlus tablets, the proximity to insanity. South Africa does not present the same logistical challenges, but there are parallels in terms of the vastly-different culture, the essence of both being somewhere and not.

Back in 2002, I’d been in Seoul to see resilient, defiant Ireland get knocked out to Spain on penalties and having followed them throughout the World Cup, my expectation was that I’d been following them home. Instead, I was called by my desk: get back to Japan, you’re going to the England quarter-final. The thrill was double-edged; I’d hardly seen anything of them and I was knackered.

My sleep patterns were shot, I’d been existing on packets of gag-inducing cheese balls wrapped in fish, or vice versa, that you could buy outside stadia and after two planes and a train, I got in a taxi complete with two mammoth cases at a small rural station and told the driver to take me to the hotel. He looked at me non-plussed; I’d got off at the wrong stop, 150 miles from my destination.

When we finally got there, so had Brazil; a head already spinning profusely almost lifted off its neck. Ten minutes later, it’s Ronaldo and me in a lift-shaft. Ten minutes later, a month of jumble and colours and fish-balls and Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy and karaoke rebel songs and insomnia and vending machine chicken nuggets and graft and trains and coaches are crashing together in my brain.

Ronaldo presses the button for floor nine. He’s glaring at me because I’ve just trodden on his toe. I press ten.

We go past the first floor. Ping.

At first I think I know him because his face is so familiar. Ping.

I do a half-smile, in case I do know him. Ping.

Bloody hell! It’s Ronaldo! Ping.

Why did I think I know him? Of course I don’t know him. It’s Ronaldo! Ping.

BLOODY HELL! IT’S RONALDO! Ping.

Oh Jesus, England play Brazil tomorrow. Ping.

Ronaldo plays for Brazil! Ping.

Oh Jesus, oh Jesus, oh Jesus, oh Jesus. I’m a journalist. I’ve got to say something.

The lift slows, the doors glide open. As does my mouth. And out of it comes … “All right?”

Ronaldo nods curtly and walks out.

The doors close. Ping. My shoulders sag. I have only one thought. My boss must never – never – hear about this.

Peyton Manning

Music to the ears of those of us who know The Sun = Scum.

http://pitchinvasion.net/blog/2010/06/15/the-sun-newspaper-****s-with-the-wrong-blogger/

Vokes

Veron will miss the S. Korea game: link

Maxi Rodriguez is set to deputise, which is odd since he's not really a like for like replacement. Bolatti would make more sense. If Veron's injury persists, their lack of CMs in their squad selection may come back to haunt them.

Kev_ps3

Now we have seen every team I predict Germany to win the World Cup:pac:

Headshot

Diego Maradona launched an extraordinary attack on fellow football greats Pele and Michel Platini as he predicted he could steer Argentina to a third World Cup triumph.

"Pele should go back to the museum," Maradona said about recent criticism from the Brazilian great about his coaching ability.

"We all know what the French are like and Platini as a Frenchman thinks he knows it all," Maradona added after the UEFA President said Maradona was not a good coach as a player.

"I feel capable of passing on to the players what I experienced as a footballer," he told a news conference.

"I want to be (world) champion and I have Messi, backed by a great team," Maradona said, adding that no other player in the tournament so far had come "within 40 percent" of Messi.

"We have spectacular players who are not playing but who are behind, waiting for their chance," he said of Argentina's strength in depth.

Maradona dominated the 1986 finals which Argentina won in Mexico like no other single player has done before or since at the World Cup and Argentines hope for a repeat from Messi.

Argentina face South Korea, the country they beat in their opening match in Mexico 24 years ago, at Soccer City outside Johannesburg on Thursday.

"Korea don't have a Messi, they're a very strong collective block, they're fast, they have a good team," he said.

"They're to be respected but we're going out to win that match. We don't know how to speculate with a result," he added to a packed room far too small for the media interest he generates.

Maradona was told that the Koreans would use tactical fouls to try to control Messi who created a string of chances against Nigeria that turned their goalkeeper into the man of the match.

"A tactical foul is an asset and depending on what the referee sees he must show a yellow or red card," said Maradona, who had asked before Argentina's opening 1-0 win over Nigeria, for FIFA to make their Fair Play slogan count.

"We have to play our football calmly and let the referee do the rest."

lol crazy old bastard :pac:

Peyton Manning

Who'd have thunk it. After the first round of matches, Messi, Ronaldo, Eto'o, Rooney, Drogba, van Persie, Kaka, Villa, Torres, and Forlan have 0 goals and 0 assists between them.