Germany Vs Portugal 5pm (RTE/BBC/ITV) Group G

Da Shins Kelly

Pepe brought it on himself. Whether Mueller acted put or not, Pepe still lost the head. It's his responsibility to keep himself in check rather than rising to the antics. It's not as if it's the first time Pepe has shown himself to be a hot-head.

Ardillaun

Mueller should have been booked for simulation. What a shameless fraud, like Klinsmann at his worst. And call that a head butt? Their heads barely touched. It was funny to see him forget his agony and leap to his feet, though. Utterly disgraceful. Dishonesty pays.

Let them rugby for just one week. Please.

GreNoLi

Muller has chicken legs.

efb

http://bzfd.it/1ltos3K

Löw blow lol

kryogen

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Because he barely brushed him, if that's enough to put him down holding his face, I really don't know how he gets through life at all.
He totally made a meal of it, I don't know how anyone can defend it.

He defends it because he defends anything remotely German. Simples

kfallon

Ardillaun wrote: »

Mueller should have been booked for simulation. What a shameless fraud, like Klinsmann at his worst. And call that a head butt? Their heads barely touched. It was funny to see him forget his agony and leap to his feet, though. Utterly disgraceful. Dishonesty pays.

Let them rugby for just one week. Please.

What in the name of Jaysus does have to do with anything relating to the game?

Btw any news on Hummels injury?

Boskowski

kryogen wrote: »

He defends it because he defends anything remotely German. Simples

Ah come on. Am I? I don't think I am. Maybe a little. In any case I would defend Mueller.

Boskowski

Ardillaun wrote: »

Mueller should have been booked for simulation. What a shameless fraud, like Klinsmann at his worst. And call that a head butt? Their heads barely touched. It was funny to see him forget his agony and leap to his feet, though. Utterly disgraceful. Dishonesty pays.

Let them rugby for just one week. Please.

You're not gong to get a rise out of me.

Western Pomise

Missed the game...was it similar to Spain Holland game..ie were Portugal woeful like Spain were?...what was Ronaldo like?

Boskowski

Omackeral wrote: »

Put it to you another way. If a lad smacked you in the face on a night out would you go down clutching your face? I doubt it. The lads that hit the deck are 9 times out of ten over reacting in the hopes of getting a free kick or having their opponent punished more severely.

Maybe I'm a sissy then. I never get smacked in the face on a night out tbh. I try to avoid those kinds of situations.

Anyway. I agree that you don't need to go down, but you would defny hold your face and feel your teeth. In a fight you wouldn't because you don't have the time cos you'd get another two. But in a football game you would.

But the reality is if you don't go down the ref doesn't 'see' it. And if the ref doesn't see it you won't get a free. Do you think it shouldn't be a free even?

Too Tough To Die

Western Pomise wrote: »

Missed the game...was it similar to Spain Holland game..ie were Portugal woeful like Spain were?...what was Ronaldo like?

They were worse than Spain. If Silva took that chance to put Spain 2 goals ahead, they would surely have passed their way to victory. Portugal have little to take from their game except a good beating, injuries and a suspension.

Ronaldo was poor.

Boskowski

Western Pomise wrote: »

Missed the game...was it similar to Spain Holland game..ie were Portugal woeful like Spain were?...what was Ronaldo like?

Portugal were poor. Germany bossed the midfield from the start. The back line was poor, goalie too.
But in fairness everything went against them, too. Early Almeira injury. Penalty. Pepes blackout. They also lost Coentrao to what looked like a campaign ending injury after he stretched himself trying to catch someone else's heavy pass.
Ronaldo was clearly not fit. He was at 60% or so.
Looked like Portugal are going nowhere bar a minor miracle.

Boskowski

kfallon wrote: »

What in the name of Jaysus does have to do with anything relating to the game?

Btw any news on Hummels injury?

Not too bad apparently. Got a little bit of a dead leg after a blow to the thigh, should be fine after a couple of days they say.

kryogen

Shame alright that Ronaldo is missing the world cup, he is there of course, but he is half the player at the moment. So lucky all through his career to this point though so had to take its toll at some point

Ardillaun

kfallon wrote: »

What in the name of Jaysus does have to do with anything relating to the game?

Btw any news on Hummels injury?

Refs need to get serious about simulation in soccer. It brings the game into disrepute. Genuine head injuries occur quite frequently and players should not be faking them.

kfallon

Ardillaun wrote: »

Refs need to get serious about simulation in soccer. It brings the game into disrepute. Genuine head injuries occur quite frequently and players should not be faking them.

Ok.....why reference getting them to play rugby for a week?

Ardillaun

kfallon wrote: »

Ok.....why reference getting them to play rugby for a week?

I see less of the rolling around in agony in that game. Not none, but less. Same in ice hockey. It's annoying.

Reekwind

Ardillaun wrote: »

Genuine head injuries occur quite frequently and players should not be faking them.

They're also extremely obvious. Someone with concussion or a fractured skull does not roll about energetically; hence the concern when someone falls limp to the turf. There is almost no danger of confusing typical exaggeration with a serious head injury.

But then that's not what Muller was doing. He was exaggerating the impact of a hand to the face, not a proper head injury. That he was able to do so is because Pepe had, well, stuck his hand in Muller's face. That might be acceptable in rugby but that's not the sport that Germany and Portugal were playing last night.

(I mean, did you see the number of forward passes and knock-ons? Shocking stuff. FIFA needs to crack down on that ASAP. And it wouldn't hurt to get the ref to start policing the number of players in those 'lineouts'.)

And call that a head butt? Their heads barely touched

I'm not sure you know the definition of a headbutt. Their heads touched. And, whether it's with intent to harm or juvenile male aggression, that is not accepted on a football pitch. If nothing else, Pepe should have been sent off for pure unadulterated stupidity.

Nerdlingr

Mueller went down holding his face, who's to say he didnt get a finger in the eye? Its quite a natural reaction when you get a hand shoved in your face.

Maximus Alexander

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Mueller went down holding his face, who's to say he didnt get a finger in the eye? Its quite a natural reaction when you get a hand shoved in your face.

Falling into a heap on the ground and rolling around in agony because of a finger in the eye? I've never seen the like of it outside of professional football or WWE.

pickarooney

Where did the idea that rolling along the ground was an appropriate response to an injury even come from? You want to keep that leg still to prevent further damage, surely? If you have to fake an injury at least do something that makes sense.

Nerdlingr

pickarooney wrote: »

Where did the idea that rolling along the ground was an appropriate response to an injury even come from? You want to keep that leg still to prevent further damage, surely? If you have to fake an injury at least do something that makes sense.

Like holding your face after getting a hand shoved in it?

RoryMac

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Mueller went down holding his face, who's to say he didnt get a finger in the eye? Its quite a natural reaction when you get a hand shoved in your face.

He didn't get a finger in the eye! There I said it

pickarooney

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Like holding your face after getting a hand shoved in it?

I'm not sure tha makes sense either. There's a bit of a crowd in the office so I can't really test it just now but I don't imagine I'd react that way. Pushing the hand away or even taking a swipe at whoever's hand it was would be reasonable reflexes.

Maximus Alexander

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm not sure tha makes sense either. There's a bit of a crowd in the office so I can't really test it just now but I don't imagine I'd react that way. Pushing the hand away or even taking a swipe at whoever's hand it was would be reasonable reflexes.

At most you might put one hand over the afflicted eye whilst shouting obscenities. I really don't know why it would cause your legs to give out or initiate uncontrollable rolling.

Seaneh

I can't believe people actually try to defend Muller here, he dived to try and win a free, simple as, it doesn't mean he's not still a world class player, he's phenomenal, but he still fecking dived.

Pepe was an idiot for reacting the way he did though, I'd say he has single handedly cost Portugal and Real more games than anyone else, ever.

Reekwind

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

At most you might put one hand over the afflicted eye whilst shouting obscenities. I really don't know why it would cause your legs to give out or initiate uncontrollable rolling.

That would probably depend on the speed at which you were running in pursuit of a round leather ball :rolleyes:

There's no question that Muller exaggerated the foul (and I believe that it was a foul) but this 'Well, I would have done X if someone did Y' is silly.

Will I Amnt

Reekwind wrote: »

There's no question that Muller exaggerated the foul (and I believe that it was a foul) but this 'Well, I would have done X if someone did Y' is silly.

Not half as silly as his rolling around on the ground holding his face.

Nerdlingr

He rolled once then sat up.
Over-reaction much?

Reekwind

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Not half as silly as his rolling around on the ground holding his face.

Have you actually seen the event? How many times did he roll? And what part of his body should he have been holding after Pepe made contact with his face?

There more people make this out to be some sort of Rivaldo-esque stunt the more I believe that few people actually saw the game. Muller's exaggeration was no worse than anything else in the game. He went down after Pepe made contact with his face but the actual reaction was much more restrained than, say, you would get from a Busquets.

Nerdlingr

Reekwind wrote: »

Have you actually seen the event? How many times did he roll? And what part of his body should he have been holding after Pepe made contact with his face?

There more people make this out to be some sort of Rivaldo-esque stunt the more I believe that few people actually saw the game. Muller's exaggeration was no worse than anything else in the game. He went down after Pepe made contact with his face but the actual reaction was much more restrained than, say, you would get from a Busquets.

or a Pepe !

Nerdlingr

pickarooney wrote: »

I'm not sure tha makes sense either. There's a bit of a crowd in the office so I can't really test it just now but I don't imagine I'd react that way. Pushing the hand away or even taking a swipe at whoever's hand it was would be reasonable reflexes.

Holding your face after getting a hand shoved in it doesnt make sense??

RoryMac

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Holding your face after getting a hand shoved in it doesnt make sense??

It does but your legs giving way under you because of a hand brushing your face does not!

Compared to others Muller's reaction wasn't the worst but he still exaggerated the situation

Unsung Hero

Germany look the most complete team in the tournament.

Even with their injuries they have quality. Didn't even need to play Schweinsteiger.

CurryFlavoured

Imagine if they had Reus and a competent striker.

Seaneh

Muller isn't a competent striker?

Reekwind

Fullback would be a more pressing concern. But the same can be said of most teams in the tournament. Up front, a classic nine won't be needed if Muller keeps scoring like this. And attacking midfield is one area where Germany can afford injuries. Hummels will needed back ASAP though.

Overall though, Germany looked very good. How brilliant would a German-Dutch final be? No need to answer: it would be super-gut

Nerdlingr

Or Klose. He's only got 14 World cup goals.

pickarooney

Seaneh wrote: »

I can't believe people actually try to defend Muller here, he dived to try and win a free, simple as, it doesn't mean he's not still a world class player, he's phenomenal, but he still fecking dived.

Pepe was an idiot for reacting the way he did though, I'd say he has single handedly cost Portugal and Real more games than anyone else, ever.

When you think of the combined red card total of Real's centre halves it beggars belief that the biggest club in the world would continue to employ these goons.

Seaneh

pickarooney wrote: »

When you think of the combined red card total of Real's centre halves it beggars belief that the biggest club in the world would continue to employ these goons.

It's mental.

The thing is though, despite their brain farts, they are top class centre backs. Just as a pair it's ridiculous.

I reckon Varane will oust Pepe as a starter next season and Ramos will look a lot calmer beside him, hopefully.

CurryFlavoured

Seaneh wrote: »

Muller isn't a competent striker?

Very good footballer but he isn't a striker. He plays out wide or off the striker. Gotze was playing up front yesterday but he's just filling in.

CurryFlavoured

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Or Klose. He's only got 14 World cup goals.

He's only 36 years old.

goalscoringhero

CurryFlavoured wrote: »

Very good footballer but he isn't a striker. He plays out wide or off the striker. Gotze was playing up front yesterday but he's just filling in.

No one was playing strictly up-front yesterday. Mueller, Goetze and Oezil were rotating between the wings, midfield and striker position.

If you watched carefully, all were occupying various positions at different points in time, making Germany's attack very dynamic and unpredictable.
They also forced the full backs to play a higher line in order to mark them, thereby creating space to pass short through balls behind the line of defense.
While the first two goals came from set pieces, other opportunities showed that Portugal found it hard to adapt and defend against this constant change.

I don't understand why people are calling for a nominal striker per se? Germany's attacking midfield (for want of a better word) exhibits pace, technical ability, creativity, and finishing quality, which is needed to compete against the good teams in order to create chances.

An upfront striker would be valuable to break down weaker teams - Klose is your man then. In fact, most of his world cup goals came against weaker teams (with notable exceptions Argentina and England).

Will I Amnt

Reekwind wrote: »

Have you actually seen the event? How many times did he roll? And what part of his body should he have been holding after Pepe made contact with his face?

There more people make this out to be some sort of Rivaldo-esque stunt the more I believe that few people actually saw the game. Muller's exaggeration was no worse than anything else in the game. He went down after Pepe made contact with his face but the actual reaction was much more restrained than, say, you would get from a Busquets.

I did see it, "rolling around on the ground" is just a turn of phrase, why are you so fixated on it?
Whether he rolled once or 20 times he still rolled. The contact did not warrant that reaction or anywhere near it, how people can't see that, I really don't know.

Seaneh

Will I Amnt wrote: »

I did see it, "rolling around on the ground" is just a turn of phrase, why are you so fixated on it?
Whether he rolled once or 20 times he still rolled. The contact did not warrant that reaction or anywhere near it, how people can't see that, I really don't know.

I think people let their hatred of Pepe blinds them from any wrong doing of Muller's.

Reekwind

Will I Amnt wrote: »

I did see it, "rolling around on the ground" is just a turn of phrase, why are you so fixated on it?

Because you're trying very hard to paint a picture of Muller "rolling around" as if he'd been shot. The reality is that Muller gets a pushed the face, falls to the ground, sits up, gets Pepe'd. Nowhere near as dramatic as "rolling around on the ground holding his face".

Was there exaggeration? Of course. But it wasn't a dive and it was nothing that isn't seen regularly on Premier League pitches. Had it not been for Pepe's rush of blood to the head then nobody would have even noticed the affair.

Whether he rolled once or 20 times he still rolled. The contact did not warrant that reaction or anywhere near it, how people can't see that, I really don't know.

Maybe we're not all supermen who can shrug off a hand in the face while running full pelt. I repeat that it's absurd for armchair fans to try to make judgements about footballers staying on their feet in margin calls.

Seaneh wrote:

I think people let their hatred of Pepe blinds them from any wrong doing of Muller's.

It's more the ridiculous moral indignation that inevitably follows whenever any non-English footballer goes down lightly. The way Chiles was talking last night, you'd think that Pepe had been the victim here.

Nerdlingr

Reekwind wrote: »

It's more the ridiculous moral indignation that inevitably follows whenever any non-English footballer goes down lightly. The way Childes was talking last night, you'd think that Pepe had been the victim here.

I better watch myself because I've been cautioned and reported for calling Childes a bad name yesterday...
... but the way he went on about the German bench when Pepe was sent off was absurd. "look at them, smiling and laughing..and clapping...delighted Pepe is sent off". Eh, what do you expect? would the english players not do the same. There at most 3 germans on the bench was clapping for about 5 seconds.
Anyway..the less said about Childes the better...

Wurzelbert

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Or Klose. He's only got 14 World cup goals.

yet none or almost none in the really important matches...totally overrated imo...

Fudge You

Wurzelbert wrote: »

yet none or almost none in the really important matches...totally overrated imo...

Important matches??? Ill give you the hattrick against Saudi in 2002.
But he has 3 goals against Argentina, one against england. Even one against Ireland in world cups.

He is the top German goalscorer of all time.
Overrated??? Get a grip!

Idbatterim

yet none or almost none in the really important matches...totally overrated imo...

LOL compared to who world class Rooney 3 world cups and no goals? Ronaldo and Messi other proven world cup masters? :rolleyes:

I hope they play him against the USA and ghanaians... They will have them handily enough anyway, Loew might think different for the knock outs...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/germany/10899924/Germany-v-Portugal-How-Miroslav-Klose-has-crept-up-on-the-brink-of-Ronaldos-scoring-record.html