Brazil vs. Colombia (QF2) 21:00, 4 July

eyescreamcone

Even without Silva and Neymar it'll ALWAYS be hard to beat Brazil in a world cup semi - especially in Brazil.

I think the sub CB is Dante who plays for Munich - not a bad sub to have.

Borboletinha

tastyt wrote: »

Neymar is brilliant and the only attacking shining light for Brazil.

You go out to bully and kick and play dirty and your star man gets injured by an overly aggressive tackle that might not have been made if the tone of the game was different. You live by the sword you die by the sword. And without neymar Brazil will die.

Karma is a bitch

You sound like one charming person. Hope it goes the same way for you. Rejoicing at someone's broken spine then talking about karma... Seriously?!?

eyescreamcone

No such thing as Karma!

Iused2likebusts

A lot of people on here had there mind made up on Brazil after the first game and there has been constant ridiculous talk that the world cup is fixed for them to win. Fifa took a hell of a risk with that chile game if that's the case the two marginal decisions went against Brazil. On last night what was so controversial and biased and game changing about the referees decisions he had a policy of being very lenient to both teams. Brazil did commit more fouls but it's not like he wasn't awarding the colombians free kicks. The comments by the majority during the game were only complaining about the Brazilians fouling it was laughable. There was no outrage at the colombian kicking out in the first half or at the cynical foul on neymar. It was poorly refereed for both sides but it was in no way biased. If brazil get knocked out the world won't end ye there will probably be some disturbances on the streets but they are a nation of 200 million people so that's probably inevitable. There was a lot of scare stories in the papers leading up to the world cup same as South Africa and it's sensationalist stuff that people are coming to a conclusion that Fifa will allow Brazil win the world cup to stop a 200 million strong army of savages from going on the rampage.

Chancer3001

Yeah Dante is a great back up. If they'd had Neymar they'd still have had a great chance.

Willian in for Neymar? Or maybe Ramirez.

Both are way way less effective.

If it's Ramirez that gets the nod, it will basically be brazil trying to grind out a 0-0

Dirty Dingus McGee

Should Brazil play one style in order to fulfill people notions of what Brazilian football should be or are the allowed to play in a way that gives them the best chance to win.It's ridiculous the criticism they are getting for a team that has just qualified for the semi finals of the world cup.

If an Italian or German team played like Brazil have in the tournament so far would there be as much outrage?

Bowlardo

blatantrereg wrote: »

People expressing joy at someone's back being broken by a deliberate knee to the spine. One of the best players eliminated from the final stages. Really bizarre.

I've money on The Netherlands and Germany. I think that the refereeing has seemed biased in favour of Brazil in several matches. I don't like the current Brazil team, or Neymar who should have been sent off when he elbowed someone in the head in one of the group matches. Nonetheless I feel nothing but disgust at that tackle, and I'm disappointed that he's injured.

It was an outrageous knee and I was a little relieved to see him move his legs after it. Wonder what disciplinary action will be taken, if any, especially after Suarez's ban. Biting is scummy and weird, but I'd prefer a nip on the shoulder than a knee in my spine.

it was retibution. James roderiguez got kicked up and down the pitch. Fernandinho and Thiago did it 4 times in the match from behind. both men are absolute cowards as far as i can see with a special mention to Thiago who has taken the knees out of players in a good few games i saw. I don't hear any mention of that!
The ref ultimately has to take responsibility for the injury as he left the match get out of hand. Any one who has played soccer knows the game knows the game escalates if the ref does not address bad tackles immediately

The neymar tackle was terrible but Zuniga was only doing on to other what saw done on to his fellow team mates.

Glad neymar will be alright in the long run.

eyescreamcone

Of course Willian isn't a Neymar - who is?
But teams have gotten over losing star players before
ManU beat a german team in 99 without Scoles and Roy

letowski

Time for Fred to step up to the mantle and lead Brazil to World Cup glory!

Richard Hillman

Last night was exactly what Brazilian football is, brutal. Some people and paticularly some drunk pundits seem to think that Brazilian football is all stepovers and flicks. The Brazilian league is very defensive and is quite brutal in terms of tackling and cynicism.

There is no desire from FIFA or by fans to increase the punishment for cynical fouls. Everybody seems to be happy with yellow cards and free kicks. God forbid we introduce sin bins, it might remind some people of rugby.

jmayo

The amount of pure shyte utter in this thread by some, thankfully only a few, Brazil supporters is unbelieveable as they excuse a pathetic display.

A couple of posters had a go at Houghton (who I have no respect for after his leprechaun dressing up days) for lambasting the football played by Brazil last night because he was part of Jack Charltons teams.

Well here is a little fooking nugget for those people.
Houghton was one of the few members of that team who were playing for a top club.
Most of the team were playing for mediocre clubs (Villa, Celtic).
It wasn't a team littered with world stars who are moving clubs for some of the largest current transfer fees.

This Brazil team/squad has players with the top clubs in Spain (Real & Barca), France (PSG), Germany (Bayern), England (City, Chelsea).
They have supposedly one of the best players in the world in Neymar.
And yet they have resorted to playing a brand of football that Wimbledon wouldn't probably have been proud of.

And I have absolutely no pity for Neymar.
Brazil set the tempo for that game last night.
They were the ones who decided the way to handle the best Columbian players was to try hammer them into the ground.

Well in the old days of "kick the shyte out of them" football, the basic rule was if you kick our best player we will kick yours.
It seems Scolari forgot to think of that.
Hell Johnny Giles could have told them that.

Also Neymar is no fecking saint, he should have gone in the first match for a nasty underhanded foul.

And to add just rewards Brazil also lost their captain.
silva had at least two cardable offenses for from behind tackles long before he had decided to cynically take out their keeper.

Not being a German fan, but I hope to God for the sake of actual football they beat the living shyte out of Brazil.

I grew up watching the great Brazilian team of the 80s.
They didn't win world cups, but they won our imagination and lifelong admiration.
We pretended to be Zico, Cerezo, Socrates, Falcao, Josie Maher (Josimar), Careca everyday at school break and to this day I always remember them with awe.
For older folks it may be Pele, Jairzinho and Rivelino.
For younger folks it is probably Ronaldo, Romario, Cafu, Ronaldino that are the ones.

Who the feck will remember Fernandinho, Fred, Paulinho, Gustavo, Jo.
Who the feck will want to pretend they are them nevermind remember them 20 odd years later.

They are a disgrace to the what the Brazilian jersey meant and to the legacy of their predecessors.

People grew up wanting to see Brazil play and wanting them to do well.
Now people just want to see them lose.

Please Germany do us all a favour.

Corholio

Richard Hillman wrote: »

Last night was exactly what Brazilian football is, brutal. Some people and paticularly some drunk pundits seem to think that Brazilian football is all stepovers and flicks. The Brazilian league is very defensive and is quite brutal in terms of tackling and cynicism.

There is no desire from FIFA or by fans to increase the punishment for cynical fouls. Everybody seems to be happy with yellow cards and free kicks. God forbid we introduce sin bins, it might remind some people of rugby.

I think your being too specific there saying Brazilian football. South American football has a tendency to stray into football like that. Colombia had loads of legitimate fouls too last night, but I think the underdog card saved them from criticism. Brazil did get away with a few tackles that could have been yellows, but if the ref had been spot on with tackles, Colombia would have had a straight red for that horrible studs to the knee tackle and other tackles that also could have been yellow.

This poor Colombia stuff is nonsense, not that you said that, but others have. They didnt turn up last night, not because they were stopped from doing so, because they just didnt. They had lots of the ball to make things happen and most of it was loose passes that went back to Cesar or that were cleared by Brazil.

Everyone knows Brazil have some pretty poor players and dont play the 'Brazil' way. But when people say that, they dont mention that the talent in specific areas just isnt there at the moment to pick from, midfield especially has seen a distinct lack of talent coming through, there and striking wise of course. If Brazil get through with the talent pool they have, I think the other teams should be the ones questioning themselves.

Iused2likebusts

jmayo wrote: »

The amount of pure shyte utter in this thread by some, thankfully only a few, Brazil supporters is unbelieveable as they excuse a pathetic display.

A couple of posters had a go at Houghton (who I have no respect for after his leprechaun dressing up days) for lambasting the football played by Brazil last night because he was part of Jack Charltons teams.

Well here is a little fooking nugget for those people.
Houghton was one of the few members of that team who were playing for a top club.
Most of the team were playing for mediocre clubs (Villa, Celtic).
It wasn't a team littered with world stars who are moving clubs for some of the largest current transfer fees.

This Brazil team/squad has players with the top clubs in Spain (Real & Barca), France (PSG), Germany (Bayern), England (City, Chelsea).
They have supposedly one of the best players in the world in Neymar.
And yet they have resorted to playing a brand of football that Wimbledon wouldn't probably have been proud of.

And I have absolutely no pity for Neymar.
Brazil set the tempo for that game last night.
They were the ones who decided the way to handle the best Columbian players was to try hammer them into the ground.

Well in the old days of "kick the shyte out of them" football, the basic rule was if you kick our best player we will kick yours.
It seems Scolari forgot to think of that.
Hell Johnny Giles could have told them that.

Also Neymar is no fecking saint, he should have gone in the first match for a nasty underhanded foul.

And to add just rewards Brazil also lost their captain.
silva had at least two cardable offenses for from behind tackles long before he had decided to cynically take out their keeper.

Not being a German fan, but I hope to God for the sake of actual football they beat the living shyte out of Brazil.

I grew up watching the great Brazilian team of the 80s.
They didn't win world cups, but they won our imagination and lifelong admiration.
We pretended to be Zico, Cerezo, Socrates, Falcao, Josie Maher (Josimar), Careca everyday at school break and to this day I always remember them with awe.
For older folks it may be Pele, Jairzinho and Rivelino.
For younger folks it is probably Ronaldo, Romario, Cafu, Ronaldino that are the ones.

Who the feck will remember Fernandinho, Fred, Paulinho, Gustavo, Jo.
Who the feck will want to pretend they are them nevermind remember them 20 odd years later.

They are a disgrace to the what the Brazilian jersey meant and to the legacy of their predecessors.

People grew up wanting to see Brazil play and wanting them to do well.
Now people just want to see them lose.

Please Germany do us all a favour.

I also grew up watching Brazil play and don't enjoy the current version. However they have deserved to win every ģame they have played so far apart from maybe the Croatia game it's effective but not pretty. I'm taking issue with people having the blinkers on watching the game. I still hope Brazil win it as i always will once ireland arent there but if they don't as a number of Brazilians said to me when I was over there it will also be a good thing as it may force them to go back to their roots.The real shyte as u put it in this thread is spouted by the people that believe there is a conspiracy at play.France and Colombia were impressive up till yesterday but hadn't faced any team of note no surprise when the standard was raised they struggled.Brazil deserve to be in the semis but I think they will struggle to win it without neymar.

Richard Hillman

jmayo wrote: »

The amount of pure shyte utter in this thread by some, thankfully only a few, Brazil supporters is unbelieveable as they excuse a pathetic display.

A couple of posters had a go at Houghton (who I have no respect for after his leprechaun dressing up days) for lambasting the football played by Brazil last night because he was part of Jack Charltons teams.

Well here is a little fooking nugget for those people.
Houghton was one of the few members of that team who were playing for a top club.
Most of the team were playing for mediocre clubs (Villa, Celtic).
It wasn't a team littered with world stars who are moving clubs for some of the largest current transfer fees.

This Brazil team/squad has players with the top clubs in Spain (Real & Barca), France (PSG), Germany (Bayern), England (City, Chelsea).
They have supposedly one of the best players in the world in Neymar.
And yet they have resorted to playing a brand of football that Wimbledon wouldn't probably have been proud of.

And I have absolutely no pity for Neymar.

That's where I stopped reading

Benimar

Today is the 32nd anniversary of the famous Brazil v Italy game at the 1982 World Cup. If anyone wants to know why so many people really dislike the current Brazil team, have a look at that game.

The best Brazil team I can remember by a distance - Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Toninho Cerezo, Eder. Todays team might wear the same colour but that's where the comparison ends.

A Brazil WC game used to be unmissable, now they are approaching Wimbledon territory. That pass/clearance from Marcelo summed it up.

I think posters claiming that others are taking joy in Neymars injury are reading what they want to read. Nobody is taking joy in it, but pointing out that Brazil kicked James Rodriguez all night and Colombia responded in kind. It's not too much of a stretch to suggest that if the referee had a stronger control on the game then the Zuniga tackle might not have happened.

Talib Fiasco

Richard Hillman wrote: »

That's where I stopped reading

Great effort! You can finish the rest for homework pet and answer questions 1 to 5 on the next page.

tastyt

Borboletinha wrote: »

You sound like one charming person. Hope it goes the same way for you. Rejoicing at someone's broken rspine then talking about karma... Seriously?!?

Who's rejoicing?? I said neymar was brilliant ans the only star for Brazil. I think it's a disgracethat he got injured but I also think scolari and a few on his team are a disgrace and would have no sympathy if it was a Columbian that was stretchered off last night.

Scolari had totally let down neymar, the kid who was playing his heart out for him

Corholio

Benimar wrote: »

Today is the 32nd anniversary of the famous Brazil v Italy game at the 1982 World Cup. If anyone wants to know why so many people really dislike the current Brazil team, have a look at that game.

The best Brazil team I can remember by a distance - Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Toninho Cerezo, Eder. Todays team might wear the same colour but that's where the comparison ends.

A Brazil WC game used to be unmissable, now they are approaching Wimbledon territory. That pass/clearance from Marcelo summed it up.

I think posters claiming that others are taking joy in Neymars injury are reading what they want to read. Nobody is taking joy in it, but pointing out that Brazil kicked James Rodriguez all night and Colombia responded in kind. It's not too much of a stretch to suggest that if the referee had a stronger control on the game then the Zuniga tackle might not have happened.

Would the early studs to the knee tackle have happened as well? Or were Colombia responding with that as well? I dont think anyone is arguing about Brazil not being anywhere near former teams either. But this whole excusing Colombia for doing the same thing as Brazil is a little silly, considering they had the worst 2 tackles of the games.

Benimar

Corholio wrote: »

Would the early studs to the knee tackle have happened as well? Or were Colombia responding with that as well? I dont think anyone is arguing about Brazil not being anywhere near former teams either. But this whole excusing Colombia for doing the same thing as Brazil is a little silly, considering they had the worst 2 tackles of the games.

Who is excusing them? Where did I say that if the referee had booked Brazilian players only it wouldn't have happened? If the referee had done his job there would have been players from both sides carded early and it would probably have cut out a lot of the crap that followed.

The point is both teams were at it, but it is blindingly obvious that Brazil went out to rough up Colombia. The referee facilitated them (wittingly or unwittingly depending on your point of view) whereas if he had carded players early on, as he should have, there probably wouldn't have been 54 fouls in the game, unless the players were completely dumb!

mrsoundie

Benimar wrote: »

Who is excusing them? Where did I say that if the referee had booked Brazilian players only it wouldn't have happened? If the referee had done his job there would have been players from both sides carded early and it would probably have cut out a lot of the crap that followed.

The point is both teams were at it, but it is blindingly obvious that Brazil went out to rough up Colombia. The referee facilitated them (wittingly or unwittingly depending on your point of view) whereas if he had carded players early on, as he should have, there probably wouldn't have been 54 fouls in the game, unless the players were completely dumb!

Exactly, yellow cards given properly make sure any game does not get out of hand, which we witnessed last night. If the ref had done his job, Neymar (most probably) would be available for the Semi.

Son Of A Vidic

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

I also grew up watching Brazil play and don't enjoy the current version. However they have deserved to win every ģame they have played so far apart from maybe the Croatia game it's effective but not pretty. I'm taking issue with people having the blinkers on watching the game. I still hope Brazil win it as i always will once ireland arent there but if they don't as a number of Brazilians said to me when I was over there it will also be a good thing as it may force them to go back to their roots..

Me too and despite them being the worst ever Brazilian team, they will always be my default favourites. I said back during the first round stage, that in order for Brazil to go back to the style they were famous for.The best thing to happen would probably be for Brazil to have a shock early exit. Unfortunately now with Neymar being out, it almost gives Scolari a get outta jail card. Because if they lose to the Germans, he can blame that rather than the disgusting style he has imposed on a great footballing nation. And that worries me, because we need to see him and his disgusting style consigned to the scrap heap. Once the natural patriotism and emotion subsides from hosting a World Cup, I hope the Brazilian FA sees some sense and makes the right changes.

Zico

If the referree had been booking players for bad tackles from the start Neymar wouldn't have gotten injured but Brazil would probably have lost the game.

It is noticeable that there's no finger pointing from Brazil about bad and reckless Colombian tackling.

It's unfortunate that Neymar got injured but Brazil turned it into that kind of game.

marienbad

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Putting up a 2.07 minute You Tube video is going to change my mind, when I actually saw the entire game? The Ref did Paraguay no favours in that game. Up until the 1998 World Cup, I was always an admirer of the French team. I loved that great team of the Eighties, that deservedly won the 1984 European Championships at home with Platini, Giresse, Fernández, Rocheteau, Tigana, Battiston and the rest. My natural inclination to support France died during the 1998 World Cup and I think it started with that Paraguay game.




Did I say it happened at every World Cup? No I didn't. But to look at it from a cynical & a natural suspicion of FIFA. South Africa winning would have made no commercial difference to them. It wasn't and has never been a sleeping giant of a market, so them winning would be relatively meaningless. Germany has always been a powerhouse of football, so again no dodgy officiating would have been required for them to be a success. There's only one reason we are having a 2022 World Cup in a desert and we all know what that is. I hope the focus will go back onto that when this World Cup ends. If and when the cracks appear and dictator Blatter is forced out, don't be surprised if peoples opinions of FIFA are changed forever.

I couldn't care less about changing your mind, but are you contending that the 2 minutes highlights package omitted all those brilliant Paraguay attacks ?

I have access to the video of the complete match and have watched it relatively recently and the only thing that made it so tense was the 0-0 scoreline , as we nearly saw with USA Belgium in the last seconds of that match , France were the superior team by a distance and deservedly won and with no help from the referee. If their was a conspiracy we would have seen it in the previous game when Zidane was sent off and deservedly so for stamping.

As for the notion of France being a sleeping giant , that is just not correct. France has always been an outstanding football nation going right back to Just Fontaine and Raymond Kopa in the 1958 world cup or St. Étienne in the Champions League in the early 70's . They just don't wear their hearts on their sleeves like Brazil or England.

Corholio

Zico wrote: »

If the referree had been booking players for bad tackles from the start Neymar wouldn't have gotten injured but Brazil would probably have lost the game.

It is noticeable that there's no finger pointing from Brazil about bad and reckless Colombian tackling.

It's unfortunate that Neymar got injured but Brazil turned it into that kind of game.

Colombia didnt have enough last night and their manager admitted as much, they werent used to going behind early. Saying Brazil would have probably lost the game is letting a disappointing Colombian performance away too easily.

Ishmael

letowski wrote: »

Time for Fred to step up to the mantle and lead Brazil to World Cup glory!

If that happens, i will eat my hat!

It's sad to see Neymar out of the world cup as he was exciting to watch. It was clearly the Ref's fault for letting the game get out of control. Both teams were as bad as each other last night.

fyfe79

tastyt wrote: »

Who's rejoicing?? I said neymar was brilliant ans the only star for Brazil. I think it's a disgracethat he got injured but I also think scolari and a few on his team are a disgrace and would have no sympathy if it was a Columbian that was stretchered off last night.

Scolari had totally let down neymar, the kid who was playing his heart out for him

Totally agree. As soon as Scolari instructed his team to kick Rodriguez out of the game, he was putting a target on Neymar's head, well, back as it turned out!

They can't complain when another team uses the same tactic in retaliation. Brazil need to take their medicine and focus on Germany.

Johnnythefox4

I hope Scolari gets absolutely slated when Germany beat them. I don't usually agree with managers getting all the blame, but he has been shocking. Apart from his awful cynical tactics, WTF is up with his selection policy. First he picks Maicon over Alves, then he brings on Henrique, a nobody hasn't played a minute of this World Cup ahead of Willian. He reminds me more and more of Trapattoni with each game.

Son Of A Vidic

Brilliant Paraguay attack? Nope, I never said that. Bit I did mention something initially about 'outplaying' which was probably embellishment due to my inebriated state. But my memory of that match was of a poor French team that couldn't beat or breakdown little Paraguay. And yes before the 1998 World Cup, France were regarded as sleeping giants/underachievers at major tournament football. They had only won the European Championships once. And for a footballing nation with their playing population and market size. That really wasn't good enough. The media consensus before the 1998 World Cup, was France really needed to win it. Compared to the expanding and rapid growth and the money being drawn to the English PL, the French league needed a shot in the arm. The World Cup victory gave them just that

Olympique Marseille average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 36,222
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 49,373 = a 36% increase in attendances.

PSG average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 27,791
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 40,910 = a 47% increase in attendances

RC Lens average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 27,778
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 36,010 = a 30% increase in attendances

Lyon average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 20,559
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 29,555 = a 43% increase in attendances

http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/fra-ligue-1-2011-2012/1/

Victory boosts numbers, so attendances naturally went up. The media commentary prior to the World Cup came to pass. France got their victory, there was a massive surge in league numbers, FIFA was delighted and French football got a shot in the arm from a previous very 'meh' public. Coincidence? Perhaps, it's just I saw enough dodgy refereeing that helped France throughout that World Cup. So I have my own question mark over it. Homerism has not always happened at every World Cup, but it has tended to happen when FIFA's best interests are at stake.

Henry9

Ishmael wrote: »

If that happens, i will eat my hat!

It's sad to see Neymar out of the world cup as he was exciting to watch. It was clearly the Ref's fault for letting the game get out of control. Both teams were as bad as each other last night.

Were they fcuk!. The great Brazil, guardians of 'football how it should be played', cynically target the flair player on the other team.

The ref bottled it and wouldn't give the cards, it was predictable he was going to get the same treatment.

eagle eye

Its very clear that Brazil don't have the same type of football that they used to but you have to remember that its all about winning this World Cup for them. If they don't win it then these players will be looked upon as failures because they lost it at home. You will see them go back to more exciting football in the future I'd imagine.

Colombia were the most exciting team in this World Cup but one of their key players, Cuadrado, had a very bad night and imo that cost them the game. If he was up to his usual level I think they would have taken the game but when one of your best players isn't able to get the better of Marcelo you can forget about it.

marienbad

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Brilliant Paraguay attack? Nope, I never said that. Bit I did mention something initially about 'outplaying' which was probably embellishment due to my inebriated state. But my memory of that match was of a poor French team that couldn't beat or breakdown little Paraguay. And yes before the 1998 World Cup, France were regarded as sleeping giants/underachievers at major tournament football. They had only won the European Championships once. And for a footballing nation with their playing population and market size. That really wasn't good enough. The media consensus before the 1998 World Cup, was France really needed to win it. Compared to the expanding and rapid growth and the money being drawn to the English PL, the French league needed a shot in the arm. The World Cup victory gave them just that

Olympique Marseille average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 36,222
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 49,373 = a 36% increase in attendances.

PSG average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 27,791
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 40,910 = a 47% increase in attendances

RC Lens average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 27,778
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 36,010 = a 30% increase in attendances

Lyon average attendance before the World Cup 1997/98 20,559
after the World Cup (1998/99) season it jumped to 29,555 = a 43% increase in attendances

http://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/fra-ligue-1-2011-2012/1/

Victory boosts numbers, so attendances naturally went up. The media commentary prior to the World Cup came to pass. France got their victory, there was a massive surge in league numbers, FIFA was delighted and French football got a shot in the arm from a previous very 'meh' public. Coincidence? Perhaps, it's just I saw enough dodgy refereeing that helped France throughout that World Cup. So I have my own question mark over it. Homerism has not always happened at every World Cup, but it has tended to happen when FIFA's best interests are at stake.

Conspiracy forum is that way , going on this reasoning Russia are certainties for the next world cup .

That was a great French team as they subsequently proved at Euro 2000 , and needed no assistance from FIFA to prove it. The remnants of that great team nearly pulled off a miracle in 2006.

Son Of A Vidic

marienbad wrote: »

Conspiracy forum is that way

Conspiracy forum? Dodgy officiating has happened and will continue to happen as long as FIFA refuses to take measures to stop it. Furthermore, as long as FIFA themselves remained unreformed it will persist imo. And to repeat my earlier point, no it hasn't always happened at every major tournaments and I never said it did. So your Russia comment is nonsense.

Any idea why we're having a World Cup in a desert? Does it make footballing sense to have every major domestic league/schedule ballsed up because of it? Or did the alleged fat brown envelopes sway FIFA? Blatter laughed at little Ireland being robbed by the cheat Henry. Do you think he would have laughed and brushed us off, if we generated the same revenue stream as France? Of course he wouldn't have and it's naive to think otherwise.

marienbad wrote: »

That was a great French team as they subsequently proved at Euro 2000 , and needed no assistance from FIFA to prove it. The remnants of that great team nearly pulled off a miracle in 2006.

When did I mention the 2000 Euro campaign? Because unlike the 1998 World Cup, I certainly made no comment about the 2000 Euros, or questioned the final result. For me the best team French ever, was the team of the Eighties that won the 1984 European Championships. Perhaps they live fondly in the memory, because they played with style and had no cheats or headbutt specialists amongst their ranks.

marienbad

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Conspiracy forum? Dodgy officiating has happened and will continue to happen as long as FIFA refuses to take measures to stop it. Furthermore, as long as FIFA themselves remained unreformed it will persist imo. And to repeat my earlier point, no it hasn't always happened at every major tournaments and I never said it did. So your Russia comment is nonsense.

Any idea why we're having a World Cup in a desert? Does it make footballing sense to have every major domestic league/schedule ballsed up because of it? Or did the alleged fat brown envelopes sway FIFA? Blatter laughed at little Ireland being robbed by the cheat Henry. Do you think he would have laughed and brushed us off, if we generated the same revenue stream as France? Of course he wouldn't have and it's naive to think otherwise.



When did I mention the 2000 Euro campaign? Because unlike the 1998 World Cup, I certainly made no comment about the 2000 Euros, or questioned the final result. For me the best team French ever, was the team of the Eighties that won the 1984 European Championships. Perhaps they live fondly in the memory, because they played with style and had no cheats or headbutt specialists amongst their ranks.

This is just moving the goalposts - you inferred that France needed help from FIFA and dodgy refs to get past Paraguay in the 98 world cup. I simply refuted that and I have watched the game ( by your own admission) a lot more recently than you.

I mentioned Euro 2000 to show that 98 was no fluke , it was a great French team and that is the only explanation needed.

As for the rest of your post , it is completely irrelevant to the point at hand and most of it I would completely agree with . Except for the Henry handball and FIFA reaction to it. It is time we grew up and got over that , just as England should get over 'the hand of God'. It is all swings and roundabouts such as the Schumacher/Battiston incident or Italy in S.Korea.

CSF

Brazil are/were no angels but I don't think Zuniga should be absolved in any way. He will be a Brazilian hate figure now and deservedly so.

Of course if someone did something similar to Rodriguez I would be saying the same.

The colour of the jersey who made the foul and the colour of the jersey of the guy whose back was broken aren't particularly relevant IMO.

greendom

Colombian press not impressed with last night's ref.....

Son Of A Vidic

marienbad wrote: »

This is just moving the goalposts - you inferred that France needed help from FIFA and dodgy refs to get past Paraguay in the 98 world cup. I simply refuted that and I have watched the game ( by your own admission) a lot more recently than you.

I mentioned Euro 2000 to show that 98 was no fluke , it was a great French team and that is the only explanation needed.

As for the rest of your post , it is completely irrelevant to the point at hand and most of it I would completely agree with . It is all swings and roundabouts such as the Schumacher/Battiston incident or Italy in S.Korea.

Moving the goalposts? Dear me, let me remind you how this all started because of the faux moral outrage toward Brazil and the Ref. I made the point that homerism and bad officiating has happened before in the World Cup, will in all likelihood happen again and gave examples of previous tournaments. But if you can't see the connection between homerism, suspect referring and the lack of FIFA action then there is nothing more I can say. And for the second post in succession, I have to remind you that I never questioned the Euro 2000 victory.

marienbad wrote: »

Except for the Henry handball and FIFA reaction to it. It is time we grew up and got over that

Search for that thread in the archives here and I think you'll find I posted once on the subject (And possibly not at all). But again you missed the point, so I'll repeat it. Do you think Blatter would have so publicly insulted the German or French football federations when he addressed the issue? Of course he wouldn't have and the reasons is rooted in good business sense more than anything else. There are a lot of football fans out there that have absolutely no faith in FIFA or it's integrity. But no doubt you won't see the link there between that and bad officiating, so I rest my case.

marienbad

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Moving the goalposts? Dear me, let me remind you how this all started because of the faux moral outrage toward Brazil and the Ref. I made the point that homerism and bad officiating has happened before in the World Cup, will in all likelihood happen again and gave examples of previous tournaments. But if you can't see the connection between homerism, suspect referring and the lack of FIFA action then there is nothing more I can say. And for the second post in succession, I have to remind you that I never questioned the Euro 2000 victory.



Search for that thread in the archives here and I think you'll find I posted once on the subject (And possibly not at all). But again you missed the point, so I'll repeat it. Do you think Blatter would have so publicly insulted the German or French football federations when he addressed the issue? Of course he wouldn't have and the reasons is rooted in good business sense more than anything else. There are a lot of football fans out there that have absolutely no faith in FIFA or it's integrity. But no doubt you won't see the link there between that and bad officiating, so I rest my case.

Look you are just flailing all round the place at this stage , I posted just once to refute/disagree with you on narrow point the France needed help to beat Paraguay in the 98 world Cup- no more no less.

That is all I am saying and you are offering nothing in direct contravention to that other than ' well my memory of it is different'.

All the rest is just waffle - just rewatch the game and come back to me.

But now that you raise it How did Blatter insult anyone on the issue ?

SlickRic

I'd say Neymar would've preferred a nibble on his shoulder than a knee to the back.

Vandango

marienbad wrote: »

Look you are just flailing all round the place at this stage , I posted just once to refute/disagree with you on narrow point the France needed help to beat Paraguay in the 98 world Cup- no more no less.

That is all I am saying and you are offering nothing in direct contravention to that other than ' well my memory of it is different'.

All the rest is just waffle - just rewatch the game and come back to me.

But now that you raise it How did Blatter insult anyone on the issue ?

Oh give over, that's bloody pathetic. The other poster annunciated their point several times and their point is pretty clear to me. But it went way over your head because you're just fixated on the France comments.

btw, you don't think this is an insult?

marienbad

Vandango wrote: »

Oh give over, that's bloody pathetic. The other poster annunciated their point several times and their point is pretty clear to me. But it went way over your head because you're just fixated on the France comments.

btw, you don't think this is an insult?

I think you need to reread the exchange , I am only commenting on the France Paraguay 98 WC game and the absence of a fifa/ref conspiracy.

From that the other poster has extrapolated a world wide conspiracy and thrown in the kitchen sink henry Qatar etc.

I repeat France were that better team on that day and won on merit. That is all I am saying no more no less.

So give over yourself.

As for Blatter etc , we drew on ourselves with our whinging about Henry. Time we grew up .

Vandango

marienbad wrote: »

I think you need to reread the exchange , I am only commenting on the France Paraguay 98 WC game and the absence of a fifa/ref conspiracy.

From that the other poster has extrapolated a world wide conspiracy and thrown in the kitchen sink henry Qatar etc.

Cop on, no they didn't and go and reread it yourself. The other poster looked at the bigger picture and that seems to be way beyond you capability. Bad Refs, dodgy decisions and home towners are the ultimately the responsibility of FIFA. All your doing is spamming a thread.

marienbad wrote: »

I repeat France were that better team on that day and won on merit. That is all I am saying no more no less.

The Refs did a great job for them in that game & tournament. Some suspect lineman calls stopped some dangerous looking counterattacks in that game.

marienbad wrote: »

As for Blatter etc , we drew on ourselves with our whinging about Henry. Time we grew up .

'We' me arse. Spoken like a true French fan. Henry, the Nigerians getting robbed last week, high time the French got a taste of their own medicine in a football tournament.

marienbad

Vandango wrote: »

Cop on, no they didn't and go and reread it yourself. The other poster looked at the bigger picture and that seems to be way beyond you capability. Bad Refs, dodgy decisions and home towners are the ultimately the responsibility of FIFA. All your doing is spamming a thread.




The Refs did a great job for them in that game & tournament. Some suspect lineman calls stopped some dangerous looking counterattacks in that game.




'We' me arse. Spoken like a true French fan. Henry, the Nigerians getting robbed last week, high time the French got a taste of their own medicine in a football tournament.

Not a French fan at all - just a little bit of objectivity. As for decisions going the way of the French - here is one for you http://youtu.be/tGq7VcaHoqo

I repeat France deserved to beat Paraguay in 98 , that is all I am saying - no more no less.

Dodgy decisions are part of football from day 1 and bribery and corruption also but not on that day.

CSF

marienbad wrote: »

Not a French fan at all - just a little bit of objectivity. As for decisions going the way of the French - here is one for you http://youtu.be/tGq7VcaHoqo

I repeat France deserved to beat Paraguay in 98 , that is all I am saying - no more no less.

Dodgy decisions are part of football from day 1 and bribery and corruption also but not on that day.

So the Brazil v Colombia match eh? Some goal by Luiz!!!

Vandango

marienbad wrote: »

I repeat France deserved to beat Paraguay in 98 , that is all I am saying - no more no less. .

I'm guessing a crate of Champagne was sent to the linesmen for their valuable assistance.

marienbad wrote: »

Dodgy decisions are part of football from day 1 and bribery and corruption also.

Thankfully, you're finally seeing the point oh wait....

marienbad wrote: »

but not on that day.

And you've taken two steps backwards.:(

Darkglasses

CSF wrote: »

So the Brazil v Colombia match eh? Some goal by Luiz!!!

Marienbad, Vandango, this is way off-topic.

eyescreamcone

How good were the 82, 86 and 90 Brazil flair teams who all failed to reach the semis???

As soon as they added a pragmatic approach in 94 look what happened

Brazil have no duty to "entertain" anybody. Their duty is to win games. So far they have achieved their goals.

It'll be difficult to beat Germany without Silva and Neymar but far from impossible.

CSF

eyescreamcone wrote: »

How good were the 82, 86 and 90 Brazil flair teams who all failed to reach the semis???

As soon as they added a pragmatic approach in 94 look what happened

Brazil have no duty to "entertain" anybody. Their duty is to win games. So far they have achieved their goals.

It'll be difficult to beat Germany without Silva and Neymar but far from impossible.

Really don't see it all the same, where does the attacking spark come from now? Hulk or Willian will have to step up a lot more than one would have considered them capable of.

marienbad

CSF wrote: »

So the Brazil v Colombia match eh? Some goal by Luiz!!!

Indeed ,apologies for sidetracking.

Henry9

eyescreamcone wrote: »

How good were the 82, 86 and 90 Brazil flair teams who all failed to reach the semis???

As soon as they added a pragmatic approach in 94 look what happened

Brazil have no duty to "entertain" anybody. Their duty is to win games. So far they have achieved their goals. .

Nobody said they had any such duty, they can play how they like.
But then fcuk off living off their reputation, fcuk off with all the talk of
Samba Football, fcuk off with all the bollocks about them 'learning their skills on the beach'.

As for their best player being kicked out of the tournament, LOL. It wouldn't have happened if they didn't turn it into a kicking contest.
Living off home advantage.

twinytwo

eyescreamcone wrote: »

How good were the 82, 86 and 90 Brazil flair teams who all failed to reach the semis???

As soon as they added a pragmatic approach in 94 look what happened

Brazil have no duty to "entertain" anybody. Their duty is to win games. So far they have achieved their goals.

It'll be difficult to beat Germany without Silva and Neymar but far from impossible.

It easy to say " their duty is to win games" .... Its a little more than that. As the current Brazilian team they have a national football heritage to protect.

Winning for the sake of winning kinda makes the whole idea of sport pointless.