(I know people are going to see this as trolling...) ... who believes the first three days of the Cup have been badly substandard in level of play and the like? I mean, how many goals -- really -- have been scored, rather than given up through abject ineptitude in one way or another? Seriously, one could almost see this coming... How many quality world-class NTs are in this tournament? 3 or 4??
Re: Am I the only person... Yeah it's a shame but keep in mind that Brazil,Spain and the Netherlands have yet to play...
Re: Am I the only person... But that's the way the World Cup always is. If you wanted the best of the best in the world you would just have European teams plus Argentina and Brazil and MAYBE the U.S.
Re: Am I the only person... Yes you are the only person who feels this way. The only person is the whole wide world.
Re: Am I the only person... Agreed. Outside of the Korea, Germany, and maybe Argentina, teams have been very sloppy with their passing and finishing. The pitches look like they have very hard and fast surfaces. Balls that would normally trickle out of bounds are leaving the field on a single bounce. Those vuvu's probably don't help on-the-field communication either.
Re: Am I the only person... It brings up an argument I've made. I know what FIFA (and especially Blatter) have always wanted -- and that's an initiative to grow soccer on the world stage. We've seen, time and again, that it doesn't seem to be working -- that the established countries still have the upper hand by a significant margin. About the only country that really has made great strides (and, even then, only inconsistently) is the United States. We'll see going forward, but the play in this Cup HAS to get better.
Re: Am I the only person... The most common goals are always through pace, set piece, tactics, teamwork, luck, and a bit of bad defending. You want to see those 30 yard volleys into the top corner, a player dribbling past 6 defenders and faking the keeper, a through ball between the legs of two centre backs, bicycle kicks, scorpion kicks, scissor kicks, etc. Sure those goals are amazing but they are because they're rare and don't happen much even in club football, you can't expect this stuff to occur in the early group stages. (Especially in the first 3 days )
Re: Am I the only person... We only saw the first game, which is a particular state of mind. I read that Argentina, Korea and Germany played well. Three teams score their goals before 10 minute. That is not a coincidence. That help you to play a lot more confident. Soccer is about confidence. And I dont think in so big difference between established teams and others. A well organized team with no individual stars can be hard to defeat and in every WC we see a new team reaching quarters.
Re: Am I the only person... I noticed the problem also. I blame it on that damn volleyball designed ball that screws up the game. Many teams are not trained enough too handle it well so this benefits the teams who are used too it. Like Germany for a example , who plays with that ball season after season in Bundesliga.
Re: Am I the only person... you are wrong first this ball was designed by a approved company in sport articles (addidas) to play soccer and not volleyball, i am quite sure they did a lot of test when they create a new ball. Do you really think they use balls from 30 years ago? damn... every 4 years the same shit, it's the balls fault... second, every team has to play with the same ball, so whether the ball is shit or not, everyone has the same conditions... so stop blaming the ball for certain teams cannot play good soccer...
Re: Am I the only person... Asian countries improved over the last decade or 2? Check! African countries making strides over the last 25 years? Check! Traditional smaller teams in Europe earning (emphasis added) a spot in the last 32 instead of powerhouses like Croatia, Russia? Check! I wouldn't say that it is not working. Teams are making strides all over the world. The problem is most people might hear about some teams (US) more than others (Japan, Chile, Ghana).
Re: Am I the only person... By my count 6 out of 13 goals that have resulted from blunders. 3 of those were especially atrocious that can be blamed completely on 1 player. Marquez - Great finish, but 1 defender keeping 3 players onside is pretty horrific. Park - A gift from Vyntra, although he still had to dribble past a defender to finish the goal. Klose - Schwarzer made a mistake in coming out but Klose had beaten the defender (Moore?) 1-on-1 for the header anyways. Dempsey - Robert Green Koren - Fauozi Chaouchi Gyan - Zdravko Kuzmanovic Oh and there have been 2 world class goalkeeping performances, Vincent Enyeama and Tim Howard.
Re: Am I the only person... Quality has been spotty at best all around. Crossing shots sailing yards beyond their mark and free kicks flying tens of yards above the net. Weird bouncing action on the sidelines and other odd hops. Havent seen a ball bend over the defensive wall. It just flies. These things have been easy to see and are a strange, defining mark of this World Cup these past couple days. Sure, part of it can be attributed to altitude if you want, but its not teams that cant play. We're watching the World Cup, not a local school league. I've never seen such inconsistency at this level before and I doubt they all forget how to play on the flight to South Africa. The ball is seemingly a little too light and has a distinct tendency to behave erratically. Can find a litany of comments from players in all positions saying much the same thing. Even more telling, if one feels they say the same thing every World Cup about every new ball, is to simply look for ourselves. Havent seen the likes of this in any World Cup I've seen before. Not to this degree. The ball is a bust. I'm just hoping players adapt sooner than later, but it would be sad if the solution was to keep passes and shots shorter and closer to the ground.
Re: Am I the only person... My thinking exactly. I had a feeling it was going to be bad in the first days, but it has exceeded my worst expectations. I'm watching the games with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
Re: Am I the only person... It's true, the games have been less than exciting, but with so much at stake, I don't think game #1 is the one where countries will take risks--especially now with the increased parity among countries. I'm certain the tournament will pick up by the third matchday, when countries will have to go all out for a win. And yes, the vuvuzelas are annoying, but then I think that the choral chanting is even more annoying. I'm actually glad that the vuvuzelas drowned out "God save the Queen"--not because I don't like the song, but because I can't stand it being sung every five minutes.
Re: Am I the only person... So far, it was not liked the established countries have the upper hand by "a significant margin". England and France did not roll over their opponents. Argentina won, but by a single goal. Besides, Serbia and Greece failed to the soccer third world on the first week. How could you blame the soccer "third world" on the first week? The refs have been great.... guess what? The refs from four out of the first 6 matches came from the soccer third world.
Re: Am I the only person... This has to be the most boring World Cup I have ever witnessed. There's no atmosphere as those blasted vuvuzelas are clouding out the fans. It's like the World Cup is being staged in a village. Terrible. COYS!!!
Re: Am I the only person... That's a strawman argument. No one is saying that the ball gives an advantage to one team over another. What they're saying is that the ball is crappy and lowers the standard of play overall. Well, the ball may not be crappy, but it so different from a typical ball that it changes how the game is played. Hopefully the players will get used to it as the tournament goes on.
Re: Am I the only person... In high altitute, the ball is lighter. This new 8 panel ball is already designed to feel lighter, and pick up speed. Crosses go way over everyone, and one skip on the ground it's gone. The idea of making the ball to help see more goals backfired. Stop making new balls every 4 years. The vuvuzelas have got to go. People all over the world are pissed off. The refs are much better though, I'll call it like this: they will do their best to screw Argentina and USAsoon enough, and pretty much anyone who plays Brazil, Italy and Germany. Call it status quo.
Re: Am I the only person... I thought the 3rd day was a bit of a let down. It was also the first day that refereeing was poor. The first 2 days were without a doubt good though: - an African team got the first ever WC goal on African soil - and a beautiful goal too. - the Messi we've seen at Barca showed-up for Argentina. - the USA x England game nicely falling on a Saturday night/afternoon when most can watch it. - the expression on Beckham's face when the goal went in will forever go down in WC memories. lol - the referees/linesmen got seemingly everything correct. Several good things to take from the first two days. The scoring has been a bit low in the sense that only 2 games have seen both teams get at least 1 goal. But that's not something I worry too much about 10 matches into a long tournament.