I'm interested in theories as to why the finals of international tournaments are usually bad. This year, the Euro final and Copa were bad. Last year's Copa. Last three World Cup finals. Etc... Do you agree? Any have ideas for fixing this? Would you include club finals like the Champions League, cup finals, or play-off finals like MLS?
Nobody wants to lose a final. Relax... there is nothing to be "fixed". Ask the Portuguese today and they'd tell you it was the best final ever.
I rather a match be competitive low scoring, and exciting like this than in Super Bowls where many times you see teams win in blowouts and people just watch the commercials cause the game is so uncompetitive. Que sera, sera.
The Euro wasn't a terrible game, and I didn't watch the Copa final; it just feels like a lot of international finals (including the World Cup's) where no one scores during regulation time. And when you have people over, including people who don't watch the sport often; it gets kind of irratating. The Champion's League final was good though, and the MLS final was eventful; maybe it's an international tournament thing.
Just the finals are bad? Recently entire knockout phases are bad. Or at least from quarterfinals onward. I think you have to go all the way back to Euro 2008 the last time a Euro or World Cup had more than 1 entertaining quarterfinal...
Honestly, there needs to be a shakeup of rules. I've seen too many just behind the center line, resulting in half-hearted attempts to forward the ball, just to pull it back (often all the way back to the goalie).
You complainers don't know football. There's nothing better than a tense game where each team minds their p's and q's, trying not to make a mistake. Sure, it results in stalemate, but that's football. If you want a shotclock, watch hoops.
Was Uruguay v Ghana an entertaining match though? Crazy ending, sure, but that applies (to a lesser extent) to last night's final as well.
...which is one of the big issues. Games have gone from "defense first" to "defense only." Finals have teams of nearly equal, nearly perfect, defenses. Offenses need almost super-human efforts to get past. The "traditionalists" have governed the rule book for a bit too long. We've tried it your way; look where this is going. If rules got loosened so that teams would normally score three or two games per game (as opposed to two or one goals; which is becoming one or zero goals), no one will be jumping off buildings.
There were plenty of chances in the Euro, Copa and World Cup. The ball just did not take the right bounce. Or players just choked due to the magnitude of the moment. I don't believe anything can change that short of changing the rules in ways purists will be angry by.
Convenient excuses. No, it was a case of teams not wanting to play. Again, count how many times the ball gets passed at/behind the center stripe; not a case of "bad bounces." (I actually do try to count the number of passes that [a] go forward, are entirely in the offense half, then [c] are completed. Not many.) ...and just because some team has to win the Final, doesn't mean that the sport can use some "twenty-first century-ing."
There were very good saves made by keepers. There were posts that were hit. And there were wide open chances that were missed. Just the way it played out.
Glad someone started this thread. That's 360 regular time minutes in recent finals without a goal. That shouldn't be acceptable. The Centenario was a decent 0-0 game with a decent level of action. The others sucked. Something needs to be done.
Yes, we do know football. And there's nothing exciting or tense about two teams that are afraid to lose.
Of course it's subjective. I forgot the 2006 final had goals in it, it just kind of petered away and the extra time was poor (as I remember it). The 2014 final wasn't great, but it did have moments. 2014 had that frustrating but entertaining Brazil - Colunbia game; and the game that knocked out Costa Rica was good. And the Brazil - Germany game was gripping in the way that watching a car crash is. I don't know, maybe you have a point though. I do remember the 2014 World Cup having an awesome group phase.
Yeah group stage of 2014 WC was very good. Guess it comes down to pressure. Obviously there is pressure in the group stage but for most group games its not 'do or die' for both teams like the case with every KO game. Similarly third-place matches are usually great!
No, you don't know football if you find the tension boring. Teams aren't gonna be dumb and attack when it poses a risk. If you know the game, you'd understand and accept that. There will be no change, so these threads are rubbish. If anyone suggests a shotclock to those in charge, they'll be laughed out of the room. So deal with it or find another sport.
I don’t find tension boring but I think some of these teams are shooting themselves in the foot by being overly cautious. Some of it is nerves, which is unavoidable, but other parts of it is poor in-game management if you ask me. Like France continuing to play with 2 defensive midfielders after Ronaldo got injured. At that point its just dumb to play boring and overly-defensive because the longer the game stays 0-0 the closer you get to penalties, which is not good if you’re the heavy favorite at the start. Your odds of winning go from 80/20 to 50/50.
There will inevitably be tension in a finals, but I agree that the strategies used are often counterproductive. Teams recognize the stakes and play too safe. It's one thing to be a decided underdog and play that way. Quite another to be a 2:1 favorite and do the same.
So the game should be changed so there are maybe 5-6 goals per game, to suit casual watchers of the game in the USA? Low scoring in finals is an inherent problem in international football, where managers just don't get enough time to work with players to build an attacking strategy, so they'll often word on being solid first. Portugal were also probably more defensive that normal due to Ronaldo's injury. The loss of their key attacking player had an underdog team decide to play on the break instead.