Your statistics are not right and you made it way to complicated. Just divide the total # points for each confederation by the number of slots and that's the relative performance you want. UEFA Performance = 236/13 = 18.15 COMENBOL = 149/5.5 = 27.09
ARG didn't even get a shot on goal vs. GER. Those chances were not "top quality" if the goalkeeper doesn't even have to make a save. Yes, ARG had chances, but they were not sitters. And Germany fans don't have to "thank" the Dutch team for anything. Spain lost two games in the group stage, Germany was undefeated through seven games. There is nothing to suggest that Spain could have even made the semifinals to face Germany.
There were good chances, the Argies just muffed them. Higuan in the 1st, Messi and Palozi (or whatever his name is). And technically the Argentines had 2 shots on goal
I think the way strikers execute their finishing does not mean that when they do not get the ball on target that the quality of the chance was apparently not so good by definition. That one leads to the other conclusion. For me it is just not benefiting from a great opportunity. Argentina's finishing was horrible. I think Argentina got better chances vs Germany than against Netherlands. Of course Germany is not going to thank Netherlands. That goes against the current mindset. After becoming WC champ the spirit from a nation is that Germany can beat anybody and is the best NT. Spain was out in the group so Germany is also better than Spain. That is pretty arrogant to think though. I don't think Germany would have been able to win from Spain had they been offered a chance to grow into the tourney. Spain also lost their first game vs Switzerland in 2010. What we did though, is finding deeper layers of insecurity within the team. That took 2 wonder goals to get to and then we also jumped on that insecurity, exposing it for what it was. It took a Dutch team to do that. What if Spain was allowed to grow in the tourney? Can Germany beat a Spain that has grown into the tournament? Or do they lose, just like they lost to Spain in 2008 and 2010? This tournament has not answered this question for me.
You obviously suffer from a bad case of Germany biased opinion. That in itself isnot something to blame, but it becomes so if you pair it with ridiculous statements. You obviously arenot capable to distinguise between top notch chances missed by a player and no chances at all. To illustrate your dumbness: I witnessed more than I care players that managed to miss a chance in front of an open goal ranging from 3 to 1 meter away from the goal line. In your ...opinion those werenot chances at all. So in your opinion the only chances can be called so if they end in the net.
No, I said that they were not "top quality". Sure, they were chances. But to revisit: Higuain - off a Kroos back-header mistake Higuain got behind the defense with the ball. His first touch was poor, causing him to sprint after the ball and try a snap-shot. Even on goal it would have had to have been almost perfect to beat Neuer. Messi - created a chance for himself on the left wing, but Neuer positioned himself well to cut the angle. Messi tried an extremely difficult shot from his left foot, from the left side, to the far post - across Neuer. Even a player of Messi's quality can not place the ball perfectly every time. Palacio - a failed clearance by Hoewedes fell fortunately to him at the top of the box, but his first touch off his chest was also poor, which Neuer read and rushed to meet. All Palacio could attempt was a lob, which Boateng was back to cover anyway.
You are missing the point. Two of the three chances (not Messi's as he created most of that himself) were chances that should have been finished and Germany would have been on the wrong side of the score. van Persie or Huntelaar both would have finished the Higuain chance and the other one was missed because of nerves of Palacios and should have been a goal as well. that's our point and if you don't like it you can go back to the German thread and revel in a championship where your club played 1 1/2 good games.
Still got the same percentages with your method. I think it shows how much a confederation over performs and how another under performs.
^^Good to know. I didn't run through any of the other calculations other than what I posted. It's just my way of doing it was a lot easier. One of the difficulties in looking at things this way is that areas with a small number of teams can markedly out perform if those teams advance in the tournament. 3 of the 4 CONCACAF teams made it out of the pool and of course CR advanced until they were defeated by us.
That's right, but you should not forget that Germany also hit once the post and Segio Romero made several great saves (especially the one from Müller). So how can we say which chances were greater when the Argentina Players totally missed the target and Neuer did not have the same chance as Romero to make any parade? The keeper is also considered a player, isn't he?
You have a point here. We cannot say, Germany would certainly beat Spain had Spain grown into the tournament but one cannot also claim Germany would lose against Spain just because of results of 2008 and 2010. Back then Germany played alsmost pure counter attacking football but after 2010 she began to develope her own Tiki-Taka version of football. This Germany is totally different from that of 2010. It has the same ball possession ability as Spain besides its counter attacking style and a fighting spirit similar to that of old times (1954-1996). In 2012 we shit in our pants when Italy got a 0-2 in the first half of semi final, but this team has developed a strong mentality. I don't know what whould be the outcome of a match against Italy or Spain, but we certainly met enough favorites (Portugal, France, Brazil and Argentina) and won against them 13-1 ! I wonder how many world champions since 1930 you can name (name one!) which have had more difficult Opponents than Germany 2014. You cannot play against all favorites in a World Cup
I think what stood out for me is how good Boateng was in the final. This tournament Germany sorted out the CB situation to some extend by natural growth of this player connected to an already recognized good defender in Hummels. The games that looked tough to me for Germany were not so much against the traditional powers, but country's like Ghana and Algeria. Charging up against the strong country's and not so much against the supposed weaker country's is a mental issue. That is why I am not completely sold on the mental aspect of this German squad, though obviously it was still good. This Germany were just ripe for victory due to playuers having a lot of club experience (CL) and past lost campaigns at the end state. They probably were also the most complete team of the tournament, but I am not entirely sold on the path. That is not something I say now, but already did before the semi finals took place and called out my own NT as well: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads...ina-wc-semi-final-2014.2007978/#post-30652181 That whole page with different people felt the same way by the way. The problem lies with the kind of state those country's were in, this given time. I like the 13-1 stat though. Just wondered how Germany would do against football teams like a grown Spain, Colombia maybe also (I remember how Germany struggled vs Chile at home and rate Colombia a bit higher), angstgegener Italy. My post was more about the the fact that the old king lion was not killed by the new king lion. Germany has still a score to settle and even point to prove that they can beat Spain when it counts. It would be a mistake to think that with some tuning they could not be a big force soon again. They still have a vast amount of quality players. This tourney, IMO, Netherlands took care of Spain and paved the road for Chile to get their first win ever over Spain. @ your other reply above. http://11tegen11.net/2011/07/13/a-chance-is-a-chance-is-a-chance/ I had this in mind maybe. With a chance I just mean a striker getting space and time at a prime location in the field. I am not talking about the quality of the execution. I think Argentina got some nice ones and wondered/asked if people thought it was fair that Arg had better chances vs Germany than vs Netherlands.
Landon Donovan retired this week. Interesting personality and similar in some ways to Theo Janssen. A lot of potential but out of their comfort zone away from the the area where they grew up. Shame the US hasn't produced more of this type of flair player.
I'm one of the few in the US who never fancied Donovan as a player. He was always a speed player and over the past two years he really lost that advantage. He was never the creative type of player in the mold of Dempsey. He was also insecure and not able to really fight hard for a position in a top league. He couldn't cut it with Leverkusen and his only club success was in our mediocre US league. He did have one good off season loan spell with Everton but didn't press for a full time move to Europe (he was making more money in the US than Everton were prepared to pay). My final thoughts are that he had a nice career.
I agree he is overrated as a footballer but he helped the MLS gain recognition. US soccer still has a reputation of being all about hard work, organization and discipline. Players who can help improve that image are valuable. In the end his legacy as the first MLS homegrown 'star' might be more important than the player himself.
I'm with this. Not a bad guy per se, but his shtick was speed. It worked at a certain level, but we needed more. I don't put him on any level with serious pro athletes in other US sports. His lifestyle wasn't conducive to sacrifice in any form.
Fantastic result of Slovakia yesterday. They were the worse team obviously, but were almost screwed by a cheeky offside goal (deja vu). Still managed to win.
Ea Earnest Stewart defended Klinsmann's decision not to select him for the WC2014. He was very critical about Ld's attitude.