Official World Cup matches discussion thread [R]

That would be pretty guay.

 

I think I'm going to root against the Germans.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8twzFEjx0wc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8twzFEjx0wc[/ame]

 

Maybe I'm being too lenient on the Neuer, but I still contend that he didn't do anything grossly wrong. On a close play, I think you have to act as if the call is going to go your way. When he "realized it was over the line", it's possible that he was mistaken. And I think something may be lost in the translation of "fooled". It isn't necessarily that he was purposely trying to fool the ref, but his quick reactions may have had the effect of "fooling" the ref. That's what I get out of his first comment: "‘I tried not to react to the referee and just concentrate on what was happening". Isn't that what you should do in general? Concentrate on what's happening and don't try to anticipate the ref's call? He wasn't "cheating" in the sense of purposely bringing a hand to the ball a la Maradona or Henry. He was only doing what a goalkeeper would do on a play like that with the assumption that the ball didn't cross the line.

And even if he was purposely trying to hurry the play to "fool" the ref, I would liken it to an American football play where you think a call might have gone your way, so you try to quickly get the next play off before the opposing coach can throw the challenge flag. Is it cheating? I don't think so. It's within the rules. There's no rule in American football that says you should make sure to give the refs time between plays if you think they've blown a call, whether it's for you or against you. And I don't think there's such a rule in soccer either. It's not your responsibility to help the refs make the right call.

 

Bob Bradley and Landy Cakes will be on The Daily Show tomorrow, the 30th.

 

I'm not for modifying the rule, but I think that if it's close enough that the ref is not sure, they should not call it. I think Spain's goal, though probably offside, is close enough that you shouldn't call it unless you see it very clearly and you're sure. It doesn't bother me that it wasn't called. Argentina's 1st goal against Mexico however, that was terrible.

My sense is that there are more offside calls that are not offside than there are non-calls of offside goals. The reason is that if you are a split second late in looking at position when the pass is made to the forward player, it will appear that the player is off. But that's too bad, because that's one of the greatest plays in soccer - the perfectly timed run and well-placed pass to put a player through.

 

I guess i'm rooting for Uruguay or the Netherlands. I don't dislike either team but the rest of the field can go hang.

 

I hate the Dutch.


Well OK, not all of the Dutch, just the turds on their national soccer team. Their favorite play is the hip check. Do you recall their '06 match against Portugal? Where their strategy from before the start of the game was to injure Christiano Ronaldo? Or their '98 match against México? Where their main tactics were hip checks and shin kicks? The Netherlands team is dirty. Worse than the Germans, who are pretty rough too.

GO URUGUAY!!

- Mark

 

You ever have one of those things break on you?

 

Has everyone signed this petition (I hope):


W --

Thanks so much for your amazing support during our World Cup run.

I know we had a tough end to the tournament, but I'm proud of our guys and all the fans like you who stood behind us. Together, we took another big step forward for U.S. soccer.

But we still have work to do. The winning goal against Algeria was one of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced. I can only imagine how that goal would have felt if it had happened in the United States.

FIFA will announce its choice of hosts for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments on December 2nd. That gives us five months to make our case for why FIFA should pick the U.S.

So far, more than 764,000 people have signed the petition supporting our Bid. That's a ton of signatures, but we can go bigger.

Let's set our goal above and beyond one million!

One million signatures mean one million reasons for the U.S. to host the FIFA World Cup™. Help us reach our goal by spreading the word to everyone you know:

http://gousabid.com/onemillion

Our team and our fans -- both at home and in South Africa -- left it all out there on and off the field during the tournament. Let's put the same energy and dedication into our Bid to host the World Cup.

Thanks again for all your support.

-- Landon Donovan

 

The Booger Meister Meister Booger.

 

"Fifty bucks says he picks his nose...fifty bucks more says he eats it."

 

Is that letter addressed to George "doubleya" Bush?

 

Now equalized!

 

Can't believe Brazil lost. Mind boggling. ONly watched for a few minutes but I see the flopping is still happening.