Haha, please... Germany had absolutely no chance against Brazil in 02. The only time you guys came close to scoring was a Neuville freekick if I recall correctly. In 06, Italy had, by far, the better chances in the game and were a much more composed side then you guys. And please, stop with this crazy conspiracy nonsense. Obviously you didn't watch the 1990 final...
Reunification offically happened in October 1990. East Germany played several friendlies right up to that date. They beat Scotland and Belgium away and drew Brazil 3-3 at the Maracana. East and West Germany were actually drawn in the same qualifying group for Euro 92, but the East had to withdraw, obviously.
The problem I see for Spain is this... if Villa doesn't score, nobody does. I know one other player has scored, but I can't remember who it was for the life of me. Point being, Germany did a wonderful job neutralizing Messi and Higuain, so I have no doubt that they'll do the same against Spain. If the Swiss could beat Spain with a compact defense and a counterattack, what do you think the Germans will do. The only bright spot I see for Spain is that Müller will miss the game over that ridiculous yellow card (Messi handled the ball more than he did), but they'll still have Klose, Podolski, Özil, etc.
They would have easily won with Ballack. See how easy that is? No they didn't. Even with frings gone they only won by luck and diving. See how easy that is? you mean the final where Germany had 5+ uncalled penalties that could have been called in the box because Argentina wasnt doing anything but throwing dirty fouls everywhere? The match that ended with Germany having like 25 shots on goal and Argentina 1? That could have ended 5-0 on legit penalty kicks alone. Thanks for adding to my argument.
The best phrase I’ve ever heard about football is: “Football is a simple game where 22 players play against each other andin the end Germany wins”. I believe that it was Gary Lineker who said it, some 25 years ago. He's spot on.
Right, Ballack would've totally stopped Ronaldo, Rivaldo, etc. all by himself Delusion. Italy won by luck, sure, man. Whatever you say. And yes, yes they did. And yes, that final. Regardless of what happened in the rest of the game, and who cares who shot more times on goal, Germany got a penalty that was extremely terrible. Bad call aka NO CONSPIRACY. BTW, that Ballack yellow against South Korea wasn't BS. Take care.
Ya, bad calls. Like when Messi blatantly handballs today literally 3 feet from a ref he doesnt get called for it but he calls mueller for it when you cant even tell for sure his elbow hit the ball. 50 seconds in [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDAYacMNEBc"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame] Take a look. How is this just a "bad" call and not a blatant bias for Leo Messi's handball and against Mueller. And now Mueller is out.
In my mind it's between Germany and Holland. Holland and Germany are 50/50 in my book. Holland will batter Uruguay. Germany will miss Mueller a little, but Cacau is still a good option. Spain is getting owned. This is such a different Germany team. It's like watching a latin team play with German precision. The organization and balance of Germans will crack Spain. As great as the Spain roster is, Villa is the only one capable of finishing. The Germans don't have that problem.
Cacau is still hurt yet. Löw will bring Trochowsky, Marin or Kießling instead. we'll see. we have a lot of options. i completely trust Löws decisions.
By your count Germany should have what ? 15 World Cups ??? You are so off that you don't even remember that Ballack wasn't sent off in 2002, he missed the final due to YC accumulation and deservedly so. BTW ... Germany were playing like crap with Ballack. Didn't "FIFA" miss a blatant hand ball against the USA in the QF match ? Didn't "FIFA" miss the 2nd English goal in the R16 game this time around ? Go back to the hole you came from.
Brazil was playing like crap, too. Ballack was basically the attack and the defense on that team. He was everywhere doing everything. Removing him was a massive, massive blow and completely gifted the final to Brazil. I don't know if you even watched that WC but looking at a Korean player usually resulted in a booking. And WTF is the deal with this underestimating German teams? They have a history of beating all the "best" teams in the world when it matters the most. They like to think they are the best, until it matters the most, I should say. Missing a call isn't a big deal, it's when calls are made that are completely bogus, like every single one of the ones I listed. "Missed" calls happen all the time to everyone. Refs can't see everything.
Overall Brazil played better than Germany in 2002. The final was actually pretty even with Brazil creating a few more scoring chances. And I haven't even mentioned that Germany had the easiest road to the final that year (Paraguay, USA, Korea). And with Ballack you guys still struggled to get there. Don't try to sell me that story. I am not buying it. I saw all of their games. And I am not underestimating the Germans this year. I told my friends after the game against Australia that in my book they would at least be in the Final. They have a very good team this year.
BTW ... Ballack's YC in 2002 SF was totally merited. It was not a "ghost" call. So stop crying about that. And about missed calls ... not a RC, not a YC, not a PK, not a foul ... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGq7VcaHoqo&feature=related"]YouTube- Schumacher collision with Battiston 82[/ame]
Why would he get anything? Both players were going for the ball and it wasn't in the penalty area. And do you have trouble reading English. That was a non call, not a bogus call. The GK and Battison were both going for the ball, to the ref it could have looked like a totally legit collison of two people going for a largely neutral ball. Don't give me this crap about "i"m not underestimating them". YOU JUST SAID THEY COULDN'T BEAT BRAZIL. They would have been much bigger udnerdogs in 74 and 54. Guess what? they won. Do you even know anything about soccer whatsoever or is your english just really bad? Serious question because my words are obviously not registering in your head corrrectly for some reason and the words you are writing make no logical sense. Getting tired of repeating myself. And I'm not sure what you mean by "you guys". I'm an American, and a Scottish one at that.
not sure for a penalty..batiston allready has shot the ball where missed the goal......a red card for sure.. but explain me why a great team france with a 3:1 lead in the last last 20-25 minutes conceeded 3 goals...??do you remember klaus fischers header goal where was wrongfully recalled for offside in time france had a 3:1 lead??...this was one of the worst offside calls i have ever seen...a france defender about 2 yards inside the penaltybox and klaus fischer 2 yards outside of the penaltybox in momment a teamate has passed him the ball... the referee did a mistake not sending off schuhmacher..however the offside call was crab too...
You have to be joking here. First, Schumacher knew he wasn't getting to that ball. Second, do you know football ? It doesn't matter if you were trying to go for the ball, if you hit the player as Schumacher did, it's a PK and a red card. Even if the ball went out. That was foul in the box. It was a reckless challenge. Who knows what would have happened in 2002 ? Even still, Germany were not playing well with Ballack. Maybe Brazil weren't playing great, but they were playing better. I have never underestimated the German teams. So let's take a look at your claims. He wasn't sent off. He got a YC against Korea. It was a slide tackle from behind as the Korean was dribbling into the box. How was that BS ? Didn't he punch the Argentinian player after the game and it was caught on camera ? Light punch but and it was revenge but still ... How is this a "phantom" call. Up to this day from video footage you can't tell either way. Not well outside the box. It was right on the line. Take your German glasses off ... even if you say you are American/Scotish, you clearly have a German fan. And don't worry ... I read it right. You mean "phantom" calls, not "missed calls". Nice of you to be so selective to prove FIFA is trying to screw the Germans. The English goal in the R16 was worse than any "phantom" call. Plus ... there were no 5 PK no calls in '90 WC. There were quite a few Germans trying to dive in the box. And don't get me started on Ballack's diving skills. I have seen more than one occasion where he dived in the box and got PK calls ... once against Brazil in the 05 Confed Cup SF. That was a "phantom" call if you eve saw one. The one thing I do agree is that Mueller's YC was BS. There is no doubt. That's just bad refereeing.
I will have to disagree. Irregardless of what happened to the shot, that should have been called a PK. If it's a red card, it's a foul. And the foul was in the box. I don't really have to explain the other calls or how France gave up a 2 goal lead. I wasn't trying to. I am just pointing out to the other poster who's trying to say FIFA keeps screwing the Germans.
For the majority of teams, you'll find a conspiracy theory of how refs always conspire against them and for everyone else. I don't think I have seen the German version before (or at most confined to '66)... a pity, that probably means I can't feel superior to all the whiner-nations that were only thrown out because of this penalty or that unpunished foul or the other undeserved card anymore
Schumacher knew he wasn't getting there? IS this just more of your anti-German bigotry? How do you "know" he knew he wasn't getting there. He made it to the ball about a second AFTER Battiston did. Maybe he had confidence he could have made it there to grab it in time. There is no way in the world you could expect a referee to think anything malicious went on in that play. He's 30- yards behind it. In fact, you can see Schumacher turned his body after he jumped after he realized he was going to smack into Battisoton. If he was trying to hurt battiston, he would not turned his body like that and would have driven his knees into him. Instead he hits battiston with the softest part of his body-- his ass. Why did he hit him with his ass instead of his knees if is intention was purely to take him out?
This is where this debate ends for me. You've shown your lack of class. No need for me to reply anymore.
FIFA can stop them. Yellow for Muller was their first move. I wouldn't be surprised to see an offside goal count for Spain, or a crossed-the-line but no-goal come back and haunt the Germans Okay, back to seriousness, Germany has yet to play against a 4-3-3 formation with 2 DMs. Spain might just be able to stop them. It is 50/50 to me. Nobody is clear favourite.
Spain doesn't match up well with this German team. They will control possession, of course, but they have a suspect defense especially when it comes to counterattacks - which of course is Germany's strength. They also have had a hard time creating good scoring opportunities and the German defense will be as tough as Paraguay or Switzerland. The main differance between Germany and those two teams is that Germany is a much greater threat going forward. Then again, we could see something like the Serbia game where a card happy ref and an early red card to Klose completely disrupted their game.
I tend to be superstitious,but when that thread about the unstoppable Brazilian went up, Brazil got eliminated. So, I am truly hoping this thread won't curse Germany
All ESPN analysts picked Spain to beat Germany. Germany is looking pretty good. Since they have been 90% wrong in every pick of the KO rounds.