World Cup 2010 Thread

[DJ Ice]

I really cannot believe people said that Holland were better. They were played off the park and played like animals! Sure Spain weren't having the best game ever but at least they weren't trying to hurt people eg. De Jong (I'll admit that even though I am a Man City fan) and a few others. Plus then there was Arjen Robben, Twice he got through and twice he missed! Holland did not deserve a thing, Other than like Rich. rightly said a few more red cards, Spain were fully deserving to be winners!

Like animals....after the first half what happened? Seriously? This "animals" shit needs to stop, after their yellow cards Bommel and De Jong didn't do anything. Van der Wiel and Gio got yellow because of a diving Iniesta.

Van Bommel's stamp on Iniesta's ankle?

When? I honestly can't recall.

But whatever, Spain won, it's over.

Right at the very, very end he got pissed, So he stood on his ankle. If I remember Robben or someone was standing right in front of him when it happened and you couldn't get a clear view, I'm not even sure the commentator's commentated on it...

[The Quasi Juice]

I went into the game supporting Holland, but actually watching the game caused me to switch sides.

Holland should have only had 8 or 9 players on the pitch by the time the goal happened. There are people on Facebook whining over the goal-kick-that-should-have-been-a-corner, which seems utterly pointless to me.

The decisions weren't all perfect, but Spain deserved to win.

Same. I'm such a flakey football fan. Outside of my support for Liverpool and Bristol City and eternal hatred for Bristol Rovers, my allegiances change more than should be allowed. Really didn't want Spain to win but as the match progressed I wanted them to. Really glad Iniesta scored as well, such a classy player and easily my favourite in the Spain squad (who actually plays... my man love for Reina is really getting rather scary) and the Jarque tribute was a nice touch.

Wait, Iniesta classy? Had at least two dives, one let to a yellow card for Van der Wiel. He was constantly asking for cards. He elbowed Van Bommel when the ball wasn't close, Webb supposedly saw it and didn't even give a yellow card! That was so dodgy. How was that not a yellow card and Van Bronckhorst's first slight foul was?

Even though Spain were slightly better (they didn't play great football either), we should be talking about penalties right now. Blind Webb and his blind assistants didn't even see that Sneijder's free kick clearly bounced off the Spanish wall (it took a really weird direction). A Dutch corner > Spanish goal kick, obviously.

Can't believe the foreign media either. "Where's the beautiful Dutch football?", then later they say the Dutch always go out guns blazing and always have troubles in the camp. So for once the Dutch team doesn't have any problems, and for once the Dutch actually go for the result and reach the final with that mentality and now they get shit too? Can you blame the Dutch team for actually trying to win the entire cup?

Edited July 11, 2010 by The Quasi Juice

[Pesci]

Classy as in one of the best passers of the ball in the world, great at dribbling and the like. Give it a rest.

[DJ Ice]

I went into the game supporting Holland, but actually watching the game caused me to switch sides.

Holland should have only had 8 or 9 players on the pitch by the time the goal happened. There are people on Facebook whining over the goal-kick-that-should-have-been-a-corner, which seems utterly pointless to me.

The decisions weren't all perfect, but Spain deserved to win.

Same. I'm such a flakey football fan. Outside of my support for Liverpool and Bristol City and eternal hatred for Bristol Rovers, my allegiances change more than should be allowed. Really didn't want Spain to win but as the match progressed I wanted them to. Really glad Iniesta scored as well, such a classy player and easily my favourite in the Spain squad (who actually plays... my man love for Reina is really getting rather scary) and the Jarque tribute was a nice touch.

Wait, Iniesta classy? Had at least two dives, one let to a yellow card for Van der Wiel. He was constantly asking for cards. He elbowed Van Bommel when the ball wasn't close, Webb supposedly saw it and didn't even give a yellow card! That was so dodgy. How was that not a yellow card and Van Bronckhorst's first slight foul was?

Even though Spain were slightly better (they didn't play great football either), we should be talking about penalties right now. Blind Webb and his blind assistants didn't even see that Sneijder's free kick clearly bounced off the Spanish wall (it took a really weird direction). A Dutch corner > Spanish goal kick, obviously.

I agree that was definetly a Dutch corner. Webb really did have an atrocious game...

[METALMAN]

We were like the only people in the pub wanting Spain to win. Why the fuck would anyone want Netherlands to win?

Anyway, glad Spain won - although I didn't enjoy the game all that much. Obviously most devastating part of the night is Italy no longer being world champions.

[gunnar hendershow]

It's always sad when the World Cup ends. It means us Americans go back to our NFL thread, the Europeans here go back to their Champions League and Premiership threads, and we only meet again when we choose to argue the quality of one sport over the other. Occasionally someone decides to attempt breaking down the barriers and returns embarrassed. For the next four years I wish many of you the best, I will see you in Brazil!

In seriousness, the match itself was nothing special. I received a text from my friend at the start of extra time "That was 90 minutes we will never get back." It can't be said the Dutch didn't have a strategy, but unfortunately that strategy was to force a sloppy game. The officiating was a bit harsh, there were a lot of deserved fouls but cards were simply handed out with too much regularity. Robben will never, ever forget his golden opportunity that he missed. Just as, had the winners been reversed, Sergio Ramos would have never forgotten his two headers that missed the target. The best team going into the Cup won, they didn't do it as beautifully as fans hope but they won regardless.

In the end, this World Cup was special to me. 1994 I was only 6 years old, but I can safely say I have vivid memories of the USA facing Brazil as well as the Brazilians celebrating when they won in a penalty shootout. 1998 I remember watching as often as possible, but at 10 I was simply watching the games. 2002 I tried waking up at 3am, and other awful times, to watch as many matches as I could. It was hard, and it wasn't enjoyable. 2006 I worked everyday and missed nearly all the matches. 2010, well, it played perfectly into my hands. I didn't miss a single match. I would take my breaks at times where I could see the matches, I would check the scores as often as possible, and I woke up at 7:30 for the first 2 weeks to make sure I could see the early matches. This was my favorite World Cup, despite it certainly not being the finest on the field.

My biggest hope from this World Cup is that finally the United States at least views it as a sport equal with our "own". ESPN has been making strides this decade making it more accessible to the masses, Fox Soccer airs numerous matches though many of them are taped and not shown live. Word is ESPN3 plans to show La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and I think a few other domestic leagues on their online ESPN3.com. With the growing exposure, and the surprisingly rabid support cities like Seattle and Philadelphia have for their MLS franchises I think the time is finally right for the United States to open up to yet another sport.

Going back to what I joked about at the top of this post, I hope that finally I will be able to participate in discussions with people here about Premiership and Champions League matches on a more regular basis. I had my study abroad experience in London, and I was able to be much more exposed to news and highlights than ever before. I think finally this level of coverage is coming to the States, at least in a capacity to suit the niche (However niche a market of probably 5-10 million is).

[Rich]

I went into the game supporting Holland, but actually watching the game caused me to switch sides.

Holland should have only had 8 or 9 players on the pitch by the time the goal happened. There are people on Facebook whining over the goal-kick-that-should-have-been-a-corner, which seems utterly pointless to me.

The decisions weren't all perfect, but Spain deserved to win.

Same. I'm such a flakey football fan. Outside of my support for Liverpool and Bristol City and eternal hatred for Bristol Rovers, my allegiances change more than should be allowed. Really didn't want Spain to win but as the match progressed I wanted them to. Really glad Iniesta scored as well, such a classy player and easily my favourite in the Spain squad (who actually plays... my man love for Reina is really getting rather scary) and the Jarque tribute was a nice touch.

Wait, Iniesta classy? Had at least two dives, one let to a yellow card for Van der Wiel. He was constantly asking for cards. He elbowed Van Bommel when the ball wasn't close, Webb supposedly saw it and didn't even give a yellow card! That was so dodgy. How was that not a yellow card and Van Bronckhorst's first slight foul was?

Even though Spain were slightly better (they didn't play great football either), we should be talking about penalties right now. Blind Webb and his blind assistants didn't even see that Sneijder's free kick clearly bounced off the Spanish wall (it took a really weird direction). A Dutch corner > Spanish goal kick, obviously.

Ok, well in that case we should talk about Webb not sending off De Jong for a karate kick, and how before extra time you could have been down to 9 men, let alone 10, leave it Quasi you are not going to win this arguemnt, you had some decisions go against you and the Spanish did as well, the Dutch are not the only victims, and if it wasn't for poor marking and defending then INiesta wouldn't have scored anyway, you had 116 minutes before the goal to win this game, you didn't, Spain scored, legally I might add, and deserved to edge the whole match on the balance of play.

[DJ Ice]

It's always sad when the World Cup ends. It means us Americans go back to our NFL thread, the Europeans here go back to their Champions League and Premiership threads, and we only meet again when we choose to argue the quality of one sport over the other. Occasionally someone decides to attempt breaking down the barriers and returns embarrassed. For the next four years I wish many of you the best, I will see you in Brazil!

WHAT? I'm Scottish and a huge fan of NFL, Nascar, NHL (Calling them by their league names because I would be lying if I called it Football) etc..

Was hoping to see Germany in the final over Holland and maybe an Italian ref or whatever, Either way I am happy that Spain won

[METALMAN]

you are Scottish and you like nascar AND celtic?

get out... >_>

[Crybaby Bunting]

On an unrelated note I like how the first result for "Muller" on Google is Thomas and not Gerd...

EDIT: well... below the Muller dairy

Edited July 11, 2010 by The General

[gunnar hendershow]

It's always sad when the World Cup ends. It means us Americans go back to our NFL thread, the Europeans here go back to their Champions League and Premiership threads, and we only meet again when we choose to argue the quality of one sport over the other. Occasionally someone decides to attempt breaking down the barriers and returns embarrassed. For the next four years I wish many of you the best, I will see you in Brazil!

WHAT? I'm Scottish and a huge fan of NFL, Nascar, NHL (Calling them by their league names because I would be lying if I called it Football) etc..

Was hoping to see Germany in the final over Holland and maybe an Italian ref or whatever, Either way I am happy that Spain won

It was an attempt at humor. But Nascar?! I'm born and raised south of the Mason-Dixon Line and I don't like Nascar. Give me F1 any day of the week.

[erperro]

YAY! World Champs! I'm glad for the win, even if Spain didn't play very well. To be honest, that free kick was a corner, but I don't think it could have changed the result.

I'm also glad that Torres didn't start in the final because in this World Cup he's been horrible. Sad to see Xavi not taking the golden ball but Forlán deserves it.

PS: Sorry about my grammar and all of the writing mistakes.

[Lowerdeck]

Ah well. In all honesty, Spain were better on the night, though the best team in tournament for me came third, and the 3rd/4th place play-off totally outshone the final.

Agreed

[Liam]

Am I the only person willing to give Webb the benefit of the doubt on a lot of it? Outside of the corner that was given as a goal kick, and the fact that De Jong realistically should have gone for the challenge, Webb tried his best to keep as many players on the pitch as possible, thus not completely ruining the game as a spectacle. I mean, he could have sent Robben off for kicking the ball away like he did, but common sense on that prevailed, Iniesta gave Van Bommel a little dig in retribution, which agruably could see the guy sent off, but it was nothing much, and Webb took a more compassionate view than some would. The people who ruined the game were the players on the pitch as much as anything. As for Robben going through and Puyol not getting a yellow, Robben stayed on his feet. Now, I know this doesn't mean that it isn't a foul, but when Puyol's hand is grabbing Robben on the blindside of the referee, the ref is severely unlikely to give a foul for something which to him probably looks like Robben just skinned him for pace, and Puyol fell over. Especially when that would lead to a sending off.

You can try and blame the referee like the Dutch have, but when your team are kicking lumps out of the other team, who are also all too willing to go to ground, feign injury and wave imaginary cards at the ref, then I don't know which referee would have been able to keep this under control.

I backed the Dutch at the start of the tournament, but there was no way they deserved the victory yesterday.

EDIT: As for Quasi moaning about the goal, there was no issue with it. I get that he was offside when the ball first went through, but it was blocked, and he was onside for the second ball. You can't really argue that he was interfering with play when the ball doesn't even reach the guy.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Liam

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Am I the only person willing to give Webb the benefit of the doubt on a lot of it? Outside of the corner that was given as a goal kick, and the fact that De Jong realistically should have gone for the challenge, Webb tried his best to keep as many players on the pitch as possible, thus not completely ruining the game as a spectacle. I mean, he could have sent Robben off for kicking the ball away like he did, but common sense on that prevailed, Iniesta gave Van Bommel a little dig in retribution, which agruably could see the guy sent off, but it was nothing much, and Webb took a more compassionate view than some would. The people who ruined the game were the players on the pitch as much as anything. As for Robben going through and Puyol not getting a yellow, Robben stayed on his feet. Now, I know this doesn't mean that it isn't a foul, but when Puyol's hand is grabbing Robben on the blindside of the referee, the ref is severely unlikely to give a foul for something which to him probably looks like Robben just skinned him for pace, and Puyol fell over. Especially when that would lead to a sending off.

You can try and blame the referee like the Dutch have, but when your team are kicking lumps out of the other team, who are also all too willing to go to ground, feign injury and wave imaginary cards at the ref, then I don't know which referee would have been able to keep this under control.

I backed the Dutch at the start of the tournament, but there was no way they deserved the victory yesterday.

EDIT: As for Quasi moaning about the goal, there was no issue with it. I get that he was offside when the ball first went through, but it was blocked, and he was onside for the second ball. You can't really argue that he was interfering with play when the ball doesn't even reach the guy.

Quasi is kind of right though, because he is interfering. It's going to him, so it was cleared by the defender. At that point the flag should of been up, but play continued and three seconds later it's a goal. Silly rule, but isn't that the actual rule? I've seen countless times that they're given.

And I don't see how the Puyol one wasn't a red, seriously. Robben is through and Puyol is all over him like a rash. Puyol falls over and in the process clips the legs and heels of Robben, completely putting him off balance and out of his stride. It's a red card all day long, whether he went down or not in my book. And I get the point of Webb trying not to ruin the game, but by not making the big decisions, he did ruin certain parts of the game. Just because it's a final doesn't mean you can suddenly take it easy on any of these decisions and be less lenient.

Edited July 12, 2010 by JohnnyPerfect

[Liam]

I just think the ref was unsighted on the Puyol/Robben incident, personally. Consider the players around Robben (as there was another defender chasing back), I just think it is concievable that he just missed the foul.

With the offside, I think it speaks volumes that the Dutch arguments seemed to stem from the possible foul up the other end, and the corner given as a free-kick, rather than Iniesta being offside. It's interpretation of the rules more than anything, so could go either way.

I just feel people are quick to go 'the ref was shit' when it is easy to armchair referee, with several camera angles, slow motion, and all that jazz. I'm more inclined to consider why something might not have been give, than assume that the referee should always be in the right spot for every aspect of the game.

EDIT: Looking at other places, and watching the goal again, Iniesta apparently was onside for the first ball anyway. Hard to tell, but I'm gauging this from other places as much as anything else.

Edited July 12, 2010 by Liam

[MDK]

Imagine how violent it would have been if it was Germany vs Holland instead.

[DJ Ice]

It's always sad when the World Cup ends. It means us Americans go back to our NFL thread, the Europeans here go back to their Champions League and Premiership threads, and we only meet again when we choose to argue the quality of one sport over the other. Occasionally someone decides to attempt breaking down the barriers and returns embarrassed. For the next four years I wish many of you the best, I will see you in Brazil!

WHAT? I'm Scottish and a huge fan of NFL, Nascar, NHL (Calling them by their league names because I would be lying if I called it Football) etc..

Was hoping to see Germany in the final over Holland and maybe an Italian ref or whatever, Either way I am happy that Spain won

It was an attempt at humor. But Nascar?! I'm born and raised south of the Mason-Dixon Line and I don't like Nascar. Give me F1 any day of the week.

I love F1 and definitely prefer it to Nascar, But I'm just saying that I actually do like Nascar

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Anti-racism-campaigner-wearing-Jimmy-Jump-shirt-tries-to-snatch-World-Cup-trophy-article522971.html Any One else read this? Sorry if it's already been posted

[Pesci]

Yeah I agree with Liam. I think Webb did fine. I don't see any reason why Robben should've been sent off for kicking the ball away. It's not like he smacked it into row Z or anything. Common sense has to prevail there. The goal kick thing was a bad call but seriously, they happen from time to time, it's hard to see sometimes and those calls just aren't a big deal. You can't use them as the focal point of your argument for Webb being shit.

And Dutchies seriously can't complain about anybody not being sent off. Your boy De Jong kicked Alonso in the fucking chest.

[IAceI]

No, I give Webb the benefit of the doubt as well. People go on and on about "oh they need to stamp it out, send them off, that'll teach people" and then if we did end up with a 11 v 7 final everyone would just complain.

And as for the goal, I haven't read the thread since the final whistle but I know most people are complaining about Elijo being fouled when eh had the ball and then Spain went down the other end and scored. At least that's what Mathijsen was complaining about.

Although it's understandable when Guy Mowbray is sat there going "I don't know why they're complaining. He was clearly onside." As, like usual, he completely misses the point. And that was BBC, God knows what the ITV commentators were probably babbling about.