Football The 2010 Football World Cup Thread

[teabagyokel]

If there was anyway I could muster enough energy to be upset I would.

But in 1986 a far more blatant handball went completely unpunished in the World Cup quarter-finals. The culprit then took advantage of a demoralised defence four minutes later to score.

After victory, he bragged about having the "Hand of God". There was no ban.

This scumbag then scored both goals in his team's semi-final win, and went on to captain his team to World Cup victory.

So not only was his handball unpunished, he got his filthy hands on the trophy.

And to top it all off he's a convicted drugs cheat.

Argentina 0-4 Germany. Today is a good day for football, sport and the universe.

 

[Muddytalker]

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm not hang-wringing over Uruguay, and I've long since accepted that we lost in '86. Yes it was handball, no it wasn't given. What are you going to about it now?

Things happen; Sportsmen at the highest levels to what they can to win, for themselves or for the team. Cricketers don't walk, sprinters 'anticipate' the start rather than wait for the gun, darts players talk whilst the other is throwing, car designers use loopholes, drivers minimise the available space to overtake, it's all been going on for years, and always will. It's a very romantic notion of play to the rules, jolly good show, let the better man/woman/team win, but it's not been that way for many, many years.

Had it been England, well, I wouldn't have been 'proud' of it, but I'd understand why the player did what he did - It's the dying moments of a WC QF, and given the 2 teams involved, a once in a career opportunity to get to the semi final. Again, had it been England, and the player not handballed, he'd be criticised for not preventing a goal by any means necessary.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I'm sorry Muddy but I've got to disagree with you there. I know what you are saying about rules being broken to win at all costs however the purpose of the rules are to ensure order in the game and anything that can aid in them being enforced should be done.

If we follow your approach we may just as well scrap the rules of any game and say for football for example, send 22 men out into a field with a goal at either end and tell them to crack on. No rules, just get the ball into the other teams net. Where do you draw the line?

If you have a set of regulations they must be enforced. Football is one of the worst culprits for failing to do anything to clamp down on cheating. It makes F1 look squeeky clean in many respects.

And as for criticising a player for not cheating? Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

[Muddytalker]

I'm sorry Muddy but I've got to disagree with you there. I know what you are saying about rules being broken to win at all costs however the purpose of the rules are to ensure order in the game and anything that can aid in them being enforced should be done.

If we follow your approach we may just as well scrap the rules of any game and say for football for example, send 22 men out into a field with a goal at either end and tell them to crack on. No rules, just get the ball into the other teams net. Where do you draw the line?

If you have a set of regulations they must be enforced. Football is one of the worst culprits for failing to do anything to clamp down on cheating. It makes F1 look squeeky clean in many respects.

And as for criticising a player for not cheating? Sorry, that just doesn't make any sense at all.

There are penalties for breaking the rules, and in this case they were followed. A goal is a goal, the ball has to go over the line. It didn't, so no goal can be given. This is a sacrosanct part of football, and to resort to 'penalty goals' changes the original rules of the game. It's not going to happen. To play devils advoate, one could argue that the Ghanaian (sp?) player should have headed the ball in a direction where there were no defenders.

You're right about drawing the line - For example, is it cheating when a striker breaks forward just before the ball is played, but the linesman fails to spot it as offside? Are you suggesting that the striker should stand goalside of the defender to ensure he's not offside?
Is it cheating when a defender fouls, despite making a genuine attempt to get the ball?
Is it cheating when one player claims a throw in, even if the ball came of him last? He might not know the last touch came off him, and it's a genuinely honest claim.
Was Ballack cheating 8 years ago when he brought a player down deliberately to prevent a goal, and got himself booked, which resulted in a suspension for the Final? At the time, he was lauded for being 'selfless', and giving up a potential WC Final appearance for the sake of the team.

 

[MajorDanby]

Mr. Henry was definitely cheating when he put out Ireland, same goes for Maradona and the hand of God

 

[McZiderRed]

This is a few days out of date, but it still made me laugh...

Osama bin Laden has just released a new TV message to prove he is still alive. He said that the England Team performance on Saturday was completely s**t. British intelligence have dismissed the claim, stating that the message could have been recorded any time in the last 44 years.

 

[Brogan]

 

[fat jez]

I almost fell for that until I saw the phrase "British Intelligence"

 

[slickskid]

nice one McZ

Well the Dutch have made it to the final not to convincingly it has to be said but at least they got there!

 

[Boyle]

Good point you make Muddy. In F1 engineers and designers exploit loopholes in the rules to gain an advantage over the rest of the field. It may not be in the spirit of the rules but we accept it.

Suarez didn't technically break any rules. It wasn't his fault Gyan missed. He handballed on the line to prevent the opposition scoring, took the red card and gave his team mates a fighting chance of winning. It is a competition after all. If I was in his position I would have done exactly the same thing.

Anyway, I was hoping the Germans would win and had a feeling for the Dutch. I didn't put a bet on this year though However, Germany still have to get past Spain but will be seeking revenge for 2008...

 

[teabagyokel]

What if God was English?

 

[McZiderRed]

Spain and Holland in the final.

Whoever wins, there will be a new name on the trophy. Excellent!

 

[McZiderRed]

It seems that England are in the World Cup Final after all, in the guise of referee Howard Webb, along with his English assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey.
Now Howard, me old mucker, don't make a pig's ear of it, eh!

Reported in the Telegraph.

 

[teabagyokel]

As usual, the playoff produced an entertaining game which Bundesrepublik Deutschland won 3-2 against República Oriental del Uruguay.

So, with Bundesrepublik Deutschland taking the bronze, who will win in the hotly anticipated game:

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden vs Reino de España (or should it be the Catalan Regne d'Espanya based on all the Barca players involved?)

 

[Matthew Little]

Quick update from the World Cup final............
Taking advantage of the extra man, Spain currently leads 1-0 in extra time on a goal in the 116th minute.............

 

[Matthew Little]

Quick update from the World Cup final............
Taking advantage of the extra man, Spain currently leads 1-0 in extra time on a goal in the 116th minute.............

*In a voice similar to that of UFC broadcaster Mike Goldberg........*
And it is all over! Spain wins the 2010 FIFA World Cup 1-0 over the Netherlands in extra time....................

 

[Brogan]

Another extremely poor refereeing decision in the final.

Holland take a free kick, it's heading directly towards the goal, hits a Spanish player and is deflected 5 metres to the left.

Goal kick

4 simple things that would improve football beyond all measure:

1. Introduce technology and video replays to remove mistakes
2. If a player pulls a shirt/player - instant red card
3. If someone feigns an injury - instant red card
4. If someone falls over claiming a foul and the replay shows no contact - instant red card

Right now there is more acting than football going on in some of these games.

If they implemented the measures above then all the nonsense would stop overnight and they would actually play football.

 

[Matthew Little]

Another extremely poor refereeing decision in the final.

Holland take a free kick, it's heading directly towards the goal, hits a Spanish player and is deflected 5 metres to the left.

Goal kick

At least we won't have to hear those vuvuzelas' anymore.............but yeah, this wasn't a good World Cup in terms of officiating.................

 

[McZiderRed]

My prediction was:

... Looking into my teacup , I'm seeing the names:

1. Holland
2. Brazil
3. Spain
4. Chile

So, I got it wrong. Oh well.
I suppose at least Paul the Octopus can "breathe" easy, as his oracle job is safe... for the time being, at least.

 

[Muddytalker]

1st Spain
2nd Brazil
3rd Argentina
4th Germany

England knocked out at the QF stage by Spain

Well I picked the winners, but they have been totally underwhelming all tournament. Germany were all or nothing, and Brazil were undone by a 'functional' Dutch team. The more it went on, I wanted Uruguay to win as (it seemed to me) they were the only team to go out and try to win games playing football.