Not seeing the game, you're obviously better placed than me to talk about how Ireland played. I do still think they have big problems, though, regardless of the strength of their opposition.

Well you actually know them better cuz you see them play more often. I don't know any of their players really-- one supposedly plays for teh LA Galaxy but I don't watch the MLS cuz it sucks (ha ha). Probably they can do better than they did yesterday. Maybe they have the potential to be much greater, I don't know. But damn. Spain did kick their asses 4-0 in the Euros too. But you gotta see Reus-- I mean you saw him play for Dortmund vs. Man City-- can you imagine him against a much lesser defense? Ouch....

ps- just read that Ireland had 6 injured starters. have mercy.

I don't think anyone expects Ireland to be world beaters. A lot of the criticism stems from their poor showing at the Euros, where they were accused of just being happy to be there and not putting up much of a fight.

I see Germany as Europe's greatest challenge to Spain's current dominance and given that players like Xavi are coming to the end of their career and the relative youth of players like Kroos, Reus and Ozil, I think the next World Cup could see them finally start to eclipse Spain. I'm intrigued to see how Argentina are doing post Maradona's spell as coach. On paper they're awesome: Aguero, Tevez, Messi but they always seem in the shadow of Brazil - who I'm convinced will choke under the pressure of hosting the tournament. I really think this World Cup will be the most fascinating in years. I'm getting in early and predicting a Germany win, even though I'd love it to be Argentina.

oh man, tevez? he is out. sabella doesn't want him. messi/aguero/dimaria did kick ass yesterday. argentina had some problems in teh defense and wasn't really gelling as a team in the first half but then lugano had to come out and through that hole in the uruguayan defense the goals came-- and came-- and came. messi was fucking awesome!

see here:

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xua...-10-2012_sport

that doesn't even show a play by messi where he dribbled alone and put the ball in the goalpost.... damn damnd amn

--

historically a european team has never won a world cup in latin america but statistics are bullshit. still if i had to pick a winner i'd say argentina has teh best chances provided they don't have a cokehead coach.

argentina-germany final??

---

ps- watch here on 0:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW3VIIsiBls

!!!

The build up for Aguero's goal was awesome, and the fact they can leave Tevez out and still look that good shows their strength going forward. But yeah, their defence may end up being their achilles heel. I really want Argentina to win the WC though, if only because it'll finally put to bed any doubts about Messi's place alongside the game's all time greats - not that I think there should be any doubts about that, regardless of how Argentina do. Puskas never won a world cup, nor did Di Stefano or Cruyff and I don't think many people would question their place in that top pantheon. Like Dan Marino never winning a Superbowl. It'd definitely be the icing on the cake, though.

Beautiful! A bit like great players who never win the ultimate prize, there's something great about those plays that never quite produce a goal: the greatest goal that never was.

daaaamn

there is some resemblance to this isn't it? same angle & all-- just better luck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVZU2EGD4Pg

(that's from yesterday)

That's awesome but it's Pele's dummy which, at the time must've seemed like something from another planet. Had it gone in it would've surely been a contender for the greatest goal of all time.

And while we're talking goals from impossible angles ...!!!!!

And for the sheer hell of it, probably the three greatest goals I've seen in my lifetime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5W6vBI3mGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk-kXwjASEE

But the winner has to be ...

3:55

Eat that Christiano

Get out, you are henceforth barred from this thread

Did you go to see Hamworth in the end. It started raining so I ended up staying at home. So much for good intentions.

Yeah i did, it chucked it down at about 3 but they have a little shed stand so we were out of the rain. Hanworth's left back went to school with my friend so that was quite fun to see. Hanworth won 2-0, Wembley looked like they hadnt been coached at all, ironically, given the Budweiser money.

Its a nice afternoon out, costs less than getting two pints in the average pub, and youre supporting the grass roots of the sport you love. We'll be going back i think.

The only thing Pele needs to do with a dummy is to stop spitting it out whenever asked about Ronaldo and Messi being the greatest. Talk about refusing to acknowledge their individual brilliance!

^Ikari. Excellent! I'll definitely start going to see either Tooting and Mitcham (which is now more local to me than any East London side) or Bethnal Green when I'm over that way. Although I bailed out yesterday I think the important thing is to keep the interest going. It'd be a shame if people treated it as just a one day wonder.

Yeah, he's definitely become a bit of a prat in his old age.

Wow that brings back memories. He was at his prime then. And Robson, what a legend.

It's also quite funny to see Mourinho jumping around in a Barça jumper. Times have changed.

I read an interview with Robson once, where he was talking about that goal and his head in his hands reaction to it. He was saying he was in total disbelief, that he'd never seen anything like it. The point at the beginning when he's pulled back but still keeps going, like a force of nature. There may prove to be better players and certainly ones with greater longevity but as a pure striker I don't think many, if any, can compare with Ronaldo at that point in his career.

the one at 3:02 isn't too shabby either. If ever a player defined unstoppable it's R9.

His knee wasn't, though. I've read Fernando Couto describe that play: "I'll never forget that sound, his knee bursting... "

Very very hard not to love him, in some ways quite the antithesis of the other Ronaldo. And he was, I was a kid and I remember it, everyone absolutely idolatrized him.

idolatrized, is that a word? do I sound like Villas Boas?

That whole Barcelona team was great. Figo, Rivaldo, Guardiola...

oh man! the Real Ronaldo! bravo!

i know this doesn't compare, but this is part of what happened to ireland:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka6oz2ReFiA


funny! but wrong thread... :(

============

since there are no games on tv today (just repeats i've already watched) and i'm very very far from any decent local match i'm watching BEING LIVERPOOL which i had caught in bits but i'm finally taking in a whole episode and it's pretty cool. any of yoUSE seen it?

No, I've not seen Being Liverpool but it's been crucified by the press in the UK. I really want to watch it. There should be a way of downloading it so I'll have a look.

And yeah, it's hard passing judgement on a team (Ireland) when they're up against a side (Germany) that look capable of embarrassing almost any opposition. Fairer to assess them against more equal opponent's, I suppose.

And yeah again. I sent that Ronaldo compilation to a mate of mine who's a massive CRonaldo fan. I'm still waiting for his reply. He probably won't send one. He probably won't even watch it. Ignorance is bliss, etc.

Yeah It's just brilliant. So many cringe worthy things. Seeing Brendan "I love my boys" Rogers being strangely touchy feely to his squad. Seeing the optimism of the side whilst they're touring America then the CRUSHING reality hit when they play West Brom and lose 3-0.

Every player in the must've watched that and checked how NOT to do it.

I just watched episode 3 on the channel 5 website. It's hard to know who it's really aimed at. The fact it's a Fox production and that the teams owners are American suggests it's aimed at getting interest in the US. That would probably explain the quite airbrushed portrayal but it's hard making training grounds and medicals glamorous enough to get people who aren't already interested to start following it. Saying that, the poetry bits, while irritating, are perfectly suited to Liverpool, probably the most overly sentimental team in England, and it does give a nice overview of pubs in the area. But mainly it just shows how dull the average premiership footballer is, and God help Liverpool if it's having to rely on Brendan "give it 100%, boys" Rodgers for its motivational speeches. It's addictive, though, so I'll definitely watch the rest, just to see how they put a spin on Carroll leaving (which as we know put the owners in a particularly bad light) and the team's less than spectacular start to the season. It'd also be interesting to know from el Symbols if they subtitle Jamie Carragher in the US.

If they subtitled Carragher and the fans then they HAVE to subtitle them oer there. TBH they should jsut subtitle the whole thing.

Gerrad's body language whilst getting a pep talk amongst the others on the last episode was priceless.

i've only watched episode 1 completely and it was fun. rodgers's house is fucking huge and what an awesome pool he has, the fucking bastard. but i've had other episodes on while doing stuff around it, so i haven't completely paid attention. still, i find i enjoy what i see, and i want to make the time to watch all the other episodes.

the thing is, in term of story and characters it's not the most gripping thing, but i love the way the thing has been shot and edited. they've done a great job with that. even for handheld shit. so it's nice to watch, just like, the shots of people practicing, that kind of thing.

yes, rodgers is a bit dull with the speeches, but there are some other things that are nice/fun to watch. the guy who needs subtitles, hilarious, i don't know his name, but he's from liverpool and his dad works on a toll bridge and he goes by and honks and waves hello. there have been times when i have to turn the close caption cuz i don't know wtf people are saying.

then there's the minor drama of lucas leiva's knee, and the transfers, and shit like that. and gerrard comes across as a really nice guy btw, completely surrounded by girls at home--hilarious.

anyway, it's a bit of silly voyeurism, but it's been well done even though it's not life-altering drama, but i love the anthropological side of it all-- the fans, their stadium, the group dynamics-- the whole thing. it's better than watching the jersey shore or some other useless shit.

I miss Ray Lewis already :(

I've played in worse on sunday mornings

You know whose fault this is? Bloody English Builders. Going over there...

It's bizarre. They were able to close the roof the moment it started raining but they didn't until after the game had been called off. Now it's on tomorrow, which is gonna mean Emmerdale gets cancelled. Cunts.

It's Jay Spearing whose dad works on the toll bridge. He talks about having to grow a beard to prevent him from looking like a child. And yeah, it's far more interesting on an anthropological level than anything strictly football related. It's too sanitised for that. Try and find the documentary, QPR: The Four Year Plan. That strikes me as being far closer to the reality of the Premiership. Better still, the Graham Taylor doc, Do I Not Like That about the ex England Manager. Red faces all round.

I was convinced for that to be the case after the 2010 World Cup, where a young German team thrashed several countries, but now I'm not so sure any more.

A good attack doesn't win you tournaments, it's not conceding goals that wins you tournaments. Spain didn't concede any goals in the knock-out phases of 2008, 2010, 2012. Italy only conceded 2 in the whole tournament in 2006. At the same time Germany, as impressive as some of their wins have been, were still* conceding way too many goals during the last Euros. If that doesn't improve soon (haven't seen their game tonight but they conceded 4 in a draw with Sweden) then it's going to be the same story in 2014 against teams like Italy or Spain I think.


*even though a lot of those players had made a lot of individual progression in the 2 years between

That QPR one was astonishing.

I dunno if anyone ever saw this thing, it was a 90 minute "documentary film" that was basically promotional material for Man United trying to crack the American market by portraying themselves as WINNERS, ALL THE FUCKING TIME!! NOT LIKE YOU, YOU LOSERS!

I cant remember what it was called, but there were countless interviews with Leeds fans looking sorry for themselves and saying "Hey, we'll support our club no matter what happens. Who knows, one day we might beat them!" followed by shots of United winning again. It was vile, but im glad i saw it.

I've seen that Graham Taylor one once, I think it's on youtube in full.

Yeah, found it on youtube. I forgot it's called The Impossible job.

Here it is in full

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW0ebsf7ZRs

Taylor in excelsis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfCq24EEzR4

And Ikari, yeah, astonishing is the right word for the QPR doc. Completely demystifies everything. Makes you wonder how anyone could be a prem manager, even with the money. I've not seen the Man U one but I'll definitely look for it.

Speaking of astonishing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg_lPJ8hHP0

oh h3llz yea

im looking for the QPR and the other one

unfortunately all netflix shows is "YEs: The Gates of QPR" (prog rock concert lol)


i got the youtube one on. w00t!

haha that Sitton clip is classic.

USA finally clowned it in their group qualifiers for the World Cup. When Guatemala came out swinging and then the US matched em making it 1-1 in the first 10 I though it was going to be a shoot out. The second half was a yawn but the US went out on top 3-1 and dominated. Clint Dempsey came through TWICE in the absence of Landon Donovan, and Bradley and Johnson also stepped up quite a bit with a bit of help by Bocanegra. This new sans Bob Bradley system has been a ruff readjustment but I think we're finally starting to get it :)

oh man, germany sweden, watched the first half last night, watch it please, it was total domination, watch it and realize why putting 6 goals into the irish goal wasn't an anomaly.

now if they could just play like that vs. italy or spain...



i really hope so and i'd like to see them play one of these days, but i really can't bring myself to watch games featuring guatemala, or san marino, or the faroe islands.... they should go on a tour of south america or something. i'd like to see them against colombia! (colombia has been kicking ass)

Don't forget to watch the last 30 minutes of that game too! (you're still in denial it seems ;))

They really give away the goals too easy... and it's exactly goals that are so very expensive against teams like Italy and Spain. No matter how good your attack is, it's incredibly hard to score against Spain and Italy. If Loew doesn't fix that defence soon then Germany might destroy some teams at the next World Cup, but they'll be bound to go out vs Italy or Spain yet again should they meet either of them.

That Impossible Job appears to be an edited, shorter version. I think the whole thing is actually called Do I Not Like That like you said earlier... and of course I stumbled upon it once by way of that infamous Holland v England game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4EZa0Dn8FY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37PIWoYsj00

Thanks for the John Sitton clip... it made me watch the whole documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0p_4YwXGn4

[quote=pokkeherrie]Don't forget to watch the last 30 minutes of that game too! (you're still in denial it seems ;))

oh mang spoilers

yeah i had to go to sleep last night. but now i saw the results. waaaaaaaah! :eek:

(i heard from some germans it was "amazing" but we told them to say nothing more. now i shot myself in the foot)


a pity because they have great defenders. fucking loew!

i gotta see this now.... damn!

I'm a fan of Loew, actually. But yeah, it's definitely not a lack of good players, because they have plenty of those. Read some interesting article not too long ago about how the strength in German teams from the past used to be that they could compensate a lack of technique/skills with incredible team spirit and willpower, while this generation seems to be the exact opposite of that. Lots of skill in the team, but until now they have every time sort of broken mentally and then stopped fighting at some point in the big tournaments (twice versus both Italy in Spain in the last 4 tournaments). That's going to be the thing for Loew to tackle before 2014.