Fifa Cup 2010

[Slevin MacKnife]

predictions before the tournament even began dont really count...

and sure, messi hasnt scored, but hes been 1 of the best players regardless, setting up alot of argentina's goals and always taking 3-4 players out of the game with his darting runs.

next u will be telling me that rooney, ronalda and kaka are all bad players because they didnt score loads of goals in the 4-5 games they played?

[Putsku]

Rooney is the most overrated player in the history of football, so yes he is bad.

[Chris Carr]

Slevin if you want to sit on the side lines and talk that is great. I have played Soccer, sorry I am American, for over the past 20 years at very high levels. Been around the world playing however never made it to Euro club ball. But I am sure you enjoy sitting in the stands watching.

[stokes234]

Originally Posted by Slevin MacKnife predictions before the tournament even began dont really count... and sure, messi hasnt scored, but hes been 1 of the best players regardless, setting up alot of argentina's goals and always taking 3-4 players out of the game with his darting runs. next u will be telling me that rooney, ronalda and kaka are all bad players because they didnt score loads of goals in the 4-5 games they played?

Rooney probably halved his value this tournament, and ronaldo didn't exactly come out of it a hero. And kaka got sent off, lols.

End of the day thos players might be considered some of the best in the world, but if you don't score, barely set up any goals, and then your team gets knocked out, you're not much use.

[Slevin MacKnife]

Originally Posted by Chris Carr Slevin if you want to sit on the side lines and talk that is great. I have played Soccer, sorry I am American, for over the past 20 years at very high levels. Been around the world playing however never made it to Euro club ball. But I am sure you enjoy sitting in the stands watching.

very high level 'soccer' in america isnt gonna impress any1 sorry. its basically where all the brits go who cant get signed for any uk clubs. this i know, as my brothers best mate couldnt get a contract with any clubs over here so took a scholarship to america

to summarize....high lvl soccer in america is like high level pork cuisine in israel.

[Slevin MacKnife]

Originally Posted by stokes234 Rooney probably halved his value this tournament, and ronaldo didn't exactly come out of it a hero. And kaka got sent off, lols. End of the day thos players might be considered some of the best in the world, but if you don't score, barely set up any goals, and then your team gets knocked out, you're not much use.

depends imo. look at the germans - hardly brimming with world reknown stars but they play extremely well as a team. football isnt about the individual. argentina had the best attacking force in the world but as they got outplayed in midfield and defence those players didnt get the ball often enough to do anything with it. england (with terry, ferdinand, cold and johnson) have 1 of the strongest defences in the world but as our attack traditionally sucks (rooney would be the exception when in form....) its irrelevant. if you cant score, defending means nothing (e.g. algeria game)

the individuals themselves are definetly some of the best players in the world when they play for their clubs - the world cup is a totally different scenario however, and you have to remember they only get to play 4-5 matches with a team they dont see all that often.

[t3chn0m0dj0]

Well I wouldn't say that. Players in the german teams aren't hyped as other players, since they don't have a Popstar role to fullfill. Players like Beckham,Ronaldo,Messi are Popstars as well. Beckham is the stereotypical perfect mid-aged guy, very intersting and experienced. Ronaldo is the young super athletical sexy boy. Messi is the cute guy from next door, having the genes to step into Maradonnas feet.

The only german guy in the last 10 years, who was already hyped that much was Michael Ballack.

Almost 50% of the curent national in germany are players from Bayern. Bayern came in 2nd in the last Championsleague Season, won the german Cup and ended up 1st in the german league. So, that is a key factor since the players know each other very well. You have an almost identical situation in Spain. 60% of the players are from Barcelona, 30% Real Madrid and the rest is from Valencia/Liverpool.

The difference is, that the spanish teams weren't that good in the last C-League season. This performance was directly transfered into the Spanish WC players as you have seen against Switzerland.

The Spanish are gaining momentum slowly this WC and that is why I'm really looking forward to the next game. Germany without Müller (who has prob. doubled his market value) vs. Spain who hardly gain superiority in the last games.

Now that people start realising that germany actually is one of the best teams, the pressure is growing fast for the young players. I hope that we'll have a revenge for the last European Championship finals in 2006.

[Groovytunes]

Originally Posted by Slevin MacKnife depends imo. look at the germans - hardly brimming with world reknown stars but they play extremely well as a team. football isnt about the individual. argentina had the best attacking force in the world but as they got outplayed in midfield and defence those players didnt get the ball often enough to do anything with it. england (with terry, ferdinand, cold and johnson) have 1 of the strongest defences in the world but as our attack traditionally sucks (rooney would be the exception when in form....) its irrelevant. if you cant score, defending means nothing (e.g. algeria game) the individuals themselves are definetly some of the best players in the world when they play for their clubs - the world cup is a totally different scenario however, and you have to remember they only get to play 4-5 matches with a team they dont see all that often.

Terry, Ferdinand, Cole and Johnson one of the world's strongest defences?? Pleeeaase!

Ferdinand is a walking calamity waiting to happen with a dodgy back, Terry is only good when winning, as soon as it goes bad he's like a headless chicken trying to play 11 positions himself, Johnson is an average winger playing full-back and Cole is a total bell-end.

But you touch on exactly why England continue to fail... Outsiders can see it but the English cant for some reason. It was displayed well in the Slovenia game, as well as the Germany game. The general rule in England is that if they don't play in the Premiership they must be ****... There's a serious ignorance to leagues, teams and players around the world, and so they take the wrong teams lightly.

Pre kick off vs Slovenia the media chat was "these guys are good, we'll struggle... We've been awful so far, this is a big ask" Then as soon as it goes 1-0 England, the commentators start saying how this lot are poor and we should be sticking 8 past them!

Pre kick off vs Germany the talk was "how many of the Germans would get in the England line up? 1? 2 maybe?"

The answer is..... ALL OF THEM.

[Slevin MacKnife]

Originally Posted by Jeremiah . The general rule in England is that if they don't play in the Premiership they must be ****... There's a serious ignorance to leagues, teams and players around the world, and so they take the wrong teams lightly.

pretty much...but then again, not many english players play outside the premiership. the one exception is hargreaves who is an awesome player imo. the real question to be asking is, even though these players are amazing for their clubs, why do they get played internationally out of position??? that is half of englands problem....players playing in style, formation and position they just arent comfortable with. something like 3/11 of our starting team against germany played in the role and position that they do for their club

Originally Posted by Jeremiah The answer is..... ALL OF THEM.

i dont think you can really compare players too well like that imo. the german team is not full of superstars, but thats not to say they dont have some exceptional players. players like messi and ronaldo shine because of what they are able to pull off mostly by themselves. the german success has come from exceptional team play. as a team they have been outstanding, which is why they are winning so comfortably.

the real star in the german team for me is oezil, who has been superb in everygame iv watched. the scary thing about the germans is actually the sheer amount of young talent in the team, which more then makes up for the lack of superstar presence who are unlikely to be a factor in future world cups

[Slevin MacKnife]

Originally Posted by t3chn0m0dj0 The Spanish are gaining momentum slowly this WC and that is why I'm really looking forward to the next game. Germany without Müller (who has prob. doubled his market value) vs. Spain who hardly gain superiority in the last games.

the key for spain is not to make englands mistake. STOP PLAYING TORRES. you do not play players who are not in form, when form is all that matters. the world cup (as with most major international tournaments) is over such a short period of time that playing someone based on how good they have been earlier in the season is dumb. torres isnt scoring, or even looking like scoring. dont play him.

spain vs germany will be interesting to watch. i would put my money on spain if they can play at their best, but with their current performances the money would be on germany to go through.



totally unrelated....any1 see barca losing a game next year ?

adding villa and oezil to their ranks is tipping their already exceptional team into awesomeness