^^^^

7/11/2010 6:45:01 PM

if you told me that Game 7 of the NBA Finals shows reasons why many people don't like the NBA, ie terrible FG%, bad shot selection, too much 1-on-1, I'd agree with you

I wouldn't try to ban you from the NBA Playoffs thread just because you dared to criticize a sport I like

7/11/2010 6:46:18 PM

WAHWAHWAH TROLLS

Billions of people who don't give a shit about which team LeBron James went to just watched a soccer tournament. How does that make you feel?

7/11/2010 6:46:54 PM

hey look, here comes another person who calls people trolls when they are critical of a sport they like, what else is new

7/11/2010 6:48:03 PM

WAHWAHWAH STOP CALLING ME A TROLL


lulz. Sure you don't care that's why you keep coming back to a soccer thread.

OH YOU AINT TROLLING. YOU'Z JUST STROLLING.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 6:49 PM. Reason : .]

7/11/2010 6:48:27 PM

and to answer your question, i don't care...unlike you and Ribs, who care way too much what other people think of soccer

7/11/2010 6:49:09 PM

Why do you feel the need to interject your opinion constantly?

If you don't like it, don't click on the fucking thread.

7/11/2010 6:50:19 PM

If you don't like the sport or want to rake it over the coals, Twista, take it to the "hate" thread...

7/11/2010 6:54:09 PM

I don't give a shit what you like. I watch soccer because I enjoy it. That's the reason this thread exists. For people who enjoy the sport to talk about it. To come in here, repeatedly, and say "this sport sucks" is the social equivalent of interrupting two people's conversation about something by saying "I don't like that." That's cool dude, you weren't in the fucking conversation in the first place. Thanks for being socially retarded.

7/11/2010 6:56:47 PM

Looking back, that save Iker made on Robben when he had broken free was probably the biggest moment of the Cup for Spain.

Robben puts that away 9 times out of 10 and the Dutch walk away with the trophy.

7/11/2010 6:58:42 PM

i'm not trollling or hating or saying soccer sucks, i'm saying the game today wasn't a great one, but yall arent trying to hear it

7/11/2010 7:06:07 PM

Spain can suck it because they're a horrible team to watch.

7/11/2010 7:07:08 PM

great, the world cup is over. this thread sucks now



making fun of soccer (or any sport, for that matter) is like making fun of your family members. it's only acceptable for those within the family to do it. today's game wasn't pretty, but it doesn't matter if it was or if it was not, because if you don't know the game, you wouldn't know what to look for.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 7:47 PM. Reason : ]

7/11/2010 7:28:59 PM

that was a shitty game aside from like 3 plays. that was also a shitty reffed game. shouldve been 2 red cards in the first and apparently it took all the way to extra time to get a red on a sort of dive by iniesta....fitting

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 7:46 PM. Reason : though i knew it would be shitty. the final usually is]

7/11/2010 7:46:27 PM

the sad thing is, is that there seems to be an unwritten rule that a ref absolutely will not give out a red card of a big game within the first 10 minutes. A kick to the chest should never be the equivalent of a poorly timed tackle. It should have been a red, but there aren't too many (or any, really) refs with enough balls to make that call right away. Had that occurred in the 30th minute, he would have been sent off.

7/11/2010 7:53:04 PM

yeah, i mentioned something about that at ruckus earlier. it really looked like the ref was really trying his best not to make a big impact on the game... no reds on 2 obvious red card challenges, and a probable penalty denied also.

^ the kick to the chest was in the 28th minute, so i don't really know what you're talking about.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 8:00 PM. Reason : k]

7/11/2010 7:58:42 PM

i thought the chest kick came around 30 mins played... i know van bommel made that awful tackle from behind earlier in the half than that

7/11/2010 8:00:33 PM

^ van bommel's challenge was in the 22'

7/11/2010 8:01:28 PM

i'm probably getting the time of one of the many van bommel tackles and the chest kick confused. one of them came pretty early. regardless, the yellow cards were flying when a red or two could have also have been given. the problem is that there is no real way around it. players will pick up yellows because they're worth it considering the stakes. and the players know that red cards will be few and far between because they know the refs don't want to influence the game. so it really puts the refs in a tight spot.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 8:09 PM. Reason : ]

7/11/2010 8:01:47 PM

it really shouldnt matter when...they were both obvious red card challenges. its gay that refs are too scared to hand out a red for a red tackle, but im sure they are scared of crazy ass hardcore fan death threats and FIFA never giving them a chance again for making the right move


that link i posted earlier.... 96% correct calls my ass

7/11/2010 8:03:07 PM

I thought that the ref must have not seen the De Jong challenge clearly or he wouldn't have hesitated to pull the red out, 1st minute or not.

I understand his "enforcer" type mentality, but that guy trots the fine line of seriously injuring someone all time. It's uncalled for and unsportsmanlike IMO.

7/11/2010 8:19:17 PM

he or the linesman shouldve easily seen that. dude karate kicked another player...thats unnatural as hell in soccer

7/11/2010 8:20:06 PM

^^the dude doesn't just "trot" the line

ask Stu Holden

7/11/2010 9:24:51 PM

true. and i'm pretty sure one of the officials HAD to have seen that kick today.

7/11/2010 9:33:16 PM

Would it be wrong to say that the nationality of a official affects the outcome of the game?

For instance, today we had an English ref who presumably officiates EPL games. The EPL is known for it's physical style and hard tackling, especially in the final 3rd. So, this particular ref would be more inclined to let really physical play go since that's the style he's accustomed to seeing?

I might be overthinking it

7/11/2010 9:46:47 PM

loved this year's tournament but this was a boring ass game to finish on and there is no other way about it. Sloppy, passive play, and a lot of reckless challenges,. Oh well, still had the rest of the tournament to enjoy. Then again, the 2006 final was pretty boring too.

[Edited on July 11, 2010 at 10:02 PM. Reason : ]

7/11/2010 9:53:26 PM

Quote :

"For instance, today we had an English ref who presumably officiates EPL games. The EPL is known for it's physical style and hard tackling, especially in the final 3rd. So, this particular ref would be more inclined to let really physical play go since that's the style he's accustomed to seeing?"

not at all. particularly since it is howard fucking webb. they'd have to really knock someones teeth in to get a call early in the game.

7/11/2010 10:03:16 PM

Quote :

"@stuholden22 How is de Jong not sent off there?? Reckless challenge.. Again.. about 10 hours ago"

7/12/2010 1:59:33 AM

I'm in the airport in Barcelona about to head home from a cruise. We were in Barcelona last night for the game and it was amazing. It sounded like a warzone after the goal and win.

7/12/2010 3:32:42 AM

and imagine how loud it was outside of catalunya

7/12/2010 3:40:37 AM

fuck all this "Netherlands negative tactics, Spain was the only team playing soccer" noise

Iniesta was a diving little bitch the whole entire fucking game, I didn't care who won but it pissed me off he's the one who ended up getting the winner. I loved the way Xavi and Puyol wanted to referee the damn game and complain about cards even when Webb was calling fouls and throwing out the cards... I mean, Heitinga got sent off for two of the weakest yellow cards of the game. Dutch played pretty dirty, there's no denying that, but why do we want to give Spain a free pass on all their petty bullshit?

I'm not sure what people wanted Netherlands to do anyways (and why they were ignoring the fact MvB/De Jong have ALWAYS played like this and that Netherlands as a team has played like this all tournament) - should they have just left out their two defensive midfielders and put on VDV and Babel in the midfield and got run 5-0? Would that have been a better game? They were dirty and that karate kick was fucking dumb, but everybody in the media talking about "Netherlands not playing soccer" is stupid. Mourinho's a genius but these guys are everything that's wrong with the sport, um okay sure.

7/12/2010 7:40:00 AM

Netherlands was playing rough, and that boot to the chest should have been a red

HOWEVER

I was annoyed at the way the entire fucking Spanish team ran up to the referee in OUTRAGE!!1 every time there was a foul.

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 8:35 AM. Reason : t]

7/12/2010 8:35:03 AM

okay, this is adorable

casillas' girlfriend is trying to stay professional in her post-match interview

but he can't handle it

7/12/2010 9:23:42 AM

the Princeton offense of FIFA beat a bunch of good teams, including the fastest paced and most well balanced team as their last two opponents. they deserve to win.

7/12/2010 10:56:50 AM

their boring play lulled their enemies to sleep, and then after missing shots for 75 minutes+ they finally put one in the back of the net

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 11:11 AM. Reason : ]

7/12/2010 11:10:59 AM

yeah, lowest scoring team to ever win the world cup

THE BEAUTIFUL GAME WINS

7/12/2010 11:18:02 AM

^,^^,^^^,^^^^^,^^^^^^

7/12/2010 11:28:15 AM

haha, I have no problems with Spain winning. It's the annoying game analysis that's pissing me off.

7/12/2010 11:30:15 AM

I also have no problem with Spain winning. It was just an ugly, boring game for a final.

7/12/2010 11:35:15 AM

Yeah, it was an awful game. But let's stop pretending that Spain had no role in making it that way.

7/12/2010 11:37:46 AM

i don't deny that at all; they were one of the most boring top teams the entire tournament.

But I do have to say lol @ torres who did nothing besides dive around and pull a hammy over the course of the entire tournament

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 11:48 AM. Reason : ]

7/12/2010 11:40:15 AM

They were dangerous going forward, but Villa can't do 100% of it on his own. If he actually had another capable striker paired with him up top they would have scored plenty of goals. The fact they can win it all despite Torres' piss poor effort is an achievement in itself.

7/12/2010 11:45:03 AM

^no one is disputing that. You could play the what-if game all day long. The US had 0 capable strikers this tournament and played a more interesting game than Spain.

Obviously in the end, Spain doesn't care because they played to win the tournament not to be entertaining to spectators and no one is contesting that. But it is pretty hard to argue that Spain was entertaining this tournament outside of some good plays by Villa.

7/12/2010 11:53:11 AM

Paul the Octopus went 8 for 8. There's a 1 in 256 chance of him being able to do that at random. I may be a science guy, but I have to admit I buy into him being an oracle.

7/12/2010 11:53:17 AM

There is debate over the origin of Paul. It was said earlier that he is from the UK, but now there is a story that he was caught as a baby off the coast of Italy.

7/12/2010 11:55:56 AM

¡Enemigos van a odiar!

7/12/2010 12:00:04 PM

Quote :

"he US had 0 capable strikers this tournament and played a more interesting game than Spain."

Clarify what you mean by "more interesting game". Is it because they got behind every game and had to open it up to score a goal, so it gave the appearance of more of a breaking type of play?

Spain did exactly what you are supposed to do when you score to get a lead. Possess the ball and keep your DMF and back line organized and ready. I don't see any flaw in that strategy, but like you said, they weren't playing for entertainment like some other teams were.

7/12/2010 12:04:02 PM

uh yeah

great plan

score with 4 minutes left in extra time lol

7/12/2010 12:05:16 PM

I'm talking about the tourney as a whole, dick.

7/12/2010 12:08:45 PM

^^^ I didn't say there was a flaw in their strategy (it obviously worked) and I didn't say they needed to do anything different (I mean the won the whole thing, you can't argue with that).

And saying they played a "more interesting game" wasn't really the right choice of words. I just meant that Spain, especially in the knockout rounds, just played in a way that made it seem like they didn't care to score until late in a game and that they were fairly content with passing the ball around and taking their time before that.

Spain vs Portugal: easily the most boring game in the round of 16 next to Paraguay and Japan. 1 goal in the 64th minute. Luckily Villa at least kept a few things interesting up top with a few chances early on. Although Portugal certainly did nothing to help this game be more interesting either...

Spain vs Paraguay: one goal in the 83rd minute and a first half where Spain took *3* shots, 1 of which was on target in the 1st minute of play. definitely the most boring game of the quarterfinals.

Spain vs Germany: one goal in the 73rd minute. The most boring game Germany was involved in in the whole tournament (one of the more fun teams to watch this tournament too). Obviously part of this was Germany got shut down...but Spain didn't really do much to offset that. For example, with Germany vs Argentina, Argentina had been a fairly exciting team to watch. They got shutdown by Germany but at the same time Germany provided the great play and goals. In the Germany game, Spain shut down Germany and then played their normal "we have the talent but we'll be happy to eek one in late in the 2nd half and move on" game they used this tournament. Spain won again and deservedly so, but what a snoozer of a game.

The final game? Probably the most boring final I have seen in the 5 finals I have seen live.

Once again, I'll reiterate that Spain was the better team and won the game and their style of play certainly paid off 100% in the end; I am not disputing that at all. But simply from the standpoint of watching them play, they were the common denominator in a lot of the most boring games (esp knockout round games) in this tournament. There is no reason to defend against that point. I'm a huge soccer fan and I watched the game with several huge soccer fans and you have several big soccer followers in this thread all agreeing to the same thing: Spain deserved the win but their style this tournament was definitely snoozeworthy.

Quote :

"Spain did exactly what you are supposed to do when you score to get a lead. Possess the ball and keep your DMF and back line organized and ready. I don't see any flaw in that strategy, but like you said, they weren't playing for entertainment like some other teams were."

if I'm reading that correctly you are talking about their play after they score? I would have been fine with that. The problem with their games being boring was them playing super conservatively like they did have a 1-0 or 2-0 lead the entire game even though it was 0-0 and then scoring late. They averaged 1 goal coming at the 84' mark over the entire course of the knockout games

[Edited on July 12, 2010 at 12:57 PM. Reason : ]

7/12/2010 12:32:59 PM