A great start to the tournament for a German fan such as myself.

The movement off the ball was splendid and Ozil looks like a very good player. A lot of these U-21 players destroyed England 4-0 in the European U-21 final.

6/13/2010 6:09:40 PM

Just got done with the DEU/AUS game. Goddamn Germany is going to fucking DOMINATE this year. I'm excited.

6/13/2010 6:18:56 PM

Germany is not that good its just that Australia blows

6/13/2010 6:36:35 PM

Pretty dissappointing opening weekend. I managed to watch all 8 games in their entirety (i'm trying to go 63/63) but it was pretty fucking tough. There were a few times I almost gave up (particularly that shitfest between Slovenia and Algeria) due to total lack of scoring and chances in many of these games. I'm praying this thing gets better soon.

I'd say the three best goals of the weekend were:

1) South Africa's beautiful opening goal.

2) Argentina's header

3) South Korea's 2nd.

6/13/2010 6:51:14 PM

^^ were you even watching the match today? It's obvious Australia was totally outclassed by the Germans, but to think they aren't one of the strongest teams is foolish.

6/13/2010 7:34:04 PM

^^ Didnt see the 3, but 1 and 2 yes were awesome.

6/13/2010 7:54:34 PM

^^^podolski's was ok too

but im convinced the vuvuzelas are causing players to become disoriented and playing like total garbage.
im hoping they'll get used to it and start playing like they can

6/13/2010 7:58:13 PM

Dempsey's goal may go down as one of if not the the most memorable opening round goals in Cup history.

6/13/2010 8:00:04 PM

http://www.google.com/trends?q=vuvuzela&ctab=0&geo=all&date=mtd&sort=0

lol

6/13/2010 8:38:54 PM

im not looking into germanys win at all. they do this every world cup (win opening game big). well see how they are in the knockout stage

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 8:43 PM. Reason : f]

6/13/2010 8:42:44 PM

yeah, this germany team may be the same as spain 4 years ago. brilliant in group play, but lacking the midfield to go deep in the knockout stage.

6/13/2010 8:44:37 PM

u mad?

6/13/2010 8:46:11 PM

nah. klose is just gonna lose another world cup. usa beat australia 3-1, i cant take this result seriously at all since germany scored 2 of their 4 after a red card

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 8:48 PM. Reason : hes not even a true german]

6/13/2010 8:47:36 PM

germany was good, but their defense gave australia a lot of chances at the beginning of the game. they have a lot of talent for sure, but the game would've probably been like 3-1 or so had austalia's best player (cahill) not gotten a bullshit red card.

imagine how good poland would be if all their good players didnt go to germany

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 8:58 PM. Reason : a]

6/13/2010 8:58:03 PM

i know. youd think the last place a polish born person would want to go play for is germany....

6/13/2010 9:06:14 PM

^they probably didn't have a choice in the matter.

6/13/2010 9:14:07 PM

^^That seriously pisses me off as a Polska supporter.

I despise Germany, but I think they'll do well in this tournament.

6/13/2010 9:35:00 PM

6/13/2010 9:40:42 PM

HAHA, once again my theories have been proven right

Quote :

"but im convinced the vuvuzelas are causing players to become disoriented and playing like total garbage. im hoping they'll get used to it and start playing like they can"

Quote :

" i swear the french players looked like they all had vertigo, total disorganization, not able to pass or dribble"

officials looking to ban vuvuzelas because..
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5282269/ce/us/organizers-consider-silencing-vuvuzelas&cc=3888?ver=global

Quote :

"France captain Patrice Evra has already blamed the noise generated by the vuvuzelas for his team's poor showing in its opening 0-0 draw with Uruguay. "We can't sleep at night because of the vuvuzelas," Evra said. "People start playing them from 6 a.m. We can't hear one another out on the pitch because of them.""

dont ever question my soccer knowledge

6/13/2010 11:43:20 PM

I'm not questioning your knowledge, but Evra's comments and the officials looking for a ban happened well before your post.

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 11:47 PM. Reason : f]

6/13/2010 11:46:13 PM

yea but that's what the french team has looked like for like 3 years. it has nothing to do with the vuvuzelas

6/13/2010 11:52:36 PM

^^^So how were Germany and Korea able to play so well and attack with all of the vuvuzela noise, if it is such a problem? France had major problems way before they landed in South Africa. The horns don't bother me that much, but I do think they should stop during the national anthems.

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 11:54 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2010 11:53:46 PM

its not only team performance but indiviual performance, basic skills like passing, trapping, dribbling
they all seemed confused out there

& just as expected the only teams that looked comfortable were from africa, south america, & weirdly enough germany

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 11:55 PM. Reason : .]

Quote :

"Evra's comments and the officials looking for a ban happened well before your post."

but what matters is that i just saw this article on ESPN's page, and im sure evra said this after
their game


^well i honestly cant explain why germany played so comfortably but i can tell you i can hear considerablly less vuvulzela noise now than during the 1st day
plus they are more prepared to deal with the noise than france was

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 11:57 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2010 11:54:51 PM

Anybody know where I can get a vuvuzela locally?

6/14/2010 12:06:39 AM

please don't

6/14/2010 12:07:29 AM

why?

6/14/2010 12:11:13 AM

because the 50 million they sold last month (not joking) is fucking plenty, considering how annoying they are

i'd say the same thing if you asked in the NBA Playoffs thread about where to find some thundersticks (the inflated things people bang together)

6/14/2010 12:15:52 AM

http://www.textually.org/ringtonia/archives/2010/06/026219.htm

get your vuvuzela ringtone today

6/14/2010 12:20:21 AM

players complaining about vuvuzela's is stupid. france's "communication" problem is from a lack of preparation. this isn't golf. there are plenty of distractions that great teams overcome.


this is the same sport that has flares go off in the stands, confetti/toilet paper thrown onto the field, drums-chants, whatever going on. vuvuzelas are a minor inconvenience, if that.

6/14/2010 1:19:20 AM

as a soccer player i'd much rather play with flares and confetti than brain numbing noise

6/14/2010 1:25:13 AM

sorry man, that just sounds like a whiny little cop-out to me. france certainly wasn't crying about the fans in 1998, now where they?


and i take exceptional issue with this:

Quote :

"just as expected the only teams that looked comfortable were from africa, south america, & weirdly enough germany"

this cup is being held in africa. if african teams play well under african conditions then so be it. but the notion that only african and south american teams can play well under "foreign" fan behavior seems a bit highfalutin to me. it's soccer. play hard or go home. don't look for excuses

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 3:18 AM. Reason : ]

6/14/2010 2:50:24 AM

I didn't know God was German

6/14/2010 5:36:33 AM

Quote :

"that just sounds like a whiny little cop-out to me"

that's what it sounds like to me too. it's not like france has been playing lights out until they got to South Africa. they made it into the world cup on a goal that should not have been allowed and they lost to fucking china. they have talent, don't get me wrong, but it's not like their play this weekend was any worse than what we've seen from them since before the world cup.

6/14/2010 6:47:38 AM

Go Holland!



[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 7:26 AM. Reason : wimmenz]

6/14/2010 7:25:46 AM

GO BENMARK



wow, Sorenson almost had himself a Robert Green moment just now.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 7:41 AM. Reason : .]

6/14/2010 7:28:16 AM

I don't understand why they just don't ban the vuvuzelas for all games that don't involve an African side. If it's a South Africa thing, let them do it for their team and their continent (since I'm sure all the locals are cheering for the African teams too)

Some games are worse than others for me, but I've gotten to the point where I tune it out. And the only reason it annoys me is because you can't hear any of the other singing/chanting, not the noise itself.

6/14/2010 7:43:34 AM

van Persie takes out someone's camera behind the goal.

6/14/2010 8:13:40 AM

Hard to believe Van Persie was talking shit about Kuyt "not being good enough for the team," especially after that terrible decision to cut back and forth 3 times before shooting in the box.



Holland, I am disappoint

6/14/2010 8:14:14 AM

There has to be some hot Dutch or Danish girls in the crowd that they could show right now.

6/14/2010 8:15:20 AM

goddamn De Jong, stop your dirty ass tackling

6/14/2010 8:15:41 AM

Quote :

"Some games are worse than others for me, but I've gotten to the point where I tune it out. And the only reason it annoys me is because you can't hear any of the other singing/chanting, not the noise itself."

My thought too. I haven't tuned out because of it, but I kind of forgot how much I liked in the past the chants of all the different countries.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 8:26 AM. Reason : Anyone find any english streams? All I can get right now is Univision]

6/14/2010 8:24:11 AM

http://atdhe.net/20244/watch-netherlands-vs-denmark

6/14/2010 8:29:20 AM

clinical header

6/14/2010 8:32:10 AM

^Abou Diaby Greens ITWC?


ugh


they did not deserve that.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 8:32 AM. Reason : .]

6/14/2010 8:32:28 AM

haha, I was about to say

Quote :

"GHOST OF DIABY"

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 8:34 AM. Reason : wasn't the same level of finishing though]

6/14/2010 8:33:57 AM

what a horrible touch from RVP, should've been 2-0

6/14/2010 8:37:23 AM

RVP just told the ref he didn't hear the call for offsides b/c of the horns.

6/14/2010 8:47:05 AM

RVP was fucking awful today. I hate that guy.




Sneidjer finally rips one

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 9:07 AM. Reason : past tense, since he's off.]




IT'S OVER ROCK


Kuyt.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 9:10 AM. Reason : .]

6/14/2010 9:06:48 AM

2-0 Dutch Kuyt on the rebound of the post.

6/14/2010 9:10:49 AM

lazy defending to let Sloth get to that ball

6/14/2010 9:12:04 AM