At 6/15/10 04:24 PM, Ejit wrote: England is now less embaressed about the 1-1 draw.

America is now more happy about the 1-1 draw.

So yeah they weren't able to keep up with Brazil's pace, but I have to congratulate the Koreans for their performance, even surprising us all with a goal near the end. They will probably stick to this defensive strategy with Portugal and Ivory Coast, it looks like an interesting group and can't wait to see the other games.

NOW MOVE OVER CAUSE SPAAAAAINNNN IS COMING!!!

I thought North Korea were great. Brazil just weren't making anything out of that back five until Maicon's goal did what perhaps should've been done earlier. It was an entertaining game - it's stuff like that why I like watching the World Cup and not national football. North Korea's attack was so weak, but we all leaped up when they scored. I hope they're not out of fuel. Brazil, will obviously get much better, I think.

I was kinda moved by a cardboard sign in the crowd saying 'Forget about politics for 90 minutes'.

lmao at jonthomson's picture.

At 6/15/10 04:16 PM, portalwarpedJP wrote: i wouldn't count on that. Brazil has a big chance of winning, and it's just the first round.
just trust me.

A big chance of winning?
Half of their good players aren't in the team, they have the oldest team of the whole cup, their defence was (obviously) lacking..if they struggle to score against Korea how will they fare against the world-class teams?

At 6/15/10 06:07 PM, HeavyTank wrote: A big chance of winning?
Half of their good players aren't in the team

what's the other half then?

they have the oldest team of the whole cup

so what? old does not mean it's not efficient.

their defence was (obviously) lacking..

it was just a sloppy mistake. after all, everyone DID underestimate North Korea. our defense is quite something, as you'll probably see in the next matches.

if they struggle to score against Korea how will they fare against the world-class teams?

simple: because North Korea only played in the defence. how can 5 players break through 10 players?
also, Brazil has a tendency to be ten times better against big teams than with small teams.
hold there, buddy, this Cup's only starting and there's still a loooong way to go.

Dunga:

"ooh, they're stuffing the centre of defence with 8024756480396 defenders, i know, let's try and pass through them, rather than bringing on a winger on the left to give width other than maicon"

lol brazil

At 6/15/10 06:12 PM, portalwarpedJP wrote:

Half of their good players aren't in the team

what's the other half then?

Uh, players recently brought in to replace the good ones?
I'm not saying they're bad, but they're not nearly as good as the old ones.

so what? old does not mean it's not efficient.

Too old is never good...you saw what happened in 2006 when they brought all their old players in..

it was just a sloppy mistake. after all, everyone DID underestimate North Korea. our defense is quite something, as you'll probably see in the next matches.

Brazil's defence was nothing special in 2006, and it's even worse now, especially without Dida and the "old defenders"

simple: because North Korea only played in the defence. how can 5 players break through 10 players?

Skill?

also, Brazil has a tendency to be ten times better against big teams than with small teams.

Not really...usualy they crush weak teams when they're "feeling good"...

hold there, buddy, this Cup's only starting and there's still a loooong way to go.

Yes, but some things are pretty obvious even now..

At 6/15/10 07:34 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Uh, players recently brought in to replace the good ones?
I'm not saying they're bad, but they're not nearly as good as the old ones.

some of them are.

so what? old does not mean it's not efficient.

Too old is never good...you saw what happened in 2006 when they brought all their old players in..

touche, but this time things are likely to be different.

it was just a sloppy mistake. after all, everyone DID underestimate North Korea. our defense is quite something, as you'll probably see in the next matches.

Brazil's defence was nothing special in 2006, and it's even worse now, especially without Dida and the "old defenders"

we got Maicon and Dani Alves on the right, Lucio and Juan on the middle, and Michel Bastos on the left. all of them are very good players, and some even considered the best of the world, like Julio Cesar. besides, didn't Dida retire?

simple: because North Korea only played in the defence. how can 5 players break through 10 players?

Skill?

with they going ninja on everyone, it's hard. but i disgress, they should've explored the wings more. bleh.

also, Brazil has a tendency to be ten times better against big teams than with small teams.

Not really...usualy they crush weak teams when they're "feeling good"...

that's true, but then again, a win is a win.

hold there, buddy, this Cup's only starting and there's still a loooong way to go.

Yes, but some things are pretty obvious even now..

Well, I'm happy that we won, but it could've been a lot better. Kaká wasn't at his best game and was missing some pretty easy plays, Nilmar played a lot better than he did, IMO. And Maicon had a spectacular match, the opening goal and most of the plays were on his side. The contested Elano had a good match as well, along with Robinho and Michel Bastos.

Although L. Fabiano played really badly! He had 3 fouls and no shots on goal. This is concerning, since he's supposed to be our main scoring player... I'd trade him for Nilmar in no time, but I don't think Dunga should do so...

Either way, I hope we play better against Ivory Coast, otherwise we might not even pass to the 16 rounds... At least they and Portugal had a draw today.

Also, Spain's game is tomorrow. I should have my radio on during those Philosophy classes. ;)

At 6/15/10 07:34 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Brazil's defence was nothing special in 2006, and it's even worse now, especially without Dida and the "old defenders"

You have no clue of what you're talking about. Really...

Brasil will shit on every teams head while eating bacon and punching chuck norris in the face

At 6/15/10 07:51 PM, portalwarpedJP wrote: some of them are.

Meh..that's debatable.

touche, but this time things are likely to be different.

Well, we'll see that :)

we got Maicon and Dani Alves on the right, Lucio and Juan on the middle, and Michel Bastos on the left. all of them are very good players, and some even considered the best of the world, like Julio Cesar. besides, didn't Dida retire?

Oh yes, most of the "old players" are indeed retired, I was just saying that, you know, they're not there anymore...kinda like Zidane with France...you can't really replace him, can you?

with they going ninja on everyone, it's hard. but i disgress, they should've explored the wings more. bleh.

Nevertheless they faced Brazil without fearing them, and that gave them respect points.

that's true, but then again, a win is a win.

Yes, there's no doubt that Brazil will make it to the 16, maybe even 8, but after that, I dunno...

At 6/15/10 08:37 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Oh yes, most of the "old players" are indeed retired, I was just saying that, you know, they're not there anymore...kinda like Zidane with France...you can't really replace him, can you?

true, players like Pele and Zidane are irreplaceble, but a few others are.

Nevertheless they faced Brazil without fearing them, and that gave them respect points.

hell, nobody really respected them because they never SAW them playing.

that's true, but then again, a win is a win.

Yes, there's no doubt that Brazil will make it to the 16, maybe even 8, but after that, I dunno...

we'll just have to wait and see, right?

I find it odd that people want to support North Korea here? They do not even have their own fans there just Chinese people who were given tickets to go to South Africa ans\d support North Korea.

At 6/15/10 06:33 PM, DarkSytze wrote: what's up with people being on germany's dick? they won a game against australia who played with ten people? i want to see them perform like that against a team that tries.

Germany scored 2 goals against 11 people. And yes, Australia should have tried more, but instead they decided to fould the opponent at every opportunity.

Also besides South Korea Germany is the only team that convinced me with their style of play. ALL the other teams played very boring matches and where a bit lucky to win in the end.
Okay, maybe I have to exclude Brazil from that as well, as the second half was pretty good yesterday, even though the first goal was a bit lucky.

At 6/15/10 10:30 PM, ToddM wrote: I find it odd that people want to support North Korea here? They do not even have their own fans there just Chinese people who were given tickets to go to South Africa ans\d support North Korea.

True. But you shouldn't forget that North Korean people aren't allowed to leave the country. Also, it's just sport, not politics.

god the australian team pisses me off. They think they actually have a chance, but they dont, and they have no real supporters, only people on the world cup bandwagon. btw, ivory coast for the win!

I wouldn't call this the best it'll get.

Groups is where you'll see wheat being separated from the chaff.

When groups is over, expect it to get better.

At 6/15/10 08:37 PM, HeavyTank wrote: Yes, there's no doubt that Brazil will make it to the 16, maybe even 8, but after that, I dunno...

It's amazing how you can already tell that after the very first round of the group phase...

For example, look at Spain in the WC 2006: They've won every game in the group phase and played great, but still they lost against France in the Round of 16.

At 6/16/10 04:02 AM, Haggard wrote: For example, look at Spain in the WC 2006: They've won every game in the group phase and played great, but still they lost against France in the Round of 16.

Or The Netherlands in the European Championships of 2008: We won against Italy (3-0), France (4-1) and Romania (2-0), but then we lost in the next round against Russia (3-1).

At 6/16/10 04:02 AM, Haggard wrote: For example, look at Spain in the WC 2006: They've won every game in the group phase and played great, but still they lost against France in the Round of 16.

Meh, Spain had (and still has) a team full of superstars, but they never really worked as a team, and that's why they lost...I don't know about them this year, I never saw them play lately...

At 6/15/10 08:30 PM, Sir-Nuts wrote: You have no clue of what you're talking about. Really...

I sense a bit of butthurt here, eh?
Let me explain...
2006 team:

Goalkeepers: Dida, Julio Cesar
Defenders: Cafu, Cicinho, Edmilson, Gilberto, Juan Lucio, Roberto Carlos, Roque Junior
Midfielders: Emerson, Gilberto Silva, P.Juninho, Kaká, Renato Ze Roberto
Forward: Adriano, Julio Baptista, Ricardo Oliveira, Robinho, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho

Loads of good players, even if some of them were kinda old...they weren't really good in that WC, but they could've done something better...it was just that France was much better than them overall.

Now, the 2010 team:
Goalkeepers:
Julio Cesar, Gomes, Doni
Wings: Maicon, Daniel Alves, Gilberto, Michel Bastos
Defense: Lucio, Juan, Luisão, Thiago Silva
Midfielders: Gilberto Silva, Felipe Melo, Josué, Kleberson,Elano, Ramires, Kaká, Julio Baptista
Forward: Luís Fabiano, Robinho, Nilmar, Grafite

I mean, come on...this is the first time in recent years that I can safely say that Argentina and Brazil are basically equal...a match between those two would be pretty nice...

At 6/16/10 04:57 AM, HeavyTank wrote: Now, the 2010 team:
Goalkeepers:
Julio Cesar, Gomes, Doni

What about Vincent Enyeama, he is by far the best goalkeeper in the world cup so far. Did you see the goals he prevented from Argentina and Messi?

At 6/16/10 04:57 AM, HeavyTank wrote:

At 6/16/10 04:02 AM, Haggard wrote: For example, look at Spain in the WC 2006: They've won every game in the group phase and played great, but still they lost against France in the Round of 16.

Meh, Spain had (and still has) a team full of superstars, but they never really worked as a team, and that's why they lost...I don't know about them this year, I never saw them play lately...

Then how did they win the EC?

At 6/15/10 08:30 PM, Sir-Nuts wrote: You have no clue of what you're talking about. Really...

I sense a bit of butthurt here, eh?
Let me explain...

Ok and how did Brazil manage to win the Confed Cup last year?
I am not a fan of the brazilian national team, but I am amazed how you can predict the performance of the brazilian team after only one match...

If USA wins, we might actually pay attention to this stuff. hold some big celebration....who knows we never had one (I think)

Some doods on the interwebs and televisionz have suggested that the new football has something to do with low scoring in football matches. You've surely heard everyone (especially Rob Green) bitching about it and its now the reason why were seeing low scoring matches. It is also said that Germany have adapted so well because the Bundesliga (the German league) have used this new ball for 5 months now as adidas are a German company and what not and are used to it. Im not sayng this is the reason but it gives room for thought.

football unifies all countries in the world!

except USA

At 6/16/10 07:02 AM, CharltonChinchilla wrote: It is also said that Germany have adapted so well because the Bundesliga (the German league) have used this new ball for 5 months now as adidas are a German company and what not and are used to it.

That's wrong. The new ball wasn't used in the Bundesliga but in the Swiss league.

At 6/15/10 08:30 PM, Sir-Nuts wrote: Either way, I hope we play better against Ivory Coast, otherwise we might not even pass to the 16 rounds... At least they and Portugal had a draw today.

Brazil will be fine, probably.

Judging from yesterdays games I think either Portugal or Ivory Coast are gonna be eliminated. Ivory Coast was better in my opinion, but it's probably gonna depend on how well they do against N-Korea. It's gonna be an interesting group, that's for sure.

At 6/16/10 07:38 AM, tyler2513 wrote: This World Cup has been very exciting so far except I just saw the Portugal and Ivory Coast game and there was no score.

I'm Portuguese, watching the WC and not cheering for Portugal. Seriously, fuck us this year.
Queirós is an awesome assistant-manager.
^ Note the period on that sentence. He's nothing more than that. Great at gathering and organizing data, tactical knowledge, i'm sure he's all that, but fuck if he can stir a team into a decent frenzy, kick them in the balls and motivate them. Everyone knows Mourinho is the god of football management (if you don't know that, you're a biased shit), yet he's not Portugal's manager 'cause "nobody likes him". Fuck that, managers aren't supposed to be liked, they're supposed to manage, motivate, inspire. Sure, Mourinho does this by convincing every player that everyone is against him, the media are evil and to be used according to our whims, everyone wants us to lose, get suspended, get hurt, be humiliated, trust no one, fight, win win win. He's like an aggressive drunken father figure, except he's sober. Is this not the very definition of the perfect manager?
Instead we have Queirós bitching about the rain, the ball and Drogba's broken arm. It rains for both teams, the ball's the same for both teams, and as for Drogba's arm protection, shut the fuck up if you don't know what it's like to play through excruciating pain. Queirós is like a whiny bitchy kid who's lego castle just got knocked over. Man the fuck up, you're old enough.

Brazil was satisfactory, even if they did play the grinder against NK. It showed that they know what to do to a Jabulani, the vast majority of shots were low to the ground and the damned thing still wanted to fly high.

And the presence of Honduras in the WC while the Czech Republic and Croatia are out of it make me want the WC qualifiers to truly be worldwide. Just because some made-of-turds-and-duct-tape confederation like the CONCACAF "deserves a chance" doesn't mean some of the best players in the world have to sit at home because Europe has a very high number of countries. Worldwide qualifiers mean you "have a chance", but you still have to prove you're good and not just the least crappy one out of your confederation.
I am talking out of my ass, since Sweden deserved to be in this one more than Portugal, but like i said, fuck Portugal this year, i'm well aware we shouldn't even be here.
What other excuse can there be against worldwide qualifiers? Jet lag? Boohoo, toughen up, you're going to be jet lagged out of your gourd when you get there, might as well start getting used to it now.

Here's hoping Chile steamrolls Honduras in this second half in a humiliating fashion, they deserve to be here just as little as Portugal.

The Chile game is ok. Can't see Hondourous getting anything out of if. I expect it to end 2-0 to Chile.

Spain should play good after there 6-0 thrashing of Poland. I think they will win 3-1.

South Africa should win 1-0 against Uraguy who were rotten in there previous match.

The games should get more exiting once the 2nd round of group games begin.

At 6/15/10 10:30 PM, ToddM wrote: I find it odd that people want to support North Korea here? They do not even have their own fans there just Chinese people who were given tickets to go to South Africa ans\d support North Korea.

Against a team like Brazil you can't help but want the underdogs to do well

This, and not everyone here's from the US and been indoctrinated and roboticized into believing communism is the root of all evil, or that a subjugated people are responsible for their tyrannous leaders.
S'why i don't hate americans just because they elected Bush.

Them. Fucking. Horns!!