World Cup thread

[losCHUNK]

I was behind Spain straight after that assault on Alonso, i thought the kick at Ramoss standing leg was red card worthy n all, few more yellows wouldnt of been pushing it either :/

Disapointed with Holland but Spain was the best team in the tournament, well deserved, play an excellent passing game

[GONNAFISTYA]

lol

The Dutchies were a right pack of cunts.

[DRuM]

Call me naive, but was that really an intentional foul to the chest or just him going for the ball and causing an accident? I mean it's a contact sport, that shit is gonna happen. Sliding tackles, same thing, they're just trying to get the ball, and if they accidentally kick the other player in the ankle, should that be penalised? It's understandable if players tug on shirts, put their hands around a players torso or handball, but aren't these other things a grey area?

[seremtan]

*kung fu*

FINISH HIM!

[Survivor]

Strange fact: there seemed to be more foreigners (belgians, germans, frenchies) in my town than dutch.

[DRuM]

[fKd]

i think the dutch had a really bad luck from the ref... very unlucky. but right from kick off it was clear that spain were the better team... a very meh match tbh... bit of an anti-climax for the world cup :/

[menkent]

boring fucking game (except the fouls), but spain deserved the win. go germany in 2014!

[seremtan]

i think the dutch had a really bad luck from the ref... very unlucky. but right from kick off it was clear that spain were the better team... a very meh match tbh... bit of an anti-climax for the world cup :/

are you kidding? de jong and van bommel could have both been sent off in the first half easily. the ref was lenient, to put it mildly, and he didn't owe them anything from half time onwards

[U4EA]

Call me naive, but was that really an intentional foul to the chest or just him going for the ball and causing an accident? I mean it's a contact sport, that shit is gonna happen. Sliding tackles, same thing, they're just trying to get the ball, and if they accidentally kick the other player in the ankle, should that be penalised? It's understandable if players tug on shirts, put their hands around a players torso or handball, but aren't these other things a grey area?

Yes it's a contact sport, but that doesn't mean you can fly around with limbs flailing and not get penalized because it wasn't intentional. Players get cautioned for dangerous play [high kicks], and this was a particularly egregious incident. You're supposed to use your judgement, slide when you can get the ball, not just to clock the other player [if you get to the ball first, you don't get carded]. I still feel this one should've been a red.

are you kidding? de jong and van bommel could have both been sent off in the first half easily. the ref was lenient, to put it mildly, and he didn't owe them anything from half time onwards

Heh yea, I can't believe anyone could feel that Holland got shafted on refereeing decisions. Pretty much the only suitable response to that is:

[Ryoki]

Aside from that De Jong kung fu stuff (really, wtf was that...) we mostly got robbed by the ref, who seemed to use his whistle only when we gained posession. Very un-english to break up the game every 10 seconds for nothing at all. And if you have to dish out 11 yellow cards, you're doing a bad job. Some terrible calls there...

Wouldn't have minded if spain won with at least 2-0 and superior play, but this just sucked. Meh.

[GONNAFISTYA]

Just watch the beginning of that clip: the guy's not even looking at the ball and instead is looking at his opponent. The only thing missing is a "BANZAI!!" scream.

[U4EA]

Wouldn't have minded if spain won with at least 2-0 and superior play, but this just sucked. Meh.

What sort of superior play would you suggest to counter a boot to the chest?

And if you have to dish out 11 yellow cards, you're doing a bad job. Some terrible calls there...

You're right, De Jong at least and Van Bommel should've gotten reds

Also:

we mostly got robbed by the ref

[losCHUNK]

Call me naive, but was that really an intentional foul to the chest or just him going for the ball and causing an accident? I mean it's a contact sport, that shit is gonna happen. Sliding tackles, same thing, they're just trying to get the ball, and if they accidentally kick the other player in the ankle, should that be penalised? It's understandable if players tug on shirts, put their hands around a players torso or handball, but aren't these other things a grey area?

At the very least it was wreckless, i think it was malicous. Accidents do happen and yellows get handed out for them (Terry vs Arsenal in the FA/Carling cup final ?) but you cant be putting other players jaws at risk when you dont stand a chance, leading with the foot at head height and nowhere near the ball, I have seen incidents like this slide by with a yellow in the premiership though, so im not very surprised... that Ramos challenge i thought was even naughtier because ive seen them ending up awful

Holland at one point, i was thinking that if they bagged a goal the Spanish would start flapping, then Iker pulled off that amazing save in a 1on1 with Robben, game was done then . Holland werent THAT bad, they were breaking down and getting into the spanish plays and defensively, they were well sound, wouldnt of taken much more to get a lucky break but over all, the spanish showed some class. I dont think Holland went out to be cunts, when the goalie fucked up and Holland gave the ball back twice, thought that was pretty classey, they just couldnt keep up with the passing and movement of the Spanish and you could see the frustration building as the game progressed

[Captain]

...it's a contact sport

Uhh no it isn't :/

[Captain]

Aside from that De Jong kung fu stuff (really, wtf was that...) we mostly got robbed by the ref, who seemed to use his whistle only when we gained posession. Very un-english to break up the game every 10 seconds for nothing at all. And if you have to dish out 11 yellow cards, you're doing a bad job. Some terrible calls there...

Wouldn't have minded if spain won with at least 2-0 and superior play, but this just sucked. Meh.

GG España.

[DRuM]

...it's a contact sport

Uhh no it isn't :/

I believe it is, but I'm open to being proved wrong. Or maybe it's technically more a collision sport.

[Captain]

Well, it can go both ways. Yes, aggressiveness and physical strength is a core part of football. However, it's not a contact sport in the same sense as hockey, simply because anything worse than pushing and shoving is prohibited.

[U4EA]

I think DRuM is right. The distinction being that a "contact" sport is one in which opposing players can come into physical contact with each other, whereas an example of a non-contact sport would be something like tennis. Basketball also counts as a contact sport. The "collision sport" term then differentiates between light contact and full on contact like rugby, ice hockey and American football.

[Eraser]

De Jong's foul could've been red, but then again, Iniesta tackled van Bommel in a non-play sitation for which the ref only gave a free kick. Should've been red too. Also, the Dutch free kick right before the goal went behind the line after it very obviously hit the spanish player. The ref gave a goal kick, should've been a corner. I can't believe that both the ref and linesman missed that.
Not to mention the fact that Spanish players kept asking for yellow cards. The rules clearly state that any player asking for a card should get one himself. Not one time did Webb pull a card on a player asking for a card, while he did give yellow to Robben who responded furiously (and rightly so) after he was taken down on his second chance. Robben should've let himself fall there. Would've been another yellow card for Iniesta and a good free kick, but can't blame him for fighting on.

I'm not saying the Dutch lost because of the ref, but the ref all too happily dished out cards. There were some terrible calls made by the ref and it ruined the game. At one point he literally blew his whistle every 20 seconds. What's also interesting is the theatrical plays of the ref. The man tries to draw the spotlight to himself. He gives minute long speeches to players on how they misbehave. Whenever he gives yellow he takes the player apart and talks to the player. It just kills the pace of the game. The fact that there's so much talk about the ref is already an indication on how badly he whistled. A ref should be an invisible force that keeps control over the game. Webb turned himself into an important influence on the progress of the game and he entirely lost control of it.

I do think Spain were the stronger team, but the Dutch put up a good fight and weren't that brutal at all. It's a real shame the Dutch squad didn't win but we're still proud

[U4EA]

I've read a number of news articles, every single one pretty much with the same opinion. This one is the best written:

The World Cup: a deserved winner with a side of calamari

The right nation won the World Cup. A team that truly knew the value of a goal.

Spain won its four knock-out matches on a 1-0 score line. Each winner coming after the hour mark. The ultimate Andres Iniesta side volley was as close to the death in extra time as you'd want to cut it.

The result was a win for the purity and integrity of football. Spain held to its intricate interplay and reaped a mighty dividend. The Netherlands played with the concession of inferiority but almost pulled off an ill-mannered heist.

Believing the edict the match would be decided by football rather than refereeing, the Oranje hacked and chopped and bruised and buried the playmakers of Spain spreading the yellow cards in a manner that proved intolerable.

If you announce the suspension of regular rules the players quickly take advantage of the latitude. It leaves the good ruthlessly exposed. And leads to the unsatisfactory outcome where Nigel De Jong can execute a karate kick - the equivalent of the Zidane head butt - yet remain on the pitch.

The Netherlands racked up nine yellow cards - everyone warranted - in a display too cynical for the World Game's showpiece.

Sadly the Dutch went on to embarrass themselves after the goal with their incorrect insistence on a botched offside call.

After the final whistle coach Bert van Marwijk whinged in the face of Yorkshireman Howard Webb in a manner that should have him excluded from the sidelines of FIFA-sanctioned matches for some time. He should've been shaking the referee's hand for not reducing his force to nine men.

If ever there was a team that had relinquished its right to moral outrage this was it.

The Netherlands lost because Arjen Robben couldn't beat the Spanish keeper one out. They played for set pieces and counterattack. They got precisely what they wanted in the 62nd minute and should live with the knowledge they weren't good enough to run the blade through.

A nation bred on "Total Football" walked out of Soccer City Stadium a little diminished.

For its part Spain maintained its dignity and, even as the timepiece suggested otherwise, forever believed the winner would come.

They too had watched gilt-edged chances evaporate. Sergio Ramos should've buried a free header in the 77th minute. Cesc Fabregas should've beaten the keeper early in extra time.

But they never resorted to desperate, long balls as the two hour mark approached. Vindication came in an eight pass movement from the back fuelled by the inspiration of a Jesus Navas run and finished by the nerveless touch of Iniesta.

This will be condemned as a poor final, the least imaginative have already produced the cries of "boring". As compensation it was wrought with tension as penalties loomed and produced a pulsating climax.

If anything it suffered from the impossibly high stakes the World Cup offers. This was true in the opening rounds of the pool stage. Nations were too scared to chance their arm and seize an initiative for fear of the alternative.

The frenzy which can grip such a tournament took hold in the quarter finals delivering 48 hours of madness.

Ghana versus Uruguay will be the match that defines South Africa 2010. The hands of Luis Suarez. The false penalty of Asamoah Gyan. The meltdown of his teammates in the shootout. The heartbreak of a continent.

Throw in the Netherlands second half comeback to dump Brazil, missed penalties within a minute between Paraguay and Spain and Germany's four goals to end Diego Maradona's flirtation with coaching to complete a bizarre yet hugely entertaining picture.

The football recovered and shone through in the semis. The Netherlands broke from their dour mindset to oust Uruguay and Spain played the best match of all to dictate and take down the Germans.

Along the way South Africa proved it could host one of jewels of international sport and the psychic powers of an octopus gripped the world's media.

Spain carried favouritism into the tournament and a month later emerged having completed the Euro/World Cup double. They are a fine team and history will judge them kindly.

Time now to catch up on too much lost sleep. And satisfy an intense craving for calamari.

I think Dutch opinion is coloured by nationalism.

edit: This paragraph is good:

In short, the Netherlands has long been a far bigger force in football than its mere size suggests. Great thinkers of the sport, the Dutch have pollinated other countries and leagues with their ideas, skills and knowledge. That means they will, eventually, lift the World Cup. Just not here, their third time of asking. To neutralize Spanish inventiveness, the Dutch lost their own artistry, hacking down Spanish players in a blizzard of fouls and deserved yellow cards.

[MKJ]

the match felt more like Handegg than footie; the ref stopped the game after every 3 mins of action.
but the better team won; Robben really messed some shit up. and giving lip like that doesnt help.

[Eraser]

I don't understand professional football players still act like that against a ref. Back when I played in the junior teams we got our asses whooped by the coach if we gave a big mouth at the ref. Professional football players should have learned to keep their mouths shut by the time they play on a world cup, no?

[Ryoki]

Haha, i see i made a dissapointed drunk post yesterday

With the benefit of sobriety, i shall make a few more totally eloquent comments:
- the better team won
- but we made them fight for it, the cunts
- Howard Webb should not be allowed near a pitch ever again. I totally agree with what Eraser says about him.
- Van Persie...

[Eraser]

I think there will be a lot of fiery responses from the Dutch in general. The negative criticism the Dutch squad received for these finals hurts a lot. The Dutch are used to seeing their squad play glorious and good looking football. There's been a lot of criticism on the current playing style of the orange squad from the Dutch themselves. It's too formal. Not nice to look at. It's only efficient.

The Dutch want to see good looking gracious football from their squad. They want to be remembered as a country who is a joy to watch. I think the negativity surrounding this last match combined with the criticism on the Dutch squad's playing style is what hurts the Dutch fans the most.