::[OFFICIAL] FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 Thread:::

Jada2001Retro said:
Don't worry about me, I'm just fine.

Plus, going full-time at school soon, don't really want a job . :pimp:
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If you say so, I don't have that luxury. I'm the oldest so my fam relies on me, if not we starve.




CoupeIt88 said:
We're missing Champ, psk, louie, and Jada missing from the group. Ya'll not joining? :evil:
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I'm joining as soon as I have time to sit down and start analyzing every squad in every group.
 
my bracket is full of ridiculousness 
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45 Things That Will Definitely Happen At World Cup 2014


1. Players will complain that the ball is too light/moves weirdly/is part of a conspiracy perpetrated by FIFA.
2. Casual fans will complain incessantly about diving.
3. Hardcore fans will complain incessantly about Luis Suarez diving.
4. There will be reports of arguments in the Dutch dressing room.
5. Someone from the French squad will miss a game after a night of partying and “entertaining female visitors.”
6. People will rejoice at the lack of vuvuzelas.
7. People will miss being able to make vuvuzela jokes.

8. A small team will be denied a heroic win against a big team by a controversial refereeing decision in the last five minutes.
9. Pundits will express regret that “exciting” African teams with “raw talent” are let down by “poor goalkeeping” and it will be dreadful.
10. A major star will get injured in training in the weeks before the tournament and everybody will obsess over whether they’ll be fit in time.
11. They will end up playing, but will be rubbish.
12. The German team will be described as “not up to the standards of previous German sides” but will nonetheless make it to the semi-finals.
13. The Brazilian team will be described as “not up to the standards of previous Brazil sides” but will nonetheless make it to the semi-finals.
14. The Italian team will be described as… you get the idea.
15. There will be unnecessarily in-depth reporting about how hot it is.
16. Sepp Blatter will continue to look and act like Dr. Evil.

17. Maradona will give an impromptu, unintelligible sidewalk press conference.
18. After years of tempered expectations, English newspapers will get excited after a half-decent result in the group stage.
19. England will then choke in remarkable fashion. ::cough:: penalties ::cough::
20. Ronaldo will score (at least) one goal of superhuman caliber.
21. And (at least) one goal that is a complete fluke.
22. Either way, he will lift up his shirt to celebrate.
23. He will have a nine-pack.

24. David Beckham will be shown in the stands wearing an asteroid-sized watch and sitting with someone incredibly important.
25. Countless hours will be devoted to explaining “goal-line technology.”
26. Goal-line technology will not be used.
27. The directors of the TV coverage will spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on female Brazilian fans in the crowd rather than the action on the pitch.
28. Neymar will have a haircut that people will only be able to describe as… experimental.
29. Pundits will make several hundred references to Messi not being the best ever until he wins a World Cup.
45 Things That Will Definitely Happen At World Cup 2014

30. Belgium will be described as the “dark horse” of the tournament several hundred times.
31. A true dark horse will make it through to the quarter-finals through defensive determination and luck. (Bosnia & Herzegovina?!)
32. There will be a substitution drama in at least one game in Manaus, when every player on the field turns into a puddle and evaporates.
33. Pele will be shown on TV every 10 minutes.
34. There will be protests.
35. Probably a lot of protests.

35. American fans will get tired of the questionable play-by-play and even more questionable color commentary on ESPN and switch to the Univision feed even though they don’t understand Spanish.
36. Franz Beckenbauer will look stately and so will Zinedine Zidane.
37. Every time Spain plays, the cameras will constantly jump to shots of Shakira juxtaposed with Pique.
38. If Spain gives up a goal, her suffering and angst will be our suffering and angst.

39. There will be an unexpected standout (probably a tricky winger or attacking midfielder) who will get scooped up by Chelsea/Real Madrid/PSG immediately after the tournament.
40. Arjen Robben will do that thing where he cuts in from the right and shoots with his left and announcers will be apoplectic that defenders still allow him to do it.
41. He will score.
42. American announcers will utter some version of “you have to wonder how Landon Donovan’s presence could have changed things” every time a U.S. player so much as breathes wrong.
43. Gervinho will have the worst hair at the tournament.
44. Kyle Beckerman will be a close second.
45. It will be incredibly fun and unpredictable and you won’t want to miss a second.
 
A few words with ESPN World Cup broadcaster Ian Darke

The poet laureate of soccer in the United States is not an American. ESPN's Ian Darke was born on the south coast of England in the naval port town of Portsmouth and since he landed on American shores fulltime for the 2010 World Cup, his soccer calls have thrilled the American public with the most famous being his description of Landon Donovan's injury-time game-winner against Algeria during that tournament.

After calling the 2012 Euro Championships and the U.S. national teams for the past couple of years, Darke was named the lead gamecaller for ESPN's coverage of the 2014 World Cup, which runs from June 12 through July 13. He'll call the opening game of the tournament (host Brazil against Croatia on June 12); the final on July 13; all U.S. national team games until they are eliminated, and England's games in the group stage. Darke is also assigned to Spain and Chile in the opening round. (His schedule for the knockout round and beyond will be determined once he arrives in country.) Here's a comprehensive preview of the tournament's television coverage.

Darke's last assignment Stateside is a U.S. friendly against Nigeria next Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. before flying to Brazil the following day. SI.com caught up with the broadcaster last week prior to his World Cup journey:

Brazil is not the easiest place to travel given its size. How have you prepared for this trip?

Darke: I have had five different injections (laughs). I had to shell out $210 dollars to have all these injections and I have a stock of malaria tablets I have to start taking two days before I go to Manaus the first time. I am hoping there are no side effects. There is also an outbreak of dengue fever in São Paulo where the opening game is so I have been asking chemists what kind of insect repellent you need against that. Since we have heard transportation is quite chaotic, we are all going to try to do it with hand baggage only. Half of my bags will be books and the other half will be light as possible. Some of the guys are doing games and then going straight to the airport to get a flight at 2 a.m. with a kickoff not far beyond lunch time the next day.

How do prepare to call a World Cup where you are assigned multiple teams at the start?

Darke: In a World Cup year you are paying pretty close attention to the international matches. You watch as many of the matches as you can on tape. Once you know who has qualified, you read as much as you can on the various teams but really you can only properly start doing it once you have the draw. I have said this before and it is quite boring: Ninety-five percent of the job is knowing the players and being able to identify them. And that involves as many tapes as you can get a hold of.

So there are teams you won't do a lot of prep on then?

Darke: Yes, for instance, I'm not doing Iran in the group stage so I have done next to nothing on them other than just reading brief notes and preview stuff. But here's the other example: I am doing the opening game of the tournament which is Brazil-Croatia. I covered Brazil during the Confederations Cup and they have only made a handful of changes from that roster, so I am pretty familiar with how they play.

What are you looking for with the better-known teams in the World Cup?

Darke: Something that can bring the players to life. For instance, I can tell you that [Uruguay's] Diego Forlán has X number of goals in Y number of games but I would suspect that the audience would be more interested in the story about when he was a boy he always knew he would be a top sportsman and when his sister became sick, he vowed to her when he was 12 that she would never have to worry about medical bills, because he would pay them all. That story I think brings that guy to life and that's not just applicable to soccer, but to anyone calling any game. I'm not saying you litter the commentary with a million back stories of players, but when that player becomes relevant, it's maybe something nice to drop in. I'm looking for that type of line about some of the players. It is not something you can do in one week or weeks prior to the World Cup. I have been building it up slowly over the past couple of months.

Soccer fans are the hardest of graders for name pronunciation. How do you go about it, especially for players who don't play in major soccer leagues?

Darke: The only really reliable way to find out how to pronounce the players name is to ask the player, but we are rarely afforded that luxury and particularly in the middle of the World Cup where security around the teams and access to players is suffocating. The simplest way generally is if I am in the press room before the game I will bounce the pronunciation off a journalist or commentator from that country. I have done the same for commentators from other countries with England players and U.S. players. A lot of the journalists will call him Matt Bes-ler and not Matt Bees-ler. You would not know that without talking to someone from the country concerned.

Can you overprepare as a World Cup broadcaster?

Yes. You can have such a mountain of stats that it could drive you crazy. You would never sleep at night. All you can try to do is find out as much as you can and have as many of the bases covered. But one thing I would advise any young commentators is, don't turn it into a stat attack and don't make it a mission to let the world know how much you know about every single player. In any sport, see what happens.

What happens if travel prevents ESPN announcers from getting to the game location?

Darke: We have a guy in Rio waiting to commentate off the TV if the commentators don't get there, which is possible. We are committed to giving people coverage of every game but there has to be a Plan B backup. So, we have someone sitting in the International Broadcast Center in Rio in the event there is a problem.

How many World Cup finals have you called?

Darke: Two. When I was working at Eurosport, I did the dreadful 1990 final. I also did the 1998 final for a global feed.

Where does the Donovan call rank for you amid all of your calls, regardless of sport?

Darke: In terms of a reaction to a piece of commentary, it would be number one. It's not about the commentator. It's about the moment, and the moment was so dramatic and you hope you do it justice. I did Ben Johnson winning the dirtiest race in history [Olympic final in Seoul] in 1988 as a young radio commentator. I have covered events that have been much, much bigger -- I covered Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson in Tokyo. I have covered much bigger stories, but in terms of response to a moment, I don't think I have ever had that amount of reaction to a call.

How difficult a task is this for the U.S. to get out of its group?

Darke: It's probably the toughest draw the USA has ever had in the World Cup, almost a cruel draw, bearing in mind they were ranked 13th in the world at the time it was made. They have a tougher draw than some of the teams that had to go through playoffs to make it. But, I think they will travel full of belief and confidence, and they will be one of the fittest teams there. If they can win the opening game, suddenly it looks different. I don't think they are favorites to beat Ghana but in a one-off, 90-minute game, it's a winnable game.

Who are you tipping to win it all?

Darke: I am not supporting any team, but if you ask me going in and it is totally unoriginal, you have to say Brazil are worthy favorites based on the way they reacted to the pressure in the Confederations Cup a year ago and that they have not lost a competitive home game since 1975.

When you are calling a game, how much food or drink do you consume?

Darke: Not much (laughs). Often the positions we are in -- not so much at World Cup but quite often in England -- you don't have any access to restrooms. You can't get there at halftime because there are huge crowds and queues everywhere. I try not to drink a load of stuff, because basically you are stuck there for three hours. Generally, I'll have some water and maybe a biscuit. I know some blokes who have eaten meat pies at halftime. I always try to have a decent meal three or four hours before so you don't run out of energy.

What did you make of the dating commercial you filmed that people enjoyed?

Darke: I don't take myself too seriously and the marketing people thought it would be a good idea. I'm surprised and delighted that people liked it. We were in this Italian restaurant they booked for the day. I was there from 7 a.m. to six at night and we had a proper director there with loads of extras. I gained a huge amount of respect for movie stars who have to do all those retakes.

Did you play soccer growing up?

Darke: Not at a professional level. I captained my school team (Challoner's Grammar School in Buckinghamshire, England) and I played midfield. I was a reasonable creative midfield player, but I was not nearly tough enough. I was pretty good at crossing the ball and scored goals, and I played for my country's team and things like that, but I was not nearly good enough to be a pro. I quickly realized that I was not going to be a sports star. I went to Harlow Technical College -- a journalist's college in a town called Harlow in Essex. We did specialist journalist courses and you got guaranteed a job on a newspaper. That would not happen now, but it did so happily for me.

What player or team all-time do you wish you had the opportunity to call?

Darke: I would love to have called 1970 Brazil. They were just a wonderful team. The samba football thing has become a cliché, but they gave reality to it.
 
Salivating at the potential quarterfinals matchups: Brasil/Italy, Germany/France, Espana/Uruguay, Argentina/Portugal.
 
Germany will win the 2014 World Cup, predicts FIFA video game

By Ben Silverman
16 hours ago

Sorry, Brazil -- the next World Cup winner won’t be the host country.

So says EA Sports, at least.

The company simulated the upcoming World Cup using their upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil game, running all 32 teams through the brackets in an effort to predict the winner. In an exceptionally tight finale, Germany edged out Brazil 2-1, earning their fourth World Cup title and becoming the first European country to win it in South America.

It wasn’t an easy ascent. Germany got a big scare from Spain in the semi-final round, beating the defending Word Cup champs 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a scoreless match. Brazil had its own issues dealing with Uruguay in the quarters, turning a 2-2 tie into a win courtesy of a 4-3 shootout victory.

The final game was equally tense. All-world forward Neymar drew first blood, scoring his sixth goal of the tournament to give Brazil the early lead. The Germans wouldn’t give up another, however, eventually finding gold in a Per Mertesacker header and ultimately winning it all in extra time thanks to a late goal from Miroslav Klose. That was his second goal of the tournament and his 16th in World Cup play, a new all-time mark.

How’d the U.S. fare? Not so hot, unfortunately. The Americans wound up with three ties and didn’t move out of their group.

That, at least, is how EA sees it playing out. And while it’s easy to write this off as just a stupid video game sim, there’s precedent here: EA's 2010 FIFA game correctly predicted that Spain would win. EA also has a solid track record predicting the Super Bowl with its Madden games, racking up an 8-2 record before totally blowing it for Super Bowl XLVIII.

With Paul the Octopus sadly out of the picture (he passed on shortly after the 2010 World Cup), FIFA might be your best bet for picking a World Cup winner...unless these baby pandas start grabbing the right flags.

Here's how it shakes out:

Final Score
Brazil 1
Germany 2 (ET)


Third Place Game Score
Portugal 1
Spain 3


Semi Finals Score
Brazil
1
Portugal
0


Spain
0
Germany
0 (5-4 pens)


Quarter Finals Score
Brazil
2 (4-3 pens)
Uruguay
2


Portugal
4
Nigeria
3


England
0
Spain
2


Germany
2
Argentina
1


Round of 16 Score
Brazil
3
Netherlands
1


Ivory Coast
2
Uruguay
3


France
0
Nigeria
1


Portugal
2
Russia
0


Spain
3
Mexico
1


England
1 (4-3 pens)
Columbia
1


Argentina
2
Ecuador
0


Belgium
1
Germany
2


Think EA’s nuts? Then build your own bracket using the EA Sports FIFA World Cup bracket builder or right here on Yahoo.
 
I still think the trend of European teams not winning in a South American WC will continue. I think either Brazil or Argentina will win. Another dark horse from SA could possibly be Uruguay. I would've added Columbia too had Falcao been able to play.

If a European team does win, it will be La Roja!


But above all other predictions, USA!!!!!!!
 
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ChampCruThik said:
I'm renting out Lace in NYC for Coupe, Figo, and I if Portugal upsets Argentina in the quarters.
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how is portugal going to face argentina though? they're not going to make it out of group play :nerd:


:lol: let me bolieve and dream, dammit
 
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only thing i don't get is how the casual fan knows so much about these teams and players? not like espn does a great job of reporting footie in the us.. this question is serious and to the casual fans.. how do you gain your info about teams/players ? really just curious no troll
 
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beans718 said:
only thing i don't get is how the casual fan knows so much about these teams and players? not like espn does a great job of reporting footie in the us.. this question is serious and to the casual fans.. how do you gain your info about teams/players ? really just curious no troll
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