:::[Official]World Cup South Africa 2010 Thread:::

[cincoseisdos]

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

People might be talkin' crazy, but that particular prediction isn't wild. Maybe on a neutral field Mexico would smash, but this will be the first World Cup game ever held in Africa, and the crowd will be absolutely wild. Korea came out in 2002 and beat Poland and Portugal in the group. You can't underestimate home-field advantage in the World Cup, especially when it's such a huge/historic first game. Not sure if Mexico, or any other team, would be able to deal with it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mexico won, but you're nuts if you think South Africa can't pull out the win in that atmosphere.

 

[DeadsetAce]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

I don't think there is any need to argue in extremes. The truth is probably that the US is capable of giving England trouble if it plays as well as it did towards the end of the CC, but England is a better team overall. Counting out the Yanks would be dumb, but saying they should/will beat England is equally dumb. To me it's a classic underdog-with-a-fighting-chance matchup.

exactly

 

[downyboy]

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

People might be talkin' crazy, but that particular prediction isn't wild. Maybe on a neutral field Mexico would smash, but this will be the first World Cup game ever held in Africa, and the crowd will be absolutely wild. Korea came out in 2002 and beat Poland and Portugal in the group. You can't underestimate home-field advantage in the World Cup, especially when it's such a huge/historic first game. Not sure if Mexico, or any other team, would be able to deal with it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mexico won, but you're nuts if you think South Africa can't pull out the win in that atmosphere.

Don't underestimate the amount of Mex fans that will be in attendance. Just like you heard chants of "PUTO" last night, you'll be hearing them come June 11. Mex. fans travel extremely well and drop cash to watch their team play, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Mex fans at the game than actual SA fans...with neutrals rooting for SA.

btw, some english reporters were asking their mexican counterparts why the mexican fans were chanting "futbol" after the goalie kicked it.

 

[ballin 2k3]

Originally Posted by DownyBoy

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

People might be talkin' crazy, but that particular prediction isn't wild. Maybe on a neutral field Mexico would smash, but this will be the first World Cup game ever held in Africa, and the crowd will be absolutely wild. Korea came out in 2002 and beat Poland and Portugal in the group. You can't underestimate home-field advantage in the World Cup, especially when it's such a huge/historic first game. Not sure if Mexico, or any other team, would be able to deal with it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mexico won, but you're nuts if you think South Africa can't pull out the win in that atmosphere.

Don't underestimate the amount of Mex fans that will be in attendance. Just like you heard chants of "PUTO" last night, you'll be hearing them come June 11. Mex. fans travel extremely well and drop cash to watch their team play, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Mex fans at the game than actual SA fans...with neutrals rooting for SA.

btw, some english reporters were asking their mexican counterparts why the mexican fans were chanting "futbol" after the goalie kicked it.

that just made my day

 

[carlos tevez]

Sorry Mexico fans, but some of you have to be realistic. Mexico are nothing more than a regional power - in a very weak region. The team has not had much success against strong European and South American teams for a reason...because they arent as good as them. Sure, Mexico may have outplayed Argentina in 06 and may have outplayed England yesterday, but there was a common theme in both matches...Mexico lost both times. Soccer matches are close more often than not and elite teams are often able to nick out victories while weaker teams often come out short against elite teams. Mexico have been consistent in the WC since 1994...4 straight round-of-16 appearances and 4 straight exits in the same round. I think that says all we need to know about where Mexico stands internationally. Without a doubt amongst the top 20 in the world but not good enough to be amongst the top 10. Come next month, expect Mexico to be in a dog fight to get out of a deceptively strong group. South Africa are crap but are going to have a huge advantage playing at home. France are poorly coached but are amongst the most talented teams in the world. Uruguay have their flaws but they have 2 of the best strikers in the world and are just as capable as anyone in this group to finish 1st. This group is wide open and there's no guarantee Mexico continue their streak of 2nd round appearances.

As for Argentina, I wouldnt make too much of yesterday's result because Canada are absolutely horrible. You had defenders trying to dribble the ball outside of the box instead of playing safe (take a look at the 4th goal) and too many Canadian players were aimlessly venturing forward allowing  Argentine attackers to attack with little resistance (see the 2nd and 5th goals).

I'm not sure why someone here said "if Argentina learn to play as a unit". Team work has always been one of Argentina's strengths. I've followed this team closely since 1994 and they've alwas been a solid team unit. Their biggest weakness is mental toughness. One thing goes against them and the team just collapses mentally. Another problem has been tactics and the inability of their coaches from 94-06 to make necessary in-game tactical adjustments to win matches. We saw all this happen in 2006 against Germany when Pekerman made some terrible substitutions, Argentina conceded a late goal, and then the team failed to create any chances in the final 25 minutes of the match. This team is full of strong characters (Tevez, Messi, Masch, Veron, Samuel, Heinze, etc.) who've dealt with a lot of adversity so I think the team will be fine mentally. I think the biggest question mark is what Maradona does in the 2nd half of tough matches. It's easy to coach when everything is going your way and you have a 2-3 goal lead. The best coaches earn their money when they make 2nd half decisions in close matches that turn the tide in their team's favor.

 

[carlos tevez]

England will easily finish 1st in their group. What the U.S. should focus on is trying to get 1 pt against England and then defeat Slovenia and Algeria.

The U.S. team have a lot of question marks. One of them being how good their attack will be. Altidore is coming off yet another poor season but he'll be expected to score some goals for them. I think Donovan and Dempsey are more important to the team's attack than Altidore.

England are not weak on the wings. Their only weakness on defence is RB  but which left-sided American attacker will trouble Glen Johnson? Glen Johnson is still better than most of the RBs that'll be featuring in this tourny. Donovan is going to attack on the right side but he'll have Ashley Cole waiting for him and Cole often has little trouble shutting down players better than Donovan.

Another issue is tactics. England will not be scared of anyone in this group and will likely attack fearlessly against their 3 group stage opponents. On the other hand, the U.S., Algeria and Slovenia will likely park the bus from the opening kickoff when they play England. The U.S. are NOT going to attack very much against England. We know how Bob Bradley coaches. I think we'll see a match where the English defenders push up to midfield and you have 10 Americans trapped inside their own half for much of the game. If the U.S. want to score it'll have to come from a counter-attack or from a set piece. The U.S. have little shot of winning this match IMO.

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by DownyBoy

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

People might be talkin' crazy, but that particular prediction isn't wild. Maybe on a neutral field Mexico would smash, but this will be the first World Cup game ever held in Africa, and the crowd will be absolutely wild. Korea came out in 2002 and beat Poland and Portugal in the group. You can't underestimate home-field advantage in the World Cup, especially when it's such a huge/historic first game. Not sure if Mexico, or any other team, would be able to deal with it. I wouldn't be surprised if Mexico won, but you're nuts if you think South Africa can't pull out the win in that atmosphere.

Don't underestimate the amount of Mex fans that will be in attendance. Just like you heard chants of "PUTO" last night, you'll be hearing them come June 11. Mex. fans travel extremely well and drop cash to watch their team play, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Mex fans at the game than actual SA fans...with neutrals rooting for SA.

btw, some english reporters were asking their mexican counterparts why the mexican fans were chanting "futbol" after the goalie kicked it.

More Mexicans than South Africans in South Africa?

The stadium will be 95% South Africans on that day. You best believe South African authorities limited ticket sales of opposing fans for the team's 3 group stage matches.

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

SA 3 Mexico 1

People talking crazy wild in this thread, from all sides.

Don't listen  to  him

  

 

[downyboy]

Key word is "actual" SA fans and "wouldn't be surprised", never said it would for sure happen. Coworker of mine is from SA and has family ties to some of the people in charge of ticket sales for the WC. A lot of tickets went to casual soccer fans and even more went to scalpers for that opening game...more than you can even imagine. Sure its going to be a ruckus crowd, but it definitely won't be entirely in favor of SA. You have to realize SA is not a soccer country, far from it. They'll be there to support their team, but it won't be the same as with other host nations.


As for where Mex will end up, realistic fans understand thatthere are far too many questions marks with this team right now to expect thatquinto partido. I’ll be glad to get out of group play, anything after that willbe a pleasant surprise.

 

[persiafly]

for real, the "Mexico might have more fans than SA" argument was so out of left field that I just stared at the screen for a minute.

And it was I who said "if Argentina play as a unit", but the vagueness of the statement might have made it seem like I was talking about teamwork, when I was really addressing Maradona's ability, or lack thereof, to put the right players in the right places at the right time. In a pickup soccer game with no coaches or tactics, Argentina might be overall favorite, but teams might have enough of a tactical advantage over them that the relative talent levels might become moot.

BTW, found out where AC is staying in DC, and am going to try to catch them tonight on the way back from the open practice at RFK. If I get a picture with Ronaldinho I will be ecstatic for weeks. Wish me luck.

 

[persiafly]

Originally Posted by DownyBoy

Key word is "actual" SA fans. Coworker of mine is from SA and has family ties to some of the people in charge of ticket sales for the WC. A lot of tickets went to casual soccer fans and even more went to scalpers for that opening game...more than you can even imagine. Sure its going to be a ruckus crowd, but it definitely won't be entirely in favor of SA. You have to realize SA is not a soccer country, far from it. They'll be there to support their team, but it won't be the same as with other host nations.

Even "casual soccer fans" will get swept up by patriotic pride and will root for the team with everything they've got. They might not be a soccer country, but this is about much more than just soccer. It's the country's first major chance to show its unity and spirit after apartheid, much like Germany used WC2006 to dispel any remaining Nazi connotations. Maybe in the third group game, if South Africa has already bowed out, the crowd won't be too crazy about them, but the Mexico game will be insane.

And about England: I can't shake the feeling that they'll disappoint. If they were coached by a lesser mind than Capello, I would think they'd be lucky to get past the Round of 16, but with him at the helm they're much more likely to play well. Still, Slovenia and US will give them tough games IMO. What you said about Argentina also applies to England, in that there is so much pressure on them to perform and break this streak of terrible performances, that as soon as things start to go wrong they might panic and hurt themselves. There is an enormous amount of pressure on them, especially after their qualification run, and I'm not sure if Rooney, Lampard, and Terry are built to handle it.

 

[kidoopz]

*Popcorn gif inserted here*
So many opinions, theories and beliefs are going to be thrown out from each side defending their team. There is no arguing someone's set bias in a specific team which is why I rarely pop up. Honestly speaking, Carlos hit everything on the head. That Mexico group is wide open. I can't even predict if they'd defeat SA and I am one who believes SA is Horrible!. Not a top team in Africa by all means, but given the home field advantage that anything can go.

England is much more powerful than USA. I don't see why people are taking such a friendly against Mexico to heart. Friendlies are mere experiments to see who will be fitted in rotation for upcoming matches, checking for form and so on. Of course a win is desirable, but if it were the main objective, you would see the countries primary players on the pitch at all times not in suits. I basically see it as USA having a chance, but the big result is being awarded a draw. They have a good chance of beating Algeria who just lost their playmaker in Meghni.. Slovenia I have yet to see them play, so I can't just be blind and assume it will be USA's victory. I'll be hoping USA beats England, But I can't actually say to myself w/o doubt that USA will flat out beat England. It would be an upset.

Speaking of Friendlies, Currently watching North Korea vs Greece and Jong Tae Se is playing extremely well. Just converted two Blazing Strikes to goal. Uh OH Brazil

Ireland dominating play against Paraguay as well.

 

[gg23]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Back in 06 I said Argentina or Brazil would win the 2010 WC since a European country has never won the WC outside of Europe.

Almost 4 years later and Brazil look to be very strong while Argentina barely qualified.

Brazil are a much different squad from the past 16 years or so. They are almost as good in defence and central midfield as any country in the world. This teamdoes not have 1-2 stars that'll carry the load offensively like Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, in the recent past. They just have a bunch of guyswho can score goals for them. This is a very solid counter-attacking team with few weaknesses. They are one of the big favorites going into the WC.

Argentina barely qualified but it does not matter how you performed in WCQ. The biggest problem for Argentina is that they now have only 5 months to figure outwhat their starting formation is going to look like. The top teams in the world have stuck with the same core players for the last 2-years or so whileArgentina have been changing their line-up on a game-to-game basis. This team is stacked up front with guys like Tevez, Aguero, Messi, Milito, Higuian, etc.all capable of scoring goals. The problem is that only 2 of them can start unless Maradona decides to go with a 4-3-3 formation. Argentina's centralmidfield and defence are very shaky. They have their ball winner in Mascherano but they lack a central midfielder who can link up the defence with attack.Argentina have some good defenders but Maradona keeps opting to go with bums like Gabriel Heinze. This is a team that will not have trouble advancing out oftheir group due to talent alone but I'm not sure they're capable of keeping tight at the back when the goals dry up in the late stages of thistournament.

I think Spain are the European team with the best chance of making history and winning the WC outside of its continent. This team is stacked with no realweakness. The knock against Spain is that this team is not very tough mentally and they choke in big matches. I think this is a very different team and guyslike Torres, Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyols, etc. are no strangers to adversity. This is a team that'll fight to the death and make it deep in thistourney. Del Bosque's only real dilemma is who he'll start in midfield. Spain went with Xavi, Iniesta and Senna during Euro 08 but then went with Xavi,Fabregas and Xabi Alonso during the Confederations Cup since Iniesta and Senna were injured.

If they all stay healthy, Del Bosque will have to choose 3 of Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Iniesta, Fabregas, Senna, Busquets to start for Spain. I can see him goingwith Xabi Alonso or Senna as his defensive midfielder, Xavi next to them as the CM with Iniesta on one of the wings and Fabregas as the roamingattacking-midfielder.

England are very good defensively and will probably come out of their group unbeaten but I'm not confident in their attackers' ability to score somegoals once they meet some healthy competition. Assuming that England win Group C, they have a relatively easy road to the semi-finals as long as one of theseeded teams dont finish 2nd. If France dont win Group A then England wont have anyone standing in their way of a final 4 spot.

You cant rule Italy or Germany...2 traditional WC power houses.

I'm not too confident in Holland...they've let me down way too many times in the past. I may be wrong but I think their biggest weakness is defence.

Portugal are a very strong team defensively but they do not have anyone to score for them other than C. Ronaldo. They may be forced to go with him as theircentral forward in the WC.

France are not that strong but they are in a relatively easy group. This is a team that had trouble scoring during WCQ and were not that good defensively.Anelka, Henry and Gignac wont scare anyone. Come to think of it, they scored 2 lucky !!$ goals vs. Ireland

. The first one by Anelka was a weak shot that got deflected into the net. Thesecond goal by Gallas was set up by Henry's hand. Sorry France fans but there is little reason to support this team unless you're French. They'renot a very entertaining team to watch and Domenech's tactics will have you shaking your fists in anger.

I pretty much agree with everything you said... taking everyone to school.
I like Brazil a lot.  They have an amazing team of great players.  Their defense is stacked with Maicon, Lucio, Julio Cesar at goal, and even Bastos who was a big part of Lyon's UEFA cup run; I think many teams will have a lot of trouble getting past them in the world cup, let alone on defense.  Hopefully Kaka won't play like he did at Real this last year and he'll show up for world cup play.  Then again I can't blame him, the real coach Pellegrini is an idiot, siting people like Benzema and Van Der Vaart.  Their forwards aren't the most experienced in the cup, nor the best but their fast enough to do a ton of damage.  Other then that, they should dominate their group despite having Ivory Coast and Portugal in it.  Christiano Ronaldo is awful in most international play and yeah Portugal is a good team but I don't think they have the firepower to get past Brazil's defense.  Besides that, Ivory Coast is team of 4 stars and no ones.  Drogba is being robbed of his opportunity to show out, along with his teammate Kalou.  Then there's the two Toures at midfield but other then  that they have absolutely no one.  I think Brazil will probably win out this group with Portugal picking up most of the games that Brazil doesn't play anyone against.  I would like to see Ivory Coast do well but I don't think they have much of a shot, except against North Korea in this group.  I don't think this the group of death though; you gotta give that to group D.

You gotta give that group of death title to group D.  Germany is now without captain Ballack and yeah they are solid at almost every position but watching them, they are very boring to watch and not the most athletic team in the tourney.  Serbia won out their group with ease which included Ireland and France and I think they can make some surprises.  Ghana might be one of the fastest groups in the tournament and I think can be the world cup's dark horse.  As long as Essien is healthy, they can do a lot of damage.  They can easily be that cinderella.  They also won the under-21 world cup and many players have moved up recently.  Then there's Australia which no one know's much about but their an awfully hard team and will play all 90 minutes.  I can see all the teams in the group moving, but we know that can't happen so watch out for this group.  Germany might not make it out as easily as we all think.

Argentina and France barely qualified but they will both easily make it out their respective groups with almost no competition in either of their groups.  Argentina and Holland have the most explosive offenses in the world cup but some of the weakest defenses with neither having much goal keeping and a few gaps in their defensive lineups.  I think their offenses will greatly outweigh what their defense lacks.  I know the Dutch like to usually let up too, but I'm going out on a limb to say they can be the European team to win it this year.  If not them, then probably Spain who is stacked all over the place but they don't always look like they have the drive to want to win it all.  I betted on France winning it all last world cup and came awfully close.  I don't however like them much this year, they're getting old.  Lloris is an amazing goalie and I think their defense will hold up well.  However, Domenech passed up on picking up Vieria who has been the captain for the past two world cups and Benzema who I guess can make some sense for not playing much on Real but the Real coach is going to be gone and Mourinho, whenever he finally admits to coaching madrid next season, will play the real people with talent on the team.  Gourcuff is also being considered the next Zidane but I don't see it yet.  Domenech will be out after this world cup and France will not make it far after the group stages.  Italy and England are the two other powerhouse teams.  Italy has the confidence to do it again and, like Spain, are stacked all over the field.  They are however getting old and don't always play the full 90 minutes.  All my friends say we can beat England, but I don't see it.  They too have all the spots filled: have an extremely talented, hard-nosed defense and an attacking game that is a good mix of speed (like walcott) and set kicks (like gerrard) and even both (rooney).  They just dont have much for goalkeeping.

It will be fun to see how this all plays out.

Cliffnotes:

Dutch are my favorite to win it all.

Brazil, Spain, Italy and England all are up their as well.

Portugal, Argentina and France are all a little overrated.

Group D is the real group of death with Ghana being the Dark Horse and Germany not being as strong as it usually is.

 

[aplx2]

I started a World Cup fantasy league at http://en.mcdonalds.fantasy.fifa.com/. The league code is 228244-54494.

 

[shaunhillftw49]

Joined as Reliant

 

[DeadsetAce]

i just drew ghana in a pool at my local bar.

 

[erascism]

Would be a shame if Essien can't play. They need their whole midfield intact if they are to advance.

 

[downyboy]

PersiaFly- Any luck? I passed by the sofitel after my softball game and saw several kids with signed Milan jerseys...so I would assume they're staying there.

 

[scuse7]

I'm sure it's been asked but around what time will the games be on?

 

[carlos tevez]

ESPN commentators for the WC:

Friday, June 11:

* South Africa v Mexico, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku
* Uruguay v France, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Ally McCoist

Saturday, June 12:

* Korea Republic v Greece, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* Argentina v Nigeria, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and Efan Ekoku
* England v USA, 2pm ET, ABC: Martin Tyler and John Harkes

Sunday, June 13:

* Algeria v Slovenia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Serbia v Ghana, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku
* Germany v Australia, 2pm ET, ABC: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Monday, June 14:

* Holland v Denmark, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Japan v Cameroon, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* Italy v Paraguay, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku

Tuesday, June 15:

* New Zealand v Slovakia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Ivory Coast v Portugal, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku
* Brazil v Korea DPR, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Wednesday, June 16:

* Honduras v Chile, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Spain v Switzerland, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* South Africa v Uruguay, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Thursday, June 17:

* Argentina v Korea Rep., 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and John Harkes
* Greece v Nigeria, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* France v Mexico, 2pm, ESPN2/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and Efan Ekoku

Friday, June 18:

* Germany v Serbia, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* Slovenia v USA, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and John Harkes
* England v Algeria, 2pm ET, ESPN2/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

Saturday, June 19:

* Holland v Japan, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* Ghana v Australia, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Cameroon v Denmark, 2pm ET, ABC: Ian Darke and Efan Ekoku

Sunday, June 20:

* Slovakia v Paraguay, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Italy v New Zealand, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Ian Darke and Ally McCoist
* Brazil v Ivory Coast, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Martin Tyler and Efan Ekoku

Monday, June 21:

* Portugal v Korea DPR, 7am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Adrian Healey and John Harkes
* Chile v Switzerland, 9:30am ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com: Derek Rae and Robbie Mustoe
* Spain v Honduras, 2pm ET, ESPN/ESPN3.com, Martin Tyler and Ally McCoist

The commentators for June 23 through July 11 will be announced at a later date.

http://www.epltalk.com/es...world-cup-coverage/20012
-----------------------------

I think that there are 3 'groups of death' this time around.

Group A: Mexico, France, South Africa, Uruguay...this group is wide open and completely unpredictable. Anyone could win it.

Group D: Ghana, Germany, Australia, Serbia...another group with no pushovers. I expect the two European sides to advance but I think that most of the matches will be hotly contested.

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal, North Korea...Brazil should easily advance and I dont think the North Koreans will win a match but I think they are more than capable of stealing crucial points away from Portugal and Ivory Coast. I think the winner of the opening match of this group (Portugal vs. CIV on Tuesday June 15) will finish 2nd behind Brazil.

 

[niketalker23]

Early on the WC like 7am

 

[persiafly]

So we went out to eat tonight, then I put Milan's hotel in the GPS to see if I could drop by there and get a glimpse of Ronaldinho and the others. We roll up to the block, park the car and walk towards the hotel from the back. As soon as we get near it, Ronaldinho and Julio Baptista (who is huge) walk out towards a taxi. Some little kid is the only other person standing there, and Ronnie stops to take a picture with him. Thinking no one else is there, I wait til the kid gets done, then step up to take a pic. Exactly at that moment the herd of kids that were waiting at the front of the hotel turn the corner, and Ronaldinho dips out in .2 seconds. I literally had my arm around him but didn't get the picture. Got a picture of the little kid tho, which was cool I guess cuz his mom actually didn't turn her camera on in time. Inzaghi was cool as hell though, stopped to take a picture and everything. Didn't see Pato or any other big names.

On the one hand I was face to face with one of the greatest soccer talents ever, on the other I didn't get a picture with him. You win some you lose some I guess.

PEOPLE WHO DON'T READ: THAT'S NOT ME WITH RONALDINHO, IT'S SOME RANDOM KID THAT GOT THE ONLY PICTURE WITH HIM BEFORE DUDE BOUNCED.

 

[03silverbullet]

 i know nothing about futbol, but i do know funny, and i was just watching CNNi sports segment when they showed highlights of the u.s. team playing.................well i don't remember who, but i noticed after a score, the whole team celebrated and a white dude, on the team, with frosted tips busted out in the stanky leg.  i laughed and looked for a clip of it, but couldn't find one.  

 

[marionthebarberian]

^
Stuart Holden, one of Charlie Davies close friends. Charlie did the stanky leg after every goal he or Jozy scored.

Stuart Holden always reppin Texas