Info from the Jamaica Observer.
Originally Posted by DownyBoy
karma is a b****. Kiss that WC goodbye Costly...
Listen the fact of the matter is that favorites seldom go on to win World Cups, who would have guessed in 2006 that Italy, a team and country plagued with a match-fixing scandal, would go on to win it all? No one did, everyone was too busy watching Brazilians show off their fancy dribbles in Joga Bonito commercials to realize that there were other quality teams competing in the tournament. Same thing happened in 2002, no one had Brazil, an aging team that barely qualified as a team that could win it, everyone had Argentina winning it all. In my earnest opinion Spain right now is looking like the typical highly glamorized team of this Cup, and like the ones I mentioned before, these teams never get it done when it really matters. Putting history aside it has been shown especially in the U.S. game that if you put a strong, even half-way decent midfield and defense against Spain that they become very vulnerable, if they couldn't beat a well planted American national team then they definitely won't beat a team like Italy if they meet.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Ehh, I agree about England as I said previously, but not sure on what basis you rule out Germany, or why France is a threat. What have they done without Zidane in the past 20 years? With a cloud over Ribbery now, why give them any more chance than England?Originally Posted by trey ohh five
A lot of you fail to realize that what a team achieves in the qualifying stage means absolutely nothing and is no indicator whatsoever as to how a team will perform in the World Cup. I can't bring myself to seriously believe in the Spaniards, Spain is the same tired old story Cup after Cup, every World Cup is supposedly the one that Spain will break out and win yet they haven't even ever reached the semi-finals. The same story goes for the English, with the exception of the 1966 World Cup which was pretty much handed to England by referees because they were the hosts, England has never reached semi-finals and I don't think its just a coincidence I think they just flat out aren't as good as they're made out to be, just because you invented the game doesn't mean you perfected it.Originally Posted by CoupeIt88
My top 5 teams in order for 2010 World Cup are...
1) Spain (choke artists)
2) England (overrated like always)
3) Brazil
4) France (When you doubt France, they always seem to show up) (I agree with this one)
5) Portugal/Germany (no/no)
If I were to bet on it I couldn't see myself betting against Spain. The Spanish players have finally caught up to the world class elite and have proved that they are defensively as solid as a team like Germany with a great tactical midfield as well as being lead by two of the best strikers in the world. Not to mention they play a beautiful game of football. I'm Portuguese so I'm rooting for my country all the way but Ronaldo (this also goes for Messi) must show up this world cup and prove to the world why he earns that pay check. The Portuguese squad must also learn to play as a team and not individuals although they lack a good common striker. England is close with Spain, there record in the past 2 years is, seems like the hiring of Fabio Capello was a great move. Brazil are up there, not because they look good but because there Brazil and they always seem to find a way to conquer, although there team seems great on paper the New Brazilian team lacks focus and teamwork from what I've seen (Argentina as well, same deal). Germany is up there because they play hard nose defensive football that always carry's them deep in tournaments but never finishes the job.
Honorable Mention - Italy (they are a great team but they seem to fixated on there older generation rather than there new one) - Argentina (I'm sorry but I don't see the hype, they barely made the World Cup in a continent that one of the easiest to play on (Seriously? Have you ever watched a South American qualifying match? Pure blood, sweat, and tears out there.) but they do have Messi and where there's Messi there may be gold)
And Spain isn't just the same old team, they have the experience of winning Euro 2008, and half their team was on a Barca squad that won every thing they could have last year. That experience counts for something. And I don't think they've ever had quite the talent level they do now, with two of the best strikers in the world, three or four of the best midfielders in the world, and a couple of the best defenders in the world. Plus Saint Ilker. There's a first for every team.
I think you read way too much into history and not enough into the form and quality of the current version of these squads. France is in disarray and led by an idiot, Spain is stacked with incredible talent and led by a world-class quarterback in Xavi. That counts.
I would hesitate in drawing sweeping generalizations about Spain from a single match, especially when that match was the end of a 33 game unbeaten streak. If the formula was as easily applied as you say, many other teams would have succeeded against Spain. They definitely won't beat Italy if they meet? Really? The same Italy team that resorted to parking the bus for 120 minutes when they met in Euro 2008, and still lost? The same Italy that's 2 years older now? Not really sure how you can say the current Italy team would definitely beat Spain. Absurd, uninformed statement, IMO.Originally Posted by trey ohh five
Listen the fact of the matter is that favorites seldom go on to win World Cups, who would have guessed in 2006 that Italy, a team and country plagued with a match-fixing scandal, would go on to win it all? No one did, everyone was too busy watching Brazilians show off their fancy dribbles in Joga Bonito commercials to realize that there were other quality teams competing in the tournament. Same thing happened in 2002, no one had Brazil, an aging team that barely qualified as a team that could win it, everyone had Argentina winning it all. In my earnest opinion Spain right now is looking like the typical highly glamorized team of this Cup, and like the ones I mentioned before, these teams never get it done when it really matters. Putting history aside it has been shown especially in the U.S. game that if you put a strong, even half-way decent midfield and defense against Spain that they become very vulnerable, if they couldn't beat a well planted American national team then they definitely won't beat a team like Italy if they meet.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Ehh, I agree about England as I said previously, but not sure on what basis you rule out Germany, or why France is a threat. What have they done without Zidane in the past 20 years? With a cloud over Ribbery now, why give them any more chance than England?Originally Posted by trey ohh five
A lot of you fail to realize that what a team achieves in the qualifying stage means absolutely nothing and is no indicator whatsoever as to how a team will perform in the World Cup. I can't bring myself to seriously believe in the Spaniards, Spain is the same tired old story Cup after Cup, every World Cup is supposedly the one that Spain will break out and win yet they haven't even ever reached the semi-finals. The same story goes for the English, with the exception of the 1966 World Cup which was pretty much handed to England by referees because they were the hosts, England has never reached semi-finals and I don't think its just a coincidence I think they just flat out aren't as good as they're made out to be, just because you invented the game doesn't mean you perfected it.Originally Posted by CoupeIt88
My top 5 teams in order for 2010 World Cup are...
1) Spain (choke artists)
2) England (overrated like always)
3) Brazil
4) France (When you doubt France, they always seem to show up) (I agree with this one)
5) Portugal/Germany (no/no)
If I were to bet on it I couldn't see myself betting against Spain. The Spanish players have finally caught up to the world class elite and have proved that they are defensively as solid as a team like Germany with a great tactical midfield as well as being lead by two of the best strikers in the world. Not to mention they play a beautiful game of football. I'm Portuguese so I'm rooting for my country all the way but Ronaldo (this also goes for Messi) must show up this world cup and prove to the world why he earns that pay check. The Portuguese squad must also learn to play as a team and not individuals although they lack a good common striker. England is close with Spain, there record in the past 2 years is, seems like the hiring of Fabio Capello was a great move. Brazil are up there, not because they look good but because there Brazil and they always seem to find a way to conquer, although there team seems great on paper the New Brazilian team lacks focus and teamwork from what I've seen (Argentina as well, same deal). Germany is up there because they play hard nose defensive football that always carry's them deep in tournaments but never finishes the job.
Honorable Mention - Italy (they are a great team but they seem to fixated on there older generation rather than there new one) - Argentina (I'm sorry but I don't see the hype, they barely made the World Cup in a continent that one of the easiest to play on (Seriously? Have you ever watched a South American qualifying match? Pure blood, sweat, and tears out there.) but they do have Messi and where there's Messi there may be gold)
And Spain isn't just the same old team, they have the experience of winning Euro 2008, and half their team was on a Barca squad that won every thing they could have last year. That experience counts for something. And I don't think they've ever had quite the talent level they do now, with two of the best strikers in the world, three or four of the best midfielders in the world, and a couple of the best defenders in the world. Plus Saint Ilker. There's a first for every team.
I think you read way too much into history and not enough into the form and quality of the current version of these squads. France is in disarray and led by an idiot, Spain is stacked with incredible talent and led by a world-class quarterback in Xavi. That counts.
You speak about that game as if it were a dominant victory for Spain, Spain won that game in a penalty kickoff, anyone that knows anything about football knows that penalty kickoffs are a toss up and that when a match gets to that point tactics go out the window and it's time to put your hands together and pray. And you say that the Italian team got two years older? Well it's not like Spain made drastic changes to their squad since 2008 and last time I checked Puyol and Xavi aren't getting any younger. And why do you keep bringing up the Euro Cup as if it were some sort of a predictor as to who will win the World Cup? The only team that ever won a Euro Cup and went on to win the World Cup was Germany when they won the Euro Cup in '72 and won the World Cup in '74, other than that its been completely irrelevant. Spain does have fantastic players from Barcelona that basically won everything last year but you seem to forget that the best player on that team wasn't a Spaniard, and I think it's safe to say that Barcelona probably wouldn't have won all the titles they did if they didn't have Messi playing for them. Spain has a very talented team, there's no denying it but there are still many question marks surrounding them, and to say that they are amongst the "Dons" like you have in your blog is, taking the words out of your mouth, absurd and uninformed, what have they proven? They aren't part of the elite upper echelon of football yet, they haven't won a thing, yes they've won a Euro Cup but so has Greece and Denmark. This argument can go on for days and days, you've brought up some good points but I'm not buying into all the hype, I guess we can just agree to disagree.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
I would hesitate in drawing sweeping generalizations about Spain from a single match, especially when that match was the end of a 33 game unbeaten streak. If the formula was as easily applied as you say, many other teams would have succeeded against Spain. They definitely won't beat Italy if they meet? Really? The same Italy team that resorted to parking the bus for 120 minutes when they met in Euro 2008, and still lost? The same Italy that's 2 years older now? Not really sure how you can say the current Italy team would definitely beat Spain. Absurd, uninformed statement, IMO.Originally Posted by trey ohh five
Listen the fact of the matter is that favorites seldom go on to win World Cups, who would have guessed in 2006 that Italy, a team and country plagued with a match-fixing scandal, would go on to win it all? No one did, everyone was too busy watching Brazilians show off their fancy dribbles in Joga Bonito commercials to realize that there were other quality teams competing in the tournament. Same thing happened in 2002, no one had Brazil, an aging team that barely qualified as a team that could win it, everyone had Argentina winning it all. In my earnest opinion Spain right now is looking like the typical highly glamorized team of this Cup, and like the ones I mentioned before, these teams never get it done when it really matters. Putting history aside it has been shown especially in the U.S. game that if you put a strong, even half-way decent midfield and defense against Spain that they become very vulnerable, if they couldn't beat a well planted American national team then they definitely won't beat a team like Italy if they meet.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
Ehh, I agree about England as I said previously, but not sure on what basis you rule out Germany, or why France is a threat. What have they done without Zidane in the past 20 years? With a cloud over Ribbery now, why give them any more chance than England?Originally Posted by trey ohh five
A lot of you fail to realize that what a team achieves in the qualifying stage means absolutely nothing and is no indicator whatsoever as to how a team will perform in the World Cup. I can't bring myself to seriously believe in the Spaniards, Spain is the same tired old story Cup after Cup, every World Cup is supposedly the one that Spain will break out and win yet they haven't even ever reached the semi-finals. The same story goes for the English, with the exception of the 1966 World Cup which was pretty much handed to England by referees because they were the hosts, England has never reached semi-finals and I don't think its just a coincidence I think they just flat out aren't as good as they're made out to be, just because you invented the game doesn't mean you perfected it.Originally Posted by CoupeIt88
My top 5 teams in order for 2010 World Cup are...
1) Spain (choke artists)
2) England (overrated like always)
3) Brazil
4) France (When you doubt France, they always seem to show up) (I agree with this one)
5) Portugal/Germany (no/no)
If I were to bet on it I couldn't see myself betting against Spain. The Spanish players have finally caught up to the world class elite and have proved that they are defensively as solid as a team like Germany with a great tactical midfield as well as being lead by two of the best strikers in the world. Not to mention they play a beautiful game of football. I'm Portuguese so I'm rooting for my country all the way but Ronaldo (this also goes for Messi) must show up this world cup and prove to the world why he earns that pay check. The Portuguese squad must also learn to play as a team and not individuals although they lack a good common striker. England is close with Spain, there record in the past 2 years is, seems like the hiring of Fabio Capello was a great move. Brazil are up there, not because they look good but because there Brazil and they always seem to find a way to conquer, although there team seems great on paper the New Brazilian team lacks focus and teamwork from what I've seen (Argentina as well, same deal). Germany is up there because they play hard nose defensive football that always carry's them deep in tournaments but never finishes the job.
Honorable Mention - Italy (they are a great team but they seem to fixated on there older generation rather than there new one) - Argentina (I'm sorry but I don't see the hype, they barely made the World Cup in a continent that one of the easiest to play on (Seriously? Have you ever watched a South American qualifying match? Pure blood, sweat, and tears out there.) but they do have Messi and where there's Messi there may be gold)
And Spain isn't just the same old team, they have the experience of winning Euro 2008, and half their team was on a Barca squad that won every thing they could have last year. That experience counts for something. And I don't think they've ever had quite the talent level they do now, with two of the best strikers in the world, three or four of the best midfielders in the world, and a couple of the best defenders in the world. Plus Saint Ilker. There's a first for every team.
I think you read way too much into history and not enough into the form and quality of the current version of these squads. France is in disarray and led by an idiot, Spain is stacked with incredible talent and led by a world-class quarterback in Xavi. That counts.
Again, I think there needs to be a balance between interpreting trends and considering the current strength of teams. Sure, Spain has the symptoms of some teams that have underperformed in the past, but that's not a reason to claim that they're very vulnerable to a particular style. Their level of talent throughout the field will be hard to deal with for anyone, and they don't really have the chemistry issues that Brazil did in 2006. As I said before, I don't think they're prohibitive favorites to win, but ruling them out as contenders just seems extremely premature.
This is gonna sound mad groupie-like, but any ideas/connects as to where these dudes will be staying? I always see pictures of them hanging out in the cities they visit on these tours. I'll be in DC then, I'd love to try to meet some of these dudes (Pirlo!!!!). Once in a lifetime opportunity it seems.Originally Posted by TheGift23
Cool...get to see him when AC Milan come to DC for a friendly on the 27th.
When Real Madrid came last year they stayed that the Sofitel near the White House. Not sure if AC Milan will be staying there but if they are I'll give you a heads up.Originally Posted by PersiaFly
This is gonna sound mad groupie-like, but any ideas/connects as to where these dudes will be staying? I always see pictures of them hanging out in the cities they visit on these tours. I'll be in DC then, I'd love to try to meet some of these dudes (Pirlo!!!!). Once in a lifetime opportunity it seems.Originally Posted by TheGift23
Cool...get to see him when AC Milan come to DC for a friendly on the 27th.
On another note, if anyone in DC wants to get together for the weekend games I'm down. Huge buzzkill that I have to work for all the other games, but oh well.
Yea him and Zanetti are the most surprising absences of the team, they are both players that would be automatic call ups on any other national team and our drug addict coach leaves them out calling inexperienced nobodies like Nicolas Otamendi and Mario Bolatti instead
No issues, both Cambiasso and Zanetti are class acts on and off the field. Age isn't a factor, Veron got called and will be a starter at 35 because he continues to perform at a high level, it should be no different for Zanetti who is 36 and is also performing but at an even higher level and for a better club than Veron. You're right on the money with the scandal part, but we've come to expect things like this from Maradona, creating scandals and snorting cocaine are his two biggest hobbies outside of football.
Not sure he was the most surprising by any stretch, but I did expect him to make it. His problem may have been out of his control - his age. Dunga may have felt that a 20 year-old had little to contribute on a team like Brazil.
