apparently restart in a few minutes
its on again
Well, that was flippin' anti-climactic.
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So, you guys see Theo Walcott?
Dude's on the pitch for 25 minutes and is the Man of the Match. An awesome goal, a freakishly awesome assist -- and he would have gotten another goal if Carrol had passed it to him in the 75th and another assist (to Ox) if Gerrard hadn't jumped in the way in the 89th.
Except for Frank Lampard and maybe Ashley Young, Arsenal has the best three English Midfielders, Walcott, Wilshere & Ox.
"Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-... That's all, folks."
LU LU LU LUKAS PODOLSKI !!!
Any Czech around?
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Okay, now it's tricksy.
In one sense I'm thrilled for Rosicky cuz he'll get to play in the Quarterfinals. In another sense, now especially since he's a bit injured, I really don't want him playing in the Quarterfinals.
And the opposite for Robin van Persie. I'm glad he can take the rest of the summer to rest but it sucks that he may be suffering this emotional defeat. Zero points!?!
. . . . Let's see how many Podolsky can score for his new Club Team this year. Here's hoping it's over 15!
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And we're off to the Quarterfinals!
How did everyone else do on predictions?
Here's mine from a couple weeks ago, originally posted on the first page of this Thread:
1) Czech Republic
2) Greece1) Germany
2) Nederlands1) Spain
2) Croatia1) France
2) EnglandQuarter Final Winners:
x- Germany
x- Nederlands
x- Spain
x- FranceChampion:
Germany
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.So,... not bad, I think.
No one -- not even Christiano Ronaldo's Mother -- predicted Portugal over Holland!
And I aced that tricksy Group A!
Croatia and Italy were a tough choice for me and I doggedly went for the underdog, ah well.
And I had England and France swapped which throws a REAL monkeywrench in my Quartrfinal predictions.
i like your prediction for the Champion, Ray :-D
No, rest day. After Englands Glorious (lucky) victory.
Who's up tonight?
No, rest day. After Englands Glorious (lucky) victory.
Who's up tonight?
czech vs Portugal
go Czech!
Go Gebreselassie!
argh, Ronaldo again
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I'm just glad Rosicky can get the rest he needs now.
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Here's one for you guys to raise your eyebrows at (or maybe roll your eyes):
I believe France have an even chance against Spain!
So I may as well pick the surprise upset in a 50/50 match.
France beats Spain
Again, not because they're better; as you see in my earlier post I have Spain as #1 and France as #4 in Europe. I just think that France are super motivated to erase what happened in RSA and Spain aren't as hungry, especially w/out Villa & Puyol.
Personally, I would prefer a player to have confidence and experience (& be worth more for when Wenger sells him), than for him to go on holiday.
But I think that's probably a good pick, France could produce a good enough performance.
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I get that refs will not be perfect during the game. Certainly. But there HAS to be at least one more ref in a booth looking at replay who can contact the ref on the pitch and overrule him. That won't slow the game down!!!!
I'm okay with both the refs and players making mistakes, as they are only human. If however, we're going to go with robot refs, for consistency, we should go with robot players.
And finally, for when mistakes do happen, and they still will from time to time, a committee of refs can look at the film the next day and add or rescind Yellow and Red Cards. (This will help kill diving off, too.)
I think they do that don't they?
I get that refs will not be perfect during the game. Certainly. But there HAS to be at least one more ref in a booth looking at replay who can contact the ref on the pitch and overrule him. That won't slow the game down!!!!I'm okay with both the refs and players making mistakes, as they are only human. If however, we're going to go with robot refs, for consistency, we should go with robot players.
Should horse races be judged by horses?
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Snobi, no one said (or implied) anything about "robot refs" -- Drejk's rebuttal notwithstanding.
In other sports were replay in some form or other has been adopted, HUGE success and fairness has been achieved. Tennis and American football, for example, have been greatly improved without hurting the sports at all.
Only good will come from adding replay (in some form) and nothing will be taken away.
But some sports leaders just won't change (Major League Baseball and UEFA).
Makes you think of John Duns Scotus!
Snobi, no one said (or implied) anything about "robot refs" -- Drejk's rebuttal notwithstanding.
In other sports were replay in some form or other has been adopted, HUGE success and fairness has been achieved. Tennis and American football, for example, have been greatly improved without hurting the sports at all.
Only good will come from adding replay (in some form) and nothing will be taken away.
But some sports leaders just won't change (Major League Baseball and UEFA).
Makes you think of John Duns Scotus!
I am with you on that.
The game has to keep up to date, they need the goal camera or chp in the ball.
the standing of the ref is in no sport as bad as in soccer becuase everyone can see the things he did wrong on the big screen anywaywhy not use it.
and bigger changes have been made in the history of soccer:
- player substitution
-red cards and later yellow cards
- golden goal and later no golden goal
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@ Bluenose,
Wanna see Ronaldo vs Spain? -- Watch Real Madrid vs Barcelona. Right?
Germany will beat Portugal. I think that will be fun to watch: Ronaldo vs Ozil.
I actually think England will win their QF match and play France/Spain (I guess I'm picking France). And England will lose the SemiFinal.
Germany defeats France in the Final
If I ever get a chance to go, it's tops on my list, along with Parma (for some reason), Prague, Copenhagen (I really liked the Pusher movies and want to check the place out), and Hamburg.
offtopic - even if ages old, I wanted to reply to that. Barcelona is great, Prague is beautiful (been there a few weeks ago), Hamburg is nice. In Italy, I´d recommend Florence, Lucca, San Gimingnano (sp?) from what I´ve seen. Pisa is overcrowded.
In Germany, you have of course to come and visit Dresden - a beautiful city.Stefan
back to topic: Germany vs. Greece today. According to Jogi Löw, the Greek team has a "granite defense". But then, Denmark tried that tactic as well. So go "Schland"! Won´t be easy, though.
Stefan
I'd have thought the Greeks would go for marble rather than granite, me... ;)
Forza Gomez!
I'd have thought the Greeks would go for marble rather than granite, me... ;)
Forza Gomez!
Heh. You would have to ask Jogi about soccer geology...
This time, Klose will be playing, not Gomez. The trainer changed four positions.
Stefan
Just noticed that. So... go Miroslav!
That was a bloody brilliant game by Germany - and their second goal has to be my goal of the tournament so far (sorry Zlatan) - if I were English or Italian I'd be really worried.
And 26 games into the tournament we still haven't had a single 0-0 game. :D
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Only good will come from adding replay (in some form) and nothing will be taken away.Consistency has been taken away. If human refs aren't good enough, why do we suffer human players?
You appear to have misunderstood the purpose of referees.
The game is a contest between two teams of humans. Human fallibility and skill play a part in the drama and thrill of the match.
The ref is there to ensure that the two teams of humans follow the rules. His fallibility reduces the drama and thrill of the match.
I would take a look at the use of fourth officials in Rugby Union as an example of the advantages of technology.
Yeah, it was quite a strong game. Less nerve-wracking than against Denmark, luckily. It might as well have ended 5-1, and that would still be ok.
They aim for the title, nothing less - and playing like this, they could get it. The goal by Philip Lahm was really great, and Miroslav Klose did his job as well. This seems to be the strongest team Germany had in a long time - not that the earlier teams were weak. I guess that Italy beats England, and with Italy vs. Germany, everything can happen (but not a 0-0 game, at least not in this tournament ;-))
Stefan
If I ever get a chance to go, it's tops on my list, along with Parma (for some reason), Prague, Copenhagen (I really liked the Pusher movies and want to check the place out), and Hamburg.offtopic - even if ages old, I wanted to reply to that. Barcelona is great, Prague is beautiful (been there a few weeks ago), Hamburg is nice. In Italy, I´d recommend Florence, Lucca, San Gimingnano (sp?) from what I´ve seen. Pisa is overcrowded.
In Germany, you have of course to come and visit Dresden - a beautiful city.Stefan
I scond Dresden, the Zwinger/Grünes Gewölbe puts the Tower of London to Shame
@Stefan,
Meine Freundin ist aus dem Erzgebirge, nähe Chemnitz, wir leben bei Hanau, Hessen
@ Bluenose,
Wanna see Ronaldo vs Spain? -- Watch Real Madrid vs Barcelona. Right?
Germany will beat Portugal. I think that will be fun to watch: Ronaldo vs Ozil.
I actually think England will win their QF match and play France/Spain (I guess I'm picking France). And England will lose the SemiFinal.
Germany defeats France in the Final
Germany will play the winner of England/Italy and Portugal the winner of France/Spain
I think we will have a Final Germnay/Spain again
@Stefan,Meine Freundin ist aus dem Erzgebirge, nähe Chemnitz, wir leben bei Hanau, Hessen
The world is small... I´m living in Dresden since last fall, and I love it. Our apartment is a few walking minutes away from the Frauenkirche - can´t get much better than that.
So, back to topic: In a few hours we will know who won in Spain vs. France. I think it will be Spain, as they are very strong at the moment. If you look at the results from the group phase, they were scoring a lot of goals and got 7 points - as much as England, only Germany had more. The french results are at exactly the same level as the greek were. Of course, anything can happen, but if the first games are any indication, Spain is the favorite in this match. Not that I could claim to be any kind of soccer guru - far from it. Semifinal Spain versus Portugal - that should be an intense game.
Stefan
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I think Ray may have a point. I wouldn't write off France. There's usually an upset in a tournament and I think this could be it.
I have a hunch that England will beat Italy but that one is close. It could go either way. If Spain get through tonight I expect them to reach the final. The Portuguese are good but I don't see them reaching the final especially if Ronaldo has an off night and I don't see them beating Spain. A France/Portugal Semi may be a close affair.
Germany are going to hammer their semi final opponent. Italy don't look great and historically England/Germany semis are just a litany of heartbreak for England.
Well, Spain is in the lead 1-0, as expected. The french need some very good ideas if they want to turn that match around. But you never know, of course.
If Spain wins this game, I see them in the final as well.
With Italy - England, anything is possible. England was quite strong as well, so I´d guess they will win that one. So, semi finals Portugal - Spain and England - Germany, and Spain - Germany in the final. I hope for Germany to win that final, of course. They seem to be getting stronger as a team.
Stefan
At the moment I'd say the greatest threat to a Spanish appearance in the final is their own tendency to play without a proper forward - other than that... yikes!
The second half saw a less awesome spanish team. But they won the game, that is what counts. In the first half, they were dominating the game. The french team was seemingly too casual, with lots of avoidable errors (judging from the TV screen). They did not function as a team.
Out in the quarter finals on penalties.I have three words for you:
Come. On. England!
Called it!
Yeah, obviously everything is back to normal, and that Bayern München lost by penalty was just an accident :-) Good thing if some traditions get honored still.
Ok, that´s a little mean, but in the end, the Italians were the better team overall. It won´t be an easy game for Germany, but the same is true in reverse.
Stefan
Yeah, obviously everything is back to normal, and that Bayern München lost by penalty was just an accident :-) Good thing if some traditions get honored still.
*laughs* Actually, word has it that the only reason Chelsea didn't lose that penalty shootout was that they didn't have enough English players for the curse to take effect...
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His fallibility reduces the drama and thrill of the match.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jocw-oD2pgo
There's a difference between human fallibility and moral character.
And nobody cheated: the whole reason they picked her up (rather than team-mates) is to keep it all within the rules.
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France's line-up against Spain was foolish, yes?!? How do they not start Nasri?!? And how come they haven't been starting Evra?!?
Ultimately, though, I was wrong. I thought for certain that France, because of what happened in RSA, would really come out and play to prove something. But they really just seem to be weak-minded, selfish and petulant. Did they even really try? (Of course, even at their best Spain are a tall order; I just figured an upset was equally likely as the obvious Spain result -- yet I was wrong.)