Yeah, I think Germany will squash them. I think they had 17 players dressed for this game. Two got yellows which made them miss the next game. So they're down to 15.
So both teams that rested 8-10 players in the 3rd match of the tourney have lost Hopefully it continues
The refs can add some injury time in extra time as well. But that was a ****ty ending if youw ere rooting for Croatia.
The main ref gives a bit of more extra time to make up for things like injuries or substitutions which eat up the clock (since you know, clock runs throughout) the ref gave two more minutes to the game after the extra time and the turks scored there. Which is what some people are a little on edge... In all fairness it is not the refs fault, extra time is something you got to play through, the croatianss should have defended better there. And shot better penalties, that wasn't even a rustu becoming god it was the croatians chocking.
That extra time seemed a little much, but the Croats certainly took their time celebrating that goal. If that's what led to more injury time than one would expect, I can live with that. Hat's off to Turkey, but wow, what a choke job by Croatia! An absolute prayer by Rustu that mucks around before it gets booted in. And honestly, I think the keeper was asleep. That looked to me like a shot he should have stopped. Then, to whiff on three PKs?!? Unbelievable.
I'm not sure he knew where the ball completely was at the time. The Turkish striker struck the ball between two Croatian defenders after it was tossed around.
With three Turkish regulars out, I don't see how they have a chance against Germany. They should have lost this one, but somehow, pulled it out. I think they've used the last of their magic dust, though. It's too bad; I was looking forward to a repeat of Croatia-Germany.
I think that somehow UEFA should reconsider the seeding system for Quaterfinals and such... dunno if it is in any way practical, but like this year one of the sides (the one involving Germany,Croatia, Portugal and Turkey) seemed easier than the other one (Spain, Netherlands, Italy and Russia)
So I was thinking about the yellow cards resetting at the start of the semi's now instead of the quaters. I think the rule change was done in good faith since some big names could miss finals, but it seems like 4 games is alot to carry yellow cards now, instead of 3 before they reset. Turks really get hit hard, but they did have some foolish yellows as well. Anyone else think it was a good idea?
How would you seed them? By total points earned or FIFA world rankings? I think winners playing runner-ups of groups is okay. If a fair system of seeding could be work that would be okay, but not sure how they could do it fairly to all involved , and it should also take into account how well they played in group as well.
Chill son, you're taking me the wrong way. But wait whilst I reach down my throat and get you out. Essentially, 11 vs 11. Get the ball in the oppositions goal. 2 halves of 45 minutes each. Kepp the ball on the pitch. If it goes off at the side, it's a throw in to the team that didn't touch it out. If it goes off at the ends where the goals are, it's a corner to the attacking team or a goal kick to the defending team, depending on who kicked it out. Only the goalkeepers can use their hands - and only within their penalty areas. Fouls - handball, late or bad tackles, shirt pulling, etc. - are rewarded with free kicks, or penalties if they happen in the aforementioned penalty area. Malicious fouls, deliberate handballs, persistent fouling, etc. merits a yellow card, which is like a warning card. Two yellow cards = one red card and a sending off; player leaves the field and can't return. Some tackles are deemed bad enough to merit a straight red card. And that's it
It took a pretty tasty deflection. At that speed, when your feet are set and then the ball takes a different angle, it's almost impossible to stop. And Semeh really caught hold of it as well.
It's always been winner of group 1 plays runner up of group 4, winner of 2 plays runner up of 3, etc.
I don't think they were that uneven. Each side of the bracket has one supposed weak team (Turkey and Russia), one veteran powerhouse that knows how to get it done at tourney time (Germany and Italy) and two good, fairly young teams who were hot in round 1 and aren't renowned for their reputation as tournament ***-kickers (the rest). The Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Russia side of the bracket is stronger than the other, but not so much as to raise alarm, in my opinion.
Perhaps. It looked to me like the keeper's feet were cast in cement, though, and I didn't think the ball was that far from him. In any case, it was far from the only chance Croatia had to put that game away. Their fate was sealed early on when Olic hit the crossbar from point blank range, and then the next guy headed it over the goal, despite having a wide open net in front of him. I assume they did it this way so as to avoid the chance of two teams playing in the final who already met at the group stage.
Hey Eop, looks like Aquilani is starting. I google translated the page to English for everyone else, thats why the writting is poor. http://translate.google.ca/translat...=1&ct=result&prev=/search?q=gazzetta.it&hl=en
Cheers Simon. Have to keep it up, as does England, whom their defeat reminded me of Bulgaria-France in '93. Akin to bloodletting in Medieval times, it'll rid you of dead wood. So true about that gap down the left flank. A blind man knew that Pac Man Grosso would eat it up, as he's never seen a forward run he didn't like. So you push him back, or make him pay for it with Bakary. Looking ahead, I'm on board with Flamini, who I haven't seen enough of to truly appreciate, but if your eye is convinced he has that Stakhanovian sense, and enthusiasm, beam me up. I was told a few fascinating things this week, talking to an old friend of mine, who swims in those circles. Take it with a grain of salt, but nonetheless, goes to show we know about 1/100th of what is going on. (a) A lot of mystery remains about '06. People started to wonder how such a clown could have led them to the final. As I told Phil earlier in this thread, I thought he played his hand well. Still, especially after this defeat, some wondered if Zizou, and the old guard just didn't take over the team, and lead it to the final, without coaching. Plausible, but not satisfying. The truth is apparently somewhere in between. When he was named in '04, all the old guard decides to leave. Replaces them with blokes like Rothen, Pedretti, Rio Mavuba, and Evra. Qualification for '06 was a must. A disastrous start to a new era, and some pressure from sponsors, compel Zizou, Thuram, Maka to unretire. At that time, he finds himself out of the Senate, so to speak. And plays a masterful political coup. He announces in November '05 that they are to play an exhibition match in Fort de France, Guadeloupe against Costa Rica. Media and pundits are up in arms, what is this bozo up to, going halfway across the globe to play a nothing match...all except up in arms, except the Afro-Caribbean members of the team, such as Anelka, Henry, Thuram, etc. The selection had never played there before, and for three days they spoke creole, ate creole, and drank creole. That was the start of the melting pot coming together. To this day I'm told, they still recognize and adore him for that. Once Domenech had that glut of players on his side with that subtle move, the others naturally followed. Frankly, it didn't matter if he couldn't organize at piss up in a brewery after that, they were sold. And of course, to finish off this little story, there was one player who did not feel like making the trip to Guadeloupe. David Trezeguet. As you know, despite being in form at Juve, he has never seen the bleu, blanc, rouge colors since then. Fascinating isn't it. (b) The INF Clairefontaine darling Ben Arfa was excluded from the squad not because of his lackluster season at Lyon, but because him and Benzema cannot stand each other.
Yeah I had seen the Gazzetta and Corriere Dello Sport earlier. Good though, I think I like him in there better than Camoranesi. When Camoranesi is on, he's ON. He's remarkable. But when he's off, he becomes nonexistent, makes stupid fouls in dangerous areas and provides no support for his team. With him it's a gamble, with Aquilani you're playing the safer card.
Yeah, Camoranesi just doesn't seem to have it this tournament. If the first half doesn't go well for Italy though, hes a player I'd want to be subbed in. Maybe off the bench he can electrify our midfield a bit with his pace.
What a depressing day yesterday was.... I've never felt anything like that in sports. From the absolute joy of taking a 1-0 lead with basically no time remaining to allowing the even up goal to losing on penalties in a span of minutes. Stunned is all I have to say. I was speechless...
Just goes to show how little I know. I suppose the other 7 is decent, but really, Portugal, Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Spain were easy money. The only spots up for grabs were those second places in group A and D IMO. Ultimately, really believed the Turks had it in for a good tourny, and I couldn't deny Hiddink, or fail to look at Arashvin's accomplishments. Ignoring the Swedes old legs, the lack of talent for Switzerland, and nostalgic vibes from the Czechs, would have been fool hardy as well. Moving forward, colour me crazy but I'll take the Russians over the Netherlands. I'm in love with Yuri Zherkov down the flank, the one touch football is marvelous, the non stop revolve impressive, and Hiddink will give Van Basten a ride for his money. More importantly, they match-up well with them. Watch the Netherlands destroy them. Tomorrow, I can't see Italy going thru with maestro Pirlo out. Simon raised a great point point a few pages back, with Toni's strength falling right in the hands of Marchena, and Puyol's, and the Villa-Torres axis playing right in the heart of that weakness on defense. So Spain goes thru.
My commiserations Uni. Really was stunned as well, and thought they deserved better. Ya know, penalty taking is between the ears. And after such an ending in extra-time, there was no way, no how, the Croats could have blocked that out of their minds, and focused on the actual take. The body language said it all, starting with a slumping Modric, stepping up to take the shot. Fear not, they'll be back in 2010, with a solid foundation. Remember a few weeks back, I told you about Luke Schenn. I've had a hard on ever since yesterday night, walking around the house. Really think he's a special kid, and leader in the Scott Stevens mold, absolutely worth trading up for.
