World Cup 2006

[mr. sparkle]

JHC! It's France 1-0 at 58:00! Beautiful goal from Henry. Right place, right time and unstoppable.

This is a damn good game. Anyone awake and watching?

[mr. sparkle]

What a game! Ends in a shootout 3-1 for Portugal. Looks like that's the last we'll see of Beckham in a world cup match. Que Sera Sera....

[AssKissinger]

Gotta hand it to the Frogs.

[Mulboyne]

Four European teams in the semi-finals. With England out then I think they are the wrong four but I might be biased. France are beginning to show a mean streak. When my tears have dried I'll look forward to the next games.

[mr. sparkle]

Gotta hand it to the Frogs.

They really outplayed Brazil, but I'm rootin' for Portugal now. How 'bout you guys?

[Greji]

They really outplayed Brazil, but I'm rootin' for Portugal now. How 'bout you guys?

Ahh, you mean Japan didn't make the final four? I'm confused!

[dimwit]

They really outplayed Brazil, but I'm rootin' for Portugal now. How 'bout you guys?

Portugal Yuck. They are the dirtiest team I have ever seen in any world cup games I have watched. They dive like crazy and having watched the acting that got Rooney the red card, I hope France crushes them.

http://ca.promos.yahoo.com/worldcup/article/01072006/6/sports-fifa-officials-loss-explain-rooney-red-card.html

[mr. sparkle]

Portugal Yuck. They are the dirtiest team I have ever seen in any world cup games I have watched. They dive like crazy and having watched the acting that got Rooney the red card, I hope France crushes them.

http://ca.promos.yahoo.com/worldcup/article/01072006/6/sports-fifa-officials-loss-explain-rooney-red-card.html

Better dirty than French. I just can't root for them. Tesco Vee of the Meatmen said it best, "French people suck".

What the hell do I know anyway? I'm American. We know krap all about soccer.

[dimwit]

Personally, I'm just going to go back to watching sports where they have referees you can trust. So er...when is the next PRIDE match?

[maninjapan]

Why o why did they let an Argentine officiate this match.

That's like asking a North Korean ref to officiate a Baseball game between Japan and China!

[GuyJean]

They dive like crazy and having watched the acting that got Rooney the red card..

Did he get the red for stomping on the dude's balls or shoving the guy whining to the ref?.. I thought it was for the shove after the initial tangle and play had stopped.

It's Portugual for me too; I like Figo.. And their uniforms are cool.

GJ

[canman]

I used to like Portugal, but Christian Ronaldo needs a good bitch slapping. I also feel they are dirty and a bunch of girlie men whiners, and so is the coach, "big Phil". I hope the French put it to them, but it will be hard, as I fear they may have played their best game against Brazil, and there may not be a lot left in the tank.
It's a shame that Rooney got carded, I was amazed to see him fight off the two bigger Portugese players, and I think the kick in the balls was not intentional. I still don't know what the red card was for either, was it the suppossed kick or the shoving of a whiney Ronaldo. Either way it was uncalled for. Lampard just sucks, the guy may have played well in the past but this tourney he just flat out sucked, and he pulled the whole team down with him. THe ultimate insult was he couldn't even net a penalty kick.
And when oh when can FIFA get rid of the scourge called Sepp Blatter. He is IMHO the worst thing to happen to soccer in a long time. Where does he get off criticising England for playing only one striker. What about Italy with its lock down defence. England lost Owen and Rooney is just back from a broken foot. What a loser, the sooner he is gone the better.

[Mulboyne]

England's Hargreaves deliberately fouls Figo's elbow with his face.

I can't support Portugal from here. Not because they beat England (although that doesn't help) but they showed so little ambition when they had the extra man, continuing to dive and complain to the referee. At least one dive warranted a yellow since the referee judged that there was no foul and yet England were obliged to put the ball out of play so a fake injury could be treated. World Cup winners should show more class than that and both France and Germany have shown enough to be more deserving of the title. As for England, they knew what was coming so can have no excuses.

[GuyJean]

World Cup winners should show more class than that and both France and Germany have shown enough to be more deserving of the title.

Actually, I only saw the hi-lites from the England - Portugal match.. I watched the replayed France - Brazil game yesterday. I changed my mind; I like the way France played, and their style.. I'll be pulling for them.. But it's tough since Germany is playing at home; a home win would be pretty damn exciting! .. Riots would kill at least ten people.

GJ

[Mulboyne]

Here's a YouTube clip of Rooney's red card. The BBC team (all British) aren't best pleased.

[nullpointer]

Brazil are out because they were playing like the world owes them a place in the Finals. It seems that they expected to win by reputation alone. Anyone who plays like that deserves to be kicked out. It is a pity that England got kicked out as well. They were playing an aggressive game in spite of being reduced to 10 men. As for Rooney, he deserved to be carded. Intentional or not, when you kick a man in the balls and push around the other team's players, you will be thrown out, no matter what. However, as far as the England-Portugal game goes, the English team were beaten by Ricardo, the goalkeeper. I could not believe when Portugal missed two penalty kicks. However, Ricardo came through and gave a superb performance stopping those English penalty kicks. I cannot remember the last time I saw a goalkeeper under so much pressure when his team mates are missing kicks and it is upto him alone to take the team to the next level. Portugal owes big time to Ricardo for this game. Germany is looking strongest now but the French defense keepts getting better and better. It should make for exciting games ahead. The trick for germany midfilders, like is to allow Klose and Ballack as much opportunity as possible. They are deadly inside the D and the strongest forwards for any team in the competition now.

[nullpointer]

Rooney could face FIFA charge

Ricardo is the first goalkeeper to save three penalties in a World Cup finals shootout.

[Buraku]

what was the ref about -
getting revenge for the falklands ?


more soccer
http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_4001941
Traditional powers Italy, Germany earn matchup in the semifinals

[Greji]

Here's a YouTube clip of Rooney's red card. The BBC team (all British) aren't best pleased.

I didn't get the clip???

[Kuang_Grade]

I think this is the link Mulboyne was talking about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFvZ389nsCE

[nullpointer]

Didn't realise until I saw the clip again that Christian Ronaldo winked at the bench as Rooney was carded. That's low and puts a different spin on things. However, Rooney and Ronaldo have a history playing club soccer for the same team so who knows how much they despise each other.

[Mulboyne]

I think this is the link Mulboyne was talking about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFvZ389nsCE

Yes, that's the one. Thanks KG. Clearly, subconsciously, I never wanted to see it again.

[cstaylor]

I think injuries that result in red cards should require a substitution. After all, if it hurt enough to be a flagrant foul, then it must be require at least five minutes of play time with a doctor.

[kamome]

Looking at the slo-mo replay, you can see that the ref did not point to Rooney and motion for the red card until Rooney shoved the Portuguese player who was whining to the ref. The kick to the balls clearly looked unintentional and was one of those things that happen when two players get entangled and lose their balance.

Again, a case of questionable officiating (or even overofficiating, in this case). Why does a light shove to another player result in a red card? It just doesn't make sense.

[GuyJean]

FIFA Suspends Frings for Semifinal
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football/07/03/worldcup.frings/index.html

Germany midfielder Torsten Frings has been banned from Tuesday's World Cup semifinal against Italy for punching an Argentine player in the brawl that followed his team's quarterfinal victory.

FIFA began an investigation after TV pictures showed Frings throwing a punch at Argentina forward Julio Ricardo Cruz following Germany's win in a penalty shootout on Friday.

"The judgment pronounced on Frings was the result of the unequivocal television images showing his assault on Cruz," FIFA said in a statement.

Seems like they already have a version of the 'delayed video replay'... 'Flopping' is the next step, I tell you!.

GJ

[Mulboyne]

[quote="GuyJean"]Seems like they already have a version of the 'delayed video replay'... 'Flopping' is the next step, I tell you!. ]
Frings offence took place after the final whistle and he was not punished by the referee for it at the time. That's an easy one for FIFA with no strings attached. They can impose a retrospective punishment but tend to avoid it if the referee has already taken action (e.g. Figo's headbutt in the Dutch game - FIFA had the power to turn that into a red).

[GuyJean]

Frings offence took place after the final whistle and he was not punished by the referee for it at the time. That's an easy one for FIFA with no strings attached.

Damn!.. Thought I had you.. One of these days, Mulboyne.. One of these days..

GJ

[Mulboyne]

Damn!.. Thought I had you.. One of these days, Mulboyne.. One of these days..
GJ

Anyone can put one over me a few beers into a Tokyo night.

N.B. Rooney says he doesn't hate Ronaldo:

And he insisted he was not angry with Cristiano Ronaldo, who appeared to encourage the referee to send him off. "I want to say absolutely categorically that I did not intentionally put my foot down on Carvalho," said Rooney. The 20-year-old added: "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but am disappointed he chose to get involved."

Sounds like his lawyer drafted that statement. The same article reports:

Earlier on Monday, Ronaldo insisted there was no ill-feeling between him and Rooney. "At the end we texted each other and between us everything's been cleared," he said. He added: "The things that have been said regarding me and my team-mate and friend Rooney are incredible. I'm not a referee and I don't have the power to send a player off...He wished me the best of luck in the World Cup. He told me we had a great team and that if we continued to play like this, we would go far...He wasn't angry with me and, moreover, he told me to completely ignore what the English press has said, that all they wanted was to create confusion, but we are already used to that."

[maninjapan]

Nakata quits Football

http://www.football365.com/news/story_188042.shtml

WOW shocker there!

[kurohinge1]

. . .

Earlier on Monday, Ronaldo insisted there was no ill-feeling between him and Rooney. "At the end we texted each other and between us everything's been cleared," he said. He added: "The things that have been said regarding me and my team-mate and friend Rooney are incredible . . .