personally i think in real-time he 100% aims an elbow, albeit a weak elbow, at his chest. in slow-mo, like all the replays show it looks like nothing, but by only receiving a yellow for his involvement in the earlier mess, then i cannot say it was undeserved.
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Sports & Gaming Moderators: ghostfreak
2010 World Cup, South Africa
- Thread starter Don Luigi
- Start date
AmorRoark
Bluelight Crew
^ I'm sorry, I can't understand. What is the footballer saying?
New Zealand take the lead against Italy, and hold on for a draw!
Against the world champions!
Our greatest result ever, by a long long way. We may not have as much skill as other teams, but our tactics and teamwork has been brilliant :D
damn, i wish i had stayed up for this. bloody early starts this week
. that sounds utterly brilliant. kudos!
undead
Greenlighter
I know I'm way late on this, but I've been avoiding this thread til I got caught up on the games. Anyways... about the ref who fucked the US. :D
He did fuck us... and you can argue that 2 more goals in the first half would have won us the game too, but the fact of the matter is, by all accounts, that was a goal. He never explained his call because, more than likely, he was wrong. So what happens if we do score 2 more goals? He takes those two away also... then we argue that 3 more goals would have won us the game? Human error is a necessary evil, but it crushes you when it's ultimately the deciding factor between a win and a draw that may or may not be your World Cup exit.
That said, I think it's stupid to say that he was paid off by Slovenia, joking or not. Anyone who watched the game could see that as bad as he was for the US he was just as bad for Slovenia. The difference is that the blown calls that went our way weren't as crucial as the blown calls that went theirs. Nobody's mentioned that shitty yellow card he gave Findlay for the handball in the box. Findlay's gonna miss the next game now on such a stupid call. That was, if I recall correctly, the first terrible call he made and from that point on it was all downhill. After that yellow, it seemed the cards were just piling up. Talk about overzealous.
And while things are a bit scary at the moment. If the US can beat Algeria, they'll advance to the knockout stages. If they tie, then an England draw or loss will advance the US so long as the England/Slovenia draw isn't a high scoring debacle, but an England win would assure that England and Slovenia advance. Of course if the US loses, they're done.
In other words... the US has a decent handle on their own fate right now.
edit: And btw, I suppose my point earlier was that there's no rule stating that you have to have insurance goals to secure a win.
He did fuck us... and you can argue that 2 more goals in the first half would have won us the game too, but the fact of the matter is, by all accounts, that was a goal. He never explained his call because, more than likely, he was wrong. So what happens if we do score 2 more goals? He takes those two away also... then we argue that 3 more goals would have won us the game? Human error is a necessary evil, but it crushes you when it's ultimately the deciding factor between a win and a draw that may or may not be your World Cup exit.
That said, I think it's stupid to say that he was paid off by Slovenia, joking or not. Anyone who watched the game could see that as bad as he was for the US he was just as bad for Slovenia. The difference is that the blown calls that went our way weren't as crucial as the blown calls that went theirs. Nobody's mentioned that shitty yellow card he gave Findlay for the handball in the box. Findlay's gonna miss the next game now on such a stupid call. That was, if I recall correctly, the first terrible call he made and from that point on it was all downhill. After that yellow, it seemed the cards were just piling up. Talk about overzealous.
And while things are a bit scary at the moment. If the US can beat Algeria, they'll advance to the knockout stages. If they tie, then an England draw or loss will advance the US so long as the England/Slovenia draw isn't a high scoring debacle, but an England win would assure that England and Slovenia advance. Of course if the US loses, they're done.
In other words... the US has a decent handle on their own fate right now.
edit: And btw, I suppose my point earlier was that there's no rule stating that you have to have insurance goals to secure a win.
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i guess my point is that professional sports men and women understand that they play their sports governed by a known set of rules. bad calls, even heart-breaking calls which, on this occasion go against you are part of the game.
that call did not change anything. the usa soccer team's destiny is still where it has always been - in their own hands.
alasdair
undead
Greenlighter
alasdair... I agree that their fate is and always has been in their own hands, but that result would have guaranteed that a draw or win in the next game advances them. As it is now, they HAVE to win to guarantee an advance, though a draw still leaves them in a decent position. I have confidence that they'll come through, but let's suppose they draw and wind up not advancing. In that case, their fate was held in the hands of that blown call, retrospectively.
Still though, this American team has seemed to be able to rise to the occasion. So though I'm a little nervous as Algeria didn't look all that bad in their draw against the Brits, I'm confident that the US will move on.
Still though, this American team has seemed to be able to rise to the occasion. So though I'm a little nervous as Algeria didn't look all that bad in their draw against the Brits, I'm confident that the US will move on.
Finder
Bluelight Crew
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2000
- Messages
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Do you ever not play devil's advocate? Or, at least, not play the apologist.
love,
Curious in Chicago
MazDan
Bluelight Crew
How good did the Aussie football team go this morning when they drew 1-1 with Italy. Italy the current mundial campione.
Australian football has never reached such heady heights.
Our achievement this morning was as great as any by other well known Aussies such as Russel Crowe, The Finn boys from Split Enz, Dr Fred Hollows and of course Sir Edmund Hilary (whose mother once caught him having a tug and when she asked him why he was tugging, he answered.........Because it was there.)
Congrats to both our Aussie teams on two fantastic results over the weekend.
Australian football has never reached such heady heights.
Our achievement this morning was as great as any by other well known Aussies such as Russel Crowe, The Finn boys from Split Enz, Dr Fred Hollows and of course Sir Edmund Hilary (whose mother once caught him having a tug and when she asked him why he was tugging, he answered.........Because it was there.)
Congrats to both our Aussie teams on two fantastic results over the weekend.
TheLoveBandit
Retired Never Was, Coulda been wannabe
Fark.....got a chance to watch my recorded games this weekend, hadn't caught more than 20-30 min live for the whole cup to that point ![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
Though, spend the weekend watching at high speed to fit them all in
I was quite entertained with the GHA-AUS game, and even more so tuning in for the last 20 min of ITA-NEZ. We found ourselves cheering for the Kiwis, and amazed to later discover they'd initially held the lead for 20 min. The end of the game was quite clearly 'just hang on' mode for NEZ, would have loved for them to actually have gotten the win but they only had a few more attempts at attack (75 min without a shot on goal?). I've got my hat off for the NEZ keeper, that man earned a big steak dinner and then some with several of the saves he made. Awesome ITA shots (a few of them, at least, in the closing 20 min) and some incredible saves by that bloke. The defense held strong as well - and you could tell nobody was leaving it for another team mate to make the play....they gave it their all. I would comment, that #10 on Italy pissed me to no end - seemed to be a central midfielder who was either getting stripped of the ball or simply playing it to nowhere. In those last 20 min he had one excellent shot from ~35m, but for the rest of the time, he was a fucking waste of space. Also, the South Africa team, against Uraguay, just seemed to fall apart in the second half....I would like to have supported the home team, but hey just don't seem ready for this level of play as yet.
Coming back to the US game for my 'American' comments - those players know the game, bad calls are made in every game, and there are holding moves that are ignored ALL the time. The US players know they should have won the game - WITHOUT the blown call. They shouldn't have gone down 2-0 in the first half - they know that. They came out and played strong to come back, proving to themselves and the rest of the world that they are capable. For the goal-not_a_goal....part of the sport, and they know they coulda-shoulda scored more in the first half or second. Yes, many games are decided by one goal, but they proved they are capable of better than a 2-2 tie, well beyond the meaning of a blown call to cancel out the winning goal. Personally, I do think the ref blew the call, but as ryan pointed out - bad calls went both ways, throughout the game, so no big surprise he choked at the end. That said, the US team had the power to win to secure advance, and didn't.....they once again come out with the power to win to secure advance, will they start slow or finally show up for a full game? It's on them, not the ref.
Speaking to the pressure put on players and teams, I would agree with earlier statements that some countries seem to apply unrealistic, or at least overbearing, pressure on their squads, such as England in the past and ITA, FRA, and maybe even BRA at times (though, IMO BRA has always lived up to expectations, the others.....not always). I haven't noticed the level of pressure on England that they used to have, it's still some pressure, but not the over inflated expectations, so perhaps that helps them a bit. For the Americans, we've historically asked "What is the World Cup" then as of late started asking "We're getting knocked out? Can we get good enough to care about advancing?" and while this year hasn't been "We should at least advance!" (expectation, more than hope), I sense we have been turning the corner in terms of national awareness (thank you Women's team) and pride (thank you, lack of anything but baseball to watch right now), and perhaps in the coming tournaments we will actually start putting some of those over-inflated expectations on our own squad (thank you, American sense of entitlement).....personally, though, I do think (hope?) we continue to develop and start making it out of the group play in coming cups. I think we're a long way from the level of the perrenial power (ITA-FRA-GER-BRA) but are climbing our way into the middle of the pack for relevancy, possible upsets and the occasional advance. Things are improving for us in the big picture, IMO. For this tournament specifically, perhaps it means we'll get out of the bracket (hopefully....since they control that destiny) and possibly even a second round win, though if we sniff the quarterfinals I doubt we'd get any further than that. Good experience, though...ever improving, without quite the superstar egos found on some of the 'better' squads
Though, spend the weekend watching at high speed to fit them all in
I was quite entertained with the GHA-AUS game, and even more so tuning in for the last 20 min of ITA-NEZ. We found ourselves cheering for the Kiwis, and amazed to later discover they'd initially held the lead for 20 min. The end of the game was quite clearly 'just hang on' mode for NEZ, would have loved for them to actually have gotten the win but they only had a few more attempts at attack (75 min without a shot on goal?). I've got my hat off for the NEZ keeper, that man earned a big steak dinner and then some with several of the saves he made. Awesome ITA shots (a few of them, at least, in the closing 20 min) and some incredible saves by that bloke. The defense held strong as well - and you could tell nobody was leaving it for another team mate to make the play....they gave it their all. I would comment, that #10 on Italy pissed me to no end - seemed to be a central midfielder who was either getting stripped of the ball or simply playing it to nowhere. In those last 20 min he had one excellent shot from ~35m, but for the rest of the time, he was a fucking waste of space. Also, the South Africa team, against Uraguay, just seemed to fall apart in the second half....I would like to have supported the home team, but hey just don't seem ready for this level of play as yet.
Coming back to the US game for my 'American' comments - those players know the game, bad calls are made in every game, and there are holding moves that are ignored ALL the time. The US players know they should have won the game - WITHOUT the blown call. They shouldn't have gone down 2-0 in the first half - they know that. They came out and played strong to come back, proving to themselves and the rest of the world that they are capable. For the goal-not_a_goal....part of the sport, and they know they coulda-shoulda scored more in the first half or second. Yes, many games are decided by one goal, but they proved they are capable of better than a 2-2 tie, well beyond the meaning of a blown call to cancel out the winning goal. Personally, I do think the ref blew the call, but as ryan pointed out - bad calls went both ways, throughout the game, so no big surprise he choked at the end. That said, the US team had the power to win to secure advance, and didn't.....they once again come out with the power to win to secure advance, will they start slow or finally show up for a full game? It's on them, not the ref.
Speaking to the pressure put on players and teams, I would agree with earlier statements that some countries seem to apply unrealistic, or at least overbearing, pressure on their squads, such as England in the past and ITA, FRA, and maybe even BRA at times (though, IMO BRA has always lived up to expectations, the others.....not always). I haven't noticed the level of pressure on England that they used to have, it's still some pressure, but not the over inflated expectations, so perhaps that helps them a bit. For the Americans, we've historically asked "What is the World Cup" then as of late started asking "We're getting knocked out? Can we get good enough to care about advancing?" and while this year hasn't been "We should at least advance!" (expectation, more than hope), I sense we have been turning the corner in terms of national awareness (thank you Women's team) and pride (thank you, lack of anything but baseball to watch right now), and perhaps in the coming tournaments we will actually start putting some of those over-inflated expectations on our own squad (thank you, American sense of entitlement).....personally, though, I do think (hope?) we continue to develop and start making it out of the group play in coming cups. I think we're a long way from the level of the perrenial power (ITA-FRA-GER-BRA) but are climbing our way into the middle of the pack for relevancy, possible upsets and the occasional advance. Things are improving for us in the big picture, IMO. For this tournament specifically, perhaps it means we'll get out of the bracket (hopefully....since they control that destiny) and possibly even a second round win, though if we sniff the quarterfinals I doubt we'd get any further than that. Good experience, though...ever improving, without quite the superstar egos found on some of the 'better' squads
AmorRoark
Bluelight Crew
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perhaps there is some antipodean humour at play here of which i am ignorant but australia don't play italy in the group stage, maz. it was new zealand who drew 1-1 with italy...
alasdair
TheLoveBandit
Retired Never Was, Coulda been wannabe
Fuck you, Wimbledon just started.
OMG.....while I couldn't give a flip about tennis, Wimbledon may just have something worth watching. At least for the guys
17 yr old Simona Halep
I need to set up my DVR
oh i agree, most definitely