fgianni
Trainee Amateur
akalai said:
Oh dear oh dear, no need to get so touchy, take a big breath and relax
BTW there is no need to spin your words, they spin themselves quite well.
I do apologize if that was not your intention, but you saying
"Shumacher vs. Grosso... bring it on!" looked to me as an endorsement to Harald Shumacher, and if you were not referring to the Shumacher-Battiston incident in 1982, care to explain exactly what were you referring to?
About me being a bore, are you aware that you can add me to a list of posters to ignore? That should sort out the bore nicely for you.
Cheers
akalai
Well-known
Francesco, in the immortal words of Ronan Keating:
"You say it best when you say nothing at all...."
"You say it best when you say nothing at all...."
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
akalai said:
Thank you for your constructive criticism.
And of course you were not even remotely thinking about Shumacher behavior in the 1982 world cup when you said "Shumacher vs. Grosso... bring it on!".
Still you have to tell us what exactly you were referring to.
akalai
Well-known
Jenni, so glad someone gets it!
FrankS
Registered User
The best game you can play, is the good old hockey game. -Stompin' Tom Connors
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peter_n
Veteran
Excellent suggestion and rationale!fgianni said:[snip]Also an automatic yellow for any player that runs towards the referee asking for a card to be shown would be nice, at the end of the day he wants the card, it is only fair that he gets it
FrankS
Registered User
Hockey, or hooky? (skipping classes)
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
Ok the weissbier is in the fridge, all is ready to watch what promises to be an absolute classic.
jdos2
Well-known
Tomorrow's game is the one I'm waiting for. I called a friend in Portugal about an hour after the Portuguese team beat the English, and she was stuck trying to get out of the large mall north of Lisbon. Traffic was stopped. Everyone was screaming for joy. I wish I could be there. I was there when France stomped the very cocky Brazilians, and the mood was much more somber.
akalai
Well-known
Lets all hope for a decent ref and a game decided by the play not the whistle!!!!
Meanwhile I'll have an espresso instead of a beer... staying up doing some Uni work as the game doesn't start here until 4.30am local time.
Meanwhile I'll have an espresso instead of a beer... staying up doing some Uni work as the game doesn't start here until 4.30am local time.
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
akalai said:
Italy-Germany is definitely a classic, and is never boring, I can't say who will win, but I am sure the game won't disappoint.
Nando
Well-known
Being Canadian, I grew up with hockey (real hockey played on the ice) and its strong sense of formalism; that is the notion of how you play the game and carry yourself in a game is just as important as the end result - probably even more important. Often, to prove your metal, you have to endure some sort of suffering in an environment that is largely not 'honourable' and play 'honourably' despite of it. Legendary hockey players (i.e. those that surpass just being great hockey players) have not only achieved great results but also played 'honourably' despite enduring suffering. Take Bobby Orr, he was marked target he was mauled by every team he played against in his career. Yet, when representing Canada in 1976, he was better than any other player in the Canada Cup tournament despite having two bad legs and led Canada to victory. He is considered by many to be the greatest hockey player ever because of how he played the game first, and the his great result second. His injuries were painful to bear but he played exceptionally well despite of them. To top it all off, his brilliant career was cut short because of his injuries but he never once complained.
In that sense, I can appreciate Wayne Rooney fighting off the two Portuguese players to keep possession for England. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was 'honourable'. If Rooney would have gone down like a sack of potatoes then it would have probably been better for England. Did Rooney step on Carvalho's groin on purpose? Probably not. From the replays, I'm not even sure that he stepped on anything but he could have. I simply can't tell.
However, if England won the game, this incident would have been seen much differently. It would have been regarded as a testament to England's greatness as they would have beaten Portugal despite enduring the suffering of playing a man short. The fact is that England played brilliantly with a man down but in the end 3 out 4 English players couldn't beat Ricardo. I believe that Ricardo is a great goalkeeper but is he that good? Why is everyone blaming Cristiano Ronaldo for the loss when 3 out of 4 English players couldn't score a goal in the end? The last time around the English were saying that if they had Wayne Rooney, they would have won the game. Now that they lost again under similar circumstances, its the same thing. It sounds like a broken record. As I am also Portuguese, I've been hearing this argument from relentless English fans almost daily since the match ended. I honestly have lost any sympathy that I once had for England and their fans at this point. Although I admire their loyalty, its getting crazy and a bit pathetic.
I feel C. Ronaldo was very smart. He may not have done an honourable thing but it was smart nevertheless. Its not against the rules to call for a red card. It doesn't necessarily disgusts me even if I myself consider it a faux-pas. Perhaps its because of the cultural difference mentioned in a previous post but I think that notion is an excuse for snobbery. I have seen players from all sorts of countries wink or smile after doing something deceptive on the field of play in all sports. Its time to realize that sport (and everything else) is played out in a largely dishonouable and insane world with tiny pockets of honour and sanity here and there. How do we know that an English player wouldn't have done the same thing if the table was turned? If Ronaldo asked for the red card, Rooney could have opt to argue his case to the official instead of losing his temper and pushing Ronaldo away.
Its also seems that the English supporters are implying that the Portuguese game plan was to get rid of Rooney either by injuring them or by swindling the referee as if that would guarantee a Portuguese victory. What kind of game plan is that? I can see Rooney being a target for rougher play but suggesting that getting rid of him was their game plan is very disrespectful to the relatively, highly-skilled Portuguese team and also to a trainer with the stature of Scolari - someone who English were considering as a successor to Eriksson.
Let me remind you that C. Ronaldo took a fair share of bumps through out this particular game himself. Through out the tournament, in fact, Portuguese stars like Ronaldo, Figo and Deco have been targets of the opposition and have been mauled to the point of injury. Luckily, there has only one instance thus far when one of those players had to leave the game because of it. So its not like the Portuguese haven't been "cheated" against either. The fact is that in football, like in many other sports, if your you are a great player, you are going to be a target for physical punishment.
As you can probably guess, I'm going for Portugal. My parents came to Canada during a time when life in Portugal was not good. Under Salazar, they saw some of their colleagues, friends and family imprisoned or simply disappear. It has been so wonderful to see Portugal come back to life since Salazar's death and his fascist cronies were booted out. Nothing would be sweeter to us than witnessing Luis Figo accepting the World Cup trophy as it would be the ultimate symbol of the revitalization of our Portuguese nation.
Anyway, I'm off to join some Italian friends to watch and enjoy the Italy-Germany game. I hope that everyone here enjoys the last games of the tournament no matter what happens.
In that sense, I can appreciate Wayne Rooney fighting off the two Portuguese players to keep possession for England. It may not have been the smartest thing to do, but it was 'honourable'. If Rooney would have gone down like a sack of potatoes then it would have probably been better for England. Did Rooney step on Carvalho's groin on purpose? Probably not. From the replays, I'm not even sure that he stepped on anything but he could have. I simply can't tell.
However, if England won the game, this incident would have been seen much differently. It would have been regarded as a testament to England's greatness as they would have beaten Portugal despite enduring the suffering of playing a man short. The fact is that England played brilliantly with a man down but in the end 3 out 4 English players couldn't beat Ricardo. I believe that Ricardo is a great goalkeeper but is he that good? Why is everyone blaming Cristiano Ronaldo for the loss when 3 out of 4 English players couldn't score a goal in the end? The last time around the English were saying that if they had Wayne Rooney, they would have won the game. Now that they lost again under similar circumstances, its the same thing. It sounds like a broken record. As I am also Portuguese, I've been hearing this argument from relentless English fans almost daily since the match ended. I honestly have lost any sympathy that I once had for England and their fans at this point. Although I admire their loyalty, its getting crazy and a bit pathetic.
I feel C. Ronaldo was very smart. He may not have done an honourable thing but it was smart nevertheless. Its not against the rules to call for a red card. It doesn't necessarily disgusts me even if I myself consider it a faux-pas. Perhaps its because of the cultural difference mentioned in a previous post but I think that notion is an excuse for snobbery. I have seen players from all sorts of countries wink or smile after doing something deceptive on the field of play in all sports. Its time to realize that sport (and everything else) is played out in a largely dishonouable and insane world with tiny pockets of honour and sanity here and there. How do we know that an English player wouldn't have done the same thing if the table was turned? If Ronaldo asked for the red card, Rooney could have opt to argue his case to the official instead of losing his temper and pushing Ronaldo away.
Its also seems that the English supporters are implying that the Portuguese game plan was to get rid of Rooney either by injuring them or by swindling the referee as if that would guarantee a Portuguese victory. What kind of game plan is that? I can see Rooney being a target for rougher play but suggesting that getting rid of him was their game plan is very disrespectful to the relatively, highly-skilled Portuguese team and also to a trainer with the stature of Scolari - someone who English were considering as a successor to Eriksson.
Let me remind you that C. Ronaldo took a fair share of bumps through out this particular game himself. Through out the tournament, in fact, Portuguese stars like Ronaldo, Figo and Deco have been targets of the opposition and have been mauled to the point of injury. Luckily, there has only one instance thus far when one of those players had to leave the game because of it. So its not like the Portuguese haven't been "cheated" against either. The fact is that in football, like in many other sports, if your you are a great player, you are going to be a target for physical punishment.
As you can probably guess, I'm going for Portugal. My parents came to Canada during a time when life in Portugal was not good. Under Salazar, they saw some of their colleagues, friends and family imprisoned or simply disappear. It has been so wonderful to see Portugal come back to life since Salazar's death and his fascist cronies were booted out. Nothing would be sweeter to us than witnessing Luis Figo accepting the World Cup trophy as it would be the ultimate symbol of the revitalization of our Portuguese nation.
Anyway, I'm off to join some Italian friends to watch and enjoy the Italy-Germany game. I hope that everyone here enjoys the last games of the tournament no matter what happens.
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akalai
Well-known
fgianni said:
Francesco I think with our posts alone this game will be epic!!!
But I think we were lucky to avoid Nanny Ruben, who knows what he might have made us do.... kiss and make up!?!
Eeeewwwwww!
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
akalai said:Francesco I think with our posts alone this game will be epic!!!
But I think we were lucky to avoid Nanny Ruben, who knows what he might have made us do.... kiss and make up!?!
Eeeewwwwww!
Oh dear, I promise I won't do it anymore! Yes yes Grosso is the biggest diver in football history I swear!
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
Half time, definitely a good game so far.
akalai
Well-known
Nice to see the game not being interupted too much by the ref although he was a bit inconsistent with his carding of Borowski, not that he didn't deserve it, but why didn't Cannavaro also get one a few minutes earlier for his similar attempt?
Hey but Lehmann's nerves are making me nervous! Not helped by some pretty poor passes he received in the early minutes of the half.
Overall pretty good half from both teams!
Hey but Lehmann's nerves are making me nervous! Not helped by some pretty poor passes he received in the early minutes of the half.
Overall pretty good half from both teams!
akalai
Well-known
fgianni said:
Haha, you may be but I'd say you are about right. OK back to the game....
fgianni
Trainee Amateur
Again, I may be biased, but despite the 0-0 this is the best game in this world cup so far.
Italy has 30 mins left to score, because at penalties Germany is definitely the favourite side.
Italy has 30 mins left to score, because at penalties Germany is definitely the favourite side.
akalai
Well-known
fgianni said:
Oh boy what's going on, AGAIN I find myself agreeing with you Francesco.
I was in the process of typing... this is the best game so far of the world cup... and it is. Brilliant.Not to sure about Germany being favourite with penalties... at least not at this exact moment in time... Lehmanns acting like he's lost his mojo or something....
akalai
Well-known
It's all over... so sad.... wow never seen a crowd so still!
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