Countdown to World Cup 2006

[Jon]

Psht, where's the Jeter-like clutchness?

[goonys evil twin]

I'm loving the Without A Trace dude doing analysis.

 

Is that really him?

 

Where is this game being played?

[goonys evil twin]

Do keepers normally look that unathletic?

[Jon]

Nicely setup. About time, too.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm loving the Without A Trace dude doing analysis.

 

Is that really him?

 

Where is this game being played?

 

At halftime it was, and Paris.

 

Poor goalkeeping there, should've challenged him and gave it up near post, a big no-no.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Do keepers normally look that unathletic?

 

When you lay back when a guy gets too close like that, then you're asking to look foolish. Normally a keeper would be sliding to meet him in that situation.

Edited May 17, 2006 by Transmogrified Tiger

[goonys evil twin]

 

At halftime it was, and Paris.

 

I had it on, and muted, and was thinking that futbol announcer looked awfully familiar, and I don't watch much footy.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Wow.

[Jon]

Wow! Edited May 17, 2006 by Jon

[USSoccer]

Barca really imposing their will on this game...according to GameCast, anyway.

 

I hate the fact that I can't watch these games live.

[USSoccer]

Well, that will be that.

 

Sounded like poor officiating throughout. Can someone watching confirm?

[goonys evil twin]

Barca really imposing their will on this game...according to GameCast, anyway.

 

I hate the fact that I can't watch these games live.

 

I'd give you play by play but I wouldn't have much to offer other than guy in red kicked it to another guy with funny hair, then a guy in yellow got in his way, people fell down and pretended to be hurt, then got up. And a guy just gave himself a standing ovation for coming off the field.

[Jon]

Well, that will be that.

 

Sounded like poor officiating throughout. Can someone watching confirm?

Questionable and inconsistent at best.

[USSoccer]

Barca really imposing their will on this game...according to GameCast, anyway.

 

I hate the fact that I can't watch these games live.

 

I'd give you play by play but I wouldn't have much to offer other than guy in red kicked it to another guy with funny hair, then a guy in yellow got in his way, people fell down and pretended to be hurt, then got up. And a guy just gave himself a standing ovation for coming off the field.

 

Yeah, us soccer players love being appreciated. Even if we're the only ones who appreciate ourselves.

[goonys evil twin]

I'll tell you one thing, the celebration looks more like the Cincinnati Reds winning a regular season game on a walk off more than somebody winning a world series. They all look exhausted.

[USSoccer]

I'll tell you one thing, the celebration looks more like the Cincinnati Reds winning a regular season game on a walk off more than somebody winning a world series. They all look exhausted.

 

90+ minutes in the rain playing at that high of a level really knocks you out. Especially consideing Arsenal were down 1 the whole game and under pressure, and Barca were pressing after a while to get the equalizer.

 

Also, I think that after the 2nd goal, any excitement Barca had was tempered after waiting 12 minutes with really no threat from Arsenal. If the Gunners had threatened, the celebration might have been more wild. As it was, given the officiating and the resulting man advantage for 70 minutes, had Barca not won it would have been an epic choke.

[Marco4]

This result has made me happy. I have a really annoying friend who is an Arsenal fan and has spent a month delighting in telling me how good his team are and how Europe is bowing before them.

 

I point out that my team, Olympique Marseille, have lifted the European Cup... he tells me Arsenal will do. Not this year.

 

:P

 

(Realistically, the dismissal of Lehmann was fair, but ended the game as a spectacle. To see Arsenal go one up breathed a bit of life into it, but it was still a game that Barcelona had to win and, in the end, deserved to win. Just a shame it wasn't the feast of football we were promised).

[soccer10k]

I'm gonna have to watch the replay of this game on ESPN 2 later.

[Slugger_16]

I babysit for one of the Charleston Battery soccer players, and they're having a scrimmage versus Team USA sometime tomorrow in NC. He's injured though, so he won't be going (but don't feel bad for him, we're all going to the pool!!) From what the local news said, it's not open to the media or the public and the gametime isn't even known.

 

This guy is also a huge Arsenal fan, as is his son, so today he was watching the match while I was babysitting. Because I know little to nothing about soccer, I was a bit confused. It took me a good 5 minutes to figure out which team was which. It seemed like a good game though.

[soccer10k]

And the replay has begun. I'm calling a 2-1 Barcalona victory. Anyone want to bet me?

[USSoccer]

Bump for the 1st of 3 warmup games in the next week or so for the US.

 

USA vs Morocco, 6pm CDT, ESPN2. For those of you who don't wish to watch the train wreck that is the Cubs, this should be a really good game. Morocco is a pretty good squad, and will be by far the toughest team the US will play in their 3 remaining warmups before opening the WC against the Czechs in June.

 

Look for Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson to see lots of time up front, and look for the formation Arena uses. There's speculation he may use a 3-5-2 lineup.

 

Clint Dempsey looks to be the front runner for the right mid spot, but John O'Brien will see much time tonight.

 

I'll call a 2-1 win for the US.

[sethuel1]

I'm pumped. Finally a sporting event I can get excited about, even if it is only a tuneup.

[soccer10k]

Strained right hamstring for Claudio Reyna. We need him to be 100% for the World Cup.

[sethuel1]

And that's why Donovan's not a forward. That was terrible.

[soccer10k]

And that's why Donovan's not a forward. That was terrible.

 

Agreed. Like the announcers said, that looked exactly like the ball played to Clint Mathis against South Korea in 2002. Should have trapped the ball with his left foot.