The Official World Cup Thread

[Jazz]

Everything the france soccer team has ever done will go to crap if they don't win here because of zidane

 

I wouldn't say that his headbutt invalidates their WC victory in '98 or their Euro Cup victory in '00. It was stupid, and hurt them in this game. That's all.

 

But it will be tarnished, heavily, Zidane will be remembered for having the most antiheroic end to a career in the history of sports. His accomplishments will never outweight this.

 

And to think i use to love the guy 8 years ago.

[TruffleShuffle]

Everything the france soccer team has ever done will go to crap if they don't win here because of zidane

 

I wouldn't say that his headbutt invalidates their WC victory in '98 or their Euro Cup victory in '00. It was stupid, and hurt them in this game. That's all.

 

But it will be tarnished, heavily, Zidane will be remembered for having the most antiheroic end to a career in the history of sports. His accomplishments will never outweight this.

 

And to think i use to love the guy 8 years ago.

 

I still love the guy. He made a stupid mistake, but I have no doubt that the Italian player said something totally out-of-line to make Zidane lose his mind and do something something so out of character.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I was really hoping for another Baggio to emerge.

 

Sucks for Trezeguet that he had the only missed PK by less than an inch.

[Jazz]

Everything the france soccer team has ever done will go to crap if they don't win here because of zidane

 

I wouldn't say that his headbutt invalidates their WC victory in '98 or their Euro Cup victory in '00. It was stupid, and hurt them in this game. That's all.

 

But it will be tarnished, heavily, Zidane will be remembered for having the most antiheroic end to a career in the history of sports. His accomplishments will never outweight this.

 

And to think i use to love the guy 8 years ago.

 

I still love the guy. He made a stupid mistake, but I have no doubt that the Italian player said something totally out-of-line to make Zidane lose his mind and do something something so out of character.

 

I'm guessing it had to do with him being Algerian , Italians notoriously are racist against muslims.

Heck, here at home, i had a room full of Israeli Jews who would bet their lives on that.

[Jon]

Well, it's certainly been an entertaining month.

[wolf stansson]

The shot of Zidane walking past the trophy as he gets sent off with his head down is unquestionably going to tarnish his legacy. It's really too bad. He should be smarter than that. That's really disappointing and anti-climactic.

[UMFan83]

When does each of the major club leagues begin? (Spanish league, Premiership, Italian league). I think I am ready to take the next difficult step in soccer fandom and start following the game at the club level.

[soccer10k]

Hey, a team that gets outplayed in 2 hours of soccer wins in 5 kicks. Hardly ever see that in soccer :^o

 

Are you kidding me? Italy totally outplayed France in the first half. They had all the good chances. I'll give you the second half and overtime, but not the first half.

[soccer10k]

Everything the france soccer team has ever done will go to crap if they don't win here because of zidane

 

I wouldn't say that his headbutt invalidates their WC victory in '98 or their Euro Cup victory in '00. It was stupid, and hurt them in this game. That's all.

 

But it will be tarnished, heavily, Zidane will be remembered for having the most antiheroic end to a career in the history of sports. His accomplishments will never outweight this.

 

And to think i use to love the guy 8 years ago.

 

I still love the guy. He made a stupid mistake, but I have no doubt that the Italian player said something totally out-of-line to make Zidane lose his mind and do something something so out of character.

 

Zidane's legacy will be heavily tarnished and I don't care what the Italian player said to Zidane because there is absolutely no reason for him to react like that in a 1-1 game in overtime. If France was about to lose then i could understand it a little more. Not excusing it though.

 

Just think if Jordan would have punched a Jazz player in 1998 in game 6, got tossed out and suspended for game 7 and the Bulls lost the series. Are you telling me that everytime Jordan's legacy was brought up that people wouldn't mention that occurance?

 

Zidane is a bum and any simpathy I had for the guy went right out the window. No more feel good stories about him retiring. Good bye Zinadine. You had a great career but you are a colossal idiot.

[soccer10k]

That was more of a foul than the first one.

 

No kidding, he calls the PK on the dive but not on the one that actually deserved the PK. Oh well, at least Italy fans can't bitch about the call in the first half now, since that one really evened it up.

 

I wouldn't have called either one as penalty kicks. Was there contact? Sure. But when isn't there contact in soccer? Never. Neither one of those was bad enough to be called a penalty. Bad call on the first foul but a good no call on the second.

[soccer10k]

I would like to be the first of hopefully many to apologize to Tommy Smyth for thinking he was crazy for picking Italy to win the World Cup. Tommy, you are a brilliant man and I will never doubt you again.

[Balsa]

Too bad Zidane had to leave like that. How classless. It was great hearing the ESPN commentators struggle to do "oh woe is us, last international game for Zidane, what a great career", and then balance it out with the headbutt.

 

Sucks. I really didn't want Italy to win.

 

Premiership starts in the fall, but MLS is going on right now!

[shnsajax]

I still struggle to get into MLS. It was exciting the first year, but now with digital cable I rarely watch it. Over the past 3-4 years I have watched more US youth matches than MLS games.

[USSoccer]

I would like to be the first of hopefully many to apologize to Tommy Smyth for thinking he was crazy for picking Italy to win the World Cup. Tommy, you are a brilliant man and I will never doubt you again.

 

I'll echo that. I thought Tommy was nuts when he made that prediction.

 

Zidane must have been drunk or had his brain otherwise affected by his injury. No matter what the Italian said, you don't lose your composure in OT like that, when you're the captain AND three of your best players (Henry, Viera and Ribery) have all been subbed out. What a terrible way for him to go out.

 

I feel badly for Trezuguet. And Henry, for that matter. 2 straight World Cups where Henry has played with his hands wrapped around his neck.

 

Congrats to Italy. Now half their theam can enjoy playing in Serie C or the Italian 3rd division or wherever they are getting relegated to now that the match fixing scandal is being prosecuted.

 

There is a lesson to be learned here for the USSF and the USMNT. Italy won by having a lockdown defense and a standout keeper. Offensively, Toni and Totti were nonfactors for most of the entire tournament, but by playing lockdown defense and having a sweeper like Cannavaro, they were able to control games and counter effectively. Buffon was awesome the entire time, only giving up an own goal and a PK. If the US continues to struggle developing finishers and creative mids, they should at the least focus on developing a defensive system that can sustain them at high levels.

 

What a great month of soccer, though. Too bad it's over.

[USSoccer]

Looking ahead to 2010, the US is going to need to overhaul it's roster. Of the defenders on the roster for the 2006 WC, only Onyewu is a lock to be back; he's only 23. Cherundolo and Bocanegra will both be 30 by the time 2010 is here. Conrad will be 32. That's a little long in the tooth. Cory Gibbs will be 30, but will he be healthy enough? Of our keepers, Howard will be 30, Hahnneman will be 38, and Keller 43.

 

Our mids look the best: Dempsey and Convey will be 27. Donovan and Beasley will be 28. That's still young enough for all 4 to be playing at a high level. On the other hand, Mastroeni will be 33, and that's probably too old for a player of his role, which is too bad. The US will need a defensive mid to emerge. O'Brein and Olson will both be 33, and in O'Brien's case, he'll likely have no legs, so he won't be an option. Thankfully, Claudio Reyna already retired.

 

Our forwards are almost as big of a worry as our defense. Of the strikers on the 2006 roster, only Eddie Johnson will still be in his prime. He'll be 26 in 2010. Brian Ching will be 31, and he isn't very good anyway. Wolff and McBride will both be gone. Guess which one we'll miss the most.

 

So, basically, we can count on 7 players from the 2006 roster to still be in prime age by 2010. Howard, Gooch, Demspey, Convey, Beasley, Donovan and Johnson. 'Dolo and Bocanegra being 30 puts them as a question mark, although 'Dolo's skillset should hold him for another 4 years. So, basically, you have to fill 15 spots or so in the next 4 years.

 

It gets worse, though. Of the players in the USMNT pool with meaningful experience that weren't on the WC roster, only a few are still going to be around at that level come 2010. Pat Noonan and Santino Quaranta will be 29 and 25 come 2010, so one of them will likely have to contribute. Taylor Twellman will be 30. He might be a candidate to replace McBride, but he'll have to elevate his game rapidly and prove to be reliable going into qualifying. Of these up and coming players-Zak Whitbread (D), Eddie Gaven (M), Michael Bradley (M), Jonathan Spector (D), Lee Nguyen (M), and Freddy Adu (M)-at least 3 have to emerge as regulars for the US to contend in South Africa.

 

So yeah, the future of the USMNT is actually a little in flux. You have a bunch of guys on the way out (Reyna, Keller, McBride, Lewis, Hejduk, Pope, and Mastroeni) that played very key roles and have between them probably more than 400 caps. That's a lot of experience to replace. The next USMNT coach is going to have his hands full. He'll need to bring in a system that plays to our strengths, and be able to rapidly develop our younger players and get them ready for qualifying.

[AI]

US,

 

Lets not forget the Italians' brilliance on set pieces. How many goals did they score from corners? Tight D and Buffon certainly won them this Cup, but their ability to cash in on set pieces was key, especially when you are talking about things that Team USA can learn from Italy. We were dreadful with a capital "D" on both ends of set pieces.

[USSoccer]

US,

 

Lets not forget the Italians' brilliance on set pieces. How many goals did they score from corners? Tight D and Buffon certainly won them this Cup, but their ability to cash in on set pieces was key, especially when you are talking about things that Team USA can learn from Italy. We were dreadful with a capital "D" on both ends of set pieces.

 

Absolutely. You're absolutely correct. You have to cash in on those opportunities. Donovan in particular was abysmal on set pieces. If we're not going to develop a striker like Henry or Rooney, then we need to make sure we're set up to take advantage of free kicks.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

During today's game they said the average age for the 2 teams was 29, at least I think they were talking about the 2 teams. Keeping that in mind, I don't think it would be too much to expect 'Dolo and Boca to still be useful.

[wolf stansson]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

[1908]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

And will he play for the US?

[wolf stansson]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

And will he play for the US?

Screw Ghana. He is a US citizen is he not?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

And will he play for the US?

Screw Ghana. He is a US citizen is he not?

 

He hasn't been forced to choose yet, although I don't see why he wouldn't choose the US. It's not like he was born and raised in Ghana and just came over here to play soccer.

[1908]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

And will he play for the US?

Screw Ghana. He is a US citizen is he not?

 

He hasn't been forced to choose yet, although I don't see why he wouldn't choose the US. It's not like he was born and raised in Ghana and just came over here to play soccer.

He was on PTI a couple weeks ago, and seemed honestly undecided.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Hopefully Adu will be ready next time around. I'm sure he will be on the team, but will he live up to the hype?

And will he play for the US?

Screw Ghana. He is a US citizen is he not?

 

He hasn't been forced to choose yet, although I don't see why he wouldn't choose the US. It's not like he was born and raised in Ghana and just came over here to play soccer.

He was on PTI a couple weeks ago, and seemed honestly undecided.

 

I saw that, but that was a bit of a loaded question, if he had to make a decision at that moment, and to play against the other IIRC.

[1908]

I saw that, but that was a bit of a loaded question, if he had to make a decision at that moment, and to play against the other IIRC.

I remember them asking him which team he would play for at the next world cup, and I don't remember the part about having to play against the other.