yep Bruce is a real piece of work! I think he was the reason the US did poorly! He didn't put the right combo together to give the players a chance to win! You cant play a defensive game when you are down a goal and need to win to move on!valve bouncer said:
world cup
- Thread starter ukjason
- Start date
That being said you guys were in far the toughest group I reckon. Compare it to todays Group G- Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia- Spain aside hardly powerhouses. Considering the US's performance last time (quarter finals) and their high world ranking they were a touch hard done by I reckon.brungeman said:
The US played like ass, that is why they did so poorly.
Good on the Aussies, glad to see them do well. They are playing with heart, that plus skill will get you advanced.
Good on the Aussies, glad to see them do well. They are playing with heart, that plus skill will get you advanced.
not to try to make excuses or anything, but the odds were stacked against us- The whole group was quite strong and then you add the whole refereeing fiasco....
We were ranked fifth in the world for a reason. We have a good team, but it wasn't able to rise up and play well when it had to. Oh well, 4 years to mull over how well we could have done...
The aussies are definitely the team I'm rooting for now.
We were ranked fifth in the world for a reason. We have a good team, but it wasn't able to rise up and play well when it had to. Oh well, 4 years to mull over how well we could have done...
The aussies are definitely the team I'm rooting for now.
The UK looks weak
I agree that the team we sent was a great team. Some of my all time favorites are on it. But when the Chex got an early goal, the US went into a defensive mode. Look at the time of posession vs. shots on goal. How can you have the ball 70% of the time and only take 4 (or was it 5) shots? That won't win many games.TTownJon said:
Also, Damarcus Beasley was on the wrong side of the feild! Who's idea was that? You can't expect a guy who plays left field to start on the right in the world cup.
I'm now cheering for England because if they win it all, the rioting will dwarf any past sports-related US riots.
We all love a little riotI Are Baboon said:
The first 1.5 minutes are kinda lame, but keep watching... doesn't really matter if you're a Ronaldinho fan or not.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1483670761495213547
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1483670761495213547
What with Bruce at the helm and all...TTownJon said:
He is the longest (or one the longest) standing national coaches and its time for a change. Hopefully the powers that be will let go of the notion that we have to have an american coach.
Hell, didn't Bobby Charlton coach Ireland for a few years? If the Irish can allow and Englishman to be their coach, can't we find some one better than Bruce Arenas?
As for the US placing so well the last time around, I think it was more a matter of the players at the time meshing than of proper coaching. My freshman year of HS we won state with a guy coaching that was only about 3 years out of HS himself. He didn't do anything after that either. It was more a matter of a group of REALLY good seniors than the coach.
It's fake.....Badmunkey said:
I'm all for Spain. They are kicking ass.
.:Jeenyus:. said:
uh... did you watch the game this morning? They will run out of gas soon enough.
Honestly I will be happy if anyone but the brazilians win. They are like the yankees of world cup soccer. Except they are actually legitimate world champions
As to the ronaldinho thing, the first two or three are real I believe (assuming this is the same one I watched... couldn't open the link at work) and after that it was faked.
I think the stat this year is 23 non-national coaches of the 32 teams. I don't think there is anything in FIFA that says the coach has to be a citizen, just the players.trailhacker said:
They also had a completely different set of starters...TTownJon said:uh... did you watch the game this morning? They will run out of gas soon enough.
Honestly I will be happy if anyone but the brazilians win. They are like the yankees of world cup soccer. Except they are actually legitimate world champions
As to the ronaldinho thing, the first two or three are real I believe (assuming this is the same one I watched... couldn't open the link at work) and after that it was faked.
Not a FIFA rule, but US soccer seems to think that way?jimmydean said:
LOL. I was the same way when Japan got the boot.zahgurim said:
Mexico have come to play, 1-0 up already.
Edit- spoke to soon. 1-1
Edit- spoke to soon. 1-1
20 mins to kick off
ENGLAND
ENGLAND
15mins to kick off
5 mins
God save our queen
Someone better save them, that first half was diabolical.ukjason said:
Ecuador
Beckham- that's why they pay him, perfection
And there go the Dutch...what an ugly loss. Between that and England, I sure hope the games in the next couple of days are a bit more fun to watch.
The winner of this match will it all, watch and see.Changleen said:
That was close
World cup soccer is freaking stupid. I've watched about an hour of different games and in everyone the pace and control of the game seems to be determined by people pretending to fall over. What a bunch of pussy drama queens. I bet the Vassar College drama club could field a championship team.
You wouldn't believe how proud the Italians in my town are of their "victory" over Australia. Flag adorned cars abound honking hysterically over a game won due to (yet another) dive and a penalty kick. Yay! We're such lucky bastards that we can fake ourselves into getting a semi-legitimate goal! We're awesome! Take to the streets!
I dunno, if sportsmanship is anything you take to heart, I couldn't imagine whooping it up too much after a victory like that.
Meh.
I dunno, if sportsmanship is anything you take to heart, I couldn't imagine whooping it up too much after a victory like that.
Meh.
Da Peach said:
Well I thought the Aussies did a fine job of falling down too. They just couldn't seem to do right near the goal.
What really got me was there were several moments when some of the Australian players took dives and took themselves out of the play in favor of trying to get the penalty. If they just played the damn ball they might have scored a real point.
Yeah, I believe that. I didn't see the whole game (just last 30 mins), but as that is so often the case...Westy said:
I can't see soccer catching on in the States. I was watching an ESPN feed, and the commentary was often disgusted with the diving going on. It really does make the game a hard sell when all you need to do to win a match is act as weak and pathetic as possible. Diving and writhing around in "agony" is such an ingrained part of the game now that it's those teams that do it best (combined with good skill of course) are the ones that win. Kinda tough to like. Although I do. But it's hard to convince those who don't.
The penalty was pathetic. The ref should have swallowed his whistle especially on something that from any angle had to look marginal at best.
The refs have been the story of this World Cup.
The refs have been the story of this World Cup.
Yeah it was a bit dodgy but the big teams tend to get the 50/50 calls their way. The Aussies had their chances especially when the Italians were with 10 men but they just lacked that element of class to put the game away. Well done to Italy and well done the Socceroos.DRB said:
DRB said:
Such a bull**** way to end a game. The amount of flopping going on and the fact that the refs are giving the players calls is just pathetic.
I think if a player feigns injury then they should remain off the pitch for a minimum of 5 mins.
They should do video reviews after the game and fine the living daylights out of the culprits.fluff said: