From: Mehdi on
> Subject : Most mediocre teams to win the WC
> From : italian.mike08(a)gmail.com

> Exactly, the praise this team has earned in the media just reveals the
> quality of the double standards that exist.

While this is true I also think this WC will be forgotten about very
quickly. There wasn't a single all time great at this tournament, there
were three players that would have reached that status had they won the
competition i.e. Maicon, Lucio and Messi.


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From: Italian Mike on
Mehdi wrote:
> > Subject : Most mediocre teams to win the WC
> > From : italian.mike08(a)gmail.com
>
> > Exactly, the praise this team has earned in the media just reveals the
> > quality of the double standards that exist.

> While this is true I also think this WC will be forgotten about very
> quickly. There wasn't a single all time great at this tournament, there
> were three players that would have reached that status had they won the
> competition i.e. Maicon, Lucio and Messi.

It may be forgotten, or seen as it really was by seasoned viewers who
know what they are watching, but the typical World Cup fan every four
years is going to repeat what they are told, and Spain being one of
the greatest attacking teams of all time is likely what they'll be
repeating. I've heard it already being echoed around my parts and it's
hardly a soccer/football mad city.

Anyway, whoever said that Spains Tiki-Taka was a defensive weapon was
bang on. I'll be honest, it was a good defensive weapon too, but
nothing more than that. Other goals came on desperation plays, set
pieces, and direct football, no square or triangle passing into the
net at all.
From: Bruce D. Scott on
Clarkoo (gables0(a)yahoo.es) wrote:


: In my lifetime Italy 2006 definetely and Brasil 94. I'm also told that
: Argentina 78 were pretty bad and they needed "an extra push" (if you
: know what I'm saying" to win that WC.

Were Argentina 78 really worse than England 66?

In the Anglo media, when South American teams get help from the referee
it's, well, you know, their culture and their politics and dictators and
all that. When England get help from the referee it is, well, you know,
the referee understands the game like he should do and as you all know
England is the land of fair play and they're all heroes and no one would
ever do anything, well, you know, untoward, no really.

--
ciao,
Bruce

drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/
From: Bruce D. Scott on
Mark (Pammiesheart(a)yahoo.co.uk) wrote:
: On Jul 18, 12:16=A0am, Insane Ranter <log...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
: > 1966?

: Exactly! Home advantage, blatant gamesmanship in the semi-final, the
: ball not crossing the line for the decisive "goal" in the final,
: possibly (although as far as I know there isn't much evidence for
: this) a refereeing conspiracy in the quarter-final, Antonio Rattin
: (conspiracy or not) sent off for nothing in the quarter-final. Without
: all those advantages there's no way England would have won it, as has
: been proved by the fact that they've never reached the final of a
: major tournament before or since.

Anglos are good at repeating this sort of stuff over and over and over.
I recall Marcelo Wineberger who was able to patiently counter this stuff
with equally dire happenings in 1966. Of course he was dismissed.
Mostly by repetition, however.

PS and don't forget Uruguayans are not a priori tempted to always
protect Argentina, any more than English or Dutch would be for Germany,
etc...

--
ciao,
Bruce

drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/
From: Bruce D. Scott on
Quincy (abydr(a)email.de) wrote:
: On 18 Jul., 15:51, Clarkoo <gabl...(a)yahoo.es> wrote:
: > On Jul 18, 9:23=A0am, Quincy <ab...(a)email.de> wrote:
: >
: > > On 18 Jul., 08:21, Italian Mike <italian.mik...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
: >
: > > > Spain, probably the best team of the tournament, behind Brazil this
: > > > year, and certainly play acted more than any other team.
: >
: > > It's highly amusing how you Italians still disregad Germany despite
: > > them having scored 16 goals on the hardes paths (Group of Death/
: > > England/Argentina/Spain) to the finals in the WC history...
: >
: > I think Germany played the best football of the tournament. Their
: > counter attack moves against England and Argentina are the best I've
: > seen in my life. Perfect choreography and Schweinsteiger might have a
: > freaking annoying last name but he's proven to be an awesome
: > distributor of the ball. This is the best Germany of my lifetime.

: Lahm said it before the tournament: "This is the best team I ever
: played". With a good expert eye you could see it before, how the U21
: Team dismantled England exactly with that kind of counterstrikes or
: how Germany scored that 0-1 in Russia (which wrote history btw).

[1990 stuff]

In retrospect, although you can argue that Germany had real trouble
against the only two decent defenses they faced, they missed Mueller in
the semifinal a lot more than a lot of people realised. One more guy to
provide real random elements and keep Spain more off their guard. When
a team is the underdog, they cannot afford in the end to lose one more
major weapon (kind of like Bayern without Ribery in the CL final... he
wasn't the main man but losing him hurt especially in the added
unpredictability of the play he brings).

--
ciao,
Bruce

drift wave turbulence: http://www.rzg.mpg.de/~bds/