^ I don't know if it so much that Germany played that poorly or that Spain is a much much better team than they had played so far. Spain are so much further ahead than the likes of Argentina and England that it's not even funny.
It's tough to have an effective counter attack, which Germany relies on, against a team that (1) has the ball a lot of the time and (2) actually has an effective system in place to counteract that.
Spain were my choice to win it all before the tourny began so I'm not changing that now.
^ I don't know if it so much that Germany played that poorly or that Spain is a much much better team than they had played so far. Spain are so much further ahead than the likes of Argentina and England that it's not even funny.
It's tough to have an effective counter attack, which Germany relies on, against a team that (1) has the ball a lot of the time and (2) actually has an effective system in place to counteract that.
Spain were my choice to win it all before the tourny began so I'm not changing that now.
I hope Holland wins, because this is Spain's only chance, after this World Cup all their elite players will be too old to have another go, or, if they do, they'll be pulling an Italy.
Germany sat back way too much, they let Spain have the possession, and they did it well, I mean, Spain generated basically little to nothing with all that possession.
Bitter. Very bitter.
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Germany sat back way too much, they let Spain have the possession, and they did it well, I mean, Spain generated basically little to nothing with all that possession.
This. It is one thing for the Swiss etc to just sit back and let the Spanish attack them but completely different for the Germans to play this way.
Germany got to this point in the tournament by attacking, while still playing responsible D. To sit back with 10 men was just unexpected from them and they played the game right into Spains hands.
Once Spain got the 1-0 goal and Germany started to finally push and attack they actually started to carry the play a little.
Muller was a huge loss for Germany today though and it is a shame he had to miss this game with what was a pretty weak yellow card last game. However German fans should be excited for the future as they are probably the real early favourites for 2014, aside from the Hosts Brazil.
This. It is one thing for the Swiss etc to just sit back and let the Spanish attack them but completely different for the Germans to play this way.
Germany got to this point in the tournament by attacking, while still playing responsible D. To sit back with 10 men was just unexpected from them and they played the game right into Spains hands.
I don't think it is a completely different story for the Germans and Swiss. While the Germans have been playing more attack-minded football so far, this was the first time they played a team that had an excellent attack and a solid/rather-competent defense. Germany had to play the way they did or they would have been hammered on the counter-attack. Löw didn't sell-out, he simply knew the capabilities of his squad.
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Just a random thought after watching one of the stories at the half-time last night. Do you think a unified national team between Israel and Palestine would do wonders for relations between those two countries?
in this tournament Webb has been the best ref by far
considering he is the worst ref in England that just goes to show you how bad reffing around the world is
just get refs from the big 4 leagues in Europe and the tournament would be far better
That's a bit extreme. The reffing in this tournament, other than a few glaring examples has been pretty good. Have there been really any complaints since the 2nd round and that stupid Sunday?
Two refs from the 4 big leagues Rosetti (ITA) and Stark (GER) are awful and were sent home. And the Spain ref sent off Klose for no reason in the group stage.
The Monday and Tuesday 2nd round matches were fine.
And then..
Holland-Brazil (ref from Japan) good
Uruguay-Ghana (ref from Portugal) good
Germany-Argentina (ref from UZB) good
Paraguay-Spain (ref from GUA) awful
We all know Blind-as-a-bat Batres is crap.
Holland-Uruguay (ref from UZB) good again
Germany-Spain (ref from Hungary) good
So if you have about 10 refs to start the tournament and then narrow it down to 5 or 6 later on, then the tournament will be good. It shouldn't matter where they are from.
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Last edited by GirlySports; 07-08-2010 at 02:55 PM.
Not sure why you were against Webb taking the final, Girly.
He has been the best ref at the tournament. I've been really impressed by him, much more so than I usually am when watching him in the EPL.
The semi-final refs were the next best.
FIFA takes a lot of flak, and rightly so, but in the case I think they got it spot on.
Not sure why you were against Webb taking the final, Girly.
He has been the best ref at the tournament. I've been really impressed by him, much more so than I usually am when watching him in the EPL.
The semi-final refs were the next best.
FIFA takes a lot of flak, and rightly so, but in the case I think they got it spot on.
Thank god United aren't in the final.
But looking at the list, maybe there was no better choice this year
And thinking about it more maybe they decided that Webb performed admirably throughout this tournament, there was no reason to disqualify him and his crew, and the UEFA connection was likely a plus for him. In addition, the language difference made him a more attractive pick.
The Japanese ref is the 4th official in the final so if Webb gets injured....
Archundia of MEX gets the 3rd place match and we all know about him!
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Not exactly how Howard Webb is the worst referee in England. Judging by his recent appointments - Champions League final and the World Cup final, wouldn't that qualify him as the best? I didn't think UEFA or FIFA handed out the highest profile matches to crap officials.
Not exactly how Howard Webb is the worst referee in England. Judging by his recent appointments - Champions League final and the World Cup final, wouldn't that qualify him as the best? I didn't think UEFA or FIFA handed out the highest profile matches to crap officials.
It depends on circumstance too, who's in the final etc...
If the ref's country makes the QF then he is sent home and the refs from Brazil, Germany, Argentina etc are gone.
Remember Collina? He was regarded at the best ref for a long time but never got a big match cause Italy was always involved. Only when Italy lose to Korea in 2002 was Collina given the final.
So England is the only big country left out of all the refs and it helps that it's an all european final. If it was Uruguay against Spain, Webb would probably not be in the final as Uruguay would complain (it was a URU ref who didn't see the Lampard goal).
Webb has risen very quickly. For a guy who was terrible at Euro 2008 and sent home before the knockout stages, he's gotten a CL and WC final this year.
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Not exactly how Howard Webb is the worst referee in England. Judging by his recent appointments - Champions League final and the World Cup final, wouldn't that qualify him as the best? I didn't think UEFA or FIFA handed out the highest profile matches to crap officials.
he was also sent down to League 1 or the Championship last season for mistakes
