2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup

[STAMPEDRED]

Originally Posted by Locke

It has to be FIFA Approved Field Turf. Montreal didnt have it, theirs is less than a week old, and I think McMahon's is older than me. ....

So your a year and a half old??

The turf has been replaced a couple of times within the last 7-8 years I believe, with the most recent being before the start of the CFL season in '06.

I would wager why Calgary did not get the bid is:

a: Not enough venues to hold it or people in western Canada

b: Montreal has a mostly useless ball park

c: Ottawa has a tenant-less ball park in Frank Clair Stadium.

d: Toronto is always changing the turf for various events so of course they can get the FIFA approved turf in.


Also for your consideration is McMahon has the same turf with the rubber pellets in it that they are using at Frank Clair Stadium so obviously it would pass... the only part that would not past is as previously posted that the yard lines might not be removable.

And McMahon is a decent ball park as compared to the likes of Frank Clair Stadium or the big-o in Montreal. Get over it!

[Locke]

Wow, it seems I've stumbled upon an entrenched Stamps fan. A little anger, but thats ok.

Sorry, I didnt know they changed it last year. Prior to that it was antique.

The black-pellet crap is crushed tire, and it is in the fields at Montreal, and Ottawa and maybe Edmonton (not sure). I hate it. Call me traditionalist, purist, whatever, soccer should be played on grass. Can we not grow grass in Canada? I watched this morning's games from Victoria and Burnaby and the ball control was in an entirely different class even though the teams arent even comparable in skill.

Sorry about bashing McMahon, but like I said, its not my favorite place to play by a long shot. I dont have any love for the Montreal or Ottawa Stadiums either.

Anyways, well played by Japan, they dominated Scotland and played a really entertaining game. The Zambia/Jordan game was alright, but nothing ground breaking.

[Winsor_Pilates]

This is some really good soccer. I tried to get tickets for todays games in Burnaby but they were sold out. Hopefully I can go see a game in the next round.

[calgaryrocks]

too bad for canada that chile is playing so well. canada has played good but chile is playing impressively. hopefully canada can get some chances with the wind in the second half

[Resolute 14]

South American teams are such a joke with the diving and acting that it is impossible to cheer for any of them.

If some of these Chilean players had 1/10th as much class as they do skill...

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by STAMPEDRED

So your a year and a half old??

The turf has been replaced a couple of times within the last 7-8 years I believe, with the most recent being before the start of the CFL season in '06.

I would wager why Calgary did not get the bid is:

a: Not enough venues to hold it or people in western Canada

b: Montreal has a mostly useless ball park

c: Ottawa has a tenant-less ball park in Frank Clair Stadium.

d: Toronto is always changing the turf for various events so of course they can get the FIFA approved turf in.


Also for your consideration is McMahon has the same turf with the rubber pellets in it that they are using at Frank Clair Stadium so obviously it would pass... the only part that would not past is as previously posted that the yard lines might not be removable.

And McMahon is a decent ball park as compared to the likes of Frank Clair Stadium or the big-o in Montreal. Get over it!

The yard lines are not removeable with any ease. They would have to take out the sections of the turf. The yard markers are all just painted right on to the the turf.

Also the games in Toronto are held at BMO Field which is a dedicated soccer stadium (its our national stadium now), so they do not have to change the turf for anything. The only tennat there is Toronto FC and they're on the road for the next 6 games because of the World Cup.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

too bad for canada that chile is playing so well. canada has played good but chile is playing impressively. hopefully canada can get some chances with the wind in the second half

Canada looked pretty weak man. That was bad . If this tournament wasnt held in Canada I think the Ref would have gone over to the Canadian Coach and asked to see proof that this team actually qualified.

Originally Posted by Snakeeye

South American teams are such a joke with the diving and acting that it is impossible to cheer for any of them.

If some of these Chilean players had 1/10th as much class as they do skill...

There is a certain amount of middle ground here that has to be conceded. I agree that the diving is getting out of hand, at some point its outright ridiculous. The other factors though is that Chile play more of a finesse game, speed and skill. Canada plays a hard-nosed defensive style, with less flair and more hard tackling. When these styles go up against each other this is what you're going to get, especially in a tournament as important as this.

Something still has to be done. If Refs stop awarding free kicks for this crap and just let them roll around on the ground and totally ignore them it might help curb some of this nonsense.

Locke.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by sadora

I wouldn't go as far as to call them contenders but their soccer program is very good. They have improved considerably and it would be great to see Canada follow a similar program.

I know, but they are qualifying for tournaments on their own merit, not just hosting them so they can finally go .

To me that makes them contenders because you have to qualify for the tournament to have a chance of winning it .

[Locke]

Wow. Portugal vs New Zealand was hands down the best game yet. Hard tackles, great passing plays and amazing skill countered by solid defending and as yet unseen sportsmanship. And Portugal kept the diving to a minimum...

The ref was a little weird. Overall I thought he did a great job of letting the play flow, but both of Portugal's goals came on poor calls, which was really unfortunate for New Zealand. The Kiwis played a solid game though, if they could have finished their chances they would have been right there with Portugal, although their technical skill was nowhere near that of the Portuguese.

That game should have been a 0-0 tie to be fair but a great game to watch nonetheless.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by Locke

Wow. Portugal vs New Zealand was hands down the best game yet. Hard tackles, great passing plays and amazing skill countered by solid defending and as yet unseen sportsmanship. And Portugal kept the diving to a minimum...

The ref was a little weird. Overall I thought he did a great job of letting the play flow, but both of Portugal's goals came on poor calls, which was really unfortunate for New Zealand. The Kiwis played a solid game though, if they could have finished their chances they would have been right there with Portugal, although their technical skill was nowhere near that of the Portuguese.

That game should have been a 0-0 tie to be fair but a great game to watch nonetheless.

a 0-0 tie would have been fair?? WOW, couldn't disagree with you more. Portugal had all the ball, were putting on passing clinics, and really showed their class. It was Portugal's fininshing that let them down and IMO, I thought they were a little y with some of the things they were trying to do.

But yes, New Zealand was unfortunate to have those calls go against them, expecially the penalty, never seen anything like that before. Having said that, I thought they were lucky to get only lose that 2-0, Portugal was far and away the better team.

[Monkey_Fracas]

Agreed, Portugal is clearly on another level than New Zealand.

Bruno Gama lived up to alot of the hype surrounding him today.

I thought Fabio Coentrao was the standout for Portugal though. Unbelievable amounts of skill from this kid, too bad he had a couple of overly dramatic dives.

Pele looked 5-6 years older than everyone on the pitch as well. Very composed and dictated a lot of the attack.

Zequiniha and Bruno Pereirinha had pretty solid games as well, they were the 4th and 5th best players for Portugal today, and still were better than anyone on New Zealand, that gives you an idea of the skill mismatch.

Still, solid marking by New Zealand, they were pretty tight defensively and they played hard, but were clearly overmatched.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

a 0-0 tie would have been fair?? WOW, couldn't disagree with you more. Portugal had all the ball, were putting on passing clinics, and really showed their class. It was Portugal's fininshing that let them down and IMO, I thought they were a little y with some of the things they were trying to do.

Originally Posted by Monkey_Fracas

Agreed, Portugal is clearly on another level than New Zealand.

Zequiniha and Bruno Pereirinha had pretty solid games as well, they were the 4th and 5th best players for Portugal today, and still were better than anyone on New Zealand, that gives you an idea of the skill mismatch.

Still, solid marking by New Zealand, they were pretty tight defensively and they played hard, but were clearly overmatched.

Right, but the reason I say 0-0 would have been fair is because the Portuguese finishing was poor and for all of their amazing skill and dominance of the game they couldnt do anything from open play, the New Zealand defense took them right out of it. Portugal brought all the offense and New Zealand brought all the defense.

Clearly overmatched, outskilled and outclassed. But with all that advantage the Portuguese stole a win with some dodgy refereeing.

They got 2 goals from poor calls by the ref. Eliminate the poor calls and it was a tie game. Did they deserve the win? Yes. Did New Zealand deserve to lose? No. They played an even game. Thats just the way I see, unlucky for the Kiwis.

[Thunderball]

Am I the only one who thinks this tournament is crap without the major European nations? (By which I mean England, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands).

UEFA and FIFA have to get their stuff harmonized. U-21 in Europe v. U-20 in the rest of the world within under a month of each other... how were the Europeans expected to field two teams?

What apparently happened is the big teams elected not to send their 19 and 20 year olds to play on artificial turf in a lonely soccer outpost like Canada, and focused their efforts on the European tournaments, while sending their 17 and 18 year olds to qualify for this, which, of course, they didn't. Other teams didn't qualify for the UEFA tourney, so they focused on U-20.

As for Canada... there should be a rule that host countries should at least have qualified for the last two tournaments... they are just shamefully below the standard in this tournament. A testament to how little people regard the sport here.

Oh, and for the people complaining about the players going down... if you collide with someone at full speed, with no padding and fall on what is essentially concrete... it does hurt... a lot. I was really disgusted when the Canadian "fans" were booing an 18 year old boy for not getting up right away.

[Resolute 14]

Thats okay, I was really disgusted when the 18 year old boy showed off his acting lessons.

[calgaryrocks]

yeah, they were acting alot during the game...im not saying some of them may have been slightly hurt but all the rolling and then getting up and looking fine. especially the guy that got carried off on a stretcher then not even a minute after hitting the sidelines is back on as a substituition...i mean come on

[Thunderball]

Originally Posted by calgaryrocks

yeah, they were acting alot during the game...im not saying some of them may have been slightly hurt but all the rolling and then getting up and looking fine. especially the guy that got carried off on a stretcher then not even a minute after hitting the sidelines is back on as a substituition...i mean come on

I don't condone the antics myself, but its a little childish to be assuming the guy must not be hurt at all and then boo the guy, seeing as just because they are up after a couple mins doesn't mean they weren't in pain a couple minutes before... like if one gets the wind knocked out of them. That first 30-90 seconds can be rather painful, but after that, its like nothing happened.

As for the stretcher thing, they have to put them on a stretcher and get them off the field ASAP if they can't do it themselves, cause the clock doesn't stop, and even stoppage time doesn't always account for the time lost. Unlike in hockey/football, where they can take all day to diagnose on the field/ice, since play has been stopped. Plus, how many times in hockey has a guy been down on the ice for minutes, only to return looking fresh and rejuvenated?

The rules say that if a stretcher comes out and takes a player off-field, that player has to stay off until they can sub him back in... which means they could be a man down for a long time, seeing as a lot of time can pass before a break in play. Players know this, and while they sometimes embellish to get a refs attention (a universal constant in sport), they know that once the ref has addressed it, or once too much time has elapsed, they better get up fast unless they are hurt.

[ricoFlame]

congo looked ridiculous throughout the entire second half vs. austria. what a great game to watch. they deserved the result...thank god that refereeing gaf in the 93rd minute didn't cost them the match. insane.

[Locke]

There is too much diving, whatever players receive as a result only helps to inhibit further inexcusable action. And there were a few ridiculous ones lately, namely the Portugal incident in which even the commentators couldnt help but crack jokes.

[ricoFlame]

Originally Posted by Locke

There is too much diving, whatever players receive as a result only helps to inhibit further inexcusable action. And there were a few ridiculous ones lately, namely the Portugal incident in which even the commentators couldnt help but crack jokes.

the officials have to start carding these guys more ofen, it is ridiculous, often making the games tough to watch.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Thunderball

As for Canada... there should be a rule that host countries should at least have qualified for the last two tournaments... they are just shamefully below the standard in this tournament. A testament to how little people regard the sport here.

Canada has qualified for the 4 of the last 5 tournaments (1997, 2001, 2003, 2005) and made the quarters in 2003 barely losing in extra time to Spain.

You shouldn't judge Canada's performance on 1 single game. They played like crap (I guess having 20 year olds play on Canada Day on national tv wasn't such a good idea afterall, they were so nervous!).

Canada's build-up to the tournament was very good and I expect them to rebound and play much much better in Edmonton on Thusday.