World Cup South Africa, 2010 Thread

[Locke]

Ozil on England's boredom claims:

Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil has revealed that beating England is the highlight of his tournament so far, and couldn't believe the England players' claims that they were 'bored' between games in South Africa.

John Terry told a press conference during the tournament that 'there is a little bit of boredom kicking in' while Wayne Rooney claimed the team were 'sick of darts and snooker' at their remote training base.


But ahead of Wednesday's semi-final with Spain, Ozil laughed off these claims of boredom. He said: "If you find the greatest tournament on earth boring, then you probably shouldn't be there".

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-c...901&ver=global

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Locke

Ozil on England's boredom claims:



http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-c...901&ver=global

The contrasting attitudes are pretty much a perfect illustration of why one guy is a win away from the final while the Rooney is back home already probably hanging out with the lotto lout.

[North East Goon]

Originally Posted by Matty81

The contrasting attitudes are pretty much a perfect illustration of why one guy is a win away from the final while the Rooney is back home already probably hanging out with the lotto lout.

The self entitlement is definitely a problem amongst by beloved three lions!

[North East Goon]

any word out of the Germany camp whether they will be playing there third 20 year old young stud - name escapes me right now? Hopefully they are playing him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by North East Goon

any word out of the Germany camp whether they will be playing there third 20 year old young stud - name escapes me right now? Hopefully they are playing him.

Hah! Which one? Holger Badstuber, Marko Marin or Toni Kroos?

I think Marin or Kiessling is going to slot in for Muller. They're forwards, Marin is 21 and Kiessling is 26. Marin is a playmaker and Kiessling is a clinical finisher.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Locke

Hah! Which one? Holger Badstuber, Marko Marin or Toni Kroos?

I think Marin or Kiessling is going to slot in for Muller. They're forwards, Marin is 21 and Kiessling is 26. Marin is a playmaker and Kiessling is a clinical finisher.

And if you look at their recent call up list on wiki about half the other 20 or so players in their pool were 23 or under. Looks good on them for the next world cup.

I just read an article saying Kroos was coming in for Muller, dunno how credible the source was though.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Matty81

And if you look at their recent call up list on wiki about half the other 20 or so players in their pool were 23 or under. Looks good on them for the next world cup.

I just read an article saying Kroos was coming in for Muller, dunno how credible the source was though.

That could be, he is more of a midfield playmaker and has been previously used to sub for Schweinsteiger. That would tell me that they want more creativity on the midfield wings and that they're committing to playing Schweinsteiger for the whole 90.

What caught my eye in the Preview was the 'Key Battle.' Miro Klose vs Gerard Pique. If thats the case then Spain could be in trouble, Pique has looked shaky at best this tournament against some pretty sub-par competition, like that stupid penalty he took against Paraguay. That could easily have sunk Spain right then and there if not for Casillas' heriocs.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Jagger

That's the key point too. Germany have been very impressive but, honestly, England and Argentina were not exactly very good 'teams'. They had individual talent but they were nowhere near a cohesive unit. Germany picked both apart with their incredible counter-attack.

Holland and Spain, on the other hand, play as complete teams and neither have exactly played to their full potential yet either. It's going to be a much tougher task for this young German team but, and this a big but, my (vast!) experience tells me to never count Germany out.

Everyone seems to forget than GER lost 1-0 to SER too.

GER has been very impressive, but they are not invincible. If they beat SPA and NED, then full credit to them.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by Locke

That could be, he is more of a midfield playmaker and has been previously used to sub for Schweinsteiger. That would tell me that they want more creativity on the midfield wings and that they're committing to playing Schweinsteiger for the whole 90.

What caught my eye in the Preview was the 'Key Battle.' Miro Klose vs Gerard Pique. If thats the case then Spain could be in trouble, Pique has looked shaky at best this tournament against some pretty sub-par competition, like that stupid penalty he took against Paraguay. That could easily have sunk Spain right then and there if not for Casillas' heriocs.

The weakest link for me in Spain has been Puyol - largely on the basis of pace. The guy is an absolute warrior but he is slowing down. When you've got a possession team like Spain where many of the attacks they face come on the counter footspeed is vital in a defender.

That said on their night Spain's offensive talent could render defending an after thought.

Should be another r.a.d.d. dandy today!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by troutman

Everyone seems to forget than GER lost 1-0 to SER too.

GER has been very impressive, but they are not invincible. If they beat SPA and NED, then full credit to them.

And Spain lost 1-0 to Switzerland while playing the whole game with 11 men. I think Spain's loss to the Swiss is more indicative of their tournament form than Germany's loss to Serbia where the Germans were still the better team even being a man down.

Spain havent been very impressive at all despite playing weaker opposition and Germany's road to the Semi has been vastly harder than Spain's and they've looked better doing it, obviously a German collapse or a Spanish reversion to past form could change everything in a real hurry.

Originally Posted by Matty81

The weakest link for me in Spain has been Puyol - largely on the basis of pace. The guy is an absolute warrior but he is slowing down. When you've got a possession team like Spain where many of the attacks they face come on the counter footspeed is vital in a defender.

That said on their night Spain's offensive talent could render defending an after thought.

Should be another r.a.d.d. dandy today!

Very true. Lets not forget, they entered this tournament as the favourites to win. Their form has been sandwiched somewhere between poor and unimpressive, but all it takes is for it all to click and then all thats happened in the past is forgotten.

This is going to be a very tense game.

[Matty81]

OT but Wow! Barcelona missed paying wages in June;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...pe/8797183.stm
Still planning to spend big on Fabregas. Sounds like they have the financial forecasting skills of a 2005 mortgage broker.

[North East Goon]

Originally Posted by Locke

Hah! Which one? Holger Badstuber, Marko Marin or Toni Kroos?

I think Marin or Kiessling is going to slot in for Muller. They're forwards, Marin is 21 and Kiessling is 26. Marin is a playmaker and Kiessling is a clinical finisher.

Kroos was the one I was thinking of. Ah, to have the riches that Deutschland has - just keep twisting that knife into me - cruel,cruel world!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Matty81

OT but Wow! Barcelona missed paying wages in June;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/foot...pe/8797183.stm
Still planning to spend big on Fabregas. Sounds like they have the financial forecasting skills of a 2005 mortgage broker.

Yep, they're broke. Looking at a 120 Million Euro loan to cover shortages.

[Locke]

Torres dropped for Spain. Pedro comes in.

Dont forget, Torres scored the 1 goal of the Euro Cup final....

[Hades]

I'm hoping for an early Spanish goal to really open things up; I think if Germany scores early they'll run with it.
Regardless, Germany should win...but hopefully it's a close entertaining game!

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Hades

I'm hoping for an early Spanish goal to really open things up; I think if Germany scores early they'll run with it.
Regardless, Germany should win...but hopefully it's a close entertaining game!

I actually think the opposite. Spain are much more defensive than Germany. An early German goal will speed up the Spanish game to a pace faster than walking.

/I hate the Spanish style.

Originally Posted by North East Goon

Kroos was the one I was thinking of. Ah, to have the riches that Deutschland has - just keep twisting that knife into me - cruel,cruel world!

England have YOOTS! They just don't trust them.

[Hades]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I actually think the opposite. Spain are much more defensive than Germany. An early German goal will speed up the Spanish game to a pace faster than walking.

/I hate the Spanish style.

I suppose, though if Germany scores first I think it'll be a rout...which while is somewhat entertaining, doesn't make for the best match.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Hades

I suppose, though if Germany scores first I think it'll be a rout...which while is somewhat entertaining, doesn't make for the best match.

Possible but I hope playing from behind brings out the best in the Spanish. Watching the Spanish play first halves the last two games has been a cure for insomnia.

20 passes at the center circle followed by a guy falling over.

[Hades]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Possible but I hope playing from behind brings out the best in the Spanish. Watching the Spanish play first halves the last two games has been a cure for insomnia.

20 passes at the center circle followed by a guy falling over.

We'll see soon!! Btw who are/were you cheering for girly, not sure if I saw it or not but I can't remember...

[Jagger]

Originally Posted by Locke

Ozil on England's boredom claims:

Germany playmaker Mesut Ozil has revealed that beating England is the highlight of his tournament so far, and couldn't believe the England players' claims that they were 'bored' between games in South Africa.

John Terry told a press conference during the tournament that 'there is a little bit of boredom kicking in' while Wayne Rooney claimed the team were 'sick of darts and snooker' at their remote training base.


But ahead of Wednesday's semi-final with Spain, Ozil laughed off these claims of boredom. He said: "If you find the greatest tournament on earth boring, then you probably shouldn't be there".


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-c...901&ver=global

I couldn't believe the boredom claims either. They came across as spoiled children not grown adults. It was, quite frankly, embarrassing.

The England team needs a serious overhaul. If the players had shown even half the passion of the German team they might have done something in this tournament. There was a prevailing sense of entitlement from the England team. They looked to be simply going through the motions.

And don't give me the "they play too much excuse" excuse that I've heard been spouted either. The likes of Dirk Kuyt and Wesley Schneider play just the same amount of games as Wayne Rooney and John Terry. The former have had outstanding World cup's while the latter, the less said the better.

Kudos to Germany for finding things to do between matches to stave off the boredom!