Pre-FIFA World Cup Thread!!!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I'd cheer for Canada as well if we actually had a decent soccer team that made the World Cup once every couple decades or so. But since they are nowhere to be seen and I am Dutch, I'll be cheering for just one team, and not two.

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

Father was born in Portugal, so growing up, I was always a fan of anything Portugal(not just soccer), and so, it goes without saying, that I cheer for their soccer team.

One thing that bugs me a lot is people who claim part of a country when it is convienient for them to do so. Example, I got plenty of friends who are Italian whenever World Cup or Euro's come around. But outside of the tourneys, you never hear them say they are Italian. This is a huge pet peeve of mine.

thats a huge pet peeve of mine as well. I'm a huge Oranje supporter and will usually wear my jersey any time of the year. But in high school most of my school was italians (St. Francis) so needless to say when world cup comes around you see about 200 jerseys but the min. italy is out... there go all the jerseys for another 2 years.

[Ducay]

dont forget the gold chains

[sadora]

Originally Posted by fotze

I'm having a hard time believing there are italians that are hard to tell that they are italians. Cologne, gel, pumped up upper body, skinny legs.

I don't think that's what he was talking about.

[CrzyCanuck]

FYI, all of the games will be on either Sportsnet, TSN, or CTV and will all be available in high definition.

http://www.ctvmedia.ca/tsn/releases/...8561&yyyy=2006

So far I only have to miss one day work to see all of Portugals group matches!

[J pold]

I will be cheering for England having been there and my Mother's and Fathers side both being English it’s kind of a must, plus when I was in London I bought the new 2006-2007 jersey the day it hit the streets 74 pounds! they better not fall on their faces

[Aarons13]

Originally Posted by sadora

For me, being Latin American I always cheer for the Latin American teams, except for Chile but that's a whole other story.

my chilean girlfriend would have something to say about that... hahaha

She is rooting for any of the south american teams, but for me, its all england. Needless to say, we are enemies for a few weeks.

[theJuice]

Like some in this thread, never really been a fan of Soccer, but everytime the World Cup rolls around, I'm always interested and find it very entertaining to watch. Don't really understand most the rules and such, and don't really know any players, but I still find it exciting, and always make time to watch.

Don't really have any favorite teams or anything, but I was really partial to South Korea that one year they hosted it a number of years ago, liked the crazy fans and the nice run they went on. Didn't go all the way, but it was fun to cheer for them, as most of my South Korean friends were getting pretty into it. Probably cheer for an underdog team or something of that nature again this year.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by theJuice

Don't really have any favorite teams or anything, but I was really partial to South Korea that one year they hosted it a number of years ago, liked the crazy fans and the nice run they went on. Didn't go all the way, but it was fun to cheer for them, as most of my South Korean friends were getting pretty into it. Probably cheer for an underdog team or something of that nature again this year.

HATE THE SOUTH KOREANS!!!!!!!!

[STeeLy]

I've been a Brazil fan for soccer all my life. We don't get much coverage here in Canada about that... I've been wondering for a long time if Rivaldo retired yet? I am pretty sure he has, but I just need some confirmation on that. I also heard that Ronaldo is retired from international competition, but I believe he is still playing in this World Cup, is that right?

I don't think that Brazil has too much of a chance to win this year. Ronaldhino is still a somewhat of an unknown factor.

I have a feeling though that Portugal have a good chance, the 2 names that really stand out for me is Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo... but I have a feeling about that team.

[sadora]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I've been a Brazil fan for soccer all my life. We don't get much coverage here in Canada about that... I've been wondering for a long time if Rivaldo retired yet? I am pretty sure he has, but I just need some confirmation on that. I also heard that Ronaldo is retired from international competition, but I believe he is still playing in this World Cup, is that right?

I don't think that Brazil has too much of a chance to win this year. Ronaldhino is still a somewhat of an unknown factor.

I have a feeling though that Portugal have a good chance, the 2 names that really stand out for me is Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo... but I have a feeling about that team.

I can tell you for a fact that Ronaldo will be in Brasil's line up and Rivaldo will be in the bench if on the roster at all. Parreira hasn't revealed the 23 man roster for Brasil yet but that information will be available perhaps later this month. Parreira did announce his starting line up for Brasil's first game against Croatia.

Dida will be on goal, the back four will be Cafu, Juan, Lucio and Roberto Carlos. Emerson and Ze Roberto as defensive midfielders. And of course, Parreira's so called magic quarted Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Adriano and Kaka.

[vennegoor of hesselink]

the oranje have made the finals of the 2 other major tournaments ( lost the 74 world cup to west germany and won the european championships in 1988) so heres hoping that trend will continue.

HUP HOLLAND!

[troutman]

I'm going to Germany June 9th to 30th! We have not been able to get tickets to any games, and it seems that you can't buy them from scalpers. Tickets are all coded to your passport. We will just have to enjoy the games from beer gardens in the main plazas where I understand giant screens will be set-up. It would be great to hook up with fans from Brazil or Argentina, and maybe avoid cities where England and the Netherlands are playing (could be some serious hooligan trouble).

Who will win? Republic of Ireland; even though they did not qualify, they will be granted a last-minute exemption. Germany needs the Irish fans to revive the economy by consuming all available beer and spirits.



Seriously, I like from Europe, the Netherlands and Spain (who may finally play to their potential when it matters). Brazil and Argentina are potential finalists.

FIFA World Rankings:

http://fifa.com/en/mens/statistics/i...r-2006,00.html

1 Brazil 2 Czech Republic 3 Netherlands4 USA
5 Spain 6 Mexico 7 France 8 Portugal 8 Argentina 10 England

It must be annoying for a lot of soccer fans around the world that USA is ranked 4th.

If I can get to a computer, I can provide calgarypuck exclusive updates from Germany.

World Cup Trivia Game:

http://en.quiz.fifaworldcup.yahoo.net/fifaquiz/

[troutman]

Help me create this glossary of soocer terms translated for North Americans watching soccer for the first time. Can you add to the list?

in touch = out of bounds

pace = fast

red card = game misconduct

insurmountable = 1-0 lead

good ball = nice pass

lacklustre = any game not involving England according to England commentators

blockbuster = any game involving England according to England commentators

strip/kit = uniform

nil = zero, nothing

naive = poor defending

optimistic = shot form outside the penalty area

penalty area = crease

own goal = scoring on your own goal by mistake

tackle = trip/kick in the shins

play-acting = diving

football = soccer

friendly = exhibition game

fixture = scheduled game

derby = local rivalry

away goal rule = arbitrary

aggregate = total combined goals in two game series

leg = one game in a two game series

cross = centering pass

side = team

relegation = demotion to lesser league

striker = sniper

table = standings

pitch = field

penalty/spot-kick = penalty shot

well struck = hard/accurate shot

header = hitting the ball with your head

Premiership = England's highest calibre league

Bundesliga = Germany's highest calibre league

Champions League = Tournament of European league champions and qualifiers

adrift = behind, as in "4 points adrift in the table"

dodgy = tense or questionable (depending on the circumstances)

clean sheet = shut out

cracker = hard shot

Corners or Corner Kick - Any ball kicked out of the baseline of the defending team by the defending team will result in the attacking team kicking the ball from the corner

Free Kick - Any fouls commited outside the Penalty Area will result in a free kick.

Hand Ball - Touch the ball with ur hand up until the shoulder area (Allowed to use shoulders to touch the ball)

Cleats - Shoes

Set Pieces - The play after a dead ball (Corners, free kicks, Spot kicks)

Drop Kick - Face off (I don't actually remember if they do this... but I remember that in some places they do)

Throw In - Throwing the ball into play from the sidelines.

Sliding Tackle - A tackle (see several post above) while u are sliding along the grass

[troutman]

Originally Posted by VANFLAMESFAN

England is a usual suspect for the World Cup??? Sure, they're expected to make a serious charge, but they always come up short and this year will be no different, despite a very strong lineup IMO.

England are the Toronto Maple Leafs of international football. No championships since 1966, together with the most absurd levels of media hype imaginable.

[Suave]

Well l will be cheering on the homeland (Czech) as always. Once again we have managed to find the group of death; at least this time we don’t have the Dutch in our group again. That first game against the USA is huge, it will really show if the States are a world class team.

I have no clue how we will fare. Some of our young guys like Baros and Rosicky can play but don’t have the consistency yet. Plus veterans like Nedved, Smicer and Koller(coming off injury) are getting up there in age. I think we play some of the most entertaining football in the world, hopefully we can finally win (I feel like a Sens fan).

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by troutman

lacklustre = any game not involving England according to England commentators

blockbuster = any game involving England according to England commentators

BEST THING I HAVE READ ALL DAY LONG!!

[sadora]

For those Portugese fans out there, here is the link to funny Nike commercial:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...1476&q=ronaldo

Enjoy

[VANFLAMESFAN]

Originally Posted by sadora

For those Portugese fans out there, here is the link to funny Nike commercial:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...1476&q=ronaldo

Enjoy

sweet ass sweet, thanks for that, loved it!!

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by sadora

For those Portugese fans out there, here is the link to funny Nike commercial:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...1476&q=ronaldo

Enjoy

That was a sweet ass video!!! Its like a Soccer version of a Nike Bauer commercial between Iginla and Naslund.

Adding to that video... here's this one... though Google Video may have a better quality one... but here it is on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSEnY...berto%20Carlos

This is last World Cup's commercial for Pepsi featuring Roberto Carlos... quite funny (Don't know if anyone seen this one yet)

As for Brazil. I thought it was the Magic Rs of Ronaldo, Ronaldhino and Rivaldo in 02...

I'm really surprised Cafu is still playing, that guy is getting pretty old... I really can't wait to watch this in a months time.... my grade 12 grad rolls on at around that time so I should be able to relax a bit.

Hmmm... any terms to add to that glossary... ya sure/

Corners or Corner Kick - Any ball kicked out of the baseline of the defending team by the defending team will result in the attacking team kicking the ball from the corner

Free Kick - Any fouls commited outside the Penalty Area will result in a free kick.

Hand Ball - Touch the ball with ur hand up until the shoulder area (Allowed to use shoulders to touch the ball)

Cleats - Shoes

Set Pieces - The play after a dead ball (Corners, free kicks, Spot kicks)

Drop Kick - Face off (I don't actually remember if they do this... but I remember that in some places they do)

Throw In - Throwing the ball into play from the sidelines.

Sliding Tackle - A tackle (see several post above) while u are sliding along the grass