Really? That seems odd. A defender can put another player in a headlock for two steamboats in the box, and not expect a penalty? I thought it was pretty clear cut.
Will Holland roll over for Romania? Seems likely to me. Shame this kind of thing can't be avoided. I think the only solution is to go to a bracket system like NCAA March Madness. Give the elite teams top seedings, and go from there. There is too much potential for mischief in group play.
Headlock is an exaggeration, he was holding him back a little... there's holding every time there's offensive play in the box. 99 times out of 100, that isn't a penalty... Luca Toni said it best, "if that was a penalty, every team would have 5 of those per game." Its a very routine infraction that every team does, and the typical penalty for that is a freekick, or if its a corner, a re-do.
As for Holland rolling over, I really don't think they care to lose momentum, and like I said, I don't think they really care if Italy or France get through.
Right now, it looks like this:
Holland v. Sweden/Russia
Spain v. Italy/France/Romania
Odds are, if they make it to the semi-final, they are playing Spain. Romania might be easier pickings for Spain than the Italians or French could be. Say France/Italy do the unlikely and beat Spain, well, the Dutch have proven they can beat both those teams, so why be afraid of seeing them again? I'd say, Holland is more inclined to seeing a team from C that they can beat that can also beat Spain. I bet they are even more inclined to simply beating Sweden/Russia, and losing momentum and being scared of teams they beat is no way to do that.
Frankly, if Germany gets their act together, Scolari might rue his decision to field a B squad. Momentum is everything in a brief tournament, and the poor display by the "Bs" may have stalled it.
Nah, I don't buy that. In WC 2006, they did the exact same thing, they were already thru to the next round and played Mexico who were already thru and the teams were playing for first place, but it didn't matter where they finished, they would get the Dutch or the Argentines. Portugal fielded a less than stellar squad. Won the game and went on to the semis.
Scolari knows what he's doing, knows his squad, knows the mentality. I don't think this affects Portugal at all. Should they lose to Germany, I can't see them dressing a B squad being the factor. These guys know how to play together, they'll be fine. I can't think of a more overrated and overused term in sports than momentum. And when I say that, I mean from game to game momentum. It definitely exists during a game, but not from game to game. If momentum was so important, how many damn playoff series would the Flames have won?? 07 vs Detroit rings a bell. Wins Game3/4, lose Game 5 by a huge margin. Anyways back to the beautiful game, I truly believe Germany is going to lose or draw tomorrow. Maybe it's me wishing for that, but my gut is telling me that something weird is going to happen tomorrow.
Nah, I don't buy that. In WC 2006, they did the exact same thing, they were already thru to the next round and played Mexico who were already thru and the teams were playing for first place, but it didn't matter where they finished, they would get the Dutch or the Argentines. Portugal fielded a less than stellar squad. Won the game and went on to the semis.
Scolari knows what he's doing, knows his squad, knows the mentality. I don't think this affects Portugal at all. Should they lose to Germany, I can't see them dressing a B squad being the factor. These guys know how to play together, they'll be fine. I can't think of a more overrated and overused term in sports than momentum. And when I say that, I mean from game to game momentum. It definitely exists during a game, but not from game to game. If momentum was so important, how many damn playoff series would the Flames have won?? 07 vs Detroit rings a bell. Wins Game3/4, lose Game 5 by a huge margin. Anyways back to the beautiful game, I truly believe Germany is going to lose or draw tomorrow. Maybe it's me wishing for that, but my gut is telling me that something weird is going to happen tomorrow.
I actually think Germany might lose tomorrow too. It really sounds like the team is being run incompetently. (Man, what's with all the bad coaches in the Big teams, anyway?)... Apparently, the German team's practice consisted of playing basketball and cracking jokes. Which explains why they looked so flat and unfocused. Austria, despite being ranked lower than Canada, do not look as out of place as one would think.
Momentum definitely exists... to use the Flames example... the Flames were (are?) a team that don't know how to use momentum to their advantage, and lack the killer instinct (like the Czechs, no less). Strong teams can harness the energy from winning a game and apply it to the next.
Scolari knows his team, but he's also an outgoing coach. I'm not saying it always happens that a team that intentionally dismantles itself has chemistry issues, but it can definitely happen. Don't forget, the Portugese won that game... this time their depth couldn't even beat Switzerland, who also had nothing to play for except their retiring coach... so that means its a whole different scenario. Maybe they'll snap back into place and be a juggernaut and win the whole thing... or maybe, they'll look like Germany v. Croatia, and be disjointed individuals.
well tonight my germans will kick some austrian ass, because if not iŽll have to kick myself
seriously, if we donŽt win tonight, it will be terrible, anyway iŽll be optimistic and say germany win 3:0
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Quote:
Marc Savard was pretty skilled . . . . for a fat fata!! - Mr. Cowperson
ugh I hate germany, I hope they lose, but the austrians beating them is like columbus winning stanley cup, and blue jackets probably has a better shot.
Well, not the display I wanted from Germany but they're through.
Germany vs. Portugal is going to be an interesting match to say the least, a lot of people are going to be disappointed at the end of that match one way or another.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
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If you thought this season would have a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
I think you can sign in to the quarterfinals, it would be cool to have a calgarypuck league. My team is currently at 113 points with the ranking just below 100 000.
And one Germany supporter here as well, really dont think that the defence of Netherlands will last trough the playoffs. If only Germany would have Otto or Timo Hildebrand in goal then they would be invincible. And I wish they could invent some kind of rule for wednesday that both team could lose, I really don't know who to hate more, the swedish or the russians.
Edit: I have created a league for quarterfinals and so forth, the code for joining is 246229-56660. The scoring starts at zero so you are not too late.
Alright, so my dream of Austria beating Germany felll thru. Oh well, to be the best, you gotta........yeah you know the rest. Bring on Germany!! I truly believe the Portuguese are ready for this. Germans haven't played well at all in the group stage, getting only one goal today on a free kick, and scoring only 2 vs a pretty bad performance by the Poles. Nervous for Thursday?? A Little bit, but Portugal has a solid chance of beating Germany.
