FIFA World Cup - Germany 2006 (1 Viewer)

[MichaelBA]

THIS REF IS F*CKING INSANE!

 

[Ricardo C]

Yep, what the hell was that???? Pope was CLEARLY going for the ball

Really, really hoping the US can overcome this.

 

[MichaelBA]

The US came back strong, the Italians played subpar, and the ref destroyed the whole match. But a draw is still good for the US.

 

[Cees Alons]

Excellent play by the US team. Ten man against 11 for all of the second half.

Keller was magnificent.
I found several decisions of the referee doubtful, not acknowledging off-side (of the Italians) several times and at least one false corner to the Italians.

Anyway: the US might have hoped better at the start, but couldn't do more than they did at the end. A very good result against the Italians!


Cees

 

[ThomasC]

Ugh. I think I hate ties more than losses.

Correction: 9 against 10.

 

[Haggai]

I'm the opposite of you on those calls, Ricardo...Mastroeni's tackle was the type that happens every game, not from behind, no way that's a red. But Pope's second card looked justified to me, he came from behind and went through the guy's feet. Dumb play, he knew that he was already playing with one yellow.

USA showed a lot of heart, and they generated some good chances even when they were down 9 men to 10. Keller kept them in it as well with some great saves, and they got some luck on the own goal, plus an almost-own-goal from a Bocanegra header that went over.

Bad defending again on one play proved costly, as it did on Koller's goal for the Czechs, when Pope and Reyna decided that it would be smarter to wave their hands at the ref instead of defending Gilardino. Also a questionable non-move by Arena to leave his last substitution unused; Reyna in particular was exhausted and ineffective for most of the game anyway. I'd have subbed him out at about 75-80 minutes.

LOL at Wynalda here..."there are two kinds of referees, bad ones and worse ones."

 

[MichaelBA]

This ref, Larrionda, was suspended back in 2002 from participating in the World Cup.

http://www.soccernet.com/columns/2002/0110/20020110update200 2.html

 

[MichaelBA]

Oh, and it was NINE men for the US against ten for the Italians. Friggin' ref SUCKED!

 

[James D S]

It's a shame about the ref, but I was impressed with the commentating. Apart from American football, you don't get the kind of respect for the audience as I'm getting from these soccer commentators.

American sports commentating has made an art of making excuses for referees.

Good to see that soccer commentators have as much respect for the game as the audience does.

Way to go US. Getting one on an own-goal aside, we were sticking it to the Italians for all 90. Great performance and it showed we belong in this tourney. So much for the critics thinking we'd get out-classed.

As a soccer noob (see, I still say "soccer" as if to prove the point), do most games play like this? I mean, is so much time spent hamming it up for the refs? The Italians were going down like China dolls, rolling around like Jeff Gillooly made a play on their shins. After the refs had ample chance to survey the damage, they'd get back up and sprint down the field. Is it a European thing? (I see similar things coming from European players who play professional basketball here in the states.)

 

[Cees Alons]

Yes, of course!
(Sorry, "automatism".)


Cees

 

[Haggai]

Unfortunately, it's all too common. Some South American players are also notorious for this, although nobody can claim to be squeaky clean on that front. Some US players were helping themselves to the ground a few times today as well.

 

[Alex-C]

US team need to start scoring some goals if they want to move on.

 

[Haggai]

Hard to score with only 9 guys on the field, Alex! They generated several good chances today and outplayed Italy for most of the game. But they will need to start converting to beat Ghana.

 

[Ricardo C]

Theatrics have become an accepted part of the game, sadly. Professional wrestlers could learn a few things from these guys

In the 2002 cup, Brazil's Rivaldo was fined for throwing himself on the floor cradling his face, after being hit ON THE THIGH. It was so ridiculous, I wish I could find the clip...

YouTube to the rescue!

And the Oscar goes to...

 

[ThomasC]

 

[Jan H]

Right after graduating from college In June of 1990, I had the mis, er...fortune of being in 3 of the loveliest cities in the world at the exact time the US national team played the countries involved in the Italy World Cup: Prague, Vienna and Venice. In each of these glorious bastions of culture, during the World Cup, my buddies and I were subjected to an array of insults about soccer in America. We lost every game,and deserved to. But whenever we scored (twice, if I remember right), we shouted and whooped like we'd won the Super Bowl. 16 years ago, scoring was enough.

Congrats to the boys, to Ghana, and to anybody who has to suffer the insufferably arrogant attitude of Europeans if a World Cup is being played on European soil.

GO ANYBODY BUT EUROPEANS!! (And Argentinians, who fancy themselves Europeans in the New World).

 

[Ricardo C]

The most perfect summation of the Argentinian national team ever written

 

[Andy_Bu]

I have been a US uber fan since 1989.

In all those years I don't think I have ever been so proud of the boys.

Talk about leaving it all on the field. Landon was put on IV's immediately after the game. McBride was broken wide open only to shake it off and go all 90 minutes.

To play 9 against 10 (which is SIGNIFICANTLY harder than playing 10 vs 11) for an entire half against arguably a top 5 team in the World was inspiring, even if they were just hanging on for dear life at the end.

I nearly hit the ceiling when DMB scored in the second half only to drop to my knees when it was called back. In the end though that was one of the few good calls the ref made in the game.

My god, that was one of the worst own goals I have ever seen. He could try that 30 times in a row and not recreate that play.

This more than wipes away the horrible taste from the CR game. Well done to the US. I still don't think the US will move on, but at least the Ghana game should be interesting to watch.

Pope and Pablo will have to be replaced and it will be interesting to see if Arena risks finally letting O'Brien get a start next to Reyna.

Andy

 

[Lew Crippen]

Actually it is not only the side that consider themselves Euorpean.

The commentators were actually not quite correct in their assessment on what has to happen for the US to move on. As has been mentioned in this thread, the US can advance with a big win over Ghana.

Of course this will likely put them in a position to meet Brazil.

 

[Ricardo C]

Just the only ones that are so obnoxious about it