betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted July 1, 2006 Semis are set: Germany vs. Italy and Portugal vs. France. Portugal is the one I'd like to see win it all, since it'd be their first. Wouldn't mind getting to watch Zidane go for as long as possible though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timothy1997 0 Report post Posted July 1, 2006 WOW!! FRANCE BEATS BRAZIL 1-0. the all-Europe final four is set. Germany, Italy, Portugal, and France. I wish England would have moved on. Then you could have the two Allied powers vs the two Axis powers in a WWII rematch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
German Red Wing 0 Report post Posted July 4, 2006 (edited) It hurts. Going down 2-0 late reminds me of the famous loss of Bayern Munich against ManU in June 1999. This were also late goals that stunned a whole nation. Italy has currently all the luck they have been missing 4 years ago. Edited July 4, 2006 by German Red Wing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liquid Snake 0 Report post Posted July 5, 2006 XD LOL LMAO ROFL Germany got owned in the last minute and it feels good!!! (Is Polish) How does it feel? READ: There is no offence meant to any Germans on this board, I'm just expressing my emotions. It's also the first time I haven't been horribly depressed since Stevie...you know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livediehockey80 0 Report post Posted July 7, 2006 All in all, a decent World Cup. I have a few gripes though: 1. The diving/acting is out of control. Beckenbauer is right; the refs need to do a better job of enforcing the flops. I have watched too many players flail and grimace on the pitch when no one has so much touched them. The Portuguese, Dutch, and Italians take this level to a new art form. 2. Teams are way too conservative with the attacking. Granted, I know one mistake in the back field could cost a goal...perhaps the only goal in the game and a one-way ticket home. The team coaches are so concerned about technical defensive mistakes that the game remains stuck in the mid-field. I haven't seen many corner kicks or shots on goal during this tournament. Most teams average maybe 3 or 4 shots on goal for the entire game. The goal keepers should bring their own chair, a newspaper, and a cup of coffee when play in net. They see no action whatsoever. 3. I agree with commentators that the refs are too quick with the cards. There were some talented star players who were disqualified for certain matches because of referees would card anyone who so much as touches an opposing player. 4. The obnoxious World Cup fans. Nothing shows stereotypical nationalistic behavior like World Cup soccer fans. All of the costumes, funky hats, and face paints is an over-zealous display of nationalistic pride. You could love your country and your soccer team without showing all of that crap. Although, I will admit that I enjoy photos of Brazilian female soccer fans in their very, very skimpy outfits. There were many ethnic and nationalistic slurs published by newspapers in countries like England and Germany. I think some German tabloid papers had offensive headlines about stereotyping Italians as "greasy" and "spaghetti eaters" before the semi-final match. The hooligan soccer fans feed off that stuff. There's no need for that crap. No nation or ethnic people is superior to another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowingsgo 3 Report post Posted July 9, 2006 Zidane is a piece of s***. Glad Italy won the game. France dominated the 2nd half but the refs blew the offside call on Italy's second goal they overturned. Italy played a great Cup giving up only 1 goal on a phantom penalty call PK mind you and 1 own goal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted July 10, 2006 I was rooting for France even after Zidane's stunt. Whatever Matterazzi was saying must have been pretty dirty. Not to condone the head-butt. But I don't care for Italy. Like the country, hate the soccer. Italian soccer is in the pits right now. One of the filthiest, most corrupt systems in all of sports. Juventus is probably one of the top five clubs in all of Europe, in terms of name recognition, along with clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, etc. Of course, you have to wonder how much of their prestige is due to illegal activities like referee cherry-picking. If they're bumped to the bottom of the Italian pecking order, they deserve it. I thought the ref in the final did a good job of calling that match. Maybe the France penalty kick was undeserved, but it could have gone either way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Devereaux_21 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2006 What Zidane did was stupid, but I heard Matterazzi called him a dirty African dog, so he deserved it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shanahan14Germany 0 Report post Posted July 10, 2006 anyway what Matterazzi said- Zidane had to stay still. congrats to Italy but I was a fan of france btw: it was a great tournament! I saw so many peoples from all the world on the WM partys in our city. It was a great feeling to celebrate partys with them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vadim 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 Zidane is a piece of s***. Glad Italy won the game. France dominated the 2nd half but the refs blew the offside call on Italy's second goal they overturned. Italy played a great Cup giving up only 1 goal on a phantom penalty call PK mind you and 1 own goal And that monkey Materazzi is an angel? "Dirty terrorist" is a perfectly appropriate thing to say? Granted, Zidane should have kept control of himself for the sake of France, but NOT for the sake of football in general -- the Italians always play dirty and it was nice to see one of them finally have their ribcage threatened for it. As for a phantom penalty, I agree that it was questionable. However, in the 2nd half there was a much more blatant faul on Abidal or Mahmouda in the box (replays showed a clear and obvious, maybe even a malicious trip) and there was no call. The Italians got away with one, so they have no right to complain about the PK. As for Zidane being red-carded,that was just a travesty! Elionzo didn't see it. The assistant ref didn't see it. The only one who did see it was Buffon who plead and plead his case until finally the 4th official looked at the VIDEO replay and told Elionzo. WTF? Since when do we have video replay in football? Now, this is not the place to debate the merits of video replay, but the random revolutionary change in officiating with 10 min to go in the World Cup final is stunning! How is this not the front-page news of the day? How many calls throughout the tournament were missed? How many were missed in yesterday's match? So all of a sudden, we're going to spend 4 minutes verifying one just because Buffon can yell louder than the French... The pathetic refereeing perfectly complemented a PK-deciding final in the worst World Cup since the one that the Americans hosted. Vive Zidane! Vive 1998! Allez les Bleus. And Azzurri, half of your team will be playing in Serie B and C next year anyway, so enjoy that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
German Red Wing 0 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 Correction. The 4th referee (Medina Cantelejo) did NOT contact any video replays. He saw it instantly with his own eyes. Since he is part of the referee team, he can share his view with the main ref. Nevertheless, this should be the first known case where the 4th official gives a hint to his "chef" what happened. Kudos for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
betterREDthandead 58 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 Materazzi is such a liar. He claims he did not say "terrorist", that he doesn't know what the word means because he's "uncultured". Riiiiight. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norrisnick 1 Report post Posted July 11, 2006 http://break.com/index/zidane_head_butt_game.html Something tells me a soccer players headbutt to the sternum has to hurt like hell. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowingsgo 3 Report post Posted July 12, 2006 And that monkey Materazzi is an angel? "Dirty terrorist" is a perfectly appropriate thing to say? Granted, Zidane should have kept control of himself for the sake of France, but NOT for the sake of football in general -- the Italians always play dirty and it was nice to see one of them finally have their ribcage threatened for it. As for a phantom penalty, I agree that it was questionable. However, in the 2nd half there was a much more blatant faul on Abidal or Mahmouda in the box (replays showed a clear and obvious, maybe even a malicious trip) and there was no call. The Italians got away with one, so they have no right to complain about the PK. As for Zidane being red-carded,that was just a travesty! Elionzo didn't see it. The assistant ref didn't see it. The only one who did see it was Buffon who plead and plead his case until finally the 4th official looked at the VIDEO replay and told Elionzo. WTF? Since when do we have video replay in football? Now, this is not the place to debate the merits of video replay, but the random revolutionary change in officiating with 10 min to go in the World Cup final is stunning! How is this not the front-page news of the day? How many calls throughout the tournament were missed? How many were missed in yesterday's match? So all of a sudden, we're going to spend 4 minutes verifying one just because Buffon can yell louder than the French... The pathetic refereeing perfectly complemented a PK-deciding final in the worst World Cup since the one that the Americans hosted. Vive Zidane! Vive 1998! Allez les Bleus. And Azzurri, half of your team will be playing in Serie B and C next year anyway, so enjoy that... Sounds like sour grapes from you to me. I've heard worse things playing basketball than being called a dirty terrorist. And its not like both sides dont talk s*** ALL GAME LONG. We talked s*** all game when we played basketball and it was at its worst when doing free throws. Zidane lost his cool and gave up on his team and his country. His reaction to the header Buffon saved tells you all you need to know. He was frustrated that Italy shut his game down. I'll give France credit, they dominated the 2nd half. The refs stole a goal from Italy on the free-kick offsides call. But the game evened out at the end. All of those Italian players are supposed to be free agents if their teams drop down to the minors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowingsgo 3 Report post Posted July 12, 2006 Vive FIFA! Goodbye to the MVP award... So much for being named MVP....this is what baseball ought to do to Bonds Blatter says Zidane could lose MVP award 'We have to await the outcome of the investigation,' FIFA boss says MILAN, Italy - FIFA president Sepp Blatter says Zinedine Zidane could be stripped of his Golden Ball award for the best player at the World Cup due to violent conduct.“The winner of the award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists,†Blatter said in Wednesday’s La Repubblica. “That said, FIFA’s executive committee has the right, and the duty, to intervene when faced with behavior contrary to the ethic of the sport.†Zidane head-butted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest after the two exchanged words on the field in extra time of Sunday’s World Cup final. He was sent off and Italy won its fourth title on penalties. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Liquid Snake 0 Report post Posted July 17, 2006 NO Like it or not, Zidane was still one of the best players in the Cup. One red card shouldn't change that. If Thornton had a Game Misconduct in the last game would his Hart be taken away? BTW, that same investigation could strip Italy of the World Cup. Is either likely to happen? His reaction to the header Buffon saved tells you all you need to know. Any player who misses an opportunity like that in a Championship game will react like that. Remember Stevie's reaction when he missed a perfect opportunity in OT against Carolina in 2002? Remember Shanny when he missed the open net with a minute to go against Colorado in Game 5 of the 2002 series? Were their games being "shut down?" For those who haven't seen this, take a look at Materrazi's history. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHkbRYEl3KQ& Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingsdiehard13 33 Report post Posted August 1, 2006 http://break.com/index/zidane_head_butt_game.html Something tells me a soccer players headbutt to the sternum has to hurt like hell. HAHA thats the best game ever lol thats awesome NN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steveyzerman19 0 Report post Posted August 4, 2006 Sweet game man. LMAO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
