Euro 2012 is about to start in a few days so what are your expectations? Who will rise and who will fall? Post your predictions of the group stage standings at the end of that phase - who will be 1st, 2nd and so on in each group. And the most important questions of all - who will be crowned the 2012 European Champion? Let the degenerative prop betting begin now!
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
As usual, the hosts are the biggest unknown, because they haven't played a competitive match for years.
Group A
Russia
Poland
Group B
Germany
Holland
Group C
Spain
Croatia
Group D
France
England
1/4
Russia - Holland
Poland - Germany Spain - England
Croatia - France
1/2
Holland - Spain Germany - France
FINAL
Spain - Germany
I sincerely believe we can advance to the quarterfinals, yet, to be honest, we may beat 3-0 or lose 3-0 to Greece in the opening match, since the strength of our team is just a guessing game.
On June 04 2012 13:49 HaiVan wrote:
Wait... no conspiracy theories about this one?
actually, there is a chinesse commercial where they show a world in war (the BigBen in fire for example, and things like that) obviously people already pointed those things as a warning for a false flag attack. lol.
England suck and if they lose their first game which doesn't seem that unlogical and France wins second game maybe Sweden will have an easy win against France in the last game if that's the case, i am lazy right now to check the fixtures. England with have many unders imo.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
Lol seriously, you can find Amazon Indians, Ghana ghetto children and people from all over the world playing or watching football (soccer) because it's the most natural and amazing sport ever. The whole world plays football. When the Europeans came to USA they were like "lol let's troll the shit out of this place and create a game where you gotta take an egg and run as fast as you can while everyone else is trying to take down your pants. We will call it football cause it doesn't make any sense."
They've succeded!
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
cant be arsed with quarters and semi's but germany will win and gomez gonna be topscorer
Just dont see the dutch win from portugal, we never did and they got one sick underestimated team
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EvilSky Czech Republic. Jun 06 2012 12:41. Posts 8918
Havent really been following football lately but what has changed since the Mundial ? Assuming lineups the same Spain is prolly gonna crush everyone again except maybe Germany.
France are much stronger than before. Italy still suck, even more. Germany are maybe a little weaker but they always play great. England are tireb because of their Christmas games and their coach is kind of an old defensive folk so I would expect lots of unders from them.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
On June 06 2012 12:05 D_smart_S wrote:
France are much stronger than before. Italy still suck, even more. Germany are maybe a little weaker but they always play great. England are tireb because of their Christmas games and their coach is kind of an old defensive folk so I would expect lots of unders from them.
And England basically have 90% of their best players injured and replaced by sub-par Liverpool players (lol coach bias anyone?) so despite for the first time playing without huge pressure, they're just gonna fail.
Might make it through their group though -but i somehow believe Sweden will pull an upset...
It's true that portugal have a hugely underestimated team, and even denmark might surprise someone...but I still think Holland are going to pull through and join Germany in advancing...
Germany have a super nice looking team and play great football so I think they're the most likely to win...
Don't really see Spain motivating themselves to get the third consecutive title and I think the absence of Villa is going to hurt them a lot.
If Torres magically has a great tournament they might win the finals though...
I'm super excited about this Euro, think it's going to be so fun.
Living in Barcelona being Icelandic doesn't hurt either - atmosphere is amazing for games
Mig hefur alltaf langað til að vitna í sjálfan mig - Ég sjálfur
nice spoken like true american. a testament to your patriotism. you love football, hate abortion, and think china is a huge threat to the world...they might even harbor terrorists!
Well yeah but Marvaik is like totally a defensive-minded guy. He played with 2 defensive midfielders against Bulgaria lol (and lost lol#2). Against Germany and Portugal, he will play with at least 4 defenders and 1 def midfielder and I really doubt he would choose 3 defenders against Denmark. When was the last time he played with 3 def? On another note, I think your line-up is the best attacking line-up you can put together. With Kuyt and Elia (is he in the team for the Euro?) as reserve wings, you got good options up front.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
Yeah I think the Dutch team only has a chance by scoring alot of goals.
Defence is shit.
Maybe Robben and Affelay should switch positions because their main purpose should be to give assists.
Robben is left handed/footed and is a one trick pony on the right wing.
(He'll just make an action to the center and shoot with his left.)
Especially the Germans will know this, but the other teams probably know this aswell
And Van Persie/Huntelaar, top strikers of the English/German competition, can score alot of goals together.
So Van Marwijk should stop being a pussy and attack.
Kuyt is part of the Dutch selection, Elia is not (I think)
Another good player on the wing is Narsingh, a young guy who might be a surprise to the other teams.
On June 07 2012 01:03 FvL wrote:
If the Dutch team plays like:
- Stekelenburg
- V/d Wiel - Heitinga - Schaars
- - - De Jong
- - -Sneijder - V/d Vaart
- -Robben - Van Persie - Affelay
- - Huntelaar
= Profit
that has to be the worst dutch defense in recent history. playing with 3 defenders and one defensive midfielder would be a bloodbath against teams like germany or spain, or probably even france, portugal or italy.
On June 04 2012 14:04 D_smart_S wrote:
A lol - you die of boredom.
That was actually an entertaining match
Doesn't make sense that it was...but it's true...
Poland look weak in the second half though...nothing much going on really
Mig hefur alltaf langað til að vitna í sjálfan mig - Ég sjálfur
1
YoMeR United States. Jun 08 2012 14:52. Posts 12438
On June 07 2012 05:30 FvL wrote:
Maybe Robben and Affelay should switch positions because their main purpose should be to give assists.
Robben is left handed/footed and is a one trick pony on the right wing.
(He'll just make an action to the center and shoot with his left.)
pfft just cuz robben is a one trick pony doesn't mean he isn't a top class player. when he cuts in into the middle and rams it into the corner it's just pure art...
I'm convinced he is the best in the world at what he does actually. at least one of teh best. u dutch ppl are lucky to have him ;(
unfortunately, i can't ball out and watch every game like i did w/ World Cup '10 but Germany v Portugal and France v England should at least be satiating this weekend.
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Jedeye United Kingdom. Jun 08 2012 19:43. Posts 188
On June 05 2012 21:26 dogmeat wrote:
this is football + Show Spoiler +
On June 08 2012 18:26 RiKD wrote:
unfortunately, i can't ball out and watch every game like i did w/ World Cup '10 but Germany v Portugal and France v England should at least be satiating this weekend.
Add Italy - Spain
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qwerty67890 New Zealand. Jun 09 2012 07:14. Posts 14026
wheres the best place that streams the games live?
On June 08 2012 18:26 RiKD wrote:
unfortunately, i can't ball out and watch every game like i did w/ World Cup '10 but Germany v Portugal and France v England should at least be satiating this weekend.
Add Italy - Spain
ahhh yes. i read the schedule wrong. italy would be my sleeper pick if the tournament was being held somewhere in the mediterranean region. i didn't observe enough games this year to fine tune my instincts and intuition but juventus was GOOD this year.
this weekend should be a good warmup. i don't expect everyone to be firing on all cylinders and mostly playing cautious trying to get a point but 2 years is 2 years 2 long for quality international tournament consumption.
Click on the thread with the game you want, will have tons of streams hour prior to games
I wish one of your guys had children if I could kick them in the fucking head or stomp on their testicles so you can feel my pain because thats the pain I have waking up everyday -- Mike Tyson
dl sopcast and go wizwig.tv, you'll have access to alot of HQ/HD streams
I wish one of your guys had children if I could kick them in the fucking head or stomp on their testicles so you can feel my pain because thats the pain I have waking up everyday -- Mike Tyson
felt like portugal deserved that one. robbed on their goal and played better. great goal by gomez though. rooting for portugal and germany to go through at this point after holland loss. group of death fo real.
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jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 10 2012 00:16. Posts 2835
On June 09 2012 17:42 RiKD wrote:
felt like portugal deserved that one. robbed on their goal and played better. great goal by gomez though. rooting for portugal and germany to go through at this point after holland loss. group of death fo real.
I'm rooting for Portugal too but what "robbed goal" are you talking about? The ball clearly wasn't over the line.
Also did the fans really chant sieg heil in the end??
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for Sevilla.
I mean, Del Bosque is the most underrated person on this planet.
BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)
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Bigbobm United States. Jun 10 2012 23:02. Posts 5513
On June 10 2012 21:34 Kapol wrote:
Just one thing, before I go to bed.
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for Sevilla.
hate him or not, it was a damn good ball, and you have to give credit where credit is due.
Its time to stop thinking like a bitch and think smart like a poker player - ket
On June 10 2012 21:34 Kapol wrote:
Just one thing, before I go to bed.
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for ManCity.
I didn't see the high five. But David Sliva who did the assist plays for ManCity. And it was a world class pass.
But Forza Azzurri ! Forza Juve!
It was an epic midfield battle. Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own. IMO Pirlo is slightly better than. Also in the defense no one can match Italy.
In US everyone is happy as long as all the prices are rising. Unless its crude oil - Marc Faber
Germany looked tired and uninspired. Schweinsteiger is not in a good shape, nor are Mueller and Ozil. IMO they have to bring some of those 20-23 years old Dortmund players into midfield+get rid of Podolsky ASAP.
Spain on the other hand looked really good. They have the chronic problem - lacking a center forward. It is amazing though that Fabregas is able to play that position and he's OK. Torres is a disgrace. Iniesta is sick good.
Italy looked quite good as well, didn't expect that but it was a close game with slight advantage to Spain, but no one can say draw was not a fair result. So far, Spain and Italy have played the best football.I hope France butchers England today and then we'll have a 3 good teams + a couple with good potential.
Is Goetze in the Bundes team? He is sick good and a great playmaker and assistant in goals. I want to see him play, he might be the next superstar along with Eden Hazard.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
On June 11 2012 03:45 D_smart_S wrote:
Is Goetze in the Bundes team? He is sick good and a great playmaker and assistant in goals. I want to see him play, he might be the next superstar along with Eden Hazard.
yeah he is and he is so good, but he has been injured the past 4 months and is not in shape similar to Schweinsteiger and Mertesacker
Last edit: 11/06/2012 05:28
1
morph1 Sierra Leone. Jun 11 2012 06:22. Posts 2352
lol @ pirlo being better then xavi
idk what stat did you use to compare them, but it's lol
Always Look On The Bright Side of Life
1
qwerty67890 New Zealand. Jun 11 2012 07:25. Posts 14026
On June 10 2012 21:34 Kapol wrote:
Just one thing, before I go to bed.
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for ManCity.
I didn't see the high five. But David Sliva who did the assist plays for ManCity. And it was a world class pass.
But Forza Azzurri ! Forza Juve!
It was an epic midfield battle. Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own. IMO Pirlo is slightly better than. Also in the defense no one can match Italy.
lol'ed, you must be from a country where they call football soccer!
RaSZi - Unconventional, complete FPS-syndrome and arrogant without ever having achieved anything.
On June 10 2012 21:34 Kapol wrote:
Just one thing, before I go to bed.
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for ManCity.
I didn't see the high five. But David Sliva who did the assist plays for ManCity. And it was a world class pass.
But Forza Azzurri ! Forza Juve!
It was an epic midfield battle. Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own. IMO Pirlo is slightly better than. Also in the defense no one can match Italy.
lol'ed, you must be from a country where they call football soccer!
Iniesta is better than Xavi everyday all day..jesus...
Pirlo is the backbone of the Italian team and creates everything they do - but he's nowhere close to being one of 2 best midfielders in the world...
Fuck Spain had such a strange strategy...
playing without a striker!?! sure they got a sick midfield, but it felt a bit awkward trusting basically that either cesc, iniesta or silva would jump up front...
Would have wanted to see Llorente starting...
guess that's more likely now since Torres missed one great chance and missed a super obvious pass and went for a bad shot instead...
Mig hefur alltaf langað til að vitna í sjálfan mig - Ég sjálfur
On June 10 2012 21:34 Kapol wrote:
Just one thing, before I go to bed.
I am truly amazed how Real-Barcelona guys just, basically, say 'fuck it, gogogo SPAIN' and leave all hatred behind. Notice how Fabregas, after scoring his goal, gave a high-five to the player from whom he received the pass, and that fellow plays for ManCity.
I didn't see the high five. But David Sliva who did the assist plays for ManCity. And it was a world class pass.
But Forza Azzurri ! Forza Juve!
It was an epic midfield battle. Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own. IMO Pirlo is slightly better than. Also in the defense no one can match Italy.
lol'ed, you must be from a country where they call football soccer!
Good damn it Sweden sucks. Wtf did Lustig do on that corner? And why the fuck do we put "Chippen" on the field, the guy plays in fucking Al-Hilal FC and even then they loaned him out.
That's right, Al-Hilal FC did not feel they needed him despite paying 9 million € for him.
ugh, sweden seems to be one of the worst teams this championship. Zlatan was great offensively, and pretty much was the only threat for the first 80min.
Unfortunately two mistakes by Zlatan that lead to the goals, same with Lustig. Especially on the corner goal, you have one thing to do and that is to take care of the 1st post.
One thing I don't fully understand is why Ibrahimovic played as a withdrawn striker, especially after Sweden conceded the 2nd goal. Of course he played his part well today, creating opportunities for his country, but I was under the impression that the Swedes needed someone to finish off an attack. There were a few good opportunities at the end of the game, but players' crosshairs were a little skewed.
We hade some success with him playing as a 10, but the way Sweden played against Ukraine, I'm speechless. Never seen a team so scared of the ball and making so many rookie mistakes (the two goals prime examples).
Zlatan was good - and it's probably the first time he is in a great shape (esp physically) in a Championship. Such a waste.
Our coach had an offensive strategy and they played defense all game. Hamrén obviously a bit naive, trusting them to tiki-taka the way he wants.
Bleh. And bleh. Deserved win though, even if the two goals were big mistakes.
I don't know why, but he's unreal at receiving passes and taking control of the ball when heavily marked. If they pass him and he's in a situation where most players walk away with the ball 4/10, he does so like 8/10. So they might have put him in that roll to win the first ball, and in first hand just get the ball out on one of the wingers that sends a cross into the box. They put Mellberg up as a striker, normally a defender who is good in the air, so I guess that was their plan.
Sweden have fancy play syndrome. They should just do it 94 style. Put up a a semi-decent defensive line with boring as people who plays it safe and delivers some semi-decent crosses from time to time, then put 3 "defensive" midfielder with great conditioning that just runs a lot and leave the creativity to Zlatan (94 we had Brolin, he's decent at poker now). Then put in a bunch of one trick ponies as attackers. Elmander fits the "runs a lot"-part and then someone who's either talls as fuck or someone who just tends to get shit done in the box.
Then defend for 85 min and try to send the ball flying and to hit something cool.
1
qwerty67890 New Zealand. Jun 12 2012 02:39. Posts 14026
I'm glad I'm on a poker forum because watching England today the perfect metaphor for our strategy presented itself: Shortstacking. If I were to stake someone in a game where nearly everyone is better than him, I would give him 20bbs, a preflop hand chart and some basic postflop instructions. If his opponents have just the slightest slip in discipline he could very easily be a winner in quite a difficult game. But he can never be a big winner, 20bbs is not much, but unlike poker, football is not about the size of a win, just the win. And that's the really important difference.
In that sense, tactically, I think England's approach is totally legitimate, but it's such a depressing dead-end because it can only take you so far. And it's a great shame, because though England aren't the greatest (and may be competitors for the thickest most unintelligent and inflexible team at the championships), we have some pretty neat players that could aim far higher. Greece shortstacking was totally legitimate, and though England are without Wilshere and Rooney who can both be really very exciting, we have a few reasonably exciting players when on form (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Ashley Cole, definitely not fucking Gerrard) and extremely solid defenders to mop up behind them (Terry, cunt that he is, Lescott and Ferdinand though he's not playing because Terry is a cunt) and could be extremely interesting going for it.
Hodgson seems a lovely guy personally, but why oh why not Redknapp? In my fantasy land I'd like to see an England managed by Bielsa with Wilshere uninjured as the heart of the team and Gerrard out for constantly shoving in 100bbs on gutshots and being a hero when it hits. Sadly, I just can't cheer for an England team which contains, and soaks up the mindset of, vile scum like John Terry.
Tactically I enjoyed this article if anyone is interested - I think Jonathan Wilson is brilliant.
Researchers used brain scans to show that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners and screwdrivers, were activated.
I don't get why Walcott didn't join the game much earlier. France were attacking with 9 players so a guy like him would be a HUGE asset in counter-attacks. He joined the game in the 87th minute and that was a big mistake imo. I will be very interested to see how England plays against Ukraine and Sweden. Are they going to play as defensively as today or what..? If Premierleague had no games around Christmas and New Years Eve english players would have a chance at winning a big championship. Right now they are plain tired and so I believe their tactics against France was the best choice in order to save stamina for later stages.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
my picks for today: goal-goal ; Poland - Russia - over 2.5 goals . I would say 2-1 for Chech Republic against Greece and Russia will beat 3-1 Poland. I hope I win some imaginary money gogogo
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
On June 12 2012 06:22 Oly wrote:
I'm glad I'm on a poker forum because watching England today the perfect metaphor for our strategy presented itself: Shortstacking. If I were to stake someone in a game where nearly everyone is better than him, I would give him 20bbs, a preflop hand chart and some basic postflop instructions. If his opponents have just the slightest slip in discipline he could very easily be a winner in quite a difficult game. But he can never be a big winner, 20bbs is not much, but unlike poker, football is not about the size of a win, just the win. And that's the really important difference.
In that sense, tactically, I think England's approach is totally legitimate, but it's such a depressing dead-end because it can only take you so far. And it's a great shame, because though England aren't the greatest (and may be competitors for the thickest most unintelligent and inflexible team at the championships), we have some pretty neat players that could aim far higher. Greece shortstacking was totally legitimate, and though England are without Wilshere and Rooney who can both be really very exciting, we have a few reasonably exciting players when on form (Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Ashley Cole, definitely not fucking Gerrard) and extremely solid defenders to mop up behind them (Terry, cunt that he is, Lescott and Ferdinand though he's not playing because Terry is a cunt) and could be extremely interesting going for it.
Hodgson seems a lovely guy personally, but why oh why not Redknapp? In my fantasy land I'd like to see an England managed by Bielsa with Wilshere uninjured as the heart of the team and Gerrard out for constantly shoving in 100bbs on gutshots and being a hero when it hits. Sadly, I just can't cheer for an England team which contains, and soaks up the mindset of, vile scum like John Terry.
Tactically I enjoyed this article if anyone is interested - I think Jonathan Wilson is brilliant.
When I compare Pirlo and Xavi I am talking about a mid player who plays as a deep lying play-maker.
If you are comparing Iniesta, Silva or other midfielders in a different roles with Xavi and Pirlo you do not have a deep understanding of the game. For example Iniesta is much more comparable to Zidane in his role. Xavi and Iniesta have two TOTALLY different role. You can compare Xavi with Thiago or Busquets much more than you can with Iniesta. And even with Thiago and Busquets it is still a stretch to compare them.
Just because in Fifa12 all mid players are green colored doesn't mean they are comparable in real life.
And yes Pirlo and Xavi are VERY similar in their roles as a deep lying player maker. Xavi does play closer to goal but that's mostly because of Barca style and his preference in short passes. Also these two are above everyone else in that role with a very large gap. Many teams do not even play with a deep lying play maker (Real Madrid for example) because it is such a difficult role and not many players can pull it off (or because they have other players like Ozil that are really good at something else so they use them).
Pirlo's dead ball deliveries are much better than Xavi and he also is better than Xavi in his long passes. Xavi is also superior to Pirlo in some aspects (keeping the tempo of the game, live touches, winning the ball back and etc). But IMO overall, in that specific role, Pirlo got a slight edge on Xavi.
Watch 1st goal to know why I can say he is better than Xavi. I know alot of this comes from the style of the team. But the style of team comes from the players abilities as well.
Only other person that still plays and comes to their class is Scholes. But in reality he is retired, so that's why I left him out.
PS: If you disagree with what I just said give reason. I know that I probably made a mistake by giving out reasons for my argument cause I believe that like every other topic on this site the level of knowledge of people on this forum is very shallow and limited to the depth of Wikipedia articles.
PPS: I have been playing football since I was born and I played on semi-pro level. Even now as a hobby I play 3-4 times a week.
In US everyone is happy as long as all the prices are rising. Unless its crude oil - Marc Faber
On June 11 2012 15:51 barbieman wrote:
ugh, sweden seems to be one of the worst teams this championship. Zlatan was great offensively, and pretty much was the only threat for the first 80min.
Unfortunately two mistakes by Zlatan that lead to the goals, same with Lustig. Especially on the corner goal, you have one thing to do and that is to take care of the 1st post.
Agree, pretty much everyone except Zlatan was terrible, especially in the first half. Can't really blame Zlatan for that corner goal either. The first zone is his job and it's pretty hard for him to catch Shevchenko when he comes running from behind. It's pretty amazing that none of the guys with "marking duty" picked up Shev though. Yeah, let's leave the guy who is famous for being good in the box unattended...
After all is said and done, more is said than done.
Greece are by far the weakest team in this tourney. They hardly create goal situations and are very weak in defense. I am pretty sure Russia would beat them by at least 2 goals in the last game, Chech Republic and Poland are kind of identical so I think a draw is the most logical. I love the Euro so far, great football, lots of great teams, goals in every game.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
On June 12 2012 15:30 capaneo wrote:
When I compare Pirlo and Xavi I am talking about a mid player who plays as a deep lying play-maker.
If you are comparing Iniesta, Silva or other midfielders in a different roles with Xavi and Pirlo you do not have a deep understanding of the game. For example Iniesta is much more comparable to Zidane in his role. Xavi and Iniesta have two TOTALLY different role. You can compare Xavi with Thiago or Busquets much more than you can with Iniesta. And even with Thiago and Busquets it is still a stretch to compare them.
Just because in Fifa12 all mid players are green colored doesn't mean they are comparable in real life.
And yes Pirlo and Xavi are VERY similar in their roles as a deep lying player maker. Xavi does play closer to goal but that's mostly because of Barca style and his preference in short passes. Also these two are above everyone else in that role with a very large gap. Many teams do not even play with a deep lying play maker (Real Madrid for example) because it is such a difficult role and not many players can pull it off (or because they have other players like Ozil that are really good at something else so they use them).
Pirlo's dead ball deliveries are much better than Xavi and he also is better than Xavi in his long passes. Xavi is also superior to Pirlo in some aspects (keeping the tempo of the game, live touches, winning the ball back and etc). But IMO overall, in that specific role, Pirlo got a slight edge on Xavi.
Watch 1st goal to know why I can say he is better than Xavi. I know alot of this comes from the style of the team. But the style of team comes from the players abilities as well.
Only other person that still plays and comes to their class is Scholes. But in reality he is retired, so that's why I left him out.
PS: If you disagree with what I just said give reason. I know that I probably made a mistake by giving out reasons for my argument cause I believe that like every other topic on this site the level of knowledge of people on this forum is very shallow and limited to the depth of Wikipedia articles.
PPS: I have been playing football since I was born and I played on semi-pro level. Even now as a hobby I play 3-4 times a week.
hahah fucking hell you're arrogant...
Seems like you're mostly replying to my post, as I specifically mentioned Iniesta...so I'll just clarify my former post...
Your direct quote was
an arrogant guy wrote
Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own
Hence me replying with "Iniesta is better than Xavi"
so...
sure - you can add in hindsight that you're only talking about a quite limited very specialized position that only some teams play with, and say that Xavi and Pirlo are the best in the world in that specific position...
Just as I can claim that KrappyConnect is the best poker player in the world...
and then add after the whole world has told my i'm horribly wrong, that I was actually only referring to him being the best Razz player and that everyone that didn't 100% understand that are idiots and that in all likelihood they are shallow, stupid and their intellect level is limited to what they can find on wikipedia in a couple of minutes...
But of course that'd imply that I'm as arrogant as you come off...
So...
in regards to your original quote, that xavi and pirlo are the best "mid players"...
I still disagree and say that Iniesta is better than both...as he is by definition a "mid player", though he's not employing the accurate same specialized position that you were referring to...
PS: I don't play Fifa
PPS: Playing football does in no way give you any status of authority or in any way suggest you're more knowledgeable than anyone else when it comes to football...knowledge of football is not exclusive to those that played football on a semi-pro level or higher.
PPPS: I played football until I was a teenager and twice a week since...
Mig hefur alltaf langað til að vitna í sjálfan mig - Ég sjálfur
On June 12 2012 15:30 capaneo wrote:
When I compare Pirlo and Xavi I am talking about a mid player who plays as a deep lying play-maker.
If you are comparing Iniesta, Silva or other midfielders in a different roles with Xavi and Pirlo you do not have a deep understanding of the game. For example Iniesta is much more comparable to Zidane in his role. Xavi and Iniesta have two TOTALLY different role. You can compare Xavi with Thiago or Busquets much more than you can with Iniesta. And even with Thiago and Busquets it is still a stretch to compare them.
Just because in Fifa12 all mid players are green colored doesn't mean they are comparable in real life.
And yes Pirlo and Xavi are VERY similar in their roles as a deep lying player maker. Xavi does play closer to goal but that's mostly because of Barca style and his preference in short passes. Also these two are above everyone else in that role with a very large gap. Many teams do not even play with a deep lying play maker (Real Madrid for example) because it is such a difficult role and not many players can pull it off (or because they have other players like Ozil that are really good at something else so they use them).
Pirlo's dead ball deliveries are much better than Xavi and he also is better than Xavi in his long passes. Xavi is also superior to Pirlo in some aspects (keeping the tempo of the game, live touches, winning the ball back and etc). But IMO overall, in that specific role, Pirlo got a slight edge on Xavi.
Watch 1st goal to know why I can say he is better than Xavi. I know alot of this comes from the style of the team. But the style of team comes from the players abilities as well.
Only other person that still plays and comes to their class is Scholes. But in reality he is retired, so that's why I left him out.
PS: If you disagree with what I just said give reason. I know that I probably made a mistake by giving out reasons for my argument cause I believe that like every other topic on this site the level of knowledge of people on this forum is very shallow and limited to the depth of Wikipedia articles.
PPS: I have been playing football since I was born and I played on semi-pro level. Even now as a hobby I play 3-4 times a week.
hahah fucking hell you're arrogant...
Seems like you're mostly replying to my post, as I specifically mentioned Iniesta...so I'll just clarify my former post...
Your direct quote was
an arrogant guy wrote
Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own
Hence me replying with "Iniesta is better than Xavi"
so...
sure - you can add in hindsight that you're only talking about a quite limited very specialized position that only some teams play with, and say that Xavi and Pirlo are the best in the world in that specific position...
Just as I can claim that KrappyConnect is the best poker player in the world...
and then add after the whole world has told my i'm horribly wrong, that I was actually only referring to him being the best Razz player and that everyone that didn't 100% understand that are idiots and that in all likelihood they are shallow, stupid and their intellect level is limited to what they can find on wikipedia in a couple of minutes...
But of course that'd imply that I'm as arrogant as you come off...
So...
in regards to your original quote, that xavi and pirlo are the best "mid players"...
I still disagree and say that Iniesta is better than both...as he is by definition a "mid player", though he's not employing the accurate same specialized position that you were referring to...
PS: I don't play Fifa
PPS: Playing football does in no way give you any status of authority or in any way suggest you're more knowledgeable than anyone else when it comes to football...knowledge of football is not exclusive to those that played football on a semi-pro level or higher.
PPPS: I played football until I was a teenager and twice a week since...
I wish there was a way I could block your posts from now on. Thanks for wasting my time reading the nothing you wrote.
Im gonna stop visiting this thread from now on like I should with this whole site.
In US everyone is happy as long as all the prices are rising. Unless its crude oil - Marc Faber
On June 11 2012 15:51 barbieman wrote:
ugh, sweden seems to be one of the worst teams this championship. Zlatan was great offensively, and pretty much was the only threat for the first 80min.
Unfortunately two mistakes by Zlatan that lead to the goals, same with Lustig. Especially on the corner goal, you have one thing to do and that is to take care of the 1st post.
Agree, pretty much everyone except Zlatan was terrible, especially in the first half. Can't really blame Zlatan for that corner goal either. The first zone is his job and it's pretty hard for him to catch Shevchenko when he comes running from behind. It's pretty amazing that none of the guys with "marking duty" picked up Shev though. Yeah, let's leave the guy who is famous for being good in the box unattended...
Schevchenko did a good job on both goals, not taking that away from him. Also, watching the replay on the first goal i meant Mellberg and not Lustig. He was supposed to pick up Schevchenko there but didn't, he was less than 0,5sec late but that was enough. Dunno about Zlatan's roll on the corner goal, but looked to me like he was supposed to have Schev, + again Schev did a good job getting that goal even if Swe definitely wasn't supposed to give that up.
Even if Lustig played a shit match and should've stopped the 1 - 2 goal by Ukraine, it's hard to be mad at a guy named "Hilarious". But I'll say this: "Fuck you, Hilarious."
On June 12 2012 18:02 capaneo wrote:
[
I wish there was a way I could block your posts from now on. Thanks for wasting my time reading the nothing you wrote.
Im gonna stop visiting this thread from now on like I should with this whole site.
And on a more serious note, the fact that you are only talking about that exact type of playmakers is exactly the limitation of Pirlo. The way he plays now is really the only way he CAN, given his current age. If you look at players like for instance Sneijder, Ozil and Iniesta, if you tie them down to the playing style Pirlo is playing, they will be at least just as good. But because their reportoire is MUCH wider they play a different type of game which allows them to make an even bigger impact on the game.
There are at least a dozen playmakers who play a different type of style than Pirlo, but who are much better in pretty much any aspect of the game apart from maybe kicking technique where they are close.
And playing football on semi-pro level in Canada, that must be the same as playing semi-pro ice hockey over here. "Hey you can kick the ball, awesoooooooome!" + Show Spoiler +
Again,
RaSZi - Unconventional, complete FPS-syndrome and arrogant without ever having achieved anything.
lol dude. Netherlands need Germany to beat Denmark, not the opposite. Now Germany has 6pts, Portugal and Denmark have 3pts and Netherlands has 0 so they only get a chance if they win and Germany beats Denmark and I believe Netherlands need to beat by 2 goal difference at least but I am not 100% sure on that.
Zep: When I said I feel obligated to troll, it was a figure of speech
Yes, beating Portugal by one goal is not good enough for Holland, since they will have a 2:3 goal difference, while Portugal will end the group phase with a 3:4 difference.
My predictions for today:
Italy 1:1 Croatia
Spain 2:0 Ireland
Italy : Croatia could go either way tbh and i think there will be a winner for sure in the match
Spain 3:0 if they actually start with Pedro or Llorente in the centre otherwise -> fire Del Boske
I still cant comprehend why wouldnt he even take Soldado in the group for the Euro ... and he took Torres ?! True Torres did a lot for the winning of both previous Euro/World Cup but everyone knows he is in a really bad shape last 2 seasons
P.S. I also dont understand why did Ibrahimovic had to defend Schevchenko during that match ? Sweden's centre has to defend vs Ukraine's center wtf?! What's the defender's job then ? I really dont understand such major mistakes in tactics .. Id get it if he had to protect someone from Ukraine's defense who was there just for the corner's .. that would make sense but otherwise dafuq?
Btw Netherlands is never gonna win a thing with Robben in the team ... He is like the symbol for bad luck ...
Last edit: 14/06/2012 10:17
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jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 14 2012 11:36. Posts 2835
On June 14 2012 08:06 D_smart_S wrote:
lol dude. Netherlands need Germany to beat Denmark, not the opposite. Now Germany has 6pts, Portugal and Denmark have 3pts and Netherlands has 0 so they only get a chance if they win and Germany beats Denmark and I believe Netherlands need to beat by 2 goal difference at least but I am not 100% sure on that.
You are right, also on a side note Germany can still get knocked out if Portugal beats Netherlands and Denmark beats Germany
On June 14 2012 08:56 Kapol wrote:
Yes, beating Portugal by one goal is not good enough for Holland, since they will have a 2:3 goal difference, while Portugal will end the group phase with a 3:4 difference.
Your goal difference thing is wrong because if there is a tie with Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal their results vs Germany won't count, same if Netherlands ends with 0 and the rest with 6 points their results vs Netherlands won't count towards goal difference
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
Spain's demolition mode was on today. On the other hand, they made two mis-kicks in the defense line, which could have ended up as goals for Ireland. They do that against a better team and Spain may not get away with that.
On June 04 2012 14:39 Kapol wrote: Group A
Russia
Poland
Group B
Germany
Holland
Group C
Spain
Croatia
Group D
France
England
I probably missed Croatia, most likely Holland will go out, and let's hope Poland gets through.
There's still a possibility that I was 100% right, though.
jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 16 2012 21:50. Posts 2835
On June 16 2012 19:50 ERASA wrote:
So how is bulgaria doing so far?
I was gonna say something but well..............
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
1
palak United States. Jun 17 2012 16:12. Posts 4601
Portugals national team incarnation of the 2nd largest reason americans hate soccer
dont tap the glass...im about ready to take a fucking hammer to the aquarium
1
jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 17 2012 16:42. Posts 2835
On June 17 2012 15:12 palak wrote:
Portugals national team incarnation of the 2nd largest reason americans hate soccer
What lol
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
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RaiNKhAN United States. Jun 17 2012 16:56. Posts 4080
Americans who think Americans don't like soccer most likely do not associate with any latinos
The biggest Rockets, Sixers, and Grizzlies fan you will ever meet!
1
Liquid`Drone Norway. Jun 17 2012 17:02. Posts 3096
this particular generation of portuguese doesn't dive that much anyway. they have really dirty players (pepe and alves), but rough play bordering onto the realm of criminal insanity shouldn't be a turnoff for usaians.
lol POKER
1
palak United States. Jun 17 2012 17:09. Posts 4601
2 main reasons americans will give if they say they hate soccer
1. Boring
2. Diving
Portugal wasn't diving as badly as Italy stereo-typically does..but damn
Harris poll results favorite sports in America among men who follow sports in order:
NFL
MLB
College football
Auto racing
NBA
College basketball
NHL
Men's golf
Soccer
Men's tennis
dont tap the glass...im about ready to take a fucking hammer to the aquarium
On June 17 2012 16:09 palak wrote:
2 main reasons americans will give if they say they hate soccer
1. Boring
2. Diving
Portugal wasn't diving as badly as Italy stereo-typically does..but damn
Harris poll results favorite sports in America among men who follow sports in order:
NFL
MLB
College football
Auto racing
NBA
College basketball
NHL
Men's golf
Soccer
Men's tennis
lol my favorites would be pretty much this but upside down lol, except NFL ranking a bit higher
but MLB is the nut low
Browsing through your hand histories makes me wonder that you might not be aware these games are possibly play money. Have you ever tried to cash out? - Kapol
waga United Kingdom. Jun 17 2012 19:33. Posts 2375
ahahahah siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick video :D
The main reason americans don't like football is because Europe invented it ... (England ?)
btw baseball is a really great game to play but it has to be the most boring sport ever to watch.
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dogmeat Czech Republic. Jun 17 2012 20:09. Posts 6374
On June 17 2012 18:33 waga wrote:
btw baseball is a really great game to play but it has to be the most boring sport ever to watch.
On June 17 2012 18:33 waga wrote:
btw baseball is a really great game to play but it has to be the most boring sport ever to watch.
so is soccer
Id say golf beats them all in that department, pretty awesome sport for a single player, but watching it is just boring.
Btw that video is so good.
Poker chobo.
Last edit: 17/06/2012 20:21
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Bigbobm United States. Jun 17 2012 22:02. Posts 5513
honestly, watching golf really isn't that bad. they've gotten so good with production that there's almost always something worth showing. baseball can be a nightmare to watch because of all the downtime, and pitchers taking a ton of time between pitches. i really enjoy watching soccer because i can appreciate pretty much everything they do with the ball.
Its time to stop thinking like a bitch and think smart like a poker player - ket
On June 17 2012 21:02 Bigbobm wrote:
honestly, watching golf really isn't that bad. they've gotten so good with production that there's almost always something worth showing. baseball can be a nightmare to watch because of all the downtime, and pitchers taking a ton of time between pitches. i really enjoy watching soccer because i can appreciate pretty much everything they do with the ball.
Guess you're right
Poker chobo.
1
NMcNasty United States. Jun 18 2012 10:21. Posts 2041
One reason golf can be exciting: The meltdown. You can watch a player's hopes and dreams become crushed with a single swing. Then they tilt the remainder of their score away. There's no coach to save them by pulling them. It happened last night with Furyk at the US Open.
1
palak United States. Jun 18 2012 11:10. Posts 4601
Hoping Italy gets knocked out today. Let's go Ireland
dont tap the glass...im about ready to take a fucking hammer to the aquarium
On June 17 2012 21:13 Raidern wrote:
wtf happened to holland between 2010 and 2012? damn
don't know, but I do think the 2010 was a bit of a fluke. outplayed against Brazil (but made 2 lucky goals in 2nd half) and faced Uruguay and Slovakia as well in the final tree.
not saying Holland is bad, just had some luck with the bracket
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Bigbobm United States. Jun 18 2012 12:38. Posts 5513
On June 18 2012 10:10 palak wrote:
Hoping Italy gets knocked out today. Let's go Ireland
ban
Its time to stop thinking like a bitch and think smart like a poker player - ket
On June 18 2012 09:21 NMcNasty wrote:
One reason golf can be exciting: The meltdown. You can watch a player's hopes and dreams become crushed with a single swing. Then they tilt the remainder of their score away. There's no coach to save them by pulling them. It happened last night with Furyk at the US Open.
trur
happening to jason duffner any other week :D
1
jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 18 2012 16:41. Posts 2835
Robinson47 United Kingdom. Jun 20 2012 03:27. Posts 992
Well we are through but not been convincing in any games, Rooney doesn't look like he has match fitness hopefully that will come. looked laboured and not sharp at all. Theo Walcott to fire us into semis 1-0
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BILAT_POWER!!! Philippines. Jun 20 2012 03:45. Posts 1525
On June 23 2012 15:37 kingpowa wrote:
shitty game.
gg spain, but germany and portugal play better for what I've seen.
Nearly agreed - Germany and Portugal will beat other teams harder than Spain do, but I don't think they beat Spain.
Deathly boring game though. Spain's ultra defensive displays (albeit in possession) are really turning me off.
Researchers used brain scans to show that when straight men looked at pictures of women in bikinis, areas of the brain that normally light up in anticipation of using tools, like spanners and screwdrivers, were activated.
Messi's and Spain's biggest mistake were not making him a citizen of spain... they would have by far the best team in the world and messi would be (if he isn't already) cleary the best ever and no one could say jack about him leaving his country given what spain did and has done for him!
1
palak United States. Jun 23 2012 18:44. Posts 4601
Spain is already the best team in the world.
dont tap the glass...im about ready to take a fucking hammer to the aquarium
On June 23 2012 17:20 UpSwing wrote:
Messi's and Spain's biggest mistake were not making him a citizen of spain... they would have by far the best team in the world and messi would be (if he isn't already) cleary the best ever and no one could say jack about him leaving his country given what spain did and has done for him!
Once you have played for a national A team you can't change even if you are naturalized to a new nationality. He actually had the possibility to choose, and chose argentina.
For Higuain who is both argentinan and french, he was offered to be selected on the french team just to securize the fact that he would later only be able to play for France. He rejected it.
And about being the best player ever, Messi can win world cup with Argentina. And Ibrahimovic is a great player without being in great national team, and there are plenty like him.
On June 23 2012 15:37 kingpowa wrote:
shitty game.
gg spain, but germany and portugal play better for what I've seen.
Nearly agreed - Germany and Portugal will beat other teams harder than Spain do, but I don't think they beat Spain.
Deathly boring game though. Spain's ultra defensive displays (albeit in possession) are really turning me off.
Piqué was really bad, he could not win any ball in defense, especially with the head (sorry, don't know the appropriate vocabulary), Ramos did all the work.
I do think Germany would be way more solid in defense, and would manage to construct better their goal opportunities.
I hope those are going to be more interesting games.
cmon guys all i'm saying is that ya spain is the best (palak) but they would be even better, dream team like, if messi was in it and ya messi can win with Arg (kingpowa) but the road is much easier via Spain and given that Spain took him in when no team in Arg would pay for his treatment it would be very 'ok' and understandable if he chose to play for them and that finally the great results that he would undoubtedly have with Spain along with his Barca success would clearly make him the best ever to date!
Last edit: 23/06/2012 21:39
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waga United Kingdom. Jun 23 2012 21:44. Posts 2375
On June 23 2012 20:29 UpSwing wrote:
cmon guys all i'm saying is that ya spain is the best (palak) but they would be even better, dream team like, if messi was in it and ya messi can win with Arg (kingpowa) but the road is much easier via Spain and given that Spain took him in when no team in Arg would pay for his treatment it would be very 'ok' and understandable if he chose to play for them and that finally the great results that he would undoubtedly have with Spain along with his Barca success would clearly make him the best ever to date!
ye and spain would be even better with Ronaldo !!§§§§§
What is this discussion? lol
So they got him over to spain pretty young nobody knew at this point hed be that good
and as for the "he has better chances with spain" at the time he had to decide spain wasnt nearly as good as they are now.
i remember when i was younger it was always like "they have great players but they will fail in the quarters"
And before we make more predictions lets wait for the italy-england result
@waga thats a silly retort- messi repping spain was very plausible in fact id be surprised if it wasnt a pretty difficult decision.
@erasa- shouldnt even be a discussion but just a random comment and ya i dont know at what age he had to make his choice so me making such a statement now is easy and somewhat uninformed.
But it is not only the titles that make a player the best.
Stoichkov (thanks to him Bulgaria finished third in 94) or Hagi both made their national team get way better than they usually are. Schevchenko, Giggs...
Also Cruyff did not win World Cup or Euro.
as people already said, the 4 remaining teams are the most well deserving as well, pretty cool.
I tip:
1. Spain
2. Germany
3. Portugal
4. Italy
I have to say even tho Germany so far played better/more fun football to watch i have to go with Spain since they have 4 Real Madrid players vs Germanys 2. But I also hope Ronaldo shines some more so he wins best player award this year, fuck messi.
Lawl i always thought there s an 3rd/4th place match and it was stopped before i was even born
Anyways Germany will run over Italy (especially considering Schweinsteiger wont play as he is injured and he failed last 2-3 matches ) and Spain- Portugal will be an epic match
I bet goalkeeper was "Oh Fuck" and felt like an open book (LONGPLE'd) and Italians got extra confidence after that
This is what he said: "At that moment, I saw the goalkeeper making strange gestures, so I waited for him to move and hit it like that. It was to unsettle England's kickers."
On June 25 2012 13:39 ERASA wrote:
What does "run over" exactly mean? Maybe we can work out a bet :D
It means Germany will destroy them, still probably wont win by more than 2-0 cause Italians gon be Italian and you cant humiliate their asses. If you want we can still work out a bet but i highly doubt it as you probably misunderstood my previous post :D
Last edit: 26/06/2012 10:01
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Bigbobm United States. Jun 26 2012 12:10. Posts 5513
On June 25 2012 13:39 ERASA wrote:
What does "run over" exactly mean? Maybe we can work out a bet :D
It means Germany will destroy them, still probably wont win by more than 2-0 cause Italians gon be Italian and you cant humiliate their asses. If you want we can still work out a bet but i highly doubt it as you probably misunderstood my previous post :D
i hope pirlo ruins your next 4 years
Its time to stop thinking like a bitch and think smart like a poker player - ket
Hm i think Germany has the best team we had since 1990.
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer probably Nr.1 in the world right now
Defence: Hummels wins an average of ~ 87-90% Duells and probably is TOP5 defender World right now. Boateng is almost as strong and Lahm has always been a solid player
Qualitiy of our Middlefielders: our offense quality here is just insane. I think never in history did Germany have such an outstanding middlefield: Ozil,Reus,Bender,Götze,Gündogan and Khedira
If you did watch the past Bundesliga season you know how outstanding Götze,Reus,Gündogan and Bender played in this. Besides that we have Ozil and Khedira from Real and Schweinsteiger can always have a good game , too
Forwards:
Gomez,Klose and Müller are always dangerous , too
I think in overall quality from the 4 teams left we may have the strongest team.
currently on a 14-0 winning streak (43-11 in Goals) since EM Quali started
Unfortunately in the past we did always lose to Italy and always lost to Spain , too
U see what i did there with A8 ? He 4 bets and there we go insta jam A8 : ---booooom -- . hahahaha ( Krantz)
Neuer is far from the best goalkeeper, he has the potential to become that in the next couple of years since he s quite young
Schweinsteiger is in bad shape so i dont think he is viable, glad to hear he recovered from injury tho and
I really hope he doesnt start with Gomez since this dude misses so many opportunities its beyond ridiculous and a team like Italy doesnt leave many open spots for clear shots so Germany needs high efficiency like Müller or Klose
I d say Germany, Spain and Portugal are def on the same level, but one man army Pirlo cant carry his whole team through the championship
On June 27 2012 05:51 PplusAD wrote:
Hm i think Germany has the best team we had since 1990.
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer probably Nr.1 in the world right now
Defence: Hummels wins an average of ~ 87-90% Duells and probably is TOP5 defender World right now. Boateng is almost as strong and Lahm has always been a solid player
Qualitiy of our Middlefielders: our offense quality here is just insane. I think never in history did Germany have such an outstanding middlefield: Ozil,Reus,Bender,Götze,Gündogan and Khedira
If you did watch the past Bundesliga season you know how outstanding Götze,Reus,Gündogan and Bender played in this. Besides that we have Ozil and Khedira from Real and Schweinsteiger can always have a good game , too
Forwards:
Gomez,Klose and Müller are always dangerous , too
I think in overall quality from the 4 teams left we may have the strongest team.
currently on a 14-0 winning streak (43-11 in Goals) since EM Quali started
Unfortunately in the past we did always lose to Italy and always lost to Spain , too
I have been a fan of Spain but if they become the first country in history to win three titles in a row playing like this it will be a truly sad day for football.
Were they as boring in the first tournaments, too?
I think i used to like watching spain... maybe it just gets old to see 5 short passes per second
Feel free to support italy :D
On June 27 2012 17:27 pluzich wrote:
I have been a fan of Spain but if they become the first country in history to win three titles in a row playing like this it will be a truly sad day for football.
I love the way Spain plays. I just think they are missing someone like Messi to push the ball in. The team is fucking sick, albeit they didn't play that well yesterday. It was very boring, the match had over 50 fouls.
im a regular at nl5
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jeffv8x_-_16 Belgium. Jun 28 2012 08:26. Posts 2835
On June 28 2012 07:16 Raidern wrote:
I love the way Spain plays. I just think they are missing someone like Messi to push the ball in. The team is fucking sick, albeit they didn't play that well yesterday. It was very boring, the match had over 50 fouls.
They don't miss Messi, they miss Villa. It seems like everyone just forgot about that :S
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
On June 28 2012 07:16 Raidern wrote:
I love the way Spain plays. I just think they are missing someone like Messi to push the ball in. The team is fucking sick, albeit they didn't play that well yesterday. It was very boring, the match had over 50 fouls.
They don't miss Messi, they miss Villa. It seems like everyone just forgot about that :S
No, they miss Messi. With Villa they were considerably better but were not able to score more than 1 goal in majority of the games.
This tiki-taka thing has one big disadvantage for the attacking team. You push the other team back and you suffocate yourself. There is no space. Strikers, the vast majority of them, need space. That's why Torres looks so terrible in this team and Fabregas is much sharper. The center-forward of the Spanish team needs completely different set of skills compared to other, normal teams.
Messi changes the picture because he can take on any number of defenders and he does not need space for that. This dis-balances the defending team because you cannot just stand close to him and semi-mark him like Torres or Negredo. You have to make sure he does not get the ball. This often levels the teams defending against Barcelona to dedicate too much attention to Messi, and someone else just breaks free. So the ability of Messi to play where he has no space creates space for others. The second level is when they dedicate too much attention to the wings and get punished by Messi in the center.
So if you are forcing the other team to park the bus and close the gaps, and you are not planning to score from outside the box (this is standard Spanish/Barcelona setup), you need someone like Messi as false No.9, otherwise you end up with 453 passes, 73% ball possession and 3 shots on target for the whole game. Which is ridiculous.
On June 28 2012 07:16 Raidern wrote:
I love the way Spain plays. I just think they are missing someone like Messi to push the ball in. The team is fucking sick, albeit they didn't play that well yesterday. It was very boring, the match had over 50 fouls.
They don't miss Messi, they miss Villa. It seems like everyone just forgot about that :S
Maybe if that old bastard used Fernando Llorente instead of Torres or lack of center, Villa could recover faster knowing someone thats actually good s on his place
Xavi is usually as sick as Messi, seems like he has a bad european championship tho
On June 28 2012 09:34 spets1 wrote:
Basically barca plays same kind of tactic only they have messi, that's why they do much better than spain
Slightly different IMO; Barcelona do produce a lot more goal opportunities (with or without Messi). They play with only one defensive midfielder (Busquets), while Spain plays with two (Busquets and Alonso). Xavi is positioned much higher and seems a little lost in Spain.
Other than that of course there are a lot of similarities. Still funny saying Spain need Messi when they are reigning champions, in Europe, and World.
The way Spain played in 08' is way superior to what we see today (different coaches, and some key players being worse today... but still). But then they also had a Torres in magnificent shape (Also Xavi in his prime).
Every single German player with a german sounding last name is singing the national anthem, everyone else is just staring blankly, just found it funny.
The best part is that Germany will most likely give a decent fight. Cassano's assist for the first goal was superb. DAT turn. Balotelli's second goal - that kid indeed has a heart :D
On June 28 2012 18:05 scriber wrote:
^you are german and not for germany wtf ?
My father is from Italy, my mother is german
but ever since i was rooting for italy when it comes to football
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qwerty67890 New Zealand. Jun 29 2012 02:53. Posts 14026
I thought it was retarded when people said Italy deserved to win against England, just because they had momentum in the second half and that guy who looks like the JP from Grandmas Boy scored a dickie-tricks penalty.
Balotellis goal was sick though, and as an English man, when England are out im happy for anyone to win except Germany, so gg.
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BILAT_POWER!!! Philippines. Jun 29 2012 04:37. Posts 1525
On June 28 2012 10:26 ERASA wrote:
Pretty sure nobody is as sick as Messi
Neymar says hi.
Last edit: 29/06/2012 04:47
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BILAT_POWER!!! Philippines. Jun 29 2012 04:39. Posts 1525
The transfer between SA and Europe is insane. I dont know how many have seen the match between Real Madrid - Boca Juniors when Real were in their prime time with Zidane, Figo and so on anyways thats when Requilme made a huge impression, he was literally doing whatever he wants on the field, he was going through their team without much effort. Considering Real's team was absolutely sick at this time and a random SA player just runs over you as he wants was something unbelievable. Anyways a year or two after that he came to Europe and tbh he was nowhere near that shape. The football here is just different. Besides Neymar s almost sure to join Barcelona after the World Cup in 2014
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BILAT_POWER!!! Philippines. Jun 29 2012 07:24. Posts 1525
Yeah I remember him. But i think it wasn't his form. Van Gaal really didn't play him much when he was at Barca. And when he did play him, it was as a substitute.
Makes me think he was treated like Fernando Torres at Chelsea the past how many months. But this coming season is different with Torres as they are building the team around him with Hulk, Hazard at the left and right wing and Juan Mata right behind him. That is gonna be a sick attacking line.
It was an epic midfield battle. Pirlo and Xavi are the only two mid players in the class of their own. IMO Pirlo is slightly better than. Also in the defense no one can match Italy.
On June 11 2012 05:22 morph1 wrote:
lol @ pirlo being better then xavi
idk what stat did you use to compare them, but it's lol
On June 11 2012 07:04 JDK87 wrote:
lol'ed, you must be from a country where they call football soccer!
On June 11 2012 07:30 Hjorturkall wrote:
Pirlo is the backbone of the Italian team and creates everything they do - but he's nowhere close to being one of 2 best midfielders in the world...
Just had to come back to this thread to say "I told you so". However, I do accept your apologies!
In US everyone is happy as long as all the prices are rising. Unless its crude oil - Marc Faber
On June 24 2012 19:37 kingpowa wrote:
capaneo must be having a great time
lol, ty ty. Yes I was!
The final will be amazing. Might not have many goals or even exciting moment. But for those who appreciate tactical football, this final will be one of the best games you can ever see!
It will be chess on grass! And it will be awesome!!
In US everyone is happy as long as all the prices are rising. Unless its crude oil - Marc Faber
On June 29 2012 19:52 capaneo wrote:
[lol, ty ty. Yes I was!
The final will be amazing. Might not have many goals or even exciting moment. But for those who appreciate tactical football, this final will be one of the best games you can ever see!
It will be chess on grass! And it will be awesome!!
Wasn't like that the first time tough. Actually the game from group stage was certainly Top3 of the whole thing. i might be biased
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morph1 Sierra Leone. Jun 30 2012 06:48. Posts 2352
you told us what?
no one said that pirlo is a bad player but telling that he is better then xavi is lol
Knew game was italy's when prematch the germans (besides the redneck krauts) looked like a bunch of uptight nerds that had to confront the casanova that's been giving their girlfriend the better dick. If they can get into full blitzkrieg mode at one of these tournaments and not try to fight England and Russia on 2 fronts they will be a forced to be reckoned with but until then Spain, Italy, Brazil or an improved France are just gonna laugh and keep fucking their girlfriends.
I am becoming more and more of a Balotelli fan everyday. Just an awesome character and insanely good when he wants to be.
Pirlo is a great example of why futbol is futbol and why futbol is the beautiful game and saying "Pirlo" and "soccer" in the same sentence doesn't feel right. Pirlo is probably one of the best indicators of if you get futbol and love it or don't and find it boring.
Looking forward to the final. It will probably be a game time decision on if I'm rooting for someone.
Random American spectator question, why is there offsides? Wouldn't removing this rule increase goals? Not only would it be easier to score on a defensive set ie properly defending and going for an easy score, but wouldn't there be more exciting striker vs defender + goalie situations?
Offside traps seem pretty op, and seem to cluster the offensive side making it harder to score
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palak United States. Jul 01 2012 17:14. Posts 4601
On July 01 2012 16:11 patti wrote:
Random American spectator question, why is there offsides? Wouldn't removing this rule increase goals? Not only would it be easier to score on a defensive set ie properly defending and going for an easy score, but wouldn't there be more exciting striker vs defender + goalie situations?
Offside traps seem pretty op, and seem to cluster the offensive side making it harder to score
For the same reasons players can't go offsides in the NFL
dont tap the glass...im about ready to take a fucking hammer to the aquarium
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PoorUser United States. Jul 01 2012 18:05. Posts 7472
On July 01 2012 16:11 patti wrote:
Random American spectator question, why is there offsides? Wouldn't removing this rule increase goals? Not only would it be easier to score on a defensive set ie properly defending and going for an easy score, but wouldn't there be more exciting striker vs defender + goalie situations?
Offside traps seem pretty op, and seem to cluster the offensive side making it harder to score
you sound like someone who really wanted MBS and automine in sc2
On July 01 2012 16:11 patti wrote:
Random American spectator question, why is there offsides? Wouldn't removing this rule increase goals? Not only would it be easier to score on a defensive set ie properly defending and going for an easy score, but wouldn't there be more exciting striker vs defender + goalie situations?
Offside traps seem pretty op, and seem to cluster the offensive side making it harder to score
more goals dont make for a better sport, offside is a very important tactical element that makes it a harder game.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the nuances of the rule. I didn't expect that many drastic changes from game play.
I don't think harder/easier is the issue since the rule applies to both teams. But yes imho it would make for a better spectator sport. I just got into soccer this year, but seeing a 90 minute tie game get decided with a 5 minute shootout is so anticlamactic but more importantly so luck-based.
I think making it slightly easier to score should demonstrate more so the gaps between offense/defense.
Sorry in advance, I feel as though I have offended a few of you.
This is football not basketball; if they do what you say there will be no midfield left and there will be no players like Messi, Ronaldo, Nani, Ribery, Iniesta, Xavi, Pirlo etc...
It would make the sport real shit, even NHL have a form of offside.
how can u shove the river, he cant possibly call with worse -TalentedTom
It would destroy the game. In good games nowadays you'll notice the distance between the defence/midfield/attack is very small because that way they can really press the ball when it's in the other team's possession making it a skillfull game. They have to work on very narrow spaces because the field is simply very short because of the offside chance.
Remove offside and the playing field would be very long and with way too much space, making any kind of passing play very dull because the game will be simplified to an extreme degree.
On July 01 2012 14:37 morph1 wrote:
yo capaneo have you seen that pass?
hahaha, great post.
i guess sports discussions always seem to come down to who is better. in the xavi v pirlo debate i just enjoy the hell out of watching them play and could care less.
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Sweden. Jun 04 2012 17:49. Posts 4472
Will the liquidbet return for this or is that only for the world cup?? 
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