World Cup Thread.

AzorianPats · Jun 17, 2014

According to local tv ratings the US-Ghana game smashed the Sox game 2/1.

Soccer has its haters, but it has a strong following esp here in New England.

Sparetire · Jun 17, 2014

KontradictioN said:
I watched five minutes of the Switzerland/Ecuador (I think) match yesterday. The end was great because the Swiss scored on the last play. The five minutes I watched before that made my eyelids heavy. How in God's name is this sport so damn popular? And holy ****, I thought flopping was bad in professional basketball but those guys are amateurs compared to soccer players.

You know, thats what most people in the world say about football (i mean, american).

soccer is great, its like my first sports-love.

Go Netherlands (or holland, or dutch, whatever GLC would say)

SalemPats · Jun 17, 2014

pencilneckgeek said:
As a former soccer player myself, I have to agree. You can get a card for diving, but embellishment is called 100 times as much in hockey. The fact of the matter is that it's hard to tell who is diving given the size of the soccer pitch. I'd like to see a system where cards are awarded after the game for blatant faking as indicated by instant replay (holding ones face when a foot came close). If a player accumulates 2 to 3 cards, they miss a game. That would at least cut back on the theatrics, even if players continued to fall more easily than they should.

I agree with that. Right now it's hard to tell, but if they could review the games afterward and suspend/fine for future games this would be enough of a deterrent to stop the 'divers'. I find that the diving slows the game down. Also, the moving offside is a bit weird, I would rather they put a hard line like in hockey. It's also hard for the referee to properly judge this.

resdubwhite · Jun 17, 2014

shmessy said:
They certainly seem to lack much offensive firepower without Altidore in there. It didn't look to my untrained eyes as if that Johanson kid was up to the task.

makes the Donovan exlusion all the more baffling.

BelichickFan · Jun 17, 2014

SalemPats said:
Also, the moving offside is a bit weird, I would rather they put a hard line like in hockey. It's also hard for the referee to properly judge this.

I don't know the rules of hockey but a fixed offside line sounds crazy. No clue how it works in Hockey but offside in soccer is what it is, two defenders (goalie usually one) between the forward and the goal. I have no idea how a fixed offside line could or would work.

resdubwhite · Jun 17, 2014

The colour in the stadium for this evenings game between Brazil and mexico is a site to behold. shame the game is poor so far.

borg · Jun 17, 2014

The English Premiere League has done a great job reducing the flopping element in games. The combination of yellow carding the flopper and just keeping the whistle in the pocket has gone a long way in tightening up the product. What I've noticed since I climbed aboard the Liverpool bandwagon after Henry bought the team is that the players of the "romance language" dialect ...French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (no opinion on the Romanians..yet) are the serial floppers no matter the league. Watch the Italian leagues some time and occasionally "football" interrupts a 90 minute flop fest. This Mexico/Brazil is a perfect example of ingrained flopping...they can't help themselves, its in their DNA. Germany....never the antics. Japan.....they are too nice. Anyone see the highlights of the last Japan game at the World Cup. The Japanese fans whipped out large garbage bags after the game and cleaned up the areas in the stadium. That country doesn't flop. And the US.....Klinsman won't allow his players to raise their hands for the obligatory off sides plea that also is ingrained in most players DNA.

borg · Jun 17, 2014

The fact that Mexico is going toe to toe with Brazil tells me Brazil is not worthy of favorite status. Home crowd be damned. Germany is looking good IMO and the Dutch might be the team that sneaks through the gauntlet. That Van Persie header was one of a kind.

resdubwhite · Jun 17, 2014

borg said:
The English Premiere League has done a great job reducing the flopping element in games. The combination of yellow carding the flopper and just keeping the whistle in the pocket has gone a long way in tightening up the product. What I've noticed since I climbed aboard the Liverpool bandwagon after Henry bought the team is that the players of the "romance language" dialect ...French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (no opinion on the Romanians..yet) are the serial floppers no matter the league. Watch the Italian leagues some time and occasionally "football" interrupts a 90 minute flop fest. This Mexico/Brazil is a perfect example of ingrained flopping...they can't help themselves, its in their DNA. Germany....never the antics. Japan.....they are too nice. Anyone see the highlights of the last Japan game at the World Cup. The Japanese fans whipped out large garbage bags after the game and cleaned up the areas in the stadium. That country doesn't flop. And the US.....Klinsman won't allow his players to raise their hands for the obligatory off sides plea that also is ingrained in most players DNA.

Klinsmann as a player was the biggest diver in the history of the game. He was a disgrace.

JayNM · Jun 17, 2014

**** ochoa, ************

Mike the Brit · Jun 17, 2014

resdubwhite said:
Klinsmann as a player was the biggest diver in the history of the game. He was a disgrace.

Certainly he had that reputation, though I've got to say that, compared with some of the Latin Americans I've watched since, he was pretty moderate.

Anyway, Americans might not know the following story.

Klinsmann signed for Tottenham Hotspur late in his career, at a time when their weren't so many non-Brits in English football. But he was already known and had a reputation for diving. The crowds taunted him for it. Anyway, he scored his first goal and his goal celebration was ... to throw himself headlong to the ground. After that, he was the most popular foreign player in the league.

resdubwhite · Jun 17, 2014

man. Thats a poor Brazil side.

Mike the Brit · Jun 17, 2014

Mike the Brit said:
Certainly he had that reputation, though I've got to say that, compared with some of the Latin Americans I've watched since, he was pretty moderate.

Just watch Marcello's dive in the Brazil-Mexico game. Comedy gold!

EDIT: No problems for Brazil with a draw. The Mexico goalie had one of those games where everything went right. Amazing!

Froob · Jun 17, 2014

I don't like soccer and not watching the world cup but itd be awesome to win the whole thing and then act like we didn't even care

Mike the Brit · Jun 17, 2014

I can't really believe that this is true ... but it IS funny.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/9...er-fans-would-after-their-world-cup-team-lost

lurker1965 · Jun 17, 2014

Mike the Brit said:
What a sad thread -- so much heat, so little light.

No, no one could care less that you aren't interested in soccer.

This is a thread to talk about it for those who are interested (like a huge number of Americans, Pats fans included). But it seems to have been hijacked for general expressions of butt-pain that anyone could be passionate about the sport. Well, whatever ...

Probably not you. You live or lived in Europe. I'm talking about people on the bus or at the gym in part of Massachusetts USA.
You probably do not care that I don't care.

shmessy · Jun 18, 2014

Game. Set. Match.

Mike the Brit · Jun 18, 2014

No comment

fumbrunner · Jun 18, 2014

shmessy said:
Game. Set. Match.

This is the exactly what soccer is all about. Listen, if you have no rooting interest in a game, sure it's not the most exciting thing in the world. A few passes here and there, a couple shots on goal. Hopefully a goal or two.

If you do have a rooting interest, particularly when cheering for your country in a tournament that comes only every four years, a close soccer game is the most intense sporting situation you can encounter (Playoff OT hockey is pretty good too). 1-1, late in the game, and your team scores....Nothing more intense or exciting*. Every game matters in this tournament

* Except for a Vinatieri FG to win the SB

Zeus · Jun 18, 2014

shmessy said:
Game. Set. Match.

Thanks for sharing. That was awesome.

For me, this epitomizes why we love sports ...

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