World Cup Thread.

Spain on the verge of going out. Mental stuff. The football looks slow and tired, and there's no desire to get it back when possession is lost.

2-0 to Chile. The empire is crumbling.

With Doctor fuentes in prison no wonder the spanish look tired.

BritPat said:

Spain on the verge of going out. Mental stuff.

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Does that mean The Reign of Spain Dies Mainly from the Brain?

god I hate soccer. if soccer threads are allowed in the main forum then bring on the redsox threads.

Adios España

Spain is out, that's amazing.

Brazil needs to go in first place now, we'd face against Chile. Looking good, #VemHexa

Mike the Brit said:

No comment

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Seriously, first he eats his snot...then he hands it to Ronaldo? wtf!

Wheelman said:

Seriously, first he eats his snot...then he hands it to Ronaldo? wtf!

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Yeah -- and that's after his team WON the match. Wonder what he'd have done if they lost.

So far, Holland, France, Germany, Italy looking good from Europe, Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Mexico from Latin America. That's eight pretty powerful teams. Add in Croatia and the U.S. and there won't be many easy games at the knockout stage.

captain insano said:

god I hate soccer. if soccer threads are allowed in the main forum then bring on the redsox threads.

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Brady_to_Moss said:

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LOL poor Tobey

Wow! What a complete no show from Spain. WTF? Not that I am particularly heartbroken about it.
So far Chile is the best team in the tournament. Netherlands has been good but today's game showcased their defensive issues. Brasil has not been very convincing and neither was Argentina. Italy are always dangerous but they will only go as far as Pirlo's legs can carry them. Take him out and their counter attacks become a lot less effective. He can turn the game with one pass. I think the final score is making people forget about Germany's(and I am a big Germany fan) defensive issues. Portugal made some pretty dangerous runs before Pepe did what Pepe does. BTW I have seen him pull that stunt numerous times before. I believe he did that same exact thing in the UCL QF against BVB this past season. Its about time he got nailed for it.

On the issue of diving I think FIFA, UEFA and the FAs need to start taking a 0 tolerance approach. Review challenges post game and hand out punishments. Any dives should be an automatic post game yellow (assuming it wasn't given during the game). Accumulation of yellows through post game should be result in a suspension just like the ones on the field do. A dive that gets another player a yellow should become an automatic suspension for the next game. A dive that leads to a red or a suspension through accumulations of yellows should be an automatic 2 game suspension. If it leads to a penalty also an automatic 2. These punishments should also stack. For example if it leads to a red and a penalty then the suspension should be 4 games. Repeat offenders get 1 extra match suspension. It should also stack. Lets say you already have been suspended once for one match through accumulation of diving yellows. The second time it happens you get a 2 match ban.
I love soccer but the diving is just disgusting to watch. If I want grown ass men fall over and flop every time someone breathes on them I'll watch the NBA or the Canadiens, thank you very much.


Looking at the one below you might recoil in disgust. But don't judge too harshly.

This is what really happened.


In the following one you have to at least admire the guys inventiveness and dedication to his craft.

captain insano said:

god I hate soccer. if soccer threads are allowed in the main forum then bring on the redsox threads.

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I agree why is this junk here.

Lol! The last video with the guy using the opponents hand to slap himself is hilarious!

That being said I think it should be reviewed and a permanent ban for blatant fakes like pretending to get hit in the eye.

LOL, honestly, I'd like to see you guys watching Brazil's national league.

The amount of fouls given is IMMENSE, it's crystal clear why brazilion fake a lot, we are very connivent with those things and refs fall for it everytime

JayNM said:

LOL, honestly, I'd like to see you guys watching Brazil's national league.

The amount of fouls given is IMMENSE, it's crystal clear why brazilion fake a lot, we are very connivent with those things and refs fall for it everytime

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I grew up watching Serie A in the nineties. To this day I believe that the first thing they teach players when they get there is how to dive. Its probably in their contract that they have to do it or they don't get paid. I remember once I believe it was Alen Boksic who at the time played for Juve was challenged/pushed in the box. Instead of going down he stayed on his feet and tried to score but he his timing had been thrown off enough and he was unsuccessful. The following week all you heard from Italian media was incredulity that he didn't go down and get a almost certain penalty and booking for the opponent. Some of them were downright outraged at it saying that maybe its not good to have big strikers (he was about 6 feet tall) because a smaller one would have certainly have gone down under that challenge and thus scored on a penalty.

I enjoy watching soccer during the Olympics and World Cup. I don't watch any outside of that. With that said, I don't recall the diving being so bad as I've seen it in this World Cup. Any time a player is touched they act like a sniper has shot them. Besides that, I'm really enjoying watching the matches. Hope Uruguay vs England is a good one.

One thing that I've found that I like about the World Cup (actually, I'm starting to remember it again from 2010) is that it gives me an excuse to hit up the local Irish pub after work for a few drinks. I still think the game is as boring as it gets (just my personal opinion), but at least it give me an excuse to join some friends who are more into it for a beer after work.