FIFA World Cup 2006

[midsomMarkille]

Nobody has posted about the Worlds Cup in Germany eh? People here are going nuts about it.

Just one lesson : When things are tough, Bend it Like Beckham!

Go England! Go Sven Göran Ericsson!!!

[ice]

been waiting for someone to start a thread of the World Cup but to no avail. it has reach the quarters till this thread started. anyway, the power teams have reach the quarters with the exception of Ukraine who outlasted one of the tournament favorite in Sweden. i'll take my pick for the finals:
Brazil vs. Ukraine:sneer: :sneer: :sneer:

ano sa imo ya moods?...:brows: :brows:


i'm out like all the Asian and African Teams......#-o

[rolour]

been waiting for someone to start a thread of the World Cup but to no avail.

Moral of the story: Don't wait, start one... :mrgreen: . There's no rule against starting a thread, he he...

Go U.S.A. !!.. #-o

[jZ]

well... i'd be more excited if they didnt have the live games on pay-per-view here.

I liked the Socceroos. That penalty with Italy was a fluke. Oh well. Ecuador was great till they lost, hehehe

I'm an underdog guy so go Ukraine!!!

[ecasiano]

Here in Manila, matches are shown live in some bars like Vida de Malate. A seaman friend had a stopover in Germany. He got me a memorabilia shirt worth around 20 Euro. I cant wait to wear it. :smile2:

Go Brazil. Go Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.

[ice]

what a day in the World Cup:

France 1, Brazil 0
upset? no, France is the better team on this one. :clapclap:

Portugal 3, England 2 in Penalty Shoot-Out
again another disaster for England. :sad:

I hope that this day of upset will not rubbed off on the "Pacman" as he defends his title against "Chololo" Larios today.:pray

I'm out like Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso in the Tour de France....dope! dope! dope! :evil: :evil: :evil:

as totally out like Andre Agassi as he bade goodbye to Wimbledon for the last time...:sad: :sad: :sad:

[moody erum]

Ice,
A minor correction, England lost 3-1 to Portugal on penalty shootout. Les Blues, France, was great in eliminating the defending champs and 5-time champs at that, Brazil 1-0. You are right, this was no upset. France has steadily improved as the World Cup proceeds while Brazil and world footballer of the year Ronaldinho choked. Zero goals for the World Cup? Footballer of the year? A striker eh? Ronaldo tried and became the all-time leading World Cup scorer, but soccer is a team game. And Zinedine Zidane is retiring from World Cup play and would like to go out proud.Really, Brazil did not improve in the 4 years between Cups but came with the almost the same team as in 2002. If they had made Kaka the focal point with Ronaldo, maybe, just maybe.
Shed no England tears, it was coming. When Owen was injured in the eliminations and Rooney their ony other striker functioning at half-capacity due to a recently healed broken metatarsal bone in his right big toe, you don't expect to win against the best in the world.

[ice]

It will be a battle of the BLUES in the final.:clapclap: :clapclap:

France "Les Bleus" vs. Italy's "Azurri"

I go for France, "VIVE LE FRANCE":thumb :thumb

[robby:b]

Italy 5, France 3 in a PSO :clapclap:

Zinedine ZIDANE (France) headbutts a player, given a red card. :evil:
What a terrible thing to end a career.


Sorry Ice :sad:

[ice]

Italy 5, France 3 in a PSO :clapclap:

Zinedine ZIDANE (France) headbutts a player, given a red card. :evil:
What a terrible thing to end a career.


Sorry Ice :sad:

Hey RB, miss this one.:sad:

Entertaining finals though, with lots of great chances for both sides. As for the red-carding of Zizou, it takes a great provocation for a man to do what he did. One theory that is circulating is that Italy's Materazzi called Zidane a terrorist which prompted the latter to head butt the former#-o . FIFA will review all the RED cards in this finals as they usually do and it's interesting to know what their findings will be:brows: . As for Zizou, it is indeed sad to end your international career this way:sad: :sad: . The only consolation is that he was voted as the FIFA WC '06 Golden Ball Awardee:clapclap: .

Hey Rob, what if Zizou and Henry were the ones in the penalty shoot-out?What if..........#-o #-o #-o

[moody erum]

Very entertaining World Cup Finals and as a whole. I rooted for France so I lost. My luck ran out with Les Bleus. I think Zizou was provoked. Materazi was assigned to guard him and after 80 mins.of hard-hitting and trash-talking ( Payton is nothing compared to these guys ) Zizou boiled over. As Zizou's own coach said, "It was unforgivable but very understandable". I think Zizou would not be remembered for the head butt but for winning the Golden Ball Award and for his silky smooth passing and goal-scoring and amazing ball-control that looks like the soccer ball is mechanically attached to his feet. Other players would have snapped in much, much less time. But the Azzuri are worthy champs and they have four years to savor it while Wade and Shaq would probably hand it over next year.
Which brings us to another important question. Should Filipinos play more soccer and less basketball? If we developed soccer in the Philippines would we have more chances of becoming an Asian or World power in it? Points to ponder - While our poorly funded and ill- exposed Philippine soccer team came to within a win of a medal in the last ASEAN Games our heavily-funded and backed and hyped-up Philippine Basketball team made up of Pros just lost their 2nd straight game in the Jones Cup two nights ago, a regional, private Tourney where teams do not have to qualify but signify their intentions to join. Last year our best Pros ( PBA ) lost to a professional CLUB team from Taipei where our "soft" and NBA-imitating players where left eating Taiwanese fodder and dung. Not to mention the height difference which was not in our favor of course. Your thoughts soccer fans, and Hoop fans too.

[robby:b]

Hey Rob, what if Zizou and Henry were the ones in the penalty shoot-out?What if..........http://www.medskul.com/forum/images/smilies/eusa_doh.gif http://www.medskul.com/forum/images/smilies/eusa_doh.gif http://www.medskul.com/forum/images/smilies/eusa_doh.gif

It would have been a different story ice! Perhaps France could've made a goal in the last minute..it's possible. I went to 3 Chicago Fire games were they made 2 goals in the last 4-5 minutes and won the game. So, you know Zizou or Henry could've made a goal each without a PSO.

I think Zizou would not be remembered for the head butt but for winning the Golden Ball Award and for his silky smooth passing and goal-scoring and amazing ball-control that looks like the soccer ball is mechanically attached to his feet.

I kinda disagree moods :-k ... click pic:

394

It's all over the net! what can i say :neutral: They even made fun of it by making a game out of it.
This image will be in the history books for sure.
It could be one of the many highlight photos in a LIFE magazine.

[moody erum]

Gabriel Marcotti in his column "Parting Shots" at SI.Com has this to say about Zidane and the 'head butt' :
"But only the ignorant will remember him for this. Those who love the game will remember him for the thrills and delight he so often offered, for the sheer elegance of his game and for the way his teammates looked up to him".

As I said Rob, if you are just a casual soccer observer then the 'HEAD BUTT' is the only thing you will remember, but if you truly love the sport like I do then you would remember his greatness. Its like, if you are not a real hoops fan then you will only remember Kermit Washington as the one who threw 'the punch' and not the All- American who was the last to average 20 points and 20 rebounds in a season and played a decade in the NBA. I for one, while I would have it in my memory bank, would never remember Kobe for only the rape case but for his greatness, for the 81 night, for being the greatest player never to win an MVP award ( so far, who knows ). Frankly, if your a real fan you would remember Jawo as the RP basketball team captain, PBA MVP, many time All-Star, the greatest player of his generation, Mr RP Basketball, and not as a referee-mauler who was meted a lifetime ban which was lifted because nobody was ever better.

[moody erum]

Heck, you would not even know who Kermit Washington is if you were just a casual fan, you would think he was a 'Sesame Street' muppet. And Jawo would just be a Senator to you. It takes real fans you know, those who buy Sports Illustrated and Soccer World and SLAM and buy LIFE Mag as an afterthought if money permits. If it appears as a highlight photo in LIFE, then I would miss it, a HOT VWs Mag is more interesting.

[robby:b]

As I said Rob, if you are just a casual soccer observer then the 'HEAD BUTT' is the only thing you will remember, but if you truly love the sport like I do then you would remember his greatness.

Any columnist can say anything. I know Zidane was a great player, and he's French. :sneer: But (here we go with comparison again) he's not like Kobe who has 3 rings and 81 points, he's not MJ who had gambling problems and has 6 rings and endless highlights. Artest is a great basketball player too, people just remember him raging up the stands.

Oh, by the way moods, i played right and center fullback in high school soccer. I have 2006 Chicago Fire MLS season tickets too. I'm not a fanatic who throws beer at the linesman and i'm not an observer either.

Let's go FIRE! whoooose the best? FIIIIRE! love the crowd!
wish you can watch soccer with me at their new stadium someday :wink:

[robby:b]

Kermit Washington was an idiot who crushed Rudy Tomjanovich face. He should fight "Pacman"

[robby:b]

Zinedine Zidane has apologised for his headbutt on Italian defender Marco Materazzi in Sunday's World Cup final.

But the French legend does not regret his actions, alleging on television that Materazzi provoked him by insulting both his mother and sister.
"It was inexcusable. I apologise," said the 34-year-old Zidane. "But I can't regret what I did because it would mean that he was right to say all that."
Materazzi responded by denying he said anything about Zidane's mother.
BBC sport, World Cup

All you can do is apologize for your actions.

[rolour]

Nice discussion you have here :thumb .

I don't consider myself a casual NBA fan, but unfortunately for Washington, I only remember him as the man who punched Rudy T.'s face. Part of the reason maybe is I haven't seen him play and have only seen him in snippets over at NBA Classic (and probably because Rudy T. nearly died because of it). I am not a soccer fan, so perhaps Moody can forgive me if I only remember Zidane for the headbutt. Heck, I only knew him because of the headbutt :wink: .

In my opinion, there is a difference between bonehead plays on the court (or field) and bonehead plays somewhere else. That's why basketball fans don't remember Jordan's gambling or Kobe's rape case (btw, he was never convicted). They separate the man from the player. But, say, Shaq connected his punch directed at Brad Miller (during a Lakers-Bulls game) and Miller went into a coma, most people would probably remember Shaq for that, unfortunately. And unfortunately for Zidane (I hope I spelled that right), he did it in full view of the world, in his last game (right?), and a critical game for France. In basketball, in soccer, or anywhere, that was a bonehead play. There was no excuse for it.

I will remember Zidane for the headbutt but I am not a soccer fan, so that doesn't count. Maybe we ultimately choose how we'll be remembered. But at the end of the day, the people have all the right to choose how they'll remember you. It's a matter of opinion, I guess.

Sorry, Kermit.

[moody erum]

Agree Rob, with the sportswriter thing, they can write anything they want. But ( here we go with comparison again ), Zidane is equal in soccer terms to a Jordan or a Kobe in basketball terms. He is called in fact the Pele of his generation. Zizou's Euro Cup Championship in 2000, his World Cup and MVP Award in 1998, his FA Cup championships with Juventus and Real Madrid, his 3 World Footballer of the Year Awards and a sure Knighthood when he finally hangs up his jersey and studs, are equal to any of Kobe's 3 NBA Rings and MJ's 6 nba Rings. And, with the USA's recent losses in hoops in the International front, it is no longer safe to say the NBA Titlist is unbeatable by any other team in the world like it used to be. But a WORLD CUP Champion is a REAL World Champion. One could even be tempted to say that Kobe or MJ may not surpass Zidane who did it at the World stage and not just at the league level, which he also did. MJ has his Olympic Gold but Kobe has yet to win one.
I played right halfback in high school and college at Silliman and goalkeeper for our beloved WVSU-COM. I also played the point and two in high school and the A/S team at Silliman and backed up RS and JG on Coach Rolour's 3-time Champion Team at WVSU-COM. I would absolutely love to watch the Fire with you and the Bulls in between if ever I make it to the Windy City someday. And, we can pass by a magazine stand and get us both a copy of LIFE.

[moody erum]

Coach,
So nice to have you on a soccer thread. Agree, its a matter of opinion. BTW, Kermit was a Laker, Washington that is, not the Frog.

[rolour]

Coach,
So nice to have you on a soccer thread. Agree, its a matter of opinion. BTW, Kermit was a Laker, Washington that is, not the Frog.

My first memory of the incident was in SportsWeekly magazine way back in grade school - a picture of Rudy T. sitting looking like a mummy (no Rip Hamilton-style masks then). It was only a few years ago when I saw the clothesline that broke Rudy T.'s face. I felt so bad for Washington. A Laker fan only remembers you for the clothesline and the fact that your parents named you Kermit in the first place. Actually, that's 2 things to feel bad about Washington :???: .

I am getting off-topic. Now back to soccer :wink: .

[rolour]

Back to soccer...

To be honest, I haven't seen the headbutt incident on TV. I only saw the video clip below. Wow, was that exciting... :mrgreen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOrTMwtbySY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOrTMwtbySY)

[robby:b]

Brilliant Moods! all is said and done.. yes, i remember you wearing a sweatshirt protecting that goal. You're very welcome to watch any game you want. Free jersey pa :brows:

RG you're funny! where in the www you found those vids and pics? :sneer:

Poor Rudy, he should be the original HANNIBAL LECTER :evil:

Sad to say Kobe won't be playing for the US team in the upcoming FIBA, i was looking forward for a 100 point game!

[rolour]

RG you're funny! where in the www you found those vids and pics? :sneer:


They're just out there :wink: .

Actually, if I may go off-topic again, here's the evolution of the face-mask throughout history:

409
King Tut - 3000 BC

410
Rudy T. - 1977

411
Hannibal Lecter - 1991

412
Rip Hamilton - 2006

:sneer:

[rolour]

This just in --

Zidane saves Materazzi from a Sniper!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EQAv1F4NOFY

[robby:b]

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) - Zinedine Zidane was banned by FIFA for three games Thursday for head-butting Italy defender Marco Materazzi during the World Cup final.
Materazzi was suspended for two matches.
World soccer's governing body also fined Zidane $6,000 and Materazzi $4,000 after a disciplinary committee heard the former France captain's account of what led to the incident.
-- Fox Sports, World Cup


#-o poor Materazzi, he was whacked, suspended and fined 1,598.07 short of Zizou's 4,794.21 Euros

found this on Ebay for $12 :wink:
432

[moody erum]

Rob/Lour/Guys,
You never answered my query on whether Filipinos should play more soccer than basketball.
Our PBA players played on the RP Team to the Jones Cup as previously mentioned and we won 6th place out of 9 teams. We had a 2 win 7 loss record represented by our pros. The team won against the Australian under-19 team and against a club team from Japan. Basketball is a game all Filipinos love, me included. But unlike me who is a backyard player at best, our sports leaders insist on pouring all the support on unwinnable basketball and leaving soccer, badminton, pingpong with crumbs, the very sports we have a chance. Notice why we succeed in boxing? Pacquiao, Elorde, et al? Because they go up ( or went ) against opponents their own weight and size. Of course I am not saying we stop playing hoops or abolish the PBA, NO WAY JOSE, just that we give equal support and promote sports we have a chance at as aggressively and expensively as basketball.

[rolour]

Which brings us to another important question. Should Filipinos play more soccer and less basketball? If we developed soccer in the Philippines would we have more chances of becoming an Asian or World power in it? Points to ponder - While our poorly funded and ill- exposed Philippine soccer team came to within a win of a medal in the last ASEAN Games our heavily-funded and backed and hyped-up Philippine Basketball team made up of Pros just lost their 2nd straight game in the Jones Cup two nights ago, a regional, private Tourney where teams do not have to qualify but signify their intentions to join. Last year our best Pros ( PBA ) lost to a professional CLUB team from Taipei where our "soft" and NBA-imitating players where left eating Taiwanese fodder and dung. Not to mention the height difference which was not in our favor of course. Your thoughts soccer fans, and Hoop fans too.

You never answered my query on whether Filipinos should play more soccer than basketball.

Sorry Moods, I thought you were making more of a statement here instead of a question because the answer is pretty obvious - that there are probably ten more sports Filipinos can excel in international competitions before basketball. Basketball in the Philippines is not about competition. We were always under the illusion that Filipino basketball players can match up with the world. We can't. We are fundamentally unsound and physically inferior. The showcase that's called the PBA is more commercialism than anything else, supported by large corporations so they can put their products' names on the jerseys.

I am (or maybe I was) a PBA fan. I have second thoughts saying the things I just said because the natural tendency for PBA fans is to say I am just disillusioned because I now live in American soil. We were always under this illusion that PBA is competition. Maybe it is, at some level. But if you start comparing leagues in other parts of the world, the PBA and RP basketball in general is more entertainment than anything else. If we only bear this in mind, we won't be in such frustration if we get beat by the "lowly" Taiwanese year in and year out.

When I was in high school, I knew a schoolmate who was a very good soccer player. He went on to play as far as the Palarong Pambansa. But you know what his motivation was? To get free uniforms and free meals. There was no PBA-like league to aspire for. No big corporations to fund his further training. No college or university that offered soccer scholarships. After high school, he drove a tricycle for a living. He was smart. Soccer's not going to feed him and his family.

How many young lads from Barotac or Santa Barbara are under the same predicament every year? They may not be the next Zidanes (well, they can always practice the headbutt :mrgreen: ) but they certainly have more chances to excel in international competition than, say, an Alvin Patrimonio becoming a ballboy for the Bobcats. All they need is support that they won't get, since an MLS-style league in RP is highly unlikely. All corporate money are siphoned towards the PBA where the pretty athletes and therefore the fans, are.

Many years ago, a supposed-to-be scout from the then-Charlotte Hornets visited Manila. He hinted that Johnny Abarientos had the ability to play in the NBA. Philippine basketball officials treated him like royalty, free hotel accommodations, dinner, etc. He even got interviews from local scribes including Joaquin Henson. After about a week, he disappeared (back to the U.S., presumably) without leaving a word. I think he just lied about the Abarientos thing so he could get free food for a week.

Right about this time, a kid is playing soccer at Lapaz Plaza, hoping to play in the World Cup someday. But he won't stay long there. He has a trisikad to drive. Soccer can't feed you. The kid needs to eat first. Maybe the World Cup can wait :wink: .

[moody erum]

Lour,
I agree 100%, nobody could have said it better. I too grew up thinking that PBA hoops was competition. Through the years it has become obvious it is entertainment and BUSINESS, BIG BUSINESS. Look at a lot of the so-called PBA Stars who never dive after loose balls and play not to win but to keep from being injured, sayang ang sueldo, ang bonuses, ang perks. I once had a nice talk with a US-based Anesthesiologist who came and volunteered a few months at WVMC when I was in training and, since he was a sports fan, the talk inevitably turned to basketball. What he said pretty much sums it all - he said "Growing up in the 60's pati-pati gid ako sa hambal sa mga experto kag mga katiyu-an ko nga ang Filipino basketball player is pound-for-pound the best in the world. Pag-abot ko sa America this belief was blown to pieces. Mga high schoolers didto could beat our Pros".
Business is business as they say, and even the big lie that bringing in American ( mostly ) Imports to play here was meant to improve the Filipino game. Imports ( not all, in fairness ) who are NBA discards or journeymen or aging marginal NBA and CBAers, treated like Kings here, some who bring along their bad attitudes, paid much more than the team's Pinoy stars, and yet all these years Filipino basketball has not progressed, but regressed.
Soccer won't feed you here. But only a few, much fewer, could even dream of "making it" in basketball here too. If we had a soccer league, more would "make it" and we would be better off Internationally, a lot better. The last time we won an Asian Basketball Championship ( ABC ), the Olympic qualifier, was in 1986 when we had an American coach ( Ron Jacobs ) and Dennis Still, Chip Engelland, and Jeff Moore in the starting five with Caidic and Calma. The last homegrown team to win was the 1973 team of Jawo-Fernandez-Arnaiz-Adornado-Guidaben-Florencio and only because it was held here and our Asian neighbors were still "learning" the game. But if big corporations would make soccer just as big as basketball, surely the Filipino will go places.

[robby:b]

I think it’s funding and winning games, whether for advertising or pure competition, teams need big time sponsors. Most PBA teams are funded by San Miguel Corporation. As you know Purefoods, Ginebra and Coca-Cola are divisions of SMC.
Going back to Soccer/Football. Well soccer has been around for ages in Asia. It also took years for Korea and Japan to be in the limelight of FIFA. South Africa same thing. Again it’s a matter of who’s going to start funding football leagues in the Philippines. Teams? Yes we have a National Soccer Team and players from the Visayas. Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo in particular. Compete? I believe we can if given special attention. Not just uniforms and a few bucks, I’m talking about serious paychecks and scholarships. Small players? Well the expansion MLS team Chicago Fire has 6 players in the roster who are 5’7”. It’s not gonna be a big problem to bulk up players if you have money to feed them, right? But who’s gonna make it happen? Don’t ask me. Basketball, Boxing, Bowling, Billiards are more important. Unless if you spell Soccer with a capital “B” :mrgreen:
Perhaps we should start winning in ASEAN games that will later boost their morale to some extent and give some motivation to sponsors and fans. US Major League Soccer has been around for 12 years now, yet there are only 5 soccer-specific stadiums nationwide and they’re not even World-Class. Some franchise teams still play in College stadiums or in their American Football (Rugby) turf. I can hardly even find a soccer jersey around here. The players, they go around and shop, play for other European teams were they can have more boku bucks. It’s slowly getting there. Toronto is even planning to join MLS.

But why is soccer huge in other countries? I do not know? I’ll try emailing Zizou, maybe he's got some answers.. he can use his head :sneer:

Check out www.pinoysoccer.com (http://www.pinoysoccer.com/) and www.philfootball.info (http://www.philfootball.info/)