Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

That would take a brave man to do that, certainly not Sven, probably not Mclaren either

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Then they need to design a good system, what do Gerrard and Lampard both have at their clubs? DMs behind them.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Indeed. I'd ideally like an English coach for the England team, but if not, Martin Jol would be brill. He came under a lot of critism last year for not playing Defoe and Keane at the same time, but truth was, they didn't play well together - and he puts out a team, not individual players. :tu:. Not much else you can do really :shrug:

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

So do we all Agree that Italy deserved to Win?
I personally thought they were teh better team over the tournament than France, and so am Glad they won.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I actually thought France played better yesterday although tbh I was a complete neutral and just enjoyed the spectacle

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

For their defence that only conceded an own goal and a pen they deserved to win.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Yeah, they were over the tournament, France were dull frankly. But I do thinkhacome a cropper so many times in penalty shoot outs, that I think it was their time to win. France have won both the Euro and World Cup in the past few years, so it's nice that someone else gets to take it home.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

To do that you would have to play with one up front, then you leave out either Owen or Rooney, I think your first idea was better tell them to shape up or drop one, or play one every other game, unless one is in sensational form.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

well i have to say i didn't think it was a pen anyway

the bloke never had the ball at the time and the contact was so slight that it wouldn't have made you fall over certainly not in that way anyway

what annoys me about this diving and stuff is at the moment they have it both ways

either

you go over at the slightest sign of contact and it's a foul in which case it's not possible to use your strength to hold someone off

or

it is possible to use your strength in which case you don't have to go over at the first sign of contact

agree with Gazzae that if teams want to stop play for someone who is injured then they should win the ball back themselves and put it out

also three game bans would be good and get rid of the stupid FIFA Fair Play thing as that does nothing anyway

with SM in charge now I can't see alot changing.. he does most of Sven's work anyway so we will pretty much be the same as we was

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I agree there, but I think France did have a valid penalty appeal later in the match. Having said that, I think the Italian disallowed goal should have stood. I haven't seen the replay, but I thought the player that scored the goal was not off-side.

France were slightly better (in the second half) yesterday, but over the tournament, I think Italy deserved to win more than France (if only for scoring twice against Germany in the dying minutes).

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

i'm not even convinced the second one was a pen either.. ok there was more contact but the player was going for the ball and just happened to catch his leg.. he never went in to foul the player

giving pens for free kicks for this sort of thing is why we see so much diving and exaggeratting of stuff if you play football and get it wrong just get on with the game.. if you take someone's legs away give a free kick or pen.. with no difference between the two you will always see this

Hansen annoyed me with the pen as if that had been during his playing days the bloke wouldn't even have fallen over and never would have been a pen

the italy goal went out after the corner was taken so that evened things up slightly

when i saw the replay of the disallowed goal i think all three Italians were offside

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I wasn't really watch the analysis at half time during the 3rd place game, But did Shearer really say that Rooney was too strong and to honest to dive?

---------- Post added at 14:20 ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 ----------

Apparently only 3.5 Mill watched the Final on ITV compared to 20 mill on the BBC!

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

From The Sunday Times World Cup final preview, about Zidane...

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

yeah. what's the point in having the assistant there if he isn't going to notice such obvious things.

only about 10% of corners all this season stayed in play

that sounded a lot like andy gray :)

whether he deliberately went to foul a player is irrelevant

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

http://tonaz.altervista.org/zidane.html

:p:

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Result!!!

(but not the one La Belle France wanted).

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I can never understand why it is in major competitions some teams play with a laid back style not really attempting to score because scoring is the one way to win the match and avoid being knackered by extra time or being put out of the competition by penalties.

If it gets down to penalties the teams were obviously not trying hard enough to win.Next time England play I hope Steve McClaren doesn't follow Sven's example and we actually have a team that is so committed that we can stick just 10 men on the field and still win.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

You must be forgetting about Sweden, who did exactly that against England.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

True, but then it wasn't a winning strategy because they didn't reach the final either.

In 90 minutes a well-organised side can put away quite a few goals. When you leave it to penalties it becomes sudden death with all the extra stress that comes with it and it's at a time when you are already tired from the game and the extra time.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Surely if the other team is as well oraganised it will end up as a draw anyway? Certainly I have seen teams ease up in extra time but I always felt it more to do with fear rather than actually wanting penalties, the only team I have ever seen play for penalties is the Italia 90 Argentinian team.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Apparently, according to an Itallian lipreader, the Itallian said to Zidane "I wish an ugly death to your family.." His mother had just recently fallen seriously ill...

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

What is it with foreigners, their insults are just so dramatic :)

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So many conflicting reports, apparently Zidane said something to Materazzi which provoked him into saying something like that.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I think Martin O' Neil summed it up nicely on the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...06/5163532.stm

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

A draw would seem to be the most probable outcome but where two sides are well balanced, goals are scored from creative football and better tactics.

What irritated me about England's style of play was the reliance on passing the ball to and fro across the half-back line and back to the goalkeeper.

Except for players like Cole, Lennon, Gerrard & Hargreaves the England philosophy seemed to be more about keeping goals out than putting them in.

Hoping that Beckham will score from a free kick or that your side would get a penalty is not what I'd call a professional plan of action.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

England are a different kettle of fish, it looked to me like we did not have a plan, just a blind faith that it would be all right on the night, look at the Germans for instance they have gone into the last two World Cups with pretty poor teams and yet they have finished 2nd and 3rd, mainly due to planning and preperation.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

England's plan was to keep possession of the ball. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have realised that the purpose of possession is so that you can score goals.

We kept being promised that they would get better but you're right they did not know what to do and so they didn't. That was a managerial blunder.

A well organised team however poor will invariably do better than a badly organised one.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

What did Materazzi say? Take your pick..

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I heard it was " your muzzer vaz a hamster, and your fathzer smells ov elderberrees"

Or was that someone else? :D

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

What ever he said I hope FIFA look into it.

By the way france had a goal disallowed in the group stages which clearly went in the goal. How come the footage helped send off Zidane but not see the goal

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

FIFA are still saying that video evidence was not used.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

I heard it was? It seemed to takes ages for the ref to know the incident happened

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

The French coach claimed it was, FIFA denied that and said the 4th offical saw it and told the ref.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Zidane:

How it was seen in Germany:
http://www.mcgirr.co.uk/images/zidane/germans.gif

How it was seen in France:
http://www.mcgirr.co.uk/images/zidane/french.gif

How it was seen in Italy:
http://www.mcgirr.co.uk/images/zidane/italians.gif

How it was seen in America:
http://www.mcgirr.co.uk/images/zidane/americans.gif

How it was seen in Hong Kong:
http://www.mcgirr.co.uk/images/zidane/hongkong.gif

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

:D :D :D

Have a greenie :D

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Spot on stuff :D

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

This is an exact transcript of what was said,

Materazzi was seen to hold Zidane's shirt on the edge of the penalty box in extra-time at which point Zidane said: "If you want my shirt so bad you can have it"

Materazzi: "I dont want your shirt you ****** ******. you're a ******* old man"

As they jog away Zidane is seen to laugh at this and it is unclear how he
responded due to him having his back to the TV camera. Materazzi then hit a volley of abuse...

"You should've quit 2 years ago, you're a ******* has-been. Your mum is a ******* terrorist whore and you are too. **** you old man, **** you."

Zidane carries on jogging away.

"Old man, this arena is not for you anymore. Your sister is a whore and the whole Italian team has ****** her. **** off you old, bald ****."

Zidane carries on jogging away.

Materazzi: "You are only good enough now to play for Arsenal"

†¦at this point Zidane turned and head-butted him. :D

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

Excellent - but they mis-heard the team. Matterazi said "Man U", not Arsenal! ;)

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

narr, they said d*rby.

Re: World Cup 2006 Thread
 

That ban is really going to hurt Zidane!