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Now there is excitement if you are interested. Bothe teams played eachother last sunday for the leaguecup as well and FC Twente did win. My hope is that Ajax Amsterdam does win tomorrow. %%-
Anyhoo, the Cup final wasn't a terrible match yesterday, admittedly, but the Blackpool-Bolton clash (which, of course, nicely finished 4-3 just like the famous '53 Cup Final between the two) was an absolute stonker. End-to-end stuff, even if the defending was non-existent, and seven goals; three of which were terrific... :)
It was a gross injustice as the Tigers player should have been red carded and the Northampton player was simply defending himself.
The reason I mention this is because, despite the injustice, not one player spoke to the ref, not one manager stormed on or caused a scene, neither of the players argued, both walked to the ref when beckoned, both walked off when yellow carded. The said not a word. The game carried on.
Earlier, in football, a dodgy penalty call at Blackburn had the Man U players surrounding the linesman, screaming in his face. When the penalty was awarded the same thing happened with the Blackburn players. Disgarceful and deeply embarrassing.
They're completely different games: rugby is about showing your strength, football is about showing your skill. To compare the Tuilagi incident to the United one is like saying that, erm, I can't think of a good analogy.
However, it's fair to point out that rugby is a sport that's deliberately and importantly played with a strong emphasis on discipline (the 'cruel' knock-on rule, for instance), surely because without good discipline - and strong respect towards the referee - it could immediately become pretty dangerous. Seriously major rugby injuries are not as common as one might imagine and that's probably why. Must say, I've never been a huge fan of rugby, but I've always admired it in this respect. Yup, couldn't agree more with you there, Nackers - football only has itself to blame for cultivating a culture where respect for the opposition, the referee and, too often, the rules is laissez-faire. One of the major reasons may be the money involved at the top - the quest for glory is overwhelming and the price of defeat (from the top league in England, for example) is ridiculous for a club's finances. Sadly, no doubt the lack of respect throughout the game - at least in this country - can be mostly attributed to a trickle-down-effect, I'd imagine...
All Hail Barcelona, however I think some of the journo's in the papers are getting carried away though...
Lionel Messi has certainly earnt the right to be spoken of in the same breath as Pele, Maradonna etc, however those who wish to suggest that he might be the best ever need to recognise that Pele and particularly Maradonna played during the pre 1990 era, when repeated brutal, hacking, foul tackles were generally punished by no more than a free kick. This was a disease that began to take hold of football in the 60s, when Pele was memorably on the receiving end during the 1966 World Cup, and continued thereafter, Maradonna having the **** kicked out of him in 1982 group stage being another example. This trend of cynical violence in the name of victory became a growing blight on the supposedly "beautiful game" until it reached it's nadir at the 1990 tournament.
Little Lionel Messi wouldn't fair any better than his predecessors if he had to play under the same conditions, thankfully he doesn't have to, and we are allowed to see all he has to offer every game
The team owners and the coaching staff and the players make millions/billions every year and they are on strike!!
The people who work at the stadiums during game time - the ones who are out in the heat or bitter cold of the open stadiums selling beer and hot dogs and snacks make barely above minimum wage ($7.25 per hr) - to the people who work feverish every week to get the stadiums ready before the game and get the stadiums cleaned up after each game;
while everyone else is making millions (including the companies who manufacturer the concession items from soda to beer to chips to you name it and the souvenirs suppliers like NFL team Tshirts and other knick knacks) to the TV Networks that broadcast the games to the companies that buy TV advertisement time during the game.
Greedy, just Greedy!
and it seems like only yesterday they were in the Champions League Final...
the days of Uncle Arsen and Manny Petite and Glenn Hoddle and Georgie Weah and Lilian Thuram and Yuri Jorkaeff and Willie Sagnol and Rafael Maquez and Fabian Barthez and Victor Ikpeba and Ludo Giulley and Marcello Gallardo and Thierry Henry and Davie Trezuguet and Patrice Evra and Emmanuel Adebayor are only a distant memory now...
Maradona single handedly dragged a bog average side to winning the world cup in 86 and Napoli were nothing special at all until he went there and won them the title. And as you say this was in a climate when he was being hacked down all the time. For me Messi still has a lot to do to be classed with the big names like Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Zidane. Just winning European cups is not enough, got to do it in the world cup. That said he is young and should in all likelihood go on and join the greats if he continues on his current career trajectory.
Shocked to hear about Monaco. Has Prince Albert pulled the money out?
Harsh? Maybe, but Pele, Maradonna and Zidane all have - and, when they did so, each of them played a huge role in driving their nations to global glory. In fact, all three of 'em were pivotal in getting their nations to two separate World Cup finals; Pele being the only one of the three to win both, of course. Messi is a truly oustanding talent, no question, but when it comes to the all-time greats of the game, you have to draw the line somewhere.
And, yes, of course, congratulations to Swansea, the first Welsh club to reach the Premier League - some achievement that (well, over Cardiff, at least). They may well get steam-rollered next season, but hey... ;)