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It's Carnival Time! - The WORLD CUP FINALS 2014.

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  • jobojobo
    edited July 2014 Posts: 7,507
    Sammm04 wrote:
    jobo wrote:
    Sammm04 wrote:
    Switzerland were by far the better side, possession stats mean practically nothing in football, they were superior to Argentina in almost every way


    Hm, is that so? ;)

    These are the official match stats from The Guardian:

    Argentina - Switzerland

    Goal attempts: 24 - 14
    On Target: 13 - 5
    Off target: 11 - 9
    Corners: 13 - 5

    http://www.theguardian.com/football/match/2014/jul/01/argentina-v-switzerland

    The numbers speak for themselves. Argentina were the better side overall...

    The fact that you support the underdog doesn't make everything the underdog does treble in importance. Switzerland ran more and were more organized. That's basically it...

    You're right, the numbers don't lie. But they also don't tell even a fraction of the story. If stats meant anything, then Roberto Soldado has had a brilliant first season at Tottenham. But he hasn't. but the stats, if, like you, take them as gospel, would have you think just that. Argentina were lucky that Drmic made the worst shot on goal EVER (and I mean that literally), otherwise that game would have been over at 90 minutes. Also, do those stats not show a brutal inefficiency on Argentina's part, rather than a technical superiority.

    So your claim is that Switzerland deserved the win because they didn't capitulate on one chance in the first 90 minutes, and then your argument is that the stats which show 24 goal attempts for Argentina don't matter because they were inefficient? ;))

    No, the stats don't tell the entire story, but they still serve as a decent indication. And not least it's a healthy, bjective analyzation tool, when your own judgement may be clouded with bias and subjectivity... :-\" Both teams today had their chances, although you are (not surprizingly...) only acknowledging Switzerland's. Nothing's changed I see... Argentina, though underwhelming, had the iniciative for the majority of the game. But that doesn't matter because they were inefficient, I guess... Switzerland didn't take their chances, but that was all down to pure misfortune and had nothing to with lack of efficiency... I guess... :P

    Well, well... Lets leave it at that then... I'll support Belgium tonight for your sake! :)>-
  • WillyGaloreWillyGalore
    Posts: 6,396
    This World Cup is getting progressively worse. Other than the Brazil v Chile game, all of these Last 16 ties have been incredibly disappointing. Only 15 goals in 8 games. It's like 2006 all over again.
  • Sammm04Sammm04
    Posts: 479
    WillyGalore wrote:
    This World Cup is getting progressively worse. Other than the Brazil v Chile game, all of these Last 16 ties have been incredibly disappointing. Only 15 goals in 8 games. It's like 2006 all over again.

    Agreed, hopefully the Quarter Finals can redeem it.

  • Sammm04Sammm04
    Posts: 479
    That moment when Danny Murphy calls Argentina better competition.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    edited July 2014 Posts: 45,489
    Football is popular because idiocy is popular.

    (Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    So glad USA scored, yet I am sad they lost.
  • M_BaljeM_Balje Amsterdam, Netherlands
    edited July 2014 Posts: 4,537
    I think Belgium play like The Netherlands vs Spain in 2010 with difrence Belgium there take change and win. I whas worried there going to lose with 1-0 like The Netherlands from Spain in 2010. If this Belgium going to play against The Netherlands, then i think we get a hard time. Belgium be better one, but respect for VS because there playing very good and positive.
  • RC7RC7
    Posts: 10,512
    Thunderfinger wrote:
    Football is popular because idiocy is popular.

    (Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina)

    You are surprisingly robust for a broken record.
  • KerimKerim Istanbul Not Constantinople
    Posts: 2,629
    Kerim wrote:
    Today is boycott Belgian waffles day.

    July is boycott Belgian waffles, chocolates and Jean-Claude Van Damme films.



    Considering the US wasn't suppose to get out of the Group of Death and pushed a solid Belgian team to overtime, I think this World Cup was a success.

    I'll be rooting for the Dutch now.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    The Argentina-Swiss game was one of the boring games of this tournament, it shows that Argentina are not all that great as everybody wanted them to be.

    The Belgium game was a brilliant advertisement for the excitement of football. It was a kind of one sided game though, the US was extremely lucky with their goalie otherwise it would have been a bloodbath of the kind of 17-1. The US showed great determination but were really outclassed and they refused to accept that which made for great viewing. Would the US have gone through it would be a grave injustice and extremely unlucky for Belgium. But those red Devils need to be more effective. Still a great game that should never have reached overtime.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,254
    Oh look, Belgium won...

    AND MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN JUST WON'T LET ME FORGET IT!!!

    I've had the toughest night since long, with those screaming idiots outside my door. /:)

    anyway,
    Kerim wrote:
    Kerim wrote:
    Today is boycott Belgian waffles day.

    July is boycott Belgian waffles, chocolates and Jean-Claude Van Damme films.

    Am I going to be in that boycot mix too, @Kerim? :D

  • KerimKerim Istanbul Not Constantinople
    Posts: 2,629
    Belgium won fair and square. I'm just limiting it to those three items since I don't eat waffles, rarely eat chocolate and generally don't watch Van Damme films.

    Now boycotting you and Stella Artois would have just been mean. :)
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,254
    Haha, that's fine, that's fine, my friend. ;-)

    *puts away pistols for duel*
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I have to keep the dark chocolates, though.
    Van Damme I can easily do without, if that helps.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,331
    The Belgians put on a fantastic display of football, and the US kept playing too. Lovely game that. I don't care about extreme scores, I care about excitement in the game, and there was plenty. Of course I was rooting for the Red Devils, they deserve a good tournament and they're surprising everyone right now, which is pretty cool in my book.

    @Darth, just enjoy the festivities, it's not that often that there's something to celebrate nationally.. ;-)
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    CommanderRoss wrote:
    The Belgians put on a fantastic display of football, and the US kept playing too. Lovely game that. I don't care about extreme scores, I care about excitement in the game, and there was plenty. Of course I was rooting for the Red Devils, they deserve a good tournament and they're surprising everyone right now, which is pretty cool in my book.

    @Darth, just enjoy the festivities, it's not that often that there's something to celebrate nationally.. ;-)

    I agree it was a wonderfull match to look at and it was refreshing to see both team play to win instead of hiding in a defense (van Gaal I am not mentioning any names here).

    However with regard to extreme scores anybody watching the match saw that the US was playing in a league well above their skill set. The failure with the Belgian strikers was taking on Webb in his comfort zone namely playing the ball low in a one on one situation. Webb was very quick in going down. The first goal was the first time when they played over the goalie instead of under. In a sense the Belgians made Howard the man of the match. With more experienced strikers the match would have been played at 45 minutes.

    That said the US gave it their fullest effort and for that my compliments. If they ever find some players that are in the league of Ronaldo, Zlatan, Robben, Messi, Pirlo, Ribbery they will be a force to be reckoned with.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,331
    SaintMark wrote:
    CommanderRoss wrote:
    The Belgians put on a fantastic display of football, and the US kept playing too. Lovely game that. I don't care about extreme scores, I care about excitement in the game, and there was plenty. Of course I was rooting for the Red Devils, they deserve a good tournament and they're surprising everyone right now, which is pretty cool in my book.

    @Darth, just enjoy the festivities, it's not that often that there's something to celebrate nationally.. ;-)

    I agree it was a wonderfull match to look at and it was refreshing to see both team play to win instead of hiding in a defense (van Gaal I am not mentioning any names here).

    However with regard to extreme scores anybody watching the match saw that the US was playing in a league well above their skill set. The failure with the Belgian strikers was taking on Webb in his comfort zone namely playing the ball low in a one on one situation. Webb was very quick in going down. The first goal was the first time when they played over the goalie instead of under. In a sense the Belgians made Howard the man of the match. With more experienced strikers the match would have been played at 45 minutes.

    That said the US gave it their fullest effort and for that my compliments. If they ever find some players that are in the league of Ronaldo, Zlatan, Robben, Messi, Pirlo, Ribbery they will be a force to be reckoned with.
    If the US take Football seriously they might, but it will take time, and until then I don't mind at all that the biggest sport there is isn't popular in the US. I don't think the Belgians will get through any further. I sincerely hope so though, they've been very entertaining and it's always nice to see the smaller nations get far.
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    CommanderRoss wrote:
    SaintMark wrote:
    CommanderRoss wrote:
    The Belgians put on a fantastic display of football, and the US kept playing too. Lovely game that. I don't care about extreme scores, I care about excitement in the game, and there was plenty. Of course I was rooting for the Red Devils, they deserve a good tournament and they're surprising everyone right now, which is pretty cool in my book.

    @Darth, just enjoy the festivities, it's not that often that there's something to celebrate nationally.. ;-)

    I agree it was a wonderfull match to look at and it was refreshing to see both team play to win instead of hiding in a defense (van Gaal I am not mentioning any names here).

    However with regard to extreme scores anybody watching the match saw that the US was playing in a league well above their skill set. The failure with the Belgian strikers was taking on Webb in his comfort zone namely playing the ball low in a one on one situation. Webb was very quick in going down. The first goal was the first time when they played over the goalie instead of under. In a sense the Belgians made Howard the man of the match. With more experienced strikers the match would have been played at 45 minutes.

    That said the US gave it their fullest effort and for that my compliments. If they ever find some players that are in the league of Ronaldo, Zlatan, Robben, Messi, Pirlo, Ribbery they will be a force to be reckoned with.
    If the US take Football seriously they might, but it will take time, and until then I don't mind at all that the biggest sport there is isn't popular in the US. I don't think the Belgians will get through any further. I sincerely hope so though, they've been very entertaining and it's always nice to see the smaller nations get far.

    I see their advancing past Argentina as a very real possibility. In fact I count on it!
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    And I hope for a Belgium - Netherlands semi-finale.
  • FLeiterFLeiter
    Posts: 315
    CommanderRoss wrote:
    If the US take Football seriously they might, but it will take time, and until then I don't mind at all that the biggest sport there is isn't popular in the US. I don't think the Belgians will get through any further. I sincerely hope so though, they've been very entertaining and it's always nice to see the smaller nations get far.

    I've heard commentators say the USA lacks the 3-4 superstar players which not only build national interest but also players who can deliver in the clutch. It will be really telling to see what the viewership will be in the USA for the remaining matches. Did this year help turn the corner for national interest or simply one of those 4 weeks of interest every 4 years blip? I suspect it remains a blip.

  • Suivez_ce_parachuteSuivez_ce_parachute
    Posts: 2,015
    FLeiter wrote:
    It will be really telling to see what the viewership will be in the USA for the remaining matches. Did this year help turn the corner for national interest or simply one of those 4 weeks of interest every 4 years blip? I suspect it remains a blip.
    One question for the US viewers here : is there such a thing on US TV as 45 minutes of sport without even ten seconds for a single ad break ?

    I watched two or three Superbowls live on French TV, and a lot of time the French commentators would discuss for some time "ok, they're showing ads right now, let's talk about..." (the French TV broadcast did not have the US ads, we had the live sport stream instead during them).

    Even now in France they dare to rush to show some ads during tennis when they change sides, for instance. But in tennis, you know the critical money time won't happen in the next 30 seconds, with football, the goal can be scored at any moment...


  • FLeiterFLeiter
    Posts: 315
    In the USA, everything has a price tag and especially the media. A 30 second Superbowl ad goes for $3 million(US) and certain parts of the game even higher. They ran out of actual game ad space so they extended the pre-game shows to about 5-6 hours and it dilutes it even more. Most of the advertisers receive little bump in their business-Coke, Pepsi, Taco Bell..... The ads are often simplistic and not creative(consider the main audience of knuckle-draggers and mouth breathers). Probably the closest to having a cleaner event is the Masters Golf Tourney. It has higher ad rates because it attracts a wealthier audience.

    The World Cup broadcasts have been quite enjoyable on ESPN with fewer breaks and the English announcers. I wish we could hear the announcers for each team to capture the true passion and enthusiasm.
  • Sammm04Sammm04
    Posts: 479
    American advertisement is unreal. In American Football matches, advert ends, kickoff taken (lasts about 20 seconds), straight back to adverts. Mind you, these are not 20 second adverts like at the end of a cricket over, these are proper, 3 minute long advert breaks, after 20 seconds of live coverage. In fairness, they don't interrupt during normal play, like during a team's drive (unless a timeout is taken).

    Anyway, I think that the semi finals will be:

    Colombia-France: Colombia just taking this one and reaching the World Cup Final for the first time.

    Netherlands-Belgium: Holland will win this one, but it won't be easy. This sets up my dream final:

    COLOMBIA VS NETHERLANDS: 3-2 to Holland after Extra Time .

    And the 3rd Place Match will be won by Belgium.

    I do think that one of Argentina or Brazil will go out in this round. It will make for an interesting batch of semi finals, as we won't get the AWFUL BRAZIL-ARGENTINA FINAL.


  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,254
    SaintMark wrote:
    And I hope for a Belgium - Netherlands semi-finale.

    That would be something. All my attempts of avoiding this football craze may prove futile should it ever come to that.
  • 001001
    edited July 2014 Posts: 1,575
    France v Germany should be a great battle,just don't mention the war. :)

    SUAREZ BOTTLE OPENER HITS THE MARKET.. :)) :)) :))

    Luis-Suarez-bottle-opener.jpg
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    Posts: 7,653
    France - Germany might be already decided with some German players having the flu. Which must be a bitch on your team.

    As for Brasil - Columbia, I do hope to see the team from Columbia go through. The whole world will be watching the referee and his decisions tonight.
  • jackdaggerjackdagger
    Posts: 498
    @SaintMark- I heard about that too. About a third of them have flu-like symptoms. That's not good.
    I'm kinda rooting for France today, because they've impressed me more this tournament, but I want it to be a fair fight.

    And I'm definitely rooting for Colombia too, for the same reasons. They've impressed me more, and don't have to resort to diving or fouling every other player.
  • Matt_HelmMatt_Helm
    Posts: 908
    SaintMark wrote:
    France - Germany might be already decided with some German players having the flu. Which must be a bitch on your team.

    As for Brasil - Columbia, I do hope to see the team from Columbia go through. The whole world will be watching the referee and his decisions tonight.

    I don't fear the flu as much as the German team manager! To my mind this guy is full of himself and has completely lost it (admittedly this is a minority opinion here in Germany). All of that is a shame, since we are really having a quiet golden generation of football players right now.

    About Brasil and Columbia - I second that!
  • Sammm04Sammm04
    Posts: 479
    One of these two games will be a classic, I can feel it. But which one, I do not know.
  • fire_and_icefire_and_ice
    Posts: 6,432
    @sammm04 Was thinking yesterday, I suspect Brazil vs Columbia will be game of the tournament. Fancy Columbia to cause a upset.
This discussion has been closed.