hopper on 11/7/2010 at 22:32
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
Wtf does that mean?
They were both shite, and the game was boring.
Medlar on 11/7/2010 at 22:42
And so it ends with a very tight game and the correct team winning. England of course wos robbed and WILL win it in 2014 :cheeky:
The Alchemist on 11/7/2010 at 22:46
Quote Posted by Lytha
Bah, I don't know. Maybe I'm just missing some "guys kicking each other around is fun"-attitude genes or something.
No I agree I was really unhappy about how dirty they were playing.
Brian The Dog on 11/7/2010 at 22:58
Found it a bit of a boring final, but Spain rely on scoring once and then keeping the ball for the rest of the match. Before the match I wanted Holland to win, but after them over-pressurising Spain (to the point of lots of fouls) I switched to Spain. Good goal by Iniesta.
I also thought Webb had a good game as the referee, he tried to ref with common sense, he clearly didn't want to send anyone off which is why Holland weren't down to 8 men at the end. He did miss an obvious corner conceded by the Spanish, but the Dutch had ample opportunity to defend the goal, so I don't think that mattered.
Now onto the Premier League here in England, where people get paid bazillions of pounds and fans can pretend our football is great again :) Something my team is never likely to be accused of on either front :cheeky:
Zygoptera on 11/7/2010 at 23:54
Pretty happy with the result in the end* as while I was theoretically supporting the dutch their approach was neither particularly subtle nor pleasant, and lacked the "I bet everyone who has ever played Italy at least wished they could do it" of Zizou's headbutt. I'm also glad the officiating was not really an issue.
*and not just because it means the Glorious All Whites were the only undefeated team at the World Cup, which I find inherently amusing.
Mozae on 12/7/2010 at 13:35
Brazil built the planet's biggest football stadium as a breathtaking stage for the 1950 finals but their hopes of consecrating the cavernous, three-tiered sporting cathedral of the Maracana with a first world title were shattered in one of the competition's great surprises.
In a FIFA World Cup™ that concluded with a four-team mini-league, the hosts met Uruguay in a deciding fixture which proved a final in all but name. Needing only to draw, Brazil led through Friaca's 47th-minute strike before Uruguay turned the game on its head via goals from Juan Schiaffino and Alcides Ghigghia. A deathly hush descended on the Maracana as some 200,000 voices fell silent and Brazil's little neighbour to the south celebrated a second world crown.
Uruguay, winners of the inaugural FIFA World Cup, had played only one match – beating Bolivia 8-0 – to reach the final stage yet for the third game running Ivan Lopez's charges had shown their resolve by coming from behind to record a triumph which inspired a new noun in Spanish, Maracanazo, still used today to signify a defeat for a Brazilian team by foreign rivals at the famed stadium.
This was the first FIFA World Cup since the end of the second world war. Throughout that conflict the prized trophy had laid hidden in a shoebox under the bed of the Italian FIFA vice-president, Dr Ottorino Barassi. Now, with peace restored, it was renamed the Jules Rimet Cup to celebrate the event's survival.
Thirteen finalists
That there were only 13 teams in Brazil was down to the absence of countries from eastern Europe and a series of high-profile withdrawals, notably from Argentina and France – the latter in objection to an itinerary that would have involved a 3,500km journey between fixtures.
While England were present for the first time after winning the British Home Championship, Scotland – who earned the right to travel after finishing second – declined the opportunity, as did another qualified team, Turkey. India, meanwhile, said no because FIFA would not let them play in bare feet. Uruguay were among five South American participants who had not played a single qualifier between them.
The tournament featured an unusual first-round format with the 13 sides split into two groups of four, another group of three and a fourth section comprising just Uruguay and Bolivia. If the Maracana was a monument to Brazilian ambition, there were high hopes that Flavio Costa's hosts would match its wow factor on the field and they opened the finals with a 4-0 win over Mexico.
A subsequent 2-2 draw with Switzerland left them needing victory in their final pool game against Yugoslavia and the South American champions enjoyed a stroke of fortune when opposition forward Rajko Mitic hurt his head as he walked up the stairs to the Maracana pitch. He was still receiving treatment when Ademir gave Brazil an early lead, later doubled by Zizinho.
While Brazil progressed, holders Italy bowed out after succumbing 3-2 to Sweden. The Scandinavian amateurs had lost key trio Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl and Nils Liedholm to Serie A after their 1948 Olympic triumph yet George Raynor's men still had enough to better the Italians, stripped of the core of their squad by the previous year's Superga air crash, which claimed the lives of 19 Torino players.
US shock England
Raynor, whose Sweden team finished third, was the only Englishman with anything to smile about given the humiliation suffered by England's footballers on their first finals appearance. The game's founders had arrived ill-prepared and they paid the price in Belo Horizonte where they suffered a 1-0 defeat by the United States. Coached by Scotsman Bill Jeffrey, the Americans had led Spain for much of their curtain-raiser before shipping three late goals but now, with a helping hand from Lady Luck, they held on to the advantage given them by Haitian-born Joe Gaetjens' first-half goal.
Brazil took an expected lead as star attackers Zizinho and Ademir fashioned an opening for Friaca. But Uruguay, driven forward by captain Obdulio Varela, equalised in the 66th minute when Gigghia beat Bigode down the right and centred for Schiaffino to score. Then, with eleven minutes remaining, came the unthinkable: Gigghia burst past Bigode again and beat Barbosa at his near post to leave the Celeste in dreamland – and Brazil in despair.
Mozae on 12/7/2010 at 13:44
Brazil's Juventus midfielder Felipe Melo has revealed that he named his son after former England star and BBC presenter Gary Lineker.
"I gave that name [Lineker] to my son because I find it very beautiful, different... and an honour," said Melo.
"He was a great player, a big name in the national team of England and in the history of the English national team."
Lineker, who was the top scorer at the 1986 World Cup, said: "I am extremely flattered, albeit mildly embarrassed."
He added: "Surely with the array of talent within the Brazilian team, he could have named him after someone other than a goal hanger like me!"
Melo, 26, is expected to be named in Brazil's side to take on North Korea on Tuesday in their opening match of the World Cup.
"For me it's an honour to play under the gaze of so many great players of world football - Pele, Maradona, Lineker and other great players," he said.
World Cup guide: Brazil
World Cup guide - Brazil
Set to win his 19th cap for Brazil, Melo has been compared to manager Dunga following his impressive displays in the holding midfield role.
"We have similar characteristics and that's important," he said. "Every team needs a player with a strong character to help out when a team-mate is in need.
"We have similar style, always working hard to steal a ball here and there. I never like to lose a challenge and he was like that too.
"Dunga dominated his position. I'm trying to learn from his experience and the tips he is always giving me. He has already won everything - I haven't."
Dunga won 96 caps for Brazil and was captain when they won the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
Bidding to win their sixth World Cup, Brazil follow the North Korea match with Group G games against the Ivory Coast on 20 June - also in Johannesburg - before taking on Portugal on 25 June in Durban.
Shakey-Lo on 14/7/2010 at 13:39
How in hell are Egypt 9th?
