The Soccer Thread (Version 8)

I always dreamed of doing this during my keeper years.

http://www.cbssports.com/soccer/new...clutch-magical-goal-from-his-own-penalty-box/

 

Congrats to Portugal. I only caught the last 15 minutes of regulation + all the extra time. That seems like winning.

 

Note to ESPN: Turn down the crowd mike for the postgame. Couldn't even hear Lee, Makker and Martinez.

 

I didn't think that the game was as bad as the analysts did. Crazy that a castoff like Eder scores the winning goal.

 

Great shot to win it. Only caught the second half but thought it was exciting. Chippy though, suprised there were not even more cards.

Crazy ball off the post by France.

 

All the "experts" can screw themselves. Portugal played exactly the way they should have, especially after Ronaldo went out: Defend like crazy, lean on their keeper, hope for a little luck and look for that one bolt of lightning. Worked pretty well, I thought. I know I dogged Portugal for much of this tournament, but they sort of grew on me toward the end. Just a real gritty team that refused to lose.

 

I was surprised by the criticism of the announcers as well. Actually after they kept bringing it up I was wondering if I wasn't seeing something. I didn't have a problem with the action in that game. Maybe they were trying to pander to an American audience that seemingly dislikes a 0-0 soccer match? Even though most who were watching probably are fans of the game.

France obviously had a fair number of chances to win and it's not like Portugal was completely void of opportunities other than the game winner (they even hit a post after France did). It was a good game and it kept my attention.

 

The criticism came mostly from McManaman, who's always upset. It's invalid. Defense is always legitimate. If Muhammad Ali is lionized for rope-a-dope against Foreman, why should Portugal be condemned for the same strategy? Besides, it doesn't work if the goalie hadn't been terrific. That may be a negative sort of risk to take, but it's a risk just the same.

 

While it's a much lower level of soccer, it reminds me of UVA parking the bus and beating UCLA in the national championship a few years back. A friend of a friend was UVA's analytics guy at the time and wrote this, making the same Ali comparison: Defense Will Win You Championships, But Not Friends

 

I don't think anyone would blame the Patriots for running the ball all the time and trying to win with defense and the kicking game if Brady went down nine minutes into the Super Bowl. Minus its biggest star, any team in any sport would react much the same as did Portugal. For that matter, Pogba, who must have been assigned to keep Ronaldo from getting deep, didn't seem to know what to do with himself after the injury.

 

Yeah, at halftime I tweeted that if I was Portugal, I'd keep 9 men back, play for a 0-0 draw and try to win on PKs. It's wasn't a style show, but a game they were trying to win. It's to their credit that they went forward as much as they did.

 

Didn't Portugal do that the whole tournament, though? I think I read where they never led in regulation in any game.
Some of the criticism might have been pandering to Americans. The defensive style, playing for a 0-0 draw, running out the clock and hoping for one scoring chance or penalties is pretty much every stereotype of bad, boring soccer.