2014 World Cup

He must love the idea of Qatar hosting

 

Thanks for playing, Mexico. Epic collapse.

 

(Warning, fan boi rant up coming. Ignore if you so desire. You've been warned.)

It's utter and complete bullshit that there is no way to review if a foul was a foul or a dive, especially when the result is a penalty kick in stoppage time. Or maybe FIFA needs retroactive penalties for diving that the ref misses. Mexico probably would have lost in extra time, but they should have been playing in extras.

(Rant over. Please continue with your regularly scheduled SJ browsing, already in progress.)

 

It was a foul. A foul with embellishment but a foul nonetheless.

 

No it isn't, because football is inherently different than soccer.

I wonder if all these fatassed tough guy anti-soccer columnists realize that there are NO good ole "American sports" that require players to run for nearly two hours more or less continuously in 97 degree heat and oppressive humidity.

Football games are are played in intervals that last only a few seconds, with plenty of time to catch your breath and a short rest between each play. Baseball players spend the overwhelming majority of games standing or sitting. And basketball games are played in indoor air conditioning.

The reason why water breaks are occasionally needed in soccer and not other sports is because soccer is inherently different than those other sports.

 

I too agree it was a foul. I think what people are whining about is that he embellished it so much and so all they see is a flop. I don't know if it should have been called, I lean no, but it was a foul. Would it have been better if he didn't embellish so much or if he stayed on his feet but lost possession and he called it?

And then there's the issue of the two others they didn't call on Mexico in the box. The first he got fouled twice and nothing. Wish there would be more consistency.

 

I happened to be watching the game when the water break came around. Didn't see it as anything that disrupted the game, it was only three minutes according to the BBC commentator. Kelly, a Toronto newspaper guy, is a neanderthal who is probably pissed that hockey goalies wear masks. Pussies.

 

Tomorrow I'll agree with you when I calm down and actually let my logical sportswriter side take over. But right now, I see someone who sold a very minor foul to weasle his way into a PK and I'm overly irrational about it now. I'll eventually see it from Holland's side and question why Mexico allowed itself to get in a position where a guy could sell a soft foul into a PK.

I'll agree with Roscablo that the calls in this game were inconsistent, which was also a problem.

 

Eating a deluxe taco for lunch to celebrate Mexico getting chewed up and spit out by the Dutch.

 

Yeah, soft foul, but a foul. Cannot stick your leg out there, not with a wise old fella like Robben there to fall over it. And he should have had one in the first half, which could have changed the whole complexion of the game.

Ochoa should be making a mint out of this tournament though. Two great saves -- the second was offside, but he didn't know that.

 

If the Mexican defenders don't want to give up a PK in stoppage time, they shouldn't make such a deliberate attempt to trip a player in the box. Yeah, he embellished, but there was contact and is was a dumb move by the defender.

And I'll stick up for the officiating in this regard: that stuff is tough to call. Watching live, I thought Robben flopped on the earlier take-down in the box and was brought down hard on the one that produced the PK. On replay, the first takedown was actually a lot worse than the second one. Without endless replays they can be really tricky to call.

 

Since there aren't timeouts or natural player breaks in soccer like there are in other sports, a mandated water break isn't the worst thing ever. It should, however -- if it's not -- be established by rule before the game when it's going to happen. First stoppage (foul or goal kick) after the 20-minute mark of each half, for instance.

I think that is what makes soccer tougher, physically, than some other sports. It's not the overall level of exertion from minute to minute. There's a lot of slow walking or jogging and standing around in soccer. There's just not the opportunity to stay hydrated and get rest breaks like there are in basketball or football. Those sports, even if you're playing at a fast pace it's rarely more than 10 minutes before you get a 2-3 minute breather and some water. Soccer, you can snag some water if you're on the edges but it can be difficult to get that opportunity.