Running, all-purpose World Cup thread

I like it when forwards are pushing the boundries of offsides. It means they are being aggressive and not just floating on the perimeter...

 

I agree.

I hope they stay so (even though I picked Brazil.) If France goes into its shell, it'll be 1-1 in no time.

 

I'm not bothered when it happens occasionaly. Like you said, it means they're being aggressive and not just floating. However, Henry had 15 offsides heading into this match and has about 3 or 4 more today. At some point, you've got to show you've learned and aren't going to destroy perfectly good scoring opportunities because you can't figure out where the last defender is. But, that's just my take.

 

The officiating in this tournament has been almost universally panned -- and rightly so.

It's only fair, then, that good officiating be pointed out when it happens. This Cantalejo fella in the center has been right on top of things today, especially those two gutsy decisions at the end of the first half. He was 100% right not to send off Juan for his tackle -- whether Ronaldo's handball was in the box was a little more dicey. Yet to see any definitive camera angles, though, so I'll go with his call.

 

Actually, both officials today have been good. And the one in the ARG-GER match was good as well, until post match.

EDIT: Hmm, did I speak too soon in agreeing. That was an interesting Amarillo, as my friend Passy says.

On a different note, is it time to change the title of the thread to running, all-purpose Euro '06? GER-ITA and POR-FRA in the semis.

 

Samba busted.

Wow.

 

I knew Henry was due. Brazil deserves to go out. The were England with a samba beat. Very un-Brazilian

 

Maybe so, but even a shaky Brazil was better than most sides in full flight.

That may have helped paved the way for the hosts to hoist the Cup. It didn't hurt that Germany beat another Cup contender and side playing well in Argentina.

 

This World Cup has been horrible. Eric Cantona should not do promos for Nike anymore. Play beautiful my ass. This has to be the most negative, defensive cup since 90. And look at the teams in the semis...Jesus... France's old timers team...Portugal..the huns and divers. Who do you root for?

For me..it now comes down to having Germany lose in the worst way possible. And that would be to France in the final.

 

At what point do we start talking of Zidane's legacy? I think - with his performance the last two games - we can talk seriously about him being better than Platini. Zidane has been magical the last two games, and he's been in on the last three French goals.

But what I love most about Zidane is this: While his teammates are going nuts and celebrating, he's barely cracking a smile. He knows there's work to do.

Will anybody else go postal if Zidane gets a bullshit yellow card in the semis?

 

The French might be a bunch of geezers, but they just outplayed Brazil. France was the better team.

I don't root for Italy because of their bitch style. Fall on the ground, hope for a foul, and take advantage of sucky calls. Throw in some screaming, face-covering, and limping off the field to only be back in 30 seconds.

Portugal I don't root for because they tried to fix a game with South Korea at the last World Cup.

Germany I can root for. They - like France - play the right way, not like Portugal or Pussily.

 

Obviously, a win like this helps his case -- and what a win it was! -- but I think Henry is almost creating more scoring chances than he's killing by his constant pushing of the offsides boundary. He keeps the defenders wary, gets the goalkeeper just a bit more nervous, and plays into the heads of the officials, as some decisions may go his way that shouldn't (or vice versa ... but his aggressiveness helps lift his side, too.)

As Dellacamera insisted on saying, Henry only needs one chance ... which he got today. And despite being a perennial underachiever in Cup play, Henry is still one of the most dangerous strikers in the world.

***

But how about a word here (among many elsewhere) for ZZ?

For Zidane to go out like this, and France doesn't even have to win the Cup to make this a cherished end-run for him or them, how much more memorable can you be? He was the best player on the field -- and there were about 14 other Hall of Famers out there today -- and some of those touches were just awe-inspiring. What a legend.