World Cup 2014

[beatjunkie]

Exactly! This is just gonna have to get settled on the pitch tomorrow! Too bad we can't settle this with a game of pickup soccer right now, me and beatjunkie vs DJ Fear, Jaylan, and Ronaldo. Oh well whatever can't fvcking wait till kickoff tomorrow..

haha awesome world cup pickup soccer games are the best! no better way to settle a rivalry than by beating someone who rooted for a team that beat yours LOL. small goal posts and some action packed futsal will bump the adrenaline through the roof!

 

[beatjunkie]

PS. WorldCup is today bradd! June 12!

 

[Mr Wright]

Cannot wait for the World Cup, it can't come soon enough. If England get out of the group, that will be a success.

As for the Messi vs Ronaldo debate I think one telling thing as it all. Messi can't do it for Argentina, he's only scored 1 World Cup goal. They think he doesn't care, whilst Ronaldo has dragged Portugal to the World Cup on his own. This Argentina side is class, they should win this World Cup on paper but Messi just doesn't seem to be able to replicate his Barcelona under Guardiola form for anybody else. He's a great player no doubt but he hasn't convinced me that he can perform for anybody else. If you sent both players to mid-table teams, Ronaldo would dominate, the guy is an absolute athlete, wears his heart on his sleeve. 17 goals in 11 games in the CL this season, the guy is a machine.

 

[Ronaldo7]

I don't know who you think you are arguing against. I follow football religiously. You can't bs me.

Messi has played his whole life at Barcelona. He OBVIOUSLY has more time playing La Liga than Ronaldo does. Ronaldo has played for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The thing is that the other players have never PUBLICLY SAID SO. It seriously made the rounds and everyone and their mother weighed in on what he said and how it would impact him.

ONCE AGAIN. Messi has played his whole life at Barcelona. He is also fortunate enough to be part of perhaps the greatest club team in history. Ronaldinho played in other teams as well, Rivaldo as well, Eto'o as well, Brazilian Ronaldo as well and same for Maradona. What kind of weak points are you trying to make?

I'd actually respect your opinion, if your analysis on each player didn't sound like you just read it somewhere on ESPN. And i am completely sure Messi has never faked injury. That's what his team is famous for. And if you require evidence, i will gladly show you endless videos of it.

@Mr. Wright: I love you. + 1 to you. You must spread some reputation before giving it to Mr. Wright again.

@Brad 2nd post: I know you are just talking out of your @ss now. Ronaldo has never played against a club from Latvia or Finland and he only played once vs a team from Cyprus. If you are going to talk, make sure you know what you are talking about. Otherwise, you'll get exposed.

Ronaldo was just a teenager when that happened. I'd point fingers at veterans like Luis Figo. LMAO! That's because Messi has never reached a final with Argentina. Nice try.... But it backfired. Ronaldo wasn't even born when Portugal reached 3rd place.

LOL, so are you telling me that you don't have your own analysis? You are referencing it from some website? Your fallacies have been exposed.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Who do you guys have for the first match?

Brazil vs Croatia

Croatia's leading striker is suspended for the first match. Mandzukic is Bayern's striker. Brazil has everyone available.

I think it will be 1-0 for Brazil. Home advantage and all. Added to the fact that Mandzukic is suspended and his replacement is not up to par for this match.

 

[Mr Wright]

Scoring a lot of goals in the CL means nothing since the majority of games a player will play is against crappy minnows from countries like Cyprus, Latvia, and Finland.

Besides, you conveniently forgot to mention the time Ronaldo was part of that Portugal team that was humiliated before the whole world when they lost to Greece (!) at the euro final before a home crowd. Messi and Argentina never would have suffered such an indignity.

And no Ronaldo didn't drag Portugal to the World Cup alone. They've made it plenty of times to the World Cup without him. And at the World Cup tournament itself, he's hasn't done anything significant. In fact, Portugal's best ever placing at a World Cup occurred without him.

Some of you guys in love with Ronaldo seem to have a lot of misinformation.

Here's a website called Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo which is devoted to comparing the two:

http://messivsronaldo.net/

as you can see, Messi comes out on top.

This season Ronaldo scored all of the goals in their play off match against Sweden so he did take them to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil on his own.

In the CL Real Madrid had Juve, Copenhagen and Galatasary in their group. Two of those sides are good, plus he scored the majority of his goals in the later rounds. The guy scores no matter you put him, you can't deny that. Half of those goals came in the knockout rounds.

I'm an Arsenal fan, I watched Messi take us apart a few years ago, it was one of those games you couldn't really be upset about because he was so good. But I just think if we're looking at today as we write this, forgetting the 2004 Euro final and other events of the past, Ronaldo is the better player, in the past Messi was ahead of him but through injuries and loss of Pep, he's struggled. Whether Ronaldo gets placed about Messi in 20-30 years time is another story, I actually think Messi will be seen as the better player but Ronaldo ain't bad.

 

[DJFear]

Who do you guys have for the first match?

Brazil vs Croatia

Croatia's leading striker is suspended for the first match. Mandzukic is Bayern's striker. Brazil has everyone available.

I think it will be 1-0 for Brazil. Home advantage and all. Added to the fact that Mandzukic is suspended and his replacement is not up to par for this match.

Brazil should win. I think if Brazil score quickly, it will give them a lot of energy and with the crowd going crazy can easily see them scoring like 3 goals. They got a lot of offensive talent, the only question is how good are they defensively.

 

[Jaylan]

Is brazil overrated or what? They look super mediocre in this Croatia game. Definitely not some scary powerhouse thats supposed to win the world cup. I cant see them beating a top team in the knock out round with what Im seeing in this first game.

The crowd is weak as hell too. Where are the chants? Where are the drums? I wonder if my broadcast has lowered crowd volume.

 

[speed dawg]

The crowd is weak as hell too.

That's because soccer sux. Just kidding for all you soccer guys, I know countries outside the U.S. love it. I hate the sh*t personally.

But what's even worse, is all the Americans trying to adopt soccer over the past decade or so, to try and be 'worldly' or somehow smarter or more cultured. F*ck it, you can have it, I'll stick with baseball.

 

[Jaylan]

Terrible game...terrible refereeing. Absolutely ruined the game and handed the Brazilians a win. Fred's dive was blatant as hell, and I couldnt see a ref like Howard Webb giving such an easy penalty. This is one of the big reasons why soccer needs replays on decisions like this. And Im glad the MLS at least retroactively suspends/fines players for diving. Fifa needs to fix this crap. If you can use goal-line technology for goals, you can have booth referees to watch replays on awarded penalties.

A game like this completely changes Croatia's destiny and its unfair. They had a disallowed goal late in game....Perisic was plowed into by Bernard and no foul was given...and then Modric was fouled on the build up to Brazil's third goal. Absolutely pathetic refereeing and I really wonder if he was influenced or bribed into making sure the host nation won its first game. Its very possible especially when you consider all the backlash and protests from Brazilian citizens over them even hosting the World Cup and misspending money.

I fear the refereeing will be poor for the rest of the games...and I cant imagine what crap will be done to the USA, especially wit the garbage we have to deal with in the last world cup.

That's because soccer sux. Just kidding for all you soccer guys, I know countries outside the U.S. love it. I hate the sh*t personally.

But what's even worse, is all the Americans trying to adopt soccer over the past decade or so, to try and be 'worldly' or somehow smarter or more cultured. F*ck it, you can have it, I'll stick with baseball.

Actually soccer has had a strong following for years. Its not just Americans trying to be worldy, smarter, or cultured. People actually enjoy and like the game a lot seeing as its the most participated in youth sport in our country. Its been like that for a long time. The problem was always that once kids got to high school they floated to other sports because thats where the fame, money, and their idols are.

When kids see their favorite athletes playing different sports, they gravitate away from soccer. But now in the technological age, kids grow up seeing soccer greats from all around the world, and they stick with it more now. Plus now with the MLS, the USA finally has a thriving soccer league that only continues to grow (new teams in southern Florida and NYC).

Itll prolly overtake hockey at the number 4 slot of top sports within 15 years. MLS already averages great attendance numbers, and its amazing to see the soccer support and rivalry out in Portland and Seattle. It cant be stopped really. The same is going to keep growing, and I love it. And if the USA ever makes it deeper into the World Cup again, soccer will explode here.

 

[Ronaldo7]

Absolute disgrace from the referee. This is exactly why i dislike referees from outside of Europe. Why? Because only the referees from Europe have high level competition during the year. They officiate the UEFA Champions League games, as well as the World Cup/Euro qualifying games. That means that they constantly have to deal with the best players in the world. Just as a footballer needs to play in a competitive league in a big team, referees need to also officiate the greater games. Referees from South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania do not have the required level for these types of games. All of those continents have "Champions Leagues" that do not feature the best games or the best players. It is common sense.

It wasn't a penalty and i am completely sure that the game would have finished 1-1. Brazil lacked imagination.

 

[Jaylan]

^Um...this has NOTHING to do with where the referee is from. Nishimura is regarding one of the best in Asia. And fact of the matter is that Jpan has a VERY competitive league schedule and their own champions league in Asia to deal with. So the refs get plenty of high level practice.

You should see the AFC champions league. Its pretty good. And the Japanese J-league is a great watch too and I catch a game every weekend usually. From all of the J-league I watch, they definitely let defenders get away with a lot more contact than you see in Europe. I often see the refs telling the players to get the hell up and stop crying. And theres less diving because of it (along with Japan having a larger cultural sense of honor)

I dunno what happened with the Nishimura today though. The dude just had a bad game...and I hope there wasnt home cooking involved (favoritism or bribing for home team). This stuff happens in Europe all the time. I could name several terrible Premier League refs. I only mentioned Howard Webb because hes one of the best in all of Europe.

This is more watching film and knowing how to catch a dive. And its also about having additional assistant refs behind goal. Theres no reason not to have them in the world cup.

 

[Ronaldo7]

^Um...this has NOTHING to do with where the referee is from. Nishimura is regarding one of the best in Asia. And fact of the matter is that Jpan has a VERY competitive league schedule and their own champions league in Asia to deal with. So the refs get plenty of high level practice.

In ASIA. Does he officiate CL games? No. Oh, get out of here. Japan has a very competitive league? Who plays in Japan? Which world class player plays there? Are you seriously comparing UEFA Champions League with the Asian Champions League? Name a team that plays in the latter.

You should see the AFC champions league. Its pretty good. And the Japanese J-league is a great watch too and I catch a game every weekend usually. From all of the J-league I watch, they definitely let defenders get away with a lot more contact than you see in Europe. I often see the refs telling the players to get the hell up and stop crying. And theres less diving because of it (along with Japan having a larger cultural sense of honor)

I seriously can't tell if you are bsing. Your argument is so weak. The Japanese league is not consider in anything. What are the top leagues? English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Eredivisie, Liga Zon Sagres, Greek Super League and Russian Premier League. Those are the top leagues in the world. WHY? Because the best players PLAY THERE.

I dunno what happened with the Nishimura today though. The dude just had a bad game...and I hope there wasnt home cooking involved (favoritism or bribing for home team). This stuff happens in Europe all the time. I could name several terrible Premier League refs. I only mentioned Howard Webb because hes one of the best in all of Europe.

Howard Webb officiates CL matches. He has actually seen Messi and Ronaldo play before.............................

This is more watching film and knowing how to catch a dive. And its also about having additional assistant refs behind goal. Theres no reason not to have them in the world cup.

European referees have more experience, more competitive and overall better. It is common sense.

 

[Jaylan]

Im not gonna sit and argue this with you back and forth, so Ill make this one reply. The fact of matter is the ref has officiated both domestic and international games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuichi_Nishimura

He has experience domestic, internationally and World Cup experience. And he did fine in 2010. So why is his confederation a problem now when hes been on big stages before? Although isnt it weird how he has a poor performance in the Brazil game earlier today...and was the same referee in the game in which Brazil was eliminated in 2010.

And both the A-League and J-League are a good watch. Just because youre another arrogant Eurosnob, does not mean non-big 5 leagues arent good. There are good leagues to watch outside of England, Spain, France, Italy and Germany. As a lover of the beautiful game I respect all good football. And maybe if you took the time to watch the games, youd see they have good contests and good players. Not everything nor everyone can be in Europe.

And tbh, I think most refs in leagues like Serie A and La Liga suck, because they call soft fouls and get fooled by diving frequently. Id rather have an EPL or MLS ref. And I mention MLS because American culture is known to hate divers in any sport...which is why MLS has retroactive fines and bans for diving in the first place. We do a good job in teaching our refs how to spot simulation, and we do a better job than almost any nation when it comes to trying to rid the game of it. I bet you that MLS implements a special replay referee to give quick decision on dives before any other league tries that.

Anyways fact of the matter is, the Japanese refs cofederation has nothing to do with his performance...especially when European refs from the top 5 leagues have garbage matches like this all the time. Remember El Clasico from March this year? Remember the crappy ref basically handing Barca the game, to the point that Ronaldo and Ramos called the ref out and people didnt want that ref in the Copa Del Rey final. This was a referee who does nothing but see Messi, Diego Costa, Ronaldo, and all other Spanish talent all year...and yet he still had a bad Clasico according to many who watched that game. Dude even blew the game ending whistle after awarding Madrid a free kick in injury time, BEFORE injury time was complete. Didnt even allow us the free kick he awarded.

Now tell me again what confederation has to do with this? If a European ref from one of the top leagues can be that bad...certainly you cant just sit and pin Nishimura's performance on the Asian confederation...especially when you NEVER watch it...and especially when you didnt know that he has lots of experience (as well as World Cup experience) Like I said...Japanese refs allow more contact, and dont get fooled by dives the way I see so many European refs award soft penalties.

At the end of the day some refs are bad. And sometimes good refs have bad games. And also, sometimes refs show favoritism, or in worst case scenarios are bought off. Id like to think this was a case of a good ref having a bad game...but the game seemed fishy to me given all the circumstances.

 

[DJFear]

Just 2 games into World Cup and already refs are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. First the undeserved penalty decision to Brazil yesterday and now today Mexico got 2 good goals disallowed for offside when there wasnt offside. Luckily Mexico won anyway but still this is a worrying trend. I wish they would make coaches challenge review like in NFL.

 

[Ronaldo7]

It's too bad about the Croatians, they always play with a lot of skill and heart and came close to solidifying their reputation as one of the wold's best giant killers as they've beaten teams like Germany, Italy, and Holland in World Cup matches before. Excellent job for a country of only 4 million. So sad to see a great match ruined by bad refereeing. Hopefully the Croats will do better in their next two matches, especially since they'll be able to field their top striker (Mandzukic) for those games.

And I'd agree, refs from Europe and South America seem to be more experienced, and refs from less experienced regions and countries tend to make more mistakes. On the other hand, refs of all nationalities have been known to make them. But calling the Russian league one of the top leagues in the world? You have got to be kidding. Whatever the case, I'm sure we won't see Nishimura ref'ing any major final matches any time soon.

Well. Compared to the J-League (Japanese League), the Russian Premier League boasts more talent. I just listed the main leagues of Europe. I do agree that the RPL is not a top league. They do boast some world class players such as Hulk, on his day Arshavin, promising youngsters like Kombarov and Russia's number 1 in Igor Akinfeev.

And Brad, look at it this way. If you are not constantly competing against the best, how else will you improve? EVERY SINGLE footballer aims to play in the CL. From every single corner of the planet. The referees that officiate there are obviously handling the top competition, the top players and the top matches.

Watching Holland take apart Spain today was like magic. Van Persie and Robben played amazingly well, that first header by van Persie will no doubt go down as one of the top goals of the tournament. Great to see them do so well, I hope they keep it up. The Spanish fans looked shocked - not upset or sad - just really shocked. I think the 5-1 scoreline is the worst performance ever by a defending champion in a world cup finals. I haven't been this (pleasantly) surprised by a scoreline since Senegal beat France 1-0 and Croatia beat Germany 3-0.

The 2002 WC win by Senegal does no justice. In a team boasting players like Zidane, Pires, Henry, Vieira.....

Great win by the Netherlands. I firmly stand that Casillas is an overrated goalkeeper. Throughout his WHOLE career, he has never corrected his handling of crosses and playing the ball with his feet. In the CL final, he misjudged a ball in the air and almost costed them the title. I really do not like Casillas. Also, Pique is also a very overrated defender, who struggles badly with his positioning. Ramos is very good in the opposition box, but also suffers from terrible lapses of concentration. Del Bosque had planned to start Javi Martinez instead of Pique. If he had only done so...

 

[Jaylan]

I have no idea how Casillas remains the number 1 keeper when he hasnt even been the regular starter in Madrid most of the season.

However this is not just on him. The back line for Spain was lacking today. Its like these guys dont watch film. Robben isnt too good with his right foot and almost always cuts the ball back to his left and shoots left....yet dummies in the Spain midfield and defense keep allowing him to go left. Force the guy right...watch some film and force him right.

And Ive said it before to people, and Ill say it again. Pique sucks. He cant defend world class attacking players. He can defend a Fernando Torres or an aging Samuel Eto'o...but he cannot defend a Ronaldo, Robben, Bale or a Luis Suarez. Hes just too slow and makes too many gaffes. Like last night he totally played Van Persie onside instead of paying attention to the rest of his defense and staying in line for the offside trap.

Sure the offside trap shouldnt be overused...but Pique has to be awake there and move up with his line. Either that or he has to be able to see when someone is making a run. And hell, even when someone makes a run that he sees, hes too slow to catch them. Hes pretty much only good at defending headers in my mind. And thats really because of his height advantage.

Puyol carried Pique for years in the center of the Barca and Spain defense. Puyol was always a liability in my mind. While Puyol wasnt a speed demon himself...hes always played smarter than Pique, markerd better than Pique, and been stronger than Pique. I see Pique blown by or dance by more often than Puyol or Ramos. Though Ramos got burned bad by Robben...but what can he do? Ramos is quick in his own right...but Robben is just an outright speed demon, and that pass through midfield was too good.

And dont think Im letting Ramos off the hook. He makes his screwups too...but he makes up for his gaffes with some timely goals and timely defensive stops. He can be pretty clutch. It may seem like Im straight hating on Pique...but I love good defense...and I cant stand seeing the same mistakes all the time from someone people try to consider world class.

 

[Rainman4707]

In just 2 days yet another world cup of football (or soccer) is kicking off in Brazil. Its the first world cup hosted in Latin America since 1978 and no European nation has ever won it all in that part of the world. That makes Brasil and Argentina as the favorites and no doubt all the pressure will be on the host nation.

Now as for USA they got a pretty tough group with Ghana, Germany and Portugal, where frankly US can finish last. England also got a tough group and I predict Uruguay and Italy will qualify ahead of them.

With that said will US public even care about it? I know that the SuperBowl is the main thing over there but world cup happens once every 4 years and is arguably the biggest event in sports. So, thoughts? predictions? will you be watching?!

I've just stopped seeing a girl so plenty of time for me to tune in now =) haha. My prediction is Brazil. Brazil are home nation. Very Strong team who beat the life out of Spain in Confed Cup final.

Only team that could stop them is Argentina. Neymar For Goldenboot.

 

[Die Hard]

The back line for Spain was lacking today. Its like these guys dont watch film. Robben isnt too good with his right foot and almost always cuts the ball back to his left and shoots left....yet dummies in the Spain midfield and defense keep allowing him to go left. Force the guy right...watch some film and force him right.

Haha, every defender who plays against Robben knows this, my friend. they ALL know he prefers to cut the ball back to his left, yet no one can stop him from doing it lol.

Sure, you can force him to the right and he'll do just that, he'll accelerate while running to your right side, forcing you to accelerate as well... Then he suddenly cuts to his left and just does it so quickly and skillfully that you're not fast enough to adjust to his sudden change of direction. While you're adjusting direction to the left, he's already taking the shot (or passing you by).

 

[Ronaldo7]

I have no idea how Casillas remains the number 1 keeper when he hasnt even been the regular starter in Madrid most of the season.

He did play CL and Copa Del Rey. Diego Lopez only played La Liga.

However this is not just on him. The back line for Spain was lacking today. Its like these guys dont watch film. Robben isnt too good with his right foot and almost always cuts the ball back to his left and shoots left....yet dummies in the Spain midfield and defense keep allowing him to go left. Force the guy right...watch some film and force him right.

And Ive said it before to people, and Ill say it again. Pique sucks. He cant defend world class attacking players. He can defend a Fernando Torres or an aging Samuel Eto'o...but he cannot defend a Ronaldo, Robben, Bale or a Luis Suarez. Hes just too slow and makes too many gaffes. Like last night he totally played Van Persie onside instead of paying attention to the rest of his defense and staying in line for the offside trap.

Sure the offside trap shouldnt be overused...but Pique has to be awake there and move up with his line. Either that or he has to be able to see when someone is making a run. And hell, even when someone makes a run that he sees, hes too slow to catch them. Hes pretty much only good at defending headers in my mind. And thats really because of his height advantage.

Puyol carried Pique for years in the center of the Barca and Spain defense. Puyol was always a liability in my mind. While Puyol wasnt a speed demon himself...hes always played smarter than Pique, markerd better than Pique, and been stronger than Pique. I see Pique blown by or dance by more often than Puyol or Ramos. Though Ramos got burned bad by Robben...but what can he do? Ramos is quick in his own right...but Robben is just an outright speed demon, and that pass through midfield was too good.

And dont think Im letting Ramos off the hook. He makes his screwups too...but he makes up for his gaffes with some timely goals and timely defensive stops. He can be pretty clutch. It may seem like Im straight hating on Pique...but I love good defense...and I cant stand seeing the same mistakes all the time from someone people try to consider world class.

Ramos makes up somewhat for his defensive mistakes with his pace. Pique does not have that luxury. However, Ramos does make some real howlers. He is very good in the air, but his defensive game leaves a lot to be desired.