L233 said:
... pardon?
World Cup 2006
- Thread starter epicstruggle
- Start date
... pardon?
Ghana were the same all tournament: slightly dodgy in defence, good in midfield but without a great deal of striking power and poor shooting.
Brazil were the same as they have been all tournament: rather lethargic with the odd piece of skilful play interspersed.
No surprise at the result but it might have been interesting if the Ghanaian had scored with his free header instead of hitting Dida.
I wonder if the French will be as poor tonight as they have been earlier in the tournament? Spain have to be favourites, I'd have thought.
Brazil were the same as they have been all tournament: rather lethargic with the odd piece of skilful play interspersed.
No surprise at the result but it might have been interesting if the Ghanaian had scored with his free header instead of hitting Dida.
I wonder if the French will be as poor tonight as they have been earlier in the tournament? Spain have to be favourites, I'd have thought.
Deepak said:Why do Football players exchange their T-shirts after the match?
And did Portugal and Holland players do it last night?
It's a sign of mutual respect and appreciation. I don't if Holland and Portugual did it, though. However, I remember seeing Deco and some player of Netherland sitting together and talking about the match going on without them. So it wasn't all hatred and anger.
A pity Henry had to cheat to win the free kick which led to the 2nd goal. Not a foul at all IMO and it was pathetic that he went down holding his face in an attempt to have Puyol sent off. I'd be embarrassed to have acted in such a manner personally. As bad or worse than Crouch's hair pulling exploits and that was bad enough!
Overall though, France were the better team after they got the equaliser in the first half so I suppose they deserve to go through. They have certainly improved a great deal since their first couple of games in the tournament.
Overall though, France were the better team after they got the equaliser in the first half so I suppose they deserve to go through. They have certainly improved a great deal since their first couple of games in the tournament.
I disagree. Puyol noticed he'd get outrun by Henry (damn he's fast!) and clearly thrust his elbow and shoulder backwards and hit Henry on the chest. IMO that's definitely a foul. But you're right about Henry's acting, he should have taken the freekick and been happy, instead of holding his face trying to provoke a card, that's not exactly fair play.Mariner said:
Same with Figo, he was trying so hard to get his head make contact with Boularouz' elbow for half the game, rarely have I seen a more obvious case of trying to provoke a red.
Or take the Italian player, who actually had to change direction to run into the recklessly tackling Aussie defender and get that penalty.
Lucio also had a scene in the Brazil game that struck me as way over-acted. He got tackled from behind, dropped to the green like he'd been hit by a bus, rolled into some kind of fetal position and lifted his arm to protect his face. Sure it was a foul, but the acting afterwards was almost worse than the foul itself.
Acting is so common in football these days, its disgusting. Problem is these things are incredibly hard to see for a referee and unless FIFA intoduces mechanisms to punish this kind of acting more severly, players will always try to get as big of an advantage out of these situations as they can. If they see an opponent make a stupid move they'll do their best to get hit in a way to provoke a card or penalty. Some call it cheating, others call it being clever I guess...
If you watch when the pass is made, Puyol (no slouch in the speed stakes although not in Henry's class) is directly between the ball and Henry. Obviously, defending correctly he made sure he stayed in the way and put his arm out to fend Henry off - Henry ran into the arm. Still not a foul, IMO.
I think I must be a throwback to the days when football was a man's game without all this falling over and rolling around given the slightest opportunity.
I think I must be a throwback to the days when football was a man's game without all this falling over and rolling around given the slightest opportunity.
The pass sucked in the first place, in Henry's place I'd have turned and yelled at the passer instead of actually running for it.Mariner said:
That's exactly what Boularouz did against Figo, he made sure he stayed in the way and put his arm out to fend him off. Unlike Henry, Figo actually managed to make the contact look more dramatic though, by lowering his head down to a level where he could be hit by the elbow of an eight-year-old.
It would have been okay if Puyol had just tried to shield off the ball from Henry with his body, the second he makes that movement with his elbow towards Henry it becomes a foul. That's jus the way the rules are interpreted these days, its not like that's anything new to this WC. Its just an ordinary little foul that definitely can be given, its the acting afterward that gives it a bitter taste. If I had to ref that situation I'd give the fould against Puyol, but show Henry the yellow card for his acting. That's only after watching the replays half a dozen times on TV though, a luxury commodity the refs unfortunatelly don't have.
Amen, see my rant above...I think I must be a throwback to the days when football was a man's game without all this falling over and rolling around given the slightest opportunity.
