THE OFFICIAL FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 IN BRAZIL THREAD!

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Jul 4, 2014 7:05:37 GMT 1 aubtin said:

Jul 3, 2014 17:54:52 GMT 1 miscmisc said:

It's not that difficult to tell the difference between the two kinds of "dives", at least if you've ever played the sport on a semi-competitive level.  But I so often see even ex-professional footballers unfairly accuse players of cheating when they only instinctively threw their body to go out of harm's way.  I'm as disturbed by that as I'm by all the cheats.

Wow, in the UK at least I've never heard a pundit complain about diving in that sense, that's definitely taking it a step too far. I think the big problem is the players' actions once they have had to preemptively dive. It's the rolling about, diving, clutching one's leg, insinuating a contact that never happened that's the problem.

Perfect example: Klinsmann's absurd acting in the video above. 

that was indeed a pretty epic flop.

[Jofeljoh!]

So now we have Brazil vs Germany in the semi-finals.

Brazil looked a lot better than before but... they're missing Thiago Silva and Neymar. Especially Neymar will be missed immensely I think.

I think Germany will advance.

Today Belgium - Argentina and The Netherlands vs Costa Rica. Hope Belgium and we will advance.

Then a Germany vs The Netherlands will be my dream final.

[K1power]

FIFA is most likely booking on a Brazil vs Argentina final so any team not Brazil or Argentina will have to deal with dirty tactics. I hope they'll be crushed and it doesn't come to that.

[Jofeljoh!]

I just lost my shit. Wow do I hate penalties. But well deserved. Costa Rica only gote ONE chance.

[K1power]

Congrats man, Germany vs Brazil and Holland VS Argentina.

[miscmisc]

Brazil vs. Colombia was not enjoyable.

Having a bad call or two in a game is one thing, but having a game go on under an utterly ridiculous set of judging criteria in its entirety is another.  The latter is far worse.  I don't subscribe to the home-advantage conspiracy theory, but some refs today favor the defending side way, way too much.  Too many fouls go uncalled, perhaps due to the fear that the media and fans might accuse the ref of "encouraging cheating/dives", this notion that the ref should try his best "not to break the flow of the game", and shit like that.  A foul is a foul is a foul, even if some acting was involved.  That's actually kind of how I feel about that penalty kick given to Brazil against Croatia, supposedly the Worst Call Ever Made, though I know most of you don't agree with me on that.

Fernandinho spent most of his time on the pitch fouling the Colombians, and about half of the fouls were not called by the ref.  The first yellow card for Brazil came after they have already committed a few dozens of fouls.  James Rodriquez was practically fouled out of the game.  A commentator said that it was a "tough game for James Rodriguez".  Yeah, no shit, you bet it was.  It's certainly "tough" when your opponents are determined to foul you whenever you try to make a play.

Yes, Julio Cesar should've been red-carded, too.  But the problem with that game goes beyond that.  And then came that murderous challenge from Zuniga on Neymar, and he will be out for the rest of the tournament.  Ugly stuff.

[miscmisc]

Costa Rica were out-possessed and outshot to a ridiculous degree even by Greece, totally breaking the tradition of a second-tier defensive European side vs. a Latin American side, so even the fast-break machine that is this Dutch national team were forced to play a lot like Spain.  You don't have to be Costa Rica to opt for that, though, after seeing the way they beat Spain and Australia.  Can't give any space to Robben and RvP.  Let them keep the ball and see what they can do with it without any space to exploit.  Not much, you hope.

To be honest, I've already grown tired of "gutsy performances" by overly defensive teams, so I'm glad that van Gaal subbed Cillessen, who apparently have never saved a PK in his professional career (really?), to the victory.

I bet some money on Brazil vs. Argentina final, so the orange dudes need to flop now.  It's about time to stop the market value of that asshole van Gaal inflating any further, too!

But Argentina minus Di Maria will probably be a bit of rubbish.  His absence will be a greater loss for Argentina than Neymar's for Brazil.  I think the Netherlands will win.

[K1power]

Germany massacres Brazil 7-1. This is unreal..

[miscmisc]

Ah... shit.

Germany vs. Saudi Arabia in 2002, and Portugal vs. North Korea in 2010.  No one expected this game to go the same way, but it did.

What these three games have in common is that the triumphant side scored a shit load of goals in a row in a very short span of time, totally breaking the opposing side apart psychologically and basically ending the game.

And it's probably no coincidence that Germany was involved in two of the games.

Shit.

[miscmisc]

What's even more amazing is that Germany has just become the all-time top goal scoring team in the World Cup history, surpassing Brazil, in this very game.

A bunch of sadists, that's what they are.  They not only rub it in, but stick a knife into it and joyfully jerk it around.  And of course, the knife is rusty, full of bad germs, and you not only get pain but also Tetanus as a bonus.  It will take Brazil a long, long time to recover from this devastating psychological wound.

Seriously, what's really nasty about this game is that despite the completely lopsided scoreline in favor of Germany, German GK Manuel Neuer actually had a hell of a game particularly in the second half, killing any sort of a chance to make the game marginally interesting result-wise, even though the game was practically over in the first half.

That's what I mean when I say Germany has "serious" football style.  No joke, no party, all business.  When they see the opening, they stick it in for real.  They don't always win like this of course, but do way more frequently than any other team in the world.  They are also the only team I'm aware of who can still routinely massacre the "minnows", in this day and age where good teams in the world tend to struggle against defensive tactics of lesser teams much harder than they used to.

Well, actually, all that except for Oezil in this German team.  He's the only brain-fart type in the squad, and it was totally predictable that he somehow missed that golden chance to make it 8-0, which perhaps psychologically led to that brain-fart defensive error in the dying minutes to make it 7-1, which is a scoreline that looks much uglier than 7-0 or 8-0, while giving no joy or consolation to the Brazilians.  The worst Brazilian defeat had been 0-6 against Uruguay, which happened almost 100 years ago.  7-1 is not better than that.  This one is actually worse than that defeat on many different levels, given all kinds of humiliating ways Germany scored which made the Brazilian defenders look like complete amateurs.  The Saudis in 2002 were at least mostly physically overpowered, which wasn't the case here.

That last goal was a completely meaningless, useless one given away that didn't please anyone.

So, I know it's a ridiculous thing to say, but Germany actually kind of failed in this game.  They should've repeated the Saudi affair in 2002 or even gone beyond that, and easily could've.  They should've fought till the end like it was still nil-nil to humiliate Brazil as much as possible, aiming at the two-digit territory even, like good old Germans...

7-1 just doesn't look visually pleasing.  Almost looks like 1-1 if you have bad eyes, and I do.  Fail!

[miscmisc]

They say it ain't over till the fat lady sings, and I'm sure Angela Merkel will be in the VIP seat in the final.

So, it ain't over till the fat lady weeps, but the question is if she will out of joy, or disappointment.  I hope the latter.  Can't stand that woman, particularly in a football stadium.  Totally wrecks the atmosphere as far as I'm concerned.  Her presence automatically makes me cheer for the side that she's against, which unfortunately means anyone playing Germany in the final.  I'm a great, great fan of Neuer and Lahm, but can't be helped, can't be helped.

Forza Argies/Oranje!  With my mighty support, you can't possibly lose.

[Jofeljoh!]

Well, whoever advances tonight, will need it. My gosh, what a warning.

the only positive thing is that I was actually never impressed by Brazil, and finally there was an effective, well playing team who could just punish them for constantly playing unorganized out of position. One of the analysts here already said it, and he looks like a prophet now. After Brazil won from Colombia, he said: "If Brazil plays like this against Germany, I'm sure of it that they will lose with 6-0 or so).

I can only hope we win tonight from Argentina, and that Van Gaal has a good gameplan. Maybe Germany will be overconfident. Maybe the final will bring up some orange superpowers.... it will be an interesting match for sure.

[Jofeljoh!]

Fuck.

Did I mention I hate penalties?

[miscmisc]

I'm sure that the Dutch media will criticize vG for trusting Vlaar enough to choose him as the first kicker, in a classic hindsight fashion, but boy, was it a piss-poor penalty kick.  It's almost hard for a decent GK not to stop it.  Other than the ones shot into the sky, you couldn't think of a worse one.

Killed the momentum for the Oranje instantly right there.

I'm sure the entire nation of Brazil was rooting for the Netherlands, but the Argies will be in the final.  Argentina winning the World Cup on their home soil might even be a worse insult for them than the 1-7, on some level.

[miscmisc]

The problem is that I just can't find any reason to root for this Argentine team, other than Angela Merkel. And that's a stupid reason to root for (against) a team, especially if that's the only one. Tough.

And I'm kind of afraid that it will be an excruciatingly boring final.