Subject:
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Re: Followup: USA soccer team at the World Cup
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Sat, 15 Jun 2002 21:17:40 GMT
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Viewed:
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961 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, William R. Ward writes:
> "Pedro Silva" <el_gordo@netc.pt> writes:
> > As for the red cards... João Pinto must have his ears burning by now, that
> > foul was UTTERLY stupid and unnecessary at that point. Beto has an excuse,
> > the coach ought to have replaced him for 2nd half.
> > I hope the coach quits, and the former one returns - he was fired after a
> > *brilliant* set of games, go figure...
>
> I didn't watch that game, but I saw clips. Two red cards in one game
> is inexcusable, though.
I saw the first one replayed during lunch today, and all I can say is that
J. Pinto will be lucky if he does not get suspended *for good*. Beto
shouldn't be in the field by then, so he is not entirely to blame (the coach
should have antecipated this might happen). The referee was fine in both of
the red cards, noone even thought otherwise.
It's a shame, this really gives off a bad image of these players and the
country. :-/
> [...]
> > > In that case, may the best team be USA! (Not that I expect they will,
> > > but one can always hope...)
> >
> > Hey, if they play cool-minded and keep up the good teamwork, they stand fair
> > chances. They are very young though, and that is a handicap (paradoxally).
> > But since I have not seen Mexico play yet, I won't risk a bet on either team.
>
> It was a bit of a mess. We've got some great players (very fast,
> especially against poland) but they don't seem to synergize.
For what I've heard, it is the first tournament they are playing together -
even if there are difficulties this time, in four years they can achieve a
fantastic score if the good work is continued. A very promising team!
> > > I stayed up until 6am watching that
> > > debacle.
> >
> > It IS addictive, isn't it?
> > :-P
>
> When you've got a stake in the outcome, it is. Mostly I've been able
> to restrain my self from staying up too late at night. The early
> matches (15:30 local time) are at 23:30 here, which isn't too bad, but
> the later matches (20:30 local) are at 04:30 here, so it's definitely
> difficult to fit that into my schedule of sleep and work....
(For me, it's the other way around: early matches are at 7:30 and the later
ones at 12:30. Not too good for work, but way better in terms of sleep. :-P)
> > > I'm just glad Korea won, since we couldn't seem to manage
> > > it. I'm just glad Poland didn't play like that against Portugal and
> > > Korea, or we'd all be in trouble.
> >
> > The Poles were surprised by Korea, which is in my view a very strong team
> > with a fantastic coach. Then they caught us in a rage/pride moment (June
> > 10th was Portugal Day, a defeat would be *unthinkable*). The only real
> > chance they had was against the younger US players.
>
> And an incredible 12th man. Korea kept us out of the goal very well,
> but didn't make much of a credible effort to score.
They are fast and tight on defense, so counter-strike is their main weapon.
The key is their GK, he does not seem to be very good (IMO).
> > The thing that bugs me the most is that the Korean players were not even
> > after victory today, all they wanted was to "stall". To be honest, they only
> > scored after they realised we were *not even trying* (Pauleta replaced by J.
> > Andrade, an attacker out for a defender... the coach is insane!). Because,
> > let's face it, the Koreans would have *loved* to come second and face Mexico
> > instead of Italy!!!
>
> Well, Mexico did win their group, and Italy is second place, which
> says something.
We'll see; my understanding is that the Italians did not want to go first in
their group, they are saving up some energy. But I may be wrong...
> But USA plays Mexico fairly regularly, I think, which
> means that they probably know their opponent very well.
That is good for Mexico as well, don't forget! :-)
> Germany and
> Paraguay should be interesting to watch, though. I don't look forward
> to facing either of those teams.
As a match, I was somewhat disappointed. Germany is back on track however,
after a poor performance in Euro 2000 => fair chances of reaching the final.
> > Anyway, the whole match is now being subject of close inspection by some 20
> > million eyes, belonging to some 10 million "couch-coaches" - heads will
> > roll, definately. The lesson must not be forgotten, in two years we will
> > host the European Cup and *we must be up to it* by then!!!
>
> In American football there is a term "Monday morning quarterback"...
> hindsight is always 20/20 but doesn't count for much....
I guess I understand what you mean; changes must be undertaken, though. And
the sooner we get rid of the coach and open up for new talents, the better.
In other news:
England played well vs. Denmark today, but I'm still not convinced by their
gameplay => will England withstand the Brazilian "R-trio"?
In tomorrow's matches, my bets are on Spain (very cool minded this year) and
Sweden. Spain vs. Ireland is likely to be a very good show of football.
Pedro
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Followup: USA soccer team at the World Cup
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| (...) I didn't watch that game, but I saw clips. Two red cards in one game is inexcusable, though. [...] (...) It was a bit of a mess. We've got some great players (very fast, especially against poland) but they don't seem to synergize. (...) When (...) (22 years ago, 15-Jun-02, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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