FOOTBALL!

[Bastard of Godsgrace]

[quote name='Cristiano Bronnaldo' post='1394429' date='Jun 11 2008, 22.48']Tie breakers
If teams finish level on points, then the winner of the match between the sides in question will finish highest, or should they have drawn, goal difference, followed by goals scored, qualifying record for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2004â„¢, a fair play ranking and finally either a penalty shoot-out or drawing of lots.[/quote]


Well first three would be in such situation equal, Turks qualified in 2002 and Czechs in 2004, so I guess it levels out. It looks like it is fair play ranking, and if I read it right, Czechs are higher.

[cteresa]

[quote name='Cristiano Bronnaldo' post='1394429' date='Jun 11 2008, 21.48']Tie breakers
If teams finish level on points, then the winner of the match between the sides in question will finish highest, or should they have drawn, goal difference, followed by goals scored, qualifying record for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2004â„¢, a fair play ranking and finally either a penalty shoot-out or drawing of lots.[/quote]

Oh dear the penalty kick is a new innovation, a confusing one, but it might actually turn out to be used this time, Turkey and the Czech republic are currently tied, 2 goals scored and 3 suffered, and they play each other next if their game ends tied up as well, the penalty kick will be used indeed. And me thinking it unlikely to be used anytime soon ;)

[Ran]

Well, surely they also need to match up in terms of qualifying record and fair play ranking as well before that happens?

[Paddy]

Notice how for the 3rd goal, Ronaldo, after making the pass to Quaresma, turns away to check the linesman.
He didn't even wait for the ball to reach Quaresma. He was that confident of it.
You'd think that most people wouldn't be able to look away.

[cteresa]

[quote name='Bastard of Godsgrace' post='1394450' date='Jun 11 2008, 21.55']Well first three would be in such situation equal, Turks qualified in 2002 and Czechs in 2004, so I guess it levels out. It looks like it is fair play ranking, and if I read it right, Czechs are higher.[/quote]

not anymore sorry, penalty kicks between tied teams if they are playing each other on the final match is a new thing ( which some sites seem to understand incorrectly, livescore for example), but the UEFA site says

[url="http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=512/newsid=321639.html#regulations"]http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=512/...tml#regulations[/url]

point 7.08, feel too lazy to type it all, but penalty kicks...

[cteresa]

[quote name='Paddiano Ronaldo' post='1394466' date='Jun 11 2008, 22.01']Notice how for the 3rd goal, Ronaldo, after making the pass to Quaresma, turns away to check the linesman.
He didn't even wait for the ball to reach Quaresma. He was that confident of it.
You'd think that most people wouldn't be able to look away.[/quote]

Hey quaresma is sketchy yeah, but that was practically wrapped up, the timing was fabulously simple, just slow enough but fast enough for Cech to not get it.

I guess he was confident of Quaresma, which is good for Quaresma´s confidence. They do know each other from way way ago, they are both from the sporting academy and Boloni debuted them both. Quaresma was almost 2 years older and much more mature and played lots, Cristiano was just 17 getting scraps of time but doing great and a huge fan favorite. They were sold within 1 or 2 weeks of each other, first Quaresma was sold to Barcelona for a lot of money, they days later, Cristiano to Manchester United for twice as much, record breaking, shocking price. and still I know some fans which took it very badly, they considered it there was a promise that Quaresma was sold so that Cristiano could be kept for a bit longer. I know people still pissed off with those directors over that. And though it did turn out fine in the end for Cristiano, he really was IMO too young to go.

[Bastard of Godsgrace]

[quote name='cteresa' post='1394473' date='Jun 11 2008, 23.03']n
point 7.08, feel too lazy to type it all, but penalty kicks...[/quote]


Yes, indeed. It looks like fun ;)

[Paddy]

No, I'm just saying that it's human nature to keep looking until you are [i]absolutely[/i] sure, which means it's over the line, in the goal.

The fact that he did, to me, is a demonstration of his ability to be absolutely confident in himself and his abilities.

[cteresa]

[quote name='Bastard of Godsgrace' post='1394489' date='Jun 11 2008, 22.12']Yes, indeed. It looks like fun ;)[/quote]

it looks like extra sadism. But I suppose fairplay rankings or qualification records would be even worse. Funny though, this is a new thing and I was thinking it was never going to be used since I did not recall any recent case of teams progressing on those rankings in recent tournaments. and kaboom, all set up. It might not be necessary after all ;)

and we win the group after all. oh. we play the quarters in basel, that stadium turkey-switzerland just played in, bugger. Euro2004 was much better organized really :P

oh, yeah, let me try to predict the lineup of Portugal against Switzerland sunday

Rui Patricio ( or Ok Ricardo, if Scolari thinks he needs confidence)

Miguel (if fit) - Bruno Alves - Fernando Meira - Jorge Ribeiro.

Miguel Veloso - Raul Meireles - anybody else who is less tired

Nani - Hugo Almeida ( played more often with these two than Postiga. But postiga subbed in) - Ricardo Quaresma

Cristiano Ronaldo wants to play, but let´s give the others a game instead.

[Ser Reptitious]

:cry: Seems to me Switzerland really deserved better out of these two games than 0 points.

Lady Luck certainly doesn't seem to be a Swiss fan! :tantrum:

[Zoë Sumra]

Anyone else astonished that Switzerland/Turkey wasn't called off halfway through?

Great work by the Turks in coming back from a goal down to win in appalling conditions - disintegrating pitch, driving rain and hostile supporters all around them.

[cteresa]

We provided better weather in 2004 :) and seriously, those stadiums, it is worrying they will have like 7 matches in 10(?) days on just 2 stadiums. and isn´t that berne world cup final notorious for the rain, fritz walter weather? I am not sure we are up to rain like that!

Pod ( and everybody else), just found a really interesting article in English about strikers getting extinct :P sort of. You know it is sort of my theory :P but even so I don´t think the article is really convincing but it´s very interesting and full of juicy juicy historical details and anedoctes particularly about Sacchi´s

[url="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/06/08/the_end_of_forward_thinking.html"]http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/06/...d_thinking.html[/url]

a tidbit I thought funny

[quote]It takes time for effective fluidity to be achieved and that is why, given the limited number of training sessions available, no nation at Euro 2008 will follow the no-striker route.[/quote] (Portugal will probably try, maybe from need rather than choice but this is why I like Nuno so much, he fits perfectly a changing rotating attack. But I don´t want to think about goalkeepers right now)

[quote]A system with no forwards places a premium on fast, accurate passing through the midfield, which is fine on a good day. There will always, though, be days when the passing fails to click, or when a team is forced on to the back foot and needs an outlet for holding the ball and relieving the pressure.[/quote] true, but in the same way strikers can also very seriously bad days, Luca Toni against Holland also, strikers can be marked off games...

I think it is something interesting to think about.

[Padraig]

I do think Turkey were the better team. The Swiss were a bit unlucky (but a lot more unlucky in the Czech game) but once the conditions improved, Turkey always looked more capable of breaking through the Swiss. Turkey improved a lot on the Portugesse game. It will be interesting to see how they do against the Czechs. I think the Turks can win since the Czech's might be over-reliant on power and Turkey should be able to stand up to that. Its more craft v very direct football really.

I'm really worried about that stadium for future games though.

Nice that Portugal don't have to worry about topping the group anymore. But they certainly have a lot to work on. Deco was very inconsistent today. Some great bits, some bad bits. In the first half, way too many passes went astray from the whole team. Simao didn't show at all. Ronaldo had quiet periods but he was involved in all 3 goals, so can't complain. But other teams will have noted their difficulty with crosses/free kicks. That's a weakness.

At the same time, they were well worth their win. Czech's only had one plan and that was to bombard their way to victory. So Portugal will have to improve but they are into the quarters and have the ability to do more.

As for extinct strikers. :P Thank the gods for Torres and Villa at least.

[Mathis]

Did anyone else love it when CR missed his penalty in the CL final?

Portugal will come unstuck when they face a top tier team.

Paulo Ferreria is an average right back, he is a [i]bad[/i] left back. Colin Kazim-Richards skinned him. Franck Ribery, Andreas Iniesta or Van de Vaart/Van Persie/[i]Kuyt[/i] even will take him to the cleaners.

Nuno Gomes can be marked out of existence. It won't even take two central defenders. A striker that could lead the line would give other players such as Ronaldo or Simao or whoever space to operate. Gomes can be marked by one defender leaving others to concentrate on the wide men.

Petit is no Makelele or Mascherano or even Senna. He isn't up to the donkey work that allows Deco, Ronaldo, Simao, Moutinho et al to operate with a license to attack, yet Moutinho is the only one willing to track back. That will allow better teams that can keep possesion huge space in the midfield.

Ricardo, oh man. If the guy insists on coming for corners he needs to learn to punch the ball.

Or this could just be my anti-Portugal bias talking :). We'll soon find out.

Its a shame about the Czechs. They just don't have the individual talent anymore. Team spirit and good coaching can only take you so far (so says I, Greece can fuck off). Rosicky is a big loss, but the man is made of balsa wood so no-one should be surprised that he is missing.

Baros can run and run but, as ever, he needs to take a look around him.



So Switzerland and Austria are both headed for the exit. Good. All this co hosting nonsense just means that two shit teams get a by instead of one. Poland and the Ukraine do not merit automoatic entry in the next tournament.


Oh yeah, David Pleat on ITV. He must have called the Czech's Czeckoslovakia at least 6 times. And who the hell is Yoo-faa-lacy? Ujfaluši? Only Pleat knows. The crazy mispronunciations, malapropisms and namechecking of former nations would be tolerable if there was some insight to go with it. No such luck.

For the first time I actually muted the TV and tuned in to Radio 5live but it was on a 2 second time delay which got very irritating. So I turned off the radio and did my own commentating. Thats right.

Unfortunately that didn't last long either. It was just too damned weird. Hmm...

[Jon AS]

[quote name='Podezine Podane']I do think Turkey were the better team. The Swiss were a bit unlucky (but a lot more unlucky in the Czech game) but once the conditions improved, Turkey always looked more capable of breaking through the Swiss. Turkey improved a lot on the Portugesse game. It will be interesting to see how they do against the Czechs. I think the Turks can win since the Czech's might be over-reliant on power and Turkey should be able to stand up to that. Its more craft v very direct football really.

I'm really worried about that stadium for future games though.[/quote]

I agree.

Is there some procedure to change venues in case the pitch really has become unplayable?

[quote name='Mathis']Portugal will come unstuck when they face a top tier team.[/quote]

I'm not sure, but they haven't been properly tested yet, I'd say. Isn't there some saying about good horses only jumping as high as they need to or am I making that up? They'll probably raise their game and place more emphasis on defense in the quarter final.

[quote name='cteresa']and isn´t that berne world cup final notorious for the rain, fritz walter weather?[/quote]

Fritz Walter Weather doesn't mean turning the pitch into a swimming pool, just enough rain to cool down a hot summer day to keep Walter's malaria from acting up.;)

[dalThor]

[quote name='Podezine Podane' post='1394328' date='Jun 11 2008, 22.37']Its ridiculous. :stunned: This stadium will be used for 2 quarter finals and a semi. Lets hope it doesn't rain during those matchs. Or even, lets hope the pitch can recover from this! Looks like they forgot to put in proper drainage.[/quote]

I was really surprised how freaking horrible the field got. Actually having quite a bit of knowledge in this area, don't they know how to build a field there? Properly constructed sports field should be able to absorb 3 to even 5 cm. of rain in an hour. They have to have some drainage in it or it would have been even worse of a bathtub by halftime but someone screwed up in design/construction/materials. That thing is going to tear like a son-of-a-bitch in the next few days. At least the final won't be played on that one...

It did make for an interesting game to watch though.

[Jorgen2720]

Ouch. I'm crying inside. I really think the Czechs were let down by Baros. I'd have though Scerkos would be playing after his performance against Switzerland... The Czechs did pretty well in the second half, though, and they really should have taken advantage of the chances they had. Cech was by far the best Czech player on the field, though, they would have done far worse without him. But yeah, I don't really dislike Portugal as a team, but I hate Ronaldo so much it just spills over to whole squad. (I'm an Arsenal fan.)

Found it funny when Simao insisted on taking the free kick only to hit the wall.

The Switzerland-Turkey match was fun to watch, though it seemed more like water polo than anything else.

Stupid time zone differences mean I'm staying up until 5am everyday.

:cheers:

Oh, one more thing.

[quote]Did anyone else love it when CR missed his penalty in the CL final?[/quote]

YES. YES! Would have been much better if it'd led to them losing though.

[mormont]

I have to say the Czechs have been a big disappointment so far. Koller used to be a good player: now he lumbers around like a giant crane. Baros was never a great footballer and still isn't. There appears to be nobody with a creative spark. Even Cech has not impressed me. The rest are mostly anonymous. Only Jankulowski and maybe Ujfalusi appear to be playing to anything like their potential. Big disappointment. I'm hoping the Turks beat them on Sunday, put them out of our misery.

I'd agree that Portugal have their weaknesses: it remains to be seen if better teams can exploit them. Certainly none of the teams in their group have provided much of a challenge, but this does seem to be a weak group.

The Turkey-Switzerland game was excellent to watch, though, especially in the last ten or fifteen minutes when both teams needed a goal.

[Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas]

I don't know why everyone keep saying that Turkey needed a goal. They will still need to win the game against the Czechs, but the only difference now is that a draw in the next game will lead to penalties (it seems) instead of the Czechs winning. Not a huge difference IMO.

[Lord Baelish]

[quote name='Mathis' post='1395096' date='Jun 12 2008, 05.24']Oh yeah, David Pleat on ITV. He must have called the Czech's Czeckoslovakia at least 6 times. And who the hell is Yoo-faa-lacy? Ujfaluši? Only Pleat knows. The crazy mispronunciations, malapropisms and namechecking of former nations would be tolerable if there was some insight to go with it. No such luck.[/quote]

It was even worse than that. [i]Twice[/i] Pleat started to say "Czechoslovakia" and corrected himself, only to change it to "the Republic of Czechoslovakia" instead. He had two attempts and still made himself look like a complete arse. He is the worst of a pretty bad bunch, and his pairing with Clive Whatshisname is a match made in the lowest level of Hell.

Good game, though. I thought the Czechs matched Portugal in the first half, but then Portugal's superior quality really came through in the second half. Still don't like Ronaldo though, going over as if he'd been shot when Ujfalusi touched his face. I think Portugal might struggle if they come up against a strong defence. The Czechs did a pretty good job for an hour yesterday.