OT: Boneyard "Other Football" World Cup Thread

[Husky25]

When of the more entertaining things for me, just because I'm little odd that way, is that Brazil has a player who's name is Fred. That's it. Fred. As for least likeable player for me so far in what I've seen, I don't really have one. Probably the guy that got red-carded from Portugal. That was just stupid, and close behind that is the guy from Germany that was pretending he had a broken jaw that goaded him to the red-card.

I think "goaded" is a little much. Dead ball Head to head contact in any sport will likely result in a disqualification and suspension, instigated or not. Pepe should have known better, but apparently he's a hot head. I would guess he is an Artest / Carl Everett type figure in his sport.

 

[BlueMAB]

One more question - are there structured "plays" in soccer when attacking/on offense? It seems to me that there are - when you see the ball played long distances - it's usually either intended for the ball to go to a player, or to a space, where a player is supposed to fill. Is all of that happening on the fly?

the game is so fluid, the only structured plays I know of are off set pieces.

This is why it's important to move the ball, and move without the ball. Create space, move the ball, and get the defense (and keeper) off balance.

 

[BlueMAB]

Australians must be sick right now. They were up 2-1, could have been up 3-2 very easily, and are now down 3-2. Great game though.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I think "goaded" is a little much. Dead ball Head to head contact in any sport will likely result in a disqualification and suspension, instigated or not. Pepe should have known better, but apparently he's a hot head. I would guess he is an Artest / Carl Everett type figure in his sport.

Is it common for soccer players to have only one name? Fred. Pepe. ? I think I've seen it a few times - players listed with only one name - no first and last.

Maybe this is one of the things lacking from USA soccer. Perhaps Clint Dempsey shouldn't be Clint Dempsey anymore, and just be Clint.

 

[BlueMAB]

Maybe I'm in the minority but I like Neymar. The way he reacted to that little kid running on the field wanting an autograph, and to Silva (I think) having the bananas thrown at him were pure class.

 

[Carl Spackler]

the game is so fluid, the only structured plays I know of are off set pieces.

This is why it's important to move the ball, and move without the ball. Create space, move the ball, and get the defense (and keeper) off balance.

Well, set pieces seem to be something that is a big part of our offense, so that would make sense reflecting an American influence on the sport. Decision making within the game is clearly very, very important. Offense is still creating space to advance the ball to a goal, and defense is still taking space away to stop the advance of the ball to the goal though.

When you have the ball, and more importantly, when you don't - both individually and as a team though, decision making where to go and how to move and what to do is all dynamica variable and on the fly. The game is more like other sports like basketball, and hockey than American football in that way. American football seems very robotic from this perspective. What each player does in football in a play is very structured and needs to be precise and accurate and repeatable. I still love it. There is no team sport like American football.

 

[StevieDude]

Will CR7 even play on Sunday?

http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...with-knee-injury-could-be-career-threatening/

 

[Husky25]

Is it common for soccer players to have only one name? Fred. Pepe. ? I think I've seen it a few times - players listed with only one name - no first and last.

Maybe this is one of the things lacking from USA soccer. Perhaps Clint Dempsey shouldn't be Clint Dempsey anymore, and just be Clint.

Many times it's cultural, but there is no set protocol. Brazilians tend to go by nicknames in everyday life and some say that their real names are abnormally long.

That is not the culture in the US.

 

[ZooCougar]

Australia did well, but the Dutch did what good teams are supposed to do. This game can be so cruel.

 

[EdgewoodNHV]

Ronaldo is the world player of the year right? Don't know who votes on that, but it seems a popularity contest I think, because in watching the Germany - Portugal game, it seems he's a pretty one dimensional player - clearly very good at attacking and goal scoring. I don't know if it's possible or not, but my feeling would be to develop some kind of tactics where you attack Ronaldo and make him defend when on the offensive, and when defending, pin the guy to the sidelines and keep the ball away.

I believe Luis Suarez was the Footballer of the Year this year, actually, though he's even more hurt than Ronaldo (missed Uruguay's first game and they needed him badly).

In peak form, it's almost certainly Messi > Ronaldo > Suarez, but Suarez outperformed them both this year, even if he's not in form now.

 

[whaler11]

Last time we played Ghana, we dominated play and still lost. Time of possession doesn't mean squat unless you finish.

And when Ghana equalized, the US picked up on possession and scored. That's all that counts. And against a team that we historically don't match up well against, I'll take it.

Obviously it's the result that matters - it doesn't mean you can't be honest about how the game was played.

 

[ZooCougar]

Obviously it's the result that matters - it doesn't mean you can't be honest about how the game was played.

I hear what you are saying, but if you can beat a team like Ghana and not play well then that is a good thing. I share your concerns on the conditioning however.

 

[BlueMAB]

It wasn't just conditioning, after the early goal, we didn't look sharp. Can't blame conditioning 10-20 minutes into the game and you can't string 2-3 passes together. I agree that conditioning was an issue, it's just not the only issue.

I really hope it was jitters from everyone on the field not named Dempsey or Howard, and we'll improve Sunday.

 

[meyers7]

I believe Luis Suarez was the Footballer of the Year this year, actually, though he's even more hurt than Ronaldo (missed Uruguay's first game and they needed him badly).

In peak form, it's almost certainly Messi > Ronaldo > Suarez, but Suarez outperformed them both this year, even if he's not in form now.

Suarez was only for the English Premier League (EPL). FIFA/Ballon d'Or Player of Year was Ronaldo, Messi and Ribery (France/Bayern Munich and injured for WC) (top 3 order).

And yea Uruguay do need Suarez badly.

 

[ZooCougar]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27729615

This guy is picking the US to beat Portugal.

 

[meyers7]

Is it common for soccer players to have only one name? Fred. Pepe. ? I think I've seen it a few times - players listed with only one name - no first and last.

Maybe this is one of the things lacking from USA soccer. Perhaps Clint Dempsey shouldn't be Clint Dempsey anymore, and just be Clint.

Yea, Brazilian's tend to be very informal, as a nation. Lot's of people (regular people) go by first names/nicknames. Portugal is somewhat similar. Although not quite as many it seems.

Pele, you've heard of him. His name is actually Edson Arantes do Nascimento

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite goes by Kaka.

Your Fred is Frederico Chaves Guedes.

Maybe this is one of the things lacking from USA soccer. Perhaps Clint Dempsey shouldn't be Clint Dempsey anymore, and just be Clint.

Deuce.

 

[Mots010]

Obviously it's the result that matters - it doesn't mean you can't be honest about how the game was played.

Up a goal against the best counter attack team in Africa, then lose a starting target striker, followed by a starting center back. You sit back and let a team that struggles to break a set back line have at it. The one area that would have helped was Bradley not being a complete no show. But by and large, we forced Ghana out wide and made them cross, which worked. They did not get a lot of great chances.

 

[meyers7]

Well, set pieces seem to be something that is a big part of our offense, so that would make sense reflecting an American influence on the sport.

Maybe, but I think it tends to be more the US has quite a bit of height and we are not so good at scoring from open play.

Decision making within the game is clearly very, very important.

Huge. It's what separates the good teams. It's what makes soccer so interesting and amazing. So many options and to choose the one that will work in a constantly changing situation.

When you have the ball, and more importantly, when you don't - both individually and as a team though, decision making where to go and how to move and what to do is all dynamica variable and on the fly. The game is more like other sports like basketball,

Yes, I've mentioned that before, it is very similar to basketball. With ball movement, movement off the ball, dribbling, shooting, passing, defending (defending in numbers). Like running a motion offense, no specific set plays, but based on what the defense will give you. Makes it much more dynamic and interesting. To me anyway.

There is no team sport like American football.

Well, Association Football.

All the footballs, Canadian, Association, Rugby, Gridiron, Australian, Gaelic, all come from the same game, just different rules/codes.

 

[Waquoit]

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite goes by Kaka.

Deuce.

Isn't Deuce and Kaka two names for the same thing?

 

[meyers7]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27729615

This guy is picking the US to beat Portugal.

Well without Pepe and Coentrao on the back and it seems a much less than 100% Ronaldo up front (and not Almeida maybe, although I think Eder could hurt us just as well), we have a chance.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Are there ways to disrupt communication on a soccer field? How do players signal each other about "making runs" and stuff like that?

Lots and lots of training with the same players who live and die with each other. Each player knows by heart what his role is, what everyone else’s role is, and what a look/nod/hand gesture mean. It’s one reason why the World Cup gets all of the attention, the premier club teams in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, etc. usually play a better than the national teams. Just look at Portugal versus Real Madrid. It’s also why so many goals in the Cup are off of set pieces because it’s a set play that coaches can quickly prep a team for.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Least likable player / personality in the World Cup? 2 gimmes in Ronaldo and Neymar, but others ... ?

Pepe the atomic bomb. Half the people wearing the referee’s uniform. Darth Sepp.

 

[rich1122]

I was reading a few blogs. The only change anybody thought was Chandler for Beasely. Need more athleticism on left side. Downside too many giveaways. They will have to stick with Johanssen for better or worse.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I believe Luis Suarez was the Footballer of the Year this year, actually, though he's even more hurt than Ronaldo (missed Uruguay's first game and they needed him badly).

In peak form, it's almost certainly Messi > Ronaldo > Suarez, but Suarez outperformed them both this year, even if he's not in form now.

Suarez also has really great hands catching the ball, too

 

[Carl Spackler]

Up a goal against the best counter attack team in Africa, then lose a starting target striker, followed by a starting center back. You sit back and let a team that struggles to break a set back line have at it. The one area that would have helped was Bradley not being a complete no show. But by and large, we forced Ghana out wide and made them cross, which worked. They did not get a lot of great chances.

That makes a whole hell of a lot of sense to me. I wrote this somewhere before, probably a few pages ago - watching the game the other night, by the middle of the second half, people I was watching with were freaking out about the repeated attacks and crosses coming from the left side (or right, depending on how you are supposed to look at it from perspective - BTW - I finally figured out that I was counting my numbers backwards with regards to this 4-4-2, 4-3-2-1. 4-2-3-1 stuff)....slow learner there. but anyway, it had happened so often, and I do remember Klinsmann making adjustments in prior games when things weren't working in the field, that I remarked that allowing that stuff to happen must be what they wanted to happen with their game plan. I got some incredulous looks, and the comments about sticking to American football. I remember Klinsmann confirming afterward in interviews that they knew there would be a lot of crossing passes in front of the goal, but nothing really dangerous - something to that effect. The one goal they got, came from a different kind of attack.