dave_ragg1984 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 They only had Sneijder and Robben capable of producing anything. Lo and behold, whenever either of those two got the ball they looked threatening! When they didn't have the ball, the Dutch played their other game plan. Fair enough, surely. I wish people would stop propagating this myth that ALL the Dutch did was boot people up in the air for two hours. Similarly, Spain have been, for large portions of the tournament, dull as dishwater. It was the same last night. They're an incredibly tight unit, but to say they're the purveyors of this glorious brand of football that everyone harps on about is some way off the mark. Apart from Chile and Honduras (games where Spain were anything but dull) every team Spain played stuck 9 men behind the ball and hoped to hit them on the break with their one attacker. Spain, showing why they are the best in the world by a distance, were incredibly patient and knew that if they stuck to holding the ball and passing and moving, sooner or later the chance would come. The gameplan worked for an extremely lucky Switzerland. On another day, Spain would have won that game 5 or 6 nil. But it was just one of those days. The other teams (Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Holland) were all extremely sound defensively and difficult to break down. But Spain managed to do it in every game. The reason they weren't as exciting as we all hoped is more down to the opposition they faced than them actually being a dull team. Plus, any team that is so good that it makes Holland resort to kicking you out of the game to have a chance must be bloody good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackey Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Apart from Chile and Honduras (games where Spain were anything but dull) every team Spain played stuck 9 men behind the ball and hoped to hit them on the break with their one attacker. Spain, showing why they are the best in the world by a distance, were incredibly patient and knew that if they stuck to holding the ball and passing and moving, sooner or later the chance would come. The gameplan worked for an extremely lucky Switzerland. On another day, Spain would have won that game 5 or 6 nil. But it was just one of those days. The other teams (Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Holland) were all extremely sound defensively and difficult to break down. But Spain managed to do it in every game. The reason they weren't as exciting as we all hoped is more down to the opposition they faced than them actually being a dull team. Plus, any team that is so good that it makes Holland resort to kicking you out of the game to have a chance must be bloody good. More from the Gods at Opta: "Spain kept a clean sheet in all seven of their knockout matches at both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. Spotless." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza699 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 You can see how close I got Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 So amongst the mountain of Dutch red cards, Puyol was very lucky when he pulled Robben back. I haven't found any team that entertaining really, with the exception of Ghana. They really gave it a go. Ghana were the team of the tournament for me. It was the way they stuck to their jobs and believed in it all the way, they were never the best footballers but they had a system and every man did his part in it. Legends until the day they die I guess, and not one of them good enough for the England team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ackey Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 You can see how close I got Very jealous mate. Get home safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza699 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Very jealous mate. Get home safe. Ta, fly friday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ritchie Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ta, fly friday You caught much of South Africa or just the football and the bars? Interested to hear what the place is like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza699 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 You caught much of South Africa or just the football and the bars? Interested to hear what the place is like. Going on Safari tomorrow but not done alot of sight seeing, went up table mountain and camps bay when I was in Cape Town, If I was going to come back here on a holiday it would have to be Cape Town, I would also like to see Durban aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldhamSheridan Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ghana were the team of the tournament for me. It was the way they stuck to their jobs and believed in it all the way, they were never the best footballers but they had a system and every man did his part in it. Legends until the day they die I guess, and not one of them good enough for the England team. Nah, it was Germany by a mile. Only team intent on attacking. Whalloping Argentina was fantastic. Though us getting mullered by them wasn't great, but credit where credit's due. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Nah, it was Germany by a mile. Only team intent on attacking. Whalloping Argentina was fantastic. Though us getting mullered by them wasn't great, but credit where credit's due. I don't think Germany were comitted to attacking so much, they had a policy to attack when they were ahead, hence the spanking scorelines. They didn't go balls out when it was nil nil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yard Dog Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ghana...? Tsss. Sympathy vote, that. :censored:e World Cup, only highlights were a couple of performances from Germany and Argentina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldhamSheridan Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ghana...? Tsss. Sympathy vote, that. :censored:e World Cup, only highlights were a couple of performances from Germany and Argentina /\ (and South Korea for one game) Ghana didn't do anything of any worth. Serbia by a penalty in a game worthy of nil-nil, after a sending off. One all with the Aussies, another penalty again and a sending off, again. Beaten by Germany. Beat the USA, in I would say a fifty fifty game. Beaten by Uruguay, after another penalty and another sending off. Sorry, they, and the whole of the "African Nation" were :censored:. Oh, but they gave it a go. Yes, so did England against Germany. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
24hoursfromtulsehill Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 (edited) Another controversial theory on the success of Ze Germans... Linktastic Does this mean we need more in our team? Edited July 14, 2010 by 24hoursfromtulsehill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboafc Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Maradona has quit as manager Diego Maradona's chaotic reign as Argentina coach ended last night when he was effectively dismissed by the executive committee of the Argentinian Football Associationhand of the devil sacked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boboafc Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 north korea The team's coach, Kim Jong-hun, was reportedly forced to become a builder and has been expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggie21 Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 north korea The team's coach, Kim Jong-hun, was reportedly forced to become a builder and has been expelled from the Workers' Party of Korea we should have done that to fabio capello :grin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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