The official World Cup 2010 aftermatch thread

[F9]

As the other got too many posts, lets get a new one now:)

[RedAnarchist]

I think next time Germany could be one of the definite favourites. This time around they had a good, young squad who I think can only get better. Next time around England will probably look quite different as for many of our players, this was their last world cup, so I don't know how well England will do in qualifying for Brazil '14.

France and Italy will certainly not want to repeat their lacklustre performances from this world cup next time. It will also be interesting to see how well Brazil do as hosts of the next WC.

[Bubbles]

I've seen better games then the finale. And off course the Dutchmen lost just because i cheered for them. God thing I did not place any bets

[F9]

http://24sports.com.cy/images/media/image1_medium/Iniesta-Holland-Spain-World-Cup-2010-Final_2476522.jpg

i hate the getting the shirt off=yellow card, is sooo fucking stupid.And in this case, its even more stupid to get a card after what iniestas shirt said(if you dont know, he refers to a player of espanyol dani jargue who died last year) i mean ffs, you dont give a yellow card for that..

[RedAnarchist]

http://24sports.com.cy/images/media/image1_medium/Iniesta-Holland-Spain-World-Cup-2010-Final_2476522.jpg

i hate the getting the shirt off=yellow card, is sooo fucking stupid.And in this case, its even more stupid to get a card after what iniestas shirt said(if you dont know, he refers to a player of espanyol dani jargue who died last year) i mean ffs, you dont give a yellow card for that..

Whilst I agree with you, I don't really think he was too bothered to get that card.

[Nwoye]

It was really nice to see Jesus Navas get some time on the pitch, and I thought he was a terrific substitute.

[F9]

Whilst I agree with you, I don't really think he was too bothered to get that card.

i didnt say he was, but its stupid to punish someone for doing that.you give yellow card for a foul that can cause an injury, its harsh etc, not because you want to celebrate your goal.

[Agnapostate]

It was a matter of symbolism. Representatives of Spain are responsible for atrocious colonialism and imperialism. On the other hand, Dutchmen winning in South Africa may have been too much to bear.

[RedAnarchist]

i didnt say he was, but its stupid to punish someone for doing that.you give yellow card for a foul that can cause an injury, its harsh etc, not because you want to celebrate your goal.

of course, I agree that such a celebration is not a yellow card offence.

[RedAnarchist]

It was a matter of symbolism. Representatives of Spain are responsible for atrocious colonialism and imperialism. On the other hand, Dutchmen winning in South Africa may have been too much to bear.

Then it's a good thing England didn't get to the final then.

[The Vegan Marxist]

I was rooting for Spain since the beginning. Though, I wasn't going to pout if Holland had one, because that would've meant Immortal Technique leaking out a song from his upcoming album "Middle Passage" :lol:

[Wanted Man]

Shit sucks. It's a kind of deserved win for Spain, although I had really hoped that we could have held on until penalties. In any case, we'll be back stronger than ever at the next Euros. ;) Now then, let's walk through this Holland team, the ref, and the Spanish.

Goalie: simply excellent. He looked unsure against Uruguay, but he was back to his old standard in this game. I would have loved to see him try his hand at a penalty series, but that wasn't allowed to happen unfortunately. He is not perfect yet, but he still has a decade to go, and I'm sure he will peak in this period. If Man United want a replacement for Van der Sar, they would do well to look across the sea again.

Central defenders: I thought both of them were solid for most of the match. They used to be Holland's greatest liability, but this is no longer the case. I thought Heitinga's sending-off was harsh.

Full backs: Van der Wiel had a good game, but Van Bronckhorst really excelled. He has been great for the entire tournament. This was surprising, because he had difficulties keeping up during the league season. Perhaps the difference is that many Dutch clubs play with right wingers or right midfielders, whereas almost none of the World Cup opponents did. I have no idea why he was replaced towards the end by Braafheid of all people.

Defending midfielders: the lack of intelligence from both of them was shocking. Both of them could and should have been sent off before the half-hour mark. After that, they were never going to go into the challenges full-on again. If they had been more careful early on, they could have frustrated Spain's midfield play far better than they already did.

Kuyt: I thought this was a poor match from him, and I don't understand why most of the media keep praising him so much. In this game, he repeatedly gave too short passes, forcing others to compensate with fouls or creating opportunities for Spain. His help in defence, which he is often praised for, was not as clear either.

Sneijder: he was not as visible early on, but he eventually made his mark with some great passes. Still one of the best players of the tournament by my reckoning.

Robben: even when the team are not playing that well, a player like Robben has the ability to turn the game on its head. He had a couple of great opportunities, but unfortunately he did not take them. Otherwise, we would be talking about entirely different things right now.

Van Persie: at Arsenal, he did well as a striker, but it just doesn't seem to work out here. He is probably working his ass off, but you just don't see it in the end. I suppose at Arsenal, he is fed from the sides and centre midfield a lot better, whereas guys like Robben will go for the individual action, Sneijder is less prominent, and let's not talk about Kuyt. In this configuration with Van Persie up front, it always looks as though we're playing with ten men.

Manager: despite this Van Persie problem, I think Van Marwijk has definitely proven himself. There are not many managers who can turn a selection full of prima donnas into a gritty team of cup-fighters. He still has a contract until 2012, but he is willing to move elsewhere if he gets an offer that's too good to refuse, so we'll have to see how that goes. It would be nice to have him around for the Euros.

Spain: I did not think they were playing particularly well, despite having the most possession and being more dangerous towards the end. Especially the entry of Jesus Navas made a major difference. He is a real quality player who has the ability to force things open, as we've seen. Spain also did not react too badly to all the provocations and tough challenges that they were getting. Fair play to Spain.

Referee: Howard Webb was disappointing. Before the game, Spain criticised him for his performance in an earlier Spain game, and it looked as if he was subconsciously compensating ever since. He did not have much control over the match, and at some point he gave a foul for every contact, and a yellow card for every foul. And of course, he missed some major moments that could have changed the game. However, we can have no complaints, considering that he failed to send off both Van Bommel and De Jong early on. Perhaps people should have thought of that before booing him at the award ceremony.

[Wanted Man]

lol: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/11/sportsline/main6668199.shtml

[manic expression]

I was pretty neutral (leaning just a tiny bit toward Spain) until de Jong went all Kung-Fu Joe on Xabi Alonso in the first half. After that point, I was behind Spain 100%. I have to say, van Bronckhorst and Stekelenburg are all class, and I have to admit I admire Robben...but Spain deserved the win without any doubt.

I'll be hoping the Dutch finally get that star in future world cups, their wonderful history and great fans almost merit it alone. But this was Spain's year, and I couldn't be happier for them.

PS, this is why I love Spain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCOaxoj_xuo&feature=related

[RadioRaheem84]

To my Euro comrades in here. How big is Euro Cup in Europe? I am thinking about taking a trip to Europe in the next couple of years and am wondering if Euro Cup would be worth the trip?

[Devrim]

To my Euro comrades in here. How big is Euro Cup in Europe? I am thinking about taking a trip to Europe in the next couple of years and am wondering if Euro Cup would be worth the trip?

If you mean the European Championship*, it is pretty massive. Obviously not as big as the WC but a large scale event. It has half the number of teams with four groups of four followed by quarter finals. The next one is in Poland and the Ukraine in 2012.

Devrim

*The European Cup is the old name for what is now called the Champions league.

[praxis1966]

As far as the aftermath goes, I'm still kicking myself about the early rounds. Not that many of you are sure to care, but I've been playing FSC's Predictor game the whole way through. There was one day in the group phase where I didn't make any predictions and two others where I didn't get my picks in until after the early match had started. That cost me a potential 18 points. Globally, I finished in second place, six points off the lead. Now I'm not sure how many people participated in the game this time round because for whatever reason FSC chose not to disclose that number, but in 2006 there were over 65,000 participants. To finish tops in a game like that, despite the lack of any tangible prizes, would have been, like, ZOMG so super awesome.

[Andropov]

Im delighted Spain won on two counts.
Firstly football prevailed in the end and that scumbag Van Bommel and his underhand tactics didnt.
Secondly I didnt want The Netherlands first World Cup win to be achieved the way in which Van Marwijk had set out his stall.
It would have been a discredit to the dutch teams of 1974 and 1978 and even the dutch teams that were playing up until Van Marwijk's reign.
Those players and managers who have gone before this current Dutch Squad worked hard to build a reputation to be one of the most likeable teams in the world even if it did entail constant under achievement.
If they won it Van Bommel and De Jong and Co's way this year it would forever tarnish the greats of Cryuff and Van Basten etc.
The Netherlands history and tradition is more than just winning, it stands for alot more and I hope they return to their roots.

[F9]

I dont agree with the critics on referee, and hell i cant understand dutchs talking about an offside goal.i just read sneijders comments, talking how is referees fault they lost, how iniesta should be send off for the kick he made to van bommel(i think).I mean, dutchs should get at least 2 red cards waaaaay earlier.Dutchs brought a tough game, i dont have problem with that, every way possible to win, i understand that, i cant understand though how sneijder can be complainning about referee.He dont has access to replay? As for the many yellow cards, almost all were 100% correct, dutchs brought a tough game, and that meant cards and fouls, if referee wouldnt give cards, the game would turn to arena, spains would get frustrated and start kicking etc too, it didnt happen, and we saw a game bit better when lot of players of netherlands were booked.
I like netherlands, they brought great game last years, but their reactions are fucking stupid.I thankfully didnt saw sneijders like reactions hopefully nationalism wont blind our dutch members :p

[Wanted Man]

I can understand why Holland's tactics were not appreciated, but I still fail to see how Spain's performance was much better. Perhaps I'm talking with orange-coloured blinders covering my eyes, but I simply don't think Spain played that well, except for the first 20 minutes or so, and after Jesus Navas's entry, but then, Holland had one or two strong spells as well.

Of course, one can say that Spain were not as creative because of Holland's playing style, and that many of Spain's fouls were in reaction to Holland, but all of that is a choice that the players make. Holland had somewhat weaker players in most positions, so they coped with it by killing off Spain's potential creativity. I don't think "beauty" or "football" prevailed. That would not have been the case if Holland had won either, by the way. It was an ugly game almost by necessity.

[Andropov]

I can understand why Holland's tactics were not appreciated, but I still fail to see how Spain's performance was much better. Perhaps I'm talking with orange-coloured blinders covering my eyes, but I simply don't think Spain played that well, except for the first 20 minutes or so, and after Jesus Navas's entry, but then, Holland had one or two strong spells as well.

Of course, one can say that Spain were not as creative because of Holland's playing style, and that many of Spain's fouls were in reaction to Holland, but all of that is a choice that the players make. Holland had somewhat weaker players in most positions, so they coped with it by killing off Spain's potential creativity. I don't think "beauty" or "football" prevailed. That would not have been the case if Holland had won either, by the way. It was an ugly game almost by necessity.
Bu there is a difference between attempting to stem the creativity of Iniesta and Xavi in the centre with hard work and good defensive play and then there is just the cynical and really disgusting fouling of De Jong and specifically Van Bommel.
A good example of this in the World Cup was Perez and Arevelo for Uruguay who ran themselves into the ground breaking up oppositions play but yet did not resort to the constant fouling and cynical challenges of the current Dutch squad.
All in all neither team played especially nice, it was a rotten final but the difference being is that Spain aspired to play good football while the Dutch set up was anything but.

[Honggweilo]

http://memegenerator.net/Netherlands/ImageMacro/1616021/Netherlands-But-he-said-free-kick.jpg

:lol: