The Football (aka "Soccer") Thread

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Carmen
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#11 Post by Carmen »

My best friend got to go to Germany in his teens to play Soccer. He's 49 now, and still talks about how beautiful the country is, and what good times he had. Always made me want to go there some day
Hey!! Come over any time :D
Sometimes I get so lucky, even I don`t believe it (TSM)

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Tom_Magnum
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#12 Post by Tom_Magnum »

Wow, seems a lot of people like soccer more than I thought.

Lt Tanaka
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#13 Post by Lt Tanaka »

edit
Last edited by Lt Tanaka on Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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J.J. Walters
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#14 Post by J.J. Walters »

Congrats to Barcelona on winning the rare "treble" (La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League)!

Congrats to Manchester United for winning the Premier League for the third year in a row!

Congrats to Inter Milan for winning Serie A for the fourth year in a row!

Congrats to either Bordeaux or Marseille (more than likely Bordeaux) for ending Lyon's seven-year Ligue 1 winning streak!

and Congrats to Wolfsburg for winning their first ever Bundesliga title!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Tom_Magnum
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#15 Post by Tom_Magnum »

Thanks James for what I was going to say! ESPECIALLY BARCELONA!!!(I LOVE THEM)! :D

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J.J. Walters
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#16 Post by J.J. Walters »

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

Wow, the U.S. needed to beat Egypt by at least 3 goals, and then have Italy lose to Brazil by at least 3 goals in order to advance to the semi-finals.... and it happened!! Incredible.

Now, after playing Italy and Brazil in one week, we get to face Spain, the number 1 team on the planet, next. What a tournament!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#17 Post by Lt Tanaka »

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Last edited by Lt Tanaka on Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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J.J. Walters
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#18 Post by J.J. Walters »

Ignored by most soccer fans? Hardly!

How can a tournament that is held every four years that features the winner of the six FIFA confederation championships, the previous World Cup, and the current World Cup host country be "ignored"? If nobody cared about it, why do the teams bring their A-List players (Kaka, Robinho, Torres, Pirlo, etc.)?

It may not have the history or prestige of other tournaments, but it is certainly not "ignored" by soccer fans.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Doc Ibold
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#19 Post by Doc Ibold »

The gauntlet has been thrown.

(And I could care less about football... or as I call it, soccer!)

:lol:

(Stirring the pot is fun!)

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lutherhgillis
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#20 Post by lutherhgillis »

I know nothing about the game but it sure looks like a great deal of fun! I wish there had been opportunities to play soccer in my hometown when I was a kid. If nothing else, soccer looks like an excellent way to stay in shape...

Luther a.k.a. 'round is also a shape'
Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

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#21 Post by Lt Tanaka »

James J. Walters wrote:How can a tournament that is held every four years that features the winner of the six FIFA confederation championships, the previous World Cup, and the current World Cup host country be "ignored"?
Because nobody will remember the winner in six months time. Can you name the winner of the last Confederations cup without checking? I can't and I can name both finalists in every World Cup back to 1930. In the sports sections of the newspapers in Europe almost all the articles are dealing with transfers and who is being bought and sold. The confederations cup is getting results only treatment or short run downs. Unlike the World Cup next year which will dominate the news even outside the sports section and have every game shown live in almost every European country, only a handful of nations have bothered to show any games or highlights of this tournament.

If nobody cared about it, why do the teams bring their A-List players (Kaka, Robinho, Torres, Pirlo, etc.)?
International teams bring their "A-list" players for even friendlies these days because if they don't they risk losing ground in the constant tug-of-war with the clubs.
Also Spain, Italy and Brazil are genuine contenders for the title next year so it's a chance for them to test the squad in the country that will host the World Cup. For the smaller nations such as Egypt, America and NZ it's a rare chance to play the big boys and so they may take it a bit more seriously but still the priority is using it as a test run rather than winning it as a serious competition.

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#22 Post by Lt Tanaka »

Doc Ibold wrote: I could care less about football.
Don't you mean you "couldn't" care less. You "could care less" means you must care. :P
Stirring the pot is fun!
I agree. :wink:

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#23 Post by J.J. Walters »

Well sure, no tournament measures up to the World Cup! It's the cream of the crop. There are, however, many other soccer tournaments that are fun, exciting, and important - UEFA, Copa America, African Cup, Asian Cup, Club World Cup, Gold Cup, Copa Libertadores, and yes, even the Confederations Cup.

By the way, Brazil won the Confederations Cup in 2005!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#24 Post by Lt Tanaka »

Now I see why you like it.
Spain 0-2 USA

The United States will contest the Confederations Cup final after causing a huge upset in Bloemfontein tonight by inflicting a first defeat on Spain since 2006.

Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey scored the goals as underdogs USA, having lost their opening two games in the tournament and only squeezed through Group B by the skin of their teeth, set up a final showdown against either Brazil or hosts South Africa on Sunday.

The result was one of the biggest shocks in recent international history, with the all-conquering Spanish having broken the record for consecutive wins with their 15th on the trot against South Africa at the weekend.

The European champions would also have claimed the record for the longest unbeaten run if they had avoided defeat tonight, having drawn level with Brazil's run of 35 in that South Africa match.

Even the 86th-minute dismissal of Michael Bradley - son of coach Bob - could not deny the USA, who were left to celebrate a famous victory.

The Americans started brightly and Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas found his goal under threat from Altidore and Charlie Davies early on.

Davies' then threatened again with a glancing header across the face of goal, and when Dempsey drilled a 25-yard shot just wide in the eighth minute, the Spanish must have wondered what was going on.

The world's top-ranked side did not take long to fashion some chances of their own though.
Cesc Fabregas sent a dipping shot over the bar and then the Arsenal captain threaded over a superb cross that Fernando Torres was just unable to convert at the far post.

That was all in a breathless opening 12 minutes, and both sides continued to push forward before the US took a shock lead through Altidore in the 26th minute.

Dempsey played the ball into his strike-partner on the edge of the box and the 19-year-old was allowed to turn Villarreal team-mate Joan Capdevila far too easily before firing in a shot that Casillas got his hand to but could not keep out.

That was the first goal Spain had conceded in their Confederations Cup campaign and only the third since Vicente del Bosque took over last summer, with this being the 14th match under the former Real Madrid boss.

The Spanish were under real pressure and, after David Villa had blazed a half-chance over the bar, the US had a great chance to make it 2-0.

Two US players were unmarked at the far post as they raced in to meet Landon Donovan's free-kick, but while captain Carlos Bocanegra was probably the better placed, Dempsey stretched to get his head to the ball and could not get it on target.

Despite that wasted opportunity, the US still held onto their 1-0 lead until the break, with Tim Howard sticking out a foot to deny Torres at his near post just before the interval.

With their proud record in danger, Spain came out at the start of the second half with all guns blazing. Just two minutes after the re-start Howard produced a superb save to tip away Villa's effort, before Xabi Alonso fired a rising shot just over the crossbar.

It was all one-way traffic and Villa and Albert Riera both tried their luck, while Xavi had a good shout for a penalty following a challenge by Donovan inside the area.

The shots continued to rain in on Howard's goal, with the Everton custodian doing well to keep out efforts from Fabregas and Sergio Ramos in quick succession.

Spain could not find the breakthrough though, and their hopes of reaching the final were crushed when the US netted their second goal in the 74th minute.

Donovan's low cross should really have been cleared by Ramos at the far post, but Dempsey showed quick reactions to prod the ball away from the Real Madrid defender and past Casillas.

Spain got a brief glimmer of hope when Bradley was shown a red card for a heavy challenge on Alonso, but Del Bosque's side could not take advantage as the slumped to their first loss since going down 1-0 at home to Romania in a friendly in November, 2006.

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#25 Post by J.J. Walters »

Shocker! USA ends Spain's 35-match unbeaten streak! :shock: It surely must goes into the Top 5 of USA's biggest wins ever.

I gotta tell ya though, Spain pretty much dominated the game. They controlled the midfield and were attacking like crazy! I don't know how many Shots On Goal they had, but it must have been a ton. Great play from our central defenders and Tim Howard in goal. We played our hearts out, that's for sure.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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