World Cup 2010 - Bastards Speak Up 2.0!!!
- Thread starter DOR
- Start date
Call it The Curse Of Nike or whatever, but none of the marquee names really turned up, did they? Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba, Ribery, Kaka, Cannavaro - they all had bad or ineffective World Cups. On the other hand, the golden boot was being fought over by a Manchester Utd reject, a lad who only made the Bayern Munich first team last season, and a guy who, up until the start of the tournament, was probably the most underrated player in the Dutch side.
Ronaldo, Kaka, Ribery and Cannavaro didn't have the greatest of seasons prior to this WC anyway, to me Rooney was one of the biggest dissapointments of the tournament after the season he had.
This is what I mean, though. Nowadays, especially in the way football is marketed, there's a tendency to focus on The Big Name, and the fact that it's a team game, in which less-celebrated players often make key contributions, tends to be overlooked.
I think the media, particularly in the UK, has a lot to answer for, too. Nobody over here was talking about Thomas Muller as a player to watch before the tournament. In fact, only Jim Beglin on ITV's commentary team seemed to know anything about him. All the focus was on the usual suspects. I'm sure someone will back me up here when I say that in the UK we're used to the so-called TV pundits having no idea of what they're talking about; for example, Forlan is still judged by his underperforming term with Man United, and derisively referred to as "Diego Forlorn". The fact he's scored well over 100 goals in La Liga since he left United barely merits a mention.
A lot of people I know swear by the coverage on the Irish state channel RTE, where supposedly the pundits are more knowledgeable. Yet they too wrote Germany off, seemingly on the basis of Bayern's failure to win the CL, which was mainly down to van Buyten (a Belgian) and De Michelis (an Argentinean) both having stinkers in the middle of defence. These are people who, ostensibly, are employed by TV companies to provide some analysis of the play and some background on who the key figures are likely to be, and they haven't got a clue. Instead, they talk about the same big names you see in all the ad campaigns who, almost to a man, have failed to live up to their billing, poor domestic seasons or not. The real stars of the tournament have been the previously unsung.
I think the media, particularly in the UK, has a lot to answer for, too. Nobody over here was talking about Thomas Muller as a player to watch before the tournament. In fact, only Jim Beglin on ITV's commentary team seemed to know anything about him. All the focus was on the usual suspects. I'm sure someone will back me up here when I say that in the UK we're used to the so-called TV pundits having no idea of what they're talking about; for example, Forlan is still judged by his underperforming term with Man United, and derisively referred to as "Diego Forlorn". The fact he's scored well over 100 goals in La Liga since he left United barely merits a mention.
A lot of people I know swear by the coverage on the Irish state channel RTE, where supposedly the pundits are more knowledgeable. Yet they too wrote Germany off, seemingly on the basis of Bayern's failure to win the CL, which was mainly down to van Buyten (a Belgian) and De Michelis (an Argentinean) both having stinkers in the middle of defence. These are people who, ostensibly, are employed by TV companies to provide some analysis of the play and some background on who the key figures are likely to be, and they haven't got a clue. Instead, they talk about the same big names you see in all the ad campaigns who, almost to a man, have failed to live up to their billing, poor domestic seasons or not. The real stars of the tournament have been the previously unsung.
at the end? Come come, you were dealt generous breaks by the ref who did his best to avoid making it look like a pub thug early-bath fest.
Congrats Holland: you successfully lost any new soccer fans made during this World Cup!
that game sucked.
that game sucked.
dukeofdelridge said:Congrats Holland: you successfully lost any new soccer fans made during this World Cup!
that game sucked.
well guess what merryman
no one gives a fuaaaaaack
that game sucked.
well guess what merryman
no one gives a fuaaaaaack
deserved winners.
it was a shame to see the dutch kicking their way through the game though...
but good to see a gooner instrumental in winning the world cup.
it was a shame to see the dutch kicking their way through the game though...
but good to see a gooner instrumental in winning the world cup.
So good riddance to a woeful WC - worst since 94 imho.
Damn, how bad are Holland? No magnificence at all. Not a reflection of the Dutch people I know - they will be positively sickened by their team's stance. Thank fuck Van Bommel and Robben are not stealing away with the WC bling. Nasty, horrible shits.
BTW No-one mentioned the best kit of the tournament, by a distance - Portugal's away strip.
Damn, how bad are Holland? No magnificence at all. Not a reflection of the Dutch people I know - they will be positively sickened by their team's stance. Thank fuck Van Bommel and Robben are not stealing away with the WC bling. Nasty, horrible shits.
BTW No-one mentioned the best kit of the tournament, by a distance - Portugal's away strip.
DrWu said:Kaka didn't have a good cup? Dude was tied for assts (3). He played pretty well and certainly much better than in 2006.
Dr Wu, sir
you are treating football like a management accountant would treat contributions to the bottom line from a trading floor.
Please to cease and desist. Unless there is glory, supreme skill, panache, elan and chutzpah involved, your top players had a shit WC regardless of how many 'assists' dude made. And since when did assists start wheedling their ugly way into the soccerball vocab?
Heinous term.
Dr Wu, sir
you are treating football like a management accountant would treat contributions to the bottom line from a trading floor.
Please to cease and desist. Unless there is glory, supreme skill, panache, elan and chutzpah involved, your top players had a shit WC regardless of how many 'assists' dude made. And since when did assists start wheedling their ugly way into the soccerball vocab?
Heinous term.