World Cup - Spoilers (Page 29)

Usual dreary game - no space given so hard to build...an early goal for Spain in the 1st 15 mins would have been the remedy. Thought Spain should have used the width better and played quicker...too many touches and negative/short  passes in the middle allowing the Dutch to retreat en mass and clog the middle.

That said..so poor finishing from both teams...Spain the biggest criminals...Villa, Fabregas, Ramos, Iniesta but Robben had the chance to be the hero twice and failed.

4 years til the next one....start the countdown....might even start saving to make if to Rio for a game or two!

Watched this - http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/2010_FIFA_World_Cup/Match_Highlights/ID=1542049382

- got the rule -
"It's also important to note that offside applies at the moment the ball is passed, not at the moment the ball is received. Therefore, if the offensive player that will receive the pass is "onside" at the time the ball is passed, but then runs behind the unsuspecting defender before receiving the pass, the receiving offensive player is not offsides."

NOTE:  The "unsuspecting defender" was actually running to get the ball and not the offensive player running behind the "unsuspecting defender", but, that's just technicalities.

Now, why wasn't Spain's #6 called on the initial offsides (just a few seconds prior) - because at the time when the ball was passed towards him, it didn't get pass the two defenders that he already was behind, i.e. the ball didn't reach him, soooooo, no harm no foul??

because even the ref wanted to see the game over......it was that dire

I do agree..Iniesta could have been called because he was in an offside position at first and made an attempt for the ball....

The offside rule has become too much about interpretation by the officials and not a definitive rule in my opinion...if you are offside at any time...you are offside...end of.....

Wanted to thank all of you for making this a very entertaining thread!

See you back here in 4 years

D.K. - 2010-07-12 10:13 AM

LowcountryTRI - 2010-07-12 10:10 AM

Wanted to thank all of you for making this a very entertaining thread!

 

See you back here in 4 years

Yep. 
We can do it again for Euro Cup 2012. Qualifying matches start soon. 

It has been fun.  That's for certain.

D.K. - 2010-07-12 10:13 AM

LowcountryTRI - 2010-07-12 10:10 AM

Wanted to thank all of you for making this a very entertaining thread!

 

See you back here in 4 years

Yep. 
We can do it again for Euro Cup 2012. Qualifying matches start soon. 

Yes, thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. It was a lot of fun and we've got some knowledgeable fans here.

And we have another long-running thread "Any REAL football fans here?" that is fairly active where we discuss MLS, EPL, Serie A and other footy-related stuff. Of course the MLS season is running now and the EPL starts up in about a month.

What is everyone's take on Webbs performance?  I think he did quite well, over all, considering how both teams were "playing" the game.  Of course the Netherlands are saying he ruined it and gave Spain the win.  What say you?

I think he kept the match under control as much as possible.  Obviously De Jong should have gone out with a red for the karate clinic he put on out there.  Puyol could have been shown a red, too, for trying to take down Robben.  The Spanish players definitely took advantage of the ref's flurry of yellows to the Oranje as was evident in the sending off of Heitinga.  I knew it was just a matter of time before the Dutch would be playing a man down.

As for the offsides/not offsides call on the Iniesta goal.  It was pretty close even in instant replay and can't imagine how quickly the game moves for  the refs after being out there on the pitch after 116 minutes.

I know he wasn't in position to call the red on DeJong's karate kick to Alonso.  Still should have been a straight red in my mind.

To me, Netherlands played quite a chippy game and had some of the simulation they tried turned on them.  Robben flopped quite a bit and Spain caught on and it came back to bit Oranje in the azz.

This!

Even though I haven't contributed, I've read most of this thread, so thanks for all the contributions. 

Here's a question for ongoing debate:

With the deep run Team USA made and its associated drama, how much will MLS viewership/attendance increase the rest of this season, if any?

I know if I lived closer to Columbus or Chicago, I'd be attending a match or two.

Good question.

Here are the average attendance numbers for each year. 

There doesn't appear to be any correlation between WC years and attendance.  Over all, though, I'm glad to see that the general trend is upwards. 

IMO, I think they'll experience a small spike but will quickly go back to normal level of viewership/attendance.  I, personally, will watch one or two MLS matches a season but did watch every single WC match.  The reason is time.  Between work, family, kid's school and activities, training, etc.  my time to watch a match is very limited.  So if I do find myself with time to watch a match, I will opt to watch a European league match where I recognize more of the players. 

I just came across the Lego WC Final and thought you might enjoy it.

http://www.legofussball.eu/?Lego-Videos:WM_2010:NED_-_ESP

Loved the Kung Fu Kick/stomp!

Yes, they did that right, and a lot of the other hard fouls. Funny!!

ETA: I love the Lego refs giving the cards. Don't remember if we've seen that before.