crackerjack

Well-known member
The only thing preventing me saying with absolute certainty that Spain will win is Robben. No amount of team play can be completely guaranteed to nullify such random brilliance.
 

paolo

Mechanical phantoms
oh and the germans were also undone by frierich having a total nightmare

I thought he (and the rest of the German team) did quite well overall, it's just that the Spanish were even better.

I've also decided that in a perverse sort of way I actually enjoy Lawrenson's daft remarks, he's like a real life Alan Partridge
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
It's impossible to judge the France of 2000 properly cos of the circumstances of the final. Brighton could've beaten Brazil that day. What we do know is that they struggled against Paraguay (more so than Spain), almost lost to Croatia and were short of goals for much of the tournament. The 2002 team were better.

ah - the WC was 1998, meant the Euros team of 2000. Indeed, the 98 team was not that great. france in 2002 were dire by anyone's standards!

So from the results, does that mean Spain would have walloped Argentina in an alternative reality semi-final? I somehow get the feeling not...
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
ah - the WC was 1998, meant the Euros team of 2000. Indeed, the 98 team was not that great. france in 2002 were dire by anyone's standards!

Doh, teaches me to post before the first coffee - yep, the 2000 team might well have had the making of Spain, so fluid with an ever-present goal threat.
A mate of mine came perilously close to putting huge sums on France, Argentina and Italy for the 2002 WC on the grounds it was inconceivable anyone else would win and he'd wind up with a small profit. None made it past the round of 16.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
I thought he (and the rest of the German team) did quite well overall, it's just that the Spanish were even better.

I've also decided that in a perverse sort of way I actually enjoy Lawrenson's daft remarks, he's like a real life Alan Partridge

He's more sardonic and sour than AP. He seems to think true football connosieurship lies in finding faults whatever the display. He and Mowbray seemed to be having an off-camera barney last night - some weird frosty exchanges. The BBC backtracking after the match was a joy to behold.
 

don_quixote

Trent End
i know france 2000 were good. i'm not sure i'd bet against ANY french team containing zinedine zidane. he is simply the greatest footballer in my lifetime and lionel messi would take some doing to get close to him.
 

franz

Well-known member
i have to say, i'm still not totally onside with the Xavi kool-aid sipping action. He has certainly played great, but for a guy who does what he does, he still isn't finding penetration at the end enough, nor has he all tournament long. Really though, you can totally see how the midfield of he and Iniesta fit perfectly with a higher placed Leo Messi. It's really not a fair comparison to bring Barca into this because they obviously are afforded a coherence that national squad very seldom is, but even just stylistically, you can see how Messi is the thing that the Barca generals lack to really make their mark just this second.

Although what makes Spain an interesting team in comparison to Barca is precisely the presence of the English league players, who all have much more of a mind for slashing and ridiculous shots from the outside (which Xabi threatens with just often enough that i can't be down on him for it).
it's a shame pretty much all 3 of them have been in varying states of unfitness all tournament long (which isn't to say that Xabi Alonso hasn't played quite well).

If Spain does win on Sunday, i think it could be a repeat of Euro, where it's on the strength of Torres' first goal of the tournament. Maybe that's what Pedro was thinking... i hear he's got Cassandra complex worse than OctoPaul

Really though there's no reason why Holland can't score early on a long set piece into the box (or something to that effect). I think it's really anyone's game, system or no system.
 

mixed_biscuits

_________________________
Are there any pensioner football bloggers out there who can compare 2010's best to everything post-WWII?

Anyone quizzed their grandparents on this topic?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
can't fuck with the octopus. dont' really want Spain to win, as their style of football has stopped exciting me (it's the lack of edge alluded to upthread, in comparison with Barca), but the Netherlands really wouldn't be worthy world champions, I don't think, much as I like their individual players.
 

BareBones

wheezy
can't fuck with the octopus. dont' really want Spain to win, as their style of football has stopped exciting me (it's the lack of edge alluded to upthread, in comparison with Barca), but the Netherlands really wouldn't be worthy world champions, I don't think, much as I like their individual players.

I don't think they have a lack of edge really. It's more that Torres has just been totally shit all tournament. If he had been fit / at the top of his game, they surely would've been more of an attacking threat.... no?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"I don't think they have a lack of edge really. It's more that Torres has just been totally shit all tournament. If he had been fit / at the top of his game, they surely would've been more of an attacking threat.... no?"
I don't know, there seems to be some kind of lack of linkage between midfield and attack. The midfield is obviously awesome at keeping the ball and moving it around and they've got fantastic strikers but somehow they've completely failed to turn those disparate parts into bags of goals or even chances.
If the Dutch score I'm not sure that Spain will be able to force things to happen - but it will be interesting to watch them try so I hope the Dutch do get an early one to open the game out.
 

BareBones

wheezy
i dunno, i think they were unlucky not to score two or three against germany. there were some great interceptions from mertesacker of lots of tidy through balls which could have easily ended up as 1-on-1's with the keeper.
 
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