FIFA World Cup 2014

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

I wonder who is better now. Howard or Ochoa.  :V

[Silent Harmony]

Howard has at least 11-12+ saves this game alone.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

uh-oh... Mime.  :ohdear:

[Silent Harmony]

May I remind everyone that the US has NEVER won a game where they conceded the opening goal?  :qq:

That said Belgium deserved that long, long ago.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

Indeed. I'm not so surprised since it was eventually going to happen anyway.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

...RIP USA. I knew them well.

(EDIT: Sorry for double posting. I really thought there was a post below me)

[Edible]

:fail:

[Silent Harmony]

Lukaku changed the game. RIP Tim Howard. Does not deserve to be on a losing side with 15+ saves.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

wait what.

HEY! WE CAN STILL HOPE

[Silent Harmony]

Do I dare believe?

EDIT: Better team won.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

It's over. But this was still the game I enjoyed watching mostly from the round of 16. Second only to my own country x Chile.

[Kaze_Senshi]

Nice game

[attach=1]

[DX7.EP]

Quite the game at overtime. Royal ton of saves on the US side and Lukaku was quite strong with that second goal.

Going to be a tough night here, but oh well, here's to better quality games at the quarterfinals ~

[ふねん1]

You cannot give the ball away that many times and expect to get away with it. Better team won today, but it still leaves a guy like me wondering when the USA team is gonna take that next step. No ifs, and, or buts about it, they have to get into the quarters and/or semis on a more frequent basis before they start legitimately turning heads back home, let alone around the world. Cue the country as a whole, once again, ignoring soccer until the next World Cup. :V

"Fun" fact: All the group winners won in the Round of 16. So much for true upsets this year. It's like we could've gotten rid of the runner-up spots and it wouldn't have made a difference lol.

[Silent Harmony]

You cannot give the ball away that many times and expect to get away with it. Better team won today, but it still leaves a guy like me wondering when the USA team is gonna take that next step. No ifs, and, or buts about it, they have to get into the quarters and/or semis on a more frequent basis before they start legitimately turning heads back home, let alone around the world. Cue the country as a whole, once again, ignoring soccer until the next World Cup. :V

"Fun" fact: All the group winners won in the Round of 16. So much for true upsets this year. It's like we could've gotten rid of the runner-up spots and it wouldn't have made a difference lol.

"Country as a whole ignoring soccer?" Um, you do realize MLS is the fastest-growing league in the USA I believe, especially among the coveted young-adult fans. Attendance-wise it ranked third in 2013 and international soccer leagues (like the EPL) are getting more and more tv coverage. Soccer is growing a lot in the USA for where it was pre-1990.

Is it going to grab a casual fan like the NFL or NBA here? No, not for a while. But other sports are starting to get into shaky spots (baseball's average fan age is growing year-after-year) and we live in a more global age; naturally a global game will catch on eventually.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

By the way, it's a coincidence how we have exactly 4 South American countries and 4 European ones for the quarter finals.

[Silent Harmony]

Sorry, but Costa Rica's Central America, not South (CONCACAF, NOT CONMEBOL). Would've been funny though.

[ふねん1]

That's pretty much who I was referring to when I was talking about soccer "turning heads": fans of the other big North American sports, who are still in the majority here. I already know MLS is growing, but soccer has historically never been as big a deal in the US as it has been elsewhere. There's just not much precedent for me to think that will change in one World Cup cycle. Longer than that? Perhaps, but the USA team's best chance to really further that along is to win more meaningful international games.

[Silent Harmony]

That's pretty much who I was referring to when I was talking about soccer "turning heads": fans of the other big North American sports, who are still in the majority here. I already know MLS is growing, but soccer has historically never been as big a deal in the US as it has been elsewhere. There's just not much precedent for me to think that will change in one World Cup cycle. Longer than that? Perhaps, but the USA team's best chance to really further that along is to win more meaningful international games.

I agree with a lot of what you said, and even used to feel the same way. However, one must remember how old the NBA, NFL, and MLB are in comparison to MLS. Yes football, baseball, basketball, and hockey (and some college sports) all beat soccer in overall fanbase. However, domestically soccer is in its infancy in terms of being noticed and appreciated. For instance we as a nation hate all of the diving and whining that goes on, while other countries seem to embrace it. So long as FIFA doesn't enforce against it we're never going to love the sport simply because of our ideals and beliefs about how athletes should act.

We also simply do not have the talent to compete with the Germanys and Brasils of the world, but we are a top 16 country and play with a lot of heart. A performance like Howard's may inspire the next great American goalkeeper, even if we did lose. Also Klinsmann is fighting hard to fix our youth development system, which should help produce more talent. Until we produce better talent, we will not win a World Cup. That doesn't mean that the sport won't grow though, at least not to me. It simply means it's going to be a slow, steady growth and I'm fine with that.

[Maiden Synnae ミ☆]

Sorry, but Costa Rica's Central America, not South (CONCACAF, NOT CONMEBOL). Would've been funny though.

Sorry, I wasn't thinking enough. I was trying to mean 4 Latin American countries. ^^;

[Helepolis]

USA has been improved their national team since WC2010. I was extremely surprised. But sadly, it wasn't enough.  :ohdear:

It was iffy to see USA had nice passing and charges to advance quickly forward but once they were close to the 16m they kind of get confused. Especially when for example from the wings a pass is made horizontally in front of the Goal, often I was seeing no players move towards the ball while the pass was very well executed.

Goaly of USA had my respect. He did so many outrageous saves that my dad and I were applauding at one point. Man of the Match for sure.



RIP USA. Gee Gee.

[BT]

For instance we as a nation hate all of the diving and whining that goes on, while other countries seem to embrace it. So long as FIFA doesn't enforce against it we're never going to love the sport simply because of our ideals and beliefs about how athletes should act.

I don't think anyone likes the diving and whining parts of football.

[Helepolis]

Diving and whining is a form of "professional" play. It becomes even more professional when a team is leading and tries to finish it by sitting / laying down a lot etc.

95% of the football players dive/whine. It seems sort of culture with football. Exaggerated trips, tumbles or rolls. Holding their body parts which wasn't even hit/impacted (always funny to see in replay someone hitting the feet/ankle and the player drops down, screaming in pain holding his knee. 

People like Messi usually don't do it, hence I prefer to see them play.

[Espadas]

Diving and whining is a form of "professional" play. It becomes even more professional when a team is leading and tries to finish it by sitting / laying down a lot etc.

95% of the football players dive/whine. It seems sort of culture with football. Exaggerated trips, tumbles or rolls. Holding their body parts which wasn't even hit/impacted (always funny to see in replay someone hitting the feet/ankle and the player drops down, screaming in pain holding his knee.

This attitude is helped by the fact that there is basically no penalty for it. The absolute worst is a yellow card and being told to stand up. Wanna bet that if there was a rule that says if you are caught from the cameras diving you can get disqualified for the next match AFTER the match has ended that 95% percentage would drop dramatically?

I love soccer but it's often so irritating.... Then i see a basketball or rugby match and i wonder WHY i still follow soccer....

[Kaze_Senshi]

I love soccer but it's often so irritating.... Then i see a basketball or rugby match and i wonder WHY i still follow soccer....

You follow football because there aren't basketball teams as anime girls :V

Diving and whining is a form of "professional" play. It becomes even more professional when a team is leading and tries to finish it by sitting / laying down a lot etc.

95% of the football players dive/whine. It seems sort of culture with football. Exaggerated trips, tumbles or rolls. Holding their body parts which wasn't even hit/impacted (always funny to see in replay someone hitting the feet/ankle and the player drops down, screaming in pain holding his knee. 

People like Messi usually don't do it, hence I prefer to see them play.

I wonder if someone really enjoys to see the players diving and whining (excluding the funny part about their bad acting).

[Helepolis]

Intentional diving to mislead the ref can indeed lead to yellow card but is hardly applied. Refs are always careful with drawing cards because it heavily influences the opposing team. Some refs have a solid opinion which they express greatly and the match flows nicely. Good action, tackles/dives happen but Ref doesn't care. Such was the game for example Germany vs Algeria.

Personal opinion: I find basketball frikken annoying to watch. Mainly because every thing can be a faul and the game halts/plays on too much. Some football refs also blow the whistle too much (TR league for example) which is also annoying. Some WC matches were played nicely. Here and there tackle but the ref kept it going. Same goes for Volleyball as well. Rugby on the other hand is nice to watch, but that's only played overseas or in AU/NZ.

The flow of a game in football is decided by the ref and players. If you have 22 ronaldos or naymars on the field it is going to be divefest. If you have 22 messis, then probably nobody will ever touch the ball.

Edit: @ Kaze, well I don't. I rather see nice tackle/duels going on (the fair ones without breaking one's leg or doing nasty kicks).

[Gpop]

This attitude is helped by the fact that there is basically no penalty for it. The absolute worst is a yellow card and being told to stand up. Wanna bet that if there was a rule that says if you are caught from the cameras diving you can get disqualified for the next match AFTER the match has ended that 95% percentage would drop dramatically?

Actually no, yellow cards are pretty significant especially in the World Cup (2 yellow cards at any time will give a one game suspension even if both are given at different games). You also lose possession of the ball and they get a free kick and momentum on their side. It is exactly like basketball except with yellow cards which is probably more crucial. Penalties are only given inside the box, because it's somewhat treated like hockey, where if you trip up the player on a breakaway they get a free penalty, except in soccer it's anywhere in the box regardless of a breakaway (and if it was a breakaway it's a straight red card).

The biggest reason why there aren't cameras is because it will destroy the entire flow of the game with the clock that continuously run even during stoppage of play. This is a minor reason that I can understand, but I know there are much better ways to deal with this (ie. giving the fourth referee a TV or something to watch or at least have someone upstairs have one and tell the referees through the earphones [that they actually have right now] if it's an actual foul or not). Of course, FIFA likes to be stubborn as fuck and continue to be "traditional" with this bullshit and let this continue on like that.

Anyways, here's an article explaining why diving is much more complicated than you think
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/06/16/in-defence-of-diving-in-soccer-its-more-complicated-than-you-think/

(PS: I don't condone the person using C.Ronaldo as an example, however, since that guy is known for being a full-blown diver anyways).

[BT]

Actually no, yellow cards are pretty significant especially in the World Cup (2 yellow cards at any time will give a one game suspension even if both are given at different games). You also lose possession of the ball and they get a free kick and momentum on their side. It is exactly like basketball except with yellow cards which is probably more crucial. Penalties are only given inside the box, because it's somewhat treated like hockey, where if you trip up the player on a breakaway they get a free penalty, except in soccer it's anywhere in the box regardless of a breakaway (and if it was a breakaway it's a straight red card).

The biggest reason why there aren't cameras is because it will destroy the entire flow of the game with the clock that continuously run even during stoppage of play. This is a minor reason that I can understand, but I know there are much better ways to deal with this (ie. giving the fourth referee a TV or something to watch or at least have someone upstairs have one and tell the referees through the earphones [that they actually have right now] if it's an actual foul or not). Of course, FIFA likes to be stubborn as fuck and continue to be "traditional" with this bullshit and let this continue on like that.

Don't forget that Yellow Cards make your life harder as a defender since you can't just foul someone at all costs, similarly to accumulative fouls in basketball.

I do wonder if cameras will slow the game down that much more than it already is slowed down by the ref blowing the whistle.

[Espadas]

Actually no, yellow cards are pretty significant especially in the World Cup (2 yellow cards at any time will give a one game suspension even if both are given at different games). You also lose possession of the ball and they get a free kick and momentum on their side. It is exactly like basketball except with yellow cards which is probably more crucial. Penalties are only given inside the box, because it's somewhat treated like hockey, where if you trip up the player on a breakaway they get a free penalty, except in soccer it's anywhere in the box regardless of a breakaway (and if it was a breakaway it's a straight red card)..

While a yellow card does have a certain weight, it's nothing compared with the possibility of a PENALTY KICK. Between the 2, the risk/reward is heavily in favour of the diver. An example for all: Robben against Mexico. And Robben as far as i know isn't a "professional diver".

As for the camera, i was thinking about reviewing and punishing it AFTER the match.
Example: Balotelli dive and is awarded a penalty against Costa Rica (doesn't matter if he score or not, or if the defender receive a card or not). After the match, they review the action and discover that Balotelli dived so it wasn't a foul. Because of this discovery Balotelli is disqualified for the next match, although the final score of the match with Costa Rica obviously can't be changed.

While it wouldn't solve the problem of wrong calls during the match, it would greatly discourage diving.

[DX7.EP]

Uh...Howard's new job seems about right. :getdown: