FIFA World Cup 2010

[Dark Dragon]

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5476/southafrica2010worldcupj.png


Elimination Round (http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/standings/index.html)


Round of 16

Uruguay vs South Korea : 2-1

USA vs Ghana: 1-2

Argentina vs Mexico: 3-1

Germany vs England: 4-1

Netherlands vs Slovakia: 2-1

Brazil vs Chile: 3-0

Paraguay vs Japan: 0-0 (5-3)

Spain vs Portugal: 1-0


Round of 8

Uruguay vs Ghana: 1-1 (4-2)

Netherlands vs Brazil: 2-1

Argentina vs Germany: 0-4

Paraguay vs Spain: 0-1


Semifinal

Germany vs Spain 0-1

Netherlands vs Uruguay: 3-2


Third Place
Uruguay vs Germany: 2-3


Final

Netherlands vs Spain: 0-1


1st - Spain
2nd - Netherlands
3rd - Germany

[Archangel]

Fuck me, we have to face the first and second ranked teams in a row? >_>

Still think we'll make it through to the next round though

[Animeniax]

Fuck me, we have to face the first and second ranked teams in a row? >_>

Still think we'll make it through to the next round though

Umm, we lost to Ghana already, so we're out of the cup. Sorry if I spoiled the results for you, but at least you can delete the recordings and make room on your dvr.

[Archangel]

You did NOT just think i was a filthy American >_>

[RyougaZell]

You did NOT just think i was a filthy American >_>

He completely did.

[DB_Hunter]

Brazil Vs Argentina Final, with Argentina to take it.

[Ryllharu]

The US had only one true aim this year (as every year). Do every slightly better than England.

1. We didn't lose to England
2. We amazingly topped them in the Group
3. They lost twice as hard as we did in our first match out of group play

Ergo, the US achieved their mission. We'll welcome them home with pride, rather than with anger and embarrassment (and cries for technology to save their missed goals).

[Dark Dragon]

If there is any goal the US team should strive for it's to raise "soccer" interest in the USA.

The main reason the US team is so weak is because most of the talented athletes plays more popular sports like football, baseball and basketball.

[XanBcoo]

If there is any goal the US team should strive for it's to raise "soccer" interest in the USA.

The examples of poor officiating to the detriment of our success that we've witnessed in this competition will do nothing but impede that goal.

[Dark Dragon]

Which goes back to my issue with FIFA.

They decided not to have goal line technology or instant replays since it slows the game down. Fine, i can agree with that. How hard would it be though to hires 2 more referees who exclusively keep tracks of the goal line and determines the validity of a goal? Maybe find more competent referees who doesn't tries to be the center of attention by giving 6+ yellow cards per game.

[Ryllharu]

I could see them adding in goal line judges with little effort. Tennis already uses them even before they brought in the tech, so it wouldn't have to slow the game down at all. Just like in tennis, you could have them be subordinate to the main ref, who would make the final call based on their input.

That doesn't sound like too hard a stretch, and you could have the main official focus on the play and misconduct like they seem to prefer to do.

[RyougaZell]

I think that has been suggested before, but Joseph Blatter shot down the idea.

[DB_Hunter]

Goal line technology would not slow the game down. It takes longer to stop the players arguing with the referee so if anything it would speed things up.

[Psyke]

I've always taken that mistakes on part of the officials are all part of the game. Makes it more..... human.

[Archangel]

I've always taken that mistakes on part of the officials are all part of the game. Makes it more..... human.
Tell that to Ireland

[Psyke]

Easy for me to say since Singapore will never qualify for the world cup, haha.

[Animeniax]

Tell that to Ireland

Tell that to the US and England too. I believe errors are a part of the game, but some errors should not be made. If they won't resort to technology to make things right, they need more field officials and line judges to help the ref make calls. The field is entirely too large for a 3 man officiating team.

edit: it's a 4 man officiating team, and they still fail.

[RyougaZell]

The US had only one true aim this year (as every year). Do every slightly better than England.

1. We didn't lose to England
2. We amazingly topped them in the Group
3. They lost twice as hard as we did in our first match out of group play

Ergo, the US achieved their mission. We'll welcome them home with pride, rather than with anger and embarrassment (and cries for technology to save their missed goals).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/RyougaZell/tumblr_l4qrw7pWbj1qz4mrgo1_500.jpg

[Archangel]

Lol, butthurt

[RyougaZell]

Lol, butthurt

Indeed. Something like that. I LOLed.

[depthcharge]

I would vote for the plan to include an extra official reviewing instant replays and assist the on-field referee to make proper calls. Each team has a limited number of challenge, say 5 times.

I do see a problem whereby, 20 players are doing various fouls, that would still make hard work for the officiating crew.

[Animeniax]

And Japan loses by shootout.

[XanBcoo]

Fuck you Paraguay. You made the pink haired bunny girl cry.

[RyougaZell]

Damn you Paraguay, you made the pink haired bunny girl cry.

Poor bunny girl :(

[Archangel]

Fuck you Paraguay. You made the pink haired bunny girl cry.
I demand pics :eek:

[RyougaZell]

I demand pics :eek:

Go watch a stream of the game. She appears just after the shootouts end.

[Psyke]

And she managed to force a smile too. :(

[XanBcoo]

I demand pics :eek:

It was just some Japanese girl with magenta hair wearing bunny ears.

I must say, though, that wasn't a particularly exciting game. And what was the point of Japan sending a defender to make that one penalty kick?

Oh well, even if they did make it through they'd lose the next match because of all those yellow cards. They had a good run :(.

[Assertn]

I've always taken that mistakes on part of the officials are all part of the game. Makes it more..... human.

Just like in the real world, it would be inhuman to achieve success through skill and determination alone. Sometimes you just gotta fall and pretend to lie on the floor as a crippled mess to get what you want out of life.

[XanBcoo]

Love is over

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/9821/japanloses.jpg

[Archangel]

She was so much hotter and pinker in my head >_>

[Dark Dragon]

She was so much hotter and pinker in my head >_>

Everything is my friend.

[XanBcoo]

Spengbob is staring longingly at that guy on the right.

[Animeniax]

Spengbob is staring longingly at that guy on the right.

I like how he has both the Japan and Argentina colors on his cheeks. If one doesn't win, the other still has a chance. That's some devotion.

[Archangel]

This game is stupid anyway

[DB_Hunter]

You're not from portugal are you?

[darkshadow]

Lol, butthurt

........

[XanBcoo]

If you have to fill space with periods then you don't need to post in the first place, please.

I'm looking forward to the Argentina/Germany game. Both are strong teams this year. I'm starting to think that DB Hunter's prediction might be the outcome, however.

[Dark Dragon]

Brazil eliminated, i'm shocked.

Dunga is done, he should've taken Ronaldhino. The entire team panicked after that OG and played terribly. The dutch did a good job exploiting their weakness though and i expect to see them in the finals.

[RyougaZell]

God damn it Ghana!!!!!

[XanBcoo]

Damn, Ghana is really shit at scoring penalty kicks.

[Animeniax]

That was pretty sad when the guy missed the PK in the final minutes of the extra time. Then they whiffed on the 2 PKs and that was it. Now it's all Europe and South America.

[Death BOO Z]

I only saw the final five minutes... damn, it was tense.
the guy who stopped the goal is gonna be king of Uruguay for the next week.

[KrayZ33]

Owwww, Argentina got RAPED

[Psyke]

Germany, once again, was impressive.

[depthcharge]

Yep, Germany is doing very well, yet another 4 ball game

[Zati]

There was lots of drama and trash talking between Germany and Argentina before the quarter-final match, and I guess the Germans proved they're superior. Man, Germany really handed it to Argentina, they just absolutely clobbered them.

My predictions:
Semi's:
Netherlands Vs Uruguay - Netherlands wins.
Germany Vs Spain - Germany wins.

Finals:
Netherlands Vs Germany - Will be a tight and close contest. I think both teams were really strong, spectacular, and fun to watch this whole tournament, so both are very deserving, but I'm picking the Dutch to win it all.

[DB_Hunter]

Daayyyuum...! There goes my prediction. I reckon Germany are unstoppable now. They will meet the Dutch in the finals, which will be an awesome match because they both hate each other. The German war machine with it's discipline, superior technique and methodology to triumph over Dutch flair and adventurism

[Splash!]

Daayyyuum...! There goes my prediction. I reckon Germany are unstoppable now. They will meet the Dutch in the finals, which will be an awesome match because they both hate each other. The German war machine with it's discipline, superior technique and methodology to triumph over Dutch flair and adventurism

I dont think so......

If there is one thing the Germans suffer against, it is creative teams. I dont seem them having an easy time with Spain like they did with Argentina. Spain may not be winning convincingly but they are playing much better looking football than anyone else this tournament.

Brazil and Argentina going out was quite expected for me, despite how shocked some people might be. For Brazil, it was because coach Dunga opted for a more defensive mentality as opposed to their traditional 'joga bonito' style, and Argentina for having a bad defense and making Lionel Messi (overrated..) the focus of attention in the attack. I was expecting both teams to struggle as soon as they went against a tough team, because of their arrogance.

With Spain, it is different. The first loss to Switzerland instilled some humility in them and while they may not have scored plenty of goals in the subsequent games, they have focused on outplaying their opponents for lengthy periods, regardless of who they are up against. Some Spanish defenders still make me a bit uneasy but I expect them to play more cautious and effectively than the Argentinians.

I am still not sold on the Dutch as a whole unit, but they have gotten the job done so far. Apart from Sneijder and Kuyt, I think the starting line up is very flaky. Although typically, I see the Dutch team transform near the end every time the coach subs on either Huntelaar, Elia or Afellay.

[DB_Hunter]

Spain have a lot of talent, more than Germany in my opinion, but they don't seem to be gelling as a team yet. They are grinding out the 1-0 wins but that could just be due to the sheer individual quality they have rather than an inspired team effort. Germany are a cohesive unit who looking a like a real team.

Germany too were humbled by Serbia so it shows they can be beaten but that could just have been early nerves. I think it will be a fantastic match, but the key may be that everyone expected Spain to cruise through going in to this tournament, whilst Germany with 6 newly promoted players from the Under-21 squad would have been considered lucky to get to the quarter finals. The pressure wil be on Spain to prove themselves.

[darkshadow]

Starting line up flaky? Sure there are some players that have been performing sub par ( like van persie), but Sneijder and Kuyt have got nothing on Robben, he's definitly the best player on our team.

[Splash!]

Spain have a lot of talent, more than Germany in my opinion, but they don't seem to be gelling as a team yet. They are grinding out the 1-0 wins but that could just be due to the sheer individual quality they have rather than an inspired team effort. Germany are a cohesive unit who looking a like a real team.

Germany too were humbled by Serbia so it shows they can be beaten but that could just have been early nerves. I think it will be a fantastic match, but the key may be that everyone expected Spain to cruise through going in to this tournament, whilst Germany with 6 newly promoted players from the Under-21 squad would have been considered lucky to get to the quarter finals. The pressure wil be on Spain to prove themselves.

I think Spain are fine so long as team cohesion is concerned, its not just talent. I wouldnt look too much into their narrow victory margins, compared to Germany's larger ones. Germany have benefitted from scoring early and taking advantage on the counter attack in both the England and Argentina games. Germany can be stopped quite easily when they are the ones under pressure. They struggled a bit in their 2nd and 3rd group games. Also, while the England scoreline was 4-1, the English were quite unlucky. The 2nd dissallowed goal saw their momentum compleletely neutralized. Had it not been that way, it would have been a very different game, and England would not have conceded 2 more goals so easily. But thats all in the past.

My point is, dont take this Argentina victory as a sign that the Germans are indestructible. Far from it. Germany rely heavily on the counter attack from the sides and Spain have good wingers or players that can be pushed wide to neutralize this. This was not the case with either Argentina or England. Also the Spanish style is not about pushing for goals, it is about dominating possession and outplaying the opponent for long periods, a style which is more suitable against a counter attacking team like Germany.

Still Germany is quite young and full of energy, and have certainly proven themselves as being capable. Time will tell....



But Sneijder and Kuyt have got nothing on Robben, he's definitly the best player on our team.

Robben is very talented and is very good at the cut in-swivel-shoot that he has used many times this year, but I dont think he is at the same level as Sneijder. Also his performance against Brazil did leave quite a bit to be desired, as I thought he was selfish and squandered chances, particularly a simple one at the end setup by Huntelaar. Sneijder on the other hand is a true attacking midfielder (not just a winger) at the backbone of the team, and could be even more effective in a slightly different Dutch formation (I am not particularly a fan of the current one). In spite of this, Sneijder has been more effective than Robben. Kuyt is not as talented as these 2, but in this world cup he has been attacking and defending, working harder than anyone else, and has been producing results at the same time.

[depthcharge]

I think Spain is going to win the World Cup.

[Zati]

Yeah, Spain is the odds-on favorite to win it right now. I'm still rooting for the Netherlands, though. I just think the Dutch are underestimated a bit, and I feel they have a decent shot. Hopefully, the underdogs will pull of an upset. Fingers crossed!

I betted/wagered around $500 for them to win it, lol. +265 line, so if they do win, I will make a pretty nice profit. :) Betting aside, I've been supporting the Dutch team since the beginning, and they've gotten the job done thus far, so I hope they will come through again on Sunday, knock on wood.

[David75]

Yeah, Spain is the odds-on favorite to win it right now. I'm still rooting for the Netherlands, though. I just think the Dutch are underestimated a bit, and I feel they have a decent shot. Hopefully, the underdogs will pull of an upset. Fingers crossed!

I betted/wagered around $500 for them to win it, lol. +265 line, so if they do win, I will make a pretty nice profit. :) Betting aside, I've been supporting the Dutch team since the beginning, and they've gotten the job done thus far, so I hope they will come through again on Sunday, knock on wood.

Like Germany, they have had games based on speed and stamina.
I hope they are still fresh enough and do not end like Germany, totally exhausted and unable to play.
On the other hand, spain felt a little constrained, always barely winning, but still there and maybe they are still fresh enough to get the upper hand?

I just hope this will not finish with one goofy goal early in the game and nothing for the remaining time.

[DB_Hunter]

I think Spain will do it, but if Holland win Sneijder would have just had the most awesome season possible for a player.

[Lucifus]

And Spain's got it! Fucking epic!

Sorry there Zati!

[RyougaZell]

And Spain's got it! Fucking epic!

Sorry there Zati!

Iniesta's goal was superb.

I admit it. Previous to the game I wanted Netherlands to win, but after the first half I switched to Spain. They seemed to be the only ones that wanted to play instead of making fouls.

Spain is a proud champion.

[Lucifus]

Yea; they truly put in a good effort and played hard, but that was the trouble. They played too hard, and argued every effing whistle against them.

I kept thinking..."Why argue against the ref....you know whats gonna happen"

Even if they were justified, don't f*ck with that referee, that was my first thought when I saw him. Haha, he looked like he could bitch slap anyone who contested him with the card in his hand. :cool:

I do feel bad for Torres though, was it him who made the pass to Iniesta?

[DB_Hunter]

Spain deserved to win, though Iniesta is lucky to walk away the hero from this. He had that one chance where I think Torres was free with a clean shot at goal but Iniesta was selfish and tried (and failed) to score himself.

For some reason really glad Robben was a loser tonight. Nothing to do with his flukey shot in the Champions League this season which put Man Utd out.

[Zati]

It's okay, Luci. :)

Congrats to Spain. Man, was it an ugly and dirty match, lol. Record number of yellow cards in a World Cup final. And of course, the red card Heitinga got, which was very costly.

I admit, they did foul and hack the Spain players a bit too much. Also, the Dutch team should've handled their anger better, shouldn't get into a shouting match with the refs.

I thought it was surely heading into a penalty shootout, but dang Iniesta scores with four minutes remaining...

So heartbreaking for the Dutch. Lost their third World Cup final.

[darkshadow]

Terrible referee..........

[Zati]

"De Jong somehow got only a yellow card for this, plus a meeting with Jaden Smith about the Karate Kid sequel." Lol.

De Jong Karate Kick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5B_tR3ffVM)

[Splash!]

Spain deserved to win, though Iniesta is lucky to walk away the hero from this. He had that one chance where I think Torres was free with a clean shot at goal but Iniesta was selfish and tried (and failed) to score himself.


I remember this chance and that was some great piece of defending from captain Van Bronckhorst, and Iniesta was in no position to pass it. The mistake he made there was not shooting earlier, giving Van Bronckhorst time to cut him off. Oh, and Torres wasnt on the pitch at that time.

Regardless, Iniesta is masterclass He is a tremendous player who always delivers when needed. He has been instrumental in this world cup, penetrating defences and setting up great plays. He was also instrumental in the Champions League Barcelona won a year back. It is not luck, it is simply Iniesta. That final goal had great finishing.

Edit: Going back and looking at it a second time, you are right. Iniesta could have passed it to David Villa who was open. He got a bit too selfish. Good defending by Van Bronckhorst though, and Iniesta made up for it in the end.



I do feel bad for Torres though, was it him who made the pass to Iniesta?

Torres lofted in a nice chip from the side, which was received by Fabregas who passed it on to Iniesta. Yes, he was the one who started the move resulting in the goal.
Alot of people recently have been taking a jab at him, every chance they get. I dont know where all the hatred comes from. Torres has been out for a long time with serious injury problems. He was not fit to play the world cup but Del Bosque included him anyways because he understands his value. Torres played the role of a supporting striker excellently, drawing away players from David Villa all the time throughout this tournament. He would have loved to have had more of an effect but he is clearly not fit.

[rockmanj]

The 3rd place game was more entertaining than the final, but good job Spain.

I also liked De Jong's superkick.

[Dark Dragon]

The final game bored me so much that i could've swore Italy was still playing.

[Splash!]

I also liked De Jong's superkick.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a103/splash66/c4c0bcdc4d9e8cd4b87f87764955.jpg

He doesnt even care about the ball. He is more concerned about making his kick connect. I am not sure how that could even be mistaken for simple high foot, I have never seen a technique to control an aerial ball by thrusting one's foot at it.

[David75]

Too bad oranges were so sour. It's rare a final is a good game, because all players are exhausted and they are afraid of the goofy mistake. But I hate the oranges for chosing violence over football. I wish the ref used the red card earlier.
I also hope De Jong gets a ban for what he did.

I was on the orange side at first, but changed to Spain...

Regardless of the final, we've had an incredible number of great games.

[depthcharge]

Hmm, I think the refereeing for this match was somewhat fair. Considering that Puyol did mess Rubben up that one time. You gotta see a gif to understand that Puyol was indeed holding onto Rubben, spinning 360degree while holding Rubben, but Rubben just kept running.

Both side had their moments, only one side produced.

I regard this as a good game.

[Dark Dragon]

I don't know why so many people were offended by my last post.

Both Spain and Netherlands plays defensive style football ala Italy in the last match. The result was a dull long match full of terrible fouls, calls and dives. Hardly fitting of a final match of the tournament.

The referees in this cup have been nothing short of garbage. There were so many bad calls that ended up costing some teams their match.

Feel free to defend that style of football if you want, but most of the people watching the cup recognize what a terrible match that was.

[depthcharge]

5 attempts of goal per team(my rough count). That is 10 attempt for the 120 minutes. Every 12 minute we have a goal attempt. In between the build up, plenty of players sliding, pushing, sandwich, tackling, chest kicking, acrobatic moves. I think it is good enough.
(and the diving, acting, ect is part of football.)
I do feel, possession football, like possession American football is a better game.

That is not to say, I hate the attacking style of football. If the particular attacking styled team can beat a possession styled team, that would be great.

[KrayZ33]

Feel free to defend that style of football if you want, but most of the people watching the cup recognize what a terrible match that was.

the whole championship was garbage with little exceptions,

one of the few games I really enjoyed to watch was England vs Germany.

nearly all games were nothing more than midfield-skrimish.
extremely boring.
we got lots of turtle-teams who depend on luck with their counter-strategies.
not really a beautiful way to play football

[Splash!]

Both Spain and Netherlands plays defensive style football ala Italy in the last match. The result was a dull long match full of terrible fouls, calls and dives. Hardly fitting of a final match of the tournament.

The referees in this cup have been nothing short of garbage. There were so many bad calls that ended up costing some teams their match.


The final match was a mess because the Netherlands decided that the only way to stop Spain was to hack them down. To an extent, it was a strategy that worked as the Spanish could not play like they did against the Germans. Netherlands was consequently able to push forwards and the Spanish were forced to defend on several occassions. This game did not go according to Spain's gameplan. Honestly, the referee ruined the game by not enforcing discipline properly. He was very careful not to double book anyone early on(he was constantly checking his list), only giving yellow cards to people who hadnt been cautioned before. The Spanish came to play but eventually got sick of the Dutch tactics and decided to embellish much later on. The whole game would have been different if the referee had sent a Dutch player off in the first half. Both Di Jong and Van Bommel could have easily been kicked out of the game.

What Holland did is hardly comparable to Italy in previous tournaments. Most people in general hate the Italians, and that seems to translate towards a hatred for everything they do. But Holland definitely wasnt defending like Italy. The Italians of the past have focused on clean technical defending. It was never about conceding fouls. I could watch clinical defending like that all day. Also this notion that Italians dive more than anyone else is plain ridiculous. For the past 16 years, I have seen almost every other big team dive alot more than the Italians. Brazil, Germany, France and even Spain do it alot more than Italy.

[rockmanj]

. For the past 16 years, I have seen almost every other big team dive alot more than the Italians. Brazil, Germany, France and even Spain do it alot more than Italy.

And C. Ronaldo does it more than all of those teams combined! :rolleyes:

[KrayZ33]

For the past 16 years, I have seen almost every other big team dive alot more than the Italians. Brazil, Germany, France and even Spain do it alot more than Italy.

statistics prove that you are wrong though

2006: Italy - 32 times

oh god, that was really fun to watch, most of them they were so ridicilous

well, this year was good too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLhY3f0PgQE

SNIPER!!! GET COVER!

[Splash!]

statistics prove that you are wrong though

2006: Italy - 32 times

oh god, that was really fun to watch, most of them they were so ridicilous

well, this year was good too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLhY3f0PgQE

SNIPER!!! GET COVER!

Firstly, I have seen this example several times, and I have pointed out that you can clearly see the Paraguay player stepping on De Rossi's heel. Go ahead run it in slow motion, you should be able to see it clearly. Moments later you will see him grab the exact same heel. It is not a mere coincidence. De Rossi embellished but you are simply not allowed to step on the heel of a player going for goal. The decision was a simple free kick and it was a fair call.

Also, I dont know where you came up with that 32 number for the last world cup. Who was the authority that decided there were 32 valid fouls or dives, and how did this compare to the rest of the teams? Also, just how bad were these dives or fouls? I have seen people throwing some of the most retarded soccer stats around at others.Its quite popular to hate Italy. Not many actually observe the games closely enough or have seen Italy play, they just go by what the soccer observing media says, which has far too opinionative and mostly English.
Italy fully deserved to win the last world cup and similarly, Spain deserved to win this one. In both cases, they were the best looking teams in the tournament.

[KrayZ33]

In both cases, they were the best looking teams in the tournament.

ya, Italy really did look good when they fell on the ground even though not much happened

btw, it doesn't even matter if it was a foul or not, the thing that makes them look like crybabies is that they whine and act like they are in unbearable pain, all - the - time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSQtgBC9N04&feature=related
(see how ridicilous it is, even though there is some "contact"?)
no one would complain if he fell normally to the ground because he got stopped somehow, but no, he had to jump 5 meters high, grab his legs mid air while screaming and when he hit the ground, he kept roling for like 5 meters, thats ACTING and nothing else.

going down everytime there is some contact is just not sportsmanlike,but since italy plays so extremely defensive, they need penalty kicks and set plays to be able to score goals... and if it looks more painfull the chances are bigger to get them right?

[Splash!]

ya, Italy really did look good when they fell on the ground even though not much happened

If you believe that Italy did not look good in 2006, then I am sorry, but I simply cannot take you seriously.

[KrayZ33]

there is nothing good "looking" in playing defensive football
i can't take you seriously either if you say you can enjoy watching that.

[Splash!]

Yes, I appreciate good defensive football when it is done right. The Spanish have been defensively solid in this tournament. It hasnt just been about possession play.
Beautiful headers and aerial vollies to get the ball out of harms way, biycycle clearances, clean, accurately timed tackles to disposses the opponent at the right time to produce a counter attack : these are important technical aspects of the game that I enjoy watching.

The key is to find a nice balance between attack and defense. The Spanish did this. One of my favourite games this tournament was the game between Portugal and Spain. Despite producing only one goal, there was a high degree of technique and defensive quality as both teams tried hard to break down each other's organized defense. I like that Spain can attack when needed, and also defend quite nicely.

I also appreciate the performance of Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, who did some great defensive work yesterday.

Italy was like that in 2006. They scored goals and attacked plenty, but at the same time, they stopped others from penetrating them and maintained a solid defensive wall. You do realize that they scored against their opponents in all their games...

Anyways, thats all in the past. This was Spain's tournament, and they fully deserved it. They were highly technical, and thats what I like to watch.

The final, on the other hand turned into a bit of a fiasco because of the Dutch and the referee not taking a more strict approach. Regardless there were glimpses of some good Spanish defending and Van Bronckhorst also did well to make clean challenges for the most part.

[Psyke]

Didn't you guys see the old secret italian training video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHYVT59zYgM)? :p

Anyways, I thought it was a great tournament, and my most memorable moments were with Japan in the goup stage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foH_D7vcd-8). Those penalties were intense!