Rio de Janiero - 2014 Fifa World Cup Thread

by J.Benson II Wed 2 Jul - 15:02

First topic message reminder :

Maybe Toure just never saw Mexico's game against Cameroon or Bosnia's game against Nigeria?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Tue 8 Jul - 23:33

BlueCoverman wrote:
Olly wrote:This is the biggest shock in world football since Nodge 1-7 Colchester

And I was there to see it, thanks for that happy memory Olly!

Turned out to be a good memory for moi to

Strangest game of football I ever saw

by sportform Tue 8 Jul - 23:35

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Crouch is no poor man's Klose. He's a poor man's lamppost.

No wonder England never win anything. We still criticise the wrong players. Nothing is changing anytime soon if the opinions I've read and heard throughout this World Cup are anything to go by.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Tue 8 Jul - 23:37

The lack of peter crouch

The root of all English footballs problems

Needs a little tightening round the edges, but I like it. How will you incorporate the abuse of Emile heskey into this?

by Duty281 Tue 8 Jul - 23:38

I'm not quite sure that Peter Crouch is the answer to England's problems.

by sportform Tue 8 Jul - 23:38

It was interesting the way the German's played tonight. Passed and moved the ball simply and quickly and targeted the space behind the Brazilian fullbacks. A stark contrast to when England played Brazil and went 451. Sat back and tried to kick and run 80 yards every time.

by Ent Tue 8 Jul - 23:40

Big emile is still plying his trade in the a league isn't he?

To be fair him and crouch probably would have done as well as Rooney and Sturridge this World Cup.

by sportform Tue 8 Jul - 23:43

Olly wrote:The lack of peter crouch

The root of all English footballs problems

Needs a little tightening round the edges, but I like it. How will you incorporate the abuse of Emile heskey into this?

Heskey was useless as was Sturridge in this World Cup. Someone should have told Sturridge he was a centre forward and not a winger.

Not saying Crouch is the answer/ the future. Just pointing out that England praise the wrong kind of players and dismiss others. Not just at the top level but at grassroots and kids level too. Until that changes, English football is going nowhere.

My point about Crouch is that he works the centre backs, got into the box and scored the scrappy kind of goals. England don't produce too many of them type of players. Owen, Lineker maybe. We are obsessed with players trying to run with the ball and beat 20 players.

by Hammersmith harrier Tue 8 Jul - 23:44

I'm not one for stats but this is a good one, in 800 games for club and country Heskey has scored 168 goals, that's almost as bad as one in five.

by kingraf Tue 8 Jul - 23:45

How long is Loew tied up with DFB?

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Tue 8 Jul - 23:47

sportform wrote:
Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Crouch is no poor man's Klose. He's a poor man's lamppost.
No wonder England never win anything. We still criticise the wrong players. Nothing is changing anytime soon if the opinions I've read and heard throughout this World Cup are anything to go by.

Based on what? Sorry, but that is a load of nonsense. Crouch is a limited footballer who scores goals at a certain level. Its like saying "Well, Man United deserved to finish seventh. Did you see them bid for Crouch? No, me neither. English football..."

Do you know how many times hes gone over 10 league goals in a season? 3. In about 14 seasons. His biggest tally a whopping 12 back in 2004-05 in his one season at Southampton that barely anyone remembers. You can say hes played at less than stellar clubs, yet he never scored more than 9 in a season (league) when at Liverpool and Spurs.

by Ent Tue 8 Jul - 23:47

To be fair praising crouch seems like praising the wrong type of player to me.

by **Dolphin Ziggler** Tue 8 Jul - 23:49

You know things are bad when Bo Dallas is sending messages of support #Bolieve (will make sense to the wrestling lot)

by sportform Tue 8 Jul - 23:50

Even though Heskey was useless. He was a team player for England and was part of some of our better results. He did a job for team and create space for the others to play in. This year we just had four players up top all running into the same spaces. Sven played a team based on England's strengths and got some success (three quarter finals).

by Liam Tue 8 Jul - 23:52

The most incredible world cup game of all time for me. A beating for Brazil had been around the corner against a top class side like Germany, but not to this extent. Simply stunning from Germany, clinical, ruthless and exquisite. However, that brazil back 4 is an absolute joke defensively and tbh, i expected Germany to score 3 tonight once they got the early goal.

Marcelo/Luiz/Maicon are truly awful defenders, if you can call them that. Luiz, for aside from his moments of brilliance is terrible and he got what he deserved tonight.

Germany will still face a tough test in the final, despite this result as one of Holland or Argentina (I'm picking Holland to go through) will not gift the opportunities Brazil tonight. Utter humiliation. For me, its karma for the govt, who spent millions on staging a world cup whilst most of its country suffers in poverty, poor education, transport, health and social care.

by Liam Tue 8 Jul - 23:53

Also, I hope those people who still somehow claim Khedira offers nothing and is an average player watched a masterclass in holding midfield play tonight. The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

by LastDamnation Tue 8 Jul - 23:55

Liam wrote: The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

We need a guy who can sit imo. He's a very good player but he's more box to box and I'm not convinced the partnership with ramsey would work

by J.Benson II Wed 9 Jul - 0:01

Crouch was/is a good forward with surprisingly sound technique for such a lanky guy.

Klose is as a good a traditional target man CF as you will get.
The Brazilian Ronaldo was one of the finest forwards to ever grace the sport.

Fred is..........better than Jo at least. Laugh

by Ent Wed 9 Jul - 0:01

So apparently luiz was on tears as he apologised to all Brazilians for losing.

He needs to wise up, stop crying and look at himself.

He put in one of the worst, laziest and indisciplined performances a centre half has ever put in - whilst captaining his country in a World Cup semi final.

Scolari should apologise for picking him.

by sportform Wed 9 Jul - 0:13

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:
sportform wrote:
Dolphin Ziggler wrote:Crouch is no poor man's Klose. He's a poor man's lamppost.
No wonder England never win anything. We still criticise the wrong players. Nothing is changing anytime soon if the opinions I've read and heard throughout this World Cup are anything to go by.

Based on what? Sorry, but that is a load of nonsense. Crouch is a limited footballer who scores goals at a certain level. Its like saying "Well, Man United deserved to finish seventh. Did you see them bid for Crouch? No, me neither. English football..."

Do you know how many times hes gone over 10 league goals in a season? 3. In about 14 seasons. His biggest tally a whopping 12 back in 2004-05 in his one season at Southampton that barely anyone remembers. You can say hes played at less than stellar clubs, yet he never scored more than 9 in a season (league) when at Liverpool and Spurs.

He may not have a great scoring record in league football but it is also worth noting that Liverpool got to a Champions League Final when he played them and Spurs got to the quarter finals including from his winner against AC Milan. He scored 7 goals in 10 games for them in that Champions League campaign and he has 24 goals in 53 games in European football. That is pretty good.

What I like about Crouch is he works the centre backs and wants to get into the six yard box. England don't produce many strikers who do that. The trouble on here and in English football is most people just regurgitate sound bites from clueless pundits rather than looking at what players do on a pitch from a tactical/ technical point of view. I could sit here and argue all night on the pros and cons of a number of players but it's not really worth it.

by J.Benson II Wed 9 Jul - 0:24

Crouch is decent. Better than often given credit for.
At his prime, he was comfortably better than any forward England currently have other than Rooney and Sturridge.

by kingraf Wed 9 Jul - 0:27

Liam wrote:Also, I hope those people who still somehow claim Khedira offers nothing and is an average player watched a masterclass in holding midfield play tonight. The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise shielding Hummels from Fred, Hulk and Bernard constituted a masterclass... I mean, given the fact that Brazil had failed to score in open play in three of their first six matches... I suppose you'd also have of believe Chile, Colombia, and Mexico all put in masterclasses? Maybe if we were always 5-0 up in 30 minutes, we wouldn't want to sell Khedira... Greater player in the world 5-0 up... Pity hes greatness never did extend to Clásicos, Madrid derbies, or Champions League in general... it's almost as if he's average in these games... At least he had a massive game vs France... oh wait he didn't... I'm sure Perez will keep Khedira in mind if we decide the way to rate players going forward is when a team sans its best two players, by quite some distance is 3-0 down, yes?

by sportform Wed 9 Jul - 0:42

kingraf wrote:
Liam wrote:Also, I hope those people who still somehow claim Khedira offers nothing and is an average player watched a masterclass in holding midfield play tonight. The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise shielding Hummels from Fred, Hulk and Bernard constituted a masterclass... I mean, given the fact that Brazil had failed to score in open play in three of their first six matches... I suppose you'd also have of believe Chile, Colombia, and Mexico all put in masterclasses? Maybe if we were always 5-0 up in 30 minutes, we wouldn't want to sell Khedira... Greater player in the world 5-0 up... Pity hes greatness never did extend to Clásicos, Madrid derbies, or Champions League in general... it's almost as if he's average in these games... At least he had a massive game vs France... oh wait he didn't... I'm sure Perez will keep Khedira in mind if we decide the way to rate players going forward is when a team sans its best two players, by quite some distance is 3-0 down, yes?

Germany just play simple, organised football and people are still criticising some of their players.

by kingraf Wed 9 Jul - 0:50

sportform wrote:
kingraf wrote:
Liam wrote:Also, I hope those people who still somehow claim Khedira offers nothing and is an average player watched a masterclass in holding midfield play tonight. The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise shielding Hummels from Fred, Hulk and Bernard constituted a masterclass... I mean, given the fact that Brazil had failed to score in open play in three of their first six matches... I suppose you'd also have of believe Chile, Colombia, and Mexico all put in masterclasses? Maybe if we were always 5-0 up in 30 minutes, we wouldn't want to sell Khedira... Greater player in the world 5-0 up... Pity hes greatness never did extend to Clásicos, Madrid derbies, or Champions League in general... it's almost as if he's average in these games... At least he had a massive game vs France... oh wait he didn't... I'm sure Perez will keep Khedira in mind if we decide the way to rate players going forward is when a team sans its best two players, by quite some distance is 3-0 down, yes?
Germany just play simple, organised football and people are still criticising some of their players.

Sorry but Khedira really isn't all that. He's rank and file at best. Imagine being handed the task of staving off Hulk and Fred... With the burden of carrying Schweinsteiger, and shielding Hummels... how does he do it?

by sportform Wed 9 Jul - 0:53

kingraf wrote:
sportform wrote:
kingraf wrote:
Liam wrote:Also, I hope those people who still somehow claim Khedira offers nothing and is an average player watched a masterclass in holding midfield play tonight. The guy is top draw and if available in the summer (seems he could be surplus to requirements) would be a sensational buy for any PL club, particularly Arsenal.

Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise shielding Hummels from Fred, Hulk and Bernard constituted a masterclass... I mean, given the fact that Brazil had failed to score in open play in three of their first six matches... I suppose you'd also have of believe Chile, Colombia, and Mexico all put in masterclasses? Maybe if we were always 5-0 up in 30 minutes, we wouldn't want to sell Khedira... Greater player in the world 5-0 up... Pity hes greatness never did extend to Clásicos, Madrid derbies, or Champions League in general... it's almost as if he's average in these games... At least he had a massive game vs France... oh wait he didn't... I'm sure Perez will keep Khedira in mind if we decide the way to rate players going forward is when a team sans its best two players, by quite some distance is 3-0 down, yes?
Germany just play simple, organised football and people are still criticising some of their players.

Sorry but Khedira really isn't all that. He's rank and file at best. Imagine being handed the task of staving off Hulk and Fred... With the burden of carrying Schweinsteiger, and shielding Hummels... how does he do it?

Different views of the game. I was brought up on technique, tactics and total football and not expecting every player to play gung-ho, kick and run stuff.

by sportform Wed 9 Jul - 0:56

I'm going for a Germany v Netherlands final based on their kits. Three of the last four finals have featured Adidas v Nike. 1998 France v Brazil, 2002 Brazil v Germany and 2010 Spain v Netherlands.

by Dr Gregory House MD Wed 9 Jul - 1:03

At least Scotland now have a marker to lay down for our Euro qualifiers against the Germans

by John Bloody Wayne Wed 9 Jul - 1:59

What I loved about that German performance was how they never, ever wasted it. Such simple details. Ozil and Lahm both had moments where they could've gone for goal with a 50/50 chance of scoring, while defending a big lead, but passed to a guy with a better chance.

None of that "f*** it I'll just blast it and maybe be a hero" sh** you get from Marcelo et al.

Thiago Silva's value proved, he made that defensive line look like one of the stronger ones for several matches.

Klose possibly scored the longest range goal I've ever seen from him!

I want Argentina to win, but feel like Germany v Holland would be more competitive, as Ger v Arg is 11 very good, well organised players vs one phenom.

by dummy_half Wed 9 Jul - 8:02

If Khadeira is an average holding midfielder, can England have an average one too? It's not just how effectively he breaks up play (Schweinsteiger is better at that), but how he uses the ball so effectively to get the counter attack going - a couple of touches, commits a defender and slips a 10-15m pass through to a runner in space. Not flashy but absolutely brilliant at what he does - something England lacked from any of our midfielders.

I actually don't think Germany were THAT good last night - reasonably efficient, but quite a few times the ball didn't stick with Klose or Muller in attacking positions. It was just that Brazil were so bad that it didn't matter because another chance would come along in a minute.

by GSC Wed 9 Jul - 8:22

I thought Brazil were more awful than Germany great. They just lost the plot. Germany didn't really move it with any great pace or purpose, they were just patient, and rather than following the Mourinho inspired blueprint of maintaining discipline of frustrating them, Brazil repeatedly chased lost causes, inspired by captain for the (last) night David Luiz, and got caught way out of position. As good as Germany were, Brazil were there to be slaughtered

by SecretFly Wed 9 Jul - 9:18

Brazil were hot butter and Germany had a knife.

Brazil were absolutely out-of-it on the elixir of expectancy and equally, the pressure. It was a drug that had them chasing the game in the first minutes like their very lives depended on it. You just knew Germany had a big inner smile on its face when they saw how Brazil 'attacked' them from the earliest moments. You just knew they were writing the Brazilian death warrant as they sucked up the early....em pressure...and knew exactly just what they were going to do with all the nervous energy Brazil possessed when that energy evaporated.
Hulk was.......... well, he was the proverbial Hulk. Running around like a headless chicken - growling, roaring, breaking through things and generally looking loopers.... but not an inch of sense in footballing terms.

The writing was on the wall.

by Liam Wed 9 Jul - 10:21

Players like Bousquets and Khedira are often branded average and questioned as to what their role is. "Anyone can do what they do if they have xavi/schweinstiger etc next to them". Well if it was as easy as that we'd all be on 120k a week playing for the biggest teams. The reason why the brilliant cm's are aloud to flourish is because of players like Khedira and Bousquets, who make their job far more easier and give them the freedom to express their games.

As for Brazil, defensively they are a shambles. How felipe luiz and miranda were overlooked for David Luiz and Marcelo i'll never know. Striker wise they have Jo and Fred which is very worrying for a nation known for producing its fair share of world class strikers. Scolari clearly had his favourites like Hulk, fred and etc and in the end, his selection errors shone through and his tactical skills laid bare for the world to see.

by Derbymanc Wed 9 Jul - 10:38

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07/09/david-luiz-best-viral-memes_n_5569688.html?ncid=world-cup-DL

The hobbit one is the best

by dyrewolfe Wed 9 Jul - 10:48

Utterly amazed watching last night's game.

I know a lot of people had branded Brazil a 1 or 2 man team, but without Neymar and Silva, they were made to look like a Sunday League side.

Germany had looked good up to that point, without being outstanding...pretty similar to Netherlands, Argentina etc. Last night they showed the world exactly what they're capable of...though to be fair I think the display ans result were as much about Brazil simply imploding, as much as Germany's ruthlessly efficient ball-winning, possession, scything attacking play and clinical finishing.

Expect they'll find either Argentina or Netherlands a much tougher proposition, but would bet on them finding a way to win.

Deutschland, Deutschland uber alles indeed...

by Nachos Jones Wed 9 Jul - 11:47

The loss of Neymar and Silva is seriously going to be overhyped I feel, I don't think either of them would have made that much difference. In truth, Brazil were escorted to the semi finals by a host of ignored (unpunished) indiscretions and by some poor diving tactics. The ref last night was having none of it and it threw them off their game. Germany showed Brazil up for being the average side they are and I honestly feel that they could be the worst side to ever play a world cup semi final.

Have a strong referee who ignores their antics and punishes their indiscretions and Brazil have no game.

Very happy to see them go out.

by SecretFly Wed 9 Jul - 12:45

So what of Robben?...the darling of the media even though he's an avowed paid up member of the Divinely Theatrical Dive Company, who to date hasn't so much as gotten a yellow? for any of his antics that might at least make him think twice about them? He's been given carte blanche by the refs. Defenders are afraid to go near him on his dashing heroic sprints because he's being protected by the card wielders

What are we going to say about Holland if they use the Robben dive key to unlock the Argentines? Will we sneakily whistle Robben's guile away like most of the European media have been doing to date?

I think Argentina are probably even more a one man team than Brazil were. And on that level I'm not so sure the one man, who might deserve a final, deserves to get there with a team that probably don't.
BUT...I'm so sick of the Netherlands and this Robben guy floating through the competition, with a fair degree of muffled laughter respect for his diving jokes, that I'm fully behind Argentina to nail them tonight.
Brazil were dealt their final justice, I hope Robben gets his.

by kingraf Wed 9 Jul - 12:59

I think the difference between Argentina and Brazil is that even though Argentina are currently a one-man-team, they have serious ammo, and it has to come off eventually, right? For me, the most offensively gifted squad in the tournament. I do wonder if making Messi the focal point, has been a net gain... seems to have just about blunted everyone else, but it's emboldened Lionel. Is one brilliant Messi worth more than good, but probably not brilliant performances from the rest?

by Guest Wed 9 Jul - 13:09

SecretFly wrote:Brazil were hot butter and Germany had a knife.

Brazil were absolutely out-of-it on the elixir of expectancy and equally, the pressure. It was a drug that had them chasing the game in the first minutes like their very lives depended on it. You just knew Germany had a big inner smile on its face when they saw how Brazil 'attacked' them from the earliest moments. You just knew they were writing the Brazilian death warrant as they sucked up the early....em pressure...and knew exactly just what they were going to do with all the nervous energy Brazil possessed when that energy evaporated.
Hulk was.......... well, he was the proverbial Hulk. Running around like a headless chicken - growling, roaring, breaking through things and generally looking loopers.... but not an inch of sense in footballing terms.

The writing was on the wall.

Given that hot butter turns to liquid, you could achieve the same effect with a prosthetic limb...now, if you said "Brazil were butter and Germany were a hot knife" then the analogy would work.

As an Englishman it isn't in my system to hope for a victory by Germany or Argentina, however, as Liverpool fan, the thought of that smug **** Robin Van Persie or even worse, that "tactical genius"/dodgy looking sex offender, Louis Van Gaal holding the trophy aloft is even worse.

Am basically hoping for a stadium collapse and the final to be abandoned with FIFA deciding the winner on a bribery only basis.

by SecretFly Wed 9 Jul - 13:15

DAVE667 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:Brazil were hot butter and Germany had a knife.

Brazil were absolutely out-of-it on the elixir of expectancy and equally, the pressure. It was a drug that had them chasing the game in the first minutes like their very lives depended on it. You just knew Germany had a big inner smile on its face when they saw how Brazil 'attacked' them from the earliest moments. You just knew they were writing the Brazilian death warrant as they sucked up the early....em pressure...and knew exactly just what they were going to do with all the nervous energy Brazil possessed when that energy evaporated.
Hulk was.......... well, he was the proverbial Hulk. Running around like a headless chicken - growling, roaring, breaking through things and generally looking loopers.... but not an inch of sense in footballing terms.

The writing was on the wall.
Given that hot butter turns to liquid, you could achieve the same effect with a prosthetic limb...now, if you said "Brazil were butter and Germany were a hot knife" then the analogy would work.

As an Englishman it isn't in my system to hope for a victory by Germany or Argentina, however, as Liverpool fan, the thought of that smug **** Robin Van Persie or even worse, that "tactical genius"/dodgy looking sex offender, Louis Van Gaal holding the trophy aloft is even worse.

Am basically hoping for a stadium collapse and the final to be abandoned with FIFA deciding the winner on a bribery only basis.

The metaphor.............................. em.......................was.................. (oh you'll kill me for this pun).............pointed. Wink

Sorry. Nope, my metaphor was a play on a metaphor - and it suggested Germany didn't need a knife - cold or hot Wink

. Brazil melted under their own over-hyped grill. Germany had to just turn up.

by Guest Wed 9 Jul - 13:19

SecretFly wrote:
DAVE667 wrote:
SecretFly wrote:Brazil were hot butter and Germany had a knife.

Brazil were absolutely out-of-it on the elixir of expectancy and equally, the pressure. It was a drug that had them chasing the game in the first minutes like their very lives depended on it. You just knew Germany had a big inner smile on its face when they saw how Brazil 'attacked' them from the earliest moments. You just knew they were writing the Brazilian death warrant as they sucked up the early....em pressure...and knew exactly just what they were going to do with all the nervous energy Brazil possessed when that energy evaporated.
Hulk was.......... well, he was the proverbial Hulk. Running around like a headless chicken - growling, roaring, breaking through things and generally looking loopers.... but not an inch of sense in footballing terms.

The writing was on the wall.
Given that hot butter turns to liquid, you could achieve the same effect with a prosthetic limb...now, if you said "Brazil were butter and Germany were a hot knife" then the analogy would work.

As an Englishman it isn't in my system to hope for a victory by Germany or Argentina, however, as Liverpool fan, the thought of that smug **** Robin Van Persie or even worse, that "tactical genius"/dodgy looking sex offender, Louis Van Gaal holding the trophy aloft is even worse.

Am basically hoping for a stadium collapse and the final to be abandoned with FIFA deciding the winner on a bribery only basis.

The metaphor.............................. em.......................was.................. (oh you'll kill me for this pun).............pointed.

Sorry. Nope, my metaphor was a play on a metaphor - and it suggested Germany didn't need a knife - cold or hot . Brazil melted under their own over-hyped grill. Germany had to just turn up.

Nice try but only the Brazilian defence is currently worse than yours

by SecretFly Wed 9 Jul - 13:37

Okay we'll agree that even though you dived, you were pushed Wink

by DirectView2 Wed 9 Jul - 14:53

Liam wrote:

For me, its karma for the govt, who spent millions on staging a world cup whilst most of its country suffers in poverty, poor education, transport, health and social care.

Why don't people realize actually Brazil governement or sports industry has made a huge profit out of this event. picard

1]To start with tourism increased by like 2000% last 2 months [huge revenue]

2]Tickets and TV sponsorship covered all the losses suffered in construction and stuff.

3]Good infra structure means in the future kids can take up the sport as profession which is actully helping the nation grow.

4]Finally many people got job and made a revenue out of it.

So how come its a poor decision? the only poor decision is allowing corrupt politician to steal money out of this event, in that case find them, nail them and punish them, but don't punish the future of the kids, and the events that actually boosted the economy of the country.

Do you even know how many countries are actually bidding for the World Cup to happen 12 years from now? do you think they are so dumb to bid for an event that will deepen economic crisis. picard

by Derbymanc Wed 9 Jul - 14:59

Can you go over to Brazil and explain it to the people that live there and have been rioting over it as they don't seem to realise this direct.

by DirectView2 Wed 9 Jul - 15:03

Derbymanc wrote:Can you go over to Brazil and explain it to the people that live there and have been rioting over it as they don't seem to realise this direct.

Some of those are jealous jobless lazy bums, while some are political drama by the opposition. You cannot educate idiots.

How on earth riots are gonna help them recover an economic crisis? those people rioting are just taking advantage of the situation, they are not helping the situation aren't they? by creating the drama they are only making more damage to the Brazilian economy. How on earth breaking cars, beating people will help economy? picard

by Derbymanc Wed 9 Jul - 15:06

Do you live there? are you there now? if not STFU because you have no idea where the money from anything goes.

And people like you are what keeps the issues going. Your opinion on this particular matter is worthless unless your involved in it somewhere.

by kingraf Wed 9 Jul - 15:15

Look, international events are hit and miss with developing countries. Greece probably shouldn't have been given both the Olympics, and the Euros in the same year, but it's a good example of what can happen to a country (of course, it wasn't simply the hosting of these events which killed them). Barcelona '92 was run at a massive loss, while the Montreal Olympics took 30 years to pay back. It's foolhardy to argue that hosting these events never leads to losses, or that Brazilians are just moaning. They just think $8bn spent on stadiums woulda been better placed, which isn't even a debatable point

by **Crimey** Wed 9 Jul - 15:30

kingraf wrote:Look, international events are hit and miss with developing countries. Greece probably shouldn't have been given both the Olympics, and the Euros in the same year, but it's a good example of what can happen to a country (of course, it wasn't simply the hosting of these events which killed them). Barcelona '92 was run at a massive loss, while the Montreal Olympics took 30 years to pay back. It's foolhardy to argue that hosting these events never leads to losses, or that Brazilians are just moaning. They just think $8bn spent on stadiums woulda been better placed, which isn't even a debatable point

They weren't.

by kingraf Wed 9 Jul - 15:49

Crimey wrote:
kingraf wrote:Look, international events are hit and miss with developing countries. Greece probably shouldn't have been given both the Olympics, and the Euros in the same year, but it's a good example of what can happen to a country (of course, it wasn't simply the hosting of these events which killed them). Barcelona '92 was run at a massive loss, while the Montreal Olympics took 30 years to pay back. It's foolhardy to argue that hosting these events never leads to losses, or that Brazilians are just moaning. They just think $8bn spent on stadiums woulda been better placed, which isn't even a debatable point

They weren't.

Quite right - they won Euros, and hosted Olympics in the same year. To be fair, I'm not even European.

by Knowsit17 Wed 9 Jul - 16:30

I'm probably not the first to say something along these lines but what has struck me throughout this World Cup is how teams like Brazil and Argentina, who are packed with world class players plying their trade at a range of top clubs, have developed the habit of seemingly relying on superstar individuals. Not to deny that Neymar and Messi are incredibly talented and frequently at the forefront of their teams' success but I can't help feeling incredulous when I perceive Bra/Arg's main answer to any game as being "Pass it to him and let him run it through". I found the pre-match furore about Neymar and how they would win it 'for him', especially the show they put on with his shirt shortly before kick-off, highly off-putting even though it was intended as a gesture of support. It's an anti-team culture, sadly one which is just as much part of the game as diving and contorting one's features in false pain at the slightest tap on the shoulder.

Ze Germans played very unselfishly when they had their chances. I was struck by how for at least 2 or 3 goals one would have a point-blank shot at goal but put in a final pass to seal the opportunity. Can't help but feel the result reflects a massive serving of poetic justice with all that in mind.

by Knowsit17 Wed 9 Jul - 16:51

Lol, having skimmed through the last few pages before this I realise now how highly repetitive my comment was. Apologies as I realise how annoying that can be.

by DirectView2 Wed 9 Jul - 17:02

Derbymanc wrote:Do you live there? are you there now? if not STFU because you have no idea where the money from anything goes.

And people like you are what keeps the issues going. Your opinion on this particular matter is worthless unless your involved in it somewhere.

Can I ask the same thing to you? and say STFU if not. picard

Aggression on field is good but on life is not good, chill out , if you really wanna help the country and the needy people there are many ways to do it.

Didn't I explain it clearly, its not about investment its about corruption, you are mixing the two and getting confused.

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