A Real Worl Championship

[emmitt01]

My take.

Cristiano Ronaldo is from Portugal, not Spain.

As long as Messi is on the pitch Argentina is in any game. Don't let the hype machine (or sometime soccer fans) fool you, he's better than Ronaldo and it's not that close. Unfortunately though, Diego Maradona has a screw loose and is trying to maintain his legacy as the best Argentinian player ever...so his managing will sabotage Messi and the Argentinian team.

Brazil will be very exciting in the early rounds, prove yet again that Brazilian "defensemen" don't exist, and bow out.

I like the U.S. To get out of the group stage...barely. Onyewu is not 100% yet and I don't see the midfield being able to control the game tempo adequately against stronger sides. Add to this the lack of a world class level scorer and you have a recipe for second round exit. And yet still I'll be watching every minute.

[Travis]

I'm hoping Bradley goes 4-3-1-2...Dempsey, Edu and Beasley through the midfield, Donovan in a facilitator role in the middle and Altidor and Gomez up front

Replace Beasley with Torres, and Gomez with Buddle and I am with you. Even though I don't think Dempsey plays as a team contributor well, he is still better than alot of other options. Especially when he really wants it. You can also tell when he doesn't.

Beasley is inconsistent and Torres has done well everytime he has played with the national team. He makes the most of every opportunity. If not Torres, I would rather see Clark or Holden in before Beasley. I struggle to understand Bradley's personnel decisions sometimes. Oh man, speaking of Bradley, I have as much criticism for him as I do with T.Dodge.

As for our forwards, i believe this is the weakest unit we have. So Gomez being on the team doesn't surprise me. But, we should go with Buddle and Altidor on top. I would consider putting Findley in before Gomez. I am surprised that Gomez got on the team before Ching. But that is me. Then again, i am surprised that Bradley even gave Johnson and Sacha an opportunity to be on the team too.

Edited May 30, 2010 by Travis

[KRAM1]

I'm loving this futbol talk! Nice to see the US beat Turkey 2-1 yesterday in a tune-up game.

The only challenge with Argentina's Messi is his history of playing great for his club and then disappearing for national team play. Probably has a lot to do with the current coach, Maradona, and how he uses Messi. For my money Messi is #1. Let's see, however, if he "shows up" for this World Cup. Hope so. If he does Argentina could make a go of it. I think the US has an excellent chance of getting out of group play. And, being #1 in their group is not out of the question after watching England play a couple of tune-ups. England beat japan today 2-1 but all three goals were scored by Japanese players. Very odd game for England.

GO USA!!!! If they tie or beat England it will be on to the next round for the USA.

[MeanGreenTexan]

My take.

Cristiano Ronaldo is from Portugal, not Spain.

As long as Messi is on the pitch Argentina is in any game. Don't let the hype machine (or sometime soccer fans) fool you, he's better than Ronaldo and it's not that close. Unfortunately though, Diego Maradona has a screw loose and is trying to maintain his legacy as the best Argentinian player ever...so his managing will sabotage Messi and the Argentinian team.

Brazil will be very exciting in the early rounds, prove yet again that Brazilian "defensemen" don't exist, and bow out.

I like the U.S. To get out of the group stage...barely. Onyewu is not 100% yet and I don't see the midfield being able to control the game tempo adequately against stronger sides. Add to this the lack of a world class level scorer and you have a recipe for second round exit. And yet still I'll be watching every minute.

Ooops! That's right. I don't know why I put Spain there... maybe because Ronaldo is with Real Madrid. Anyway, you're right. He's Portuguese. Sorry.

I think Messi and Ronaldo are closer than you might think. Both are scary good with the ball in space and both can shoot lights out. Personally, I give the nod to Messi as well.

You're right about the Americans. The lack of a scorer out front will hurt. That's why we need Altidore to step up. It wouldn't hurt for Dempsey to have another great tourney either. I wish Davies were healthy. He would have been a huge help. I would like to see if Gomez can keep up his nice play as of late, but I'm not expecting alot of goals from the Americans.

Cant wait!

[CaribbeanGreen]

Cristiano Ronaldo is from Portugal, not Spain.

... and when he was born, he wasn't brown. He was black.

[Censored by Laurie]

Argentina will waltz through group and then get bounced in the round of 16...Maradona will find a way to screw it up. I feel bad for Messi...he'll be amazing despite his coach, but I don't think they can win a knock out game.

[KRAM1]

Here's a little interesting "factoid" about the World Cup that was in today's Wall Street Journal. I was not aware that no team with a foreign- born head coach has EVER won the World Cup! Team with foreign-born coaches have made the finals in only three World Cups and have won NONE! This is pretty amazing when you think of all the teams having had foreign-born coaches over the years.

In the current World Cup England is coached by Fabio Capella from Italy and South Africa is coached by a Brazilian with Ivory Coast being coached by a Swede. Ten other teams are coached by foreign-born coaches. But, England is the only "power" team going with a foreign-born coach. I wonder what the England fans think of this little bit of "factoid"? Probably not that much, but it will be interesting to see how teams fare with foreign-born coaches in this World Cup.

The overall World Cup record of foreign-born coaches according to the Wall Street Journal article is: 76-110-46.

USA...USA...USA...USA!!!!!

[Army of Dad]

Rossi the traitor is left off the Italian WC squad.

[UNTflyer]

Stars from England, Brazil and Italy have joined forces to criticise the controversial new ball to be used in the World Cup, but the developer insists there will be no cause for concern once the tournament gets underway in South Africa.

The Adidas 'Jabulani' ball has caused concern at training camps across the globe as the world's best players try it out ahead of the start of the World Cup on June 11.

It is believed to have an unpredictable swerving movement which makes its hard for goalkeepers and strikers to anticipate its direction in flight. England goalkeeper David James says the ball is "horrible", Brazil forward Luis Fabiano calls it "weird" and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon fears its "unpredictability" could ruin the World Cup.

[KRAM1]

All the players now criticizing the ball have had plenty of opportunity to get used to the ball. It has been in play for several months and many of the players have had the opportunity to use it is game situations and at practice. Plenty of warning and plenty of opportunity to see how it reacts in various situations and under various conditions. If those now criticizing the ball didn't take advantage of the opportunity, well, shame on them. GAME ON! Guess what...every team will be using the same ball. Get over it, shut up and play.

One thing that may be causing a bit of a challenge is the altitude of may of the venues and how a ball...any ball...reacts differently at different altitudes. Ever hit a golf ball in Denver as opposed to Dallas? Same things happen to soccer balls at varying altitudes.

Everyone will get used to the new ball and the wins and/or losses will not be due to the ball itself, but how and where the teams kick the ball.

With it being much cooler in South Africa than in many of the recent World Cup locations this time of year, it might make for an even more exciting Cup as players may not "wear down" as fast in the cooler temps.

We'll see soon enough. USA...USA...USA...USA...USA......GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

[Censored by Laurie]

There was bitching last World Cup about a live ball...its almost as if soccer players like to complain.

[KRAM1]

Pretty much like athletes and fans in general...go figure!

[UNTLifer]

Of course, the same was said of the new basketball the NBA tried to introduce a couple of years ago. After all the players complained and tried it out, they went back to the old reliable style.

I'm not a fan of changing equipment for special events like The World Cup. These guys play with the same ball for years and are then expected to adjust to a new ball a couple of months before the biggest soccer event in the world. Just doesn't make sense to me from a competitive standpoint. Of course it is great marketing for Adidas.

[MEANGREENMAN!]

Beckham tore his achilles.

He'll be watching just like you.

Something tells me we might be watching slightly differently.

[meanrob]

Something tells me we might be watching slightly differently.

I don't know, i might catch a couple of games in my underwear.

[meanrob]

I'll say this. The England-USA game is the most anticipated soccer game in my lifetime. The Germany-USA quarterfinal in 2002 was huge but it didn't have the buildup like this.

I can't stand it....9 days and counting.

Edited June 4, 2010 by meanrob

[KRAM1]

So, where are folks planning on watching the game? Should we try to get a GMG.com watch group together...say at the Pourhouse or some other location for the USA-England game? It is a Saturday and I believe the "kick-off" is at 1:30PM CST. Good Saturday beer drinking time! What could be better than that?

Any thoughts on a gathering spot? I am sure there will be places all over the metroplex for viewing, but it might be fun to get a few GMG.com "soccer" fans together for a meet and watch!

Thoughts?

[Army of Dad]

So, where are folks planning on watching the game? Should we try to get a GMG.com watch group together...say at the Pourhouse or some other location for the USA-England game? It is a Saturday and I believe the "kick-off" is at 1:30PM CST. Good Saturday beer drinking time! What could be better than that?

Any thoughts on a gathering spot? I am sure there will be places all over the metroplex for viewing, but it might be fun to get a few GMG.com "soccer" fans together for a meet and watch!

Thoughts?

Other than not Hooligans, no thoughts as to where. Though I am relishing the idea of watching on my HD TV.

[Censored by Laurie]

So, where are folks planning on watching the game? Should we try to get a GMG.com watch group together...say at the Pourhouse or some other location for the USA-England game? It is a Saturday and I believe the "kick-off" is at 1:30PM CST. Good Saturday beer drinking time! What could be better than that?

Any thoughts on a gathering spot? I am sure there will be places all over the metroplex for viewing, but it might be fun to get a few GMG.com "soccer" fans together for a meet and watch!

Thoughts?

Madiba if there is space...if not Iona or Berry Park.

[KRAM1]

OK, watched the US beat Australia 3-1 in a "tune up" today. There was a comment made by the announcers that when the US had the ball they were very good but when they didn't have the ball they seems to be in a bit of trouble. That might sum up the US squad better than any comment I have heard so far. If the US is to get out of group play and move on it will be because the defense stepped up and played better than they have been playing of late. I don't think the US defense puts much fear in the heart of the England squad at the moment. BTW, the England coach and David Beckham were at the US game today to scout the US squad.

Dempsey played a solid game and took quite a few hard fouls. I was glad to see him subbed out in the second half. Altidore was hurt and resting, but it gave plenty of chances for Bradley to see how a few others might do such as Gomez. I like what I see in Gomez, but I am not sure he is ready for the spotlight as a starter. He should be able to come off the bench and provide a spark. But, as I said, my concerns lie on the defensive side of the pitch for the US. England is Excellent on set plays and the US defense seems to break down fairly often on set plays against them. Should be an interesting match up next Saturday...Central time zone kick-off is 12:30PM.

OK, I'll ask again...any one interested in getting a Denton watch party together at the Pourhouse? If not...anyone have any serious suggestions for the DFW area?

USA...USA...USA...USA...USA...Goooooooooooooal!

Edited June 5, 2010 by KRAM1

[meanrob]

sorry, gonna be watching the game in montana. ugh, wish i was watching the game in victory park, that sounds fun.

USA is gonna have to give a defensive performace like they did again spain in the confeds cup. midfielders are gonna have to block those long shots and howard cannot make a mistake. worried about set pieces with gooch and demerit. they just aren't 100 percent.

[Cerebus]

Hopefully, this will motivate the US Team:

English soccer fans burn American flag

[UNTFan23]

Hopefully, this will motivate the US Team:

English soccer fans burn American flag

I'd consider burning a flag if it would hasten the sale of the Rangers.

[MEANGREENMAN!]

Whoever wants to flex their World Cup knowledge muscles should go here. Free for a chance at $1000 sounds pretty sweet, but GMG bragging rights are more than any monetary value. Go USA!