meazza

Defense falls strictly on coaching. Cannavaro played for Real Madrid and Juventus and their defense often looked shaky. All of a sudden he's playing for Italy and he looks like he's 25 again? Having quality players helps but it falls # 1 on coaching. You should be happy that Ohneyu (sp?) was groomed by Nesta. A better role model, you will never find.

I noticed there so far has been so many errors. I think the defenses have really gotten better since 2006. You think the fact that a defensive team won in 2006 had anything to do with it

Keeper failed to cover his angle. You would never get that passed a guy like Casillas or Buffon.

Well I'm not a coach but the manager might make certain players go forward more etc. Depends on how much space. They might also change formation during the game. I'm sure there is plenty. I have friends who are coaches and they would probably be able to explain it better than i am. (Can you tell I'm really not busy at work )

Non sports fans will never understand these kind of decisions. We wait all this time to watch these games, spend money on jerseys, caps, nice TV's and everything and have to forego watching a crucial game because someone else feels their "event" is more important. If the bills ever make the playoffs again, i don't think anything could make me miss it

Formations are pretty much the biggest impact of games. For example, 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2 or 4-3-3 etc can really have an impact on how your midfield does. Playing with 4-4-2 for example means you're depending on your two wingers to come in and cross on the other hand. Playing 4-3-1-2 allows to have one creative mdifielder and using the 2 wing backs to run up and down the flanks. That creates a risk of having two defenders tired against counter attacks. Some coaches try to put their weakest defenders on certain players as they know that a certain player will not be able to create (i.e. the coach feels he's overrated) allowing another player to be double teamed. 11 on 11 soccer is quite strategic. On the other hand 5 on 5 soccer is not. The last world cup and biggest soccer tournaments was won by the better coaches. Flashier teams like Argentina, Barcelona, Brazil etc have been unsuccessful once they play against a good coach. There's a reason for that.

Man those Koreans are defending for their lives. I could care less about politics at the moment, I don't want Brazil to win.

He plays for A.C. Milan which is one of the worlds most renowned teams. Not like he plays for Dubai or something ... He just had a terrible year and there were better options. On the other hand, I would have brought Alexandre Pato.

You're right. It's Brazil 5 Italy 4 Germany 3 Come on Lippi!

He does get fouled a lot though, more than the average player. If the ref let's them get away with it, player will try and draw the foul. Soccer is not a contact sport. Portugal played strategically today. A loss would have knocked them out of the tournament. 1 point today, try and tie Brazil and destroy North Korea. Can't say i blame them.

I think that the World Cup is a bad indicator of if the rules are effective or not. I watch this stuff every weekend and sometimes intra week during Champions league and it is quite offensive. It does happen that games finish 0-0 and it does also happen that games finish 4-2. The reason being that these guys play together all year and are more effective of moving the ball. How effective is an NFL offense if it just meets a few times a year and for a summer? Would they be able to move the ball effectively? Once you reach the later stages, teams are very scared to make a mistake so they play cautiously. I understand your rule changes but I think the game should be looked at closer in the league play as the World Cup is not a good sample of the sport.

RIP Classiest guy ever.

Brazil has no flaws. I fear they will have a 7th star on their gold shirt.

I'm still not sold on Portugal passing that group. Ronaldo has often been surrounded by superstars. Right now, he's the only one. As I keep watching this tournament, I'm convinced that a club summer tournament would be much more entertainment. Some of these national teams are just bad.

That won't work. My family will never forgive me for doing that I will simply setup a tv in one of the rooms with the game. I think they will catch on when they hear me yelling at the TV. Similar to how I was yelling when Cannavaro and De Rossi both looked shocked on a free kick. Hope Buffon is back for Sunday.

Of course My nephew's bris is Sunday morning at 8:00 AM. The Italy - New Zealand is 10:00 AM. Have to find a way to escape.

The thing about that is, if you screw up, it's a goal.

Italy played better than i expected. This team is not even close to the team from 4 years ago but good tactics might get us to the quarters. They will finish second in the group and face holland in the first round of the knockout. Should be interesting. Next game is a win, game after that is a tie.

I just think a suspension would work better. Just to note, for the WC and Euro cup, these players are not paid therefore it doesn't change anything either way. The offside trap is one of the most difficult yet smartest strategies to implement. The best strikers in the world get goals by beating the offside trap. I think you'd fundamentally change the game. I don't think offsides are the problem. That's already the rule I believe? If you're implementing this rule to prevent time wasting, keep in mind that the ref already adds the wasted time to the clock and is adjusted in stoppage time. Strongly agree. I prefer the Euro atmosphere where firecrackers and stuff is set on fire. Screw the vuvuzelas.

I know what you wrote. I was just adding how terrible the commentators are...

I agree it was funny, I just think commentators should keep their bitterness to themselves...

I have no idea who you get your feed from (mine is CBC) but I think the commentators are rather terrible. First comment that irritated me. When Maradona threw a ball back into the field, the commentator said, "That's not the first time Maradona's handled a ball at a world cup" - Gee a bitter englishman, what a surprise. Anytime a team takes a lead, "and it looks like it's all over, maybe a consolation goal". Seriously this is the best they can do?

On average, it's 30 seconds per substitution. Throw in a couple of injuries and stoppages and you usually get 2-3 minutes.

As this is the group stages, I think the teams are a bit less motivated. Remember that France tied Euro 2000 with 30 seconds left to go and then went on to win in OT. The problem with the WC is that the bad teams are really bad. Nigeria could have easily tied vs Argentina but they couldn't even generate offense. Barely could string 3-4 passes together. I could tell you that I've had my share of heart breaks in the last 3-4 minutes. Wait until the knockout stages and it should be much different. The ref is not supposed to blow the whistle when there is an attack. Usually the ref will wait until the time is right and it's usually quite fair from what I've seen. You will never see a team in the opponents end close to scoring and the ref blows the whistle.

I don't know. It's probably a 100 year old rule. That's just it though, it's the only sport that is continuous. And it's not that complicated knowing how much time there is left.