Fe98 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Btw were there any Leverkusen players in the German squad? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybluedave Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Germany really are the nearly men of this decade. Runners up in 02, 08, and semi finals in 06 and 10. Seems like they just can't see it through. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
neutral Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I think you're wrong. This is exactly what spain wants. Every team that has played like that against Spain has lost. My national team included. If you want to win against spain you need to put pressure on their defense, not turtle down. You turtle you lose. Nah, you need to have a good goalie who kick the ball straight into the penalty area and strong players who can dispose Pique and Puyol.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRoboCrouch Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Germany really are the nearly men of this decade. Runners up in 02, 08, and semi finals in 06 and 10. Seems like they just can't see it through. Yeah,germans are natural born losers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_oc16 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Btw were there any Leverkusen players in the German squad? Kiessling and Kroos was on loan there this past season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
foofighter23 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 germany only looked good when they were counter attacking this tourney for me and spain today didint allow them to, so its a deserved spain win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketheheadlesschicken Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 They played exactly the same way against Argentina, packing their defence. Difference is, when they got the ball forward, they didn't just give it away every single time. As Fe98 says, the major difference was that Germany had a lead from early on. I think you're wrong. This is exactly what spain wants. Every team that has played like that against Spain has lost. Switzerland didn't but I wasn't suggesting that Spain were unhappy at playing against teams like that. Just that they are more likely to play a heavy possession game against teams like that. They'd be more entertaining against a team that allows them space. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
skybluedave Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 14 years of hurt now...... Edit: Was supposed to quote big robo crouch. this new layout is confusing Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe98 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Kiessling and Kroos was on loan there this past season. Oh yeah, forgot that Kroos was on loan from Bayern. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Confused Clarity Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Much preferred the Zulu historian who recounted the battle on ITV to this guy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
georginho_juventusygr Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 It seems that Kroos is a dead-ball specialist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cms186 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Btw were there any Leverkusen players in the German squad? Kiessling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanGLiverpool Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Quite happy for Spain, about time they got there tbf. Celebrations are very loud across the border as well, which is nice to hear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalima Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Germany had no backup plan after the 1-0. Creating no chance and hardly fighting. Bringing in Gomez was just sad. Holland does have backup plans, in the sense of attackers switching positions AND multiple good substitutions available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koki Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I have to admit that Spain was better today, for their performance. We didn't find our gameplan, kind of sad that we missed the final so closely. Hoping for a intense final now! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRoboCrouch Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Why sad?you should be used to it... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meitheisman Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Spain made it to the final and I... Jizzed... In... My pants :D:D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnabon09 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 spain win then. deserved based on tonights performance. germany should be very proud of their overall tournament performance though. a young team with a bright future. spain-holland will be great. a first-timer for one of the teams. if spain can play as well as they did tonight they could very well win it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMLF Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Yeah,germans are natural born losers. Overall (not only WC), they are the most successful national team after Brazil - 3 WCs and 3 ECs. Reached more WC finals than any other team bar Brazil, sure they lost many of these, but you can only lose a final if you reach it first. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRoboCrouch Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Overall (not only WC), they are the most successful national team after Brazil - 3 WCs and 3 ECs.Reached more WC finals than any other team bar Brazil, sure they lost many of these, but you can only lose a final if you reach it first. I was talking in a general way,not only national team wise. And i wasnt being too serious,although i "hate them". Oh and,1 WC = 3+ EC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roseboy64 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leppard Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 If we hold the ball as well as we can (and have up til now), we'll win the WC. The big thing is, Netherlands need to get the ball off the Spanish midfield and then actually do something with it (not like what Germany did today). If they can find a way to do that, they can win it because our defense isn't very solid. Casillas hasn't looked all that comfortable either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnabon09 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I find it strange that both Holland and Spain are in the final despite the fact neither have played fantastic football. They have both been good but haven't seen anything from either which screams best team in the world for me. Which is quite disappointing but nobody apart from Germany has played brilliant in this World Cup, and even they have had a bad game today. i agree with you although strange is not exactly the word i would use. maybe sad would be more appropriate for me. i would have really loved to see germany win this world cup but it just wasnt meant to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeDannan Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Spain haven't scored many goals because they FORCE their rivals to play defense like they got no other choice. Spain deprives the opposition of the ball early in the game, and from there on, they OWN the game. They might win or lose in the end, but the game will be played the way the Spanish NT wants. I haven't seen any other team (except for Barça, of course) do that EVER (least of all in a World Cup - perhaps Brazil in the 50's, but I wasn't even born then). If you haven't still learnt this from watching Spain play, you have a lot to learn... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icy Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I'm amazed and those who say that Spain plays boring football, what else can they do against teams with 10 men inside their own half for 90 minutes than to pass, pass until you find a hole? what were you expecting when nobody wants to play good football against Spain? It's way harder to attack than to defend. To defend parking the bus, the skills needed are order, strength and stamina, to attack the parked bus you need flair, vision and technique, and i always thought that good football is about the later. For me it's way more boring to see teams packing their own half and pray for a lucky counter as all our rivals have played so far. Luckily this year there is justice in football, and the ultra defensive anti-football teams were soon at home (erm.. Italy, i have an special hate for their style). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raid Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Totally agree with Icy. No team has come up against Spain and had any desire to go and win the game, they've faced a very stiff task in that respect to continue to find a way through to win games and therefore for me they have been the most impressive team in the World Cup, even if they haven't been allowed to display the sort of flair that won them Euro 2008. Really hope they go on to complete the job because not only do they have a crop of great players, but they've found ways to win against teams that have had no interest against them other than to shut them out. Very, very impressive side. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubenJ Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 fully deserved tonight, impressive throughout. Too bad Pedro messed up that chance near the end, a blemish on his otherwise fantastic performance (which I hope earned him a starting spot in the final). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe__the__man Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Chile played the game in a fairly attacking manner, it's not as though they relied on counter attacks or backs against the wall defending. Just because they have nothing like the amount of quality Spain do, doesn't mean they played bad football. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leppard Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 The problem is that whoever plays Spain needs to stop the midfield from running circles around them and they need to play their own attacking game as well. These two things are really hard to do together because counter-attacking football doesn't really work against us (or at least hasn't till now). The only other way would be to keep the ball better than us which is almost impossible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raid Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Chile played the game in a fairly attacking manner, it's not as though they relied on counter attacks or backs against the wall defending. Just because they have nothing like the amount of quality Spain do, doesn't mean they played bad football. Fair enough, Chile did, but you have the Swiss, Honduras, Portugal and Paraguay which didn't, and then Spain forced Germany into their shell tonight. Think it's remarkable they've found a way through each time (Switzerland aside) and they fully deserve their place in the final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SI Staff Ter Posted July 7, 2010 SI Staff Share Posted July 7, 2010 Thought Spain played very well tonight and didn't give Germany any time on the ball at all and forced mistakes. The biggest surprise is they kept it up all game. They did go through a spell where it looked like the Germans might get back in to the game but then they scored and that was that. Football masterclass from the Spanish. Wonderful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razzler Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Seems like the Germans entire plan was to invite on and then hit on the break, they even less of the possession against England, ffs, yes, someone had less of the ball in a match against us! They won back the ball far too deep to ever be effective though and it was more Spanish trying to get through and defenders intercepting passes. They let them have all the touches in the world in front of them, which is fine if you don't want to lose but at some point you need to score and the ball needs to be a lot further down the pitch. You were crying out for them to engage the Spanish a bit higher up the pitch and win the ball back there, put pressure on them. I did think they were gonna take it into extra time though, typically in these scenarios it was a set piece that did for the ball playing side against a tight defence though. Should be an interesting final but probably won't and it'll be 1-0 Spain, van Marwijk (sp?) is also a cautious guy, is he not? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbert_o154 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Should be an interesting final but probably won't and it'll be 1-0 Spain, van Marwijk (sp?) is also a cautious guy, is he not? He is (and your spelling is correct, btw). It's probably gonna be a tight, terse game in central midfield and again the pairing of Van Bommel and De Jong is going to be key to the Dutch as they will need to stifle the Spaniards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razzler Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 If anyone can have a go it's the king of snide, van Bommel! I'd like the Dutch to win but the Spanish probably are the best team in the world at the moment and I don't really begrudge either side winning Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micado Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Gutted. Hope Holland beat them in the final. So do IIt's going to be close, Spain can't score and Holland can't defendShould be nice game then for the neutral Spain deserved that, still not that impressed with them. Holland to win the WC I think, de Jong and van Bommel to bully the midfield, Sneijder and Robben for the magic. Villa looked a bit off tonight.Would love that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micado Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 He is (and your spelling is correct, btw). It's probably gonna be a tight, terse game in central midfield and again the pairing of Van Bommel and De Jong is going to be key to the Dutch as they will need to stifle the Spaniards. Agreed, midfield will be the key and hoping for a chance, act of brilliance by our offensive players like Sneijder, Robben, Kuyt and or RvP. Have the feeling RvP will play good in the final and get a goal, not sure if we are going to win it tbf. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icy Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 It looks easy when you see Spain passing and passing all the time with the opposite team not able to recover the ball, but it's not easy at all, you need players moving in between lines all the time to offer a pass option, and great vision like Xavi & Iniesta have to find that open players and to send the accurate passes to not to be intercepted. If it was that easy to dominate games, every team would try it, instead of waiting for a mistake to score. I also understand that it might be a different cultural point of view. Spanish football has always been more about skills than physical, as we are not a country known for size or strength, but more for small and skilled soccer players. In England, Germany and specially USA, physical skills are more valued. I agree that some of the games played by Spain might have looked boring for the average football spectator, but i don't think Spain is to be blamed but the opposite teams who refused to cross the midfield line and left the ball to Spain trying to catch them on a counter. For sure a game with both teams attacking and leaving holes to be exploited is way more intense and fun to watch, but for that, both teams need to try to attack. Also those more critics only look at the Spanish passing game and lack of penetration (and i agree, is what we have lacked, probably because the lack of form by Torres), but what about the intense defense played? yesterday Germany couldn't pass the ball more than 3 times, and Ozil and their skilled players where totally nullified by Spanish defense, who also pressured the whole game and recovered ball after ball. Of course I accept i'm probably be biased because it's my county and also the style of football taught here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbert_o154 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Of course I accept i'm probably be biased because it's my county and also the style of football taught here. Even so, it's a fair assessment, in my opinion. Good points there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedrik Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Spain was sick. It was painfully clear to me that Germany's good preformances so far were mainly caused by tacticle failure of the opponents. Spain outclassed them even it stayed with 1-0. I fear Spain badly, we are getting so raped in the final, no words for it :( Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micado Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Spain was sick. It was painfully clear to me that Germany's good preformances so far were mainly caused by tacticle failure of the opponents. Spain outclassed them even it stayed with 1-0.I fear Spain badly, we are getting so raped in the final, no words for it :( C'mon, have faith, believe in a miracle, our players does. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meitheisman Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Even so, it's a fair assessment, in my opinion. Good points there. I agree too, good points without a doubt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VamPook Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Spain doesn't have a fast counter either though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 That's my dream final gone Utterly deserved for Spain though. They managed to grab the ball of the Germans before the Germans could string 3 passes together and the Spanish did that all match long. The only thing I can really fault the Germans for is that they did not use the ball well once they got it in relative freedom. Gave up the the little possession Spain left them far too easily. The Germans did a great job of cancelling out Villa though. No matter how deserved the win, it speaks for itself that the only goal came from a set piece and Khedira's insufficient jumping at the right moment. How Ramos wasn't sent off, no one will ever know. Shockingly bad call by the ref. Black mark on an otherwise fair match. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icelander83 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thought Spain were quite lucky with the ref, Ramos should have been sent off, Puyol got away with hacking Schweinsteiger down just outside the box. Still laughing at the idiotic Pedro Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Smith Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Still laughing at the idiotic Pedro Torres not laughing though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icelander83 Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Don't think Torres has laughed in a long time tbf Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeDannan Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 Spain was sick. It was painfully clear to me that Germany's good preformances so far were mainly caused by tacticle failure of the opponents. Spain outclassed them even it stayed with 1-0.I fear Spain badly, we are getting so raped in the final, no words for it :( We also fear the Dutch players here in Spain xD. I mean, we know what Robben can do when he's on. We know how good players like Sneijder, Van Bommel, Van Bronckhorst or Van der Vaart are, and Van Persie is a constant threat. The kind of football Spain plays now is a heritage of the Ajax philosophy - Cruijff brought it to Barcelona and our NT kind of "imported" it during the late '90s. So I think we got 2 representatives of the same football "school" in the final. It'll be a hell of a game for us, the kind of game that is difficult to enjoy because of how much is at stake... But I hope it'll be a good game to watch for the "neutral" fans. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VamPook Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 If Germany had equalised after Pedro's selfishness, I don't think he could go back to Spain again ever Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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