football: the beautiful game

[readytoignite]

mourinho was given all the cash in the world at chelsea. he's good, but I wouldn't call him a powerhouse just yet. ferguson and wenger are by far better managers for their track record.

guus hiddink and scolari are definitely awesome international coaches, their track records are crazy. look what hiddink did with korea and australia before russia. incredible stuff.

speaking of which, i wanna see a russia and turkey final.

mourinho has won anything he played in, with and without cash. actually doing it with the squad he had at chelsea is even more impressive in my book, look at all the prima donnas he had and compare the results to the so-called galacticos.

wenger, not so much.

i don't really see the argument against hiddink being the greatest active manager in int'l football now, not that there's a lot of competition. but yes, he'll have to actually win a major tournament at some point.

scolari remains to be seen i think. btw according to his wikipedia entry he's going to takeover for nk dinamo zagreb effective july 1.

russia / turkey would be epic, two teams with nothing to lose. going into yesterday i thought the only two good finals could be that or netherlands / germany.

[thaiison]

russia is playing with big heart, awesome defense and brilliant offence with Arshavin as the producer. they're gonne be dangerous in this tournament

[78]

If he wins the Euro Cup with Russia it will definatly put him Top 5 but not the best.

ok I was abit overzealous with that shit I said I should have clarified myself... in terms of a country wanting to hire someone that can deliver results... who else is there?

[Superstar]

mourinho has won anything he played in, with and without cash.

he never won anything international with chelsea, "only" two premier league titles, so saying he won anything he played in is not true..

no doubt he's a fantastic coach, but I see a few out there who has done some more amazing things..

[mis]

I think ignite is trying to say he won the champs league with porto(w/o cash)

[Egpt]

he never won anything international with chelsea, "only" two premier league titles, so saying he won anything he played in is not true..

no doubt he's a fantastic coach, but I see a few out there who has done some more amazing things..

of course there are a few out there who have done better things than him, mourinho is very young, that analysis is plainly retarded.

[Leumas]

ok I was abit overzealous with that shit I said I should have clarified myself... in terms of a country wanting to hire someone that can deliver results... who else is there?

Then you would have point.

But Spain vs Italy match was a bit dissapointing. But I would have to say Spain deserved it. Ive been saying Iker Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world for quite a bit and this proved it to me.

[cJajce]

I thought Aragones blew it by taking out Torres for Guiza but El Rojo still prevailed deservingly so. Finally history is broken and no heartache after Pk's for Espana.

[fadingblue]

Fuck Iker, Gigi shops at LVR.

[Kasper]

Then you would have point.

But Spain vs Italy match was a bit dissapointing. But I would have to say Spain deserved it. Ive been saying Iker Casillas is the best goalkeeper in the world for quite a bit and this proved it to me.

Spain deserved the win, but they're gonna have to step up their game. Their passing accuracy and execution was awful and they failed to capitalize on so many occasions i can't count...

but as usual, i am glad to see italy off !!!!!

[readytoignite]

^^ i'm sure spain's ability to get a through ball was completely unrelated to italy's 8-1-1 system and playing to a large physical advantage.

[polishmike]

It's true when they say that it's the happiest day of your life when you meet God

(just the back of my head and my friend mike, more pics later)

[Magsåvningsreserven]

'pool fan eh? Where was this taken?? and nice touch with the older shirts

yesterday's game was really good (barring cutouts) hope the same with Spain v Russia..

[polishmike]

i thought it was clear by now who i support

it was at a charity game in nyc, mcmanaman, henry and kalou were there as well

[polishmike]

:D

[Magsåvningsreserven]

aha, good one, might have been saying that again after being subbed yet again..

Spain ran riot in the second half, Fabregas played really well. Russia and Arshavin in particular were just not in it.

[cJajce]

although el rojo were actaully el oro today, they should be able to take care of biz on sunday as long as they stay composed during set plays because through the air is the only way the ball is getting past casillas. what sucks is that i work that morn and this is gonna be the first game i miss of the merengues but as i've been saying from day one, viva el rojo!

[Biff15]

aha, good one, might have been saying that again after being subbed yet again..

...wonder why Aragones keeps doing that...

[78]

Aragones has big cojones.

Subbing his midfield on the reg has got to mess with the opposition. His smarts were on display last night.

Sergio Ramos is going to be a BIG BIG name soon.

[readytoignite]

i thought it was clear by now who i support

it was at a charity game in nyc, mcmanaman, henry and kalou were there as well

not to mention claudio reyna and jozy altidore... it was for steve nash and reyna's respective charities so there were a bunch of nba-ers as well. it wasn't too widely publicized so there weren't all that many people out to see it... wonder who hooked up polish with the info

can't believe there was nobody else to talk to robbie fowler, steve nash was completely mobbed even by the time i got in. cool guy though.

[Biff15]

Aragones has big cojones.

Subbing his midfield on the reg has got to mess with the opposition. His smarts were on display last night.

...good one... that shit probably does throw off the opposing side... makes them wonder

Sergio Ramos is going to be a BIG BIG name soon.

...poised to be the best defender on the planet, if he isn't already...

[cJajce]

Sergio Ramos is more of an offensive wing threat then a top defender. In Real and Spain he is obviously an assest on the flanks when providing service from the right wing for Torres,Villa, Raul, and Rud. But putting him in the company as a top defender in the world, doubtful. Many times this past season in La Liga, he overcommits on tackles and ends up getting burned. He has played pretty well this tourny and has only had one major mistake against the the Sweeds when he totally fell asleep and didnt drop quick enough. He is still really young though, and i think he will eventually get to that top defender mark. But first he must actually defend, and Schweinsteiger and company shold be more of a test.

[Magsåvningsreserven]

steve nash? no spurs players?

and i think there is a problem with torres and aragones, i just get a feeling between them two. Fabregas deserves a start.

[fatchino]

Before the final has even started I have to say this has been a great tournament. Most exciting in my life time without anyone to affiliate myself with properly.

Should be even more excited with the prospect of Germany winning me some cash but what can £50 buy you these days?

[thomparetta]

Watching Germany v Spain whilst typing. Spain's up by one on a fluke, but a glorious one. It's a great game so far, and will continue to be so long as the ref lets the two teams play.

[Magsåvningsreserven]

well well, the better team won; not much more to say really - but Senna played well.

Great tournament, has to be, quite funny in the end as I had no interest in the lead up to it due to the lack of England, but it was a genuinely one of the more exciting tournaments I have watched, great stuff.

[thomparetta]

Can't agree more. Great win by a great team. Although spain wasn't one of my initial choices for the cup (italy, turkey) they were great. What a good season.

[Magsåvningsreserven]

it was a win for football

if germany/italy etc had won it it would've been an indictment on european football imo, Spain's technical and flamboyant style has been a pleasure to watch.

[78]

I remember reading all the write ups before the tourney and some folks had placed Spain to take it all... I doubted it... they've choked my entire lifetime so why this time right?

Hats of Aragones Cojones. He had each teams' (he faced) number.

To shut out Schweintstigerhoweverthefuckyouspellit like this was damn impressive... and getting Ballack emo is always good for the opposition because he starts overplaying and becoming a nuisance more than a player maker...

Torres really shone through tonight. His determination was the difference maker and his net worth just shot up.

The Barca mid played exceptionally well... best they played all tourney?

The subs were spot on...

Silva made some great hustle play interceptions but really choked when it came time to cross/shoot... which bummed me out... been have fan of his for a while now.

Guiza is gonna keep getting better and is a nice counterpoint to Torres

but man Aragones just out strategized against the Krauts.

[cJajce]

Although Silva had a rather disappointing game, he played exceptionally well throughout the whole tourny. It would be nice if he showcased his talents on a bigger stage club wise, rather than Valenica even though they are up there with the top teams in La Liga. Maybe with the Merengues, even though they dont really need a winger caused they are already stacked. But i think i would cry if he joined the reds at anfield because they could use some more talent and he would get to play along his countrymen in torres, alsonso, and arbeloa. Torres+Silva=present & future. But it looks like im gotta follow through on my pledge since my team won and shave my head(prolly just a buzz cut 1inch around cause a shaved head is just ugly). No offense if you have a shaved head.