[!@#$%!]

i dont know about the brazilian team, but if that was me, having fucked up so enormously, i like to think i'd want to make it right instead of self-flagellating in darkness and shame.

maybe i wouldn't have the cojones to show my face in public so soon, but in that idealized version of myself at least i'd like to think i'd try and do better.

i don't know-- i remember david luiz knelt down and prayed with his fingers pointed to the clouds after the match as he often does and i remember wondering what he was saying and if he was accepting the reality he had been dealt. and yes, he cried too after, but i can't believe he's going to just go hide in a hole. others maybe. oscar after all managed to score a goal even if it wouldn't count.

anyway, i usually enjoy 3rd place matches ha ha ha. plus there's a bit of money in them (i mean as a prize).

[demonrail666]

Can't disagree with Van Gaal, talking on that very topic ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...d-be-axed.html

[Blood_Promise]

last time the third place play-off was superior to the final.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Blood_Promise

last time the third place play-off was superior to the final.

I totally agree but it still is a pretty shit consolation prize. Sure, you can say your team had to "win" to finish 3rd but after losing the Semis I don't think anybody really cares. Brazil is not excited about this. After losing the Final last time the Dutch have said the runner up is pointless. If anything, its kind of like FIFAs public shaming match

For those who follow American sports, the Runner Up game is in essence the NFL Pro-Bowl, a game that NOBODY wants to play because its not the Championship game and which players only go to because they get a free vacation to Hawaii out of it, but even then several guys opt out because its a public shaming.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/07/...es/#more-10845

I really liked this one, it was a bit more revealing than the USA Belgium one..

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by demonrail666

Can't disagree with Van Gaal, talking on that very topic ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...d-be-axed.html

maybe he's just pretending not to care so he can then beat brazil by surprise. he's always trying to mindfuck the opposition, ha ha ha. but yeah while he has a point about the suffering and disappointment, fuck it---i still like the matches.

and maybe brazil finally redeems itself and somehow puts together a coherent team (too little too late but eh, i'd still be curious)

[ETA: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/brazil-...7780--sow.html ]
^^as was saying! (maybe it's south american telepathy)

Originally Posted by Blood_Promise

last time the third place play-off was superior to the final.

uruguay was great that year, cheating included. and forlán got the golden boot.

plus hey, robben still gets a chance at golden boot maybe

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2014/07/...es/#more-10845

I really liked this one, it was a bit more revealing than the USA Belgium one..

 

…

(i don't agree with him that it was a dull match though, maybe because i cared about the result so for me it was tense and thus emotional, in spite of no goals--and a great midfield battle--very careful and few mistakes)

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by !@$#&!

 

…

(i don't agree with him that it was a dull match though, maybe because i cared about the result so for me it was tense and thus emotional, in spite of no goals--and a great midfield battle--very careful and few mistakes)

I also didnt think it was boring, considering what was at stake it was ome of my fav matches. I just liked how it broke down the defense tactics and strategy more precisely than the last few articles but that is likely because of the fact it was a defense first match. They probably thought it was boring because even as a draw between holland and argentina shouldve easily been 2-2.. then again we've seen both these teams craft some superb defensive shutouts so it ahouldnt have been surprising

[!@#$%!]

yeah, also previously he was dealing with multiple matches a day… sometimes up to 3… or was it 4 one day… so yeah.

in any clase... glad you took the red pill ha ha ha

 

and since you like stats, check out the fourfourtwo stat zone… actually all of fourfourtwo… … … shit, i just found out there suárez is going to barcelona!! liverpool is facked--h8kurdt should rejoice. big loss for the prem though.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

and since you like stats, check out the fourfourtwo stat zone… actually all of fourfourtwo… … … shit, i just found out there suárez is going to barcelona!! liverpool is facked--h8kurdt should rejoice. big loss for the prem though.

I love stats.. man sometimes I don't even bother with recaps or analysis, I just dive into the stat sheet. I can figure out almost what went right or wrong in ANY game from basketball, American football, or futbol my checking the stats, though my forte at this is basketball which is a truly stats oriented game because of the scoring and 100 plus possessions per game.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

I love stats.. man sometimes I don't even bother with recaps or analysis, I just dive into the stat sheet. I can figure out almost what went right or wrong in ANY game from basketball, American football, or futbol my checking the stats, though my forte at this is basketball which is a truly stats oriented game because of the scoring and 100 plus possessions per game.

the stats are actually good ones there, in that they're the ones that make sense for the game. beyond the numbers, i find the player dominance graphs particularly eye-opening-- would like to look under the hood of those but they don't explain how they come up with them. in them you can see clearly who ruled and who disappeared. e.g. look at mascherano vs. messi in the ARG dominance graph-- there's like 4 different tabs in the match section so you have to dig a little to find it. also-- their phone app is great, you can build your own stats with what data you want (that's what michael cox uses for his demonstrations).

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

I love shot charts, spacing diagrams, defensive schematics breakdowns, formation graphics, and other nerdy visuals even more! THAT is where you really see what happens in any given game, indeed, I thought the Netherlands-Argentina article had the best diagrams of any of the recent for or five.. But like you said, they only had one match to dissect so they had more time and focus on that one. After a basketball game, I usually instantly check out the shot charts to see what happened. After a futbol match I like to do the same, but its a bit less informative because there is so much more going on than just booting in a futbol match.. That is why I liked those diagrams from zonalmarking, they break down in more detail player movement, formation adjustments, and defense diagrams. THAT is what you need to fully understand what goes right and went wrong in any given futbol match..

In B-ball you can infer defensive schemes by looking at the shot chart. If the offense takes a lot of distance shots, you know the defense packed the paint (in soccer you call that parking the bus), if there are a lot of dunks and close range shots you know that the offense was "spacing the floor" by using distance shooting to open up under the basket..

However when looking at a shot chart for a futbol match you can't necessarily draw the same kinds of detailed inferences, so I really appreciate those zonalmarking diagrams all the more. THANKS for sharing

[h8kurdt]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

and since you like stats, check out the fourfourtwo stat zone… actually all of fourfourtwo… … … shit, i just found out there suárez is going to barcelona!! liverpool is facked--h8kurdt should rejoice. big loss for the prem though.

Aye it's gonna be an interesting season for Liverpool. I've no idea who they're gonna find to get that 32(?) goal gap that's now gone, and especially as the rumored move of Sanchez going there has fallen through. Well done to Arsenal for that signing!

[h8kurdt]

And in the end it doesn't matter. Everton will still screw up the pissing derbies.

[h8kurdt]

Great piece about Lahm

[demonrail666]

Good luck to Barcelona next season with their superstar Luiz-Silva dream pairing in defence. Ronaldo and Bale must be shitting themselves.

[!@#$%!]

you mean PSG?

james + falcao

[demonrail666]

oops, yeah. brainfreeze there.

Seriously though. I can't remember a top player whose reputation has been so thoroughly discredited in a WC as Luiz. Even Suarez comes out of it looking better.

PSG paid 50m for him before the WC, what would he be worth now? Liverpool got 75m after Chielini-gate. Who knows what he'd have been worth before it. Wouldn't be surprised if that bite cost Anfield some serious money but Chelsea must be laughing all the way to the bank.

[!@#$%!]

funny thing david luiz started well i thought but got real shitty into the knockout games. i know you have never believed in him as a central defender (we had this talk i think about a year ago i remember) but he really turned awful this past couple of games. maybe a bad case of nerves. maybe diarrhea. maybe a religious crisis (father why has thou forsaken me, or whatever). or maybe he always sucked and i didn't notice. in any case, he was horribly fucking dismal today. that goal he gave away was only worthy of geoff cameron (who is a 3rd rater).

anyway, i really wanna start following AS monaco. james + falcao = damn damn damn. colombia 2018.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

funny thing david luiz started well i thought but got real shitty into the knockout games.

like in all sports tournaments as teams advance they face increasingly potent competition. Cinderellas magical carriages turn to pumpkins. Shit, the better nations of the world field motherfucking futbol Dreamteams of combinations of the world's best talent.. shit, some of the best team's in the world didn't even advance!! Each round is fraught with even Dreamier teams making it a nightmares.. i know you hate comparisons but its why in most of its history the Superbowl have been onesided blowouts, one team is the best in the league and the other team is about to find out. Brazil received a significant reality check, one I think argentina discovers tomorrow.

but he really turned awful this past couple of games. maybe a bad case of nerves. maybe diarrhea. maybe a religious crisis (father why has thou forsaken me, or whatever). or maybe he always sucked and i didn't notice.

-
Its not that he always sucked so much as he was never really THAT guy..

that goal he gave away was only worthy of geoff cameron (who is a 3rd rater)

Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa! WORD. Ehat the fuck was even doing starting.against belgium???

[!@#$%!]

haha ha

well suchfriends see david luiz has won the premier league and the champions league with chelsea. he was in the confederations cup team that broke spain's winning streak. he's not new to big tournaments or big anything. he has been very highly rated has won a bunch of individual trophies and just sold for a fuckload of money to a cash-rich team (PSG--funded by arab petrodollars).

my disagreement with demonrail is that i liked that he goes on the attack and scores (beckenbauer!) whereas he likes the more bulldog-chiellini types (i do too but i don't mind a libero type also). looks like mourinho doesn't like him either cuz they sold him in 2nd year of a 5-year contract. but mang was he ever highly rated going into this world cup.

however he was just shit in the end. even though he scored goals earlier!

anyway i shall resume my wine-drinking and fuck off for the night but i just wanted to clarify that.

re: geoff cameron: he's what we have! ha ha ha haaaa haaaa

hey if you have $20/mo. to spare (no contract, pay as you go) foxsoccer2go will be carrying champions league games on the web (fox soccer channel too but i don't have cable). worth checking out for the starzzzzzz, not sure of CL start date. (also will carry CONCACAF gold cup etc.)

okay id better go. happy weekend.