FIFA World Cup 2014 OT (Congrats to GERMANY & kdiddy1989)

I hate wondo even more now.

I should be used to strikers shitting the bed, lord knows Ive watched Torres shit the bed too many times to count, but damn did that suck. Soon as he missed that I said we will lose it in ET as they were too good at pressuring out goal and you cant defend that well for 120 and at the time we were not getting much on the attack.

Welp 45 days until the start of the EPL season.

Cant get here soon enough, and hopefully Costa wont fill his pants this season at all, cant take any more of shitting the bed strikers.

 
This was the first game we missed Landon Donovan. He would have made a difference today. I would like to think if it was Donovan instead of Wondo we would be talking about an amazing US victory. The important thing to take away from this tournament is that the future is very bright.  

 
kilik64 said:
I hate wondo even more now.

I should be used to strikers shitting the bed, lord knows Ive watched Torres shit the bed too many times to count, but damn did that suck. Soon as he missed that I said we will lose it in ET as they were too good at pressuring out goal and you cant defend that well for 120 and at the time we were not getting much on the attack.

Welp 45 days until the start of the EPL season.

Cant get here soon enough, and hopefully Costa wont fill his pants this season at all, cant take any more of shitting the bed strikers.
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Ugh, too many Spaniards. I should pick an EPL team so I have a reason to watch more soccer, but it definitely isn't going to be Chelsea.

 
tylerh1701 said:
Ugh, too many Spaniards. I should pick an EPL team so I have a reason to watch more soccer, but it definitely isn't going to be Chelsea.
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If you like international football, then you definitely would benefit from some more club football in your life. You get more competitiveness out of the players and you get the fun of derbies and the tradition that comes with it. I really love the MLS but it's still a young league. When you start watching some of the European leagues, Champions League and all that, it's about as good as it gets. The leagues (especially the Premier League) just kinda suck you in and before you know it, you're hooked.

And what's wrong with Chelsea? Juan Mata is gone so that's one less Spaniard lol I also support Chelsea and Sunderland as long as Jozy is playing there.

 
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Definitely a gutsy performance from the US. Howard was stellar even by his standards and the defense hung in there despite getting hammered all game since we couldn't keep possession. Like the other guy, I knew we were done when Wondo missed the late opportunity. Amazed at how we kept battling after falling behind 2-0 in ET though. Great goal from Green and a couple other great chances we just couldn't put away.

The lack of possession remains the key problem for the US team. We just never have the talent in mid field to string together passes and keep possession against top teams. Hopefully some young players step up between now and 2018 or Klinnsmann finds a couple more who can help. Donovan would have helped some with that and with having a better striker option to sub in potentially, but hopefully the added experience for some of the younger players will pay off down the road.
 
tylerh1701 said:
Ugh, too many Spaniards. I should pick an EPL team so I have a reason to watch more soccer, but it definitely isn't going to be Chelsea.
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United is the logical choice. LVG is the new manager. RVP is our star. New dutch contingent to join shortly after the WC. There is a chance we sign Strootman during the January window. Plus, don't you want to root for an "underdog" with a ton of tradition? :D/

 
dmaul1114 said:
Definitely a gutsy performance from the US. Howard was stellar even by his standards and the defense hung in there despite getting hammered all game since we couldn't keep possession. Like the other guy, I knew we were done when Wondo missed the late opportunity. Amazed at how we kept battling after falling behind 2-0 in ET though. Great goal from Green and a couple other great chances we just couldn't put away.

The lack of possession remains the key problem for the US team. We just never have the talent in mid field to string together passes and keep possession against top teams. Hopefully some young players step up between now and 2018 or Klinnsmann finds a couple more who can help. Donovan would have helped some with that and with having a better striker option to sub in potentially, but hopefully the added experience for some of the younger players will pay off down the road.
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Stuart Holden. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

 
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kill3r7 said:
United is the logical choice. LVG is the new manager. RVP is our star. New dutch contingent to join shortly after the WC. There is a chance we sign Strootman during the January window. Plus, don't you want to root for an "underdog" with a ton of tradition? :D/
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Honestly if Tyler wants to find an EPL team, going outside the box with a team that isn't the big 3 or 4 is a lot of fun and can create even more drama and love for a team. I've been a Tim Howard fan since his rookie season at the MetroStars. Being a goalkeeper, i have always watched him play and was so excited when United nabbed him. Now I follow Everton since Howard plays there and love watching the team play.

When Lukaku came in yesterday I told the entire bar we were in trouble. He changed the game! Loved Howard's interview after the game where he showed some emotion and talked about how "Big Rom" really changed everything.

 
Sadly, United isn't in the big three or four currently. If he wants consistent punches to the gut then Everton is a fine choice...I kid.

Seriously though, pick a team that either has a player you like, has a boss jersey, or is rivals with a team with a player you hate.
 
hpbbes said:
Sadly, United isn't in the big three or four currently. If he wants consistent punches to the gut then Everton is a fine choice...I kid.

Seriously though, pick a team that either has a player you like, has a boss jersey, or is rivals with a team with a player you hate.
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exactly, best way to do it! Loved becoming a fan of Everton thanks to Howard, and they aren't that bad... they are on the up. Mostly belgium players, HAHA. The moment I saw Lukaku go on I knew we were done. Hope Luk gets to stay with Everton, but with his play Chelsea would be dumb not to do something.

 
bestkeeper14 said:
exactly, best way to do it! Loved becoming a fan of Everton thanks to Howard, and they aren't that bad... they are on the up. Mostly belgium players, HAHA. The moment I saw Lukaku go on I knew we were done. Hope Luk gets to stay with Everton, but with his play Chelsea would be dumb not to do something.
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Mou doesnt rate him, either sold outright or loaned again.

After watching his other games in the WC, i dont really rate him either.

Then again, if all you have seen of Hazard is the WC you wouldnt have any clue that he was voted top young player in EPL this year, top player on CFC squad, and on the team of the year for the EPL last 2 years.

We need to start an EPL thread and post in that.

But tyler, pick a team for their history, location, stadium, fan base, etc. Dont pick based on players as they move all the time, coaches as they tend to shuffle around quite a bit, or even team colors (example Cardiff City who was blue and is now red thanks to their TERRIBLE owner. Be like the yankees being red all of a sudden basically)

Picking a bottom table potential team can be fun, but you run the risk of your EPL team getting knocked down to the championship. EPL is now really a big 5 (CFC, Arsenal, City, United, Pool) and then you have the perennial mid tables ( Everton, Newcastle, Stoke, Tottenham) that have the possibility to threaten a top 4 finish and then you have the rest of the league. Outside of the top half of the league teams, a lot of the teams are going to be mostly English/welsh players with a few internationals thrown in. All the top teams will be a large mix of internationals and English players (required by rules to have so many homegrown players).

If I was looking for an EPL team id go with either a top 5 team or a mid table team like the ones I listed, but here is the full list of teams for the current season http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014%E2%80%9315_Premier_League

Point is though, pick a team and start following. Read up on their history, who their rivals are, what the current squad is like, who the current coach is. Start following the daily transfer rumors which is really fun depending on the team.

With NBC Sports hopefully having the EPL locked up for years, viewing games has never been better for the EPL. Most games are saturday/sunday and they are in the morning (7am CST usually for early games and mid morning for the later ones. They also have monday night games like MNF in the NFL, those are usually like 2-3pm cst so have to record those if you work but majority of your teams games will be sat/sun) and they have a GREAT streaming site and app to never miss your EPL match.

 
So there are 20 teams in the EPL.  How many matches do they play in the "regular" season?  And what is the playoff structure like?

 
tylerh1701 said:
So there are 20 teams in the EPL. How many matches do they play in the "regular" season? And what is the playoff structure like?
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no playoffs... top team wins the league, top four get a spot in the champions league tourney the following year, and bottom four get relegated to a lower league. very different structure from American sports. 38 games a year per team

This should explain it.... stops teams from tanking like in America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system

The system consists of a pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation. A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish at the bottom of their league can find themselves sinking down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances.
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tylerh1701 said:
So there are 20 teams in the EPL. How many matches do they play in the "regular" season? And what is the playoff structure like?
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They play 38 games a season and there is no traditional playoff structure to speak of. The EPL champion is the team which has the most points at the end of the regular season. A team gets 3 points for a win, 1 for tie and none for a loss.

 
bestkeeper14 said:
no playoffs... top team wins the league, top four get a spot in the champions league tourney the following year, and bottom four get relegated to a lower league. very different structure from American sports. 38 games a year per team

This should explain it.... stops teams from tanking like in America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system
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kill3r7 said:
They play 38 games a season and there is no traditional playoff structure to speak of. The EPL champion is the team which has the most points at the end of the regular season. A team gets 3 points for a win, 1 for tie and none for a loss.
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Oh OK, that makes sense. I knew about the relegation thing. That is actually really cool.

 
So the Champions league is like a big group-stage playoff of all the best teams from the different European leagues and the Europa League is like the runner-up playoff?

 
tylerh1701 said:
So the Champions league is like a big group-stage playoff of all the best teams from the different European leagues and the Europa League is like the runner-up playoff?
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Pretty much, more or less. and then each league has a domestic cup which could be considered a playoff of sorts, except everyone gets in. In England you have the FA cup that all English teams get in even the lower tiered teams

 
tylerh1701 said:
Holy shit how to the schedule makers keep track of all these games?
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no idea, but they actually do a lot of rescheduling during the year unlike other sports here in the US. if you advance in certain tournaments they will move league games. Most games are Saturday or Sunday afternoons English time. In the states they can be 7 am EST to 11 am EST. Sometimes they will move games to Tuesday or wednesday.

 
bestkeeper14 said:
no idea, but they actually do a lot of rescheduling during the year unlike other sports here in the US. if you advance in certain tournaments they will move league games. Most games are Saturday or Sunday afternoons English time. In the states they can be 7 am EST to 11 am EST. Sometimes they will move games to Tuesday or wednesday.
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Oh ok, I guess that makes sense. Seems like there could be several leagues and/or tournaments going on at the same time.

A lot tougher for a newbie than the NFL with a 16 games season and 4-round playoff..

 
tylerh1701 said:
Oh ok, I guess that makes sense. Seems like there could be several leagues and/or tournaments going on at the same time.

A lot tougher for a newbie than the NFL with a 16 games season and 4-round playoff..
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Honestly I only keep track of the EPL and the champions league... FA cup when it gets to the knock out stages is good too, until then most of the big teams play backup players. Honestly you could just pay attention to EPL since games are so easy to watch now with NBC's contract. It also makes it easier to pick any team since they show every game live and on demand through their app and channel.

It's the best time to be an EPL fan in the US.

 
Only 3 teams get relegated, not 4.

Top 3 teams are auto qualify for Champions League which is kinda like the WC in format. Group stage to start with, 4 teams each group, play each team home/away, top 2 teams from each group make knockout stage which is home/away combined goals until the final which is 1 match to win it. Champions league is the top teams from leagues around europe playing each other, its harder to follow somewhat as Fox has the rights and charges fee to stream online but can always find pirated feeds. Its played usually wed/thurs and in the afternoon time in the US.

4th place team has to win playoff to make champions league and usually this 4th place team in the EPL does that. 

currently 5th and 6th place teams qualify for Europa league which is like champions league but lower quality of teams as they are not top 3ish like Champions league is.

(got side tracked at work so just posting what I wrote before that)

Oh and to make it even MORE muddier for you, the teams in the champions league that finish 3rd in the group stage then fall down to the europa league at some point in that competition. Most teams that drop from champs to europa then just play their "b" squad in those games. Except CFC. Only team to ever Win champs and europa back to back in that order.

 
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I've been reading up some on EPL and trying to pick a team too. I tried a bit in the past after World Cups up my interest, but it's easier now with the NBC contract.

I'm leaning toward Arsenal as that's who I followed a bit years back. Considering Everton as well. I don't want to go for Chelsea or Man U as I'd feel like bandwagon fans who got into baseball and picks the Yankees or football years back with the Cowboys.

I lean Arsenal as that's a step below that level while still being a top team competitively. Everton is mainly the Howard draw for a few more years and picking a mid -ier team with the underdog angle.
 
dmaul1114 said:
I've been reading up some on EPL and trying to pick a team too. I tried a bit in the past after World Cups up my interest, but it's easier now with the NBC contract.

I'm leaning toward Arsenal as that's who I followed a bit years back. Considering Everton as well. I don't want to go for Chelsea or Man U as I'd feel like bandwagon fans who got into baseball and picks the Yankees or football years back with the Cowboys.

I lean Arsenal as that's a step below that level while still being a top team competitively. Everton is mainly the Howard draw for a few more years and picking a mid -ier team with the underdog angle.
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You can't go wrong with either team. Everton is a relentless team that will give it its all every time they step on the pitch. They play a much more entertaining counterattacking style of football under Roberto Martinez. Arsenal are known for playing a beautiful brand of football. They consistently finish in the Top 4 (often inching out their arch rival Tottenham) and compete in the UCL. So that's a nice bonus.

Basically the EPL has been 3 horse race since its inception (Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea). Blackburn was the only other team to lift the trophy until City rocked the boat the last few years having won 2 out of the last 3 championships. Man U, City and Chelsea all spend a big money. Arsenal have money but they tend to be stingy and don't usually spend any of it. Liverpool is all about tradition though they just had an incredible season this past year and finished second in the EPL.

Other teams to consider would be Stoke, Newcastle and Aston Villa.

 
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Picking a team based on player isn't always bad, as long as it ends up being moving on from there. Just following because a player (or two) won't work too well.

I became an Arsenal fan because of FM actually, at the time they had Cesc, Sagna, Nasri, etc. and I liked their style of play and youth focus. I had thought about Chelsea, being the only EPL teams I'd seen prior was them and Manchester United, but couldn't connect with them at all in FM and later in RL.

If I hadn't and was picking today, it'd probably be Swansea (as much as I like Martinez, can't connect at all with Everton still). Same thing, like a few of the players, their focus, and their style of play.


The downside of Arsenal, you only get hope about 3 months of the year in a good season =p. 3 months more then a lot of teams but still.

Oh, is there a specific style of play you like? Types of players? Etc. Those things can change (see Everton) but IMO it is a good starting point, no sense in trying to follow a team you hate/end up hating to watch right?
 
If I picked based in players I'd stick with the team after they were fine. I did that with pro sports otherwise growing up since I was in a stats with in pro teams.

Arsenal I do like the style of play as I like the "beautiful" game with nice passing, a decent amount of attacking etc. vs a more defensive/counter attacking approach.
 
tylerh1701 said:
Oh ok, I guess that makes sense. Seems like there could be several leagues and/or tournaments going on at the same time.

A lot tougher for a newbie than the NFL with a 16 games season and 4-round playoff..
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There is always something going on. If it isn't big tournaments, then it's qualifying matches for smaller clubs to get a shot at the big boys. And there ALWAYS will be something on if you have cravings for the game. Especially for yourself being a fellow MLS fan. Our league plays while the rest are in their offseason and vice versa. Works out great for an all-around football fan. Once you get all into the way it works, it'll make the sport so much more entertaining than our football here.

 
dmaul1114 said:
Arsenal I do like the style of play as I like the "beautiful" game with nice passing, a decent amount of attacking etc. vs a more defensive/counter attacking approach.
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Arsenal is good for that, Swansea was though a bit more defensive (and can't remember how it was last season off hand). Southampton was last season and would assume they will be (if not more) with Koeman, just judging by who he played for and when. Liverpool I think would fit, a bit more attacking/counterattacking then Arsenal I think. Everton fits too.

Just realized typing that out, I'm finding it harder to think of teams that are fairly defensive now, Chelsea is the standout. I'd call Man United such, like get stick for it, but not sure if Van Gaal will change it dramatically. Spurs felt it some under AVB but he has been gone awhile now.
 
Red_Lizard2 said:
Arsenal is good for that, Swansea was though a bit more defensive (and can't remember how it was last season off hand). Southampton was last season and would assume they will be (if not more) with Koeman, just judging by who he played for and when. Liverpool I think would fit, a bit more attacking/counterattacking then Arsenal I think. Everton fits too.

Just realized typing that out, I'm finding it harder to think of teams that are fairly defensive now, Chelsea is the standout. I'd call Man United such, like get stick for it, but not sure if Van Gaal will change it dramatically. Spurs felt it some under AVB but he has been gone awhile now.
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Chelsea defensive? Do people even look at stats before making claims about a team?

CFC did allow the least amount of goals, but they scored the 3rd most. Granted pool and city beat them by 30 but you people and your beautiful Arsenal scored 3 goals less than so called defensive Chelsea...

Oh and this little article tells you all you need to know about Chelsea and Arsenal right now...

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26590673

Also Asshole Wenger (their coach) is an arrogant frenchman who has one exactly ONE tropy with arsenal in the last decade.

Chelsea has the best defense in the league by far (might be the best in the world really and will have the same 4 starters this season with arguably the best keeper in the world in Courtois manning the net), and now that we HAVE a freaking striker, should score more goals this season (hell Torres misses alone would have added 10-15 goals last campaign).

Going to be a great year for them blues. In Jose We Trust.

 
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You can point to all stats you want but Roman is still chasing that elusive attacking brand of football. The closest Chelsea has ever come to playing an open, attacking style was under Ancelotti, 2009-10. They scored a league high 103 goals that year. That said, I wouldn't define the current Chelsea team as defensive. I hate saying this as a United fan but you guys are favorites to win the league this year. It should come down to you and City.

Although, I hope I am wrong and LVG pulls off some of that magic and helps us win it. 

 
I thought Brazil looked a lot better today, especially in the first half.  Colombia kind of looked like a mess for a lot of the game, but I really wish they were able to even it up.  Not sure what is up with Neymar, doesn't seem that that knee to the back should have been such a major issue.

And oh man was that game poorly officiated.  Could never get into the flow of the game because of all the stoppages.  

Didn't catch much of France and Germany but glad Germany won.

 
Ouch, that sucks.  I want Brazil to lose, but not like this.  Who knows maybe this will spark everyone else and they'll play harder.

I didn't even think he was hurt when it first happened.  Can never tell.  I wonder if the players have special code words or signals they use when they're actually injured so the team can call for help.

 
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The trainer called for a sub shortly after getting to Neymar. I still thought that was a time wasting ploy.

I remember one time in the Champions League maybe 7 years ago, Gattuso took a bad tackle and he immediately called for a sub and was stretched off. The replay looked bad and the commentators were already chastising the offender. Gattuso jumped up of the stretcher, miraculously recovered from the torn/broken/amputated whatever and played on. Of course, the man is a badass so no one said shit.
 
So yea if Germany wins this thing I think I win our bracket pool.

Germany netherlands final also means I win it even if Nationalmannschaft lose that, I think.

Not really sure about the scoring, but I think thats right.

Good SF round though, 2 europe vs south america matches with europe trying to have the first european winner in a WC hosted on south american soil.

 
[quote name="kilik64" post="11898178" timestamp="1404650808"]So yea if Germany wins this thing I think I win our bracket pool.

Germany netherlands final also means I win it even if Nationalmannschaft lose that, I think.

Not really sure about the scoring, but I think thats right.

Good SF round though, 2 europe vs south america matches with europe trying to have the first european winner in a WC hosted on south american soil.[/quote]

I think if Netherlands wins it all you would lose to me but otherwise yes. Each round is worth 32 points.
 
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and if argentina and Brazil advance I win... in first place now and went three of four in the semis... can't believe I picked Spain instead of the Netherlands... glad I made my last minute change to have belgium lose in the quarters! :)

 
All this talk about the bracket winners...If only Chile would've been the Cinderella that I thought they were going to be...Anyways, good luck guys!

 
Interesting list, I believe this info was collected at the end of the Group stage:

OG-AB772_COUNT6_G_20140624210645.jpg


No real surprise, I've noticed that American teams (North and South) seems to be bigger stallers when it comes to this. 

 
kdiddy1989 said:
All this talk about the bracket winners...If only Chile would've been the Cinderella that I thought they were going to be...Anyways, good luck guys!
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Honestly, in the end of the world cup tourneys, the best four teams usually prevail. Not a ton of drama or upsets happen. and honestly the best four teams are in, not one could have been seen as an upset, which was why so many of us are 3 out of four teams or better. The only upsets you see are teams making it out of the groups I.E. Costa Rica, Nigeria, Algeria, and even the US. But they won't go much further...

 
bestkeeper14 said:
Honestly, in the end of the world cup tourneys, the best four teams usually prevail. Not a ton of drama or upsets happen. and honestly the best four teams are in, not one could have been seen as an upset, which was why so many of us are 3 out of four teams or better. The only upsets you see are teams making it out of the groups I.E. Costa Rica, Nigeria, Algeria, and even the US. But they won't go much further...
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RIght. I understand that. I just saw Chile as a squad that could make it very far, kinda like everybody else did with Belgium. I knew it was a long shot but went with the gut. Arturo Vidal is an absolute beast in the midfield, and Alexis Sanchez and Eduardo Vargas are really underrated footballers. It's not like they got blown out too, they took Brazil to the brink. I had them as this year's 2010 Uruguay.

And that is a very interesting list Tyler...Brazil with "17 injuries" and only 3 mins of downtime is impressive, especially considering Belgium has that time beat with only 7 "injuries"

 
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