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It's funny, I never really thought of Japan as a country that would have a large emigrant population given their post-war economy, but then again it's such a big country. It will be good to have them in the World Cup anyway. It's frustrating that they're playing decent football but in Ireland we're still lagging behind with this caveman stuff.
Honda is a cracking player. Some of his movement was brilliant.
That lone-run he had at one stage towards the end was deserving of a goal.
Honda has been threatening to move to a top European time for years, since before the last World Cup. He seems to be available on a free now? He's similar to McGeady in that he has progressed there but probably needs to make a step up now or he never will.
Good game, except I fell asleep...
Very open and enjoyable. Here's to more of the same.
There is a huge emphasis at all levels here on passing the ball. In J-League games, they tend to overdo it in my opinion. Perhaps I'm a caveman too, but there are times when the best thing to do is just hoof it. Especially when the alternative is trying to work your way out of defense with intricate passes, when the risks are high.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
I know that in rugby here, the national coach Eddie Jones spends as much time visiting the league clubs as he does with the national team, and to a certain extent there is an understanding that, once the needs of the individual clubs have been met, the clubs will then think about how they can help the national side to benefit.
In the J-League, there is certainly a greater emphasis on passing across the league than there was even a decade ago but I don't know if this is the result of the JFA taking a similar approach with their league, or if it came about for other reasons.
Sounded more like a case of the yellow clad locals getting behind Japan from the start, found out they were a damn good team, silenced when Italy went ahead, then roused into a frenzy when Japan went on the offensive. It was like a home game for Japan with the almost unanimous chants of 'Japan' after they equalised.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin
This is how I remember Japan from past tournaments, trying to play football in this way but not this effective. The one touch interplay was like watching Bilbao from last season. They're a good team to watch, even if they still look like a work in progress.
Yes, and a bit like Mexico too. I've been impressed with Japan since 1998.Quote:
Originally Posted by geysir
Kagawa's goal yesterday was quality and while I think both penalties were harsh, Italy's third(?) could have been penalised for handball and Japan were desperately unlucky not to score late on.
Yeah, total contrast to their first game v.Brazil when they seemed more than happy to be just rolled over.
I was out tonight so I couldn't watch the TAH v ESP game. I was expecting something here?
Depends on what you mean by something.
Tonight's match was a bit of a letdown, apart from the goals. Nigeria were the architects of their own defeat, playing a strict 3 at the back with no right full back. Bizarre tactics by the coach to have Ambrose fixed 60m up the pitch, playing as an attacking wide midfielder, leaving an acre of space for Uruguay to exploit in behind.
Was there some sort of argument between Cunningham and Sadlier?
One of the more surreal matches I've ever seen. Watching Tahiti was like imagining yourself out there playing against Spain. The keeper's reaction to saving that free from Mata was class.
Yeah, they lost 10-0, but they've made it a memorable tournament.
Didn't really see this coming.
I know there's protests and what have you, but you still don't expect a tournament to be abandoned because of it.
God knows what implications this would have for the World Cup next year.
I'd say this is a very high-stakes game of chicken. There's no way it'll get abandoned. Surely?
Depends. If FIFA's pressure on Brazilian authorities results in them using brute force to suppress the protests, things could escalate very quickly.
I suppose it's only fitting, after the Velvet/Singing/Solidarity/Peaceful Revolutions, that the 'Football Revolution' takes place in Brazil.
Aye, old news?
http://foot.ie/threads/180676-Dissent-in-Brazil
Just thinking out loud - but is there any chance this could turn into the seismic event that finally removes Blatter and gives rise to proper reform of FIFA? If CD's scenario pans out and there is bloodshed around the staging of a football tournament then FIFA could lose any remaining popular legitimacy it can claim to have.
I actually enjoyed Ken Early's piece during the week about Blatter and football's ruling elite being the 1% versus the 99%, akin to the Occupy movement's central theme, and Blatter being some kind of Marie Antoinette figure.
Anyway, it's high time the ridiculous cost of these mega sports events is scrutinised in a time of austerity and with public finances at breaking point globally.
Would be good to think so but unlikely?
We might get rid of the dinosaur Bl*tter, but he'd only be replaced by another insipid fool like Platini.
As for outright change;wishful thinking I reckon. Corruption and ridiculous budgets seem endemic when related to these sorts of events.
Tbf, not just soccer, but the Olympics or anything else approaching this status.
Platini gets a bad rap, but I think that's mainly because of the English media and their paranoia and Francophobia, as they see him as being anti-English. He's a lot better-regarded outside of the Anglosphere.
Platini doesn't help himself though. Supporting Qatar's World Cup bid (and doesn't his son have strong Qatari connections?), refusal to accept any form of technology for goal line incidents, the goal line officials idea, and so on. That said, I'm fully behind the FFP initiative - in fact I'd like to see even more strict intervention - and I agree that the English perceive his stance as being simply an anti-England and EPL agenda. The truth is that he is even more hostile to Spain's model and I believe he is genuinely concerned that the financial situation in European football is unsustainable. I'd like to see UEFA pay more attention to smaller countries. In what form I'm not sure.
Edit: I just found this interview with Platini after googling "Michel Platini Qatar":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...-uefa-football