2014 World Cup

[DannyInvincible]

Uruguay's in-denial captain Diego Lugano answers the BBC's questions on "nothing important": http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28026610

His opening answer is just comical.

BBC: "Can you comment on the incident with Luis Suarez? Can you comment on what the world saw yesterday?"

Diego Lugano: "What incident? I don't know what incident you're talking about. I don't know what incident you're talking about. Are you talking about the Premier League or the national team? Have you got something against Luis?"

BBC: "Chiellini? Are you saying nothing happened?"

Lugano: "No. The pictures don't show anything. They show an approximation but nothing important."

BBC: "Why then has Fifa charged Luis Suarez?"

Lugano: "I don't know. As far as I know."

BBC: "Are British media to blame?"

Lugano: "No. Everybody knows the British media have an issue with Suarez. It must sell newspapers in England. Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Yesterday Uruguay played against Italy and Saturday it will play Colombia. I don't know what a British journalist is doing talking about Suarez. It must be popular with the British media. I don't see another explanation.

"But we're happy with yesterday's win. You don't look that happy with Uruguay's victory but, well, now comes the hardest part which is facing what I believe is the best team so far in the tournament. Colombia has scored a lot of goals and won easily."

[NeverFeltBetter]

Its like the Liverpool team after the Evra incident. Circle the wagons/us against them etc. I wish he had the balls to just say "It was wrong, but there's nothing we can do about it now" but I guess he'd be more worried about squad cohesion.

On another note, what are the chances Germany and the US actually try and win the game tomorrow? I'd say they'd give it a decent go for at least an hour, without trying to really kill themselves. I wonder if Klinsmann would pull a Holloway, and lose while trying too hard to win.

Not that it really matters I suppose, unless Ronaldo really kicks it into gear.

[Charlie Darwin]

Its like the Liverpool team after the Evra incident. Circle the wagons/us against them etc. I wish he had the balls to just say "It was wrong, but there's nothing we can do about it now" but I guess he'd be more worried about squad cohesion.

On another note, what are the chances Germany and the US actually try and win the game tomorrow? I'd say they'd give it a decent go for at least an hour, without trying to really kill themselves. I wonder if Klinsmann would pull a Holloway, and lose while trying too hard to win.

Not that it really matters I suppose, unless Ronaldo really kicks it into gear.

I'd say a semi-competitive game will suit Germany. If the US aren't going full-tilt, they could tear them apart.

[Closed Account 2]

Was at the Greece game, it didn't look like a penalty to me but I didn't have the benefit of a replay. The locals were not too fond of Greece's tactics, I can see them edging Costa Rica though.

[Charlie Darwin]

Was at the Greece game, it didn't look like a penalty to me but I didn't have the benefit of a replay. The locals were not too fond of Greece's tactics, I can see them edging Costa Rica though.

To be fair to the home fans, they've seen enough of those tactics from their own team so they're bound to be worn out by the time they get to Greece.

[DannyInvincible]

Do you still think it was a dive having seen television replays?



I thought it was a pretty clear-cut penalty. Samaras' leg was caught as he swung it to kick the ball, which caused it to change course and his foot to pummel into the ground, thus, tripping him up.

[OwlsFan]

There are different angles which show him being clipped by the defender. Penalty.

One of the most disappointing moments of the World Cup so far for me was the huge ovation Drogba got when leaving the pitch. Good player and all that he is, to me he represents much that is wrong with football today with his diving and particularly feigning injury and these people would have seen it on TV and yet applaud him. Perhaps all that s**t is now accepted by many fans

[BonnieShels]

Read this...

Laughed lots...
http://babb.telegraph.co.uk/2014/06/...orld-cup-ever/

[DannyInvincible]

Ha, I'm guessing this was from the England game:



Still no verdict on Suarez, although Danny Mills recommended the following: "They have got to throw him in jail and lock him up forever."

I'm surprised by some of the things people like Mills are coming out with. If anything, they should be bringing back capital punishment!

If Suarez does play for Uruguay in the next match against Colombia though, and Carlos Bacca plays for them, might Suarez chew Bacca?

(OK, I'll be honest; my friend came up with that on Facebook.)

On another note, what are the chances Germany and the US actually try and win the game tomorrow? I'd say they'd give it a decent go for at least an hour, without trying to really kill themselves. I wonder if Klinsmann would pull a Holloway, and lose while trying too hard to win.

I think they'll play out a conservative and risk-free draw. I don't necessarily think it'll be a stitch-up where the two teams will have agreed to ensure safe passage through for both of them or anything like that. I just think the players will be primarily concerned with protecting what they have - self-preservation will dictate matters - and this will have the inevitable consequence of both sides committing little in attack. There may be a brief early period of inventive play - they'll have heard wind of the conspiracy theories and may want to do just enough to prove their professional integrity - but, if so, both teams will very soon realise the perils of allowing such play to continue. Imagine you were playing in this game; how would you approach it?

There are different angles which show him being clipped by the defender. Penalty.

Aw aye, definitely. It's evident from the angle in that video above even, despite the idiot who uploaded it sticking "dive" in the title.

One of the most disappointing moments of the World Cup so far for me was the huge ovation Drogba got when leaving the pitch. Good player and all that he is, to me he represents much that is wrong with football today with his diving and particularly feigning injury and these people would have seen it on TV and yet applaud him. Perhaps all that s**t is now accepted by many fans

Well, of course it would be accepted. As we all know from the summer friendlies thread, the majority of football fans around the world are them poor types with no moral backbone...

[bennocelt]

Ha, I'm guessing this was from the England game:

Did it really cost him £2000 for accommodation! That's usually the last thing I worry about on football away days!!

[Charlie Darwin]

If Suarez does play for Uruguay in the next match against Colombia though, and Carlos Bacca plays for them, might Suarez chew Bacca?

(OK, I'll be honest; my friend came up with that on Facebook.)

I think you're more honest than your friend - that one's been doing the rounds since Tuesday.

Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng have been kicked out of the Ghana camp today over disputes with management. Muntari apparently attacked an FA official.

[DannyInvincible]

I think you're more honest than your friend - that one's been doing the rounds since Tuesday.

Ha, he claimed it was all his own work. I had a suspicion it might have been doing the rounds though, so thought it best to play it safe and admit it wasn't an original. Phew!

Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng have been kicked out of the Ghana camp today over disputes with management. Muntari apparently attacked an FA official.

They won't play later then? Boateng strikes me as serious mercenary material. Maybe Tommie Gorman could help patch things up?

[NeverFeltBetter]

Everything is lining up for Portugal....

[A N Mouse]

This talk about about the lack of catching from goalkeepers baffles me. Not that it would matter, but is there any evidence to back up these claims?

There seems to be some misplaced importance on catching (in the anglosphere). The priority is preventing goals; and sure catching the ball, and ensuring your team retains possession is the optimal way of doing this.

But punching is just as vaild an option, especially under pressure. I'd argue a punch is more difficult to execute, but easier to recover from.

A good punch, like a good parry, should remove the immediate danger, and ideally find a team mate, empty space or touch.

It's all about picking the best option in a given situation.

[peadar1987]

Did it really cost him £2000 for accommodation! That's usually the last thing I worry about on football away days!!

Perhaps Brazil isn't like most of Europe, where you can usually get away with staying in a hostel in the dodgy part of town for £15 a night. You could run into safety issues.

That said, I doubt he's staying for more than 3 weeks, especially if he's only arriving after the second game. That works out to about £100 a night, which is definitely more than you need to shell out. Same for "Enjoying the ambience". If you're spending £100 a night on just generally having the craic, you're either doing it wrong, or doing it very, very right!

[peadar1987]

This talk about about the lack of catching from goalkeepers baffles me. Not that it would matter, but is there any evidence to back up these claims?

There seems to be some misplaced importance on catching (in the anglosphere). The priority is preventing goals; and sure catching the ball, and ensuring your team retains possession is the optimal way of doing this.

But punching is just as vaild an option, especially under pressure. I'd argue a punch is more difficult to execute, but easier to recover from.

A good punch, like a good parry, should remove the immediate danger, and ideally find a team mate, empty space or touch.

It's all about picking the best option in a given situation.

Oliver Kahn was always great fun to watch. He used to punch the ball crazy distances at the slightest excuse. Long ball played over the top, no opposition player within 40 yards, Kahn comes haring out to the top of his area and punches the ball into the stratosphere...

[DannyInvincible]

Just to go back to a few comments on the Suarez incident...

I dunno, maybe because it is so weird to see some one bite it causes more of an outrage but thats the thing... it is actually really really weird!

It is weird, sure, but is weirdness worthy of greater punishment than, say, a forceful elbow to the nose?

Is it relatively harmless though? If a dog bites you would need to go get a tetanus shot, if a person bites you and breaks the skin I would imagine its the same thing.

You'd need more than a tetanus shot if a dog bit you. Rabies has a mortality rate in excess of 99.5%.

The tetanus bacterium can easily be transmitted through soil - e.g. a muddy boot raking down and cutting your leg. Or by a bite. But I think there's extra infections a bite can cause - HIV or hepatitis, for example. So for that reason, it is worse than an elbow.

Or a muddy football stud raking down and cutting your leg maybe? Is it really worse than an elbow though? Suarez might have bitten in a fashion society deems weirdly animalistic, but he isn't a dog with rabies or tetanus, so I don't see the relevance of drawing sensational comparisons with bites from dogs with rabies. We should remain rational rather than lapsing into factually-suspect alarmism. He's a seemingly-healthy human being, at least physically, and presumably free from HIV, hepatitis and other blood-transmitted diseases. Not that there was any exchange of blood anyway, and HIV cannot be transmitted via saliva-blood contamination either. Even if Suarez had broken the skin - and he didn't - of what would Chiellini have been at risk from his saliva to render it worse than an elbow?

[DannyInvincible]

This talk about about the lack of catching from goalkeepers baffles me. Not that it would matter, but is there any evidence to back up these claims?

There seems to be some misplaced importance on catching (in the anglosphere). The priority is preventing goals; and sure catching the ball, and ensuring your team retains possession is the optimal way of doing this.

Aye, maybe it's just that the media in the Anglosphere makes such a big deal out of it when a goalkeeper is - shock, horror - seen to punch a ball, so we think it's more prevalent. A keeper who punches is seen as flaky, eccentric and risky. Why would there be a greater appreciation for goalkeepers catching the ball in the UK and Ireland though? Could it be related to an historical emphasis upon catching the ball in sports like rugby or Gaelic football where holding on to it ensures possession is preserved?

Perhaps Brazil isn't like most of Europe, where you can usually get away with staying in a hostel in the dodgy part of town for £15 a night. You could run into safety issues.

That said, I doubt he's staying for more than 3 weeks, especially if he's only arriving after the second game. That works out to about £100 a night, which is definitely more than you need to shell out. Same for "Enjoying the ambience". If you're spending £100 a night on just generally having the craic, you're either doing it wrong, or doing it very, very right!

Obviously trying to pass themselves off as more affluent than they actually are. If they were really that well-off, they would have at least laminated the card and been able to buy a dictionary to check the spelling of "ambience"!

[A N Mouse]

Or a muddy football stud raking down and cutting your leg maybe? Is it really worse than an elbow though? Suarez might have bitten in a fashion society deems weirdly animalistic, but he isn't a dog with rabies or tetanus, so I don't see the relevance of drawing sensational comparisons with bites from dogs with rabies. We should remain rational rather than lapsing into factually-suspect alarmism. He's a seemingly-healthy human being, at least physically, and presumably free from HIV, hepatitis and other blood-transmitted diseases. Not that there was any exchange of blood anyway, and HIV cannot be transmitted via saliva-blood contamination either. Even if Suarez had broken the skin - and he didn't - of what would Chiellini have been at risk from his saliva to render it worse than an elbow?

This will have to suffice for now

http://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfee...d.cup.bite.php

Can't find the article, but there was one recently think was cat bites are worse than (non-rabid) dog bites - basically doggy mouth bacteria was less harmful to humans. But there was some kind of throwaway at the end, about how the same was true of human bites.

Found something (not one I remember) - but unfortunatley its from the daily mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...ical-list.html

[Crosby87]

Massive flooding at the stadium US/Germs are playing at. Easy money today gents. This one has draw written all over it. Fans having trouble getting there, streets flooded. Ive never seen this country so mad for a soccer game and its going to be a buzz kill. My office is even getting it catered and giving everyone the chance to watch on the big projector. Rare.