December 4, 200915 yr The World Cup 2010 draw is complete. Looks like the U.S. caught a break. Other than England, the U.S. should be favored against the other two teams in their group, Solvenia and Algeria. 2010 World Cup U.S. Group Play Schedule June 12 vs. England June 18 vs. Solvenia June 23 vs. Algeria Here's the ESPN link for entire draw: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/4713726/ce/us/united-states-draws-england-first-game&cc=5901?ver=us
May 26, 201015 yr Time to start the 2010 World Cup thread guys. I split off two older posts from another soccer thread to get the ball rolling (so to speak). The World Cup starts June 11. U.S. sets 23-man World Cup roster ESPN.com news services May 26, 2010 Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa, England), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolverhampton, England), Tim Howard (Everton, England). Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes, France), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover, Germany), Jay DeMerit (Watford, England), Clarence Goodson (IK Start, Norway), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan, Italy), Jonathan Spector (West Ham, England). Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), Ricardo Clark (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, England), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Benny Feilhaber (AGF Aarhus, Denmark), Stuart Holden (Bolton, England), Jose Torres (Pachuca, Mexico). Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull, England), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles), Robbie Findley (Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla, Mexico). Full story and video at http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5222503/ce/us/united-states-sets-23-man-roster-south-africa&cc=5901?ver=us
May 26, 201015 yr Pretty excited for the World Cup. I got really into it in 2006, although I was in Europe for the first couple weeks of it so that helps. But i tried to check out that link and it took me a couple times to get through due to "high traffic volume" so it would seem a lot of people are excited about it.
May 26, 201015 yr I just reconnected to a couple of ex-coworkers on facebook who moved back to the UK. I am looking forward to talking smack for the opening match between the US and England.
May 26, 201015 yr With the mother ship putting on the WC show here it is going to be bigger than it ever has. I think ESPN is spending ridiculous amounts of money trying to put together a bid package for the Olympics whenever they come back up again.
May 28, 201015 yr May 27, 2010, 4:17 pm from the nytimes soccer blog: Counting Down to (That Other) World Cup "....The morning after the game, H.A.O. and I woke up at 4:45 for the trip to Cleveland for women’s national team training camp and a friendly against Germany...." http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/counting-down-to-that-other-world-cup/?scp=6&sq=cleveland&st=cse
June 4, 201015 yr Wow.... Didier Drogba from the Ivory Coast and Rio Ferdinand from England will both miss the World Cup. Drogba broke his arm in a friendly and Ferdinand injured his knee. Two huge losses for their respective teams. Also, Jozy Altidore has a sprained ankle but should be ready to go for next Saturday's opening match against England.
June 6, 201015 yr i have my espn app, the world flags are going up outside restaurants and joints around nyc and im getting excited for world cup! my team cannot lose with the notorious diego 'hand of god' maradona himself in charge -- well, they cant loose in the party hard category lol! plus we have my boy palermo from my team boca juniors and messi the best player in the freakin world.
June 7, 201015 yr ^ yes you do have Messi, but you also have crazy Maradona, who is not exactly a confidence builder as a coach.
June 7, 201015 yr There was a pretty interesting article in SI about Messi and Maradona and how they really don't relate at all. It also discussed the pressure that is likely on Messi with his underperformance for the national team. I don't know, i think i'd give Argentina more of a chance if they had a different coach entirely...not saying they won't advance, but I'm not sure they really have a chance. Of course, with the injury bug that seems to be flying around, who knows.
June 7, 201015 yr of course he's hard to relate too -- thats because maradona stands atop the soccer pyramid with his arms outstretched -- all other are below!!! we'll see how it goes starting friday. i'm planning to be at novecentro in soho on saturday at 1000am for the first argy match -- the quilmes are on me!
June 10, 201015 yr Can anybody provide a list of bars/restaurants in Cleveland that are showing all of the World Cup games? Thanks.
June 10, 201015 yr The Old Angle on W.25th has a sign out front saying they will be open all hours for all World Cup games. If you want to watch it live, seems that would be your best bet..
June 10, 201015 yr The World Cup starts Friday when Mexico plays against host country South Africa at 10:00am on ESPN. The U.S. team faces England Saturday at 2:30pm on ABC. As was pointed out earlier, ESPN is really going all-out promoting this World Cup. And its coverage will be the most comprehensive we've ever seen. ABC gets the final game and most of the U.S. games. ESPN and ESPN2 get everything else. And with ESPN's offerings on computers, mobile devices and phones - there's no excuse to miss any game in the tournament. Speaking of ESPN promotion. Here's the latest "This is SportsCenter" spot with Landon Donovan: Landon Donovan ESPN Sportscenter commercial
June 10, 201015 yr of course he's hard to relate too -- thats because maradona stands atop the soccer pyramid with his arms outstretched -- all other are below!!! we'll see how it goes starting friday. i'm planning to be at novecentro in soho on saturday at 1000am for the first argy match -- the quilmes are on me! Yes, i'm sure Maradona is high. :-P
June 11, 201015 yr The Old Angle on W.25th has a sign out front saying they will be open all hours for all World Cup games. If you want to watch it live, seems that would be your best bet.. Thanks. Any other locations around town?
June 11, 201015 yr So does anyone think the US can pull an upset over England? I think Rooney's pace will be too much, but England does have a history of underachieving. Still even a draw would be a good outcome, I may even be ok with a 1-0 loss as long as the Yanks form looks good.
June 11, 201015 yr so goes rooney, so goes england so its possible. there is a lot of covering the bases in the media, i even heard or read our great goalkeeper howard was getting long in the tooth somewhere. ha -- nothing to do but watch and see now!
June 12, 201015 yr So does anyone think the US can pull an upset over England? I think Rooney's pace will be too much, but England does have a history of underachieving. Still even a draw would be a good outcome, I may even be ok with a 1-0 loss as long as the Yanks form looks good. It all comes down to how well our back line can handle Rooney, especially Onyewu. Bob Bradley is saying he is 100% and at fit for the game. If Onyewu can handle Rooney than i really like our chances. I'd love to see the U.S. come out and stun England and the rest of the world just the same way they did last year when we beat Spain. But honestly I see the game ending in a 1-1 draw, which would still be great for our chances of advancing out of the group. I'm not yet sold on Buddle yet, even though he has been tearing it up in MLS this season. The defenders are going to be a LITTLE bit better than the ones he's been going against in the first half of MLS.
June 13, 201015 yr ^ another instant classic! :clap: :laugh: of course he's hard to relate too -- thats because maradona stands atop the soccer pyramid with his arms outstretched -- all other are below!!! we'll see how it goes starting friday. i'm planning to be at novecentro in soho on saturday at 1000am for the first argy match -- the quilmes are on me! Yes, i'm sure Maradona is high. :-P ahem, so far... :wink: coach diego maradona: 1 the rest of the world: 0
June 16, 201015 yr Just heard on the radio yesterday that Cincinnati is the 4th largest U.S. audience for the world cup ... I knew there were a lot of soccer fans here, but didn't know there were that many?
June 16, 201015 yr I try to be enjoy this world cup, but its hard to ignore the fact that 6 of the first 14 matches have ended in ties. TIES!! Last Friday, ESPN had a feature that was titled "Pledge to watch the World Cup". It does not bode well for this sport when the largest sports web site in the world is pleading people to watch the matches. Add in the fact that people around the world are turned off by the incessant noise of those plastic horns..
June 16, 201015 yr I try to be enjoy this world cup, but its hard to ignore the fact that 6 of the first 14 matches have ended in ties. TIES!! Last Friday, ESPN had a feature that was titled "Pledge to watch the World Cup". It does not bode well for this sport when the largest sports web site in the world is pleading people to watch the matches. Add in the fact that people around the world are turned off by the incessant noise of those plastic horns.. They are DRAWS!!! Not ties. Also, I would expect scoring to go up in the coming matches. Teams are playing scared as they don't want to lose and don't want to give up too many goals. As it becomes clearer what is needed to get out of the group more scoring chances will be taken. This is one of the unfortunate parts of the group format, teams play not to lose their first game. Are the vuvuzelas really that bad or is the sports media looking for something to complain about. They don't strike me as getting in the way of enjoying the game. In fact I think they help drown out the announcing which for most sports usually provides no value.
June 16, 201015 yr the "group format" may be the worst thing ever invented then. Midway through the second half of the US/England match when I realized that it was quite apparent that the US team was not just content with but was actually playing to tie and not win... it might be the last time I bother watching this sport. Herm Edwards would be so dissapointed. ;)
June 16, 201015 yr ^ True, but futbol is too crazy to just let it be a single elmination tournament from opening to final. I know that the upset makes things interesting, but what people really want is a game between two good teams. w/o having a 32 team single elimination tourny though I'm not sure what you can do to improve on the group format.
June 16, 201015 yr I don't either, but like I said, after watching a team waste an hour of my life doing nothing but intentionally trying to end in a tie, because that was some sort of victory for them. I'm pretty sure I've watched my last match.
June 16, 201015 yr I dislike soccer for the same reasons I dislike hockey, although I dislike soccer more. It is fun to play for the exercise and getting to kick people in the shins and whatnot, but any game that low scoring has the possibility for this crap, similar to how basketball used to be without a shot clock and jump balls are every basket, when final scores such as 4-2 weren't unheard of. The biggest problem with such low scoring games is the success rate is so low that luck becomes a huge factor and drowns out the effects of strategy and talent. You can execute a play well 100 times, and 99 of them you won't score. Sometimes you can execute well 100 times and never score and then your only goal will come as a consequence of complete luck. I have no problem with luck being a part of a game, but it shouldn't have such a large effect in every game. It would be like if in baseball batting averages were all about 0.005 and games ended 1-0 after 24 innings on a fluke play where somebody actually scored. Not fun to watch, not because of "good defense", but because you feel like 99.9% of the game is inconsequential.
June 16, 201015 yr I just sent Thing No. 2 around to block access to all the sports channels on my floor. >:D
June 16, 201015 yr If Cincinnati's #4, it doesn't look good for the sport because I'd bet less than half of the city even knows this thing is going on. What's really annoying about soccer is all the fans using European jargon and making US scarves and so on that look like the ones from Europe. Instead of forming their own identity, they're trying to impress Europeans with imitations of their hooliganism and all that. I crack up when one of these hardcore soccer fans takes you aside and explains to you all the reasons why soccer is so incredible and everything you should be looking for and if only you'd only try looking a little harder you'd see all the brilliance revealed. A lot of these people who are pro-soccer are also the kind of people who say the US doesn't have any culture. When it comes to sports, the US is probably the most unique in the world for having invented all of its own major sports except hockey. Football, basketball, baseball, surfing, skateboarding, etc.
June 16, 201015 yr If Cincinnati's #4, it doesn't look good for the sport because I'd bet less than half of the city even knows this thing is going on. What's really annoying about soccer is all the fans using European jargon and making US scarves and so on that look like the ones from Europe. Instead of forming their own identity, they're trying to impress Europeans with imitations of their hooliganism and all that. I crack up when one of these hardcore soccer fans takes you aside and explains to you all the reasons why soccer is so incredible and everything you should be looking for and if only you'd only try looking a little harder you'd see all the brilliance revealed. A lot of these people who are pro-soccer are also the kind of people who say the US doesn't have any culture. When it comes to sports, the US is probably the most unique in the world for having invented all of its own major sports except hockey. Football, basketball, baseball, surfing, skateboarding, etc. Agreed. I'm so unmoved. My cousins (who are soccer fans) love this. I'm like yawn.
June 16, 201015 yr I'm not a huge soccer fan (rarely watch MLS or EPL matches), but I really get into the World Cup. I love international sporting events because of the clash of cultures, the fantastic upsets (the Swiss just beat Spain 1-0 btw), and I have a curiosity about sport. I'm not a guy that goes out and buys a US soccer jersey or wears a scarf around or anything. I just really enjoy watching the sport once every 4 years! I do agree that American soccer fans need to create their own identity instead of imitating European fans. Wave of terrible towels and bang some thunder sticks! I also love watching the lacrosse final 4 every year simply because it's a sport I never get to see and I'm really interested in learning the sport and watching the action. Lacrosse is pretty sweet sport btw. Same thing with the summer and winter Olympics.
June 16, 201015 yr I'm pretty much the same as you... that US/England match just left a REAL baaaaddd taste in my mouth. They played to tie. Done with sport.
June 16, 201015 yr I dislike soccer for the same reasons I dislike hockey, although I dislike soccer more. It is fun to play for the exercise and getting to kick people in the shins and whatnot, but any game that low scoring has the possibility for this crap, similar to how basketball used to be without a shot clock and jump balls are every basket, when final scores such as 4-2 weren't unheard of. The biggest problem with such low scoring games is the success rate is so low that luck becomes a huge factor and drowns out the effects of strategy and talent. You can execute a play well 100 times, and 99 of them you won't score. Sometimes you can execute well 100 times and never score and then your only goal will come as a consequence of complete luck. I have no problem with luck being a part of a game, but it shouldn't have such a large effect in every game. It would be like if in baseball batting averages were all about 0.005 and games ended 1-0 after 24 innings on a fluke play where somebody actually scored. Not fun to watch, not because of "good defense", but because you feel like 99.9% of the game is inconsequential. I'm tired of this low scoring argument. It is complete cr@p! The Giants v Patriots Superbowl of a couple years ago ended with a score of 17-14 and was considered a good game. Really if the NFL didn't have inflated scoring (1 score = 7 points) this game would have ended as 2.5 to 2. Maybe if we started counting each goal as 7 points if would suddenly become more entertaining. And for everyone that complains that there is no action in soccer I present the following article from the WSJ: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704281204575002852055561406.html
June 16, 201015 yr I dislike soccer for the same reasons I dislike hockey, although I dislike soccer more. It is fun to play for the exercise and getting to kick people in the shins and whatnot, but any game that low scoring has the possibility for this crap, similar to how basketball used to be without a shot clock and jump balls are every basket, when final scores such as 4-2 weren't unheard of. The biggest problem with such low scoring games is the success rate is so low that luck becomes a huge factor and drowns out the effects of strategy and talent. You can execute a play well 100 times, and 99 of them you won't score. Sometimes you can execute well 100 times and never score and then your only goal will come as a consequence of complete luck. I have no problem with luck being a part of a game, but it shouldn't have such a large effect in every game. It would be like if in baseball batting averages were all about 0.005 and games ended 1-0 after 24 innings on a fluke play where somebody actually scored. Not fun to watch, not because of "good defense", but because you feel like 99.9% of the game is inconsequential. Well said. The thing that I really dislike is when a game goes to a shootout. Might as well play rock/paper/scissors to determine the winner.
June 16, 201015 yr I dislike soccer for the same reasons I dislike hockey, although I dislike soccer more. It is fun to play for the exercise and getting to kick people in the shins and whatnot, but any game that low scoring has the possibility for this crap, similar to how basketball used to be without a shot clock and jump balls are every basket, when final scores such as 4-2 weren't unheard of. The biggest problem with such low scoring games is the success rate is so low that luck becomes a huge factor and drowns out the effects of strategy and talent. You can execute a play well 100 times, and 99 of them you won't score. Sometimes you can execute well 100 times and never score and then your only goal will come as a consequence of complete luck. I have no problem with luck being a part of a game, but it shouldn't have such a large effect in every game. It would be like if in baseball batting averages were all about 0.005 and games ended 1-0 after 24 innings on a fluke play where somebody actually scored. Not fun to watch, not because of "good defense", but because you feel like 99.9% of the game is inconsequential. I'm tired of this low scoring argument. It is complete cr@p! The Giants v Patriots Superbowl of a couple years ago ended with a score of 17-14 and was considered a good game. Really if the NFL didn't have inflated scoring (1 score = 7 points) this game would have ended as 2.5 to 2. Maybe if we started counting each goal as 7 points if would suddenly become more entertaining. The difference I see in football (which is a fairly "low-scoring" sport) is that, similar to baseball, there are a series of events that lead up to a score at a decent percentage. In football, it's string together a long drive. In baseball, it's getting guys on base, stealing bases, stringing hits together, etc. In soccer, it doesn't progress towards a potential score. You go from not having a low chance of scoring to scoring a goal in a matter of seconds most of the time. It would be akin to a 17-14 football game in which all four touchdowns were scored off punt returns for a TD, which would probably not be considered a good game, or a baseball game ending 2-1 where all 3 runs were on solo home runs and nobody else reached base the entire game. The best example I can think of is that there is nothing analogous to getting a leadoff double, or pounding the ball down the field, where you may not end up scoring, but your chances of scoring keep getting higher and higher. In soccer, it seems as if your chances of scoring are always pretty low, until for some reason they skyrocket to near 100% for a second (or you get lucky and score on the 1 in 500 shot).
June 16, 201015 yr ^ well that is not true. The style of play has a significant effect on the number of quality chances in soccer. While scoring chances appear random, they are in fact something that is built up over the course of the field. For a possession team, running passes from the back line through the midfield to wings for a cross that results in a goal is a significant buildup. For a counter team, bringing the opponent into your half and then playing a series of quick long passes is a build up. One thing that has been mentioned about this WC is that there has been a drop in the number of quality chances Also, understanding the styles and play of any sport you are watching is key to enjoying it. I have no idea what a great baseball game looks like because I don't have an understanding of the strategy.
June 16, 201015 yr ^ well that is not true. The style of play has a significant effect on the number of quality chances in soccer. While scoring chances appear random, they are in fact something that is built up over the course of the field. For a possession team, running passes from the back line through the midfield to wings for a cross that results in a goal is a significant buildup. For a counter team, bringing the opponent into your half and then playing a series of quick long passes is a build up. I understand what you're saying, but what I'm saying is that these things happen many times and a game and aren't successful very often. It would be like watching a football team drive into the red zone 30 times and only get 1 field goal out of all of it. It would make watching most of the drives feel like a waste of time.
June 16, 201015 yr Well if your a browns fan that might be an improvement. Also, I would compare scoring chances in soccer more to baseball, they don't come along all that often. Also, football has changed their rules considerably in the past 10-15 so years to increase scoring, which I think devalues the full aspect of the game. In the end, as scoring and watch-ability is what I think we're talking about, I would compare soccer more to baseball and at least with soccer there is action and movement constantly as opposed to 10 guys standing around.
June 16, 201015 yr Except I've never seen a team intentionally try to tie an opponent in baseball and consider it a victory.
June 16, 201015 yr Except I've never seen a team intentionally try to tie an opponent in baseball and consider it a victory. Keep in mind that soccer is an exhausting sport, and short of deciding regulation time draws with a shootout (which nobody likes), playing overtime periods until a team scores essentially means that the winning team may have very well run themselves out of the entire tournament.
June 16, 201015 yr I would have been much happier with that argument if said team wasn't actively trying to tie instead of win the match.
June 16, 201015 yr Watch the rest of the group stage games and you wont find as many teams "trying to tie." That phenomenon is mostly due to the start of the WC, nerves, and the stress from the home country (obviously this is a much bigger impact in European countries, imagine the drinking going on in Spain right now). It leads to tentative play which is not terribly fun to watch. The next two sets of games in the groups, where what needs to be done to get out of the group has been identified, will lead to better play. Also, if Baseball had the same system then I am positive you would see teams play for a draw. Better to earn a point and move on in the schedule than burn out your entire bullpen playing extras. In fact I think this may actually make sense in Baseball.
June 16, 201014 yr Enough with this third rate, third world sport already! ...that's all! I wouldn't call the EU "third world..." "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
June 16, 201014 yr Enough with this third rate, third world sport already! ...that's all! I wouldn't call the EU "third world..." I would, except from a fashion stand point! :P ;D Hell some of the member countries of the EU are third world or just across the line frm it!
June 17, 201014 yr ...coming from Buckeye-Shaker, you would be honored to live in Greece! I think you're confusing me with soitgoes and uncle rando. You know how they like Greece. I'm just sayin'!
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