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OT: Soccer thread

CH1 said:
In other news, who are folks here rooting for now? I have a soft spot for the Yanks but willing to explore other options
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I’m conflicted.

I have a tiny soft spot for Morocco, which is uncomfortable (I hope they host the WC one day soon.) There are some personal connections to Germany. From a pure technical football perspective, I have admired what France has been doing since the 90s (almost like a terrifying blend of English and Italian soccer, with a Gallic twist of detached ennui and Gauloise cigarettes, ironically.)

So I’ll cheer for Argentina. Someone has to cheer for that midget Jedi as he rides off onto the sunset.
 
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lecoqsportif said:
I’m conflicted.

I have a tiny soft spot for Morocco, which is uncomfortable (I hope they host the WC one day soon.) There are some personal connections to Germany. From a pure technical football perspective, I have admired what France has been doing since the 90s (almost like a terrifying blend of English and Italian soccer, with a Gallic twist of detached ennui and Gauloise cigarettes, ironically.)

So I’ll cheer for Argentina. Someone has to cheer for that midget Jedi as he rides off onto the sunset.
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I had assumed you’d be rooting for Germany (based on past soccer related comments)

yeah; France has been impressive
 
I heard a comment that an attempt to play a 4-4-2 morphed into a self-destroying 4-2-4 as the game progressed. Eustaquio was gassed/injured and Hutchinson is obviously past it. Totally overrun in the MF.

And, I gotta say, I was a little surprised when I saw Larin and David starting. But perhaps that reflects a lack of options in the MF, I suppose.

Do they win if Osorio or Kone start to rebalance the squad in terms of tactics and stamina? No, but it might have closer. You can’t make up the gap in talent, and Eustaquio’s injury was fatal.

So, kudos to Herdman for sticking with those who brought him to the dance and kudos for maintaining the aggressive posture, even if a more cautious approach would have given them a better chance to win. At the end of the day, there just weren’t enough horses to go up against an elite MF.
 
CH1 said:
I had assumed you’d be rooting for Germany (based on past soccer related comments)

yeah; France has been impressive
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At the end of the day, yeah. Germany.

I just don’t like the way they’ve evolved in recent years. They lost their identity… too much artsy, not enough fartsy.

I quite like that their goal was scored by a Neanderthal #9 who dispensed with tiki-taka Total Football nonsense and just smashed into the net at 100 mph. Just hammer the damn thing for 🦭 sake.
 
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CH1 said:
In other news, who are folks here rooting for now? I have a soft spot for the Yanks but willing to explore other options
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I'm usually an "anyone but Italy" guy but I also enjoy watching England choke because the media always loses their minds like when the Leafs blow the first round. As the old joke goes, soccer is a game in which 22 players all wearing shorts run around the pitch for 90 minutes and then Germany wins.
 
JackBurton said:
This is sad. And shows you how biased our media is with all sports teams that are non Leaf.
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non-Leafs? Please. No team in this country gets fellated by the national media like the Leafs. A month after they're eliminated Ron McLean is still finding ways to work them into every conversation.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
non-Leafs? Please. No team in this country gets fellated by the national media like the Leafs. A month after they're eliminated Ron McLean is still finding ways to work them into every conversation.
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You are delusional. Leafs get criticized the most by far.
You're a Habs fan. That Montreal media LOL.

Leafs talked about doesn't mean anyone likes them. They make the networks sweet cash
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
More proof, as if any were needed, that women's sports are irrelevant.

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I was watching live. This is way overblown. After one comment he calrified that he meant men's soccer and his clarification was appreciated by the panel.

Nothing to see here.

Ps women winning that gold medal to me is much larger than a single goal on a already eliminated men's team.
 
If Canada had won the Women's World Cup I might entertain that argument but let's face it, Olympic soccer is bullshit just like Olympic hockey is bullshit. My team has twice as many Stanley Cups to spare as any team in the league and I wouldn't trade a single one of them for all the gold medals ever struck. And I doubt that the ladies from the England squad would trade their World Cup trophy for Canada's gold medal either.

Olympic medals in sports like soccer and hockey have a prestige that far outweighs the degree of difficulty involved in attaining them relative to what it takes to win a World Cup or a Stanley Cup. They basically bask in the glow of those Olympic sports that actually are the pinnacle of their sports, like track and field events. But advancing to the gold medal hockey game at the Olympics is light years easier than winning a Stanley Cup. It's a joke to even compare the two.
 
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