Edman
New member
Why not? I have no ties at all to Argentina, but I really want Messi to win the 2014 WC. What's wrong with that?
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Why not? I have no ties at all to Argentina, but I really want Messi to win the 2014 WC. What's wrong with that?
DucdeOrléans
New member
Apart from that then I am looking forward to the France-Spain game. Could be a really good chance for France to make another statement after the 1-1 draw away from home. Honestly speaking I don't think that the difference in quality between France-Spain is as huge as some people in France and abroad have claimed until recently. Even during the EURO's where France were abysmal the tie was more even than the result showed (2-0). Spain scored a quick goal from a header by Alonso after a personal mistake before Alonso sealed the game from the penalty spot in injury time. Spain won the game deservedly but had France turned up that tournament they could have caused much more damage. That Spain win was the only Spain win to date in a official game/excluding friendlies against France. So the 1-1 result last autumn was hardly a surprise. France if anything have the individual class, technique and physicality to defeat this Spain team. The problem during the EURO's and more or less since 2006 have been the lack of team chemistry, a great manager in the mould of del Bosque and a defined system. All which is in Spain's favor. But after Deschamps was appointment things are looking more bright and the team chemistry and the implementation of a well-defined system is at least a work in process now while it was totally absent until very recently. Playing with promising youngsters like Varane, Sakho and Pogba from the start is a great choice since they will form the future of the team.
I never understood the concept of cheering for a national team that you have no connection to. You can obviously have sympathizes for whatever reasons but to cheer for national team x as you cheer for your own? Or more if you are of mixed heritage? I have to admit that I don't understand that concept. But to each his own I guess.
I never understood the concept of cheering for a national team that you have no connection to. You can obviously have sympathizes for whatever reasons but to cheer for national team x as you cheer for your own? Or more if you are of mixed heritage? I have to admit that I don't understand that concept. But to each his own I guess.
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Garrus
New member
What makes clubs different?
Why some one living in the other half of the world would be cheering for barcelona, When he doesn't have any catalan connection, Not even spain, And i can make examples until my fingers start hurting.
Football is a universal language.
DonAndres
Wild Man of Borneo
It's one game, don't be so quick to draw a conclusion. They didn't even lose, it was a draw. Every team has it's share of upsets and sometimes even Spain aren't the exception.
Garrus
New member
I'm not drawing this from the finland game, But from a logical perspective, They've been escaping with narrow wins since the world cup (Go and check how many times they won with 1-0 since then), It is only a matter of time for things to start go wrong for them, The pillars of the team are caught up by their age, Their style has been figured out, And the players lost motivation after these successful years, There is no distinct line for their inevitable demise, But you'll start to see patterns emerge with time, Until the day comes when the world no longer recognize them as the best.
Stric
New member
I don't see anything wrong with liking and supporting a particular club or even national team out of your own native ones. I support Barcelona because I like football. I like good football. I like Spain for the same reason. And for the same reason, I don't understand why many self-proclaimed "real fans" dislike people who started liking Barcelona during the Pep era, a.k.a. "bandwagoners". It's not as if they're profiting somehow from liking a successful club. If nothing, Barca and their supporters should be glad that the team's style and good performances gained them many more fans and expanded their supporter base.
I don't think Spain's days are numbered. They have what I'd dare to say is inarguably the best squad in the world at the moment, they have a good manager, and they can do wonders as long as they put their bodies and hearts into it. People have been saying this for quite some time now, yet look what happened at the Euros again.
I don't think Spain's days are numbered. They have what I'd dare to say is inarguably the best squad in the world at the moment, they have a good manager, and they can do wonders as long as they put their bodies and hearts into it. People have been saying this for quite some time now, yet look what happened at the Euros again.
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PearLBLacK
Banned
Actually it is numbered but not for the reasons Garrus gave. Spain's core players are all aging and will decline sooner rather than later. And the new crop while being talented and skilled don't look as good. Who's gonna replace Xavi? Puyol? Casillas? Even Alonso and Busquets have been so essential to Spain's success and I don't think Javi Martinez and Javi Garcia, or others, can replace them seamlessly. And Villa? And the cohesion they all play with, the complete understanding of each other?
This Spain is a special generation and easily proven by 3 major titles in a row. Isco, Muniain, Canales, Benat, Michu, Mata, etc are all exceptional but don't have what it takes to emulate this generation.
This Spain is a special generation and easily proven by 3 major titles in a row. Isco, Muniain, Canales, Benat, Michu, Mata, etc are all exceptional but don't have what it takes to emulate this generation.
BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
Do you really think Finland should have approached the game differently? Spain is the only one to blame for their bad result. They lacked passion all game long whereas Finland players fought their hearts off. I mean, Spain is the best team in the world and Finland should come to El Molinón to play attractive football.
For me this is the beauty of football. There just isn't one concept for winning, you can play and succeed in different ways. I love this game.
No, I expect weaker teams to play defensively (though the kind of defense Milan showed vs Barça at home is quite a different kind than the 4-6-0 in-box sardine can Finland chose). All Spain can do is hammer away, which they did. If a few outside shots go in, it's game over. The one Spain goal was from a corner. The other option is to make Finland foul in the box and get penalties (IMO, the three most boring ways to score, as they lack individual or team creativity). But there's little creative Spain can do when played like that, and the *RESULT* is that I turned off the game. Spain is not responsible for the game being a bore.
As far as points, I don't care: I watch football to be entertained. Spain will get to Brazil; Finland will not. And even at the world cup finals, the worst ten teams will mostly play defensively against powerhouses like Spain, Germany, Brazil, and Argentina. It's the nature of the game, but not enjoyable to watch for the impartial spectator.
Stric
New member
Well it depends on how far into the future you're looking. From my point of view, Spain's core players are not all aging. I mean, they're all aging, obviously
, but only Xavi and Xabi Alonso are the ones who are getting old, and who I can apply to what you said. While most of us here love Puyol, I think it's safe to say Spain can do without him, as they did last summer, so I'm not counting him. Villa is also not getting younger, but I wouldn't say he's one of their more important players these days. Ramos, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Cesc, Casillas and others are all in their best years and can still do wonders in, let's say one more WC and one more Euro. No Xavi, no party, though... It depends on who you think the core players are. To me, it's Casillas, Ramos, Pique, Busquets, Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc...
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BerkeleyBernie
Senior Member
LOL, that's actually not a bad strategy. Spain should have backed off to the half line, then just booted the ball to a Finnish defender. Then, when inevitably Spain would get the ball back, they wouldn't be fighting their way through a packed subway car.
spark
New member
Well Busquets doesnt need replacing, he is 24. Younger than Javi Garcia by about two years and older than Martinez by only 2 months. Ramos Pique and Cesc are all 25. Silva as well. Jordi Alba is 24. Once Azpilicueta or Montoya or Carvajal replace Arbeloa the right side will cease to be an attacking black hole. I will add that if Spain can replace Puyol as seamlessly as they did in the last two years, Alonso will not be a problem. Javi Marinez will improve at Bayern, especially under Pep so thats his role filled. Lets not forget iniesta is 28. Thanks to him they managed to rach a final with Xavi playing injured. What they lack is a 7 to replace Villa. It was never Adrian (mediocre beyond words) and is not Muniain who has never scored goals. If Deulo or Jese can get playing time over the next years it might be one of them. otherwise it will be a player from a smaller team that comes out of no where.
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FinCulé
New member
I wasn't talking about the entertainment. Everyone gets excited about different things and excitement is a subjective matter.
I think that Spain could have won the game and make it more open by creating little more variation in their game. Negredo was a good call by the manager and he was close to scoring on a few occasions but really, if you are just passing and passing and passing the ball and not even trying to score a goal, you can blame yourself if you don't win. I've been frustrated even during Barcelona's games when there is no progress and all the players do is pass, pass and pass. Things started to improve from the Depor game though and I was satisfied to see more variation which eventually played a major role in the results as well, in my opinion.
If you think that the game is entertaining when the other team scores 8 goals against the other team's zero, then that's your opinion. I prefer the match to be exciting and yesterday it really was. There were moments I couldn't breathe but in the end all I could do was laugh and smile since the result was so brilliant.
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