# 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677 "2010-06-10T17:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 114
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2261 "2010-07-03T16:38:23Z")
Fun game. That’s a shame about Muller, I don’t think that was a legit yellow. Germany is my back up team, and I’m very pleased and fairly surprised by them this tournament. Spain has looked somewhat suspect and I absolutely think Germany can take this whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![carm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@carm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2262 "2010-07-03T16:48:36Z")
> [@treis](#): > > The rules of sport aren’t a tax code, and the players aren’t supposed to look for loopholes like attorneys. The point of rules in sports is to put forth how the game should be played. Sporting players should do their best to adhere to those rules. “Professional Fouls” are an offense against the game because it changes the outcome from the best player to the best rules manipulator. Uruguay took advantage of the deficiency of the severity of a punishment, not any weakness of their opponent to win the game. That is what the people don’t like about this. Uruguay didn’t win because they were better footballers, they won because they exploited a loophole. No, they won because they held their nerve in the shootout. > [@Mijin](#): > > Actually yes. And it is demonstrably the case that _not_ every footballer that could stick out a hand in such situations, does so. > > So why do footballers never catch the ball? After all, this would make the oh so important distinction crystal clear. A player grabbing the ball is doing the “honorable” thing for his team, and not trying to get away with a foul. > > This is the corner you’ve boxed youself into. Anything that can help a team win is good, no matter what, oh except diving because it’s damn dishonest (and I don’t like it). > > Personally I don’t give a toss whether the rules allow certain loopholes. I’m free to deplore whatever behaviour I like. I don’t like when the draw rule in chess is abused. I don’t like tax fiddles that let millionaires pay no tax etc Why don’t they catch the ball? It happens too quickly. A football isn’t like a tennis ball, you can’t catch it one-handed. If they have time to adjust their body to catch the ball they have time to adjust their body to block it with another part of their body. There is a huge difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion. There is a similarly huge difference between diving and professional fouls. One is cheating, one isn’t (regardless of whether you personally like it). Simple as. Also, go on the Germans! Assuming Spain win tonight, Germany - Spain should be a classic - shame that wasn’t the final. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2263 "2010-07-03T16:57:09Z")
Klose is now on 14 world cup goals, just one behind Ronaldo. He has a great chance to get the record in the next two games. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2264 "2010-07-03T17:08:06Z")
> [@Lantern](#): > > Klose is now on 14 world cup goals, just one behind Ronaldo. He has a great chance to get the record in the next two games. Oh, the other thing I was going to comment about. Here’s the current list: 1. Ronaldo - 15 2. Muller - 14 3. Klose - 14 4. Fontaine - 13 5. Pele - 12 6. Klinnsman - 11 7. Kocsis - 11 8. Batistuta - 10 9. Lineker - 10 10. Rahn - 10 11. Cubillas - 10 12. Lato - 10 I’m not really familiar with Rahn, but Klose has go to be the least impressive forward on that list by a large margin, right? He’s had some luck in padding his WC total against Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica, but that’d still put him in a position to push into the top 10. I’ll be sad if Klose does break the record, and I’m rooting for Germany. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2265 "2010-07-03T17:22:34Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > …and I’m rooting for Germany. The Aussie Dopers will be on soon… ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2266 "2010-07-03T17:59:01Z")
BTW now that Argentina is gone, an all-Europe final is looking increasingly likely which is ironic given the problems the Europeans seemed to have in the early stages of the tournament. If it happens it will be the first time a European team has won a world cup outside Europe. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2267 "2010-07-03T18:10:38Z")
> [@Estilicon](#): > > Yes but those games weren`t invented by the English: they have a curious notion about what fair play means and they are pissed off at the rest of the world because they suck in every major sport they invented 🙂 My theory is that England can only ever be good at one sport at a time. When we won the Rugby World Cup we were crap at football and cricket. During Italia’90 and Euro’96 we were crap at rugby and cricket. We are current world Twenty20 cricket champions and holders of The Ashes. Hence we have to be crap at football and rugby. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2268 "2010-07-03T18:12:58Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Anyone who doesn’t think every single player in the history of soccer wouldn’t have done the exact same thing is fooling themselves. Edit: make it any sport. You clearly know absolutely nothing about the sport. The vast majority of players would have made some kind of vain attempt to get to it legally. It happens every week in football leagues around the world and in all knockout tournaments. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2269 "2010-07-03T18:16:20Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > My theory is that England can only ever be good at one sport at a time. When we won the Rugby World Cup we were crap at football and cricket. During Italia’90 and Euro’96 we were crap at rugby and cricket. We are current world Twenty20 cricket champions and holders of The Ashes. Hence we have to be crap at football and rugby. Tennis too! ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2270 "2010-07-03T18:18:04Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > Spot on. It seems like almost every World Cup there is an issue about the ball. I don’t recall hearing any complaints about the ball in the Champions League or the European Championships. Why test a new ball in the biggest competition? reportedly the ball was used for the entire recent season in Germany. It has been tested. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2271 "2010-07-03T18:20:16Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > Pah! Argentina! They are worse than England… at least we scored 2 goals against the mighty Germans! I told anyone that would listen after the Germany game that England were the worse team but in no way as bad as they were made out to be. If it wasn’t for the officials they would have been on level terms at halftime after scoring two goals, which is a far better effort than this Argentinian team, which is interesting as the press were all over them as the team of the tournament after the first round. I really do think England’s defeat to Germany should now been seen in a different light. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2272 "2010-07-03T18:30:03Z")
Deserves repeating. > [@](#): > > Originally said by **Gary Lineker** > _Football is a simple game. 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and then the Germans win._ ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2273 "2010-07-03T19:49:10Z")
What was an incredibly boring game has just gone all sorts of mental. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2274 "2010-07-03T19:49:25Z")
Unbelievable stuff! Never seen anything like this in a football game. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2275 "2010-07-03T19:49:29Z")
3 penalty kicks in less than 2 minutes, one was a repeat. And somehow the game is still scoreless! And on review, there was supposed to be a fourth penalty kick, but the ref missed the hit by the Paraguayan goalkeeper to the Spanish attacker. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2276 "2010-07-03T19:53:32Z")
I wonder if Gyan is feeling just a teeny bit better after watching all this craziness. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2277 "2010-07-03T19:54:26Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > My theory is that England can only ever be good at one sport at a time. When we won the Rugby World Cup we were crap at football and cricket. During Italia’90 and Euro’96 we were crap at rugby and cricket. We are current world Twenty20 cricket champions and holders of The Ashes. Hence we have to be crap at football and rugby. Yes, but we always win the Boat Race… ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2278 "2010-07-03T19:55:18Z")
What a crazy few minutes! Ref had balls to call the encroachment, pity he missed the fourth penalty! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2279 "2010-07-03T19:59:56Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > What a crazy few minutes! Ref had balls to call the encroachment, Big, big brass ones. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a penalty retaken due to that before. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677/2280 "2010-07-03T20:06:51Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Big, big brass ones. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a penalty retaken due to that before. It certainly doesn’t happen often. It was pretty blatant this time though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677.md?page=113) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2010-fifa-world-cup-south-africa/542677.md?page=115)