Any particular reason you’ve posted two incredibly obnoxious and hostile posts about minor spelling issues?
Has there been a World Cup in history with so many injured high profile players, who will either miss the action or be significantly hindered by injury?
Falcao - out
Benteke - out
Rossi - out
Montolivo - out
Walcott - out
van der Vaart - out
Alcantara - out
Montes - out
Suarez - doubtful
Ribery - questionable
Ronaldo - questionable
Costa - questionable
5 of these guys could legitimately be considered World Top 10 players.
Is this just random chance, or are guys being much more cautious about playing hurt because the World Cup is becoming less of the ultimate pinnacle of a player’s career – one worth permanently injuring yourself for – and more of just another national team obligation that takes you away from where you earn your money?
I think that’s a crock. The World Cup takes place in summer (well, maybe not if Qatar still gets to host the one it bought the rights to host), outside of league play in Europe where most of the world’s best players play nowadays. When you are out on the pitch there is ALWAYS a chance you could get injured. To me the clubs are the ones that are being greedy in not wanting the best players to play for their respective countries. I hardly think any fault should be placed on the federations for picking whichever players to represent the country when somebody gets injured. Getting injured while playing can happen ANY time.
Did top players always play as much? These days, most top players play their league games, league cup games, European/South American Cup games, World Cup/Euro Cup/Copa America qualifying games all during the calendar year. Is that too much stress on the body?
No, they didn’t, at least not in Europe. The forerunners of the Champions League and Europa League were smaller competitions with only one club from each country, and they were pure knockout tournaments, no mini-league stages. The European Championship (i.e. the four-yearly tournament between national sides) was also a small affair until the 1980s.
Such a vile reaction for a simple pick.
Argentina hasn’t won anything since 1993 and hasn’t got past the quarter finals in a World Cup since 1990 (where they lost in the final to guess who). Yet they’re deservedly ranked as one of the favourites too.
It’s not vile. I’ve NEVER been a fan of the guys in White and Black (although, in fairness, in their current incarnation under Jogi Löw they don’t upset my sensiblities too much) and I honestly fail to understand why they get so much “love” - both Brasil and Italy have won more World Cups than they have and their 1954 title was won in such controversial fashion that I simply refuse to recognize it, no matter what FIFA says. Every two years there is ONE team that people seem to pick the most to win a given tournament - the Germans. And since 1996 they’ve failed to deliver. I don’t see them delivering this time, either. Nor in France in two years. Maybe in Russia in four but I sincerely hope not!
I don’t think it’s Germany’s year this year, either. But they are one of the most consistently successful sides. Germany have the most total top 4 finishes (12 to Brazil’s 10 and Italy’s 8), and have not failed to move on to the elimination rounds since returning to the World Cup in 1954 (post WWII), and their worst result in all that time is making it “only” to the quarterfinals.*
Italy, on the other hand, despite their four world cups (the most recent of course in 2006) in 2010 crashed out as last place in their group, with fewer total points than New Zealand. Just for an example.
Only Brazil have shown comparable consistency to Germany.
Yes, Germany’s last win was in 1990, but you can truly never rule them out. They are always going to be one of the favored teams–Germany are just tremendously reliable in quality, if not always as inspired as their discipline and finesse might suggest.
*1978’s cup had two rounds, rather then quarter and semi finals, etc., and Germany finished sixth, roughly equivalent to a quarterfinal place.
Maybe this is an American thing, but focussing so much on statistics from 4 years ago or longer isn’t the best measure for a team’s chances this go around.
Not saying the historical pedigree doesn’t play some role, just not the most relevant thing to look at when you assess this tournament.
Absolutely true. I do nonetheless think Germany’s ranking is justified, but so is the common thought that this is probably not their year, and not just because no UEFA team has ever won a South American World Cup.
Also, as I mentioned upthread, Italy were horrible in 2010, but I anticipate they will do A LOT better this year. France as well (who also didn’t get out of their group in 2010): I wouldn’t bet on them not advancing.
Past results, future performance, blah blah. But what else do we have to talk about until June 12?
I like to call it the “Elf Bone Coast” as in Swedish it is “Elfenbenskusten” (Ben: bone, kusten: the coast, “Elfenben” is actually Ivory, but you know, I get bored easily).
Because I’m a dick.
Seriously, I saw it as an incredibly Straight Dope post where the person tried to show how clever they are by for no apparent reason using the local name for the country. Except where he/she wasn’t sure of it, couldn’t be arsed or it was in a different character set, meaning we ended up with a list of partially translated countries. And in the middle of all that he/she even managed to get one of the countries completely wrong.
So yes, I see that as about as Straight Dope as it gets. Trying to show how intelligent he/she is and getting it badly wrong.
And the “excuse” that “I wrote the names in a fashion I thought you’d understand”. Dear oh dear. Because the Wikipedia page for the World Cup, with all the correct countries and their names, is so hard to find.
Don’t get me started. You appear to be a fan of that team which means you REALLY don’t want to know what I really feel about it. Suffice it to say that I don’t feel that their “consistency” has 100% to do with their skills as a soccer-loving country and in order to keep this civil let’s leave it at that, okay?
Nah, I cheer for the USA and England. Say what you like.
I too am keen to learn the sinister truth behind Germany’s consistent success. Although it seems to be based on the sort of knowledge of the game that comes from only watching it every four years.
And from reading up on World Cup history. Not to mention that the very first World Cup I got to see any of was the very one in which German goalkeeper Harald “Toni” Schumacher nearly killed (and that is NO exaggeration) Frenchman Patrick Battiston in a horrendous assault (to call what he did to Battiston a mere “foul” would simply not do that “move” justice) that neither the on-field officials nor FIFA officials afterwards did anything at all about. Or the fact that Thomas Berthold tried to crack a Mexican player’s skull with the hard cast that he was wearing on one of his arms 4 years later. For ONCE the referee had the courage of his convictions to actually red card a German player in that instance but it was all for naught for the Mexicans that day as they also had a player ejected and as everybody who knows anything about world soccer knows the Mexican team might historically be THE worst penalty taking team of them all. Or the fact that it is thought by many that Werner Liebrich INTENTIONALLY fouled the great Ferenc Puskas in 1954 in the two teams’ first round match rendering him unfit for a final that the Germans never should have made it to in the first place (and probably never would have had the Swiss - the supposedly über-organized Swiss - organized that tournament in a way that made ANY sense at all). Or the fact that right after refusing to play for the German team in 1938 Austrian great Matthias Sindelar (“The Paper Man”) was found dead in his flat. Oh, and there’s the little issue of the contrived match between the Germans and the Austrians in 1982 (the very same tournament during which Schumacher nearly killed Battiston) that helped engineer Algeria’s elimination, one that left a VERY bad taste in the mouths of many people, including some Germans and Austrians. I could go on but I don’t want to go to bed in a foul mood. I have my reasons for not liking the guys in White and Black and that’s just the way it is, like it or not.
Not convincing, really.
Actually, it would be VERY convincing if you had an open mind about it, which you (and MANY others) clearly do not. You say you’re more of a fan of the U.S. and English teams than you are the German one, eh? Well, with your comment you’re coming off as just another d*cklicker of the German national men’s soccer team, to me. That’s all. Have it your way. But you won’t see me jumping for joy if the Germans win Brasil 2014 (which they won’t).
Now I’m convinced. So, are they going to show the World Cup in the day room of your facility?