No World Cup Fans???

[greysangel]

Portugal is in the semi finals :) :)

[luvItalian]

Go Italy!!!!

[Kayaksoup]

I was until yesterday :p For me, the redeeming game may have been the France /Brazil game; keeps things interesting, even for those whose teams have been knocked out.

[Laura]

I really wanted Brazil to stay in because I wanted to watch more of Rohnaldihno (or however you spell his name), He is DS's favorite and I have seen a lot of clips but he has really been limited in the World Cup, and I wanted another opportunity to watch him.

[badunnin]

Ich bin fuer Deutschland. ;)

I'm a huge fan of German football, and follow it in the classroom with my kids - each kid is assigned a team to follow. The last month of school was World Cup mania in my classroom. When I was in Germany in April, I brought back a whack of WC stuff for them.

Ooh, off to check my fantasy team....

[Natasha]

Not a big football fan, but I'm going to put my allegiance behind France. Vive la France! :D

[KCSoccer]

I've been in a state of mourning since the US bowed out in the first round. I didn't realistically expect them to make it to the final game, but sheesh, they should've/could've played better.

Rooting for Italy now!

[seeteekay]

I was really happy to see portugal make it to the semi-finals. I just got back from Italy and it was amazing to see Italians on game nights. It was so much fun. We were there when Italy and the US played and it was intense being from the US and watching the game with them.

I want Italy to win. Was disappointed by Brazil.

[sneezles]

I've been in a state of mourning since the US bowed out in the first round. I didn't realistically expect them to make it to the final game, but sheesh, they should've/could've played better.



It was so embarrassing to watch them play! The team of 9 yr olds I coach could play better than that! And now that England's gone I've not really watched much. I do wish some of the referees were better!

[Cinnamon Crazy]

I really, really wanted to see Brazil versus Portugal. But I am sooo happy to see Portugal in it.

Go Portugal!

Go Germany! (I like seeing the home team in it.) :)

[Farhana]

My DH is crazy about it, he is a fan of Argentina, but watches all the games. People are wild about world cup football where I come from, you will see flags of different countries everywhere, I mean everywhere. I find it ridiculous though that here on tv, they sometimes mention it as world cup soccer :eek:, it's pathetic, why not calling it the way the rest of the world does :rolleyes: ???

[sneezles]

why not calling it the way the rest of the world does :rolleyes: ???


Well you do have to understand that futbol (it's how I differentiate from football) is not as well covered in the US as in the rest of the world and they call it soccer to clarify it from US football. And US football isn't just played in the US anymore.
Though I understand that the term World Cup says it all there are those in the media who presume the spectator to be stupid or there wouldn't be all those inane comments regardless of the sport...JMHO!

[Angelina]

I think that with the amount of sports talent in this country, the U.S. team could be the best...better than all others, if they really put their mind to it.

In the meanwhile, go ITALY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still remember the last time Italy won, when I was still living in Italy. It was SUCH a thrill.

FORZA ITALIA!

Angela

[Laura]

I think that with the amount of sports talent in this country, the U.S. team could be the best...better than all others, if they really put their mind to it.



I heard a guy on ESPN radio comment on this and he said that is true, except that our best athletes aren't playing soccer. They are playing football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, and while this is changing, it has a long way to go. Kids can look at the professional level of soccer in the US and it just doesn't compare to other pro sports leagues and doesn't compare at all to the leagues in Europe. Still, I love the game. Their foot skills are simply amazing.

[Babs73]

I'm rooting for Italy and hope it comes down to Italy vs Portugal.

Forza Azzuri!!!

[tyroleancutie]

Wooohooo - Italy Won! I knew that today will be a very good day ;)

[seeteekay]

Yay Italy!!! That was a great game. I thought for sure it was going to the penalty kicks.

Hopefully Portugal will win tomorrow!

[badunnin]

Aww shucks. Great game though.

Fare thee well, Juergen Klinsmann. It's been a pleasure. :)

[Angelina]

Wooohooo!! I worked and got home just in time for the last few minutes of the regular game, and got to watch my boys score both goals!! :) :) :)

I DID feel sad for the Germans, but hey...what can you do...they played great!

Angela

[KCSoccer]

Yeah, Italy! Go Portugal!

Rumor has it that Juergen Klinsmann will be coming to America to coach the US Team (bye, bye Bruce).

[Cinnamon Crazy]

Nooooo! I soooo wanted Portugal to win. :(


Well, Sunday is the finals: Italy versus France.

Since Portugal lost, I don't know who to cheer for.

But I will still watch.

[seeteekay]

I knew I would be disappointed if I read the thread. Dang it. Portugal lost. I am at work and could not see the game.

Go Italy!

[greysangel]

portugal lost but MAN THAT GAME ROCKED!!!! OMG the last 20 minutes were literally edge of seat gripping! I will be watching the final and also the game for third place..should be great :D

[MaryH]

I'm with Natasha.. Vive la France. (C'mon, how can you NOT root for Zidane.)

[millersandy_sm]

Italy vs. France. i think this be a great match. Sorry for all German fans.

[millersandy_sm]

France will win 2-0. if not they will will in shoot out.

[Angelina]

France will win 2-0. if not they will will in shoot out.

*splutters*

I don't think so!!! Italy will beat France! I would have no clue on the score, but I just hope it doesn't go down to a shoot out. Italy didn't have much luck against Brasil in '94.

Go Italy!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

[MaryH]

Ah, but this time the luck held. Congratulations to Italy.

Can someone please tell me what in the h&^%%(((l Zidone was doing/thinking???????? As someone who wanted the French to win, I have to say that that red card was completely justified.

[Angelina]

Ah, but this time the luck held. Congratulations to Italy.

Can someone please tell me what in the h&^%%(((l Zidone was doing/thinking???????? As someone who wanted the French to win, I have to say that that red card was completely justified.

Yayy to Italy!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

I think Zidane let the pressure get the best out of him. Maybe the Italian guy said something to him...or not. But he should have known better.

Congrats to the French for playing a good match. :)

Angela

[Minky]

Our whole family watched the game and I have to say that I was so sad to see Zidane end his career like that :( I think he did let the fatigue and pressure get to him, and we may never know what the Italian player said to him, just like we'll never know what that German assistant coach said to the Argentine player that started the brawl at the end of that game...

What about that impromptu haircut after the game was over? :D

[MKSquared]

With a potential French sister-in-law on the horizon, my allegiance was with France today. That being said, it was a tough call, because I enjoyed watching both sides play.

I hate PKs ....

Watching the footage from Rome got me a little choked up! What ruined it for me, however, was the World Cup "anthem" this time around - the Pet Shop Boys just aren't really my emotional cup of tea! "Go West! ...."

[honeygirl1971]

I think Zidane let the pressure get the best out of him. Maybe the Italian guy said something to him...or not. But he should have known better.

Congrats to the French for playing a good match. :)



The French commentators here were really shocked and angry with him. And they were the first ones to say the red card was totally justified. The Italian guy DID say something to him (you could see it on the tape they showed here), but so what, his reaction was totally over the top and unjustified no matter what the guy said. It's really too bad because IMO the French played better during much of the match (esp the second half--you could really tell the Italians were exhausted) and now all anyone will remember is what Zidane did. During the World Cup in general the French had one of the cleanest-playing teams until Zidane did that. And what a stupid way to end your career! :mad:

I really hate when the game goes to shootout, it seems so random and sort of invalidates everything that happened during the game.

[greysangel]

. It's really too bad because IMO the French played better during much of the match (esp the second half--you could really tell the Italians were exhausted) and now all anyone will remember is what Zidane did.

Well I think most people are just thinking how sad it is that this incredible player had to leave his career on such a sour note. As far as the French playing better, either side will have their opinions and in the end it's not only skill, but a lot of luck. I think all four of the semi final teams deserved to be there ...all played with an incredible amount of skill and endurance with key players on each team.

I may be biased but I think out of all the games I watched, the second half of the Portugal/France game was by far the most exciting and driven game of all of them :D

[honeygirl1971]

Well I think most people are just thinking how sad it is that this incredible player had to leave his career on such a sour note. As far as the French playing better, either side will have their opinions and in the end it's not only skill, but a lot of luck.


As I said in my post, I agree, it's a terrible way to end your career. The Italian player is well-known here for these kind of incidents, but that's NO excuse for that kind of behavior, especially when you are arguably one of the best players ever. I think the Italian player is a scumbag, but Zidane totally sank to his level and both dishonored and abandoned his team. I did also say that it was my opinion that the French team played better, esp in the second half, and obviously I realize that Italy fans aren't going to agree with it. I've read a lot of articles today from various sources (Reuters, NY Times, etc), and some say the same thing I did, some say both played sub-par games, some say the Italians played a better game, and on and on. I think it depends both on your own biases and also on what your criteria are. What I hate about the penalty shootout ending is that it seems MORE like luck than the rest of the game, although I agree that luck does come into the rest, too. Zidane deserved the red card 100%, but there were some pretty egregious penalties committed by some of the Italian players (really obvious on replay) that were unnoticed by refs during the game--I guess that falls into the "luck" category since I don't think the refs showed any intentional favoritism or anything like that.