Are you sure??? We have better players than they do, that's why they keep buying all our best players to play in their league
He was involved in getting England knocked out of the World Cup! Spain's problem had always been the ability to perform as a team unit, on how to incorporate sometimes outrageous talent into a cohesive squad. I wasn't surprised at all when they get knocked out by France as they are the first serious opponent in the tournament the Iberians had. Don't tell me the squad of Guardiola, Morientes, Raul, Enrique, Hierro and Zubizaretta weren't as good as the one they had now, if not equal. As for my team England - everything depends on how much backbone McLaren has. Deep inside I thought the FA should've waited until after the World Cup to name a successor - they'd probably get Scolari for sure then.
so the third place is secured by Germany. they beat Portugal 3-1... overall, it was a good match in the first half but not sure what klinsmann told his players. they came all marching down to portugese side and destroyed them. I felt really sorry them. but germany played superbly. Germans played a very good team football. Unlike them, portugese players play individually and Ronaldo tops the list. If he gets the ball, he playes like a machine. first jiggles the ball 3-4 times, and then try going forward without passing. The commentators also told the same thing that Ronaldo is a treat to watch but he plays too predicatably. He wasn't impressive. Good to see Figo in the end and a very good pass for their sole goal. Good that germany won the third place. I guess they deserved it. (not that I support germany... . I am still sore for Argentina's loss. )
That's just beautiful, jcl. He would be welcomed with open arms on away matches in England next season. Jolly fans, the English.
On a more serious note, I suspect he won't return to man-u. If Sir Alex permits this, the supporters will chew him up alive. Which club is he likely to join?
The news has it that Real Madrid's new president Calderon had lined up a list of players to acquire, in which Ronaldo's name was one of it. He's had bust ups with Nistelrooy and stories from witnesses mentioned that him and Rooney had had minor scuffles during training as well. The Nistelrooy saga was said to have involved him in which Ferguson chose to side with the Portuguese. He'd just issued an order for Rooney and Ronaldo to make up, so it would be pretty interesting come this pre-season.
Now he refused to go back to Man U. Could be his cheating also caused him the WC best young player award. If I'm a coach, I don't him to be in my team, but the owner may think twice because his attraction to female fans.
World-Cristiano Ronaldo sees no future at Man Utd Sun Jul 9, 2006 12:22 PM BST12 MADRID, July 9 (Reuters) - Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo has said he sees no future for himself at Manchester United and wants to move to Spain's Primera Liga as soon as possible. "I'm not going to stay at Manchester United," Ronaldo was quoted as saying in Spanish sports daily Marca on Sunday. Ronaldo said the aftermath of the incident with club mate Wayne Rooney during Portugal's World Cup quarter-final win over England made it impossible for him to remain at United. The winger ran 40 metres to protest to the referee about the foul on Ricardo Carvalho that saw the England striker sent off. "After what happened with Rooney I can't remain there. In a couple of days I will have my future sorted out and I want to go to Real Madrid," the paper reported. Marca's rival daily AS carried quotes from the 21-year-old also saying he wanted to quit the Premier League but leaving open the possibility of moving to Real's arch-rivals Barcelona. "I don't want to stay in England," he was quoted as saying. "Everyone knows it is my dream to play in Spain. "Real and Barca are the two teams I like and I will play for one of them. My agent will meet with the owner of Manchester United to sort out my situation. "I don't think I've got the support of the owner or the manager (Alex Ferguson). Neither of them has backed me". Last month Ronaldo aligned himself with Real Madrid presidential candidate Juan Miguel Villar Mir, saying he would try to join Real if the construction magnate won the election. Villar Mir came third in the poll but Ronaldo has continued to be linked with the club. Asked about the likelihood of Ronaldo joining Real in a news conference last Friday, newly-appointed coach Fabio Capello replied: "Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, but he belongs to Manchester. These things need to be talked about. "It appears that he wants to come here and that is lucky for me. Nearly every player wants to play at this club. Let's see what happens." Note : AS and Marca are two reputable Spanish media sources.
this is my first time watching the world cup final. It's an irony to see the cup was decided on a crap shoot and not by talents. Goalies have no chance to stop the penalty kick except if he guessed right. It's no difference from flipping a coin, a 50/50 affair. They should at least keep kicking until a 2 goal spread.
At the moment of the incident, C. Ronaldo is a player with Portugal's team and Rooney with England's. They were not team mates at that instant. Each was playing for their respective country teams. If anyone should be blamed, it should be Rooney who could not keep his temper. If that's your criteria as a coach, I believe you would have a very very hard time putting up a team to compete in Europe. Note that I am not supporting that players should cheat, but can any professional player say 'I have never done it...' My opinion is that the FIFA should do something to punish the offenders - even after the match if there is evidence. The one FIFA nominated I think it has to do with the hosting country issue. As for the winner of the best young player award, did he never cheat either. I can't comment on the young player award winner as I did not follow the Germany games - haven't even watched the match between Portugal vs Germany, but local World Cup commentators pointed out that Podolski is not of the cleanest players around ...
Italy deserved the win because they played much better. Other than the Zidane's header, Buffon was never threaten at all. And Toni's goal should have been counted. Zidane did such an silly thing to get kicked out. Otherwise, if he shot instead of Trezeguet, .... Who knows? But the better team won today.
I assumed you're referring to the disallowed goal in the second half? If so, the replay shows that Toni was offside. Not by much. Half a step at most, but he was offside. I'm not a big fan of the officiating in this WC, but that time the linesman got it right. IMHO, anyway. I wonder what Materazzi'd said to Zidane for him to have reacted like that. It's inexcusable, but he does have a bit of history for overreacting, IIRC. Remember him got sent off for stomping on a Saudi player in the first match of '98 WC? Very unfortunate. Without this, win or lose he'd've been remembered as amongst the WC greats. Now, what everybody'd remember is him headbutting an opponent. BTW, for all the criticisms, PKs at the end of OTs is still currently the best way to determine the winner of a match when necessary. They (i.e., FIFA) have tried golden/silver goals, points, goal difference, but when things are still tied up at the end of OTs, what can we do? You can't very well for players to keep playing 'til they drop like flies? And while a PK shootout looked in isolation is a game of chance, it does take a lot of skill to get there. IOW, you have to play 120 minutes of soccer at the highest level to get there.
