Well done Germany. Impressive all over the park.

And how has Klose managed to play such a marginal role for Bayern this season but turn it on come world cup time? Top stuff.

And how has Klose managed to play such a marginal role for Bayern this season but turn it on come world cup time?

Probably for exactly that reason. As a casual observer, it seems to me almost all the "stars" of world soccer are either injured, played out or disinterested.?

it depends on how fast the German players are allowed to run at them.

Yeah. But oooh. Aren't they fast!
I loved the midfield play: beautifully timed passes, razor sharp, sudden runs. (But turned on the TV at 2:02 so missed the first goal, boo, then fell asleep at half-time-?

Oh, and start in full throttle, cos thay will...

Ghana....Heartbreak by the best example of why hand.. er... football should have a "penalty goal" maybe? Even Jesus couldn't have orchestrated a better death scene. And the bastard could still play in the?

My heart says 'Penalty Goal' while my head says 'I can't?

Anyway, I'm calling it the 'Hand of Sod'.

Son of Hand of God?

That would be Hand of Sog? Oh wait, that's Hand of Son of God. Jesus, this is getting silly.

Let's just call it the "Hand of Fuckface"

Let's just call it the "Hand of Fuckface"

I'm sure there's a Ghanaian translation for that by now

Say what you like about the ethics of what Suarez did; that was some quick thinking

Obviously Maradona's Hail Mary prayer strings didn't work and God was on the side of the Germans today.

Seems god isnt favouring the catholics amongst the footballers.
Good on s/he/it.
I'll be glad not to have to look at anymore superstitious athletes making the watch/wallet/testicles/spectacles supplication for a while.
What?

You basically have a 70%+ chance of coverting a penalty, the Ghanain should have scored it.

I don't think you understand probability.

I know where the end of your finger has been?

roflnui

What does the kiss on the lower part of the forefinger mean?

'Bacia el anello'. 'Kiss the Ring', to show respect for the holy Roman Emperor, sorry Pope, in deference of his position as divine global ruler.

Sort of like a yard stick.

I don't think you understand probability.

Haha good point, Monday morning etc etc. What I meant was that a penalty is the best consolation the opposing team can be given under the circumstances. A penalty goal would be a very slippery slope

What I meant was that a penalty is the best consolation the opposing team can be given under the circumstances. A penalty goal would be a very slippery slope

:) Yeah I got it. And as someone who opposed the rule changes to help England I'm not going to suggest?

Don't wish too hard for South American sporting teams to have a plane malfunction

Yeah. And no veges for 10 weeks!!!

What does the kiss on the lower part of the forefinger mean?
'Bacia el anello'. 'Kiss the Ring
'I know where the end of your finger has been?

Ta

Suarez would have been hung drawn and quartered if Ghana had scored

Actually if Ghana had scored it would be far from his fault. I'd blame the entire team in front of him.

I'm sure Allied and Hanover investors are saying pretty much the same about Horton and Watson right about now – "gosh, I may think they're slimy thieving pricks but you have to admire how well they went about it, eh"

Craig, is it you?

I expect Suarez to be compared?

My understanding is that playing the ball with the hand is the ultimate sin in football.

Well, not really.

The real sins in football are things like making monkey noises at a black player, breaking people's legs, match-fixing, bribing referees, playing out nil-nil draws to put another team out, etc.?

quite without any attempt to understand the mores of the sport

Well said that man.

An instant red card in the last minute of the game to save a?

I understand wanting Ghana to win- and feeling they wuz robbed. I felt it myself.

Is it worth pointing out that the free kick that led to that last chance was claimed by the Ghanaian player in spite of the fact that he had tripped over the ball?

Gio seems to be arguing that we should shrug our shoulders and?

@Keir not quite the same though is it. Suarez is more of a blood-doper in cycling. He cheated to gain advantage. Sure he got caught and was penalised, but that doesn't make him any less of a fuckwit.

I don't think fuckwit means what you think it means.

You know?

I dunno. It's not something you can sit down and prove neatly and simply, because it's part of a thick slab of culture?

Are you simply saying that he used the rules as they stand to his best advantage, or what?

In the second half Ghana was playing a very different style to the fast, athletic, and exciting way they played the first half. Dives were being made every time they came close to the opposition. Very calculated. It really showed?

Are you simply saying that he used the rules as they stand to his best advantage, or what?

Although I suspect in the end it came down to instinct, he did what any other footballer in his position would have done. If you're defending, and somebody's about to score, your?

that's an entirely shallow way of reading, and quite without any attempt to understand the mores of the sport.

Sorry, I didn't realise you needed a Football union card to post on this blog.

Yet Suarez gets called a cheat, for reasons that border on the mysterious.

I think def.?

if the referee deems that you saved a certain goal

Hmmm...what about the "last player" bringing down a bloke on the way to the goal? That too attracts a red card for basically?

Bahrain got a break just on our side of half way, and headed off for goal. What?

Sorry, I didn't realise you needed a Football union card to post on this blog.

Oh, bollocks. And furthermore, you know that it's bollocks. All that some people here are saying is that you need to make a little more of an effort to understand the culture of a sport?

If it's the broad definition – to break the rules – then Suarez cheated, and so do many other players in nearly every game. And in many other sports (batsmen who don't walk, rugby players in the ruck, etc).

Some don't get punished for it.?

Incidentally, I'm not entirely alone in this view, FWIW.

Note: not being facetious; genuinely still struggling to understand your position.

understand the culture of a sport

Well it has been an eye opener and I'm sure to be more understanding now when the same moral elasticity is applied to events off the field. Raising another generation of relaxed merchant bankers, eh.

So... does anything count as cheating, in football?

Well, yes, and I listed a whole damn bunch of those things up thread.

(And Sacha, look, it isn't moral elasticity; it's a set of morals you disagree with, a different kind of thing.)

So... does anything count as cheating, in football?

Scoring a goal with your hand and then, when the ref points to the kick-off restart, not saying anything: cheating. Simulating a foul, getting e penalty out of it and not saying anything when it's awarded: cheating. There are a lot of?

Well, yes, and I listed a whole damn bunch of those things up thread.

Settle down. Also, no you didn't. You listed some of "the real sins of football", and since much of the list is not "cheating" at all, then how can one be expected to know that that's?

Minor point:

Fair enough.

I don't think the analogy with the criminal?

I don't think the analogy with the criminal mismanagement of finance companies is at all apt.

No laws were broken in Hanover's case, were they? So it's an even lower standard than Suarez's action. If you asked investors or Ghanaian fans, I imagine you'd hear similar expressions of their deep?

Wow who knew a hand ball in a football game between two countries miles away from NZ could elicit such venom???

Look, I just can't quite get past the fact that the weather in Wellington has been better than Auckland over the past few days, which is clearly against the?

I think one of the classic examples are the "Walkers" or "Don't walkers" in?

In comparison, it is much easier?

Without worrying about what constitutes cheating exactly, surely the fact that a red-card offense typically carries a suspension, that is, an actual punishment beyond the game in progress, indicates that it is something that is discouraged and hence beyond the boundaries of the game.

Not really. You also get suspended?

By the way, apologies for getting a little off the rails up-thread. Not the first, and unfortunately probably not the last time, but here we still are.

Off to Croatia at the weekend and AHHHHHHHHHH will be between Singapore and Munich when the final is on. Flying Lufthansa so if it is Germany then hopefully updates will be forth?

Flying Lufthansa so if it is Germany then hopefully updates will be forth coming along the way.

I'm going to make a bold prediction here: after the first morsel of Lufthansa food you're going to start cheering for the team that is not Germany.

So endeth the first course of semi. Predictable and the Uru's only stepped it up in the last few minutes. Dutchies?

It's not like they didn't have the numbers there, but their organisation wasn't always what it should be. The keeper made some odd decisions as well.

And?

And all three Dutch goals off the post.

Which of course means they were perfectly placed to be as far from the keeper as possible and still go in.

Looking forward to Spain demonstrating that Germany have been made to look good by soft opposition.

and I have a tiny suspicion you might be right about the next game. at the very least the Spainish actually?

@Ross You might actually be able to watch the match on the flight. I watched some live premiere league football when flying Jet Blue between NYC and Pittsburgh a couple of months ago.

I doubt it. When I flew Lufthansa to Europe at the end of last year they didn't?

deflections...

!?!?!
I don't think you call it a deflection when the keeper gets a finger to it, most folks call that a great shot.

And the second was a bit more than a toe poke Humph!

But Robben's header was pretty near perfect, pity he then missed a sitter?

damnation, must feel pretty cool to make a world cup final but.

so, good on all yous. have a pickled wotsit...oh, go on, make it two.

have a pickled wotsit...oh, go on, make it two

mmm Herring nom nom nom

that was, dare I say it, pretty average

I agree it coulda and shoulda been 5 and the two they let in were pretty awful defensive lapses. They started average had a couple of moments in?

But they aren't as slow as England

Are you kidding? You could paint a lifesize portrait of Puyol, he's so slow.

But they aren't as slow as England

Are you kidding? You could paint a lifesize portrait of Puyol, he's so slow.

Swap Puyol for Upson, Sergio Ramos for Johnson and Busquets for Barry and there's some disturbing similarities. Also throw in an emphasis on pushing forward and you could be?

did anyone notice how some Uruguayan players on the sidelines appealed for a hand ball in the last minute of time added on?

Yeah, but what I noticed more was that Uruguay spent most of extra time with three players in the penalty area waiting for the ball to be?

Wanna be a better football player?

Get a worm in your brain then

Welcome to the wonderful and truly bizarre world of parasites.

Sleep well tonight!!! Wake up for the football though....

Sorry: Linked from Scitechdaily.com

To play football, first you must have the ball. 70% Spanish possession in the first half. Out hussled, out passed, out defended. Lufthansa flight might now be a bit rougher.

and Paul the Octopus does it again.

I, for one, welcome our new tentacled overlord.

I, for one, welcome our new tentacled overlord.

This planet isn't big enough for more than one sentient species, which is why Matilda the particularly smart pig is in the freezer, flipper is in a can and there is a paella with Paul's name on it. Either that or his?

You could paint a lifesize portrait of Puyol, he's so slow.

Just be sure to get the ball coming off his head and into the German goal in that painting :P.

Really impressive the way the Spanish denied the Germans. All that speed and raw talent snuffed out but smart?

and when do they decide who's playing at home? someone will have to change strip, my telly will explode if orange is playing red.

can't?

An excellent,?

To play football, first you must have the ball.

Actually, no, you don't. Argentina had more of the ball against Germany and lost by 4. Bayern had much more of the ball than Inter in the Champions League final but Inter was in firm control of the game throughout. Spain?

I note Klose?s decent form at the WC has now virtually ruled him out of a cosy semi retirement move to West Ham.

Klose's style wouldn't really fit in with the West Ham way.

His 3 goals a season haul is pretty much right on the money though...

I thought it was a terrible game to be honest ... but I like open and expansive football

I know what you mean, it is great to watch incredible athletes (like the Germans) running end to end. But I found the control and tactical way the spanish played incredibly fascinating.?

Villa needed to be 6 inches taller too. Apart from that,?

I have no idea what the final will be like.

Spain has played within themselves so far. The Dutch, at times, beside themselves. Spain ought to take it with ease.

Spain ought to take it with ease.

Fighting words there Gio. I may have to slap you with something pickled.

My heart wants Holland to triumph. I think the Dutch will be less predictable than the Germans and that may make it harder for the Spanish to shut them down.?

but what then? no more world cup, I'll eventually even have to take down me wall chart...woe betide.

Man I hate that. There can't be many things in life worse than taking down the wallchart. It always sucks.

Fighting words there Gio. I may have to slap you with something pickled.

That would be more than fair enough. Tell you what, I'll eat a smal jar of pickled gherkins (which I hate) if the Netherlands win. Least I can do after that wanton piece of punditry.

@ Peter – go on, own up, I bet you've still got Shoot! magazine's (colourful and wonderful) cardboard tabbed League tables from 1985/86 up on your wall.

Frankie Mac!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't both results predicated on a Spain victory? Why then the difference?

Odds are affected by who bets on what. So if you think that NZ will be the only unbeaten team at WC 2010, currently you're better off betting for a Spain win.

So if you bet a lot on the latter and enough against the former to break even (or?

It's a shame – sounds like we could have all been rich. Rich, I tell you!

Mock away, pal, if it makes you feel like a big man, but beware; others may just think you're an arrogant dickhead.

For the record, my reasoning is as follows
(maths geeks – one?

Mock away, pal, if it makes you feel like a big man, but beware; others may just think you're an arrogant dickhead.

I wasn't mocking! Well, only gently.

I shall ponder that. Your maths look good to my admittedly enfeebled brain right now.

(They also do it on capital markets. Ahem.)

TAB odds now 3.50 Netherlands, 2.10 Spain, 3.25 Draw. Does that work?

Not if they draw, which seemed strange to me, as why is that deemed more likely than Netherlands winning? Am I missing something? Mansplains welcome.

Update: I was looking at?

Really the question becomes: why doesn't everybody do it? It really is risk free.

(Although seeing as in NZ there's only one betting agency, a New Zealander would have?

Not if they draw, which seemed strange to me, as why is that deemed more likely than Netherlands winning?

Isn't a draw impossible? I thought that at the end of the final, if nobody has won they just stand there kicking balls at the goal until someone gets more -?

* Ok, I could go out, but the light is just sooo bright!

Gio, lets just put it behind us and carry on in a spirit of peace and understanding. :)

Anyhow, we're both, I'm sure, sorry for offence caused so let's leave it there.

* Ok, I could go out, but the light is just sooo bright!

Me too. Isn't it a bastard--all that sunshine streaming in the windows and I am lying on the couch, with a damp flannel over my eyes (just got up to refresh the flannel and to check if?

Have to get up the strength for Rugby tonight, and the rest of World Cup.