As some of you may have noticed, threads about football have a bad habit of becoming OT. So, this thread is for that discussion that doesn't belong to other football threads.

I'll start to continue the debate about former stars players:

Did either Poland or Belgium have a star player before Aulis Rytkönen? He was a star player in France, some even said that he was almost as good as star players like Raymond Kopa. He almost moved to Atlético Madrid, but something got in the way of his transfer and Aulis went to Toulouse instead, where he played when Toulouse got promoted to French premier league and won the French Cup. Like Jari Litmanen, he was rated much higher abroad than in Finland.

Did either Poland or Belgium have a star player before Aulis Rytkönen? He was a star player in France, some even said that he was almost as good as star players like Raymond Kopa. He almost moved to Atlético Madrid, but something got in the way of his transfer and Aulis went to Toulouse instead, where he played when Toulouse got promoted to French premier league and won the French Cup. Like Jari Litmanen, he was rated much higher abroad than in Finland.

Like Jari Litmanen? :lol: i think you finns idolize him much more then us non-finns. :p

Litmanen isn't even nearly as highly rated as for example in Netherlands. Only Finnish football fans idolize Litmanen, others just think him as a player who was good some years ago and now is always injured. Regular people don't think Jari as a world class player, they think that he was as good as Hyypiä, who is of course a good player, but isn't an extraordinary player.

Litmanen isn't even nearly as highly rated as for example in Netherlands. Only Finnish football fans idolize Litmanen, others just think him as a player who was good some years ago and now is always injured. Regular people don't think Jari as a world class player, they think that he was as good as Hyypiä, who is of course a good player, but isn't an extraordinary player.

well only ajax fans really like him >.<

Also what do people have to say about the euro warm up friendlies today?

Turkey 0 - 0 Sweden :undecide:
Isreal 1 - 0 Romania :eek:
Greece 2 - 1 Finland ;)
Croatia 0 - 3 Netherlands :rolleyes:
Poland 2 - 0 Czech Republic :banana:
Austria 0 - 3 Germany :rolleyes:
Italy 3 - 1 Portugal :eek:
England 2 - 1 Switzerland :lol: england didn't qualify :lol:
Spain 1 -0 France :undecide:

Litmanen isn't even nearly as highly rated as for example in Netherlands.

Not really. Only Ajax fans idolize Litmanen. The rest of us have more sense.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Litmanen is a system player. He's a good player, but he only excels in the old Ajax system.

Australia 3-0 Qatar

:woohoo:

so, what is a pole doing after winning the european championship?






turning the playstation off... :pat:



i am saving the england jokes for when the ec has begun.

England 2 - 1 Switzerland england didn't qualify

To be fair, they got in by being the hosts.

Bit of a nervous start (i was at Wembley) but we got a lot better once everyone started booing them!

i am saving the england jokes for when the ec has begun

I do hope Russia and Croatia make the final, then we can claim we only lost to the first and second best team in europe! :lol:

Don't worry about us, we are saving ourselves for the inevitable disappointment of the Olympics instead! :D

I do hope Russia and Croatia make the final, then we can claim we only lost to the first and second best team in europe!

Don't worry about us, we are saving ourselves for the inevitable disappointment of the Olympics instead!

I'll be looking for the olympics aswell. Poland always does well during the olympics. and i seriously doubt russia will get anything else besides last place ...

so, what is a pole doing after winning the european championship?






turning the playstation off...

:lol: yah our first euro... wonder how far we'll go.

poland is definatley the dark horse of the ec in my opinion. i have seen a montage of yesterdays match against the czechs and that was as impressive as their qualification. the team is getting better and better and they will be stronger than at the last wc. so lets see, what is in it for you, if you manage to pass the group stage...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Litmanen is a system player. He's a good player, but he only excels in the old Ajax system.

But still he has been among the best players in the Finnish team, with Muurinen who played very attacking football, and Hodgson, who uses defensive tactics. Injuries and bad transfers(Barcelona, Van Gaal got fired, the new coach used Rivaldo and Luis Enrique on Litmanen's place)(Liverpool, Houllier didn't let Litmanen play, he was good when on pitch but most of the time he didn't fit to Houllier's tactics) have ruined Litmanen's career. Without them he could have been much better.

Croatia - The Netherlands 0-3

3-0, what an easy win, probably one of the easiest in the last couple of years (and yes, I'm counting matches against Luxembourg and Belarus too). Those Croatians weren't impressive at all, how did they qualify for the EC at all? Probably in some crappy group. Any decent team would have qualified in a group with Croatia as winner, wouldn't they?

/end pissing of English fans

Finland lost to Greece, though I'm surprised that Finland played as well as it did. The result was 1-2, but I was impressed how for example Markus Halsti played. He'll be the leader of our defense after Hyypiä and Tihinen end their careers in international football.

Any decent team would have qualified in a group with Croatia as winner, wouldn't they?

I suppose i will have to get use to this!

It's a shame we didn't get the netherlands, we always seem to draw against you lot! :)

now before the dutch start to make fun of england, i have to tell another one:

ballack, drogba and robben are sitting in the maternity room. the doctor comes and says "gratulations, you all became fathers of healthy boys. but i am sorry, we mixed up your kids." ballack jumps out of his seat and grabs the black baby. drogba asks ballack "dont you think that this will rather be my kid?" ballack: "i dont care, as long as it isnt the dutch one" :cooool:

now before the dutch start to make fun of england, i have to tell another one:

ballack, drogba and robben are sitting in the maternity room. the doctor comes and says "gratulations, you all became fathers of healthy boys. but i am sorry, we mixed up your kids." ballack jumps out of his seat and grabs the black baby. drogba asks ballack "dont you think that this will rather be my kid?" ballack: "i dont care, as long as it isnt the dutch one" :cooool:

:lol:

good one.

Croatia - The Netherlands 0-3

3-0, what an easy win, probably one of the easiest in the last couple of years (and yes, I'm counting matches against Luxembourg and Belarus too). Those Croatians weren't impressive at all, how did they qualify for the EC at all? Probably in some crappy group. Any decent team would have qualified in a group with Croatia as winner, wouldn't they?

/end pissing of English fans



That's good for us, Beenhacker is teaching the Polish team dutch techniques, and if the dutch tactic works against Croatia then that is good for us since croatia is in our group. (and i think we'll tie/beat germany so a tie/beat against croatia would be good as well. win vs austria of coursE)

Don't worry about us, we are saving ourselves for the inevitable disappointment of the Olympics instead! :D

Not being able to qualify because of Scotland?

Interesting that Egypt won 4-1 against Ivory Coast in their semi final. I wonder how they would have performed at the last world cup if they had qualified.

Not being able to qualify because of Scotland?

No, we just simply won't win anything! :)

Interesting that Egypt won 4-1 against Ivory Coast in their semi final. I wonder how they would have performed at the last world cup if they had qualified.

When was the last time they got to the world cup, they always get to the africa cup and do well.

I watched both semifinals of ACN, and I think that Egypt shall win again. IMO they played greatly against Ivory Coast, their attack was lethal. Drogba had the chances to get a win for Ivory Coast, but the Egyptian goalie(El-Haddari?) was fabulous. It was also a better match to watch compared to Ghana-Cameroon.

Keita's goal against Egypt was true art, amazing shot. Also Cameroon's goal against Ghana was fine, marvellous passing by them.

:bump:

I assume you guys have heard what happened to Eduardo da Silva. Your opinions on that? I've heard some say that it was partly da Silva's fault, he was the one who moved his leg forward on the way of Taylor's murder tackle. What are your opinions? Also, how long punishment does Taylor deserve?

It was a bad tackle, but not intended, he didn't lunge for the ball and eduardo does nip it away from taylor just beforehand and taylor takes his leg out instead, the red card was deserved but no more than that.

Bad tackle, deserves a couple of weeks ban, but not more. He didn't do it on purpose, it was just a rather rough tackle gone wrong.

i feel sorry for my favorite brazilian born croation player :( (does anyone else find it a bit strange?)anyway he's out for the Euro 08, without him, the Croatian team will soften a bit, which does mean that Croatia will be a weaker team for us and Germany.

If anyone's curios/haven't heard, here's a youtube vid of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr3hBCuuvh4

So Poland wants to Nationalize a Brazilian player and put him on the team.

I'll get an article on that in english. (only have polish articles...)

Didn't they do it before for Emmanuel Olisadebe? Or did he play so long in Poland that he could get a Polsh passport?

Didn't they do it before for Emmanuel Olisadebe? Or did he play so long in Poland that he could get a Polsh passport?

He played with the National Team only to '04 IIRC. He's only 29 according to wiki. Don't know what happened to him..

Also the President gave him free citizenship or something. Not sure as it was quite long ago.

Fred (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helbert_Frederico_Carreiro_da_Silva) was going to become an Australian citizen and play in the Australian national team IIRC, at least until DC United paid him amounts of money that simply can't be matched by the A-League due to the stupid salary cap...

Another 3 Dutch matches cancelled due to police strikes. :(

Fred (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helbert_Frederico_Carreiro_da_Silva) was going to become an Australian citizen and play in the Australian national team IIRC, at least until DC United paid him amounts of money that simply can't be matched by the A-League due to the stupid salary cap...

It's always the Brazilian Players... I guess even if players like him and the Roger guy that Poland wants, would only make it to the Brazilian "C" team and if there lucky "B" team...

And teams like Poland, Portugal, Croatia and Australia want to nationalize those players...
Another 3 Dutch matches cancelled due to police strikes.

Lemme guess...

Either there's a Derby, or it's Rotterdam vs Amsterdam :p

Lemme guess...

Either there's a Derby, or it's Rotterdam vs Amsterdam :p

Ajax - PSV and Feyenoord - AZ, close enough ;)

Poland wants to nationalize another player, Robert Acquafresca a 20 year old owned by Inter, on loan at Cagliari. And is on Cagliari's 1st team. he's also an Italy U-21 star.

Except this time, Poland Nationalizing Acquafresca is justifiable (unlike the Roger case) because he's mother is Polish.

I think he's good, he's a striker to, which Poland really needs.

But will he trade a spot in Italy's team for it?

But will he trade a spot in Italy's team for it?

Think of it this way, In Italy, he'll always be in reserve or a substitute unless he turns out to be really good. In Poland, he can expect to be in the first team and playing more, (mainly because our strikers suck, and the guys scoring the goals are actually the midfielders).

Heh, I read that indeed he's in the U-21, but also before that has been in the U-20, 19, 18 and 17: would you doubt your own qualities much, if you were him?
(A short article dated today I find mentions that his mother already tried to lure him to play for Poland; boy says he'd rather stay here, but is waiting for our U-21 coach's call to take a decision).

Heh, I read that indeed he's in the U-21, but also before that has been in the U-20, 19, 18 and 17: would you doubt your own qualities much, if you were him?
(A short article dated today I find mentions that his mother already tried to lure him to play for Poland; boy says he'd rather stay here, but is waiting for our U-21 coach's call to take a decision).

pray that the U-21 coach says to go to Poland, we need a striker badly lol.

quote from wiki: "Also, Polish Football Federation, together with national coach Leo Beenhakker, have been trying to convince him to play for Poland. Acquafresca, who speaks Polish, in an interview given to Gazeta Wyborcza (March 14, 2008) said that he did not know what to do and that he would take the decision in the near future."

http://goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=622682

Feyenoord is down to one 37 year old striker at the moment :sad:

Feyenoord is down to one 37 year old striker at the moment :sad:

Michael Mols?

Michael Mols?

Yeah, former Glasgow Rangers striker IIRC, he's still quite good, but fragile. Well, we'll try to cope.

By the way, how do the Belgians here think about the competition reforms there?

Poland wants to nationalize another player, Robert Acquafresca a 20 year old owned by Inter, on loan at Cagliari. And is on Cagliari's 1st team. he's also an Italy U-21 star.

Except this time, Poland Nationalizing Acquafresca is justifiable (unlike the Roger case) because he's mother is Polish.

I think he's good, he's a striker to, which Poland really needs.

What's up with Roger anyway? Is he going to be playing for us this summer, or not?

Poland has its attractives for him I guess, but I still hope he won't turn into Acquafreski... :P

What's up with Roger anyway? Is he going to be playing for us this summer, or not?

dunno. everyone's gone silent about him.

i'm more interested in this guy though: Dawid Janczyk (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawid_Janczyk)

He's really good, and a striker to, which we need. He did really good in the U-20 world cup last year in canada.

Acquafresca sticks with the Azzurri (http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=626980)!

Acquafresca sticks with the Azzurri (http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=626980)!

That sucks.

Well we have to continue our search for a striker...

Internationals tomorrow! Any thoughts?

Don't really mind what England do, shame Beckham won't get his 100th cap at home, but as long as England don't embarrness themselves i be happy.

The only thing that will get my blood boiling is if Scotland beat, or even draw against Croatia!

Finland shall beat Bulgaria. Litmanen shall score two goals, at least. :D

Litti still hasn't played any games to Fulham. They fell into Litti's trap, just like for example Malmö FF did. Club football is only a warm up for him, he only plays international games. :D

Polands playing USA tomorow.

I bet will win.

Australia is playing China tonight...

I'm not at all confident in us even getting a draw though, since Verbeek collapsed at a media conference and players that would normally be guarateed a spot in the team are injured and two of them are key goal scorers (Tim Cahill and Scott McDonald).

We're playing Austria. If we don't win, I'm going to seriously consider emigrating.

We're playing Austria. If we don't win, I'm going to seriously consider emigrating.

you're playing austria. if you dont win, i'm going to seriously consider eating my hat.

Australia is playing China tonight...

I'm not at all confident in us even getting a draw though, since Verbeek collapsed at a media conference and players that would normally be guarateed a spot in the team are injured and two of them are key goal scorers (Tim Cahill and Scott McDonald).

0-0 draw. :woohoo:

Best result we could've hoped for considering we went in with only 1 striker, who got injured in the first 5 minutes.

see, dutchfire? get 3 goals, still win the match. now say thank you.

Portugal was once again the loser against Greece.

Polands playing USA tomorow.

I bet will win.

Nope, 3-0. The US is no joke.

Nope, 3-0. The US is no joke.

time for a new team to cheer for... :(

and to think i always thought that the FIFA rankings were bought by the USA... :sad:

Spain 1 - Italy 0

Nice, balanced game, Villa's goal was a true gem.

The only thing that will get my blood boiling is if Scotland beat, or even draw against Croatia!


:rolleyes::mad::faint::(:sad::run::aargh::gripe: :wallbash: :hammer2::cry::(:sad:

1-1 for those who don't know!

time for a new team to cheer for... :(

and to think i always thought that the FIFA rankings were bought by the USA... :sad:

nah, the US is still too high ranked in the FIFA rankings, though it is by no means a joke-team. It's just that everybody seems to overestimate Poland ;)

though I'd best not say anything about our own team :cringe:

see, dutchfire? get 3 goals, still win the match. now say thank you.

I come home when it was 3-2, so I was angry with the team. I then heard they had been behind 3-0, and I was even angrier. But at the end of the match, I was happy. :)

nah, the US is still too high ranked in the FIFA rankings, though it is by no means a joke-team. It's just that everybody seems to overestimate Poland ;)

The one thing i don't like about the American team though, Is that all the players are either of, Polish, Italian, Latin, descent or first/second generation British/Irish. :rolleyes:

Im in Poland so I only saw Polands game, but only the result at the end.

As a friend of mine said, at least it was a friendly, Portugal lost with USA in world cup.

The one thing i don't like about the American team though, Is that all the players are either of, Polish, Italian, Latin, descent or first/second generation British/Irish. :rolleyes:

Yes, because so many Americans are directly American descent. Only several thousand Americans are native to this country, don't expect them to play soccer.

The one thing i don't like about the American team though, Is that all the players are either of, Polish, Italian, Latin, descent or first/second generation British/Irish. :rolleyes:
Americans are mostly into other sports, so it's only logical that most American football (soccer) players are first or second generation Europeans or Latin-Americans

Americans are mostly into other sports, so it's only logical that most American football (soccer) players are first or second generation Europeans or Latin-Americans
we don't even have to look aross the pond. Just look at the average european team. Many of them sport quite a few first or second generation immigrants.

and why not? if they want to play for their new home, then more power to them :)

Roger is OURS!!!!

he got Polish citizenship today.

i just hope it's not to late to have him for the Euro 08.

Roger, whom??

valencia won the cup (3:1 over getafe) and clinched uefa cup qualification... wow that one match may well have saved the club from totally slipping into mediocrity...

Roger, whom??

Roger Guerreiro

Feyenoord ended sixth, and needs to win the Cup or the play-offs to qualify for Uefa Cup :(

Feyenoord ended sixth, and needs to win the Cup or the play-offs to qualify for Uefa Cup :(

:confused: they didnt qualify for the CL/UC playoffs?

edit: ah theres another set of playoffs in which feyenoord would participate if they lost the cup...

since when do have this strange system btw.?

:confused: they didnt qualify for the CL/UC playoffs?

edit: ah theres another set of playoffs in which feyenoord would participate if they lost the cup...

since when do have this strange system btw.?

A year or two (three?), but we're getting rid of it. It's a retarded system, only useful for American sports :)

A year or two (three?), but we're getting rid of it. It's a retarded system, only useful for American sports :)

it makes sense in those sports because not all the teams compete in one league. it's basically like a group stage followed by a knockout round.
it doesnt make sense for a european top league at all though... :)

it makes sense in those sports because not all the teams compete in one league. it's basically like a group stage followed by a knockout round.
it doesnt make sense for a european top league at all though... :)

top league? Us? :crazyeye:

top league? Us? :crazyeye:

If it's better then our league then it's a top league. :p

top league? Us? :crazyeye:

no, i meant it's the netherland's top league. :)

Feyenoord ended sixth, and needs to win the Cup or the play-offs to qualify for Uefa Cup :(

The cup is ours, Europe, brace yourselves, 'cause we're coming!

we don't even have to look aross the pond. Just look at the average european team. Many of them sport quite a few first or second generation immigrants.

and why not? if they want to play for their new home, then more power to them :)

Such as the old French national team- Zidane (algerian), Viera (Senagalese), Desailly (Ghanese) to highlight a few.

I come home when it was 3-2, so I was angry with the team. I then heard they had been behind 3-0, and I was even angrier. But at the end of the match, I was happy. :)

I wasn't. Timmer and Mathijsen were ridiculous.

About immigrants playing sports.. on a different note I would like to end the myth that they have more talent or are more skilled by nature.. the thing is that they are usually in the lower social classes, which gives those kids less possibilities of PS2 and Xboxes.. which makes them play on the street more.. which makes them better. The street has always been the best place to learn to play football. Rich kids play FIFA 2008 and Football Manager (or in extreme cases some Golf game:p), poorer ones play football. :p

Such as the old French national team- Zidane (algerian), Viera (Senagalese), Desailly (Ghanese) to highlight a few.

And a new one, Who i personally call the French Messi, Ben Arfa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_arfa) who is of Tunisian Descent.

The one thing i don't like about the American team though, Is that all the players are either of, Polish, Italian, Latin, descent or first/second generation British/Irish. :rolleyes:

Here's a question for ya; How many players of the French world cup '98 winning side were born and raised in France, to French parents?

The one thing i don't like about the American team though, Is that all the players are either of, Polish, Italian, Latin, descent or first/second generation British/Irish. :rolleyes:Then I guess you don't really like much the French team. Personally, I have no problem with multi-cultural countries. Actually, I enjoy them. It brings energy and fresh ideas.

Here's a question for ya; How many players of the French world cup '98 winning side were born and raised in France, to French parents?All of the 22 players have been raised in France, at the exception of Trezeguet who arrived only at 15 years old, but he had the French nationality since his birth, well, considering he's born in France.

All of them are born in France, at the exception of Desailly who has been adopted by a French diplomat as a baby, and Vieira who arrived in France with his family when he was 8 years old.

As for the nationality of their parents. No one cares. In France, the citizenship is not determined by tribal criteria anyway.


EDIT: And before people say that France steals the talents of Africa, I just want to say there are more French binational football players playing in African national teams than in the French national team. Didier Drogba for instance is not only Ivorian, he's also French.

Then I guess you don't really like much the French team. Personally, I have no problem with multi-cultural countries. Actually, I enjoy them. It brings energy and fresh ideas.

The difference is that almost all of the players in America are descendant from either European or Latin immigrants.

While in France you atleast have a few who aren't Tunisian, or Algerian or African.

gonna bring some life into this thread:

May 19 (Reuters) - Sports news from around the world:

Soccer - FIFA has lifted its suspension of Madagascar's football association, clearing the national team to play their opening 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Botswana on May 31.

World soccer's governing body banned the Madagascar FA from all football activity on March 19 because of alleged government interference in the running of the association.

Announcing the lifting of the ban on Monday, FIFA said it had "noted with satisfaction" a ruling by the country's supreme court, annulling the government's actions.

i doubt this will bring life in the thread :)

The difference is that almost all of the players in America are descendant from either European or Latin immigrants.

While in France you atleast have a few who aren't Tunisian, or Algerian or African.

America is a multi-national immigrant country, and our soccer team will reflect that. The difference is that most European nations are homogeneous nations that do not have the ethnic diversity of the US, if they did, they would have interesting teams too.

Dutch link (http://www.brabantsdagblad.nl/regios/brabant/3139870/Voetbal-van-origine-een-mannensport-dus-broekjes.ece)

Some womens team here in the Netherlands wants to play in skirts, but FIFA regulations don't allow it. :lol:

/random soccer news

America is a multi-national immigrant country, and our soccer team will reflect that. The difference is that most European nations are homogeneous nations that do not have the ethnic diversity of the US, if they did, they would have interesting teams too.

Doesn't France already have many players with other nationality too? Germany has some Poles in it's national team, and even Finland has couple of foreign players(Alexei Eremenko jr. and Roman Eremenko from Russia, Perparim Hetemaj and Mehmet Hetemaj from Kosovo).

Internationals over this week. Thoughts anyone.

I am going to the very important warm up match for England against USA on Wednesday :D

(would have much prefered to go and see England play at Trinidad and Tobago on June the 1st but oh well)

Finland plays against Belarus and Turkey. Belarus should be easy to beat, and a draw against Turkey would be fabulous.

As the European Championships are coming, Veikkausliiga has a month long break. Well, at least I'll have time to watch the EC. :D

Australia beat Ghana 1-0 last week in a friendly, hopefully that form will boost us to the top of our group for the world cup asian qualifiers.

Italy to play Belgium this Friday. I hope the team will show promise.

If you lose to Belgium, you might as well stop playing

Mah... continuity has never been our best asset. :D

POLAND 1 - 0 FC SCHAFFHAUSEN

i had to copy-paste it because there was no way i'd be able yto spell out that german name.

Macedonia is leading 1-0 against Poland right now :( it's only the second half though.

Tomorow we face Albania, then on June 1st we play Denmark(gotta be a good game)

POLAND 1 - 0 FC SCHAFFHAUSEN

i had to copy-paste it because there was no way i'd be able yto spell out that german name.

Macedonia is leading 1-0 against Poland right now :( it's only the second half though.

Tomorow we face Albania, then on June 1st we play Denmark(gotta be a good game)

macedonia - poland 1-1

another bet goes to the trash can. thanks, you poles... ;)

POLAND 1 - 0 FC SCHAFFHAUSEN

i had to copy-paste it because there was no way i'd be able yto spell out that german name.

Macedonia is leading 1-0 against Poland right now :( it's only the second half though.

Tomorow we face Albania, then on June 1st we play Denmark(gotta be a good game)

Macedonia are a good side, manged to draw with England 2 out of four in the last two quali campagins (and beat Croatia, not all good though they did lose to Andorra once :eek:) , in fact if we hadn't drawn against them in Manchester last year we would be in the Euros :(

thank god we scored...

Judging from the last post, i'm not all that upset anymore.

But if Macedonia is like that, then i'm curious as to how good Montenegro will be in the World Cup Qualification.

Anyway for the game, Matusiak scored a Penalty in the 84th minute...

Krzynówek, Smolarek, Bąk, Żewłakow, Boruc, Błaszczykowski, Łobodziński, Żurawski, Roger all didn't play though so.. i'm sure we would've owned them

Mostly our younger players played...
Tomasz Kuszczak, Paweł Golański, Adam Kokoszka, Jakub Wawrzyniak, Tomasz Zahorski, Rafał Murawski, Radosław Majewski, Michał Pazdan, and Radosław Matusiak. 9 players below the age of 26. (2 where subs though Pazdan, Wawrzyniak,)

So for our youngsters, that's a pretty good result. I think Poland's future is a good future - If we find a young good striker... (i can only pray that Janczyk and Małecki is really as good as they are said to be. I haven't watched him play yet).

I believe Macedonia held us to a draw in some qualification a couple of years ago. Strong defensive side.

If you lose to Belgium, you might as well stop playing
:mad:
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but true... :blush:

Austalia 1-0 Iraq

Thank you Harry Kewell.

^^^ I thought Iraq was suspended from playing matches?

The match England 3-0 Trinidad and Tobago wasn't too bad considering it was a friendly aganist a team that was outclassed and we scored two within the first 20 minutes.

Hopefully we will get the votes from Jack Warner for the 2018 World Cup now.

^^^ I thought Iraq was suspended from playing matches?

The match England 3-0 Trinidad and Tobago wasn't too bad considering it was a friendly aganist a team that was outclassed and we scored two within the first 20 minutes.

Hopefully we will get the votes from Jack Warner for the 2018 World Cup now.

world cup? have they given up on that continental rotation system before the first cycle is finished? :lol:

edit: wiki:

Following the selection of the 2006 World Cup hosts, FIFA decided on new policy for determining the host of future world cups. The six world confederations, roughly corresponding to continents, would rotate, with the host country being selected from the confederation's members. This system was only used for the selection of the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. In September 2007, the rotation system came under review when it was proposed that only the last two World Cup host confederations be ineligible.[14] This proposal was adopted on October 29, 2007 in Zurich, Switzerland by FIFA's Executive Committee.[15] Under this policy, a 2018 bid can come from North America, Asia, Europe, or Oceania, as the 2010 hosts, Africa, and the 2014 hosts, South America, are ineligible.[2]

Joe Harker@

Iraqi government decided not to mess with Iraqi FA after FIFA banned them, thus FIFA allows Iraq to play.

@ Holy King

Yes they have, but we still are able to apply for the 2018 world cup :), therefore we need to please everyone we can, for some stupid reason the FA have managed to piss alot of people off somehow (does show how idiotic they are at times :rolleyes:)

^^^ I thought Iraq was suspended from playing matches?

They were suspended for roughly a week IIRC, but were allowed to play again just in time for the match vs Australia (which they lost :woohoo:)

Hopefully we will get the votes from Jack Warner for the 2018 World Cup now.

2018 World Cup is going to be played in Australia, didn't you get the memo? :mischief:

2018 World Cup is going to be played in Australia, didn't you get the memo? :mischief:

i strongly oppose world cups being held in time zones too far away from mine!

We're running to hold the world cup too.

And Joe, England is only running so they'll be sure to qualify :)

And Joe, England is only running so they'll be sure to qualify :)

You've got a problem with that? :lol:

By the way Mourinho is now manager of Inter Milan

2018 World Cup is going to be played in Australia, didn't you get the memo? :mischief:

Yeah but even the font of wisdom that is Sepp Blatter told you it would be a better idea to try in 2022 instead.

You've got a problem with that? :lol:


I never oppose a bad opponent getting in, makes it easier for us. :lol:

I never oppose a bad opponent getting in, makes it easier for us. :lol:

Yeah you need it :p

I am sorry, but you walked straight into that one :)

Two bits of news for you all :)

Porto have been excluded from next season's and the season after that, Champions League over alleged bribery of referees in the 2003/04 season.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/7435898.stm

And Mark Hughes is now manager of Man City.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7431155.stm

Mourinho was coach of Porto at that time. Coincidence?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/aston_villa/7433169.stm

Aston Villa - the new Barcelona?

Mourinho was coach of Porto at that time. Coincidence?

Probably not, he seems like the person who would want to win at all costs

Aston Villa - the new Barcelona?

Good on them, although they only be like Barcalona in terms of sponserhip
Having said that some of the most talented English (thats not saying much) youngsters play for Villa.

It is nice to see football teams doing something for the local community and its a bit of a shame that it hasn't gotten more publicity. Their previous sponsorship deal was meant to be only worth 2 million though so its not necessarily a huge amount of money they are losing.

Sky was exaggerating just how much it was worth, stating it was worth 15 million. They were comparing it with the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea but no offence to Aston Villa they dont have the same level of fan base.

Still, a very nice touch from them.

England might slip back down the rankings :( The match against Trinidad and tobago might not count for using seven subs rather than the allowed six.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7437052.stm

It's a bit odd, considering that it was a preagreement between the two sides and Jack Warner who's vice president of Fifa :confused:

Whilst Sky say's everything is now cool.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3653187,00.html

Still though, high class referee for not noting 7 subs...

who cares about those rankings?
you play 30 friendlies against andorra a year, you are number one. whats the point?

True. Only thing those are good for, is seeding in tournaments, I think. Otherwise, nobody gives a damn to a system so silly.

If anyone wants a more rational one, there's the Elo system (http://www.eloratings.net/).

who cares about those rankings?
you play 30 friendlies against andorra a year, you are number one. whats the point?

It's more the fact that Fifa would take away a result, and the resulting statistics from players, rather than ranking points and even then i don't care that much, just a bit of footballing news :), although in a month we will lose a lot of points because of the last EC and WC due to the way Fifa calulates results from how long they were ago.

It's more the fact that Fifa would take away a result, and the resulting statistics from players, rather than ranking points and even then i don't care that much, just a bit of footballing news :), although in a month we will lose a lot of points because of the last EC and WC due to the way Fifa calulates results from how long they were ago.

anyway, austria just made it back to the top hundred by drawing nigeria and beating malta! in your face, gambia and uganda! :king:

True. Only thing those are good for, is seeding in tournaments, I think. Otherwise, nobody gives a damn to a system so silly.

If anyone wants a more rational one, there's the Elo system (http://www.eloratings.net/).

I don't like the Elo system for one reason:

Poland's ranked lower.... :sad:

UEFA are now challenging the UK governments rules on tv coverage of large events of national importance. :rolleyes:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7438763.stm

I know it kind of makes sense this time around, however, i and many other people here will still be watching it, the only thing i am glad about is it isn't Fifa who are disscussing this about the world cup..... yet :(

Just proves that football is just about money these days as well.

The problem will be that Fifa will then jump on the bandwagon and make it the same for the worldcup if it goes through!

in germany/austria there's almost no free tv football anyway. (apart from euro/world cup, but that's because the public/government stations just pay the highest price to get them, no laws)
it effectively moves watching football back to the pubs, which isnt that bad a thing.

it effectively moves watching football back to the pubs, which isnt that bad a thing.

Well it is for the younger generation.

Particularly when the tournament in Switzerland and Austria has no British participants this time round.

:)


Anyway, we have similar regulations over here, but free commercial TV stations (that's most of the stations over here) can bid on the matches, they just usually lose to public television.

i'll help you guys: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=6876391&postcount=7

i dont get that article. does that mean that until now, the bbc/itv were the only ones bidding for the finals? and that they either always payed a fixed price to the uefa or nothing? i mean, was there a market for the matches at all? :hmm:

and i never heard about this list of national interest over here.

Well, for instance, if Italian state television didn't show Euro/WC tournaments, I believe there'd be a revolution. (We actually pay a tax for state TV, and they bloody well better deliver something).

^^By law, Italy's matches have to be on free commercial tele

i dont get that article. does that mean that until now, the bbc/itv were the only ones bidding for the finals? and that they either always payed a fixed price to the uefa or nothing? i mean, was there a market for the matches at all?

I think Five bidded for them as well, but were out priced, normally the Beeb and ITV share them out between them.

Well we pay a tax on tv here as well. The bleeding tv liscence. What a rip off that is! £140 and you get the luxury of watching absolutly nothing in a couple of years without having to pay another £££ to buy a freeview box!

Freeview boxes are not particularly expensive though and you could potentially get one free with a TV.

BCLG, if you lived in Spain, you wouldn't mind paying that kind of money for the BBC which is lightyears away of TVE in terms of quality.
And yes, yes, yes, national teams football should be only on free tv.

Well the Euro and world cup tournament is the only one which is shown in free tv.

BCLG, if you lived in Spain, you wouldn't mind paying that kind of money for the BBC which is lightyears away of TVE in terms of quality.
And yes, yes, yes, national teams football should be only on free tv.

I think right now, For England anyways, is that yes the national team games should remain on free tv but that when a game is on at the championships not between Scotland, Wales, NI, England that how is it a matter of national importance.

i'll help you guys: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=6876391&postcount=7

that's a last resort. and good for watching obscure games like friendlies on tuesdays when you got nothing better to do. :)

Then, this is what you need (if you can read Spanish): http://www.rojadirecta.com/
Any game any time

where's the difference? they provide links to the exact same channels...

where's the difference? they provide links to the exact same channels...
And mine is in English. :D

@ holy: Do they? My mistake then. Surprised you don't find them good enough. It's not perfect but still handy when you don't want to go to the pub.

Damn, Iraq 1-0 Australia in Dubai. It's shaping up to be a very close group, with 2 games to play Iraq, Qatar and Australia all have big chances to proceed to the next round of qualifiers, whilst China has been disappointing, winless after 4 games.

Seriously, Australia should be able to go through in that group. I mean, they were close to beating Italy in the World Cup, Iraq and Qatar surely can't be problems!

Seriously, Australia should be able to go through in that group. I mean, they were close to beating Italy in the World Cup, Iraq and Qatar surely can't be problems!

Our away games in the Middle East are danger games for us, since very few of our players can withstand the intense heat and humidity. As long as we win our last home game, we should be safe though.

Interesting to see asian teams become better and better. I want Iraq out of the group with australia into the world cup. I want to see if Iraq have a good run on the WC and prove winning the Asian Cup wasn't a fluke.

I like seeing Baihran lead there group which has Japan in it. :) Another improving team in asia. And as i was expecting, uzbekistan is leading there group with Saudi Arabia in second. Uzbekistan already qualified. The last group is still tight though.

I want to see Iraq beat the USA at the World Cup.

^ That'd be sweet...

I want to see Iraq beat the USA at the World Cup.

Or one of the Home nations.

BTW is this isn't the final round of qualifing in Asia, the teams who qualify from this round go into other groups to decide who qualifers don't they?

They used to play a team from CONCAF at one point but i remember one of the bbc commentators mumbling how the CONCAF teams now played a south American team.

They used to play a team from CONCAF at one point but i remember one of the bbc commentators mumbling how the CONCAF teams now played a south American team.

Asian teams have 4.5 births into the WC. Oceania has 0.5 The winner of Oceania(which is usually new zealand, tahiti, or french polynesia) has to play one the 5th best asian team in the qualification for the birth into the world cup.

I do think Oceania should have 1 gauranteed birth and North America one less birth, and Asia play South America for the remaining Birth. (North America has United States, Mexico and 2 other countries (1 fighting for a playoff vs south america) so i think that only 3 countries from NA should be in).

I do think Oceania should have 1 gauranteed birth

Why? The only comptetitive team from that region - Australia - has just been taken out there and added to Asia. You want to give New Zealand a free ride while teams like Ukraine and Poland might have to face off for one spot?

Why? The only comptetitive team from that region - Australia - has just been taken out there and added to Asia. You want to give New Zealand a free ride while teams like Ukraine and Poland might have to face off for one spot?

Europe doesn't have to face anyone iirc for there remaining births.

Besides Poland shouldn't have to go through to the play offs.

Why? The only comptetitive team from that region - Australia - has just been taken out there and added to Asia. You want to give New Zealand a free ride while teams like Ukraine and Poland might have to face off for one spot?

I would go so far as to suggest as teams such as Poland/Ukraine should play one of the North America teams/Asian teams for a final qualification. Its not just European elitism but the number of competitve teams from Europe far outway the number of competitive teams from Asia/NA. I do appreciate that Europe gets more places anyway but surely the world cup should be the best in the world playing each other rather than the best from certain areas playing each other. (For instance quite a few of the South American teams, now some African teams miss out but are often better than other representatives).

edit- @TLO- Highest points scoring second place from qualifiers go through automatically whilst the rest of the second places play off against each other. If Oceana got a 1.0 rather than a 0.5 that 0.5 would have to come from somewhere.

Europe doesn't have to face anyone iirc for there remaining births.

Besides Poland shouldn't have to go through to the play offs.

No, but should they have a worse chance than New Zealand? I don't think so, given that they are factually way better.

I would go so far as to suggest as teams such as Poland/Ukraine should play one of the North America teams/Asian teams for a final qualification. Its not just European elitism but the number of competitve teams from Europe far outway the number of competitive teams from Asia/NA. I do appreciate that Europe gets more places anyway but surely the world cup should be the best in the world playing each other rather than the best from certain areas playing each other. (For instance quite a few of the South American teams, now some African teams miss out but are often better than other representatives).

I agree. Though one round playoffs are too much luck dependent in my view. In a time when football is global anyway we could easily have international group matches (in a second stage of sorts). If small countries have financial problems with travelling (no idea if that is even realistic...) FIFA could well spare a couple of thousands of their World Cup revenue for that, couldn't they?

Instead of letting four CONCACAF nations in you could make that two and enter the other two in mixed groups with medicre European teams, some Asians and some Africans and let the best win.

Well i am of the opinion that every team has to go through the same process of qualifying to get to the finals, ie, everyone is in the same set of matches, seeded of course, but to ensure the best teams get through, the only way is to include every nation in the same qualifying draw, at the moment you could have 32 groups of six/seven teams that include all nations and the top team of the group qualifys. However the major problem of this is logistics, but until then qualification won't be entirely fair.

Also it'd be highly likely that it would be a predominantly European/South American affair with a few African teams thrown in. FIFA wouldn't support anything that would be a possible detriment to any new market.

Actually I can remember Platini proposing something like that a few years ago. I think it'd make qualifications more exciting.

I'd rather see the introduction of an ABC-list, like in icehockey. Then you can skip worthless games like v.s. Malta.

Also it'd be highly likely that it would be a predominantly European/South American affair with a few African teams thrown in. FIFA wouldn't support anything that would be a possible detriment to any new market.

There are currently 21 European teams in the top 32 in the Fifa world rankings, 5 South American, 4 African teams, 2 North American teams, so you do have a point, although i would argue that they have got there by being better than other teams and that they shouldn't be held back because they are in a very strong confedation

Also what about a similar tournament for teams who finish second in the group, a bit like the UEFA Cup is to the Champions Leauge in European club football, this would be held in June, and the WC is on in July or in different years (ie the WC takes place normally every four years and the smaller one takes place the following year). complicated and would require two host nations every cycle, although the smaller tournament probably be less demanding on the stadiums, would also allow more countries, who wouldn't normally get a world cup a chance to host a major football event, it would include more nations in tournament football at the world stage, still allows underdogs to qualify, cause we always like a small team to do well.

I'd rather see the introduction of an ABC-list, like in icehockey. Then you can skip worthless games like v.s. Malta.

What is that? :)

There are currently 21 European teams in the top 32 in the Fifa world rankings, 5 South American, 4 African teams, 2 North American teams, so you do have a point, although i would argue that they have got there by being better than other teams and that they shouldn't be held back because they are in a very strong confedation

Also what about a similar tournament for teams who finish second in the group, a bit like the UEFA Cup is to the Champions Leauge in European club football, this would be held in June, and the WC is on in July or in different years (ie the WC takes place normally every four years and the smaller one takes place the following year). complicated and would require two host nations every cycle, although the smaller tournament probably be less demanding on the stadiums, would also allow more countries, who wouldn't normally get a world cup a chance to host a major football event, it would include more nations in tournament football at the world stage, still allows underdogs to qualify, cause we always like a small team to do well.

hm... that would certainly benefit the mediocre european teams.
but will it really be well accepted by the crowd, especially the tv-viewers?
and what will this title be called then? best of the not so good ones? :)

FIFA Challengers Cup?

and what will this title be called then? best of the not so good ones? :)

World Wooden Spoon Cup?

FIFA Challengers Cup?

bah, damn pc, let's just call it "champion among losers".

edit, though i like the "wooden spoon cup" too. :)

but will it really be well accepted by the crowd, especially the tv-viewers?

I am sure it would, certainly by nations who are in it. And by people who jus can't go three months without footie! Certainly not on the scale of the world cup, but you wouldn't expect it to.

Other sports do it as well, Cricket has a tournament for one day nations who arn't test nations, i don't see why football can't have tournament consisting of international teams who arn't as well known. In fact domestic football and at a contient level is full of this, why not on the international stage. People still watch the UEFA Cup.

What is that? :)

Actually, it's almost similar to the BCLG cup you propose :D

Depending on past results a country gets on the A or B list. The bottom A list country plays a qualifier against the top B list country, or relegates automatically (last place finish at the world cup, last place finish in a qualifier group, etc.). The B list can't qualify for the big championships, so you get to play less qualifying matches or there are less qualifying groups.

Luiz Felipe Scolari has been named as the new manager of Chelsea.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7449627.stm

Montenegro is becoming big!

Media reports that 18 year old Montenegrin football phenomenon Stevan Jovetić had signed a 10 M euro transfer deal that would see him leaving Partizan Belgrade for Italy’s Fiorentina are spurious, according to the footballer’s agent. Fali Ramadani told the Montenegro Times that several Italian clubs are interested in Jovetić but so are a number of English and Spanish sides. Ramadani was, in fact, on his way to a meeting with an undisclosed Spanish club when the Montenegro Times reached him on his mobile phone. Asked if Jovetić would prefer to play in one country more than the others, Ramadani replied, “He wants to play in Spain.”
However, perennial powerhouse Manchester United has been interested in signing Jovetić for more than a year. United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes the wunderkind would make a fine fit with his squad, which is a finalist in this year’s Champions League. Last year, the UK’s best selling daily tabloid, The Sun, reported that Ferguson had offered 10 M euros for him prior to his signing with Partizan.
The idea that Jovetić, a striker, would be able to knock Wayne Rooney or Christian Ronaldo out of a starting spot at United is a dubious proposition, at best, but the kid, who is touted by many as the best young footballer in Europe, is capable of greatness on any stage.
Jovetić scored a hat trick for Partizan in a UEFA Cup qualifying match last August. He was 17 years old at the time. This year he was named captain of Partizan despite his age. In 54 matches with the Serbian side he scored 18 goals. He was named captain of Montenegro’s U-21 national team when he as 17 and he earned his first cap on the senior national squad against Hungary in March of 2007.
Jovetić has one year left in his Partizan contract. When asked what kind of money it would take for Partizan to let him go before his contract expires, Ramadani replied, “We do not talk about money with the media.”
Jovetić is Montenegro’s rising football star but the country already has a bona fide superstar in Mirko Vucinic. The 24-year-old striker, who currently suits up for Italy’s Roma, is rumoured to be on the move after another impressive season in the Italian capital.
Media reports from the UK state that Ferguson is willing to offer as much as 15 M pounds to Roma to lure Vučinić to Old Trafford. Roma has a well earned reputation as a club with deep pockets and short arms and its fans are despondent at the prospect of losing one of their top players.
With Jovetić and Vucinic leading the attack, Montenegro looks to be in a good position to continue to climb the FIFA rankings. Currently ranked 150, Montenegro hopes to move up the charts by month’s end. The national squad will play host to Kazakhstan in a May 27 friendly in Podgorica. Four days later the team will travel to Bucharest to provide a tune up for the Romanian side that is on its way to the European Championships, which will be contested in Switzerland and Austria between June 7 – 29.
While there are no easy games in the European Championships, Romania, currently ranked 12th in the world, find themselves in the proverbial ‘group of death’ with Italy (#3 in the world), France (#7) and the Netherlands (#10).
The fact that Romania chose Montenegro as its last warm up before facing such strong competition is no small salute to the little Balkan mouse that may yet roar loudly.

http://www.themontenegrotimes.com/mnt/images/stories/24edition/society_jovetic.jpg

Juande Ramos expects Giovani Dos Santos to bring excitement to Tottenham Hotspur, after the club clinched the signing of the Barcelona forward.

The Tottenham manager was delighted to complete the deal after the 19-year-old Mexico international agreed a five-year contract for a £4.7 million fee, rising to £8.6m depending on appearances. Barcelona will retain 20 per cent of any sell-on fee should he move in the first two years of his contract and will take ten per cent of any transfer if he moves after that.

"If Giovani progresses as we hope, he will be a terrific player," Ramos said. "This is a young player with a lot of potential, who I have watched for some time. For us it is an exciting signing because he has excellent quality, he operates well in different positions and, above all, is technically excellent."

Dos Santos has risen through the ranks at the Nou Camp after originally joining the club to play in the Under-15 side at the age of 13. In 2006 he was promoted to the Barcelona B team, before making his debut for Frank Rijkaard's first eleven last season. In total he made 38 appearances for the senior side and scored four goals, three of them coming in the final game of last season when he bagged a hat-trick in a 5-3 win over Murcia.

"It is a dream for me to come to a big club like Spurs," Dos Santos said. "I've come here to further explore my qualities and give my all for my new team."

Damien Comolli, the club's sporting director, is convinced Dos Santos will be a massive asset for the club.

"Giovani possesses a great combination of physical power and explosivity, along with fine technical skills," Comolli said. "He is someone who can create and score goals. He is young but not without experience and will be a great asset for the club.

"The fact we have a Spanish speaking coaching staff, as well as Gilberto, will help him adapt, settle quickly and I believe he has the skills to be successful in England."

Dos Santos is currently sidelined with an ankle injury, but is expected to be fit before the start of the Premier League campaign.

Giovani dos Santos, the future Mexican star playing Barcelona has been Transfered to Tottenham!!! now only his younger brother Jonathan dos Santos still plays for Barcelona.

Australia is through to the next round of qualifiers due to a 3-1 away win against Qatar! :woohoo:

azzaman333, congratulations.

I went to watch Iraq play Australia last week in Dubai. It was a dire game, a far cry from the Australian world cup performances of 2006. Has the team changed much since then?

Well they did play a defensive game that game, since it was their first game in such oppressive conditions. They performed much better against Qatar.

Another BIG :bump:

what do you guys think about the 2008-09 season in football so far? I mean generally, in all competitions.

Tottenham is surprising me in the English league and Lech got in the UEFA cup so i'm happy. :)

Tottenham spent something like 66 million on new players but crucially they also sold about 80 million worth of players and pretty much swapped their entire team around. In that respect its not surprising that they have struggled so far. They do need to turn it around soon.

Hull, CFR Cluj, Anorthosis, BATE Borisov and Hoffenheim are awesome. It's nice to see some new teams fighting for the glory.

Melbourne Victory are currently on top of the ladder after 7 rounds, 2 points clear of Sydney, our biggest rival, and 3 clear of Adelaide, our most bitter rival.

So I saw Man City go up 2-0 today, flipped it off for a bit, turn back, and watched them go down 3-2 to liverpool. and hull city looks to be decent. good on 'em.

and my team, maccabi tel aviv just lost to maccabi Netanya...

Hull City is a huge surprise. I wonder how long they're going to be able to keep this up?

Long time no post in this thread!

What are everyones thoughts on tonights friendlies? (I don't think there are any qualifier's tonight but i may be wrong)

Two matches interest me, firstly the "friendly between England and Germany" of course (which we will suck in, it will be an incredibly young inexperience squad as Rooney, Ferdinand, Gerrard, Lampard, Heskey are all out injured and no Owen still!!)

The other game is Scotland vs Maradona's Argentina, that will go one of two ways, either Maradona will prove he is not a bad manager by Argentina thrashing the Scots, or he will prove how bad a manager he is when Scotland beat them! Considering how average Scotland have been so far this autumn i think he will get away with it tonight but it won't be convincing.

i predict torres having to play 90 minutes for spain and getting injured again. :mad:

Netherlands - Sweden
:yawn:

i stand corrected, looks like rafa got them to keep torres on the bench...

Germany 1-2 England :D, and apart from the cock up that led to the German goal (Terry's fault which he admitted) i think thats a win deserved, the Germans were poor, especially in the first half, the second half each side was equal, so all in all a good night for England (i never thought i would say that just under a year ago)

And makes up for them beating us last August.

Northern Ireland lost to Hungary 0-2, Wales beat Denmark away 1-0 (good result for them and Scotland are currently only losing by 1-0 to Argentina.

Not a bad night at all for the home nations :)

Greece 1-1 Italy. Not too eventful a match, not despicable either. At least Toni scored for us, which is a little miracle as things had turned.

Curio: Lippi has overtaken Pozzo's string of positive results on the Azzurri bench, with 31 matches.

Unrelated gossip: it would appear that Mrs Beckham might after all move herself to follow her husband at least part of his stint, provided her meager requests are granted:

A private helicopter at her disposal 24/7;
a 100mq wide pool with thermal area and hydromassage;
a macrobiotic chef;
personal fitness center with beauty salon and hairdresser annexed;
Carolina Kostner, European single figure skating champion in 2007 and 2008, to teach skating to her offspring.

Kostner already declined.

Australia stole a victory against Bahrain, 1-0. Outplayed all match, but in injury time Bresciano scored for us. :dance:

Would take a miracle not to qualify now.

Poland 3 - 2 Ireland! WOOT!!!

Now lets see how we were lucky enough to win when i check the replay tomorow.

It was a friendly though so like England's win it doesn't mean anything.

^well it does show how much we've improved! We played very well throughout the game, our young sub screwed up and got a penalty for ireland making it 2-1. It should've been 3-1 at the end imo.

so like England's win it doesn't mean anything.

It always means something when we beat Germany. :)

Though only for irrational national pride. :)

It always means something when we beat Germany. :)

Though only for irrational national pride. :)

Same on this side... :cry: