whYNOT Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 The Soccer Confederation Cup, which has been hosted by South Africa this year has turned up a major surprise, in fact a shock result. The U.S., not previously renowned for its football, impressed everyone by brushing aside some top teams to make it to the Final. On Saturday they play either S.A., or Brazil for the championship [in a stadium not far from where I live]. They look damn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 I don't follow soccer, but that's surprising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanjavalen Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 What is even funnier is the response of US media, which equates to a few comments on it followed by a shrug. At least everywhere I've heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted June 25, 2009 Report Share Posted June 25, 2009 What is even funnier is the response of US media, which equates to a few comments on it followed by a shrug. At least everywhere I've heard. MAD Magazine once prophecized that is the US were to win the Soccer World Cup, Americans would read about it in the last page of the sports section, right after "Highschool Football scores." (In South Africa it would be after "Highschool Rugby scores.") Anyway, for the record the US played Brazil, Italy and Egypt in the elimination round. It beat Egypt and lost to the other two. The real news is the Americans beat the Spaniards. Spain had a string of 25 straight games without being defeated, and they won the European Championship earlier this year (The Euro Cup is the World Cup sans Brazil and Argentina). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted June 26, 2009 Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 (edited) Yes, but it's the final of an unofficial competition. (basically a little bit above the level of friendly matches - like the NFL training camp matches) European players (everyone who plays in Europe, not just European nationals) have been partying for weeks now, celebrating the end of the season. They are mostly here under the threat of being excluded from other, more important competitions, and they are completely unprapared and out of shape. The only real competition where the USA can compete with the best teams is the Word Cup.(in 2010) Winning that one would be a miracle, at the current stage of US soccer. Edited June 26, 2009 by Jake_Ellison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whYNOT Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2009 Given all that, it was still a pleasure to see the U.S.A. take apart the arrogant Spanish and Egyptian teams; they played gutsily and skilfully. I think there were about 10 American supporters in the stands, with one flag waving. It was quite heroic... Soccer isn't my game, but rugby - now there's a sport. I've often thought that if it ever grabbed the attention of only 5% of Americans, you could field a powerhouse side. You have the athletes, and could buy the top coaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whYNOT Posted June 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 Well, well, well, as of 9pm local time, after 30 mins play, the USA are 2-0 up on Brazil !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 So how did things work out? Who won? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whYNOT Posted July 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 It's like that old saying "a good big'un will always beat a good little'un." It's an interesting phenomenon I've often seen in sport - the underdog team or player psyches themselves up to an incredible degree, because they know what they're up against. This makes them awesome, for a while, almost super-human, and then all of a sudden, the wheels fall off. I think this is incredibly draining, and all the opposition has to do is sit back and wait. Also, I think the USA couldn't quite believe that they got 2-0 up against one of the top sides, and just let their self-belief slip. Final result 3-2 to Brazil. [Emotional scenes at the end from US fans and players - and much respect from the crowd.] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 From the summary I saw, I don't think the US lost that game, it's more that Brazil won it. No one can beat Brazil's best eleven when they are playing well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastian Hayek Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 Nobody ever one the confed cup and won the World Cup the following year as far as I know.. and no European team ever won the World Cup if the tournament wasn't in a European state, so.... America, you've got a chance. but so does South Africa and maybe Ivory Coast, Chile.. who knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted July 10, 2009 Report Share Posted July 10, 2009 It's like that old saying "a good big'un will always beat a good little'un." It's an interesting phenomenon I've often seen in sport - the underdog team or player psyches themselves up to an incredible degree, because they know what they're up against. This makes them awesome, for a while, almost super-human, and then all of a sudden, the wheels fall off. More likely the good team comes out thinking "big deal!" They get carelss and then have to catch up or loose the game. Kind of like when the Dolphins told the Texans "See you after practice!" right after the coin toss, then wound up loosing. Of course, it's soccer, so who really knows. Maybe it was fixed to make it more exciting (as if soccer could be exciting). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 More likely the good team comes out thinking "big deal!" They get carelss and then have to catch up or loose the game. Kind of like when the Dolphins told the Texans "See you after practice!" right after the coin toss, then wound up loosing. Of course, it's soccer, so who really knows. Maybe it was fixed to make it more exciting (as if soccer could be exciting). Quite true, D'kian. It's the classic case of being too confident. I've seen it many times. Btw, you make this mistake quite a bit, so I hope you don't mine me pointing it out, but it should be "losing", not "loosing". They are both words, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Quite true, D'kian. It's the classic case of being too confident. I've seen it many times. Ah, so it was fixed Btw, you make this mistake quite a bit, so I hope you don't mine me pointing it out, but it should be "losing", not "loosing". I don't mine at all. But sometimes I do refine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thales Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Ah, so it was fixed I don't mine at all. But sometimes I do refine touche! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.