OT: Euro04

[oleg]

Less than a week left. Who do you think will win it ?


My bet is England or Spain.

France: bookies favorite but I don't think they click. Zidan is not at his best, keeper (Barthez) is a joke, Trezague does not communicate well with Henry. Still they are most talented but something in my mind whisper it will be 2002 all over again.

Germany: Only fools can ever underustimate Germany but I would risk to be one. The current crop of players is simply not good enough. No way !

Italy: Nothing new. No new tactics, no new stars. Will give a run for a money for anybody but fall short.

Holland: History shows for all their tallent must be above rest to win. However good recent players are, they are not equal to Gullit/vanBasten. Never mind Kroif !

Portugal: Well, may be. Porto was most impressive and homefield helps. I just don't think they can carry it all the way.

Other nations excluded, that leaves England and Spain.

La Liga is the best. No questions here. Before, Spain suffered from Real-Barsa Schisz. No more. Valensia and Depor bring new blood and sence of identidy to the squad. Must be the year !

England: Perfect form, best coach ever, no (almost) injuries. Lads have never been so fired up. Best team in years.

[Taera]

http://www.footballbadgers.com

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[minipol]

Heh, not really interested in Euro thingie because the Belgians aren't in it. I'm rooting for the Dutch. One of these days, they are going to field people that are forming a team (always been a problem for them) and then they'll surely grab a Euro/WC title

[Mark the Merciful]

Originally posted by oleg:
England: Perfect form, best coach ever, no (almost) injuries. Lads have never been so fired up. Best team in years. [/QB]<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Surely you're joking?

I mean, I'd love England to win. But while they look pretty good on paper, we haven't seem them perform convincingly as a team in the Last two years.

(Excellent link, Taera)

[Unknown_Enemy]

ATM, tennis with Rolland Garros.
Then it will be Euro - soccer.
After that tour de france.
Then there must be something with Olympic games.

I hate sports on TV.
I Must be in hell.

[Ruatha]

http://www.stalvik.com/images/Vapen/vapen_sverige.jpg


Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, Sweden!!

http://flagspot.net/images/s/se.gif



Actually I hate soccer too, but my wife follows it...

[ June 06, 2004, 05:55: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Alneyan]

Why, England obviously. I mean, they won the Last World Cup and they have Wilkinson among other talented players, and... Oh, is that the wrong sport?

Nonetheless, I will put my marbles on England as usual, especially as their first game will be against France. If my innate ability of bringing bad luck to France still works, England will won the day , as there is nothing half as fun as such an outcome. there is actually something that would be better though ; what if England defeated France now, and then later on in the competition? That would imply a somewhat successful France, but the very thought of losing twice to England is very appealing to my wicked mind.

[Intimidator]

Group A

Portugal - Greece : 1-2
Spain - Russia : 1-0


Group B

Swiss - Croatia : 0-0
France - England : 2-1 (what an extreme Last 3 minutes!!!!!)


Group C

Italy - Danmark : 0-0
Sweden - Bulgaria : 5-0 (wauw)

[ June 14, 2004, 20:41: Message edited by: Intimidator ]

[Rollo]

wow, what a highly dramatic game: France beats England 2-1. sorry England.

I'd like to see some headlines tomorrow from the English press concerning the goalie.

[Mark the Merciful]

Originally posted by Rollo:
wow, what a highly dramatic game: France beats England 2-1. sorry England.

I'd like to see some headlines tomorrow from the English press concerning the goalie. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That was a painful experience. 89 minutes slowly becoming convinced that we would win, suddenly followed by catastrophe and stupidity.

I'm changing my favourite sport to cricket. It's a lot less stressful, and we actually win a few matches these days...

[Captain Kwok]

I watched the game and felt so bad for you guys in England. First the French goalie making the save on the penalty shot - and then that Last minute. Almost enough to start a riot. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Paul1980au]

England will get a 2nd chance - they should make the finals in 2nd place - good win for the french though bouncing back from the world cup disaster.

[Alneyan]

Indeed, my mood was Jubilant until these fateful few minutes, and I was almost relieved to see the match ending on a 1-0. Alas, while I wasn't watching, Zidane ruined the day and launched a riot run, destroying my happiness and getting me back to the Angry mood. (Which is, obviously, impossible under the current rules regarding happiness)

Speaking of which Oleg, we are fortunate that Zidane wasn't at his best according to your post. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Ah, if only we had known... *Sighs and seeks political asylum in England to avoid the derision*

[oleg]

Originally posted by Alneyan:
Speaking of which Oleg, we are fortunate that Zidane wasn't at his best according to your post. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif Ah, if only we had known... *Sighs and seeks political asylum in England to avoid the derision* <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Nothing is lost. Although the second place would probably mean a quaterfinal game against Spain - my second favorite to win it all http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

[Unknown_Enemy]

Sigh.

I was piloting an IL2 2M and preparing to make a ground attack run, Murden was in a LA-5 trying to get some BF109 clear of my tail when we heard people rejoicing all over the place.

And it was not even for our brillant skill display in flight combat simulation, just because of 22 guys running after the same ball.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Intimidator]

Originally posted by Unknown_Enemy:
Sigh.

I was piloting an IL2 2M and preparing to make a ground attack run, Murden was in a LA-5 trying to get some BF109 clear of my tail when we heard people rejoicing all over the place.

And it was not even for our brillant skill display in flight combat simulation, just because of 22 guys running after the same ball.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">And when somebody finally got the ball, he kicks it away, and they start running again !!??!!??!!?? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Intimidator]

Group A

Portugal - Greece : 1-2
Spain - Russia : 1-0


Group B

Swiss - Croatia : 0-0
France - England : 2-1 (what an extreme Last 3 minutes!!!!!)


Group C

Italy - Danmark : 0-0
Sweden - Bulgaria : 5-0 (wauw !!!!)

[Intimidator]

Originally posted by Ruatha:
http://www.stalvik.com/images/Vapen/vapen_sverige.jpg


Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, Sweden!!

http://flagspot.net/images/s/se.gif



Actually I hate soccer too, but my wife follows it... <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Ruatha, Congratulate your wife from me. What a victory !!!!!! really huge.
I hope that Holland is playing as good as Sweden tommorow against Germany !!

[Mephisto]

Intimidator, beware my wrath! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[minipol]

What a game england - france was. It reminded me of the game Man u played against Bayern when they pulled off a come-from-behind-to-win game.
I never expected the french to win. The english kept everything pretty closed and played solidly. Beckham should convert a penalty NO excuses. Everybody misses a penalty from time to time but it didn't look like a good effort to me.
Badly placed.

Anyway, since the Belgians are at home playing cards and pool, i'm looking forward to the Netherlands - Germany game.
A lot of controversy about this game and Van Nistelrooys comment about WWII surely added to the tension. This game could easily end up in a card drawing festival.

[Mark the Merciful]

Originally posted by minipol:
Beckham should convert a penalty NO excuses. Everybody misses a penalty from time to time but it didn't look like a good effort to me.
Badly placed.
<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I don't think Beckham's penalty technique is very good. If you look at Sunday's one, or the one he scored against Argentina in the World Cup, they're all power and no placement. Michael Owen is (or was) technically much better.

But since Owen missed five in a row for Liverpool, it seems that there's nobody in the England team apart from Beckham who's prepared to take on the responsibility.

[minipol]

Yeah, taking penalties in important games can be very stressing even for professionals.
The Netherlands are a team that have been "cursed" when it comes to penalties. They still seem to drag that along with them.

Anyway, a long time ago when i still played soccer, i wasn't a good penalty kicker but i could kick a decent free kick. I scored a lot of goals on free kicks.

But back to Beckham: would nobody else have considered taking the penalty?

[Rollo]

I agree, the penalty kick was not a good one. I am even surprised that they let Beckham make the attempt. He missed the Last one against Turkey.
But the more important reason somebody else should have kicked is that Beckham and Barthez played for many years in the same club. Thus they know each other, giving an advantage to the goalie.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Rollo:
I agree, the penalty kick was not a good one. I am even surprised that they let Beckham make the attempt. He missed the Last one against Turkey.
But the more important reason somebody else should have kicked is that Beckham and Barthez played for many years in the same club. Thus they know each other, giving an advantage to the goalie. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Why advantage to the goalie, doesn't Beckham know as much about the goalie?
I'd belive it'd give none of them any advantage.

[oleg]

Because it is for striker to score, not for goalie to save. Striker bears more responcibility and expectations. He must strike well and accurate. No mistakes are allowed. But all goalie should do is to guess the direction correctly and hope for the best.

[primitive]

When the striker and the goalie know each other, the smartest one will usually win.

Now Bartez might not be of rocket scientist material, but Beckham http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

The blame for this miss must go to the Swede (not you Ruatha, the other one). He should have known better http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[gravey101]

I didn't think it was an awful penalty at the time. Barthez guessed right and saved well. When I saw Zindines though I realized how average Beckham's was. I'd have Lampard or Rooney take penalties from now on.

[Alneyan]

*Crosses fingers* Croatia is leading to France for now, so perhaps my mad prevision will come to reality. Switerzland would need to win against France, and England against Croatia, and then France would not make it to the next stage of the competition.

What's the word for it? Oh yes, wishful thinking. But I may dream, can't I?

Edit: And add "Croatia has still to win against France" to the list. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ June 17, 2004, 20:11: Message edited by: Alneyan ]

[Intimidator]

Originally posted by Alneyan:
*Crosses fingers* Croatia is leading to France for now, so perhaps my mad prevision will come to reality. Switerzland would need to win against France, and England against Croatia, and then France would not make it to the next stage of the competition.

What's the word for it? Oh yes, wishful thinking. But I may dream, can't I?

Edit: And add "Croatia has still to win against France" to the list. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Sorry 2-2 now

[Alneyan]

Indeed, hence my edit. Though I guess I am responsible, as France scores only when I am writing they are losing, and not before. (Sadly it happened as well in a certain other game against England. *Sighs* It hurts quite a lot when you leave with England leading, and comes back a few minutes later to see you have just lost the game. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

[Intimidator]

So stay at your television the next match !! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

BTW. you are from France so explain to my why you want them to lose..............

[Dubrok]

Great Game!

Croatia nearly would have beaten France! If that Last shot on the goal from the croatians...nah...nevermind, a relative slow match, but lots of goals :-)

France still can be kicked out by Suisse (even if they need to win with at least...hmm...3 goals?!)

That would be weird...

[Alneyan]

Switzerland needs to win with four more goals than France to manage to get through. How likely is it? Not quite I would wager. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Intimidator, I happen to be for England, and so I would rather see France gone from the competition. Alas, they managed to get a draw against Croatia, meaning they will get through. (Unless something really, really weird happens against Switzerland that is)

[oleg]

Originally posted by Alneyan:
Switzerland needs to win with four more goals than France to manage to get through. How likely is it? Not quite I would wager. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Only if England draw with Chroatia and three teams have 4 points. If England win or lose, Swiss go through regardless of the margin of the victory.

Thus, Swiss can win 1:0 and qualify or win 3:0 and still fail. Bizzare http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Alneyan]

Oh, I didn't know about a certain rule, which would allow Switzerland to pass if they have as many points as France. Thanks for the clarification!

Now what would be truly weird: both France and England don't make it. Hmm, perish the thought! (I have nothing against France finishing third of the group though. *Smirks*)

[oleg]

Not that difficult.

I am sure that after watching both games Swiss discovered the secret how to beat France :

Never ever back pass to goallie !! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Ruatha]

23 minutes, still 0-0 (Sweden - Italy)

And I now only have 12 hours left on this workpass and then 4 weeks of vacation, oh summer is great!

[ June 18, 2004, 19:17: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Intimidator]

Sorry but 0-1 right now............. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Inti,

[Intimidator]

1-1 great goal from Ibra......... , **** can't spell that name http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Mark the Merciful]

Originally posted by Intimidator:
1-1 great goal from Ibra......... , **** can't spell that name http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Obviously England's group is the only one of importance... But still, what an excellent game!

Ibrahimovitch? Nah, can't be that easy...

[Intimidator]

Sorry Mark but tomorrow The Netherlands against the Szechs, believe me is very important for me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Mark the Merciful:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Originally posted by Intimidator:
1-1 great goal from Ibra......... , **** can't spell that name http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Obviously England's group is the only one of importance... But still, what an excellent game!

Ibrahimovitch? Nah, can't be that easy... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Zlatan!

Originally posted by Intimidator:
Sorry Mark but tomorrow The Netherlands against the Szechs, believe me is very important for me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Let's make it a Dutch-Swedish final!
That oughta show those experts!! Whoa ha ha!

[ June 18, 2004, 23:26: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Mark the Merciful]

Czech Republic 3 - Netherlands 2

Surely the best game of the championships so far. The Czechs were two goals down after 20 minutes, and came back to win! The only blemish was a very harsh sending off of a Dutch player; would they have conceded the third goal if they had 11 on the field?

So the Czechs are through and at least one of Germany and the Netherlands is out. My vote's for Germany...

Edit: The BBC statistic of choice is that there were 35 shots on goal during this game!

[ June 19, 2004, 20:48: Message edited by: Mark the Merciful ]

[Intimidator]

DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[Mark the Merciful]

(Happy England fan sits at work trying to think of a hundred stupid puns on the name Rooney)

[gravey101]

Happy ??????

I am already nervous about the _next_ game :-)

[oleg]

And so they did it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Nordic Victory 2:2

Can't even imagine Italian' reaction.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

How is a tie a victory?

[tesco samoa]

I knew my reaction. I danced around the room. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Captain Kwok]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
How is a tie a victory? <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The tie was the only way that both Denmark and Sweden could advance, while poor Italy was knocked out - despite all 3 teams having the same record.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Ok, I know I know next to nothing about this, but huh????

[GMLocutus]

Originally posted by narf poit chez BOOM:
Ok, I know I know next to nothing about this, but huh???? <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">If i remember correctly, points are awrded on how many goals are scored by a team. I can't remember if extra points are awarded to the team if they draw or win.

Anyway sometimes teams only have to draw to get through to the next round because others teams on the group are on equal score, teams only advance when they have high points in their group division. (Teams are put into Groups to advances..the Groups are then redone as teams advance through the tournament..i think)

Of course England have to play against France didn't they..and how they messed that up although a 4-2 victory over Croatia was good enough for me.

But i don't follow football much anymore so i can't be accurate on how the system works.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

*Narf's head explodes*

[Captain Kwok]

You get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw (tie).

If teams are tied in points after the round robin then the following tiebreaker is used:

- winner of the head-to-head matchup, if that was a draw:
- Goal Difference (Goals For - Goals Against), if that is a tie:
- Which team has scored the most goals, and if that is also a tie:
- Qualifying record for the tournament...

[narf poit chez BOOM]

*Narf's head begins to come back together*

Thanks, people.

[Mark the Merciful]

Originally posted by tesco samoa:
I knew my reaction. I danced around the room. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">What was particularly amusing was the way that the Italians, having struggled all evening, scored a brilliant winning goal in the Last two minutes of the game. As they were celebrating their victory, they heard the news that the Sweden/Denmark game had finished 2-2, and the result of their own match was irrelevant. And then they had to carry on playing...

Well I thought it was funny. But then I'm both mean and non-Italian...

Edit: And now, can the Czechs please knock Germany out tonight. Thank you.

[ June 23, 2004, 09:06: Message edited by: Mark the Merciful ]

[gravey101]

The Italians comments that there may have been collusion between Denmark and Sweden were sour beyond belief. Anyone who saw the game, and knows anything about it, saw 2 teams that went at it trying for a win.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Given the circumstances, I'd be a little more than sour.

But I have a bad temper.

[gravey101]

What circumstances? That they were unable to get the points, or goials, to progress? Some teams (and people) are able to take defeat and setback in good grace, others are always looking for someone else to blame. The circumstances are that Italy did not play quite well enough over their 3 games to progress. They are a good team, but luck, and maybe form were not on their side. They have no reason to be sour and embaress themselves and their fans by touting ludicrous conspiracy theories.

[oleg]

Originally posted by Mark the Merciful:
[Edit: And now, can the Czechs please knock Germany out tonight. Thank you. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">10 minutes to go and Chzechs 2 : Germany 1 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[gravey101]

argh :-) Was trying to avoid seeing the result - wanted to watch it tonight... you can;t avoid it anywhere these days....

Still, no shame to see the Germans knocked out. At least England can;t lose to them on penalties in the semis now!

[oleg]

Sorry http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif

It is still worth watching though. Unless you are German fan of course. But then I watched Russia-Spain and Russia-Portugal both live and taped http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[gravey101]

No problem...

Hardly - I'm English!

[oleg]

Once Russia is out, me too http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Old joke, very popular in Russia Last hmmm, 20 years:
- Who are going to support ?
- Ours, of course !
- and after that ?

[gravey101]

We have a Latvian here in the office. Other than Latvia, of course, he is for England too.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Originally posted by gravey101:
What circumstances? That they were unable to get the points, or goials, to progress? Some teams (and people) are able to take defeat and setback in good grace, others are always looking for someone else to blame. The circumstances are that Italy did not play quite well enough over their 3 games to progress. They are a good team, but luck, and maybe form were not on their side. They have no reason to be sour and embaress themselves and their fans by touting ludicrous conspiracy theories. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">From the sounds of it, keeping in mind I only have a vague idea, qoute 'What was particularly amusing was the way that the Italians, having struggled all evening, scored a brilliant winning goal in the Last two minutes of the game. As they were celebrating their victory, they heard the news that the Sweden/Denmark game had finished 2-2, and the result of their own match was irrelevant. And then they had to carry on playing...'

[gravey101]

Yep, that's about what happened, so they have every right to be disappointed/angry/whatever but there is no justification whatsoever in questioning the integrity of the Dane and Swedish teams.

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Intimidator:
DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">So... The Netherlands-Sweden then!

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Originally posted by gravey101:
Yep, that's about what happened, so they have every right to be disappointed/angry/whatever but there is no justification whatsoever in questioning the integrity of the Dane and Swedish teams. <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">True. But as someone who's flown off the handle pretty badly before, I understand how it can happen.

[Mark the Merciful]

It's 7.43pm BST, the national anthems have just finished, and I'm feeling a bit nervous...

Come on England!

7.48 1-0 to England (Owen) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

And the first half finishes with the score still 1-0 to England. It's been a very exciting game so far, and I think I can speak for most football fans when I say that excitement is over-rated... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

2-2 after extra time. So it'll be penalties then http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

[ June 24, 2004, 21:11: Message edited by: Mark the Merciful ]

[Alneyan]

I... feel the pain. My sympathy to Mark and Oleg. *Drows in sorrow*

[Rollo]

POR-TU-GAL! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Clearly the best game so far. What a fantastic match!
It was a hard one to watch for me as those were my two favorite teams playing against each other. Good to see that the better team won. England was way to passive for 80 minutes of the regular playing time. I hope that Rooney isn't too badly hurt.
Now I hope that Portugal makes it all the way to the title. It will be the Last chance for the players of the 'golden generation' (Figo, Rui Costa, Couto, et al.)

[ June 24, 2004, 21:59: Message edited by: Rollo ]

[gravey101]

Oh, well, better team won to be honest, but there was nothing wrong with England's goal at the end of regular time and we should have won the match there and then. The referee mad a bad mistake in my opinion.

[oleg]

Yeah, it was pathetic. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif Once ahead, pull midfield players back into penalty box. Kick longballs to isolated forwards and hope for the best. Does not work against quality teams like France or Portugal

I actually think referee was right - Terry held goalie down with his hand over shoulder. You can not do that inside the box. Even if you honestly go for the ball, goalie has a right of way.

[primitive]

Good call by the ref. Most refs would have missed the stiff arm by Terry.

http://gfx.dagbladet.no/sport/2004/06/25/annullering2.jpg

[gravey101]

I think this pictures sums the situation up nicely :-)

http://img45.photobucket.com/albums/v137/Mike21/UGJKGKHK.bmp

[primitive]

LOL Gravey. That’s funny http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif
But for the record., here is another picture of the incident (not done in photoshop http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

This one is taken about 2 tenths of a second before the previous one and clearly shows:
- The stiff arm.
- The goalie in position to reach the ball (or at least challenge for it) if he was allowed to jump straight up.
- The ref just outside the box and with a clear view of the arm/incident.


http://gfx.dagbladet.no/sport/2004/06/25/annullering1.jpg

[gravey101]

I see the pictures, and understand your point, but they don't show what the live footage shows IMO. I don't think the goalie has a chance of challenging Campbell. He was out of position and Terry was in the way. We will probably never agree on this one but there you go. With Rooney out for the tournament it probably saved England the pain of losing to Sweden (or the Dutch) in the semi-final... we really weren't good enough, espcially in central midfield where we just kept giving up posession time after time. Anyways, hope springs eternal, and on to the 2006 WC.

[ June 25, 2004, 14:09: Message edited by: gravey101 ]

[PeterD]

Last post was dead right. We had no midfield
worth talking about. The defence did ok but with
no connection to the forwards we were never going
to win.

Beckham was awful, you simply cannot miss 2
penalties at this level and win. He may take a
good freekick but he's not a good captain.

Football is a tough game and you have to have a
tough captain, one you can hear all over the
pitch. We've had good captains but he isn't one
of them.

Sure we played well against Croatia and beat the
Swiss but we lack a creative spark to manufacture
goals from nothing.

[oleg]

I feel much better tonight. At least we lost to a team with a bunch of world class players. But French... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Now, that is a shock of the most shocking tournament ever http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[gravey101]

I will admit to being biased here but I would argue that the photo does not sum up the entire situation. The keeper was out of position after the initial header hit the bar. Terry stood his ground next to Campbell and the keeper vainly tried to get past him, which is what you are seeing here. No stiff arm. If you watch the TV footage, which I am sure you have, you can see that there is no contact worthy of the name between Terry and keeper. Terry is entitled to hold his position in the box once he has got there in a legal manner which he did. In any case, the ref was on the other side of the players and a good ways down the field. He didn't see it at all. He saw a scamble in the box and gave a foul in the heat of the moment. The linesman had a better view and gave the goal. I think it was a shocking decision, but such is football. As I have said already, Portugal were the better side and sometimes luck favours the best.

[ June 25, 2004, 12:24: Message edited by: gravey101 ]

[PeterD]

We did lose to a good team but so did the French.
I would love to have seen us win euro 2004 but I
love it even more when the big teams (with all
their megastars) go out to teams like Greece.

I hope they go on to win it, but Holland must be
a hot favorite now.

[henk brouwer]

A miracle just happened http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif !!

We actually won a penalty shout-out !!!

yay!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Intimidator]

Ruatha, I'm sorry but we are through to the half finals.......... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Agree with you Henk !!!!!!!!!! (Sterkte en pretige wedstrijd aankomende woensdag http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif )

[oleg]

Too bad we'll never see Larson playing for Sweden again http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[Intimidator]

Agreed, but yesterday during the match I really hoped he would break a leg (or 2) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Inti,

[Ruatha]

Originally posted by Intimidator:
Ruatha, I'm sorry but we are through to the half finals.......... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Agree with you Henk !!!!!!!!!! (Sterkte en pretige wedstrijd aankomende woensdag http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif ) <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I saw the match, the best team won http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif
Just wished we'd had a better team (still, I'm quite happy with what they accomplished) , but next time http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Good luck to your team!

[ June 29, 2004, 15:39: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

[Intimidator]

Thanks,

[Intimidator]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif


It's all over !!


http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[Dubrok]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Greece won?!?!?!

and i had a bet going with the czechs.... :-(

anyway, the czechs didn't play their best game and lost unfortunately with a "golden" silvergoal ...

[oleg]

If Greece wins, Russia will become the best team in Europe as the only one who beat champions http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Games against Spain and Portugal were pure flukes of course. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[Intimidator]

Imagine : Greece European Champion Soccer !!!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/confused.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/confused.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif


But we know it tomorrow.

[ July 03, 2004, 12:57: Message edited by: Intimidator ]

[Intimidator]

Okay Oleg, Russia is the best team. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif GREECE WINS

[ July 04, 2004, 21:38: Message edited by: Intimidator ]

[Captain Kwok]

*sigh*

Will now have to listen to honking horns for the rest of the day - being located in a fairly Greek neighbourhood. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

[oleg]

One person in UK won ~ $600 000 by betting on Greece before tournament started. Odds were 120:1 then

[Intimidator]

So he 'only' had to put in $5000, and now he is rich enough to life very easy for the rest of his days (But he must not do anything stupid with the money, such as putting all his money on Greece as worldchampion in 2006 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif )

BTW. The person is probably Greece or female (or both) because NO MAN could predict this outcome !!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ July 06, 2004, 20:00: Message edited by: Intimidator ]

[gravey101]

5k to a lot of professional gambers is not a great deal. Probably had money on some of the Favorites with a chance bet on one of the outsiders. Some of these guys are pretty astute when it comes to judging talent, or at least ability to win, and probably saw something in the Greek team that they liked. Or it could have been pure chance, but 5k is a lot for a non-gambler, so it was more likely somone who had an idea of what they were doing. Of course, if you had asked me before the tournie started I would have said they were crazy.

[oleg]

Looking back on Euro04 and Worldcup02, the reccuring theme is that overpaid "stars" are worthless. They already got more than enough and can not seriously fight for NATIONAL PRIDE or what ever it is called.

My suggestion for WC06: fire Erricson and Beck&Co. and make a desent squad of nationwide players with workclass income. That should quarantee Enganad triumph !

BTW. I am serious. I have no trust in "superstars" whatsever.

[Intimidator]

agreed