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Osiris_x11

Osiris_x11

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hmmm, who's watching or keeping up w/ the soccer/fotbol European Championship in Portugal? Any personal fav's or such?

I have always have been a fan of Germany (amongst European teams), while I fancy Cameroon from Africa & Argentina from SouthAmerica; from the CONCACAF of-course the UnitedStates ;). In the past few years France has grown on me for their humble, int'l club superstar laden squad. Z_Zidane & T_Henry are class acts & masters of their game. :cool:

So far the tournament is exciting but rather challenging to predict! The teams seem to have Jekyll & Hyde perfomances thus far in their 1st round matches. :eek:
 
Of course ME, I have seen all the 12 games played until now... all of them! :D

Beside Italy (:( this year) and SWITZERLAND (played very well yesterday, even if we lost 3-0 against England), my favourite is CZECH REPUBLIC!
 
Holland has always been my team. My family has roots there, and I did a summer exchange in northern Holland (on a pig farm -- not the Amersterdam hedonism). I'm always amazed how a country the size of Connecticut can still be competitive with large nations.
 
Since Scotland didn't make it to the finals this year, my favourite has to be Sweden. They have 3 players in the squad from the Club team I follow, Celtic. Interestingly they destroyed Bulgaria with the most convincing win of the tournament so far, by 5-0. Bulgaria is captained by Stilian Petrov, also of Celtic and two of the Swedish goals were scored by Henrik Larsson, who just completed 7 years at Celtic! It's fun to see the competition have these match-ups with club team-mates frequently playing against each other.
The big match today, Sweden v Italy should be a good one!

The England - France game was really enjoyable - $20 on PPV, but well worth it. Especially the late change in the final outcome - nail-biting stuff! Of course as a Scotsman I was delighted to see the English get stuffed!

During the normal season, I have a subscription to "Celtic Live!" & get their games broadcast on broadband internet. Sometimes that means getting up at 3:30 am if it's a noon game back there, but it's worth it!
 
I was born and grew up in Germany, so it's Deutschland all the way.

When Germany plays the US, I have some serious conflicts on who to cheer for. Last World Cup, I had to go with Germany, just because when I was growing up, the US team, for all intents and purposes, did not exist. Old habits are hard to break.

What really pisses me off though is that these games are not readily available other than PPV. I have heard it costs $190 for the whole package (or $20 per game), so, as a matter of principle, I refuse to pay more for one soccer tournament than I do for an entire season of NFL games. Especially since the games are mostly during the day, so I can't watch them live anyway.

Fox Sports World is showing some select games here and there, so I will catch as many as I can. Italy - Sweden (today at 1:45 Central, and repeated again at 10 pm Central) should be an excellent game.
 
foxy-abby said:
Holland has always been my team. My family has roots there, and I did a summer exchange in northern Holland (on a pig farm -- not the Amersterdam hedonism). I'm always amazed how a country the size of Connecticut can still be competitive with large nations.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that size of countries in Europe is relative. It's all about population. Holland has about 16 million people, while Connecticut has about 3.5 million.

But, I agree, countries like Holland, Portugal and Denmark always seem to be competitive, even though they have a lot less population than the big boys, like Germany (82 million) and France (60 million). Of course, then there's Russia, which has about 143 million, and is never really that strong in soccer.

It's all about the sports culture. It would be interesting to see soccer-playing population comparisons between all the countries in the world. I bet the correlation between that and international success would make sense.
 
small fish vs. big fish...

hmmm, this is something I can shed some further light on... Netherlands for example use to have global colonies, ie. Dutch West Indies. Their roster & general domestic population often has a significant % of Dutch citizens who were born abroad. I lived in the Caribbean years ago, and the Dutch influence was evident. This also can be said of France, ie. French West Indies & North Africa (Morrocco, Algeria...ZIDANE!).

Many of the stellar athletes in these soccer powerhouse countries are not home-grown! The ability to infuse individuals from other locales who are generally more athletic & skilled & fit is a quick way to counter the nations who have larger domestic populations.

Indeed the Russians have fallen off the map in comparison to the former glory and dominance of the USSR in the past decades.

Thus, we may be a century past colonialism but it's remnants are still visible. :(
 
Re: small fish vs. big fish...

Osiris_x11 said:
This also can be said of France, ie. French West Indies & North Africa (Morrocco, Algeria...ZIDANE!).
Click to expand...
I'm not a big fan of the French in general, mainly based on their extreme nationalism and their views of all things French being superior (I know I'm generalizing, but that is the general attitude I have encountered).

That is why I think it's great that the best players on the French national team are not French-born, but black (like Henry) and Arabic (like Zidane).
 
Zidane is Muslim not Arabic at all (that is not the same).



I just saw Germany-Latvia... strange, I've never seen such a weak German team in my life! :eek:

The game was quite exciting with pressure on both sides but the game quality was not at the top... :rolleyes:

I hope there will be more of it in tronight BIG match Czech Republic - Holland!

Yesterday's Italy-Sweden offered also a spectacular game with Italy playing the best 45 minus (the first half) seen in the entire European cup and, as usual :( , a second half in defense, were Sweden was able to score the 1-1.
 
POST of 0:56am

I just came back from a big square where on maxi screen they projected Holland - Czech Republic. What a match!

If you like soccer, do not miss this! Absolutely!:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
some excitement shapin' up...

hmmm, atleast now my self-dubbed "Group_Of_Death" 'D' is somewhat falling into place. A bit uplifting for the Deutschland fussball Bund, but they DO have to face the Czech Republic in a climactic showdown (as the Dutch matchup quite well against Latvia, so slim chance of help there). Hopefully, the Czechs will be more passive & looking ahead to the quarters, simply to escape w/o any major bookings and injuries... wishful thinking?!? :D

So, who's hoping for a 2-2 Sweden-Danish draw... :p As much as I use to like the Azzuri and the Serie_A, there needs to be an overhaul in Italian calcio; *sigh* mondo talent, distinguished stars & enigmatic individuals yet sedate fotbol... :(
 
I do not think thy can afford a 2-2 and get away with it... if they set the game they will have to go for a 0-0 or 1-1 ... ;)

I do not like the Italian attitude in soccer (the players know to be extreme talented and they behave like spoiled kids... :( )but from what I saw against Sweden technically and from a quality point of view they well deserve to pass anyway.

I would like to see a Italy-Germany, Italy-Holland or Italy-Czech in the next round! Who wouldn't want this? :cool:
 
gheba_nsx said:
Zidane is Muslim not Arabic at all (that is not the same).
Click to expand...
You're right, if I remember correctly, Zidane is from Algeria. They speak Arabic, but do not consider themselves Arabs (my mistake).

My point though was that the French, who are generally known as being very nationalistic, have to deal with the fact that their best players are not "true" Frenchmen.
 
I agree, Frenchs are very nationalistic to "French" things, like their language (they translate all words, even "file" or "computer" are tranlsated :p ), their food and their culture in general.

But on the other side I cannot really say that they are racist: for foreigners it is quite easy to integrate in France and get the citizenship and they are very proud of integrating other cultures (muslim for example) in their society.

Something not easy in Italy, Spain or the peaceful Switzerland.

That is why their very "international" soccer team is so loved.

Anyway, isn't it the same in the US? Most (all?) people there comes from Europe, Africa and Asia and a great part of them arrived there in the last 100 years. Would somebody be unproud of an athlet only because is family arrived in the US in a boat 40 years ago from Ireland or Portugal?
 
gheba_nsx said:
But on the other side I cannot really say that they are racist:
Click to expand...
I guess that can be argued somewhat. But, racism is everywhere, so are the French worse than everyone else? Probably not.
gheba_nsx said:
Anyway, isn't it the same in the US? Most (all?) people there comes from Europe, Africa and Asia and a great part of them arrived there in the last 100 years. Would somebody be unproud of an athlet only because is family arrived in the US in a boat 40 years ago from Ireland or Portugal?
Click to expand...
No, good athletes are revered around here, no matter what race or color they are. However, like in a lot of other places, immigrants and minorities can experience some problems when they are not star athletes.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn this thread into a racism discussion. Back to soccer. I agree with Osiris, I hope the Czech Republic is content to coast in their next game, and Germany can pull out a win. Otherwise, there will be some serious repercussions when they come home (I'm sure Rudi will get fired in that case).
 
I still do not think that the French are more problematic to immigrants than Italians, Germans or Swiss... and I am not really a France fan. I am only stating what I experienced traveling around Europe.


About Soccer&Czech: they probably will play with a weaker team against Germany since they are alrerady qualified as first of the Group D anyway and nothing can change for them anymore.

They would like to avoid injuries and yellow/red cards for the following teams more than helping Germany directly. ;)
 
State-side admiration...

hmmm, in response to the reverence & acceptance of a foreign born athlete in the USA... well here's an ideal example: Freddie Adou of DC-United. I recall he was born in Ghana/Africa (?) and currently is the toast of MLS soccer as well as perceived to be the next-great, even by international standards. The masses, the media, and corporate-juggernauts all seem to adore him. :cool:
 
say-it-aint-so...

Originally posted by Osiris_x11
So, who's hoping for a 2-2 Sweden-Danish draw... :p
Click to expand...
Originally posted by gheba_nsx
. . .I do not think thy can afford a 2-2 and get away with it... ;)
Click to expand...

Just In: A 2-2 draw between Sweden & Denmark :eek:


hmmm, uhhh- errr- you were sayin'!?! I'd love to hear from our Italian counterparts!?! :D
 
foxy-abby said:
I did a summer exchange in northern Holland (on a pig farm -- not the Amersterdam hedonism).
Click to expand...

No clue what you guys are talking about, but I just wanted to say that you got screwed on that one.:D ;)
 
It was ok. That was back when I was young, naive, and generally a good kid, so I wouldn't have taken full advantage of the opportunity anyway. The pig farm now gives me an excuse so I don't look like a wus ;)
 
And there goes Germany. Very disappointing.

Bye-bye, Rudi Voeller, there is no way you keep your job after this showing.

I heard rumors that Otmar Hitzfeld (ex-Bayern Munich coach) might be tabbed as the next national coach. That would be an excellent choice, as far as I'm concerned.
 
another one, another one, another one bites the dust...

hmmm, no more Azzuri... no more Deutschland... no more Espanolia... *sigh*

AND I WAITED 4 YEARS FOR THIS?!? :rolleyes:

Well, i'll stay tuned w/ France (only because of Zidane :cool: )
 

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