On November 20 2009 05:36 Liquid`Drone wrote: pretty certain those fake kicks are not actually allowed. foot has to be in a constant forward motion after the kick is started. you can slow down but never bring it back.
You're wrong. You can make any fake before you shoot but you can't start your run again. Is the run what you can slow down but never bring back, not the foot.
EDIT:
Feinting to take a penalty kick to confuse opponents is permitted as part of football. However, if in the opinion of the referee the feinting is considered an act of unsporting behaviour, the player shall be cautioned.
How is it a better indicator to look at less important games against less good opponents? When the going gets tough, the tough gets going; Italy especially are known for stepping up their game the further into the tournament they get. I mean, what the hell is so impressive about beating Kuwait in the group stage when you can't beat any real opposition when it matters? And even if we use the ''more amount of games = less luck'' approach we get this:
All time WC points gathered (3 for each win, 1 for each tie):
They are the only teams over 100 points. Italy are way ahead of England, Spain and Netherlands no matter how you look at it. Italy have more titles alone than all of those countries combined, has gathered more points overall, and has greater individual players. And if qualification tournaments matters: WC's for Spain, 12. WC's for Italy, 16.
On November 20 2009 05:26 fabiano wrote: from my viewpoint, when we think about tough matchs for Brazil I think of teams like Italy, Germany, France, England and Spain, even if they are not doing great lately.
but if it were to make a power rank about the opponents, rightnow, it would be like:
1. Italy/Spain/Germany/France 2. England
The first teams are just impossible to determine who is better who is worse, but I can certainly say that they are harder to face than England (I am not saying that England is easy to beat!).
About the penalty issue, I would like to NOT see players doing it the World Cup:
Edit: tried to copy embedded youtube video but failed, so linked it
Edit2: woah, it worked out now...
lol thats extremely unfair , the only way even have a chance to stop it would be that the keeper choose to stand instead of going to either side. glad this this not overused thogh
Pele used that a lot. I don't think it's unfair at all; goalkeepers who are skilled at penalties don't just randomly jump to one side. Casillas for instance is a scary mofo, he reads players like an open book. I can't remember the last time he went in the wrong direction on a penalty (he went in the correct direction on all penalties against Italy in Euro 08 iirc).
On November 20 2009 09:57 Holgerius wrote: Pele used that a lot. I don't think it's unfair at all; goalkeepers who are skilled at penalties don't just randomly jump to one side. Casillas for instance is a scary mofo, he reads players like an open book. I can't remember the last time he went in the wrong direction on a penalty (he went in the correct direction on all penalties against Italy in Euro 08 iirc).
You're right, it's pretty amazing now that I watch it again
I base it on the fact that before every big tournament, I've had huge discussions with silly englishmen who won't realize their limits. They have done exactly as Liquid`Drone here; blaming all their failures on being unlucky. Which is bullshit.
English fans need to learn some humility (some have done when they missed the last tournament, but still there is an amazingly huge amount of blind fools). England has performed as could be expected of them. Nobody in their right mind would predict England to make the semi-finals on a constant basis; they're simply not one of the best 4 teams in the world. Reaching the quarter-finals is not underachieving for them, it's a pretty accurate description of how good they actually are. Italy reaching the semi-finals is not overachieving; they have always been one of the absolutely best teams in the world, with some of the absolutely best players in the world. When their team has been slightly weaker than normal they have had incredible individuals to pull them through (Baggio 94).
Netherlands, Spain and England have less medals in WC's and EC's combined than Italy alone. In the last 20 years Italy has gotten 4 medals; Spain, Netherlands and England together has gotten 1. To argue that that each and every one of these teams are as good (or better) than Italy is complete and utter bullshit.
You're in so much denial, man. Lol, Spain has 3 medals vs Italy's 9 and you're saying they are actually better than Italy? Not only does Italy have much more accomplishments as a team, if we look at individual players over the years they're miles ahead of Spain.
Brazil Germany Italy Argentina France Netherlands England Spain Portugal ...
On November 20 2009 21:13 Holgerius wrote: You're in so much denial, man. Lol, Spain has 3 medals vs Italy's 9 and you're saying they are actually better than Italy? Not only does Italy have much more accomplishments as a team, if we look at individual players over the years they're miles ahead of Spain.
Brazil Germany Italy Argentina France Netherlands England Spain Portugal ...
Something like that.
but spain now has a team which is more than a match for italy.italy dosen't stand a chance.
On November 20 2009 21:13 Holgerius wrote: You're in so much denial, man. Lol, Spain has 3 medals vs Italy's 9 and you're saying they are actually better than Italy? Not only does Italy have much more accomplishments as a team, if we look at individual players over the years they're miles ahead of Spain.
Brazil Germany Italy Argentina France Netherlands England Spain Portugal ...
Something like that.
but spain now has a team which is more than a match for italy.italy dosen't stand a chance.
Spain didn't really dominate Germany and Italy that much in Euro 2008.
On November 20 2009 21:13 Holgerius wrote: You're in so much denial, man. Lol, Spain has 3 medals vs Italy's 9 and you're saying they are actually better than Italy? Not only does Italy have much more accomplishments as a team, if we look at individual players over the years they're miles ahead of Spain.
Brazil Germany Italy Argentina France Netherlands England Spain Portugal ...
Something like that.
but spain now has a team which is more than a match for italy.italy dosen't stand a chance.
As of right now Spain has a brilliant team, yes. They truly have a golden generation with a lot of players peaking, whereas Italy are struggling at the moment. And indeed; Spain won Euro 2008 by beating Italy. That wasn't Italy being unlucky or Spain being lucky; they had a stronger team and that made the difference in the end. But overall historically, and during each and every one of the football era's, Italy has been superior to Spain.
"There was one match against Georgia where Ireland got a penalty and it was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen which changed the whole course of the game.
"I don't remember the FAI after the game saying we should give them a replay."
EPT
Lol, Spain has 3 medals vs Italy's 9 and you're saying they are actually better than Italy? Not only does Italy have much more accomplishments as a team, if we look at individual players over the years they're miles ahead of Spain. 
